Over the next few days.
With nothing much to do, Gauss and Theron took on several more nearby quests to eliminate goblins and other minor monsters.
These jobs were relatively small in scale, with few monsters. Their only real advantage was that they were close together.
They were all around Barry, none too far away, so they weren't much trouble to handle.
As it happened, the labyrinth had recently attracted so much attention from adventurers that even quests that would normally have been cleared regularly and quickly were piling up.
As a result, many of Barry City's reserve guards had gone out to sweep through the area and complete quests. Gauss could take on several ordinary jobs at once, as long as he didn't let them delay his progress.
Though the two of them alone had limited strength, they were still making a small contribution to the peace and safety of the area around Barry.
As they worked together more often, Gauss and Theron came to understand each other better.
Theron in particular was repeatedly left marveling at Gauss's strength and wide range of abilities.
Just when he thought Gauss was a Mage versed in spellcasting and possessed of some kind of ancient bloodline, Gauss would show him his astonishing physical prowess and powerful Protection Spell on their next job.
As soon as Theron had silently added "tough as nails" to his list of the captain's qualities, Gauss went on to show him his solid swordsmanship, quick learning, and astonishing appetite.
Some of these things reinforced Theron's existing impression of Gauss, while others showed him sides of Gauss he hadn't seen before.
Mm.
The astonishing appetite in question was Gauss's.
Even Theron, whose own calorie intake was well above average, had to admit that Gauss had a truly impressive appetite.