On a roadside stall that looked like a hotdog van, a group of 4 youngsters was gathered.
Two of them were men, both decently tall and could pass as a 8-8.5 for most women.
While the other 2 were women, one dressed in a long dark robe that covered most of her assets, while the other was much more brazen.
She was wearing what appeared to me as a glorified bikini set, over which a short cape hung behind her.
'One shows very less, one hides very less, what a duo.' I snickered at the polar opposite duo.
All the 4 members were currently having a dog that looked quite tasty, so I decided to buy one too and then strike up a conversation.
Though buying a hot dog proved to be expensive as a single one cost me a whole 5 sol, lowering my budget to 45 sol.
These capitalist bastards, they knew that labyrinth divers are loaded and there is a severe lack of food in this area, making it perfect to jack the prices.
Though complaining could achieve nothing, so I just sulked and made my way towards the group, fearing they might leave soon.
I pretended to move without watching and bumped into the busty, bikini lady.
The reason for choosing her as a target was obvious, she looked fucking hot.
At least on Claire's level.
So, I walked towards her while pretending not to look.
"Ah, I am so sorry! I didn't see…"
I had intentionally bumped in a way that caused some of the sauce to land on her chiseled, sexy abs.
I acted surprised and panicked as I pulled out a hanky and tried to wipe the sauce on her abs, enjoying the touch of her warm skin as a bonus.
In contrast to the freezing cold out here, and despite wearing no obvious cold protection, the woman's body was as warm and comfortable as it could get.
"Ugh, watch where you g…o." She grunted on an impulse until she saw me properly, which caused her tone to drop and become much more politer.
That's more like it, woman.
Be nice to me.
"It's okay, it's okay…" she blushed when I rubbed my hanky across her abs, though since I was acting innocent, I just apologized a few more times while cleaning her properly.
I was enjoying this, but it didn't last too long as now I had the attention of everyone in the group.
"Uhm, I am sorry once again, I wasn't looking." I repeated my apology as I smiled sweetly at the bikini girl.
Her bikini was orange like a burning flame, and matching it, there was a mysterious orange glow continuously surrounding her.
And when I had bumped, I could feel the effect of cold disappearing within the glow.
Whether it was an awesome super cool skill or something else, it had caught my attention.
"No, no, no worries. It's okay, it happens." The girl shook her head.
"Mm, by the way you're so hot… ah, I mean the glow that surrounds you… It's warm." I intentionally drop a hint that may make her feel as if I liked her.
She didn't seem to be dating any of the men in their group, though it seemed like the covered lady had a relationship with one of them.
"Haha, it's my clothing set's special skill. It surrounds me with an aura of warmth, so I can wear it comfortably even in the cold." she chuckled.
"Wow, that sounds so awesome. I wish I had one of those, I still feel cold even after wearing so much layering."
"You want to wear a bikini?" she teased me with a raise of her brows.
"Noo!" I exaggeratedly denied, "I meant the effect, geez! Maybe pairing orange shorts to match yours??"
Hearing the suggestion, the woman raised her eyebrows and looked at me with a greater interest.
"That would indeed look good on you," she commented.
I was tempted to summon my inner pick-me and slap her arms, saying aww stop, you're just teasing me, or something like that.
But then I realized that I may die from cringe after doing that, so I held back my intrusive thoughts.
After a couple more teases, I finally asked the important question.
"You guys look pretty geared up, you're going into the labyrinth?"
Ruby, the bikini woman, was the one that replied to me.
Her name really suited her though, since her hair was also red like ruby, matching with the ruby red eyes.
"Indeed, our classmates wanted some help in leveling up, so me and Lina were accompanying them." Ruby smiled at me, looking at the two males of the group.
I noticed that one of them didn't seem too cool with me, while the other seemed neutral.
It was a problem though, if they both don't want me to join, it would be hard for me to join in the group.
No matter how sweet Ruby was, she won't likely abandon her group for a man she saw for the first time.
There was a chance she would, but I would rather play safe.
I offered them both a handshake, which one shook with a smile while the other shook begrudgingly.
The look in his eyes was easy to understand though.
He was jealous and irritated of me, but it also seemed like he didn't particularly like Ruby romantically either.
I could only guess that since he was more handsome than his other buddy, he got a decent amount of attention from everyone.
And now that I was here, he was annoyed that I might take away his spotlight.
So time to butterpolish a bit, maybe?
"Wow, I love that watch. Are they real?" I fake excitement and look at his watch, which was a real masterpiece.
A black metal watch with diamonds at each of the 12 markers on the dial.
My excitement seemed to have pleased him as he nodded with similar excitement, only his' was real.
"Heh, yep. I got it from someone special. I love it a lot!"
Yeah, now that he doesn't want me gone as badly, I had no intention of interacting more.
The sexy Ruby is much better.
"Uhh, Ruby." I fake some reluctance, "I actually wanted to level up a bit as well… Can I join your group? Please?"