Before long, the table was filled out.

  Holan then turned to Caius and said, "Alright, it's time to go. We can't keep my precious student waiting."

  There was a hint of urgency in her tone, clearly indicating that Holan didn’t want to stay here any longer.

  Caius replied, "Sure, you go wait outside. I'll take on a mission and be right there."

  Holan nodded and walked straight out.

  Caius looked at her retreating figure, grinning to himself. But when he turned his head, he immediately met the disapproving gaze of the Boss Lady.

  "Uh... that is, I’m just picking up a mission?" Caius said hesitantly.

  However, Yvlan didn’t immediately hand him the mission slip. Instead, she asked, "You and she... are you close?"

  "Yeah, we're friends," Caius replied.

  "Friends? A friend who can issue seven mission commissions for you, including one Platinum-tier task?" Yvlan raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical.

  Caius smiled helplessly. "What do you mean, for me? The profits from the commissions go to her, not me."

  "Will you be taking a commission from her?" Yvlan asked, her expression softening slightly.

  "Of course!" Caius answered quickly.

  Although a little nervous inside, he couldn't show it right now.

  Upon hearing this, Yvlan finally smiled and handed him the mission slip. However, she seemed a little worried as she said, "This Platinum-tier mission isn’t simple. It’s a hunt for a Platinum-tier Magic Beast, and the difficulty is pretty high. Are you sure you can handle it?"

  "Of course!" Caius said, grinning broadly. "Oh, I forgot to tell you—I've just broken through to Gold-tier!"

  Yvlan looked stunned. "Wait... weren't you Gold-tier before?"

  "No, I was Silver-tier before," Caius explained.

  "Silver-tier, and you could hunt a Wolf Demon?!" Yvlan was clearly shocked.

  "Yep! Otherwise, how could I be the best?" Caius said with a boastful grin.

  Seeing Caius acting so self-assured, Yvlan chuckled and nodded. "Alright, no wonder you’re confident enough to take on a Platinum-tier task."

  "With these mission titles, I should be fine for a three-star rating, right?" Caius asked, smiling.

  "Of course!" Yvlan imitated Caius’s confident posture and said, "Don't just settle for three stars—if you manage to complete these Gold-tier and Platinum-tier tasks, you might even get a four-star rating!"

  "Ha! Leave it to me. I’ll have it wrapped up in ten days!" Caius snapped his fingers.

  "Take it easy. This time, you’re hunting a Platinum-tier Crystalith Serpent. They want its Crystalis Heart, so there's no shortcut. You’ll have to kill it," Yvlan warned.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Don't worry, maybe I'll get lucky and find a complete Crystalith Serpent carcass," Caius joked.

  Seeing him so relaxed, Yvlan didn’t say anything else. She nodded and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

  She wore a hairpin on the side of her head. It was made from a Mona Redbloom flower and two white peach blossoms, coated in amber-like resin. The three flowers were in full bloom, showing their most beautiful appearance.

  There was a hint of anticipation in her eyes, but Caius simply organized the mission slip, stowed it in his Spatial Ring, and then said, "I’ll be off then. Can I borrow the tavern's carriage?"

  "It's in the stable. Go get it yourself..." Yvlan replied, her tone a little subdued. Still, she added, "Be careful on the road."

  "Thanks!" Caius nodded, leaving the reception room and closing the door behind him.

  Yvlan sighed, gently touching the hairpin in her hair.

  But just as she did, the door opened again. Caius walked back in and directly approached her.

  Yvlan froze, feeling an unexpected rush of nervousness.

  The next moment, Caius took the hairpin from her ear and gently placed it on the other side of her head.

  "This side looks better," Caius grinned, "Stay beautiful. See you!"

  With that, he hummed a tune and walked out of the room.

  Yvlan stood there in a daze, watching the door close. Then, she smiled and covered her mouth.

  "This guy, why does he always do this..." she muttered.

  But as she spoke, the smile on her lips didn’t fade.

  Outside the tavern, Caius spotted Holan standing with her arms crossed not far off. It seemed like she had seen him, but she quickly turned her head, pretending not to notice.

  Caius secretly pursed his lips.

  It seemed that the Boss Lady part was taken care of. Now, it was up to the instructor.

  Caius had a feeling this wouldn't be as easy.

  Sure enough, when Caius walked up to Holan, she gave him a knowing smile and said, "Looks like you and that tavern owner really are close."

  Caius chuckled. "Yeah, we’re good friends."

  "Friends?" Holan raised an eyebrow. "Can a friend get you to take on a task like this, one that shouldn’t be taken?"

  "You know, I’m an excellent mercenary, so of course, she’d trust me with the task," Caius said.

  "Without taking any commission?" Holan asked, her tone skeptical.

  Caius twitched his eyelid.

  So we're doing this now?

  "Of course not. After all, a few commission fees are nothing compared to the friendship of a fellow excellent mentor like myself. A smart person knows what to choose," Caius replied with a snicker.

  Holan then smiled, but clearly, this wasn’t over yet.

  She opened her mouth to ask something else, but Caius quickly decided to change the subject.

  He gestured toward Holan and said, "Honestly, Holan, you really startled me earlier."

  "At first, I thought it was just a few Gold-tier tasks."

  "Then out of nowhere, a Platinum-tier task."

  "You're scared of Platinum-tier tasks?" Holan asked, clearly distracted.

  "Of course not. I was scared of you," Caius chuckled.

  "Me?" Holan raised an eyebrow, confused.

  Caius gave her a serious look. "You know, when I broke through to Gold-tier, I was itching to take on a Platinum-tier Magic Beast to test my strength."

  "After all, you know I love challenges and danger."

  "At the time, I had my eyes set on a Crystalith Serpent because it’s a vicious creature and really strong for its tier. Plus, there’s one about 200 kilometers away in Nofalark Forest."

  "That kind of challenge really gets my blood pumping."

  "When you mentioned the Platinum-tier task, I was surprised. But when I saw it was a Crystalith Serpent, I was actually shocked."

  "I started wondering if you could read minds and knew exactly what I was thinking."

  "Is that the case?" Caius stared at Holan, as if genuinely pondering this possibility.

  Holan couldn’t help but laugh, her expression full of amusement.

  It seemed like their thoughts were aligned, which made her feel quite pleased.

  There was a sense of unspoken understanding.

  "What do you think?" Holan asked, her eyes narrowing mischievously.

  Caius rubbed his chin thoughtfully before saying, "Two possibilities."

  "One, you really can use mind-reading magic. I’ve heard that those who can master such magic are rare, magical prodigies!"

  Holan’s smile grew wider. "And the other?"

  Caius smiled mysteriously. "The other is... you’re just incredibly smart and empathetic, and only someone like that could figure out what I was thinking!"

  "Hehehe," Holan laughed, her body shaking with laughter. "You can just think of it as the second one."

  "I agree, but the first possibility isn’t too far off," Caius continued, pretending to analyze.

  "Alright, alright, no more flattery. Belle is still waiting for us," Holan said with a smile, no longer pressing the issue about Yvlan.

  Caius grinned.

  Mission accomplished!