The female blacksmith pursed her lips, her cheeks, already reddened from long exposure to the furnace, turned even more rosy.
The angry expression she had originally worn quickly disappeared.
In this brief moment, it felt like a long time had passed.
She even forgot to breathe.
"Hiss..."
That was close...
She nearly made a fool of herself.
The female blacksmith regained her composure and quickly adjusted her expression.
Gauss exchanged a glance with her.
He wondered if it was an illusion.
Gauss even seemed to see what looked like wisps of smoke rising from the top of her head.
"You... hello, my name is Sif Albena."
Gauss found it a little odd that she’d been staring at him so intently.
Why was that?
Because the woman’s strong physique combined with her current bashful demeanor gave him an intense sense of contradiction.
Beside him, Jon smirked, showing a ’just as expected’ expression.
He had anticipated this scene.
Blacksmith Albena—anyone who gets to know her a little knows her personality.
Underneath her tough exterior lies the heart of an admirer of good looks.
In Jon’s view, based solely on appearance, Gauss is almost the best-looking man he’s ever seen.
To Albena, he undoubtedly possesses a remarkable allure and special appeal.
"Hello, I’m Gauss. These are my companions, Aaliyah, Seran..."
Gauss instinctively took a half-step back while introducing his companions.
Previously, he thought the president of the Sen City East District Branch, Rachel, was the strongest woman he had seen, but now this title would certainly change hands.
Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean Albena is stronger than Rachel in terms of ability; she just has a more impressive build.
Gauss even speculated that Albena might have some special lineage; her physique is beyond what a normal person can achieve through mere sweat.
A pure physical powerhouse.
Gauss also rarely felt a sense of oppression next to her.
Standing a little further away, his body instinctively felt more at ease.
He understood; this was his body telling him that the creature before him could pose a threat within close range.
"Hehe, hello, Lord Gauss, and greetings to all of you." Albena nodded towards the group and spoke with a gentle tone.
Had Jon not had his earlier interlude with her, Aaliyah and the others might think she was just a gentle giant.
But now, thanks to the preconceived first impression, everything seemed exceedingly awkward.
"Just call me Gauss," Gauss suggested after hesitating for a moment, noticing her strained voice. "Why don’t you use your own voice?"
The voice she managed was not unpleasant; it had the alluring note of a mature woman.
"Lord Gauss jokes; this is my original voice," Sif Albena said with a smile.
She glanced at Jon, who was secretly laughing to himself, and her eyes instantly turned sharp.
Blame that middle-aged man for the bad impression she left on Lord Gauss.
From the first glance at Gauss, she knew he was the man she wanted to follow for the rest of her life.
Gauss didn’t say much more since she had said so.
As far as team formation is concerned, Albena in front of him was considered an excellent teammate.
Simply by being able to pose a threat to him, which is itself proof of competence.
Notice, for example, the head of the local Adventurer’s Guild, Gauss couldn’t sense any similar danger from him.
It was unmistakably clear who was superior.
Moreover, in terms of positioning.
Albena could fill the current gap in Gauss’s team—the need for a pure frontline tank.
Her presence offered a strong sense of security.
Gauss felt that with her at the front, he could comfortably remain in the rear guard as a pure mage with the support of his teammates.
But, does she have the time to join this quest?
Even though she didn’t wear an Adventurer’s Badge symbolizing her strength, her adventurer level was at least Grade 6; her raw combat prowess surpassed even that.
However, she seemed very busy.
Though she seemed to express an extremely favorable attitude toward him when Jon asked her if she wanted to temporarily join a team, she immediately refused.
Gauss glanced at the blacksmith shop behind her.
"Albena, I’ll get straight to the point."
"Lord Gauss, please go ahead."
"..."
"We currently have a commission involving thousands of monsters and are looking for suitable teammates. But it appears your iron shop is quite busy? If you can’t spare the time, we won’t interrupt your work."
Gauss has always been straightforward.
Though he felt she was overly attentive toward him, business is business.
"Not busy, not busy at all. Lord Gauss, I’ve been wanting to stretch my muscles lately. If you don’t mind, I’d be happy to contribute to your quest."
Albena quickly shook her head, flatly denying.
It was as if a minute ago when she unequivocally refused Jon, those words had never come from her mouth.
Aaliyah and the others exchanged glances.
The speed of that agreement seemed a bit too fast.
"Shall we find a place to chat?"
"Alright, just give me a moment." Albena turned and headed towards the iron shop; soon, there were the crackling sounds of fire being extinguished and a series of tinkling and clanging metal collisions.
Before long, Albena came back out of the iron shop.
She was now wearing a set of cold and hard refined steel armor.