Monster Hunt: Notes from a Hunter

To say something a bit shameless, I've always been a very popular person since I was little.

My mom says that when I was very, very young, Aunt Hayata and the others always fought to hold me. Grandma traveled a long way from the Old Continent to the New Continent just to be by my side, and my uncle even went to great lengths to get me a golden mask.

Growing up a bit, when I was in Dundorma, whether it was the servants at home, the tutors, or my parents' friends and colleagues, they always liked to praise me, saying how cute, smart, and amazing I was.

When I was at the Hunter Training Camp, although it was indeed largely thanks to my dad, wasn't everyone in the "Supernova" group surrounding me? Brandley even said I had some leadership charisma or something. Hmm, it shouldn't have been flattery.

But! These detestable furry creatures in front of me! They actually discriminate against me!

I kindly offered to scratch their bellies, but not only did they not appreciate it, they even said they were ashamed to associate with the weak?

Fufu ground her teeth, sulking for several minutes in extreme anger, and then silently loosened her clenched little fists.

What else could I do?

Fight with these furry things to prove my strength?

Look at that frighteningly large Icefish Dragon skull! Look at the meat of some large monster roasting on the fire!

I'm afraid I still can't beat these furry things...

Taking a few deep breaths to adjust her mood, Fufu decided to try a different approach.

She took out the small gifts she had prepared in advance from the Gale's pack, including common items such as rations, antidotes, and flash bombs, as well as some daily necessities such as ceramic bowls, pottery jars, and metal knives.

They don't look valuable, but the beastmen living in the wild like these practical things. They were very happy when I gave them to those Grimalkyne brothers before.

There's no reason why the Felynes wouldn't like them, right?

With a flattering smile on her face, she placed these things in front of the Felynes.

As she expected, the Felynes also liked these things. Even the few who were enjoying belly rubs jumped up and gathered around.

They disdain being close to the weak; belly rubs are an act of intimacy, but trading is obviously not. Trading is just trading.

At the same time, another Felyne took a pretty little pottery jar and stuffed a handful of chili peppers into her hand.

More and more Felynes came to trade with her.

The thick scales of the Icefish Dragon are sturdy and light, and can be worth some money. Exchanging them for a bottle of antidote is definitely a good deal. Exchanging chili peppers for a pottery jar is a bit of a loss, but not by much.

There were many other things as well. Overall, it was a pleasant transaction.

But she prepared these things to build a good relationship with the Felynes, not to set up a stall, exchange money for goods, and then turn around and leave?

When Fufu came back to her senses, the little gifts she had prepared were almost "sold" out.

She had a pile of messy things in her hands, and the Felynes who had completed the transaction went to find Nargacuga for belly rubs, looking like they were acting cute and coquettish, which made Fufu feel annoyed.

Damn it, I shouldn't have prepared gifts for you!

Noticing Fufu's dissatisfaction, Nargacuga whispered something in the Felynes' ears.

At first, a few Felynes were a little unwilling, but after Nargacuga's persuasion, they reluctantly came to Fufu, lay down on the ground, and exposed their bellies.

Seeming to say, "Scratch it."

Several veins popped up on Fufu's forehead. She just wanted to kick these guys in the belly.

Unfortunately, she couldn't resist the temptation of the furry bellies after all. She squatted down and scratched frantically with both hands.

After a while of playing, a lively shout came from the campfire.

The Felynes surrounding them jumped up, pulled on Nargacuga's clothes, and dragged her towards it. Fufu thought she was going to be ignored again, but the few Felynes who had just been scratched by her waved at her.

"Hmph, that's more like it." Fufu felt much better and followed.

The two of them and the dog followed the large group of Felynes and sat around the campfire. It turned out that the shouting was the signal for dinner.

A giant piece of meat, bigger than Fufu herself, had turned an enticing golden brown under the roasting of the campfire.

Two Felynes worked together, using knives to cut slices of roasted meat from the giant roast, and then put the uncooked parts back on the campfire to continue roasting.

The sliced roasted meat was placed on stone plates, along with naan bread freshly baked from the giant oven next to it. This was the Felynes' favorite meal.

In terms of food, Fufu was not treated differently.

Looking at the food in the stone utensils in front of her, Fufu rubbed her hands and, imitating the Felynes, wrapped the roasted meat in the naan bread, rolled it up, and stuffed a large piece into her mouth.

"Ugh!"

With her cheeks full and her mouth unable to close, Fufu tried hard to chew.

This taste! It was really!

It wasn't exactly delicious...

How should I put it? The roasted meat, which was bigger than a person, looked grand, but it was really hard to chew. Not only was it difficult to control the heat, but the meat of large animals had a strong gamey smell, and the only seasoning was basic salt.

If it wasn't really impolite, she would have wanted to spit it out.

The texture of the naan bread was also average. The baking was good, but the flour was obviously not ground finely enough, and there were some fine grains of sand mixed in.

It really couldn't compare to the delicious food carefully cooked by Cat Grandma.

After struggling to swallow a roll of naan bread with meat, she poured the rest into Gale's food bowl in front of her.

It didn't pick and choose anyway. It could eat exquisite food, and it wouldn't mind slightly rotten raw meat.

Nargacuga didn't eat much either. It wasn't because of the taste, but simply because her stomach couldn't adapt to such food yet.

After eating and drinking their fill, the Felynes gathered around the campfire, entertaining themselves.

Some took out small animal skin drums and played them with "bang bang pa pa" sounds, some were sharpening throwing spears to prepare for the next hunt, and some took out a drink that seemed to be wine, taking sips one after another.

Fufu was curious. Her mom loved to drink, but she was very strict with her in this regard. She had never tried it before. This was a good opportunity!

She shamelessly went over and asked for some.

Those Felynes weren't stingy either, and gave her a bowl. The wine in the rough pottery bowl was a thick, cloudy dark red, and there was a faint fruity fragrance coming from it. It should be some kind of fruit wine.

She stuck out her tongue and tasted a little bit. It was a little sour and astringent, and didn't have the sweetness she had imagined. She was just about to drink more to taste it carefully.

When she saw a few Felynes holding some wild berries, walking to the large pottery urn for storing wine, pouring the fruits into it, and then spitting a few mouthfuls of saliva into it.

"..."

What the hell?!

The Felyne who had just given her the wine drank all the wine in his bowl, and then looked at her, seemingly asking, "Why aren't you drinking it?"

Fufu squeezed out a stiff smile, put down the wine bowl, "I suddenly remembered that I'm still a minor and can't drink."

After hearing this, Nargacuga directly picked up the bowl of wine and took a sip. Fufu didn't have time to stop her.

"It's very delicious."

Seeing that Nargacuga liked it, the Felyne happily poured her another bowl.

Fufu squeezed to Nargacuga's ear with a green face, and lowered her voice, "Don't drink it... they spit in the wine..."

"It's normal. It helps fermentation," Nargacuga said with a smile, and took another sip, "Everyone in the Tree Sea does this too."

"Ga ba woo ya!"

"Woo ba woo ba!"

Nargacuga raised the wine bowl and drank with a few Felynes who squeezed beside her.

Fufu closed her eyes in pain.

After a long time of excitement, a large pottery urn of natural fruit wine was almost drunk clean. Nargacuga's alcohol tolerance was unexpectedly good. Other than her cheeks being a little red, nothing happened.

But those few Felynes were no longer doing well. The one who had given Fufu the wine staggered, "Good friends! Tomorrow, take you to see... big fish! Very, very, very big fish!"