After the noise of the celebration passed, Seventh Heaven finally returned to peace.
Barret, the injured Jessie, and the others were sent to rest, while Tifa and Cain stayed behind to clean up the aftermath.
The two of them silently set the overturned tables and chairs upright and swept the broken glass from the floor.
Sunlight passed through the windows, drawing long bands of light through the dust floating in the air.
The atmosphere was quiet and warm.
“Cain,” Tifa said softly as she wiped down the bar, “thank you.” “For what?” Cain stopped what he was doing and looked at her in confusion.
“For everything.” Tifa turned around and leaned against the bar, looking at him seriously.
“Thank you for coming back.
Thank you for saving us.
Thank you for… not becoming what I was afraid you might become.” What she had feared was a cold, ruthless monster swallowed by hatred and power.
But what she saw was Cain, a man who was quiet and reserved, yet still kept kindness and gentleness in his heart.
He would unleash astonishing power to protect his companions, and he would also show a clumsy smile when facing Marlene.
“I promised you,” Cain said in a low voice, his words unusually clear.
“I would become… a hero who could protect you.” Those words were like a key, instantly opening the floodgates of Tifa’s memory.
It was as if she had returned to the water tower in Nibelheim and saw the stubborn boy who had once made that promise to her.
The man before her slowly overlapped with the boy from her memories, and Tifa’s eyes could not help but grow a little damp.
“You did,” she said with a smile, tears shining in her eyes.
Just then, the bar door was gently pushed open.
A familiar figure peeked inside.
“Excuse me… is this Seventh Heaven?” It was Aerith.
She had changed into ordinary casual clothes, but her bright green eyes and outstanding presence still made her stand out in the slums.
“Aerith!” Tifa was a little surprised.
“How did you find this place?” “I asked around.
The most famous bar in the slums is right here.” Aerith blinked playfully, then turned her gaze toward Cain.
“I’m here to collect my payment, Mr.
Bodyguard.” Cain looked at her, and a faint ripple stirred in his heart.
Before he could speak, Aerith had already walked over to the bar by herself, curiously looking around like a child seeing something new.
“Wow, this place is really nice.” She praised it, then said to Tifa, “Could I have a glass of water?
I walked a long way, and I’m really thirsty.” “Of course.” Tifa poured her a glass of water.
Aerith took a sip, then locked her gaze on Cain again, a sly smile appearing on her face.
“So, about my payment…” “What do you want?” Cain asked.
He had already prepared himself.
Whether it was money or something else, as long as he could do it, he would fulfill her request.
“Hmm…” Aerith tilted her head, pretending to think.
“I don’t need money.
The payment I want is…” She paused for a moment, then said each word clearly.
“Be my bodyguard one more time.” “What?” Cain and Tifa were both stunned.
“There’s something I need to do, so I have to go to Wall Market.
It’s a rough place, and it would be too dangerous for a girl to go there alone,” Aerith explained.
“So I need a strong, reliable bodyguard to come with me.
And you, Mr.
Cain, are the best choice.” The request was reasonable, but Cain hesitated.
They had just blown up Mako Reactor 1, and right now, Shinra’s search was at its tightest.
Going out carelessly would be too risky.
“No, it’s too dangerous!” Tifa immediately objected.
“Shinra is searching for us everywhere right now.” “That’s exactly why I need a bodyguard.” Aerith said it as if it were only natural.
“Besides, the most dangerous place is often the safest place.
Shinra’s attention is focused on hunting down Avalanche’s main members right now.
No one will pay attention to a flower seller going shopping and her… hmm, bodyguard who looks like a country cousin.” She looked Cain up and down, as if considering how to disguise him.
Cain looked into Aerith’s eyes, which were filled with expectation and a hint of refusal to take no for an answer.
He thought of her help last night, and he also thought of Zack.
He knew this girl was nowhere near as simple as she appeared on the surface.
Her trip to Wall Market was probably not as easygoing as “shopping.” “I’ll do it,” Cain decided.
“Cain!” Tifa said anxiously.
“I owe her.” Cain looked at Tifa, his gaze firm.
“And she’s right.
We can’t keep hiding here forever.
We need information.
We need to know what’s happening outside.” Tifa looked at him, then at Aerith, and in the end, she could only sigh helplessly.
She knew it was hard to change Cain’s mind once he had decided something.
“Then… I’m going too,” Tifa said.
She did not feel comfortable letting Cain go out alone with this mysterious girl.
“Sure!” Aerith immediately clapped her hands happily.
“The more, the merrier!
Then it’s settled.
Our three-person date squad is officially formed!” “It’s not a date!” Tifa immediately retorted, her face turning red.
“Oh, close enough.” Aerith smiled like a cat that had stolen cream.
And just like that, the matter was decided.
Before they set out, Tifa found Cain an ordinary jacket and a baseball cap, trying to hide his eye-catching silver hair and overly sharp gaze.
As for the enormous Buster Sword, it was wrapped tightly in thick canvas, making it look like some kind of large musical instrument or tool.
“Mm, now you look like an ordinary porter.” Aerith nodded in satisfaction.
Cain looked at his slightly ridiculous outfit in the mirror and shook his head helplessly.
“All right, let’s go!” Aerith announced enthusiastically.
The three of them left Seventh Heaven and headed toward the most chaotic, lawless, and lively area in Midgar, Wall Market.
Cain walked in the middle, with Tifa and Aerith at his left and right.
Sunlight passed through the gaps in the upper plate, scattering mottled spots of light over them.
Looking at the two girls beside him, both so different in style yet equally beautiful and striking, Cain felt as if his heart, numbed by battle and escape, had finally sensed a long-lost, vivid color.
He did not know what he would encounter on this “bodyguard” job, nor did he know what the girl named Aerith was really planning.
But he knew one thing.
He had to keep this promise.
Because this was a promise he had personally made as a “person,” not as a “monster” or a “test subject.”