Chapter 158: Friends? Friends!

As he walked to the staircase, a pleasant smell hit Aiden's senses. This heavenly greeting caused a small, contented smile to appear on his face, as he approached the stairs and slowly walked down, making sure to enjoy every second he could.

He wasn't a big gourmet, taste was not that important for him. Usually, he just picked the food that provided the biggest benefit for him. Still, now even he was tempted. He could smell a variety of roasted and grilled meat, giving him a challenge not to start drooling right then and there.

Reaching halfway down, a different scene was revealed in front of his eyes than what he saw last night. The tables were full, but instead of a jungle of mugs with different levels of liquid contained within their glass or wooden circular walls, there was a sea of plates with hot, fresh, steaming breakfast dishes.

At the far right corner, as the figure saw him, he jumped up and began to excitedly wave in his general direction. His shouting was swallowed up by the other residents' loud drivel, but it wasn't that difficult to guess that he was shouting his name and asking him to come over.

Nodding at the request, Aiden walked down the stairs and casually went to the young man who was still eagerly waving at him. Crossing through the ground floor, Aiden noticed that most tables had the same dish on them, a pair of bright brown steaming sausages, with some fried beans and mashed potatoes. Although the sausages looked rather small, they also seemed ripe, and juicy. Also, it was the culprit of the incredible delight he could smell from upstairs.

As Aiden arrived at the desk, the man, Cole greeted with a bright smile on his face.

"Good Morning Aiden, did you sleep well? I ordered you the house special, that's what almost everyone orders for the morning meal. Hope you don't mind!"

"No, it is fine." Aiden replied with a smile as he took his seat in front of Cole. As he sat down, he casually scanned through the ground floor once more. "This place is packed once again. Is this normal?"

"Yeah, this place has one of the best foods in town! People come here just to eat. Even families! Just take a look over there!" Cole answered as he motioned with his head towards a nearby table.

Following his signal, Aiden glanced at the table, where a family of four, a middle-aged slightly over-weight, balding pepper-and-salt haired and mustached man was enjoying his breakfast with his middle-aged grizzling wife and with his two boys. Both were enjoying the same dish that by now Aiden was sure was the signature plate of the place.

"I see. To be honest, if nothing else, the food does smell good." Aiden spoke as he took his eyes off from the family and turned back to Cole.

"Right? I'm absolutely sure you will love it!" Cole replied, and as he glanced forward, his eyes gleamed. "Look, it is already coming!"

The next half an hour was passed as both enjoyed their breakfast while having a friendly chat. Although the food tasted great, their energy values seemed relatively low, much lower than what Aiden was used to. Still, the taste was really good, so Aiden wasn't that disappointed. During the breakfast, Aiden also got to know the short brown-haired boy a bit more. 

He wasn't anything special, he was your average village farm boy. He was originally from a nearby small village. His parents had a small farm, with a modest field that earned them just enough to scrape by year-round. While his father hoped for him to take over after he grew old, Cole was born under a different star. He always looked at the distance, glancing at the mystical forest that covered thousands upon thousands of miles and was a major landmark not just of the kingdom but even in the continent. He spent long nights, gazing and sighing as he envisioned himself taking up the leather boots and set out on his own journey.

His desire never ceased, and eventually, after some back-and-forth debate, his parents agreed to him to come to the city and try this life out. He arrived some time ago, and after registering, he tried joining several parties without much success. On the bright side, he still managed to complete some of the easier quests and had got some minimal amount of points on his still fresh card. He was still quite a distance away from reaching his dream, to become a Rank 2 adventurer.

As their plates got empty and they drank a mug of water, Cole looked at Aiden once again. This guy ever since they met, seemed good-natured and was incredibly forward and friendly towards him. Aiden still couldn't understand what drove him to come and approach Aiden out of the blue, but looking back, he no longer cared. He could also understand why Cole freaked out so much after hearing he got promoted to Rank 2 right off the bat. Still, he did not get jealous and never harbored any bad thoughts against Aiden, otherwise, he could spot it with the help of his system.

"So what's your plan today, Aiden?" Cole asked, noticing the boy's silence all of a sudden.

Brought back from his reverie by Cole's question, Aiden slightly shook his head and looked towards the door. The image of the strange, hooded figure flashed through his mind as he answered with a thoughtful stare.

"I have to go back to the guild to get my card and meet with a certain individual. After that…" he looked back at Cole, and remained silent for a few seconds, before revealing a small smile, as he continued. "After that, if you would like we could team up and pick a quest together. Only if you don't mind of course."

Cole couldn't reply immediately, he received such a shock from his words, that he could only stare as if he couldn't decide if he was still dreaming or not.

"R-really?!" He stuttered after a while. "A-are you serious?!"

"Of course!" Aiden nodded with a friendly smile. "We are friends, aren't we?"

Hearing this, Cole almost cried in happiness. After all the struggle he went through, he finally made a friend. When he saw that strange kid looking lost and gazing at the Haunted Mansion, he took a leap and decided to trust his guts for once in his life. He didn't know at the time if it was a good idea or that he made a mistake, but he decided to go through with it. Now, he was sure that he made an incredibly good decision! He finally made a friend and a strong one at that!

"Yes… We are! We are friends, Aiden!" He replied with a blurry vision as tears started to relentlessly gather in his eyes.

---

Inside Higrove's Guild Hall, at the back-office area, a heated discussion was going on. Behind a large table, the black-robed and hooded figure was sitting and looked in front of him, where the black, unarmed figure who was standing at his right and the black-armored knight who wielded the large towering shield and longsword stood. 

The unarmed figure had an ugly expression looking at his leader.

"But why?! Just tell me the reason why are you trusting that brat so much? We know nothing about him! He just came to the city and saved some unknown farmers while almost killing that idiot in the process. Why is that such a big deal that you want to pull him in so much?!"

The robed man didn't respond, and since its face was hidden behind the hood, nobody could guess its thoughts. Instead of giving a straight response, the hood turned looking at the proudly standing armored knight. 

The unnatural and heavenly melodious voice came from under the hood.

"Tell me, what do you think? You fought against him, what is your verdict, my loyal knight? Do you also think he is not worthy of my attention?"

"No, sir. That boy is incredible. That strike he did carry incredible power, yet, both Right and I could tell that he didn't even give it his all, and still managed to shatter both my shield and Right's sword. That should be impossible." The knight answered emotionlessly.

"Tsk…" The bald man could only click his tongue in dissatisfaction. He grumbled under his breath in dissatisfaction. "Bah who cares. Who would name themselves Left and Right anyway? Such a stupid name to give for your twins…"

Left, the armored knight did not respond, but the bald man could still feel a chilling presence wash over him. He shivered and took a step to the right increasing the distance between him and this frightening existence.

The hooded figure did not seem to mind the small quibble between his men. It turned its hooded head towards the bald man. In the next moment, the same melodious tune came from the hood, stating his question while also calming their troubled and agitated hearts.

"Do you still think my attention is wasted on that boy after hearing my loyal knight's words?"

The bald man didn't answer, just silently averted his gaze, looking down at the ground. He did not dare to utter any words, he knew just how frightening this person in front of him could be.