?
Su Xuan glanced at Liu Xue.
Ever since he mentioned recruiting an Elite-quality Adventurer, Liu Xue had been silent, quietly eating her noodles.
From time to time, she would look up and stare at him with a strange expression, her eyes filled with admiration.
Ahem~
'If Liu Xue found out that I actually recruited an Epic-quality Adventurer, and that there's even a Legendary-quality Adventurer holding down the fort at the Guild now, wouldn't this little lady be green with envy?'
"By the way, there's a hidden objective in that commission. A Fiery Fire Rat leader is hiding in the village granary," Su Xuan kindly reminded her. "The leader is Level 3. If you plan on completing the hidden objective, you'd better make some preparations beforehand."
Although he and Liu Xue weren't close, Sister Ling had taken good care of him, so Su Xuan was naturally willing to help her younger sister a bit.
"Oh, thank you for the reminder."
Liu Xue replied softly.
Her eyes shifted; she believed Su Xuan's words without a doubt.
'Hating lucky dogs with a passion and accepting a lucky dog's kindness are two different things. She could tell the difference.'
"Su Xuan, I've sent today's pay to your WeChat. Go ahead and accept it."
Just then, Liu Ling finished cleaning the back kitchen and walked over with a warm smile. Business had been exceptionally brisk today, so they had used up almost all their ingredients and didn't need to stay open for the evening.
Su Xuan opened WeChat. 300 yuan was waiting for him to accept.
"Thanks, Sister Ling."
"Don't mention it. See you tomorrow at 6 a.m. I'll have breakfast ready for you."
"Okay."
"I'm heading out then. See you tomorrow!"
Su Xuan wiped his mouth, stood up, and left Liu Ling's noodle shop.
...
After getting off work, Su Xuan didn't go straight home.
First, he went to the supermarket to buy some food and daily necessities.
Then, he went to a fruit stand to buy some fresh fruit.
Even so, he still had 230 yuan left from his 300-yuan pay. He couldn't spend it all!
After finishing his shopping, Su Xuan hurried home.
He put the fruit and food in the refrigerator, then put on his VR headset and entered the game world.
When Su Xuan arrived at the Guild, Ivsha was already there waiting, as usual. Even though Su Xuan had made a point of arriving an hour early today, Ivsha had still gotten to the Guild before him.
And Rosaline had been in the Guild the whole time, fiddling with that puzzle.
"Good morning, Mr. Su Xuan~"
Seeing Su Xuan arrive, Ivsha immediately stood up to greet him.
A smile graced her gorgeous face. Was something making her happy?
"In a good mood today?" Su Xuan asked curiously.
"Mhm, Sister Kelly and the others found a young Baron. He's willing to pay a sum of money to help the church through its crisis," Ivsha explained.
"Is that so? Well, that's good news."
Su Xuan smiled faintly at her words.
'But inside, he was deeply puzzled. If the church's crisis is resolved, the character quest should have changed, logically speaking.'
But he hadn't received any notification.
"Perhaps it really is a good thing, but for some reason, the way that Baron looked at me felt... off..." Ivsha's smile gradually faded, replaced by a hint of worry.
Although she was grateful to the Baron for resolving the church's crisis, his gaze gave her a strange sense of foreboding, as if he were hiding some ulterior motive.
"Is that so?"
Hearing this, a cold glint flashed in Su Xuan's eyes.
'If that man's kindness is built on some other motive, especially one that could harm Ivsha, I won't allow it!'
"Maybe I'm just overthinking it. Sister Kelly said that the Baron is also an up-and-coming Law Enforcement Knight. I hope he can abide by the righteous heart of a Law Enforcement Knight," Ivsha said softly.
"As for his character, won't we find out if we go meet him in a couple of days?" Su Xuan suggested. "It's perfect, actually. I've been wanting to see your church anyway."
"Are you really going to the church? That's wonderful! I've been telling Sister Kelly all about you. She's been wanting to meet you for a while!" Ivsha said to Su Xuan excitedly. Her eyes sparkled, and she seemed very eager for Su Xuan to meet Sister Kelly.
"What did you tell Sister Kelly about me?"
Su Xuan raised an eyebrow, asking in confusion.
"Well..."
Ivsha's voice trailed off. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks as she said shyly, "I told her... you're the person I admire most!"
After speaking, she raised her head, her clear, bright eyes staring intently into Su Xuan's, her gaze mixed with a greedy sort of affection.
"Ahem!"
Su Xuan quickly averted his gaze.
'There's no way what Ivsha feels is just admiration!'
"Mr. Su Xuan, your face is red. Are you shy?"
"It's just hot in here. A red face is normal."
"Is... is that so?"
"Alright, it's time to get to our commissions. Once we finish the commission in Sunset City tomorrow, we'll go back to the church together," Su Xuan said coolly.
"Mm~"
Su Xuan couldn't go to Ivsha's church today because he already had an appointment with Lady Natasha. Although the appointment was at two in the afternoon, Ivsha's character quest was extremely important. He needed to be fully prepared to ensure it went smoothly, rather than rushing into it.
At the very least, he needed to be ready to pull an all-nighter!
So, he decided that today's schedule would be to take care of two relatively simple commissions first, and then head to Sunset City.
Commission II (F+): Collect Lava Ore (0/10)
Reward: 3 Silver Coins, 300 EXP
Commission III (F+): Defeat Flame Puppets (0/3)
Reward: 5 Silver Coins, 500 EXP
'Two quests in a flame-themed area?'
Su Xuan frowned, a bad feeling creeping over him.
But he still decided to tackle these two commissions first, since they were on the same map and would be relatively quick.
As he was about to step into the Teleportation Gate, he suddenly paused, as if he had remembered something important.
He turned his head, looked at Rosaline, and called out to her, "Stop playing with the puzzle! It's time to get to work!"
Rosaline froze on the spot at Su Xuan's command. Her bony finger hovered in mid-air, never landing.
After a few seconds of hesitation, she decided to put the puzzle piece back in the pile.
Then, she stood up and followed Su Xuan.
「Several hours later...」
As the Teleportation Array flashed with white light, Su Xuan, Ivsha, and Rosaline reappeared in the Guild.
However, they weren't in great shape. Su Xuan's clothes were scorched and tattered, leaving him looking quite disheveled. Ivsha wasn't much better off. Her Nun's Habit had been torn open again from using her wings, and with the additional fire damage, it was so wrecked that she would need a new one.
The only exception was Rosaline. Her immunity to Elemental Magic, combined with the special material of her Platinum Armor, left her completely unscathed!
"So this is a flame-themed area? What a freaking nightmare!"
Su Xuan complained.
Both commissions took place in a flame-themed area, and sudden eruptions of fire had caught Su Xuan completely off guard, leading to their current state.
This mission also made him realize just how precious a Flame Gemstone was!
Luckily, the two commissions were relatively simple. The Level 5 Flame Puppets were taken down by Rosaline in two hits each, so there was no real difficulty to speak of.
The only loss was a couple of outfits.
Su Xuan turned to look at Ivsha beside him, seeing small patches of her snow-white skin revealed where her Nun's Habit had been burned away by the flames.
Although no private areas were exposed, constantly having to patch it up after she spread her Demon's Wings was always a hassle.
Su Xuan felt he should buy Ivsha a dedicated combat outfit. After all, he had to protect Ivsha. 'How could I let other people get a look at the 'waifu' I pulled?'
"Ivsha, you go take a bath first. I'll buy you a new style of Nun's Habit," Su Xuan instructed, telling her to go get cleaned up.
Ivsha glanced at the clock, then at Su Xuan's state, and softly suggested, "Mr. Su Xuan, there's only an hour left before our appointment with Lady Natasha. Time is tight! Why don't we... wash up together?"
Her voice was a little shy, but her eyes revealed a hint of delight, as if she had found another perfect opportunity!