[86] Lil Bro

"How can there be such a color? Such pure darkness... A soul intertwined with darkness and light, a power akin to divinity yet different... Ah..." Freya murmured softly, her excitement growing.

She involuntarily twisted her body.

Freya once again desired it.

The soul intertwined with darkness and light that Freya spoke of was none other than Aiden.

This was Aiden, gradually awakening with the power of Sparda, appearing for the first time in Freya's sight.

The awakening of Sparda's power was not merely transforming Aiden's physique and right hand; its awakening was comprehensive. It was slowly transforming Aiden's soul, turning his pure human soul into that of a demon.

This was why every night after upgrading, a voice kept calling out, "Give me more power!" echoing deep within his soul.

And this was why Freya was now interested in Aiden, who originally had an ordinary human soul.

At this moment, Aiden was unaware of all this. Even if he knew, he believed that within the little time left to him, Freya wouldn't cause any trouble.

Aiden looked up at the sky, gazing at the towering gray-white tower disappearing into the clouds. Unfortunately, he did not possess Freya's eyes; he only saw the wispy clouds tinged orange by the twilight.

"I'm not involved." Aiden chuckled softly, whispering silently in his heart.

Then, Aiden lowered his head and said to Bell at his side, "It's crowded now, stick close to me, Bell."

"Yes." Bell nodded earnestly.

Navigating through the bustling crowd, they arrived at the Guild's administrative office. Unlike the exchange for valis, which was a different place, and now nearing closing time, it was relatively quiet here.

Eina tidied up the scattered documents on the table, taking a deep breath. "Almost done."

As tomorrow was a rest day, colleagues around who had finished their work began to leave one after another.

The clock hung on the wall near the ceiling just struck six in the evening.

"Well, good evening, Eina~" Aiden greeted the half-elf lady who was busy finishing up the documents before closing.

Apart from Hestia, Eina was probably the person Aiden was most familiar with in Orario. Whenever he came to exchange valis, Aiden would always find some time to chat with her. Besides Hestia, Eina understood Aiden the best in Orario.

Being a social creature, Aiden was eager for human interaction, especially with the elf-blooded beauty like Eina.

Of course, Aiden had no romantic intentions towards her; he simply wanted to make friends.

Coming from another world with knowledge of that world, Aiden often expressed unique viewpoints and had his own literary insights. For Eina, who loved books and learning, this was somewhat attractive. Through these interactions, they gradually became familiar and eventually friends.

"Good evening, Aiden. What brings you to the Guild at this hour?" Hearing Aiden's familiar voice, Eina asked without looking up from her work.

"Oh, come on, can't I come here just to chat with you? It's only been a few days since I last came~" Aiden shrugged.

"Sure, sure, just give me a moment to finish up." Eina continued sorting through the documents in her hands.

"Um, actually, can you wait a bit? I do have something important today." Aiden walked up to the front desk, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Seriously, and here you were saying it's nothing. Didn't you always say No business, no enter the guild?" Eina retorted sarcastically before finally raising her head.

Aiden was currently only carrying Dragon Slayer, but he still exuded his usual heroic and charming aura. Eina glanced hastily and then returned her attention to the documents, subconsciously ignoring Bell standing by Aiden's side, who seemed a bit shorter.

Eina's hands did not stop moving as she continued, "So, Mr. No business no enter the guild, what brings you to the guild this time?"

"To register as an adventurer." Aiden pointed to Bell standing beside him.

"Register as an adventurer? But aren't you..." Eina finally noticed Bell, who also had white hair standing beside Aiden.

"This is?" Eina stopped her work and asked.

"I brought him here to register as an adventurer." Aiden smiled.

"H-Hello." Bell, who had a slight tendency for onee-san characters appeared nervous upon meeting Eina, who was as charming and approachable as a onee-san type girl.

"Hello." Eina smiled and nodded. Then, she noticed the blind spot and scrutinized Aiden and Bell standing together, her gaze suddenly becoming sharp.

"Is this the person you were talking about? So he's your younger brother, Aiden?" Eina asked curiously. Bell's distinctive features were quite apparent, and Eina recognized him instantly. Who would've thought Bell would be so fortunate as to not encounter a single Guild member and ultimately be found by Hestia?

"Yeah, that's him. But how did you come to that conclusion? We have such a height difference; how could we look like brothers?" Aiden sighed, somewhat incredulously.

Bell, already nervous in front of the beautiful girl, stiffened even more.

"Huh? Isn't he? I thought so because you're taller, Aiden. What else?" Eina chuckled lightly, taking out a compact mirror from her bag and holding it up to Aiden and Bell. "Look for yourselves. Same white hair, same... charm. Besides the eye color difference, there's a resemblance in your features."

Looking at their reflections in the small mirror, Aiden finally noticed the resemblance between himself and Bell.

Apart from his compassion, this resemblance was also one reason why Hestia had taken Bell in back then.

"Alright, alright, I guess there is a bit of similarity." Aiden sighed in resignation, admitting the fact. Then, he patted Bell's shoulder and said, "But we really aren't brothers. Let's just call it fate. He's our new member in the familia."

Bell caught on and bowed slightly, a bit nervous, as he introduced himself, "Hello, Eina-san. I'm Bell Cranel, the adventurer who joined Hestia Familia today. I'm here to register as an adventurer and join the familia."

Pausing briefly, Bell scratched his head, feeling like he forgot something and quickly added, "Please guide me."

"Hello, Bell-kun. Nice to meet you. I'm Eina Tulle. I'm Aiden's friend, so no need to be nervous." Eina said with a smile, noticing Bell's tension.

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