"Hehe..."
At that, the cat girl immediately put on an awkward yet polite smile, her little hand subconsciously scratching her neatly combed short hair.
"I'm not as strong as Boss Kevin, Sister Aili, or Brother Kalpas. I can only get by on luck..."
"You can't put it that way. A lot of the time, luck is part of one's strength."
Gwen's smile widened as he "encouraged" her.
"Hehe, you flatter me...
Ah, right. Even though you probably already know, Gwen, I should introduce myself—
My name is Pardofelis. You can call me Pardo or Felis, whichever you like!
This is Can, my best friend!"
If Gwen had been a complete newcomer, the cat girl could have accepted that praise without a shred of guilt. But Gwen had clearly learned all about her from Aili, making her cheeks heat up slightly. She needed to regroup her troops... no, find a new topic. So she began introducing herself, not forgetting Can on her shoulder.
"Mm, hello, Pardo. My name is Gwen. You can just call me Gwen."
Gwen knew when to stop and gave a relatively formal introduction of his own.
"Hehe, then I'll call you Brother Gwen."
As she spoke, the cat girl pointed at the leftmost of the four doors that had risen nearby.
"That's my shop. While you're taking the trials here, you can come over and sit for a while, catch your breath.
And..."
After introducing it, the cat girl looked around, then leaned in closer, as if she had some huge secret to share.
"Mm?"
Gwen cooperatively leaned forward and assumed a listening posture.
"And sometimes, my place has some unexpected surprises. I guarantee you'll like them!"
The cat girl lowered her voice, afraid a third person might overhear.
"Surprises?"
Gwen raised a brow, looking curious.
"What