I, Yuhaka, am hungry!

"Scribe Team Hunter Meow??"

It's normal that Rorota hadn't heard of the Scrivener Hunters. It's extremely rare to be both a Scrivener and a Hunter among Hunters, and Scrivener Hunters aren't exactly a well-known profession among the general public. They're only famous among scholars who specialize in studying monster ecology and Elder Dragons.

Since Rorota wasn't born a Palico, she naturally didn't know anything about the Scrivener Hunters. Even Palicoes might not know about the Scrivener Hunters.

After pondering how to explain to Lorota what kind of hunters the Scriveners were, Milia seemed to have thought of something and then explained to Lorota:

"Hmm... Rorota can imagine a Palico doing the job of a kitchen cat, not only helping the hunter in battle but also cooking Palico food... right?"

Upon hearing Milia's explanation, Lorota envisioned a hunter carrying a black pot and a barbecue grill, wielding a knife and fork, fighting a female Rathalos.

Lorota's expression immediately turned sharp.

Although Milia didn't know what Lorota was imagining, she could guess roughly from Lorota's expression...

However, when Milia thought of Yuhaka's big tail and cat ears, she suddenly became curious. With this question in mind, Milia asked Rorota beside her:

"Hey, Rorota, how much do you know about Yoyo-chan's background?"

When Milia asked her about Yuhaka, Rorota felt a pang of anxiety, then pretended to think before saying to Milia:

"Miss Milia didn't ask Yuu-chan, meow?"

Hearing Rorota's words, Milia gave a dry laugh. Last time she asked Yuhaka about her background, Yuhaka looked at her with an "OwO" expression and said:

"Youyou, that's right, Youyou."

Milia then asked Yu-Yu the following questions:

Milia: "Youyou, do you know where your parents are?"

Yuhaka: "I don't know! OwO"

Milia: "Youyou, how old are you?"

Yuhaka: "Don't know OwO?"

Milia: "Then... what about the gender...?"

Then, with an OwO look on her face, Yuhaka lifted up her skirt, which startled Milia. Milia hadn't expected Yuhaka to be so silly as to lift up her skirt for her to see.

Seeing the subtle expression on Milia's face, Rorota, with Zelus's permission, told Milia some trivial things:

"Well... we don't really know anything about Yu-Yu's identity, but not long ago, Yu-Yu, Rokubei, and I defeated the female Rathalos that had taken over our home, meow."

Milia was surprised to hear Rorota's words. She might not know how strong the female Rathian was, but according to the encyclopedia, the female Rathian had strong legs and a body that could knock hunters away. Its venomous spikes, fireballs, and flame breath were also extremely threatening.

Importantly, there is a tradition among hunters that defeating a female Rathalos is considered the mark of a truly qualified hunter, officially shedding the titles of novice and beginner hunter. If a hunter defeats a male Rathalos, then that hunter is considered a capable hunter.

In Milia's eyes, apart from having cat ears and a big tail, Yuhaka didn't seem much different from a child.

However, when Milia saw Yuhaka effortlessly carrying a herbivorous dragon to the Meru Cat Cafe with an "OwO" expression on his face, Milia no longer dared to underestimate Yuhaka.

After all, even Milia herself wouldn't dare say that she could easily lift a fully grown herbivorous dragon.

After Milia chatted with Rorota for a while, Yuhaka, who was cooking with Origami Grandma, was making a new flavor of herbivorous dragon barbecue. But at that moment, Rokubei's scream came from outside the cave.

Chapter 72 [Like the taste of food]

"Meow meow meow meow—!"

The sudden scream startled the Merlins in Water Cave Village. Even Yuhaka, who was cooking nearby, stood up abruptly, her tail bristling. Rorota, who was sitting with Milia, immediately jumped up and shouted towards the exit:

"Rokubei! What's wrong with you, meow?!"

"Lolota! There's a perverted female hunter outside! Meow!! Don't bite my ear, meow—!"

Upon hearing Rokubei's words, the Merlins present remained expressionless and continued with their own activities without uttering a word, except for Yuhaka, who looked completely bewildered, and Milia, who didn't react at all. Rorota, standing to the side, slapped her face with a paw, somewhat speechless. Then, Rorota turned to Milia and said:

"Miss Milia, the Hunter's Guild's rescue team has arrived, meow. Why don't you go and pack your things?"

Milia nodded, then picked up her sketchbook and went back to Yuhaka's tent. Lorota then looked at Yuhaka standing nearby and said to her:

"Youyou, you should hide first, meow. The God said you can't be found by the Hunter Guild members yet."

Upon hearing Rorota's words, Yuhaka was puzzled for a moment before putting on his disguise-like clothes and running to the secret escape passage set up by the Merlins. He then peeked out and looked at Rorota and the others.

Lorota could only helplessly cover her head and shake her head at Yuhaka's adorable antics.

..............

After Milia tidied up her worn-out hunter armor, she bound it up with animal hides. Although the hunter armor was badly damaged, the repair cost was often much cheaper than buying a new one. After all, most of the damage was to the upper body armor, pants, and head armor, while the gauntlets and shoes were not badly damaged.

The only thing he couldn't use was his own shield, which had a terrible, smooth cut on it. If it hadn't been for the shield slightly blocking the dragon's tail strike, he probably would have been ripped open in the chest.

As a lesson learned, Milia put her damaged shield into her pack. As for the one-handed sword... it seemed to have fallen into the river when she fell off the cliff, and it was probably gone for good.

After packing her things, Milia put on the simple animal skin garment she had sewn herself and walked out of the tent, where she saw Lorota waiting for her in front of the tent.

"Sorry, Lorota, I was packing my things and kept you waiting."

Lorota, standing to the side, shook her head and said:

"It's alright, meow, but have Miss Milia packed everything?"

Milia nodded and said to Lorota:

"Okay! Everything's fine now, let's go out."

Led by Rorota, Milia followed carefully along the path along the edge of the rocks below the waterfall. It was slippery due to the constant erosion from the waterfall, but Rorota and Milia made it down safely. After they came down, they saw a female hunter hugging Rokubei and rubbing against him.

"You freak, you're a little bit like me!"

"Don't say that~"

In Milia's view, she could see Rokubei being picked up by a scantily clad female hunter, while Rokubei kicked the female hunter in the face with his small foot. Compared to Rorota's embarrassed expression, Milia noticed the protective gear the female hunter was wearing.

"Hmm... This is a type I've never seen before..."

The type Milia was referring to wasn't the type of armor, but rather the materials used in it. Milia had read many books about various monsters, but the armor worn by that female hunter was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Could it be from a monster species unique to another region?

It's normal that Milia doesn't know. As one of the Elder Dragon species, the Kirin is the type of monster that appears in sparsely populated areas, unlike Elder Dragons like the Steel Dragon which sometimes attack human settlements. Because so few people have discovered the Kirin, information about it is extremely scarce.

"Oh! You must be little Milia!"

Upon seeing Milia, Maxie put down Rokubei and walked towards her. When Milia heard Maxie call her "little loli," she felt her lips twitch. If she hadn't seen that he was a stranger and the hunter who had rescued her, she might have exploded.

Of course, Maxie was unaware of Milia's thoughts and went up to pat Milia's head, saying:

"Alright, little one, don't worry anymore. Big sister is here to take you home. Don't you want to give big sister a hug?"

Milia smiled and removed Max's groping hand from her head, saying to Max:

“Okay, big sister, but more than anything, I want to get back to the town of Scylla as soon as possible.”

.................

Lorota waved to Milia as the rescue team departed in the hot air balloon, then looked at Rokubei, who was scratching an itch nearby, and said:

"Alright, Rokubei, let's go back, meow. We're having yakiniku today, meow~"

Upon hearing Rorota's words, Rokubei's eyes lit up, and he said to Rorota:

"Then what are we waiting for, meow? Let's hurry home and eat barbecue, meow!"

As he spoke, Rokubei pulled Rorota towards the Water Cave Village. Rorota, being dragged along, hurriedly moved her short legs to keep up with Rokubei, telling her to slow down.

After returning to Mizuku Village, Rokubei was targeted by Yuhaka.

“OwO”

Rokubei looked at Yuhaka, who was circling around him, and said with some confusion:

"Boss Youyou? What's wrong, meow?"

Yuhaka stood beside Rokubei like a cat, watching Rokubei from head to toe, and even sniffing him from time to time.

Lorota, standing to the side, looked at Eohaka with a puzzled expression and said to Eohaka:

"YuYu-chan, what's wrong, meow?"

Yuhaka nuzzled Rokubei's cheek and said to Rorota:

"Rokubei has a certain smell on him."

Upon hearing Yuhaka's words, Rokubei was so frightened that he quickly took a step back, sniffing his own scent with a panicked expression, and said:

"What?! What?! Could it be that that perverted woman's disgusting smell got on me?!"

Without saying that, Rokubei stopped eating the grilled meat and quickly grabbed a brush and ran outside to take a bath.

Yuhaka stared blankly at Rokubei as he ran away, not understanding why Rokubei was going out, but he could smell a dangerous aura on him.

However, the smell made Yohaka's mouth water.

Chapter 73 [The Unlucky Thunder Wolf Dragon]

Milia, lying in bed, opened her eyes and looked at the familiar ceiling above her head. She was confused for a moment before sitting up. Looking at the familiar furniture around her, Milia immediately remembered that she had returned to the town of Scylla yesterday.

"Oh, right, I'm back."

To be honest, encountering the dragon, being saved by the cat Merlin, and meeting Ehaka made Milia feel like she was dreaming. If there wasn't a shield that had been cut by the dragon hanging on the wall of her room, Milia might have thought she was really dreaming or something.

However, recalling that after she returned, she saw Miss Messia take her to the Hunter's Guild President's office to meet the President. There, the President comforted her for a few words and then asked her about the Dragon Slayer. Milia didn't know much about the Dragon Slayer's intrusion into her hunting area, but she still told the President and the others about her encounter with the Dragon Slayer and how she was rescued by Meru and the others after jumping off the cliff.

Of course, Milia didn't plan to tell the Hunter's Guild about Ehaka; it was better if as few people as possible knew about Ehaka.

After the Hunter's Guild leader finished asking about those matters, he told her that Milia's injury was caused by the Hunter's Guild's negligence in monitoring the hunting areas surrounding the Ancient Forest, and that the Hunter's Guild would compensate Milia for her loss.

Milia naturally wouldn't refuse such an outcome. She had already lost a lot of equipment and would have to spend a lot of money to repair it, but if the Hunter's Guild would pay for it, she would of course accept the money.

However, what Milia cared about was the female hunter named Maxie. Just as she left the Hunter's Guild, Maxie said something.

You...and she look a lot like you...

Hearing Maxie's words, Milia wasn't quite sure who Maxie was saying she looked like. The only person who looked like her was her mother. Could it be that her mother and Maxie knew each other?

Just as Milia was about to ask Maxie, Maxie seemed to have vanished, which made Milia increasingly puzzled.

"Well... let's put those things aside for now and deal with the new equipment first."

With that, Milia jumped off the bed and ran to the wardrobe to find clothes.

..............

"boom----!"

In the ancient forest, a Zinogre, lacking horns, claws, a tail, and even white fur, collapsed amidst an explosion. Yuhaka wondered if this seemingly harmless giant dog before him was an evolved creature with a malformation.