Midgar’s Sector 6, Wall Market.
This was Midgar’s gray zone, a lawless district outside Shinra’s direct control and ruled by the mob boss Don Corneo.
Neon lights still flashed even in broad daylight, and the air was filled with the aroma of food, the stink of cheap alcohol, and a faint, almost invisible trace of danger.
People came and went along the streets, all walks of life mixed together, and there was nothing too strange to find here.
For Cain, who had come here for the first time, the scene before him struck him with a strange and vivid impact.
His modified senses could easily pick out conspiratorial whispers hidden inside dark alleys from the noisy crowd, and from the jumble of smells, he could catch the hidden scent of blood and desire.
“Wow, this place is as lively as ever.” Aerith looked around like a curious tourist, without the slightest trace of nervousness on her face.
Tifa, on the other hand, seemed somewhat tense and uneasy.
Almost unconsciously, she moved a little closer to Cain.
The atmosphere here made her deeply uncomfortable.
“Stay close to me.
Don’t get separated,” Cain said quietly to the two of them.
He pulled the brim of his cap lower, one hand always resting on the Buster Sword wrapped in canvas on his back, keeping himself alert at all times.
He was like a dutiful bodyguard, shielding the two girls beside him and cutting off the ill-intentioned gazes around them.
“Don’t be so nervous, Mr.
Bodyguard.” Aerith smiled.
“We’re here to deliver flowers, not start a fight.
Follow me, the place is just up ahead.” She led the two of them through the main street with practiced ease, then turned into a relatively quiet alley.
At the end of the alley was an unremarkable flower shop called Leaf House.
A middle-aged man wearing glasses, who looked somewhat dull and awkward, was inside tending to the flowers and plants.
When he saw Aerith, he immediately smiled.
“Aerith, you’re here.
The flowers this time are excellent.” “Of course they are.
I raised them very carefully.” Aerith proudly puffed out her chest, then introduced Cain and Tifa to him.
“These are my friends, Tifa, and my… hmm, temporary bodyguard, Cain.” “Nice to meet you.” The owner nodded to them in a friendly manner.
Aerith finished handing over the flowers and chatted with the owner for a few moments.
Cain, meanwhile, stood at the doorway.
He looked as if he were spacing out, but in truth he was vigilantly observing the surrounding environment.
Just then, two flamboyantly dressed men walked past the alley entrance with their arms around each other’s shoulders.
Their conversation clearly reached Cain’s ears.
“Did you hear?
Don Corneo’s been in a pretty bad mood lately.” “What happened?
Did some idiot piss him off again?” “Sounds like he caught a few Avalanche people, but they’re stubborn as hell.
He can’t get anything out of them.
The boss is getting ready to send them to the basement of the mansion and keep interrogating them!” “Avalanche?
The crazy bastards who blew up the mako reactor?
Heh, now this should be fun!” Their voices gradually faded into the distance.
Cain’s eyes instantly sharpened.
He immediately told Tifa what he had heard.
“What?!” Tifa’s expression changed dramatically when she heard it.
“Avalanche members were captured?
Who could it be?
Barret and the others all made it back safely, didn’t they?” Her heart leaped into her throat.
Could there be another operation cell in the organization?
Or was this a trap set by Shinra and Don Corneo?
“Don’t be reckless.” Cain pressed a hand on her shoulder, signaling for her to calm down.
“It might just be a rumor, or it might be a trap.” “But what if it’s true?
We can’t just let them die!” Tifa said anxiously.
Aerith, standing beside them, had also heard their conversation.
The smile on her face vanished, replaced by a trace of gravity.
“Don Corneo’s mansion… isn’t a good place.” She spoke softly.
“Very few people who go inside ever come out alive.
But Don Corneo has developed a strange little habit lately.
He’s been searching everywhere for new ‘bride’ candidates for himself.
If we want to find out what’s really going on, we’ll have to become ‘bride’ candidates.
And if we want to become candidates and meet him in person, we’ll need letters of recommendation from Wall Market’s three influential figures.” “Three influential figures?” “According to the people in Wall Market, the Trio are Chocobo Sam, Madam M, and Andrea from the Honeybee Inn.
Only after getting their recommendations can someone enter Don Corneo’s mansion,” Aerith analyzed.
“The Honeybee Inn is pretty close by, so we can start there.” Without giving them a chance to object, she pulled the two of them toward the Honeybee Inn.
At the entrance of the Honeybee Inn stood two burly guards.
When they saw Aerith and Tifa, amazement immediately appeared in their eyes.
“You ladies here to apply as Honeygirls?
Our boss loves types like you,” one of the guards said.
“We’re here to enter the Honeybee Inn and ask Andrea for a letter of recommendation,” Aerith said with a smile.
“Enter the Honeybee Inn?
This isn’t a place just anyone can walk into.” The guard blocked their way.
At that moment, a gorgeously dressed man with bewitching movements walked out from inside.
Seeing the commotion at the entrance, he frowned.
But when his gaze landed on Cain, his eyes suddenly lit up.
He was the master of the Honeybee Inn, Andrea Rhodea.
“Oh, la la… where did this little wildcat and little lamb come from?” Andrea swayed his hips as he came over.
He ignored Tifa and Aerith entirely and instead circled Cain once, his gaze full of appreciation and appraisal.
“That physique… that presence… Your clothes may be rustic, but they can’t hide the radiance of an uncut diamond!” Andrea winked at Cain.
“Handsome boy, any interest in working here?
I promise I’ll turn you into the brightest star in all of Wall Market!” Cain felt uncomfortable under his gaze and instinctively took a step back.
“We’re here to enter the Honeybee Inn and get a letter of recommendation,” Cain repeated.
“Enter the Honeybee Inn?
No problem.” Andrea lifted his fingers with a dainty flourish.
“However, if you want to enter my Honeybee Inn and get my letter of recommendation, I’ll first need to see whether you have the proper ‘qualifications.’ How about this?
The three of you can send any representative you like to fight one match in that colosseum over there.
Win, and I’ll let you in.
I’ll even give you a letter of recommendation.
What do you say?” He pointed toward an underground colosseum not far away, where waves of cheers and roars could be heard.
“A colosseum?” Tifa hesitated slightly.
“I’ll go.” Cain stepped forward without the slightest hesitation.
To him, this was the simplest and most direct solution.
Cain’s simple and firm “I’ll go” made Andrea Rhodea’s face bloom with a smile as dazzling as the neon lights of the Honeybee Inn.
He clapped excitedly, raising his delicate fingers even higher.
“Oh, la la!
I knew it, my dear diamond.
You would never disappoint me!” He swayed his waist and took the initiative to lead the way, his exaggerated posture making it seem as if he were not heading toward a bloody colosseum, but stepping onto the stage of an awards ceremony under the gaze of the entire world.
As he walked, he announced loudly in his penetrating voice, “Everyone!
People of Wall Market, turn your eyes this way!
Put down your cheap drinks and stop your boring wagers!
Because tonight, I, Andrea Rhodea, will bring you an unprecedented, true visual feast!” His voice drew the attention of everyone around them.
People began poking their heads out from shops and alleys, curiously watching this fashion godfather and the three people of strikingly different temperaments behind him.
Andrea basked in the feeling of being the center of attention.
He spread his arms like a conductor, guiding the crowd’s gaze until it finally focused on Cain.
“Look!
Look at what I have brought you!” he proclaimed.
“Have you long since grown tired of those fools with nothing but brute strength and brains stuffed full of muscle?
Have you long since grown bored of those beasts with no sense of beauty, who know only how to bite and tear?
Tonight, I shall infuse this colosseum with true ‘art’ and ‘soul’!” He circled to Cain’s side and lightly tapped Cain’s shoulder with one finger, as though presenting a rare treasure.
“Look at him!
Short silver hair like the eternal snow that never melts atop Mt.
Nibel!
Blue eyes so deep they seem to reflect the sorrow of the Lifestream!
He is no brute fighting for money, nor some monster born for slaughter!
He is a knight who draws his sword to protect the two radiant flowers behind him!” Andrea dramatically pointed toward Tifa and Aerith, who were both completely at a loss under the sudden spectacle.
The crowd immediately erupted into a commotion mixed with whistles, jeers, and gasps of admiration.
“That’s right!
He fights for beauty!
He fights for love!
That is the noblest, purest form of battle!
Tonight, let us bear witness together to the power this silent guardian truly possesses!
I hereby declare his title to be, the Melancholy Guardian!”