Soon enough, the dwarf shopkeeper returned from the back, bringing with him two sets of clothes and armor.
"This ere's fer ya, lad. This one's fer the lil miss." He explained while passing the items.
With just one glance, the two liked what the dwarf picked. The color sche of the selected set remained basically the sa as what they already had.
Cassy has black-and-white-based body armor with silver-colored carbon-fiber-reinforced pieces protecting her vital organs. A white robe was used to hide it all, creating a unified and "clean" appearance.
Aster, on the other hand, was given an all-black outfit, creating quite a contrast to his dirty-white scarf. A black windbreaker with a hood, along with six-pocket pants and boots.
As a weapon, Cassy got a more proper-looking knife, one with a fine blade. Aster had sothing more: an upgrade of his rusty sword, along with an extra sidearm, a 9 mm automatic pistol, and five magazines of ammo, each loaded with 20 shots.
Aster got curious why Cassy didn't get a gun too, but before the dwarf could reply, she already answered.
"My marksmanship grade during the aptitude test was F," she added with an embarrassed smile. "So guns are just a waste on ."
After test-fitting the new garnts and completing the final adjustnts, the two left with their thick wallets becoming thinner in an instant. The 500 thousand they each had before leaving the guild was reduced to only around 50,000 Tels each!
Of course, that's after Cassy "paid" Aster for the money he spent on her during their first shopping for weapons.
Their money was a lot less than before, but still more than enough to last each of them a few days.
As they finished shopping, the two thanked the dwarf shopkeeper before leaving, heading to a nearby restaurant to have a late lunch or early dinner. During their al, Aster decided to discuss an important matter with Cassy.
"A new mber?" She tilted her head, curious.
Aster nodded with a serious expression, further explaining his thoughts.
"Although we could continue exploring with just the two of us, it's really hard when only one of us can watch over the surroundings."
Today, if they weren't too focused on slis, they might have avoided such a close encounter with death. It did turn into a blessing afterward, but Aster wouldn't bet on having another bout of luck like that. If the sa thing happened next ti, he's confident they'd lose their lives for real.
"A new ally, huh?" Cassy muttered. "Then, a frontline fighter would be good—one that could also do enemy detection like !"
"..."
Aster was surprised. He thought Cassy would refuse to have another mber added to their party. Hearing her answer now, it seed she was even willing to support the idea!
After the two were on the sa page, they discussed their requirents in detail. In the end, they ca up with five criteria for their new party mber:
A lee fighter.
Must have decent detection skills.
Willing to work as a team.
Preferably around the sa age.
A woman.
The last two requirents were added with Cassy's situation in mind.
If they added a new male mber, Cassy, being the only girl in the party and outnumbered, would feel worried about her "safety."
Not everyone was like Aster, who was unable to lay a hand on others. If they added another guy, such worries would be inevitable. But if it's a girl, the story would change. Aster's inability to "harm" them would an the girls in the party would remain safe.
But it would be hard to order her around if she was significantly older than them, so the fourth item was added.
After coming to an agreent, Aster compiled their requirents and sent them to the Request Board, the online platform for adventurers to find party mbers. The sa place where Aster found Cassy's party recruitnt offer before.
Then, after they finished their lunch dinner, the two went their separate ways. Aster returned to his hotel room, planning to rest early.
Cassy, on the other hand, went to rent a room at the cheap but good inn that Aster found. He actually offered for her to stay in his room again to save money, but she refused to crash at his place two days in a row.
The two, respectively, went to rest their tired bodies, unaware of the hands moving behind the scenes.
---
"A new party mber..."
On the top floor of the Mayor's Building, Mayor Magnus held a glass of red wine, watching as its contents swirled. He was reading Aster's party request requirents while contemplating various possibilities.
"If it's this, then... we could send that girl in."
He whispered with a sweet smile before pressing a holographic button nearby. "Soone, call for Kali Norma. Tell her to co to my office ASAP."
After finishing his order, he took a casual sip from his glass and then turned toward the door. "That was fast."
*Knock!* *Knock!*
A soft knock echoed from the door. Mayor Magnus smiled before answering "Enter" in a loud voice.
The door opened with a creak, and a woman entered. She had sharp blue eyes, white hair the color of fresh snow, and, on top of her head, two stiff cat ears standing tall and proud.
"You called, Mayor?" she asked in a cool voice.
Magnus looked at her from head to toe, then humd as if having a hard ti deciding. Without any warning, he asked, "Are you a virgin?"
*BANG!*
A gun, with its barrel still releasing smoke, was suddenly in her hands, aid directly at Mayor Magnus.
"That's dangerous, you know?"
Of course, he wouldn't be a mayor if he were weak. Between his fingers, he caught a small lead bullet. The cat woman clicked her tongue in displeasure before holstering her small revolver.
"The question you asked is nothing but sexual harassnt. I would inform the madam, you crazy bastard." She crossed her arms over her chest in a protective gesture.
"Oh, sorry. Did you misunderstand my question? I wasn't asking because I'm interested." He smiled cheerfully, as if nothing had happened. "Actually, there's a party I want you to join."
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