Chapter 343: New-Old Teammates

In front of the counter, two figures could be seen discussing something with the curly-haired guild attendant, Mary. One of them was a taller male figure which Aiden recognized as the current leader of the local branch, and the celebrated 'hero' of the city, the golden armored Rank 3 Adventurer of Higrove, Sir Michael Sonovan.

However, his back wasn't what caused Aiden to freeze on the spot, and his previous calm demeanor to shatter into pieces. No, what caused his shock was the other party, the slender back of a girl. Even though, she was wearing a traveler's cloak, a large dark brown furred hooded cloak, making sure that all of herself was carefully tucked away and hidden… She still couldn't hide away from him.

"Lily…" Aiden muttered, as his figure trembled with the tumultuous swirl of emotions. His hand once again was balled into fists, clenched so tightly that traces of blood dropped on the floor.

"Huh? What did you say?" Drake asked, looking surprised, following his friend's gaze only to smile with understanding a moment later. "Ah, I get it now." 

He reached for Aiden's shoulder, giving it a light pat as he tried calming his friend down.

"Calm down big boy. He did nothing wrong, you don't need to be like that."

Scarlet, although he heard both boys, remained silent, looking at the back of the girl with an unreadable expression on her face. 

At the same time, as if they shared a mystical connection, Lily's body trembled, as soon as Aiden muttered her name. She sprung up, jumping back from the counter abruptly turning around. As soon as she spotted the familiar figure of her most beloved brother, a rare expression of delight and endless joy colored further her already beautiful face. 

Sir Michael frowned seeing her reaction, turning around to look at what could have caused such a change of her usual demeanor. Jealousy and anger flashed through his eyes for a brief moment as his eyes landed on the long, black-haired, golden-eyed boy and his small company at the entrance. Still, he hid it almost instantly, equipping his usual, friendly, political smile. He looked at Lily, reaching out with his hand, offering her to grab onto it. 

"Miss Lily, if I may be so blunt to offer, shall we greet the newcomers together?"

However, his offer was swiftly ignored as Lily bolted in the next instant rushing towards the boy at the center of the trio, jumping into his embrace a moment later.

He clenched his fists, causing his gauntlets to squeak under the jealous pressure as he was forced to watch a scene.

"BROOOTHEEEER! YOU ARE FINALLY BACK!" Lily, throwing away all her cool and usual gentle calmness, returned to her childish nature the moment her bright blue eyes spotted the dearly missed another half of hers. 

As she was no longer a little child, her action caused quite a stir as her slender figure flew towards the stranger crashing against him and then hiding her sobbing face in the boy's chest. 

The anger immediately vanished from his expression, replaced by a warm, loving outlook, Aiden wrapped his arms around the trembling girl's back. He leaned closer to her ears, whispering into it gently.

"It's okay, Lily. I am here."

What he did next, caused a storm to go through the spectating crowd and also turned the sobbing girl stiff with shock. Aiden leaned in to her right cheek and kissed it. 

"I am here my dear big sister…" He whispered, making sure only she could hear his words. He reached inside her hood, giving a gentle rub at the top of her head and causing a small pout to appear on Lily's face as he also messed up her hair.

"Meanie!" She mumbled, not wanting to leave the chest she missed so much. 

Behind them, Drake looked awkwardly, not sure what to do. Due to Aiden and Lily's abrupt scene, he and his sister were also now under the watchful gaze of the crowd, which they didn't really want.

However, they couldn't really step away either and were now forced into this situation.

Scarlet, on the other hand, was smiling, smirking under the cover of her hood. She enjoyed the scene, watching a new, unexpected side of the usually calm boy was a good change. He was so quick to anger, but besides that, other reactions were almost impossible to squeeze out of him. Unless someone managed to hurt or threaten those close to him, he was almost impossible to force a reaction out of.

"Hey, there… Lily right? Glad to meet you again!" She stepped closer to the girl, offering her hand. 

Not leaving the safety of his brother's chest and embrace, Lily turned to the side, to look at the familiar voice that spoke to her. Seeing the fiery red tinges and the familiar face, she smiled back warmly. Still, she refused to let go of Aiden and just nodded.

"Good to see you as well… Uhm… Scarlet, right? I hope that everything is much better now that you are free." She looked at the offered hand, donning a wry smile, she added. "Sorry, but I need a bit more, I want to hold on to him just a bit."

Scarlet smiled warmly at her words, nodding whilst pulling her hand away. 

"No problem, I can understand."

Meanwhile, a bit further away, Sir Michael was trembling with rage, seeing such a beloved sight. The woman that should be rightfully his, was embracing another man. He had a really hard time, trying to reign in the rising craze and madness. His heart was shouting with rage, ordering his body to pull out his sword and charge at the boy. He wished for nothing more than to hack and slash away, slicing that pest into tiny little pieces. 

Still, he knew he couldn't do it. If he wanted to win the heart of his destined one, he needed to play the long game. He needed to be patient and earn a place in her heart. Only after that can he slowly corrupt her, and make her his, and his only.

Behind the group, Mary couldn't see what was going on due to the large crowd that gathered around. She tried looking around but had no idea what was going on. 

"What could have caused Lily to react that way…" She mumbled to herself, wrecking her brain to think back. Suddenly, shock appeared on her face, her face turned pale, as she remembered a particular boy that was already close and dear to her heart.

"C-could it be that… N-no… that would be too soon, he said he would be away for a while…" She muttered, taking several deep breaths, trying to calm her raging nerves. She dared not to step out but could also barely keep still.

"Guys, although I hate to break the moment, we should move on. We are disturbing everyone. Also, Aiden, remember we have an objective, unless you do not care about your friend anymore…" Seeing the commotion that their action caused, Scarlet couldn't wait anymore and decided to interject again.

Hearing her words, Aiden nodded. He grabbed her sister's shoulders, and gently peeled her off from him, who was still rather reluctant to be separated from her returning 'teddy bear'.

However, in the end, she acquiesced to them, and let go of his brother's back. However, as a compromise, she latched herself onto his right arm and refused to give in any further. Leaning against his shoulder, Lily spoke with a frilly, delightful, cheery tone. 

"Come guys, let's go. I was just asking Mary there about some available quests I could take on myself!"

"What did that golden guy want? Is he your teammate?" As they slowly walked towards the counter, getting through the crowd, Aiden asked with a masked tone. He didn't even need to glance at him to feel the man's fluctuating power through his system. He was clearly agitated, disturbed.

Seeing how intimate he tried to be with his sister a few moments ago, it didn't need a genius to figure out his intentions.

"Oh him? He is Michael, a great guy! He was helping me, just like before. We are not a party officially, but he has been helping me before."

"I see…" Aiden muttered, putting a stop to their pace briefly. "Anyway, what are you doing in the city? Shouldn't you be at home, training with Master? What happened?" 

"Oh, that? Hehe!" She giggled, at his brother's question. "We all came to the city to investigate."

Her response caused a frown to resurface on Aiden's expression. 

"Investigate? What are you all investigating? So, Granny and Master are here in the city as well?"

Lily nodded at the question, leaning her head back to her brother's shoulder once more.

"Yes, we are all here. We all separated when we arrived to check the things out on our own."  Her smile faded, replaced by a stern look as she revealed the cause of their unplanned arrival. "We were attacked a few days ago, Aiden. We want to know who did we anger, and why did he or she send a group of thugs to our home."