Refuse? Of course not. Who would refuse a cute girl?
Besides, Goenitz wasn't wrong, taking a still-underage girl everywhere wasn't easy. Goenitz could protect her, but he definitely couldn't take good care of her.
So Aiden nodded lightly, and said very confidently, "Go ahead and leave her to me without worry, I'll definitely be able to take good care of her."
Goenitz smiled and said, "I believe you on this point, because you're from Country Z. Men from Country Z are usually very good at taking care of people, especially women."
Actually, at first he was planning to have Shermie or Mature and Vice take care of Goenica, but yesterday when he went to find Shermie, he happened to sit at her place for a while, and instantly gave up that idea.
He saw that the dishes Shermie had used at night were piled directly in the sink, and the coffee table was also filled with drink bottles and beer cans. If he didn't know Shermie didn't smoke, he figured he'd even see an overfilled ashtray.
Letting Shermie take care of her, he might as well do it himself. You become red when close to cinnabar, black when close to ink; he didn't want Goenica to be taught bad habits by Shermie.
As for Mature and Vice, Goenitz felt the two of them were half a dozen with Shermie, maybe even worse.
So after thinking over and over, Goenitz still decided to hand Goenica over to Aiden. And in his view, Aiden had many women around him, if Aiden couldn't take care of Goenica, he could have the women around him take care of her a bit.
Listening to Goenitz speak with such a stereotypical impression, Aiden didn't refute it. He didn't know whether other men from Country Z were good at taking care of women, but he himself indeed was.
However, seeing Goenitz trusting him so much, Aiden joked, "Speaking of which, taking care of a child isn't exactly an easy thing. Also, as her father, aren't you thinking of giving some living expenses?"
Of course Goenitz knew Aiden was joking. He thought carefully for a moment and felt he did have a point. Thinking back to when he had just adopted Goenica, how completely at a loss he had been, his face showed a trace of reminiscence.
Then he pointed at Mature and Vice, "Ask them for money, they've got plenty. In human terms, the two of them are rich women now. Have them pay to raise Goenica, you just handle the caring part."
"Looks like they're doing much better than Shermie. So, the two of you, any interest in raising one more man who lives off a woman?" Aiden turned his head toward Mature and Shermie, speaking jokingly as well.
"Sure, as long as Shermie agrees, we don't mind." Mature used one finger to lift the golden hair on her forehead, a charming smile appearing on her face. Then she looked toward Vice, "What do you think?"
"I don't mind, I'm just afraid he won't be able to satisfy us." Vice raised her slender willow brows and said lightly.
"Then don't worry, Shermie we've seen plenty of times. If he can handle that kind of figure, I think he'll be just fine." Mature said, then shot Aiden a teasing glance, "Am I wrong?"
'Don't start driving in the wrong place, hey, there's a kid here!'
Aiden ignored the two of them, just looked at Goenitz expressionlessly, "Aren't you going to control them?"
"I may be the leader of the Eight Heavenly Kings, but I can't control them in this kind of matter." Goenitz said with a smile.
"But seeing you all getting along so well, I'm relieved. Mature and Vice have never shown such a good attitude toward other men like they do toward you."
"Sounds like this is my honor?" Aiden asked, curling his lips.
"It really is your honor." Mature and Vice nodded at the side, then laughed together.
Goenitz also laughed for a moment, then got up and walked toward Goenica. Although he wasn't leaving until tomorrow, he still planned to hand Goenica over to Aiden early, so she could start getting used to the unfamiliar environment in advance.
———
Not long after, Aiden held Goenica's hand and got into a taxi by the roadside. The two cars that had come earlier had already been driven off by the Kagura sisters and Mai Shiranui, so he could only take Goenica back to the shrine by taxi.
Originally, he wanted to take Goenica to the Shiranui Dojo, but thinking it over, bringing her back to the shrine was more convenient. There were many people there, and also maids, they could take very good care of Goenica in all aspects.
"Aiden, where are we going? Aren't we going to Sister Shermie's place?" In the car, Goenica looked at Aiden, addressing him according to his request.
There was a main problem, hearing Goenica call him big brother made him feel like he was one generation below Goenitz. Even though logically they could each be counted separately, it just felt unpleasant.
"We're not going, we're going to where I live now. And your Sister Shermie's place… isn't really suitable."
Actually, the place Shermie lived now was very spacious. No matter how much Maki disliked the Eight Heavenly Kings, for Aiden's sake she still arranged a three-bedroom apartment for Shermie. But mainly, if he brought Goenica to live at Shermie's place, how would he and Shermie carry out their morning exercise in the future?
Although Western girls matured quickly, Goenica definitely wasn't that type. She was a little girl protected extremely well by Goenitz, so she didn't understand what Aiden meant.
After softly replying with an "oh," Goenica quieted down. Then she lay against the car window, watching the scenery and people retreating outside.
Suddenly, the little girl asked softly, "Daddy… he won't be in danger, right?"
"Your father is very strong." Aiden only said this one sentence.
After a moment, Goenica asked again, "Then in the future, can I call Daddy often?"
"Once we get back, I'll buy you a phone. You can call whenever you want." Aiden leaned a little closer to Goenica's side and reached out to rub her head.
Goenica had no resistance to such intimate actions from Aiden, and even took off the nun's hat on her head herself, letting him touch her hair directly.
Aiden sighed inwardly. And her hair felt very nice to touch.
Very soon, the taxi arrived at the entrance of the Yata Shrine.
After paying, Aiden held Goenica's hand and walked through the shrine gate.
———
There was only one day left until the fighting tournament. No matter how much last-minute practice they did, it wouldn't help much. So after the Kagura sisters came back, they didn't stay in the training grounds like before, but were drinking tea in the shrine office's tea room. When they saw Aiden return holding the hand of a beautiful blonde girl, both sisters froze.
"What a beautiful little girl!" Chizuru let out a sound of admiration first, then looked strangely at Aiden, "Where did you abduct her from?"
"You guess!" Aiden's mood had always been good, so he loved making harmless jokes and saying teasing things. After sitting across from the sisters with Goenica, he said to Goenica, "This is Kagura Maki. You can call her Sister Maki."
The little girl obediently nodded toward Kagura Maki, "Hello, Sister Maki."
"Hello…" Kagura Maki frowned slightly as she looked at Goenica. She felt Goenica's aura was a little strange. But at the moment Goenica only had the bloodline Goenitz had given her, and her power hadn't awakened yet. That made Kagura Maki wonder if she had sensed wrong.
Then Aiden pointed at Chizuru and said to Goenica, "This is Chizuru."
"Hello, Sister Chizuru." Goenica nodded toward Chizuru.
"What a well-behaved child!" In Chizuru's cold eyes, joy burst out. Clearly, Goenica was a girl loved by everyone who saw her.
Then Chizuru called toward the door, "Yumiko, bring some desserts."
After that, she finally responded to Aiden's earlier words.
"I guess someone asked you to take care of her for them. Such a pretty little girl couldn't possibly be abandoned, right?"
'Very good, both of your guesses are correct.'
Aiden gave the tsundere older sister an approving look, then said, "She really is someone I'm taking care of for someone else."
"Who? It couldn't be that Helena woman, right? Her hair is also blonde. But I've never heard she had a younger sister. Hmm, could it be that girl named King? But I remember she only has a younger brother…" Chizuru guessed.
"None of them." Aiden shook his head, deciding not to keep them in suspense anymore, "Maki, Chizuru, once I say this, don't be surprised, and don't get agitated."
"Go ahead, we won't." Chizuru showed a reassuring expression. Kagura Maki hesitated for a moment, then nodded as well.
So Aiden said calmly, "She is the adopted daughter of the leader of the Eight Heavenly Kings, Goenitz, Goenica."
"What…" Chizuru had just said one word before quickly covering her own mouth.
But Kagura Maki reacted even more strongly.
"Aiden, you actually know about the Eight Heavenly Kings? Could it be… Shermie told you?"
"She didn't." Aiden took a sip of tea and shook his head, "I have my own information channels."
"Then this morning you went to meet Goenitz?" Chizuru asked at this moment.
"Mm." Aiden nodded, then briefly recounted how he met Goenitz and what they talked about in the morning.
After hearing Aiden's explanation, both sisters frowned.
"How much of Goenitz's words do you think are believable?" After a moment, Kagura Maki asked.
"At least seventy or eighty percent."
Another moment passed, then Kagura Maki continued, "Is Orochi really about to revive?"
"Anyway, that's what Goenitz said, so it probably isn't fake." Aiden felt Goenitz had no reason to lie to him. There would be no benefit.
As long as Aiden repeated his words to Kagura Maki, whether true or false, Kagura Maki would increase her vigilance toward the seal and the Eight Heavenly Kings. That would be a loss, not a gain.
"But on my end, I can't sense any sign of Orochi being close to revival!" Kagura Maki actually already half-believed it.
In the moment she was silent earlier, she had already used the Yata Mirror to sense Orochi's seal, but the seal showed no signs of fluctuation at all. Orochi was totally quiet.
However, Orochi being too quiet was abnormal. After all, Orochimaru was only sealed, not erased. How could he be that quiet?
Frowning, Kagura Maki continued, "No, I need to inform the Kusanagi family and the Yagami family immediately. If someone really is using some special method to revive Orochi, we need to prepare."
Chizuru also frowned, "Isn't Kusanagi Kyo competing in the fighting tournament tomorrow? We can tell him then. As for the Yagami family… I haven't heard anything from them in a long time."
"Then send people to find..."
Actually, there was no need to look deliberately. Iori Yagami was probably already on his way to Tokyo… Aiden thought. The Yagami family and Kusanagi family had generations of grudges, and Iori viewed Kyo as his rival. He must have seen today's TV broadcast.
With Iori's personality, he would definitely come to Tokyo to cause trouble for Kyo.
But he couldn't say this to the sisters. Seeing how anxious they looked, Aiden comforted them, "Don't worry. I guess Orochi won't break through the seal so easily. Besides, with me here, even if Orochi revives, he won't be able to stir up much trouble."
Hearing that, both sisters stared blankly at Aiden.
'What do you mean, with you here, Orochi won't be able to do anything?'
'That's Orochi, the will of the planet, not some small fry.'
"Aiden, you're not bragging, right?" Chizuru looked doubtful. Even though he was her man, the enemy was Orochi. Believing him wasn't that easy.
Kagura Maki had the same expression as her sister, "Aiden, don't say such things carelessly. That's Orochi."
Feeling the sisters' suspicious gazes, Aiden smiled and said, "I've defeated enemies stronger than Orochi. You'll understand in the future… Alright, let's stop talking about this. Chizuru, it's almost noon, time to prepare lunch. Since today is Goenica's first day living here, prepare something more lavish."
Facing Aiden's sudden change of subject, Chizuru paused for a moment, then replied with an "oh." She had no resistance at all toward being instructed by Aiden.
Just as she stood up to go out, Chizuru turned back to look at Goenica.
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