Another sweeping, fan-shaped Echo Wave sealed off every possible escape route. Shaken through and through, Ning-Ning went limp and crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
Lambert scooped her up and slung her over one shoulder like a towel, then issued the victor's declaration. "From this day forward, I'm your Boss! Hss..."
Lambert bared her teeth and rubbed her stomach. Her words were bold, but this "battle" had been anything but easy for her to win.
Her face and arms were crisscrossed with bloody scratches from Felyne claws, and she had taken a flying kick to the gut. If she had not managed to knock that battered dagger out of Ning-Ning's paws early on, things would have been far messier.
Having witnessed the entire fight, Sajji looked at Lambert as though she were some kind of beast, while Hakucho acted as if the outcome were perfectly natural.
Morgan had followed more or less the same process when taming Hakucho, beating him into submission and then luring him with good food. Ning-Ning, however, did not seem interested in delicacies. To make her obey willingly, Lambert would have to offer some other benefit.
"Sajji, let's make a deal."
Wincing, Lambert took out a Potion, drank a couple of mouthfuls, then pried Ning-Ning's mouth open and poured in the rest.
"How about taking some time to teach her a few things? I'll pay you in money or items, or owe you a favor. Whatever works."
Sajji glanced at Ning-Ning, who lay completely unconscious over Lambert's shoulder with her tongue hanging out. "Once the quest is over, we'll be heading back to Dundorma, meow. I won't have much time to teach her, meow.
"And honestly, the things I know can't be learned overnight, meow. If you really want to improve her fighting ability quickly, you'd be better off having her learn a trick or two from Clawdia, meow.
"That flying kick just now, I'm pretty sure she copied the kick Clawdia used on her earlier, meow. Didn't it work pretty well, meow?"
Lambert rubbed her ribs, which she suspected were cracked. "But she always seems to think bombs pack more punch than blades."
Sajji's ears twitched as a flicker of regret stirred in his heart.
Earlier, he had gotten a little carried away and frightened Ning-Ning with a few rockets. As it turned out, she had fallen for the appeal of all that "kaboom."
Ning-Ning had originally carried a dagger and fought in close quarters. How had she suddenly become a complete Barrel Bomb fanatic?
After a brief hesitation, Sajji looked at Lambert. "I'll ask the Boss about our itinerary, meow. If I really can make the time, I'll teach her a few things suited to her, meow.
"As for payment, forget it, meow. If you two really do become partners, just treat her well, meow.
"It isn't easy for a wild Felyne to adjust to human society at first, meow."
"Oho, as expected of Senior Altaïr's Felyne partner. You're a textbook example of a good senior."
Glancing at the distant Clawdia, then sneaking a look at the unconscious Ning-Ning on her shoulder, Lambert clicked her tongue and chuckled. "A shame, really. This one came along a little too late."
Sajji shot her a sidelong glance. "Why don't you say that you came along too late, meow?"
"Eek!" Lambert shuddered. "Shut up! What the hell are you implying?!"
"You started it, meow!"
Both Lambert and Isis had suffered fairly serious burns, making a long trek through the damp, sweltering, mosquito-infested mountain forest inadvisable.
As a result, Altaïr's group remained in the rebuilt mountain village for a few days to recuperate. After watching the mountain folk raise the wooden palisade walls that would keep Monsters out once more, the group finally set off with Lambert and her companions for the nearest city.
Ning-Ning was straightforward and kept her word. Having lost the "duel" to Lambert, she honored her promise and became Lambert's hunting partner.
Ning-Ning did not seem entirely resigned to the arrangement, however. She proposed that they hold the same duel once a year, with the loser serving as the other's underling for the following year.
Lambert readily agreed.
Any Hunter who lacked the confidence to beat her own Felyne time and again might as well retire early and make a living playing music on a street corner.
Before leaving, Ning-Ning asked for the opinions of her gang of underlings.
As Lambert had expected, the other Felynes had no desire to leave the Jungle for human society. Ning-Ning divided her savings among the group as severance pay, explaining that the money could be used to buy food and other supplies from the mountain folk.
Having bid farewell to her old life, Ning-Ning packed light and hit the road.
During the days spent recuperating in the mountain village and throughout the journey to the nearby town, Sajji taught her a great deal.
Over those few days, Sajji reached a conclusion: Ning-Ning was not an enthusiast of explosions, but a thoroughgoing pragmatist.
Unlike Sajji, whose innate love of machinery was his greatest passion, Ning-Ning had no interest in machinery, alchemy, or honing her martial skills.
As long as something could make her stronger, however, she was willing to do anything.
Clawdia had sent her flying with a kick the first time they met, yet Ning-Ning still had the nerve to ask Clawdia how to put more force into her own flying kicks.
For someone like her, learning mechanical theory from the ground up would be pointless. Ning-Ning was never going to become a researcher, but she had the quick mind needed to use the finished products well.
There was no need to expose her to anything particularly unusual, at least not yet. Standard varieties of Barrel Bombs, traps, and hunting items were more than enough for her to tinker with.
The principle was the same as not lecturing a Rookie Hunter fresh out of training camp about Hunter Arts. When Ning-Ning eventually needed such knowledge, she would encounter it naturally.
Of course, after being called "Teacher Sajji" so many times, Sajji could hardly send her away without teaching her anything worthwhile.
Beyond the basic methods of using Barrel Bombs and hunting items, Sajji taught her several more powerful gunpowder recipes and a few simple trigger mechanisms.
Once Ning-Ning had mastered those lessons and combined them with the assorted skills and clever tricks she had picked up while surviving in the wild, she would be qualified to serve as a capable support Felyne.
As a result, "Teacher Sajji" rolled off Ning-Ning's tongue more and more naturally with each passing day.
She even stuck close to Sajji and pestered him for a mailing address, saying she would write for guidance whenever she encountered something she did not understand.
Her illiteracy did not matter. She could learn to read and write, or ask Lambert to write the letters for her.
This made Isis increasingly wary of Ning-Ning. Whenever she saw Clawdia practicing a few claw forms on roadside tree stumps as they walked, Isis grew anxious on Clawdia's behalf.
The one consolation was that everyone would go separate ways after reaching town.
Clawdia might show no sign of catching on, but she and Sajji were together practically day and night, so she ought to have the upper hand... right?
Then Isis learned some bad news.
Both Chia and Vari felt they had been away from home for some time and wanted to go back for a visit.
Chia's home village had long since been destroyed by Monsters, but his sister lived in Metapetatto. To him, that was his new home.
Vari had not returned home since leaving Loc Lac two years earlier, and his family had written several times urging him to visit.
Lambert was something of a drifter. Since both of her companions were going home and Senior Altaïr and the others were returning to Dundorma, however, she might as well travel with everyone. She could treat the trip as a chance to rest and reset.
Then she could try for promotion to 4★ again.
Ning-Ning was naturally in favor with all four paws. She could follow Teacher Sajji and learn for a few more days. What a treat, meow!
She trotted happily over to Sajji and began pestering him with questions.
Isis looked nervously at Clawdia, hoping she would step forward and show Sajji some affection. Clawdia, however, was completely focused on practicing strikes against the air...
Instead, it was Sajji, pestered by Ning-Ning until his head hurt, who sighed and raised his voice. "Clawdia! Come teach her a couple of moves, meow! She doesn't know how to use a Felyne Sword, meow!"
Clawdia seemed a little displeased at having her training interrupted, but she walked over nonetheless. "You don't even know how to use a Felyne Sword, meow? Every last one of you is hopeless, meow!"
* * *
Warhammer: Wait, Do I Have to Sit on the Golden Throne Too? is also available here on Webnovel. Thank you for reading.