Helena, who was standing beside them, was stunned for a moment and quickly spoke up, but before she could finish, Shermie shot her a glance.
"We'll talk about that later."
"Oh!"
Then, Shermie threw away the ice cream she had only taken a few bites of, took the initiative to hug Aiden's arm tightly, and didn't give him the slightest chance to pull away.
She signaled Aiden with her eyes not to move, and under Helena's furious gaze, she continued speaking to Goenitz, "You see, I've fallen for him."
"We've already done everything that should be done, and who knows, maybe in a while I'll even be pregnant with his child. So, Goenitz, as for that so-called mission, you'd better find someone else for it. I don't want to continue anymore."
Aiden stared at Shermie, dumbfounded. 'Damn, so this was your plan…'
'But wait, if you don't want to fulfill your mission, doesn't that mean Orochi won't be resurrected?'
'And if Orochi can't be resurrected, then Kyo Kusanagi won't get injured and be captured by the NESTS organization.'
'And if Kyo isn't captured by NESTS, then the modified human K wouldn't be created.'
'And without K, the cutest Kula wouldn't exist either…'
Aiden mentally pictured the chain reaction that would follow Shermie's "strike," yet he completely failed to realize why she had made such a decision.
After all, the Four Heavenly Kings of Orochi were far more loyal to Orochi than the other four members of the Hakkesshu.
After listening to Shermie's words, Goenitz slightly narrowed his eyes. In truth, he didn't care much about Shermie's private life. He had originally just wanted to joke around with Aiden and Shermie, but now, he began seriously thinking about what Shermie had just said.
After a moment of silence, he sighed and asked, "Are you sure about that, Shermie? A mission isn't something you can just escape from because you want to."
The tone of the conversation suddenly turned heavy, and even his voice grew heavier.
"How would I know if I don't try?" Shermie smiled, but her smile was no longer sweet like before, it carried a faint trace of sorrow.
"Besides, Goenitz, you already have a daughter. Why don't you try living your own life too?" Shermie continued.
"I don't have a choice." Goenitz closed his eyes, not wanting outsiders to see the sadness in them. "Besides, I've already begun setting things in motion. Next, I'll be heading to Japan."
He spoke openly of his plans, as if not considering Aiden and Helena outsiders at all.
Sensing the sadness within him, the blonde girl Goenica reached out and tugged at his priest's robe. "Daddy… you'll stay with me forever, right?"
Her words made Goenitz freeze for a moment. He looked down at his daughter, a flash of reluctance passing through his eyes.
Forcing a smile, Goenitz gently patted the girl's head. "Of course. I've told you before, Daddy will always be with you."
At this point, he paused for a moment, then looked at Aiden and Helena and continued, "It's been nice meeting you both. But now, I'll be taking Goenica to the cathedral for prayer. If there's a chance, when we meet again next time, we'll have a proper talk, and I'll treat you to my specialty mushroom soup."
After saying that, before Aiden or Helena could respond, he turned back to Shermie. "You still have at least two years. If you can truly resist your mission during that time, then two years from now, you'll be completely free."
"Two years…" Shermie murmured the number to herself.
Then she nodded and said to Goenitz, "I'll do my best."
"I hope so, Shermie."
Goenitz had already picked Goenica up in his arms, then turned and walked toward the other side of the street.
Halfway there, both he and Goenica turned into a gentle breeze and vanished from sight.
Before disappearing, Goenica waved at the three of them with some reluctance.
"Goodbye, big brother, big sisters."
"What an amazing ability."
Watching Goenitz and Goenica disappear into the wind, Helena's eyes widened. It was her first time witnessing such an ability.
Unfortunately, no one echoed her reaction, both Aiden and Shermie were lost in thought.
'Goenitz is going to Japan. Looks like… he's preparing to make a move against the Kagura family.'
'I should head back too, now that I've found King anyway.'
'It's just… why do I feel like Goenitz doesn't seem that eager about reviving Orochi? Even though he kept reminding Shermie not to forget her mission, it sounded more like he was giving her an excuse to feel at peace while shirking responsibility.'
Aiden pondered deeply. After meeting Goenitz this time, he gained a different understanding of the original storyline.
With Goenitz's current power, killing the heirs of the Three Sacred Families would be easier than killing chickens. After all, he had killed Kagura Chizuru's brother, then went to bother Kyo Kusanagi.
He took Kusanagi's Orochinagi head-on without injury and easily defeated him. Logically, he could have finished Kyo off right then.
But he didn't, instead, he spared Kyo, giving him plenty of time to train and master a stronger technique, the Mu-Shiki. Eventually, as expected, he was defeated by the combined efforts of the Three Sacred Families' descendants.
All of that was from the original plot, and the more Aiden thought about it, the more it seemed strange, as if Goenitz had intentionally helped the heirs grow stronger so they could stop Orochi's destruction of the world.
It was as if Goenitz had wanted to be the whetstone that sharpened the Three Families' heirs.
'Even though this world's events differ from the game, Goenitz still seems to plan on doing the same thing…'
Thinking this, Aiden frowned. No matter what Goenitz was planning, he still needed to get back to Kagura Chizuru's side before Goenitz did.
While he was thinking, Helena, seeing that no one was paying attention to her, grew annoyed, especially since Shermie was still hugging Aiden's arm tightly.
Her chest, far more ample than Helena's, had completely enveloped Aiden's arm between its deep valley. Enraged, she finally snapped, "Hey! How long are you two planning to stay like that?"
Hearing Helena's irritated voice, Aiden and Shermie both snapped out of their thoughts.
Aiden glanced at Shermie clinging to his arm and tried to pull it out, but Shermie only tightened her hold with a mischievous grin, twisting her upper body on purpose.
Seeing Aiden's barely hidden delight, Helena wanted to kick him out of spite, but realizing Shermie was the main culprit, she instead snorted coldly at her. "Aiden and I are going for drinks. Shermie, didn't you have somewhere to be? Why are you still here?"
"My business is already done. Why shouldn't I stay?" Shermie looked at Helena with an innocent expression.
"Besides, I already told you, I've fallen for him…"
"Stop right there." Helena raised a hand like a referee calling a time-out.
"If I remember right, this is the first time you two have even met, isn't it? And don't think I didn't notice, you're just using Aiden as cover to avoid that so-called mission of yours."
Though Helena was a sheltered heiress with little life experience, that didn't mean she was naive, of course she could tell Shermie's earlier words were just an excuse.
"You're right, I am using him as cover," Shermie admitted bluntly, her tone turning wistful.
"But… I really do want to live an ordinary woman's life. Find a man I like, marry him, have a bunch of kids, and stay home taking care of them."
As she said this, Shermie sighed. Her delicate, sweet face was full of weary sorrow. She had gone through countless reincarnations, and every time she awoke, she was forced to work for Orochi's resurrection, only to fail and fall into another cycle. So for her, living as an ordinary woman was a luxury she could never have.
Now that even Goenitz seemed to tacitly allow it, she decided to fight against her fate this time. Even if she failed, she wouldn't have any regrets.
Women were naturally empathetic creatures. After hearing Shermie's words and seeing the world-weariness on her youthful face, Helena couldn't help but feel a strange sympathy for her.
After a moment's hesitation, Helena awkwardly asked, "Can't you find another man you like instead?"
Shermie shrugged. "Sorry, but that guy surnamed Aiden fits my tastes pretty well. And besides…"
She sighed again. "Besides, I'm a traditional woman. I've already let him see my underwear, if I switched to another man now, I'd just feel weird about it."
At that, Aiden suddenly interjected, "Don't talk nonsense, I didn't actually see anything."
"Oh yeah? Then what color were my pa...?"
"Purple." Aiden blurted out instinctively, then quickly shut his mouth, giving an awkward laugh.
Shermie rolled her eyes at him but said no more. She just looked at Helena, knowing the other woman still had something to say.
After another pause, Helena muttered, "But if you marry him… what about me?"
"What's there to worry about? If you like him, go after him. Be his mistress, or his lover, it's fine either way." Shermie's idea of "traditional" clearly wasn't the same as most people's.
She looked at Helena and added, "You're a rich young lady yourself. Don't tell me you don't know what kind of man your father is?"
"My father…"
Hearing that, Helena froze for a second. Then suddenly, it was as if the fog in her mind had lifted, everything became clear.
At that moment, she realized Shermie's words actually made sense. Her father had eight lovers in public, and even more in secret. Her mother herself had once been one of those lovers before becoming his official wife and giving birth to her.
Seeing the look of realization on Helena's face, Shermie smiled, her voice honeyed and full of temptation.
"Looks like you've figured it out. So what are you hesitating for? Instead of getting jealous and sulking in secret, why not just make things official? Come on, we met through a fight, right?"
"So here's the deal, I'll be the main wife, you'll be the second wife. We'll split the days, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for me, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays for you. How's that sound?"
"I…" Helena hesitated, but truthfully, her heart was already moved.
Meanwhile, Aiden tilted his head back and stared at the sky. 'Forget the women here, once we get back to Japan, you two will be lucky if you even get one day a week each.'
'Wait...'
'Wow, I'm such a scumbag… and I'm just accepting it like it's natural.'
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.