Aster turned toward the voice and quickly remembered who she was. Although they weren''t close in any way, it would be rude to just ignore her, so he stood up and bowed lightly, like a gentleman greeting ady.


    "Miss Octavia, right? It''s nice to meet you again."


    "Hehe, I was actually looking for you, but Zenearith refused to give me your contact." She chuckled while flying around Aster, like a yful cherub. "Anyway, what''s your name again?"


    *Arf!*


    Before he could answer, a little puppy howled at Octavia, causing her to stop in ce.


    "This is...?" she mumbled, staring at Argus, who stared right back at her.


    Her eyes suddenly changed colors, shifting from pale blue to a golden yellow, as arcs of lightning started wrapping around her entire body. Argus, as if in response, did the same. His body became covered in sparks, but instead of the usual golden hue, they were red!


    "...!"


    In an instant, Octavia moved with a sh so fast that Aster couldn''t even follow her with his eyes! "Argus!"


    "Woah~! What a fluffy creature~! Is this your pet? Other than birds, it''s rare to see pets who don''t fear me, as I always exude faint electric currents from my feathers~!"


    But nothing of what Aster had imagined happened. Instead, Octavia lifted Argus and began fluffing him like crazy! The little pup wasn''t reluctant either, clearly enjoying the soft attention he was receiving.


    "So you''re Argus, little cutie~? Kid, what''s your name?!" she asked again, a little excitedly. "Can I have this guy~? I''ll pay however much it costs!"


    "He''s not for sale," Kalimented, pulling the little dog out of Octavia''s grasp.


    She hugged the little doggy before backing up to Cassy''s side once more. Aster watched this and smiled wryly, before exining, "Sorry, Miss Octavia, but Argus is my partner. I can''t give him to you. And my name''s Aster Mistral, by the way."


    "Aster Mistral... Alright, I got it~! It''s too bad the doggy isn''t for sale though..." Octavia sighed, then let out a short gasp. "Oh no, I forgot I have a meeting! I gotta go! See youter, Aster~!"


    After finishing her words, her figure shed with a powerful burst of lightning, making everyone close their eyes for a moment. When they recovered their vision, they saw that Octavia was already gone.


    "I wonder what she came here for?" Aster sighed as he sat down.


    Cassy and Kali yed with Argus as they waited, and just as the clock struck six, Liz arrived. "Oh, Aster. You look dashing today," sheplimented while staring at him from head to toe.


    "First impressions are important, after all." Aster shrugged. "Only Tina and Lory haven''t arrived yet. Let''s wait for them a bit more." Enjoy exclusive chapters from м??


    It was the first time that someone from their party waste for their gathering. And what''s more, two of them werete at the same time.


    *BEEP!*


    "Huh?"


    Just then, Aster received a short message from Lori. He opened his Holo Tab, checked, and quickly frowned.


    "It looks like Lory''s down with a cold. She said she couldn''t participate in today''s shopping."


    Aster exined to the others. He had originally nned to renew the contract with Lory today, but since she was sick, he had no choice but to postpone it until tomorrow.


    "Really? She should''ve told us!" Cassy said, worried. "Should we visit her? I can''t heal diseases yet, but I can at least relieve some pain with my heal..."


    "..."


    With current technology and the presence of skills, curing injuries and diseases was simple. Amon cold could be fixed by a healer for just 50,000 Tels... Overpriced as it was, it was still cheaper whenpared to losing a day of hunting—which could cost over a hundred thousand, even on the low side.


    "Well, does anyone know where she lives?" Liz asked.


    "I don''t!"


    "Why should I care?"


    "I don''t know either."


    The three responded immediately, making Liz chuckle. "Then unless we ask for her address, we can''t even visit. Let''s just finish preparations today and enter the dungeon tomorrow."


    Aster nodded, though he remained slightly worried.


    "I guess that''s for the best. Let me distribute funds to everyone."


    "Funds...?" Liz was just about to ask, but Aster was faster.


    In moments, he sent a fair portion of his money to everyone. Rounded off, each person received a hundred million at once!


    "Star, what''s going on? When did you get so rich?" Cassy asked, surprised.


    Even Kali was skeptical, narrowing her eyes as she stared at him. "Leader, did you sell your body or something?"


    "I doubt I''d get this much from selling my body..." Aster started but quickly corrected himself. "No, that might be possible, given my circumstances... Anyway, this money is mostly from bounties. I caught them on the 30th floor, so it''s worth quite a bit!"


    The girls seemed reluctant to ept such arge sum, but Aster persuaded them quickly. "Buy things you think we''d need—enough tost five days, even if we''re stuck alone on a random floor."


    "..."


    Since they''d already experienced something like that before, it didn''t take much convincing. The four of them discussed what supplies they''d need and everything else, spending another 30 minutes waiting.


    "Darling~!"


    And finally, Tina arrived.


    Unlike her usual attire, which was optimized for ease of movement, she was dressed in a beautiful navy blue balloon dress. The design emphasized her cleavage, and the fabric clung tightly to her curves. Naturally, the sight of someone wearing such formal clothes inside the guild made her stand out.


    "Tina?" Aster stood up. "You look gorgeous today. I guess I made the right choice to dress up a little."


    "No matter the clothes, Darling is the most handsome guy in the world~!"


    Tina eximed while wrapping her arms—clothed in the same navy blue, elbow-length gloves—around him and tugged him toward her.


    "Let''s go, shall we? My father''s already waiting~!"


    "Ah, alright..."


    Kali red at Tina but couldn''t interfere today. She had already received direct orders from the mayor regarding this matter, after all. The three girls waved goodbye to Aster and Tina, who walked out with hurried steps.


    Following Tina''s lead, Aster got into a limousine-like car parked right outside the guild.


    Just from the appearance of the car and the numerous ck vehicles surrounding them, presumably guards, he could tell how high-profile Celestinya truly was.


    Aster ced a hand over his stomach, aching from his nervousness, as he silently prayed that everything would go smoothly.