Frostfire Legacy

She was one of the two famous solo explorers of the second floor! The talk of the guild—the one who was going around destroying flirty men\'s family jewels!

Remembering her as such, Kali\'s expression changed as soon as she heard her name.

"Hey, weakling! Adding her to our party? Are you insane?!" She exclaimed while pulling Aster\'s collar. "She\'s a loose cannon! Do you know how many adventurers she destroyed?!"

Aster didn\'t flinch at all, despite having difficulty breathing with his neck tightened.

"Well, she survived a few of your attacks head-on. She\'s tough and a great fit for a tank." He explained it logically. "Furthermore, I think she fits the same requirements we put in place when we recruited you, Kali."

"Fit? You think this insane bitch knows how to follow commands?!"

Kali didn\'t stop with just that, of course. After all, it was Aster\'s safety that was being threatened by her presence. To be specific, his family jewels were in danger!

"What about you, Cassy?" Aster turned to the other one, who was scanning Celestinya from head to toe as if judging her. "You think she\'d be a good addition to our team?"

Cassy continued her observation for a while before nodding.

"I don\'t see any reason to refuse. We can see for a week before judging if we can trust her or not!" She added with a smile.

"Then that\'s 2-1 in favor of letting her join." Aster grinned at Kali, implying that the majority had drowned out her voice, before turning to Celestinya again. "So? What do you think about it?"

"..."

Of course, the actual decision still lies with her. Whether to join or not is her choice. Kali glared at her as if telling her not to dare join with a silent threat, while Cassy was simply smiling, her intentions completely invisible—or, more like, she was simply not thinking about anything in particular.

Celestinya walked out of the corner, standing before Aster with a frown. She stayed silent for a few seconds before opening her mouth and speaking in a soft, almost inaudible voice.

"Well, you did save me from that assassin... I\'ll join your party for a week and repay that debt. After that, we\'re even!"

Aster nodded his head, saying, "That\'s fine," before extending a hand forward and offering to shake hands. "Then, welcome to the team!"

She took his hand, shaking it firmly, and responded with the same frown but slightly blushing cheeks. "Hmm." She hummed.

"Argh... I just pray this decision doesn\'t come to bite your ass later, Aster." Kali exaggeratedly grumbled before walking out of the tent.

Of course, the only reason Aster pushed the matter forcefully, ignoring Kali\'s concerns, was because he knew that she wouldn\'t leave just because of it. She couldn\'t leave the party on her own accord because Magnus had sent her there!

"Well, first, let\'s do some introductions. I\'m Aster Mistral, the leader of this party. I\'m currently level 4, Jobless." He spoke fluently, as if he had practiced his lines many times beforehand. "And the one who just went out is Kali Norma; her job is Assassin."

After introducing himself and the other person who had already left the premises, he then turned to the last one and nodded, urging her to continue.

"And I\'m Cassandra Bright! My job is Healer Level 4, but I fight melee too! Nice to meet you~!"

"... Celestinya Zirroth. A Monk. Level 4."

"A Monk?! That means you can heal too! That\'s nice~!"

"..."

Despite Cassy\'s conversing with her, she remained quiet. Rather than being shy, it looked more like Celestinya was indifferent. The gaze she was pointing to Cassy was flat, without a hint of emotion on them, as if she were ignoring her existence altogether.

After watching how their talk slowly died out, Aster quickly suggested going to the guild first and finishing the party registration. Outside the tent, Kali was obediently waiting for them. Of course, she didn\'t head to the dungeon alone, not wanting a repeat of what happened last time with the kidnappers on the first floor.

As they regrouped, the four started walking back to the Adventurer\'s Guild, with Aster at the lead, Celestinya a step behind him, Cassy diagonally behind her, and Kali trailing at the back with quite a distance between them, still in the middle of her silent protest.

It was a strained moment, with the air almost frozen between the three girls. Despite Cassy\'s attempts at trying to make Celestinya talk, she kept answering in brief words, showing that she was absolutely not interested in chatting.

When they arrived at the guild, the reaction was even more exaggerated, however.

"H-Hiiik! R-Run...!"

"It\'s that crazy cat! Everyone, don\'t come close to her! Remember the drill!"

"*Gurgle!* *Gurgle!* *Gurgle!*"

Most of the guys started to run in panic, while some stood their ground but maintained their distance. A few quickly fell to the ground, their mouths bubbling along with seizures, showing signs of deep trauma.

Kali stared at the guys derisively, muttering "Pathetic." under her breath. Cassy seemed worried about those who had fallen to the ground, so Aster nodded to her, signaling that she was allowed to do what she wanted.

As he expected, Cassy slipped away and went to the fainted ones, grouping them together before casting an area heal over them. With that, their fits subsided, but their consciousness didn\'t return just yet.

Aster ignored all of that and went to Zena, who seemed to be always free for some reason and asked. "Can we add someone to our party?"

"Hmm? Oh, another girl? Your hands are fast, huh~?" Zena teased immediately, as if it were second nature to her.

Of course, she stopped right when Aster reached for his pockets, knowing that he, too, possessed a powerful card that works well against her—the HR hotline!

"Party addition, is it? Then, please fill up this form and give me your and the card of the one being added."

The random guys who remained, listening to his words as if eavesdropping, gasped in shock after realizing what he said.

"He\'s partying with that Lineage Breaker?!"

"God! I wish I had balls of steel like he does!"

"Heh, he\'ll be losing it soon, anyway, just like those fainted guys over there. Hehe."

Aster let out a deep sigh, wondering what the hell those guys were saying. Of course, he wouldn\'t risk losing his only bargaining chip against Mayor Magnus! His Master Plan was still shrouded in mystery, but it was slowly reaching fruition.