The next morning, May 6, 4033, at 2 a.m., Aster woke up earlier than usual. Rather than with a purpose, he simply stirred awake without any reason.
"Hngh~!"
After stretching a bit, he moved toward his holo-tablet and checked the Request Board post he put up.
"Huh?" And as soon as he saw his post, he raised a brow. "It's accepted?"
Curious, Aster checked the details of the one who accepted it. However, for whatever reason, the data on the one who accepted it was too limited. Other than name, age, and gender, along with related abilities, nothing else was indicated!
"Kali Norma..." Aster read her name.
She was only a year older than Cassy, at 19 years old, making her fit the recruitment offer perfectly. However, Aster felt that something was wrong. "It's too fast." He mused.
He just posted the recruitment offer last night. And it was just 2 a.m. currently, so that means whoever she was must've checked the board between 3 p.m. and 2 a.m. and accepted it immediately.
It was highly unlikely for a normal adventurer to do so, given their busy schedules.
"Is it perhaps another newbie?" Aster reasoned.
Given the current information he has, that was the only viable conclusion he could draw.
"I should stop speculating and just wait for tomorrow."
He sighed before closing the tab and opening another one, starting to research things he was curious about. He had been hearing a lot of things during the last two days, so he had an extensive list of new curious terms to look for.
Just like that, he wasted a total of three hours simply browsing the internet. He didn't consider it time wasted, however, as knowledge was something that you wouldn't regret having.
"... I should get going soon," Aster muttered.
Their new party member was joining today, so he wanted to give her a positive first impression. Coming early and waiting for her to arrive would definitely be better than letting her wait instead!
After taking a short shower, Aster changed into the new set that the dwarf shopkeeper sold them. Then, he walked out of his room, heading toward the Adventurer's Guild on foot with his head held high but with his dirty-white scarf hiding his face and features from view.
Rather than because he was scared, it was more about retaining a trace of wariness for his surroundings. Although Mayor Magnus already tightened up the defenses around the city, it wouldn't hurt if Aster himself maintained a certain level of protection—basic precautions.
After all, the fact that he's a rare "human" type was more than enough for others to target him, even without them knowing about his 100% human DNA purity.
Pulling his black windbreaker's hood over his head and covering half of his face with the scarf, he continued on his way.
"Oh! Star~!"
And just as he was about to reach the guild, a familiar, energetic voice already called for him. Turning around, Aster saw Cassy running toward him while waving her hand vigorously. She was wearing the clothes they bought yesterday, making her look quite stunning.
"Good morning! You're early today, aren't you?" She greeted him with a smile.
Aster waited until she was right beside him before continuing to walk, smiling lightly in greeting.
"Good morning." He exclaimed. "I received a notification last night about our new member, so I was thinking of coming early and waiting for her, to leave a good first impression at least."
"Great minds think alike," Cassy exclaimed in a cheerful tone. "I was also planning to wait for you in the guild!"
"Well, we do need to head to the dungeon early if we want more earnings." Aster shrugged.
Yesterday, they encountered a mix of luck and unluckiness. Meeting the Field Boss, the Dire Wolf, almost spelled their doom. Successfully hunting the boss was more or less a fluke. With just one misstep, they could've ended up dead.
Of course, they weren't daring enough to attempt another go at the Field Boss. It should've respawned by now, so they need to be wary of its presence even more.
Soon enough, the pair came to the Adventurer's Guild without much trouble. However, as soon as they entered, a grumpy voice echoed from deep within.
"6:11 a.m. Too slow. Both of you are 11 minutes late!"
"Huh?"
"What?"
Aster and Cassy turned to the owner, who seemed to be talking to them, and raised their brows.
Ahead of them stood a tomboyish catgirl, wearing a dark grey tank top under a thick white jacket with an open front. Below, she wore black short hot pants and over-the-knee gray boots. Despite it being pretty "suggestive" attire, she didn't look sexy but "cool" instead.
Her short silver hair, along with the cute cat ears twitching on top of her head and the same colored bushy tail swishing left and right in annoyance, was very eye-catching. However, not a single adventurer from the guild dared to look at her directly. The reason? Her cold blue eyes spoke volumes about how she was in a bad mood.
"..."
Looking to the floor beside her, Aster could see two adventurers "sleeping" peacefully, so he somewhat understood why the other adventurers weren't trying to hit on her.
"Ehhh~? We were early today, weren't we?" Cassy stepped forward, confronting the silver-haired beauty. "You're our new member, I presume? We usually enter the dungeon around seven, so this is still early!"
"You wanna live as an adventurer from hereon, right?" The cat girl asked, raising a brow. "Then you should remember. An adventurer's morning is early. You should be in the guild before 6 a.m.!"
"What's the point? The dungeon entrance only receives challengers from 7 a.m. either way."
"... Stupid rabbit." The woman sighed loudly, ridiculing Cassy.
Cassy's ears flicked up in attention, hearing the low whisper. "W-What? I'm not stupid! Hey, Star, tell me, I'm not stupid, right?"
"Yeah, you're not." Aster nodded his head, smiling faintly. "You're just naive, I think."
"What? Even you?" Cassy pouted, turning around while crossing her arms across her chest. "Hmph! You two are bullying me! I'm not talking to you anymore!"
After paying her a glance, Aster moved forward and extended a hand, greeting the cat girl with a genuine smile.
"You must be Kali Norma? I'm Aster Mistral, the acting leader of this party. You can call me Aster or Star."
"..."
The cat girl, Kali, turned to look at Aster's extended hand and flipped her head in the other direction. "I don't shake hands with someone with a dirty hand."
"Ehh?" Aster exclaimed, checking his hand, but it wasn't dirty in any way.
At that moment, Aster already had a premonition. Their day was just about to get worse.