"Yes, do you have something today?"
"Not really."
Shirley shook her head.
Normally, an adventurer wouldn’t have the honor of inviting her, after all, after-work time is her personal time, but Gauss’s invitation was different.
"You and me?"
"Also Aaliyah and Ying."
"Alright, let’s meet at the entrance after work then."
After confirming the location, Gauss left the guild.
They headed home.
When he got home, Gauss quickly skimmed through the two spells he just acquired.
There wasn’t enough time today to learn them.
But he could familiarize himself with them first.
The Confusion Skill’s spell model was almost the most complex magic he had encountered so far, possibly because its effects involved the realms of brain and mental attacks.
The difficulty of the Changing Clothes Magic wasn’t too high; he should be able to fully grasp it after another couple of hours.
The magic he knew was growing, and his speed of learning new magic was also increasing.
He seemed to be becoming a grand library of magic.
He believed that even those casters many levels above him couldn’t match the number he had.
Close to the appointed time, Gauss tidied up and left home with Aaliyah and Ying.
Gauss left wearing a men’s suit.
Ever since he knew about the Changing Clothes Magic, he had purchased many sets of clothing, including daily wear, pajamas, formal suits, and fighting inner linings.
...
Firefly’s Private Kitchen.
"Sorry, we’re not open to the public today."
In front of the store, the owner was explaining the situation and apologizing to the visiting customers.
This wasn’t the first time she had to send guests away tonight.
A new waiter was so curious about the situation that he couldn’t help but ask the senior staff for information.
"Do we have a distinguished guest today?"
"Heard someone made a reservation in advance," the senior staff member whispered. "Don’t ask further, the boss said not to pry."
"Alright."
Soon, the hallway returned to silence.
After waiting patiently for a while, voices suddenly started outside.
The waitstaff immediately readied themselves.
"It’s been a while since I’ve been here."
Gauss entered with his group, feeling a bit nostalgic.
"No customers today?"
He noticed that the upscale restaurant, which usually had good business, seemed empty, and asked curiously.
He had only booked a private room, not the entire place.
"Maybe the cold weather is keeping everyone from going out to eat."
The mature and voluptuous lady owner said with a smile.
The waitstaff inside the restaurant, hearing the commotion outside, were all speculating about the guest’s identity.
Understandably, since this unassuming little shop, due to its high-end positioning and the owner’s rumored past as an outstanding adventurer, often served significant figures from the town. But they’d never seen the owner this enthusiastic before.
The door was slowly pushed open.
It wasn’t until the owner of the voice entered the hallway and the staff saw the visitor’s face that their questions were answered.
It was him.
This was a figure almost everyone in town knew.
"Welcome!"
Seeing the staff bowing and greeting, Gauss quickly grasped the situation: the owner’s weather excuse was just a front, she had most likely cleared the venue to welcome him.
"Thanks for your effort."
Gauss was a bit helpless.
The reason he didn’t host Shirley at Sofia’s inn and restaurant was his reputation and connection with Abelhard meant she would be taken care of without needing special introductions.
That’s why he chose a restaurant he frequented to try and keep things low-key.
Unexpectedly, plans went awry.
In the private room.
The menu included many specialty dishes.
Gauss selected some dishes made from demon beast ingredients.
Of course, these had gone through multiple processes to become edible ingredients and were not some kind of dark cuisine.
While enjoying the meal, Gauss started the evening’s discussion.
"President Shirley, do you happen to recognize this family crest?"
Gauss described the coat of arms on the flag of the caravan that took his disciple, Rhine.
Since returning to Gray Rock Town for so many days, he had inquired with some scholars who studied noble heraldic symbols but gained no useful information.
This matter was more complicated than expected.
On one hand, it involved foreign nobility, and on the other, the information was quite vague, only describing a paw print with no specific design.
As expected, Shirley shook her head hearing his description.
"However, I can use the Guild’s channels to inquire for you."
"I’ll pass on any information I get."
Gauss nodded, acknowledging this was the best they could do.
He found this matter puzzling; any family able to boldly conduct cross-country pickup wouldn’t be a minor power, yet none of the renowned grand families matched the given description.
Or perhaps the flag they used was purely to mislead?
He provided additional details on Goat Village’s location and roughly when Rhine was taken.
"I heard, President Shirley, you were once part of the Thorn Heart Adventurer Group?"
Gauss shifted the topic to tonight’s main subject.
The Thorn Heart Adventurer Group was one of the strongest groups active near the forest city of Barry.
"It’s true,"
Shirley took a sip of her drink and nodded.
She hadn’t actively hidden this; before becoming the vice president of the Gray Rock Town Adventurer’s Guild, she was part of Thorn Heart as an adventurer.
"My mother is the leader of the Thorn Heart Adventurer Group."
Shirley added this fact.
This was something not many people knew.
Gauss’s expression showed understanding.
Though Shirley was older than him, he estimated her to be about thirty.
For someone her age to break through to become a Master Level Warlock was evidently no small feat.
Especially for a Warlock, whose kind often inherited bloodline powers, there usually was an underlying foundation for strength.
If her mother led a well-known adventure group, all of this made sense.
The forest city of Barry was a renowned major city, establishing a towering adventure group there; her mother must be an Extraordinary Level powerhouse.
But it was unexpected that under such favorable conditions, Shirley would leave her family business to join the ranks of guild employees, choosing a place like Gray Rock Town.
Even though Gray Rock Town was remote, being near the Jade Forest’s border made it always at risk of war, something foreseeable long ago.
If not for Gauss being in charge, it’s uncertain whether Gray Rock Town would face the same fate as Black Water Town.
But Gauss didn’t ask further.
"Would you like me to introduce you?" Shirley thought he wanted to form some connection with Thorn Heart or perhaps join them, so she offered.
Although she left the group for some time, she maintained communication channels.
"No, no."
Seeing she misunderstood his intent, Gauss waved his hand.
"I wanted to inquire if President Shirley could advise on the process and formalities of establishing an adventure group."
He had thought Shirley was just a key member of Thorn Heart, not its heir.
He had asked the right person indeed.
"Oh, oh." Shirley nodded, feeling a bit let down.
If Gauss, this absolute potential stock, joined her mother’s Thorn Heart, it would have been a great joy for her family.
But she quickly shook off the faint feeling.
"Like adventurer squads, an adventure group needs to register with the Adventurer’s Guild."
"Of course, if it’s a wild group, it doesn’t have these formalities."
"But wild groups risk being investigated by the guild."
Gauss nodded.
It was like opening a store; even small-scale adventurer squads needed guild oversight, so it made sense for larger adventure groups.
Who knew if they weren’t using the adventure group banner to commit some wrongdoing?
Gauss felt it was time to expand his team.
He needed help with processing the spoils and other daily arrangements.
"But guilds in towns like Gray Rock Town don’t have the authority to register adventure groups," Shirley spread her hands, first cautioning.
If every small town could register adventure groups, they’d be everywhere, especially since those groups often operated around large cities, clearly not coincidental.
"Understood." Gauss pondered.
This wasn’t a problem; in a while, when Abelhard and Serdur complete their "cultivation," they’d pass through a big city.
Whether it was west to the Coral Triad, north to Farlim, or east to the forest city of Barry, they should all have the authority to register adventure groups.
And they could settle family members in these safer large cities.