"Auntie, where is your home?" Marlene asked the middle-aged woman warmly.
"Just ahead, not far, near that church." The middle-aged woman pointed in a direction and said.
"Oh." Marlene responded with an "oh", but didn't promise to escort her, instead looking back at Aiden.
"Uncle, this auntie is so pitiful, let's take her home." She continued to look pitifully at Aiden, pinning her hopes on him.
"Marlene, pity tactics don't work on me." Aiden, of course, knew what she was thinking, lightly tapped her head, and said.
"Then what would it take for uncle to agree to take auntie home?" Marlene said while holding her head.
Then, as if she suddenly remembered something, her eyes lit up.
"Uncle, I can introduce you to a big beauty, really really beautiful, what do you think?" Marlene said, "She's still single now, doesn't have a boyfriend."
Aiden had already guessed who the so-called big beauty was, but that person had her own childhood sweetheart, so no matter how she introduced them, it would be useless.
Still, Aiden was a kind-hearted person after all. Looking at the middle-aged woman frowning in pain, he nodded and said, "Fine, I'll take her home."
As he spoke, he carried the middle-aged woman on his back.
"Auntie, now you can give directions." Marlene tugged at the hem of Aiden's clothes and said to the middle-aged woman.
The middle-aged woman hesitated for a moment. She didn't really want this strange man to take her home, but the little girl was just too enthusiastic and too cute. In the end, she pointed in a direction and said, "Walk past that street, there's a church, I live near the church."
"Near the church?" Aiden's heart moved slightly, vaguely guessing something, but he wasn't sure.
"Stay close, Marlene, I'm heading out now." Adjusting the woman on his back, Aiden walked in the direction she pointed.
The church the middle-aged woman mentioned still wasn't reached even after Aiden had walked for more than ten minutes. Marlene, who had been walking the whole time behind him, was completely exhausted. He had no choice but to carry the middle-aged woman with one hand and Marlene with the other, heading toward the supposedly "not far" church.
After another ten minutes or so, Aiden finally saw the church, along with a few independent houses built nearby.
"This is it." The middle-aged woman on Aiden's back said.
Aiden immediately put her and Marlene down, but as soon as she touched the ground, she let out another painful cry.
"Uncle…" Marlene tugged Aiden's hand and softly called.
"Don't worry, I'll take her upstairs." Aiden patted Marlene's head and carried the woman back on his back.
"Where do you live, Ms. Elmyra?" Aiden asked. Along the way, he had asked for the woman's name.
And just as he suspected, this middle-aged woman was Elmyra, foster mother of Aerith, one of the game's female protagonists.
Elmyra pointed at the house farther inside and said, "That one, first room on the second floor."
Aiden nodded and headed towards the wooden house.
Climbing the stairs to the second floor, before Aiden could do anything, Marlene had already rushed up and started banging on the door.
Knock knock knock…
There was no reply from inside, only the sound of hurried footsteps.
Then, the door opened, revealing a face of indescribable beauty.
Even Aiden was momentarily stunned, but quickly came back to his senses.
"Mama! Why are you only back now?" the brown-haired girl who opened the door called out, then suddenly realized something was off. Weren't there two extra people?
"Aerith." Elmyra jumped down from Aiden's back and skipped over to the blonde girl.
"I accidentally twisted my ankle. These kind-hearted young people brought me back," Elmyra said, holding Aerith's hand.
"Thank you so much." Aerith's emerald-green eyes were instantly filled with gratitude, and she quickly moved aside, saying to Aiden and Marlene, "Come in and have a seat, I'll get you something to drink."
Before Aiden could respond, Marlene already dashed inside and exclaimed, "Wow! Uncle, come in quickly, it's so warm and cozy in here!"
Aiden ignored her and said to Elmyra and Aerith, "Sorry, Marlene's personality is just like that."
"Kids are like that, it's perfectly normal." Elmyra couldn't resist the cute little girl and said something nice for her. Then, with Aerith's help, she walked into the house.
After helping her mother onto the sofa, Aerith went to boil some water.
Then Elmyra shouted, "Aerith, boil a little more hot water. I think Marlene could use a warm bath."
"Okay, Mama," Aerith replied.
While waiting for the water to boil, Elmyra called Marlene over and hugged her without minding the dirt on her. Then, with a complaining tone, she said, "She's way too dirty. As her uncle, why didn't you take better care of her?"
"Because I picked her up halfway, just before I ran into you, ma'am," Aiden replied.
Elmyra was stunned, "She's not your niece?"
"Of course not." Aiden shook his head.
"You really are kind-hearted. In District Five, kind young men like you are rare." Elmyra sighed.
"Of course! Uncle is super nice." Marlene raised her hand proudly in Elmyra's arms and shouted, "He was like a knight before, saving Marlene from a bunch of evil thugs!"
Then, she began telling Elmyra the whole story of how Aiden saved her. Naturally, as a little girl, her story was full of exaggeration and dramatic flair, which made Aiden frown as he listened.
But her storytelling was quite good. Even though she used the wrong words often, she still managed to captivate both Elmyra and Aerith, who had returned with tea.
"Hey hey, Marlene, can you be any more dramatic?" Aiden couldn't take it anymore and interrupted.
"I'm not!" Marlene shouted and raised her little fists.
"Alright, alright, everything you said is completely true. He really is a respectable young man," Elmyra comforted the girl in her arms, then said to Aerith, "Take her to go bathe, I hope you can handle it."
"Mama, I'm not a kid anymore," Aerith complained, then took Marlene from Elmyra's arms.
"Little one, come bathe with big sister," Aerith said, not caring at all how dirty Marlene was.
"Okay, big sis," Marlene replied obediently, letting Aerith carry her.
Watching Aerith carry Marlene to the bathroom, Elmyra turned to Aiden.
"Aiden, may I call you that?"
"Of course, Ms. Elmyra," Aiden nodded.
"I heard from Marlene that you haven't found a place to stay yet?" Elmyra asked.
Aiden scratched his head, "Due to some special circumstances, I'm temporarily homeless."
"Everyone faces troubles, it's nothing unusual." Elmyra said with a gentle smile.
"If you really have nowhere to go, you can stay here for now. It's a bit simple, but there's a spare room and a comfy bed." Elmyra added.
"This…" Aiden hadn't expected her to say that and replied awkwardly, "Wouldn't that be inconvenient? It's just you and your daughter here…"
"But you're a good person, aren't you?" Elmyra smiled at Aiden.
"But we just met for the first time." Aiden recalled how in the original story, Elmyra was quite cold toward Cloud.
"Aren't you afraid I'm faking it? I…"
"I believe in my daughter." Elmyra interrupted Aiden.
"My daughter might be young and innocent, but she has a natural ability to judge a person's character. If you were truly a bad guy, she would've kicked you out the moment she saw you."
"…" Aiden paused. He didn't remember Aerith having that ability in the game. Or maybe it was an Ancient Trait that didn't need to be spelled out?
Seeing Aiden fall silent, Elmyra didn't press him for a response, she simply waited quietly.
After a while, Aiden came to his senses and said to Elmyra, "If that's the case, then I'll stay here temporarily. Of course, I won't freeload. I'll do whatever I can to help."
As for the "whatever I can" Aiden mentioned, Elmyra casually waved it off, clearly not taking it seriously.
She was also a very kind woman. Back then, she had only met Aerith's biological mother once, with no exchange of favors, yet still chose to raise her as her own. To her, one more person just meant one more mouth to feed.
The two of them chatted for a while longer, during which Elmyra asked some things about his background, even about his family.
Aiden didn't answer too specifically, only saying he was a traveler from a faraway place, that his parents were alive and well, and that his family life was peaceful.
Seeing he didn't want to talk in detail, Elmyra didn't press further. After all, everyone has secrets. She believed in her daughter's judgment, so she changed the topic to something more lighthearted, and they continued chatting.
While they were chatting happily, the bathroom door opened.
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