Aster turned toward the voice and quickly remembered who she was. Although they weren't close in any way, it would be rude to just ignore her, so he stood up and bowed lightly, like a gentleman greeting a lady.
"Miss Octavia, right? It's nice to meet you again."
"Hehe, I was actually looking for you, but Zenearith refused to give me your contact." She chuckled while flying around Aster, like a playful cherub. "Anyway, what's your name again?"
*Arf!*
Before he could answer, a little puppy howled at Octavia, causing her to stop in place.
"This is...?" she mumbled, staring at Argus, who stared right back at her.
Her eyes suddenly changed colors, shifting from pale blue to a golden yellow, as arcs of lightning started wrapping around her entire body. Argus, as if in response, did the same. His body became covered in sparks, but instead of the usual golden hue, they were red!
"...!"
In an instant, Octavia moved with a flash so fast that Aster couldn't even follow her with his eyes! "Argus!"
"Woah~! What a fluffy creature~! Is this your pet? Other than birds, it's rare to see pets who don't fear me, as I always exude faint electric currents from my feathers~!"
But nothing of what Aster had imagined happened. Instead, Octavia lifted Argus and began fluffing him like crazy! The little pup wasn't reluctant either, clearly enjoying the soft attention he was receiving.
"So you're Argus, little cutie~? Kid, what's your name?!" she asked again, a little excitedly. "Can I have this guy~? I'll pay however much it costs!"
"He's not for sale," Kali commented, pulling the little dog out of Octavia's grasp.
She hugged the little doggy before backing up to Cassy's side once more. Aster watched this and smiled wryly, before explaining, "Sorry, Miss Octavia, but Argus is my partner. I can't give him to you. And my name's Aster Mistral, by the way."
"Aster Mistral... Alright, I got it~! It's too bad the doggy isn't for sale though..." Octavia sighed, then let out a short gasp. "Oh no, I forgot I have a meeting! I gotta go! See you later, Aster~!"
After finishing her words, her figure flashed with a powerful burst of lightning, making everyone close their eyes for a moment. When they recovered their vision, they saw that Octavia was already gone.
"I wonder what she came here for?" Aster sighed as he sat down.
Cassy and Kali played with Argus as they waited, and just as the clock struck six, Liz arrived. "Oh, Aster. You look dashing today," she complimented while staring at him from head to toe.
"Star, what's going on? When did you get so rich?" Cassy asked, surprised.
Even Kali was skeptical, narrowing her eyes as she stared at him. "Leader, did you sell your body or something?"
"I doubt I'd get this much from selling my body..." Aster started but quickly corrected himself. "No, that might be possible, given my circumstances... Anyway, this money is mostly from bounties. I caught them on the 30th floor, so it's worth quite a bit!"
The girls seemed reluctant to accept such a large sum, but Aster persuaded them quickly. "Buy things you think we'd need—enough to last five days, even if we're stuck alone on a random floor."
"..."
Since they'd already experienced something like that before, it didn't take much convincing. The four of them discussed what supplies they'd need and everything else, spending another 30 minutes waiting.
"Darling~!"
And finally, Tina arrived.
Unlike her usual attire, which was optimized for ease of movement, she was dressed in a beautiful navy blue balloon dress. The design emphasized her cleavage, and the fabric clung tightly to her curves. Naturally, the sight of someone wearing such formal clothes inside the guild made her stand out.
"Tina?" Aster stood up. "You look gorgeous today. I guess I made the right choice to dress up a little."
"No matter the clothes, Darling is the most handsome guy in the world~!"
Tina exclaimed while wrapping her arms—clothed in the same navy blue, elbow-length gloves—around him and tugged him toward her.
"Let's go, shall we? My father's already waiting~!"
"Ah, alright..."
Kali glared at Tina but couldn't interfere today. She had already received direct orders from the mayor regarding this matter, after all. The three girls waved goodbye to Aster and Tina, who walked out with hurried steps.
Following Tina's lead, Aster got into a limousine-like car parked right outside the guild.
Just from the appearance of the car and the numerous black vehicles surrounding them, presumably guards, he could tell how high-profile Celestinya truly was.
Aster placed a hand over his stomach, aching from his nervousness, as he silently prayed that everything would go smoothly.