Chapter 160: Meeting (2) (1/2)

”Come in, it's open!”

The strange, heavenly melody came from the other side of a door. In front of it, Mary stood still hand-in-hand with Aiden. She rushed through the hallways while nervously gripping the boy's hand and pulling him all the way to a particular door. From the outside it looked completely average, in fact, all the other doors on the floor were different, much higher in quality.

Judging from the looks of it, you wouldn't think that anybody important would take residence here. You would be more inclined to believe that it was just a closet or some sort of storage room, and not an office to the most powerful examiner, the so-called 'Leader'.

Taking a deep breath, Mary turned around, and despite how she acted previously, she resolutely looked Aiden in the eye. If the tightened grip on his hands wouldn't betray the girl's bottled nervousness and anxiety, you would think that she had only acted previously, and this would be her real self and not the other way around.

”Look Aiden. I don't know why the Leader wanted to meet with you, but please, take my advice and be careful! That 'thing' is incredibly powerful, and nobody can guess its thoughts. This group came only recently and with the highest of authority in the guild… but still, everything smells fishy… Something is going in the background, and we are just too small, too insignificant to matter... ”

She took a deep breath and kept it in her diaphragm for a moment before she slowly started exhaling it. After half a minute she seemed to visibly calm down, she continued while pulling Aiden's hands to eye level and grabbed with both hands.

”I know I don't matter to you and I just seem like some crazy girl, acting weird and all… Even though I can't explain why I am acting like this, it's not like me at all…” She exhaled again before continuing. ”Anyway, that doesn't matter right now. What I wanted to say is that you try your best to stay calm and try to resist that charming tune. It can pull you in without you even noticing it, and before you realize you are already a slave to 'that'!”

With a much quieter tone, she leaned closer, and with her right hand, he reached for her side pocket. A moment later a pair of butter-colored cotton plugs were pulled out.” Take these and put them in your ear. They look cheap, but don't let that fool you! We each got 2 pairs from management the day when the examiners arrived. They told us to keep a pair of these in our ears at all times!”

She looked to the side, presenting her ear to show that she still had one placed inside her ear canals.” Don't ask me the specifics I have no idea, but they are enchanted!”

Aiden nodded with a friendly smile and grabbed the cotton earpieces. He promptly inserted it into his ear and covered it up with his long black hair, so they were completely hidden. Once they were done, he smiled at the girl once again, and with a hushed tone, he thanked her.

”Thank you for all the help you have given me Mary. I don't know why you are so nice to me that you even potentially endanger yourself, but rest assured I will remember this gift and will make sure to repay you someday. For now, I can only say that I am blessed to have such a friend like you!”

He took a step back and gave a slight bow to show respect, and then without waiting for a response, he pushed on the door and stepped inside the office, leaving the girl alone with her already beet red cheeks and an embarrassed expression. She turned around, kept looking in the direction of where the boy's back vanished as the door quickly closed behind him for a long while, before she eventually sighed, and shook her head.

”What on earth are you doing, Mary?! I'm acting like an idiot… Why did I become like this? Why can't I think when I am around him?!” She sighed one last time, then turned around and left, walking back towards the Guild's Hall.

”Just who is he? Why do I have such an intense reaction for him?” She kept mumbling to herself as she soon left through the halls.

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Entering into the office room, the first thing that greeted Aiden's eyes was the simplistic wooden table that took most of the space in the room. Huge stacks of papers were placed on it, literally hiding the figure sitting behind it. A single rectangular window was the only source of light. There were no chairs, nor a couch placed in the room as furniture to be offered for the guest to take their seat and be just slightly more comfortable during the discussion.

Clearly, the room was designed so that the invitees would spend as little time here as possible.

”Greetings Aiden, thank you for coming. Excuse me for not offering you a seat, I don't usually have guests that I wish to keep here.” A melodious voice came from behind the stacks.

Suddenly, they began to slide to the side and open up a path, revealing the hooded dark figure sitting behind.

”Much better.” The figure sighed with a satisfied tone. ”Now, I presume we should start with introductions. I already knew your first name, but please, do me the honors to start.”

However, Aiden simply shook his head with disagreement. In a clear and calm tone, he spoke.