Caius slept straight through until two in the afternoon the next day.

  When he woke up, he felt completely refreshed—mind clear and spirit uplifted.

  Especially with the little Catgirl curled up asleep in his arms, his mood couldn’t have been better.

  Don’t get the wrong idea—nothing happened last night.

  Just a few sweet kisses, that’s all.

  They’d both been exhausted, still injured. Caius wasn’t the type to do anything in that condition.

  Besides, the little Catgirl’s body couldn’t take it. At the very least, she’d need to reach Gold rank first.

  So a few kisses to cultivate the mood and soothe the spirit were just fine.

  Sensing his movement, Kiki opened her eyes.

  Freshly woken, she looked even more adorable than usual.

  She let out a soft, sleepy mewl and snuggled closer into his chest, unconsciously clinging to him with affection.

  Caius wrapped her tighter in his arms and gave her a gentle squeeze.

  Kiki nuzzled his cheek with her own, then puckered up and kissed him lightly on the lips.

  Looking at her narrowed eyes and the sweet smile on her face, Caius couldn’t help but sigh in his heart.

  What a little heart-melting enchantress~

  “All right, time to get up. We need to head to the Orphanage today and take care of the renovation stuff.”

  “Got it, meow!”

  Downstairs.

  The Boss Lady greeted Caius and Kiki with a nod, quickly noticing the Catgirl was in an exceptionally good mood.

  At this point, all the minor injuries on Caius had fully healed. Only a few large wounds remained, scabbed over, and even those were close to falling off.

  Perched once more on his shoulder, Kiki swayed happily as she hummed a tune. Joy was written all over her face.

  Her tail looped loosely around Caius’s neck, lightly tickling his cheek and earlobe.

  And to be honest, that kind of unconscious teasing hit Caius hard.

  If Yvlan weren’t walking ahead of them, he probably would’ve scooped Kiki up into his arms and kissed her a few more times right then and there.

  “Boss Lady, one love-filled breakfast, please,” Caius said loudly and shamelessly.

  Yvlan shot him a glance and replied, “It’s already afternoon. What love-filled breakfast?”

  “Afternoon?” Caius glanced at the clock, then nodded. “Then make it a love-filled lunch!”

  Yvlan: “……”

  “I want one too, meow!” Kiki raised her hand energetically.

  Yvlan couldn’t help but smile. “You’re in a good mood today, aren’t you, little Catgirl?”

  “Yep, meow!” Kiki beamed. “Me and Big Guy—”

  Before she could finish, Caius quickly jumped in, “Me and the little Catgirl made it out of Nofalark Forest alive, and we earned a fat stack of coin while we were at it. Of course we’re in a good mood!”

  “Aren’t we, little Catgirl?” He winked at Kiki as he spoke.

  Kiki blinked her big eyes, then nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, meow!”

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  Yvlan looked at Caius a bit strangely, then asked, “How much did you make?”

  “Two hundred thousand!” Caius held up two fingers.

  “That much?!” Yvlan was stunned. “No wonder you two slept in so late. Don’t tell me you were up all night counting coins?”

  “Heh~” Caius didn’t answer, but he didn’t deny it either.

  Yvlan felt a wave of emotion. She knew Caius worked efficiently, but she didn’t expect him to pull in such a large sum in just a few days.

  Her tavern was doing well, but even in a good year, pure profit rarely reached two hundred thousand.

  But things were different now.

  Her eyes sparkled slightly as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said to Caius, “I’ve got a few big jobs here. Platinum level. Interested?”

  Her gaze held a mix of hope and concern.

  She knew Caius had been taking assignments from the Iron Tavern lately—big ones too—so she was a bit worried he might stop accepting jobs through her.

  But Caius had never disappointed a beautiful woman. He flashed her a grin and said, “Of course I’m in!”

  “Doesn’t matter if it’s Platinum or Brass. If you’re the one asking, I’m taking it!”

  That made Yvlan laugh, and her worry vanished. She nodded, “You said it.”

  “Always.”

  Yvlan turned and swayed her graceful figure as she walked toward the kitchen to prepare Caius’s love-filled lunch.

  Soon enough, the lunch was served—along with three mission slips.

  All of them were Platinum-level. Oh, and there was also Kiki’s Gold-level mercenary ID.

  Yes, the little Catgirl was now officially a Gold-level mercenary. Her actual rank was still Silver Seven-Star, a slight improvement from before, but not quite matching the Gold-level title just yet.

  Still, Caius was confident that with his training, that gap would be closed soon enough.

  As he happily ate his love-filled lunch, Caius looked through the mission slips.

  Clearly, thanks to his recent work, the reputation of Hailan No. 11 had been boosted significantly. Even Yvlan’s status had risen as a result, and now people were willing to entrust major tasks to her establishment.

  He still had one Platinum-tier mining job pending, a Guild commission with no set time limit.

  And one of the tasks Yvlan picked up this time was also a mining operation—perfect for tackling together.

  The other two were more interesting. One was a Magic Beast hunt—this time, a sea-dwelling beast.

  That one would be tough, hence the high pay: thirty thousand.

  And if the sea creature exceeded the size requirement, the client would even offer bonus compensation—the bigger, the better.

  Which worked out great. Ocean City was by the sea, and he’d always wanted to explore the waters anyway.

  The last job was the most intriguing. No description at all. Just confirmation that it was Platinum-level. Caius was to meet the client directly for the task details.

  “Where did you get this one?” Caius asked.

  Yvlan glanced at the slip. “The client came here in person.”

  “What did he look like?” Caius asked again.

  “Couldn’t tell. He was wrapped up tightly, had a hood, and used Magic to conceal his face. All I could tell was that he’s a man—probably an older one.”

  “But he wasn’t weak.”

  “What makes you say that?” Caius asked.

  “To post a mission with no details, he offered a Platinum Nine-Star Multicolored Tigerfish as payment—just gave it to the tavern. I checked it out. It had been slapped to death with one palm. The handprint matched the client’s exactly. He’s missing half his pinky finger,” Yvlan said.

  “He slapped a Platinum Nine-Star to death… that’s at least Mithril-tier strength,” Caius muttered, stroking his chin.

  "Hmm, but since he doesn't have a verified identity, we registered it at the lowest level. This mission is Platinum-grade."

  "And it seems he's here specifically for you. He named you directly to take the job."

  "For me?" Caius chuckled. "Now that’s interesting."

  "What do you think about this mission? Could it be a shady one?" Yvlan asked nervously.

  "Only one way to find out," Caius said, putting away the mission slip.

  "Maybe you shouldn’t go?" Yvlan still sounded worried.

  "Relax. A powerhouse like that wouldn’t go through all this trouble just to lure me out and... harvest my kidneys, right?" Caius laughed.

  "Most likely just wants to meet me. You know how it is—I’ve been making waves lately~"

  Seeing the smug grin on Caius’s face, Yvlan couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

  This big guy... he’s really full of himself.

  But truthfully, it wasn’t arrogance.

  Caius knew very well that if someone was indeed targeting him, it would be more dangerous to do nothing and wait for a move from the shadows. Better to meet it head-on.

  And in Caius’s eyes, the chance of it being truly malicious was slim. It was more likely some shady business or a secretive task that couldn’t be made public.

  In any case, since the other party knew he was here, ignoring it wasn’t an option. He had to meet them.

  "Ahh, I’m full. That was delicious. I’m definitely coming back!" Caius said, patting his belly with satisfaction before turning to leave with Kiki trotting behind him.

  "I'm heading out."

  Yvlan nodded. "Be careful."

  "Don’t worry," Caius replied without looking back.

  As she watched his departing figure, Yvlan smiled and shook her head before starting to clear the plates.

  Nearby, Bob and his teammates were whispering amongst themselves as they eyed the Boss Lady.

  "Did that big guy just leave without paying?"

  "Yeah... why didn’t the Boss Lady stop him?"

  "Heh, you guys don’t get it. Maybe the big guy already paid last night," one of the team members with a rat-like face said with a sly grin.

  Bob and the others exchanged glances, their expressions turning into knowing smirks.

  But their grins froze almost instantly.

  They slowly turned to see a shadow looming behind them—one holding something round and heavy.

  "Uh... Boss Lady, this is a misunderstanding, a mis—"

  BANG!

  "A misunderstanding, huh?!"

  BANG! BANG! BANG!

  "Ow! Easy! Ow, ow owwww—!"