Gauss thought he would make some other request, and he was mentally prepared for it.
But to his utter surprise, he heard an unrelated inquiry.
It was a bit like a yes or no? A question with the beauty of or.
So, for a moment, he was stunned.
The half-snake man, seeing that he hadn’t answered for a long time, had a fleeting look of disappointment on his face, but quickly hid it, and said nonchalantly.
"I’m sorry to intrude. If it’s difficult, then..."
"No no... it’s just that we still have other team members, so I need to consult her opinion."
Seeing the other party about to leave, Gauss quickly called out.
With the half-snake man’s speed, he might have gone far if he had hesitated.
However, Gauss was indeed a bit surprised by the half-snake man’s request to join the team.
A visible 3-star badge professional, and a priest similar to a clergy profession, couldn’t find a fixed team? This really puzzled him.
But this confusion only lingered in his heart for a moment, as he didn’t become suspicious of the half-snake man.
Before today, although they had only interacted three times, he could already sense that the other party had a decent personality.
The first time was at the inn, where the innkeeper’s refusal was blatantly obvious, offering excuses to prevent him from staying. He didn’t show a hint of anger at any time, just silently left.
The second time was on the first floor of the maze; against a hostile group of adventurers, when he had a clear advantage, he didn’t kill them but only taught them a lesson before letting them go.
Even the bracelet that caused a dispute in the end was given to him, who had only been watching the whole time without intervening.
The final third time was after he had passed out.
This was also the instance that most revealed a person’s moral character.
Faced with the unconscious and defenceless Gauss, he could easily have killed him and looted all his possessions, gaining at least three-digit gold coins worth of spoils.
After all, the death of a Level 2 Professional in the maze wouldn’t cause any ripples; apart from Aaliyah being saddened, no one else would be concerned about Gauss’s death in the maze.
But judging from the outcome, Gauss was unharmed, without losing a single bit of his belongings.
To many wily bottom adventurers, this was already a saintly level of morality.
As for whether it was possible that Aaliyah was nearby, and he wanted to commit a crime but didn’t get the chance.
That’s even more nonsense.
A Professional of at least Level 3, himself a half-snake man with keen perception, as long as he didn’t want to be discovered, he had a thousand ways to avoid Aaliyah in advance.
Gauss even suspected that he might have been the one to actively seek out Aaliyah.
The reason for subsequently leaving the maze with Aaliyah and returning to Barry might also be that he didn’t trust a Level 1 little druid to handle a comatose teammate without encountering ill-willed adventurers posing danger, so he accompanied them the entire way.
The numerous interactions left Gauss with an excellent impression.
The only point of suspicion was why he was being so kind to him, to the extent that it seemed excessive.
He didn’t believe that any half-snake man adventurer would treat all other human adventurers this way; otherwise, he wouldn’t have time for anything else, as he would spend most of his time just being an ambassador of goodwill, helping others altruistically.
He could only understand it as some of his actions had earned the other party’s approval?
"Actually, my teammate Aaliyah is here now, but she’s busy with something else. Would you mind coming with me later to ask her opinion?"
Although Aaliyah mostly followed his opinions recently, apart from following medical advice to control his diet, the matter of adding a team member was not one he could decide on his own.
"Makes sense." The half-snake man quietly let out a breath. "My name is Serdur, and you don’t have to introduce yourself. I know you, Gauss."
The half-snake man Serdur extended his hand proactively.
"Hello, Serdur."
Gauss shook hands with him.
"So we’ll meet back here in two hours, right at noon?"
The time he and Aaliyah had agreed to meet up was in two hours.
"Okay, see you in two hours." Serdur waved to Gauss and then swiftly glided away.
Gauss clutched the card and walked toward his training room.
Gliding a distance away, Serdur was still pondering the recent encounter with Gauss.
He still felt a bit unbelievable.
How had his usually calm self suddenly felt an impulse, prompting him to make a request to join a team?
He was fully prepared to become a lone adventurer.
But since he had already said it, he didn’t dwell on it excessively.
Now that he thought carefully.
It wasn’t entirely due to the faint companion aura emanating from Gauss.
If that were the case, he would have teamed up with other half-snake men of his race.
Aside from Gauss’s eyes showing nothing unusual the first time they met.
The more significant factors might have stemmed from seeing the mutual trust between Gauss and the druid lady, which he envied greatly.
Especially upon learning from the druid lady that Gauss had fallen into a coma trying to protect his teammates by holding off danger; it increased his impression of Gauss.
In the end, while he shied away from contact with strangers, he still yearned for a trusting, stable team relationship.