Xu Feng was rendered speechless yet again by the untimely and cheeky remarks from Carmen.
He twitched his mouth slightly and gazed at her, "You were quite nervous earlier, but now you are getting more and more comfortable."
"Mhmm," Carmen nodded her head, not denying that fact. "I tend to get nervous around people I'm unfamiliar with and in a new environment. It's hard to adjust to new things around me."
Hearing that, Xu Feng realized he could only drop the matter and ignored her cheeky remark.
After all, trying to correct that would mean they were not close, and he knew fairly well she worded as such to checkmate him.
Even a fool could tell he wanted to get close to her but for reasons unknown to her.
Nevertheless, her statement made it clear that she understood some of his intentions and was willing to allow it.
'What a poor judgment I made.' Xu Feng blamed himself for the misjudgment.
Carmen was definitely not an innocent and naive type. Instead, she was simply a nervous person in general when it came to new things, but once she got familiar with it, she was just like a bird out of the cage.
"Well, I'm glad you are familiar with me then." Xu Feng adjusted his glasses and said, "To be familiar with an expert like myself is your blessing."
What was shameful?
Could it be considered shameful when what he said was the truth?
Seeing how there was no ounce of shame on Xu Feng's face, Carmen didn't know how to react to it. In the end, she merely suppressed her laughter, controlling her emotions.
"Shall we head to the location now?" Carmen then asked, not even attempting to ask what he was doing at the registrar.
That was his private matter, so unless he was willing to divulge it, she had no intention of learning about it.
Sometime later, the trio exited the Mercenary Association, with Jeff taking on the mantle as the guide.
Of course, Xu Feng was willing to take the backseat for once now that there was someone knowledgeable aside from him.
To be fair, guiding Zhao Kai and then somewhat manipulating OneManMedia was somewhat tiring for him.
If he had to continue being the "guide" and teaching Carmen as well, he might just go insane sooner or later. Naturally, it was merely an exaggeration and he was simply too lazy to repeat the same advice over and over again.
"The region that we're heading to where the Ironhide Behemoth resides can be considered a danger zone," Jeff explained, glancing at Carmen. "With your level, it's hard for you to survive in the region, but fret not, I'll do my best as a hired mercenary to protect you."
"Or maybe, you can just head there yourself and do the killing." Xu Feng suddenly commented, turning his head left and right, acting like a backseat gamer.
"T-That's…" Jeff was stumped, realizing his words made sense.
Why should they follow him if they hired him as a mercenary to do the work?
Lucky for him, Carmen interjected and shook her head. "I want to witness the process myself personally, otherwise, I'll feel like I'm cheating."
"Is that so?" Xu Feng turned to him, seemingly confused by her thinking. In his mind, if he were to be in his shoes, he would have just ordered Jeff around to do everything himself while he reaped the reward in the end.
Otherwise, what was the point of spending such money to hire one to begin with?
For protection?
Hell, he hadn't even offended anyone yet to require protection.
Sensing the skepticism from Xu Feng, Carmen sighed and decided to be truthful.
"I told you previously that I got kicked out for my terrible gameplay, right?"
"Yes, you told me that."
"Since we now have an expert like Jeff to assist us, I want to use this chance to do it myself while Jeff guides me on the side. If it's really impossible, then I'll have Jeff take over from there."
To summarize, Carmen wanted to gain actual experience with someone technically forced to provide her adequate advice and guidelines to improve.
Nodding his head, Xu Feng understood her feelings. As a beginner and new to the Divine World, one would feel lost and helpless.
It was especially true when she had been to numerous parties and was kicked out as a result.
Maybe some still extended an invitation to her despite knowing her terrible gameplay, but it was most definitely not a good gesture.
It doesn't take a genius to know why someone would want to team up with her despite her horrendous ability.
Suddenly, Xu Feng faked a cough as he was technically categorized in that area, but his motive was different.
"Do you need some water?" Unaware of what he was thinking, Carmen asked in concern.
"No thanks," Xu Feng shook his head. "If you wanted to improve then there was no point in hiring Jeff. You already have an expert and that is me."
'Huh?' Jeff felt insulted when he heard Xu Feng's statement.
However, he kept silent once he noticed Xu Feng's fierce gaze at him.
Meanwhile, Carmen stared at Xu Feng with a silent expression briefly.
A few seconds later, she questioned, "Are you really not mesmerized by my appearance?"
"..."
"No, I'm more interested in your potential and I want you to join my guild once I create one in the near future." Xu Feng decided to be honest and get rid of the misconception. He was simply too suspicious and had already noticed signs of her constantly suspecting him of something.
Instead of letting her overthink and come to a conclusion that was extremely off, he would rather come clean.
"My potential?" Dumbfounded and baffled, Carmen found this explanation even harder to believe. She knew her skills fairly well, and it was already generous if others were to call her a beginner.
"Like I've said, I'm quite the expert, so my eyes for people cannot be wrong." Xu Feng adjusted his glasses and confidently proclaimed.