Early the next morning, the church in Sector 5 was already packed with people from nearby, all came to see what had happened.
Of course, some had planned to come over when they heard the noises during the night, but like Elmyra, they were stopped by the Turks.
But now it was different, after the Turks finished inspecting, they all withdrew. With no one guarding the church, it quickly filled with people.
"The fight last night was intense!" someone in the crowd said, shocked at the level of destruction.
"Yeah, a lot of the surrounding buildings collapsed. Phew, good thing this area's abandoned and no one lives here anymore. Otherwise, who knows how many would've died!" someone else replied.
"But who exactly was fighting here last night? Anyone know?" another person asked.
"Seemed like it was Shinra's Turks. I tried to come last night too, but they blocked me and said they were clearing monsters that invaded the city. Said it was dangerous," someone answered.
"They care that much?" someone questioned, "Monsters invading the city isn't rare, people get hurt by monsters in the slums every day. Never seen Shinra clear anything. They're definitely hiding something."
His doubt got many others nodding in agreement. Although they relied on Shinra's nearly free energy to survive, and complained about resistance groups attacking Shinra and disrupting life, it didn't mean they liked Shinra.
Most people knew full well that the current state of things was caused by Shinra. But because they were poor and lacked resources, they had no choice but to support Shinra and work for them, trapped in a contradiction.
Besides, when monsters showed up in the slums, they usually had to gather people themselves to fight, or pay mercenaries. Hardly ever had Shinra stepped in. Naturally, this led to suspicion.
"Forget it. Even if they're hiding something, it's got nothing to do with us. Time to get to work, otherwise we won't even have dinner tonight." After a bit of discussion, one person said something very practical. In an instant, more than half of the crowd dispersed. Soon, only two people were left.
"Compared to so-called ideals, filling your stomach is more important." Aerith said as she held Aiden's arm and walked toward the church, letting out a sigh.
Aiden nodded, "Of course. Most people don't think about what'll happen tomorrow, let alone care what the world will become. What they care about most is whether they can find a job today, because in this world, being unemployed means starving."
"If that's the case, looks like I'll be going hungry." Aerith pointed to the ruined flowerbed in front of them. "I think I just lost my job!"
Aiden, "…"
In truth, although the battle yesterday was intense, some flowers in the flowerbed had survived. After all, Aerith had tended to them with care, and they were resilient.
But this morning, so many people had come. When they saw such rare flowers growing here, many secretly dug one up before leaving. By the time Aerith and Aiden arrived, not only were the flowers gone, even the soil had been completely dug up, leaving nothing behind.
This is also why Aerith told Aiden that she lost her job, although there were still some flowers at home, most of them were for decoration, and it was impossible to take them out and sell.
"But, it seems like you're not sad at all." While walking out of the church, Aiden kept glancing at Aerith's face and found that she looked like nothing had happened, and instead even had a faint smile on her face.
"Mmhm! Anyway, there's only a little bit of flowers left, if they like them then let them have them." Aerith waved her hand generously. "Besides… after planting flowers for so long, I suddenly want to try a new job."
"A new job? Sure, people have to try new things and live new lives." Aiden nodded, then added, "But you don't have to work. I still have quite a lot of money, more than enough to support you."
"I don't want to be a rice worm, Aiden!"
(T/N: Rice worm is a slang term meaning someone who lives off others without contributing)
Aerith had always been a self-reliant girl, which was obvious from how she sold flowers on her own from a very young age.
"I want to earn my own living."
"Then have you decided what kind of job you want to do?" Aiden asked curiously.
"I've decided." Aerith nodded, a sly smile appearing on her face.
Looking at Aerith's smile, Aiden's heart started to pound inexplicably. He cautiously asked, "So soon? Can you tell me what you want to do?"
"Of course." Aerith said with a smiling squint. "I plan to go to Tifa's place and help her manage the bar."
"What?" Aiden exclaimed in shock.
As for Aerith's idea of working at Tifa's place, Aiden was absolutely opposed to it. Not to mention that Aerith was still under surveillance by the Turks. If she really went, it might expose Barret and the others' identities, though that was bound to happen eventually.
But all that was actually a small matter. The important thing was: after Aerith and Tifa start spending time together, there would definitely be situations that give Aiden a headache.
Although the two girls probably wouldn't get into full-blown fights, bickering would definitely be inevitable. And if one of them suffered a loss and asked him for help, who would he help?
But even though Aiden held an opposing opinion, Aerith was set on going, and once she decided something, she acted on it right away. As soon as they came out of the church, she pulled Aiden onto the bus to Sector 7.
While on the bus, Aiden was still trying to persuade her, saying things like bar work is tough, she needs to watch out for drunk troublemakers, and most importantly, she'd have to work very late, making it unsafe to go home.
But Aerith made him fall silent with one sentence. "Would you really let me go home alone?"
Well, what else could Aiden say? He could only agree.
But very soon, another problem came to his mind. If he had to send Aerith home every day, wouldn't that mean Tifa would watch him send Aerith off after work every single day, and then go home all alone herself?
Could she stand that?
And moreover, his alone time with Tifa would become even less. This was completely different from when she asked them to move in, because if they lived together, they'd always be around and he could find chances to be alone with her.
Thinking of this, Aiden couldn't help but sigh. He was starting to worry about the days ahead.
Not long after, the bus arrived at Sector 7.
After getting off the bus, Aerith dragged the somewhat reluctant Aiden straight to the Seventh Heaven bar.
Because it was still morning, the Seventh Heaven bar had no customers yet. Only Tifa was inside, using a checklist to count the newly delivered drinks and food.
At that moment, hearing footsteps at the entrance, she didn't even lift her head and said, "Sorry, we're not open yet. Please come back later."
"Then should we come back later?" Aiden had already adjusted his mood halfway through and asked with a grin.
Hearing Aiden's voice, Tifa immediately dropped the checklist and pen in her hand, looked up in surprise, and opened her arms to throw herself into a hug.
Then she saw Aerith standing next to Aiden, and instantly froze on the spot.
"You can pretend I'm not here." Aerith crossed her arms, smiling the same way.
"But I'm not blind." Tifa pouted, picked up the checklist and pen from the floor, put them on the counter, and said, "You two sit for a bit, I'll go make some tea."
Aiden nodded and sat down with Aerith at a table near the back.
Before long, Tifa brought over hot tea. After setting down the cups, she sat across from Aiden.
Aiden picked up a cup and sipped a little, but it was too hot to taste, so he put it down and asked, "Why are you alone? Where's Jessie?"
He knew Jessie would come help Tifa at the bar when she was free. After all, the Avalanche group basically ran their operations on the money earned through Tifa's bar.
"Barret and the others went out on a mission to maintain security, so they asked Jessie to help take Marlene to school. She'll be back soon." Tifa leaned her chin on one hand and looked at Aiden.
"Oh, no wonder." Aiden showed an understanding expression. Barret and the others were Sector 7's vigilantes. Although the pay was low, their work wasn't easy. Still, it earned them great respect and reputation in the sector.
"What about Cloud? That guy eats and lives here for free, hasn't he thought about helping out?" Aiden scanned the bar and asked.
Tifa noticed that Aerith had a strange expression on her face when she heard Cloud's name, but didn't pay much attention. She just snorted, "That guy left early this morning, said he was looking for work. Right now, he's either helping some old lady find her dog or helping someone clean up monsters invading the city or something."
"As expected of a proper mercenary, can't sit still for even a second." Aiden sighed.
"Right, you two came so early, don't tell me it's just to chat about this?" Tifa looked at Aerith with some suspicion. If Aiden had come alone, she wouldn't have asked this.
"Of course not." Aiden shook his head and glanced at Aerith. "It's about her job."
"Her? Job?" Tifa looked even more confused, and turned to ask Aerith, "Aren't you selling flowers?"
"Something happened early this morning, my flower garden got destroyed, so… I lost my job." Aerith looked helpless. "To have something to eat, I wanted to ask if you're still hiring here."
With Aiden around, how could she ever go hungry? Though thinking that, Tifa still replied, "If you're looking for work, it's possible, but this little bar of mine can't afford a high salary."
"No need for high pay, anything you give is fine." Aerith didn't care at all, after all, she wasn't really doing it for the money.
Though even she didn't know exactly why she wanted the job. Maybe just to experience a new life?
"In that case, you can actually start now." Tifa nodded, but then remembered something. "But we usually stay open pretty late. It's not tiring, but if you go home alone afterward…"
"Don't worry, Aiden will walk me back. Nothing will happen." Aerith smiled sweetly.
Tifa froze, and her expression went from confused to surprised, and finally to slightly annoyed as she pouted. She had clearly thought of the same thing Aiden had earlier.
Shifting her gaze from Aerith's face to Aiden's, she noticed he was also looking at her. In that instant, a lot of meaning passed through their eyes, and then, they both nodded slightly at the same time.
It was time for Aerith to move into Sector 7.
Even though Aerith's job was settled, the three of them kept chatting, and soon the topic turned to Aiden.
Because Aiden used to accompany Aerith to sell flowers every evening, and now that she wasn't selling anymore, he suddenly had a lot of free time. Aerith and Tifa started suggesting that Aiden work at the bar too.
Of course, Aiden refused, insisting that he wanted to find a more manly job, like Cloud, becoming a mercenary.
"What's so good about being a mercenary? Running all over the place, never staying home." Tifa didn't like the idea of Aiden being a mercenary, afraid he might vanish for years too.
Aerith also disagreed, and her reasons were exactly the same as Tifa's.
Aiden could easily guess what the two girls were thinking, so he said, "Not the type of mercenary that runs all over the world. I mean just in this city, as Midgar's City Hunter, helping people solve problems."
He continued, "I could hang a sign at the bar entrance to attract people who need help. While doing small tasks for others, I'd also bring more business to the bar.
And at most, I'd take on tasks like clearing monsters that entered the city or delivering stuff, nothing that takes me out of the city."
After hearing this, the two girls looked at each other and realized it might actually work. After a moment of thought, they nodded in agreement.
"Wow! Aiden, Aerith, why are you here?"
Just then, Jessie finally returned. Probably because she had taken Marlene to school, she wasn't wearing her usual conspicuous chest armor. She was dressed casually, but her slightly oversized top couldn't hide her curvy figure, and her chest looked just as impressive as Aerith's.
"We came looking for jobs." Aerith immediately explained.
After hearing her, Jessie happily pumped her fist. "That's great! This way, I'll have less work to do!"
"You never had that much work anyway, Jessie." Tifa said, dissatisfied. Even without Jessie's help, she could manage just fine on her own.
"Aiya, even a little less is still less!" Jessie didn't care about Tifa's tone. She sat beside her, occasionally glancing at Aiden, but with Aerith present, every time she looked, she quickly looked away again.
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