How about we take on a mission together?

"Finally, I found you again!" a young boy, already familiar, exclaimed at the top of his lungs.

Seeing Kazuma again, Mateus smiled back and spoke to him as if they were old friends, "Good to see you, Kazuma."

Noticing the opposite reaction to his own, Kazuma calmed down a bit and said, "Good to see you too, Mateus." Taking a deep breath, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, Kazuma continued, "You have no idea how much trouble I had explaining who you were."

Feeling sorry for the poor boy, Mateus felt guilty for their last interaction. 'I remember I compensated him well for what I did last time.'

Not wanting to dwell on the past, Mateus kept the conversation going with Kazuma. "Don't worry so much about the past! Hey, how about I treat us to a meal? That way, we can forget what happened, right?" With a smile that left no room for refusal, Mateus offered to pay for everyone's meal.

Being the cheapskate he is, Kazuma quickly accepted Mateus' offer. "No problem for me." While Kazuma played his part, the girls accompanying him also reacted to Mateus' appearance.

"Isn't that the mysterious guy from last time?"

"Wasn't he the one who gave us that gold bar?"

"Didn't he just appear and disappear out of nowhere?"

Not paying much attention to the girls' comments, Mateus asked Kazuma, "Kazuma, what would you recommend for me and Mahiru to eat?" As he finished, Mateus remembered that he hadn't introduced the girl standing off to the side. "Oh! Before I forget, this here is Mahiru, my girlfriend."

'Damn good-looking guys!' Cursing Mateus internally, Kazuma forced a superficial smile and introduced himself to Mahiru, "Nice to meet you, I'm Sato Kazuma." After introducing himself, he whispered under his breath, "I know my name might sound familiar from the world you two come from, but ask your boyfriend about that later."

Continuing as if nothing had happened, Kazuma said, "I know something that might be good, let me place the order."

After placing their order and waiting for a bit, they enjoyed a good meal together. Once they finished, Mateus spoke to Kazuma. "Kazuma, I was thinking about going on a short adventure in this world to train Mahiru. How about we take on a mission together?"

After thinking for a moment, Kazuma asked, "Why my group specifically? You seem capable enough to handle fights without any problems..."

Responding to Kazuma, Mateus said, "Yes, I can handle fights well." Kazuma asked again, "Then why my group?" With zero shame, Mateus replied, "Because you guys are funny."

Upon hearing Mateus' response, everyone at the table was left speechless, unsure of how to react.

"…"

Breaking the awkward silence, Mateus said, "Of course, you'll be very well paid for this." Smiling gracefully like an angel, Mateus didn't seem to be making the request for the real reasons he had in mind.

Ignoring his pride, Kazuma didn't hesitate and accepted the offer once he heard they'd be paid well. "I accept!" Smiling, Mateus said, "That's what I wanted to hear!"

Mahiru, impressed by her boyfriend's actions, thought to herself, 'He seems like a completely different person...' Indeed, Mateus liked things to go exactly as he wanted. 'But I like this side of him.' Love truly blinds people. But that was fine, at least for Mateus.

After all the dialogue and negotiations, Kazuma regained his confident adventurer's posture. "So, what kind of mission are we taking? A tough one? Or something easier? Or better yet, a mission with a big reward?"

Smiling at the question, Mateus replied, "Don't worry about the details, just pick whatever you want." Remembering one more detail, Mateus added, "And you can keep the whole reward." Surprised by this last detail, Kazuma smiled with anticipation.

'Trusting Kazuma's twisted sense of judgment is going to make this mission something incredible.' Thinking about the possibilities of what could happen on this mission, Mateus began to feel excited.

Kazuma, who is driven by his desires, would surely pick a mission that would put his entire team in serious trouble, and for Mateus, that was a good thing because he would get to have fun and train Mahiru.

'Two birds with one stone.'