The professor didn't let Erik run off to buy a bug net and catch butterflies or anything like that.
On one hand, the regional variations of the Great Hornfly had already been studied by scholars and weren't worth investing too much time and effort in. On the other hand, official business took priority, and there was no time to let students wander around aimlessly.
Restrained by the professor, Erik returned to his previous listless state.
The exotic streets of Val Habar, the colorful tents, the identical caravans, and all the other unique cultural sights failed to pique his interest in the slightest.
However, a street vendor selling pet birds caught his attention again, and the professor had to expend considerable effort to drag him away.
"If you run off again, you'll have to walk back to Dundorma on your own!" With a dark expression, the professor scolded the young man before storming ahead.
As a renowned scholar who had been a high-ranking member of the Elder Dragon Observation Team even before the Royal Academy was established and who had personally organized the creation of the Frenzy Virus Research Institute, the professor had students all over the world.
Researchers often have their quirks, but even among his large group of eccentric students, Erik stood out as particularly odd.
No matter how obsessed others might be with ecology, they would still pay some attention to their own safety. But this guy, if left unsupervised, could mindlessly wander from the city into the wilderness and straight into a Monster's nest.
He almost wished he could get a set of reins to keep this fellow tethered.
—--
Urging and scolding along the way, the old and the young finally arrived at the Guild Hall Dragonship in Val Habar.
They were there on official business. Although colleagues from the Royal Academy had recommended a "guide," they still needed to check in with the local guild to facilitate obtaining some support.
Upon hearing the professor's name, Ms. Sophia, the Guildmarm, personally came out to receive them and arranged for staff to find the hunter named "Naziya."
Fortunately, Naziya was somewhat well-known in Val Habar, though her reputation came not from her identity as a hunter but from her skill as an excellent mechanical craftsman.
Without some leads, even locals would find it difficult to locate someone among the countless tents and caravans in Val Habar.
Several dozen minutes later, Naziya was brought to the Guildmarm's office by the staff.
Although it was their first meeting, the professor immediately recognized that this young female hunter was the child of his two colleagues.
Her mother's skin tone and her father's curly hair combined perfectly in her, a triumph of genetics.
The professor was a man who valued efficiency. After a brief introduction between the two parties, he began asking this "guide" about the travel arrangements.
Naziya quickly raised both hands, making a "wait" gesture.
"Sorry, but I'm not the guide for this journey. At most, I can only be your guide within Val Habar. I've already arranged for the actual guide who will lead you into the sand sea. He's a desert nomad by origin and also a hunter, much more reliable than me!"
Hearing Naziya's explanation that she herself was unfamiliar with the sand sea and had arranged for a more professional guide for them, the professor expressed no objections.
If anything, this actually alleviated some of his concerns.
Judging from Naziya's parents' circumstances, this girl was most likely someone who spent all day tinkering with screws in a workshop. Such people made good craftsmen, but not good guides.
"Since you two have arrived, I'll go fetch them!" Naziya said after explaining the situation and prepared to stand up.
Guildmarm Sophia, who was sitting nearby, spoke up, "Miss Naziya, what are the names of the guides you found? It might be more convenient if I send someone to invite them over."
"Oh, right," Naziya nodded. "It's a pair of young hunter partners. The man is called Altaïr, he's the desert nomad guide I mentioned. The woman is called Isis, who will probably accompany us. They might even be a young couple or something, hahaha."
BANG!
"What did you say?!" Ms. Sophia slammed the table and stood up, the sudden noise startling everyone in the office.
"Ah, what?" Naziya didn't understand why the always intellectual and elegant Guildmarm would react so strongly.
Sophia's glasses reflected cold light. "Isis? Altaïr? You said couple?"
The Guildmarm's icy questions made Naziya's scalp tingle. Realizing something, she quickly corrected herself, "Ah no, that last part was just a joke! Just joking!
It's just that they work together and are around the same age, so I said it without thinking!"
Ms. Sophia made a "hmm" sound and sat back down, most of the anger fading from her face, though she still seemed to radiate a chilly aura.
She summoned a staff member. "Go fetch Isis and Altaïr. I think I saw them at the training ground earlier."
Soon after, the two who had been excitedly practicing with their newly acquired weapons were brought to the Guildmarm's office.
As soon as he entered, Altaïr felt Guildmarm Sophia's intense gaze. Though puzzled, he slightly bowed as a gesture of respect.
Isis happily called out, "Aunt Sophia!"
After quickly scanning between the two several times, Sophia withdrew her gaze.
Hmm, the distance between them seems appropriate. It appears it really was just a joke as Miss Naziya said.
Since her friend had asked her to look after her daughter, she was practically Isis's half-parent. If this were five or ten years later, she wouldn't interfere, but absolutely not now! Isis wasn't even an adult yet!
Seeing the atmosphere return to normal, Naziya breathed a sigh of relief and quickly introduced everyone.
Erik remained as distracted as ever, while the Professor's gaze lingered on Isis for a few seconds.
He had initially thought it might be someone with the same name, but judging by her build, hair color, eye color, and Sophia's attitude toward her, she must indeed be the child of those two.
Another victory for genetics.
The Professor muttered to himself, though compared to catching up with the descendants of old acquaintances, he valued the matter at hand more.
He looked at Altaïr, who had obvious desert ethnic features. "Mr. Altaïr, what are your general arrangements for this journey? Can we depart as soon as possible?"
Altaïr shook his head. "I'm sorry, but the Sand Sea region has harsh conditions. To reach our destination safely, we need to prepare many things.
From clothing to tools, then supplies, emergency medicine, and so on, we must also determine the type of mounts first, as that will directly affect travel speed and route planning.
But before all this, I need to understand what the two of you are investigating in Sun Worship Town? Is there a possibility of combat breaking out?
Moreover, I heard from Miss Naziya that you'll be investigating some things along the way as well, which might require specific preparations."
Faced with Altaïr's series of questions, the professor showed no impatience but instead nodded with satisfaction.
If the other party had simply said "No need for much preparation, we'll set off early tomorrow morning, I'll definitely get you to the destination," he would have had to consider finding a different guide.
"Our investigation originates from a mission commission issued by the elders of Sun Worship Town. The mission itself isn't complicated, it's a Vespoid extermination task because they're experiencing a Vespoid infestation there."
"Vespoids?" Altaïr couldn't help interrupting, "Large numbers of Vespoids appearing deep in the sand sea?"
Altaïr's doubt made the professor even more satisfied. The former raising this question indicated he had some understanding of the sand sea region's ecology.
"Exactly. Vespoids are distributed worldwide, and seeing one or two scattered Vespoids anywhere isn't strange.
But swarms of Vespoids have only been discovered in volcanic regions or dense forest areas so far.
Dense forest regions are easy to understand, abundant resources, warm and humid, suitable for insect reproduction.
But the reason why large numbers of Vespoids appear in volcanic regions remains a mystery. The current prevailing academic view is that the high temperatures in volcanic regions have some beneficial effects on Vespoid reproduction.
And this time, Vespoid swarms have actually appeared deep in the barren, arid sand sea."
Isis, listening nearby, looked puzzled. "Volcanic regions are equally barren, aren't they? Both places have high temperatures, quite similar, right? So it shouldn't be strange for Vespoid swarms to appear deep in the sand sea?
Moreover, since the guild has already approved the extermination, we can just kill a few waves to solve the problem!"
The professor couldn't help glancing at the young woman, such typical hunter thinking.
"It's different." Before the professor could say anything, Altaïr answered: "The high temperatures in volcanic regions are stable, while the temperature difference between day and night in the deep sand sea is extreme. Daytime temperatures can exceed forty degrees, while nighttime sometimes drops below freezing.
In desert regions, you only see scattered Vespoids in places with relatively small temperature differences like oases or wind-eroded caves.
Sun Worship Town, like Loc Lac, is built on a rock platform. Seeing a few Vespoids in such a place isn't strange, but having them appear in large numbers is highly abnormal.
If we don't solve the problem at its source, similar incidents will recur."
Now not only the professor, but Sophia and Erik, who had been spacing out, all turned their attention to him.
Accustomed to hunters like Isis who simply "kill to solve problems," encountering someone like Altaïr was truly rare.