Haylir circled around Gauss twice.
Amazed in her heart.
She had encountered people who had changed a lot before, but those occasions spanned years.
A cheerful childhood playmate who became reserved and dull due to social status differences upon growing up—she had experienced such things firsthand.
But those were because a decade had passed, plus being in adolescent development, so such big changes were natural.
But Gauss?
It had been less than a year since they last parted.
Now, both in appearance and aura, even his strength was completely renewed.
Yes, despite Gauss coming in wearing plain day-to-day clothes, Haylir still sensed an aura of intimidation unique to a Professional from him.
The difference in life essence couldn’t be concealed by clothing.
Especially since Haylir often interacted with some Professionals and was more familiar with that aura.
Her movements became slightly more reserved.
"Ga... Gauss, and who might this be?" Haylir looked at the tall Half-Snake Man beside Gauss.
Unlike an ordinary city shop owner, her insight wouldn’t let her view this Half-Snake Man as merely a monster.
"This is my current teammate, Serdur."
"Hello, I’m Haylir, Gauss’s... former teammate." Mentioning her identity, Haylir couldn’t help but feel a little awkward.
To call her an Adventurer was certainly not appropriate; in truth, she was just a whimsical runaway adventure enthusiast.
Having only gone through one utterly ordinary goblin commission, she was a commoner disillusioned by reality.
"Hello." Serdur nodded.
He neither displayed arrogance nor excessive enthusiasm.
This wasn’t due to looking down on Haylir’s identity.
It’s just that he had this attitude towards most people, especially strangers.
His snake-like facial features also made it hard to accurately express too many emotions.
So when facing strangers, he usually wouldn’t show much emotion unless he couldn’t help it.
"Shall we go upstairs to talk?"
Gauss and Serdur went up to the second floor via the stairs.
Haylir’s office was located there.
Besides her, there were some clerks in the hall.
Upon seeing her lead two individuals up, they quickly lowered their heads. It wasn’t until the group entered the office that they started whispering out of curiosity.
"What would you like to drink?" Haylir’s office wasn’t lavishly decorated, but it was tidy and had many cultural ornaments, showing it was arranged with care.
"Tea is fine."
"The same for me."
The three of them took their seats.
Gauss took the initiative to speak.
"How have you been lately?" His eyes swept around the surroundings. "Haylir, you must have taken over the family business by now, right?"
Even now, he could almost remember the anticipation on the young girl’s face when she talked about her future as an adventurer before her first adventure.
Such emotions can’t be faked.
"Yes." Haylir sighed. "After that incident, I found that I wasn’t suited to being an adventurer."
After saying this, she exhaled a long breath, a look of relief appearing on her face.
"Continuing in adventuring would only bring danger to me and could drag down my companions. This stable life now, apart from being a bit dull, is quite good, hahaha."
Gauss’ gaze lingered momentarily on her smile.
His lips moved slightly before he eventually nodded.
"Yes, adventurers just scrabble about to earn a living, unlike you running a business which is much more respectable."
"Stop it." Haylir waved her hand dismissively.
After chatting with Gauss for a bit, she gradually let go of the initial restraint.
The Gauss in front of her, although transformed in looks and demeanor, still felt like the boy who made her feel comfortable.
Unconsciously, she relaxed.
"You’ve become a Professional Mage, right? And still acting low-key!"
A smile bloomed on her lips.
Facing her former teammate, she felt no need to don the mask of a businessperson, and her smile became more genuine.
"You figured it out?" Gauss had thought he’d conceal some of it by taking off the mage’s robe.
Never expected to be seen through immediately by Haylir.
"Of course, here, have some tea. This is green tea from Tibet Manor, give it a try." Haylir handed over two cups of tea. "Truth be told, you’re not a Level 1 Professional, are you?"
She had interacted with a few Level 1 Professionals, but their aura wasn’t as oppressive as Gauss’s.
"Heh, not really much different, just recently broke through to Level 2..." Gauss fibbed a little.
For his rate of advancement, it truly wasn’t so recent.
"Gauss, you’re just too amazing, it hasn’t even been a year." Haylir exclaimed. "My instincts back then were spot on, I knew you’d become an extraordinary adventurer someday."
"Not quite there yet."
"Level 2 isn’t far? And if it’s a few years later when you come again, I might really find it daunting to casually chat with you like this." Haylir said with a wry smile.
Level 2 Professionals may not seem high, but for most ordinary people, even in Barry City, they’re well-known figures.
The assets they have, an average family would never hope to possess in a lifetime.
And is Gauss simply a Level 2 Professional?
For other Professionals of the same level, perhaps Level 2 is their ceiling, but Gauss was only limited because he’d formally ventured into the professional field for a short time.