In the blink of an eye, evening came. After casually eating some luxurious French cuisine that the maid had brought, Aiden refused the offer of the bodyguards and maids to accompany him and went out alone.
Thinking that he might drink later at night, Aiden didn't drive the car that Shinichiro had prepared for him. Instead, he decided to walk to the bar alone. He could treat it as a post-meal stroll and take the chance to look around Paris in the 1990s.
However, even though Paris was known as the City of Romance, after walking around for a while, Aiden didn't see any romantic scenes at all. Instead, he witnessed several thefts and robberies.
That reminded Aiden of something he had once seen certain students abroad saying, "France, full of stealing and robbing."
But then again, seeing these things happen right in front of him, Aiden couldn't bring himself to just pretend he hadn't seen them. After witnessing another theft, he couldn't help but speak up and warn the victims.
However, doing good deeds comes at a price. After Aiden repeatedly disrupted their "traditional business," some unfriendly eyes began watching him from the dark corners of the street.
Aiden noticed them, but he didn't take it to heart. The prerequisite for doing good deeds is having the ability to protect yourself, and right now, he happened to have that.
As he continued walking toward the bar, more and more shady figures began following him. Nearly half of them were Gypsies.
Listening to the footsteps and low whispers behind him, Aiden smirked slightly and slowed down his pace.
He didn't mind teaching these guys a lesson right here. As for the warning from the Kagura sisters and Mai Shiranui to "run if there's danger," he had already forgotten about it.
Of course, even if he hadn't forgotten, he wouldn't have cared. With his full power unleashed, even Orochi himself would suffer a heavy loss at his hands.
And so, after walking into a sparsely populated street, Aiden stopped, turned around, and looked at the people who had been following him.
However, before he could even speak, a figure suddenly stepped in front of him and shoved a fluffy dog into his hands.
"Help me look after this."
A cool, mature woman's voice rang out, making Aiden look up. But the woman who had stepped in front of him had already turned her back. All he saw was a head of flowing golden hair and an almost perfect hourglass figure.
With someone stepping in to help, Aiden was naturally happy to relax. But what really caught his curiosity now was the golden-haired woman standing before him. There were plenty of blonde women in fighting games, he couldn't possibly recognize her just from her back.
"Maybe she's just a kind-hearted passerby, not a fighting game character," he thought to himself.
Just as that thought passed through his mind, he suddenly felt a wet tongue licking the back of his hand. No need to guess, it was the dog that the blonde woman had shoved into his arms.
He lowered his head and looked at the little dog. It was fluffy and adorable, completely snow-white without a single speck of color, obviously a purebred and expensive kind.
Unfortunately, he wasn't interested in dog breeds and didn't know much about them. But when it came to dog meat, he could make a few comments, he rather liked eating it.
Maybe his thoughts were too terrifying for the dog, because the little thing suddenly sensed it. It shrank into itself, stopped licking his hand, and whimpered softly a few times.
"Don't bully Amy."
Hearing her beloved dog whimper, the golden-haired woman, who was currently eyeing the thugs before her with caution, immediately shouted nervously.
She didn't turn around as she spoke, because the men in front of her had already pulled out weapons like sticks and knives, slowly approaching her.
"I didn't bully it, ma'am. And thank you for stepping in, but they're after me," Aiden said, glancing at the group and giving her a reminder.
"Don't worry. These guys aren't worth my attention," the blonde woman replied without even turning her head.
"You're a good person. I just saw you help a lot of people protect their belongings. I don't want to see a good person like you get punished for it."
Aiden froze for a second. 'Was this… a "good guy card"?'
Then he laughed. Sure enough, good people get good rewards. "So rest assured," he said, "a good person won't bully your Amy."
But right as he finished speaking, a cold, sinister voice came from the group in front of them, "But the price of being a good person… is getting bullied by us."
And as soon as that voice fell, the group charged at the two, swinging their sticks and knives.
"Good man, please step back a bit," the blonde woman said over her shoulder. Then, twisting her body, she struck the man rushing in front with a single palm, sending him flying.
"This is… traditional martial arts?"
Aiden actually knew a bit about traditional martial arts. Although he mainly used kickboxing and military combat techniques in fights, he had studied some practical martial arts styles, mainly to learn their power techniques. So he recognized at once what she was using.
'French woman… traditional martial arts… blonde… dog… hourglass figure. Could it be her?' Aiden thought to himself. In his memory, there was only one woman who fit those traits.
'Helena!'
One of the earliest female characters to appear in Dead or Alive.
'If it really is her, then my luck's pretty good, just strolling around and I run into a goddess-tier character.' Aiden grinned slightly. 'Looks like Lady Luck herself is really looking out for me tonight.'
However, just as he was thanking Lady Luck in his heart, for some unknown reason, one of the men Helena had just sent flying suddenly lost grip of his knife, and the blade shot through the air at unbelievable speed, landing right between Aiden's legs. It was so fast he didn't even react in time.
How could a normal person throw a knife that fast just by accident? Aiden immediately thought back to what he'd just called Lady Luck and hurriedly apologized in his mind, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my beautiful and kind Lady Luck, I misspoke earlier.'
———
After a moment of silence...
"No response, I'll take that as forgiveness."
Whether Lady Luck had really forgiven him or not, Aiden didn't know. After all, you can't guess what a woman is thinking, let alone a goddess.
While his thoughts were running wild, the blonde woman had already taken care of all the thugs, leaving them sprawled all over the ground.
"All done. Job finished!"
Clapping her hands, the blonde woman exhaled lightly. As she thought to herself that fighting in high heels and a skirt was really impractical, she turned around to look for Aiden and take back her dog.
But when she turned around, she saw Aiden standing a short distance away, looking down, and in his arms, little Amy was affectionately licking his hand.
The blonde woman froze for a second, then smiled. "He really is a good person. Amy never acts this friendly toward strangers."
Murmuring that to herself, she walked up to Aiden, smiled softly, and said, "May I have Amy back?"
"Ah… of course, she's your dog after all." The woman's cool voice pulled Aiden out of his thoughts, and he quickly handed the dog back.
He also wiped his hand on the dog's fur as he did, which was now covered in dog saliva.
The blonde woman looked speechless for a moment but still smiled lightly. "Amy seems to really like you, good man."
"That's probably just the advantage of being handsome," Aiden said with a grin. He wasn't the reserved type around Western women.
"Mhm, that makes sense. You are very handsome, good man," the blonde woman nodded. Although Aiden was Asian, his tall, muscular build fit well with Western beauty standards of the era.
Then, stroking her dog's head, the blonde woman said, "By the way, my name's Helena. What about you, good man?"
So it really was her, Helena, from Dead or Alive. Aiden thought to himself, then answered, "Aiden."
"You're from Z-country?" Helena widened her eyes slightly, her good impression of him increasing even more. Then, in clumsy voice, she said, "Hello! My name Helena."
[T/N: Helena is a character from Dead or Alive for those who don't know]
"Uh…" Aiden scratched his head. "You can speak Z-country language?"
"Only a little bit." Helena made a gesture with her fingers. "My martial arts teacher was from Z-country. I studied under him for a while, but I've forgotten most of it." The last part she said in French.
"No wonder," Aiden nodded. .
Then Helena asked, "Aiden, are you in Paris for sightseeing?"
"I'm looking for someone," Aiden said directly, without hiding it.
"Looking for someone, huh? I can help you. My family has a bit of influence here," Helena said. "Who are you looking for?"
A bit of influence? That's modest, your father's company is way more than just "a bit influential."
"No need, I already..." Before he could finish, Aiden heard the sound of police sirens. Probably someone passing by had seen all the people lying on the ground and called the cops.
So he changed his words, "Miss Helena, it seems now isn't the best time to talk. I'd better go. We'll chat another time."
"No need to wait for another time, we can just find a place and continue now," Helena said with interest. "How about a café?"
"Sorry, I'm heading to a bar right now."
"A bar works too."
Aiden, "..."
Looks like Lady Luck really had forgiven him.
Although King's bar was located in Paris, its location was a bit out of the way. After all, as a sister constantly worried about her brother's medical expenses, she simply didn't have the money to choose a prime spot for her bar.