After leaving the team, the adventurer ladies regretted it deeply

In the chicken soup was a special ingredient prepared by Aiko for Lin Da: the pollen of the Chunyang Flower!

This pollen had a potent astringent effect, colorless and tasteless, and even a Sage who consumed it would transform into a raging beast.

Aiko planned to make Lin Da submit under her pomegranate skirt!

No adventurer would want to have a girl they were close to mingle in another adventure team, right?

By doing so, Lin Da would surely beg her to join the Phoenix Tail Flower.

She'd have him completely under her thumb!

Everyone envied Lin Da, but he could only be a lapdog under her skirt... Thinking of this, Aiko's face flushed red, her legs fidgeted restlessly, and she let out a creepy giggle with a 'hehehe'.

She was like an evil big sister about to gobble up a little child, her thoughts so sinister that even a Succubus would feel ashamed.

"What's going on, it's so cold."

Klrona emerged from Aiko's embrace, feeling that the air around her had suddenly turned as cold as if she were in a haunted house.

When she looked up, Aiko's expression had reverted to her sunny and gentle smile.

"That, Aiko, aren't you a cripple? Wasn't your leg just moving?"

Klrona spoke in a daze.

Because Aiko had been twisting and turning just now, thinking about amusing things, she inadvertently let Klrona see.

"Klrona, you're tired."

"Eh?"

"You're having hallucinations. You need to rest these next few days!"

"Wuwu, only Aiko is good to me, Lia doesn't care about me at all!"

Klrona was touched.

Today was a rare and pleasant breakfast for Snow Goose.

Klrona had a good appetite and devoured a whole steak. She wiped her mouth and said excitedly, "I'm going back to my room!"

She had many things to do.

The comic books were almost finished... Aside from showing them to Lin Da, Klrona's other main purpose was to apologize to Monica.

She shouldn't have taunted Monica for being poor.

Emphasizing the truth over and over again was not the behavior of the strong.

This time, Klrona planned to defeat Monica with her abilities.

To show her apology for last time, she specifically bought Monica a limited White Cat Mage Puppet worth ten thousand Gold Coins.

That day, all three members of Snow Goose were busy.

Klrona was holed up in her room, working overtime on her drawings.

Aiko was improving her 'delicious chicken soup'. After sipping just a little to test its effectiveness, she instantly turned into a senseless dork, nearly ruining herself...

"The effect is so strong, better use less of it."

Aiko shivered.

If she used too much of the Chunyang Flower's pollen, she'd be the one who suffered in the end!

As for Lia... she was restless, unsure of how to treat Lin Da and the others.

The one who'd called Lin Da the enemy was her.

The one prepared to fight Lin Da every time they met was still her.

The one who had cooperated with Lin Da twice was again her.

Lia had a sudden realization; her face was already swollen like a 'bee-stung dog'!

The embarrassment became something she grew accustomed to without realizing it.

Being mocked by the members of the Phoenix Tail Flower Team was the least of it.

The real trouble troubling Lia, making her heart flip-flop and food seem to well up in her throat, was what kind of gift to pick for Lin Da.

Anyone invited to attend the Phoenix Tail Flower's level 20 promotion party had to bring a gift.

It was a matter of serious etiquette.

Even if it was a cheap trinket, it still had to be brought along.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

If she didn't send a gift, she would be considered provocative, and other adventurers would see her as a Dancing Team Captain who lacked manners and had an extremely low EQ.

Therefore, the task of choosing a gift for Lin Da stumped Lia.

Over the years, she had never seriously given Lin Da a gift.

In the afternoon, Lia wandered down the commercial street, feeling miserable, pausing in front of various shops.

"Miss, do you have any troubles?"

A crisp, pleasant female voice like a silver bell rang out in front of Lia.

Lia lowered her head, her hand supporting her chin, tangled in thoughts about the gift.

She hadn't noticed someone in front of her and almost bumped into them.

"You're in my way."

Lia snapped back to reality, her eyebrows shooting up. She had no intention of apologizing; she was already walking close to the edge of the path, it must have been deliberate on the woman's part to block her!

Like an aggressive honey badger, Lia glared at the other with rising anger.

However, upon seeing the pink-haired girl in front of her clearly, Lia couldn't help but feel a fleeting sense of familiarity.

She felt she had seen the person before but couldn't place where.

Lia sized up the other: thick black-framed glasses, a black suspender dress with lace-trimmed white blouse, beautiful with a quiet demeanor, completely opposite to her own nature.

The girl's pink hair was tied into a thick braid, set off by the black-framed glasses... she was exactly the intellectual-type Lia detested.

Whenever she saw such people, Lia would feel inferior because of her poor background and her primary school-level adventurer education.

Behind this pink-haired girl stood a golden-haired woman in her thirties, dressed in a black housekeeper's uniform, captivating in appearance but with undisguised indifference in her eyes.

"Who are you?"

Lia instinctively sensed something off about the two, so she stepped back, her expression wary.

"We're just passing adventurers," said the pink-haired girl with a shy smile, adding, "I saw you looked troubled, so I wanted to ask what happened?"

"Just the matter of selecting a gift..." Lia blurted out, then immediately wondered why she was discussing this with a stranger. Her expression darkened, and her tone grew colder, "What's it to you!"

"Selecting a gift?"

The pink-haired girl's mind clicked, instantly understanding the source of Lia's concern.

It must be the party that Lin Da was about to throw.

And that dummy Lia hadn't decided what gift to bring!

"I think that store over there is quite nice."

The girl pointed to a luxury brand store, speaking like a conniving sales attendant, giggling, "Items like the brands 'Great Sea Clear Sky,' 'Sexy Elves,' 'Old Adventurer' magic guide watches; boys always like them. It's just that their price... is slightly expensive, but for a rock level team captain, it should be nothing."

Lia's face changed.

She herself lived frugally, saving gold coins to buy magical equipment, and had no expensive accessories on her.

Was she expected to buy one of those magic guide watches for Lin Da, which cost tens of thousands?

Expensive, too expensive!

"Bye-bye then, I have other things to do, I'm off!"

As Lia was stuck in her dilemma, the pink-haired girl and the housekeeper disappeared at the end of the commercial street.

"Such quick speed, Star Rank...?"

Lia blinked in astonishment, murmuring to herself.

Why did she feel this familiar sensation about such a character?

She scratched her head, deep in thought, but just couldn't recall where she had seen that person.

"Lin Xi looks somewhat similar, but Lin Xi has black hair," Lia mumbled to herself. "I wonder if Lin Da has found any clues about Lin Xi. I'm not going to the party just for the sake of it; I'm only bringing a gift to ask about Lin Xi!"

With such thoughts, Lia felt somewhat guilty as she stepped into the shop specializing in men's luxury goods.

...