Aiden was somewhat surprised because he and Rebecca had originally agreed to meet at the agreed-upon restaurant - the one where their squad often dined together, not far from the apartment Rebecca rented.
But now, Rebecca had suddenly appeared here.
"Have you been waiting here for me?" Aiden asked.
"I finished my work at the office early, so I just left. Figured you hadn't come out yet, so I came straight here. It's on the way anyway, let's go together," Rebecca said with a smile.
"What if I had left early too? You'd have waited for nothing," Aiden chuckled. "Alright then, let's go together."
"Sure..." Rebecca nodded, then noticed Veronica standing somewhat dazed behind Aiden. "And who is this?"
"She's Veronica, a prison guard who works with me. She took care of you when you had amnesia before. You should remember her," Aiden introduced timely, then turned to Veronica. "This is my junior at the Inquisition, Rebecca, the one who swapped bodies with Priscilla before."
"Hello..." Veronica stunned for a moment before greeting the other.
She reached out her hand towards Veronica.
"I am..." Veronica shook hands with Rebecca, looking puzzled. "How do you know me?"
"Do you remember last year's Warcraft disaster? The nine-headed hydra that crawled out of Zeloro Swamp? The Inquisition and the Mounted Police worked together to capture it! We met back then!" Rebecca shook hands warmly with her.
"Ah!" Veronica seemed to recall.
"What? You two knew each other before?" Aiden glanced between them.
"Have you forgotten? Didn't the suburban area have a Warcraft disaster in April last year? The Inquisition handled the assault while the Mounted Police evacuated the public," Rebecca explained to him. "Later, when the pressure was high on our side, the Mounted Police came to , and Officer Wolfie also joined us. She was so brave in combat, even more skilled than us inquisitor. The City Council awarded her a medal, and the Chief always wishes we had more talents like her in our department."
Aiden nodded after recalling, "Seems like there was something like that."
In April of last year, he had been in his office and read about the incident in the newspapers - after all, it had nothing to do with his prison.
The second time he saw it was in Veronica's file.
"Huh? How did you end up working in the prison?" Rebecca suddenly remembered.
"I got caught up in a murder case, falsely accused by people within my unit and sent to prison. The chief overturned the case for me, and then I was transferred here," Veronica quietly explained. She wasn't particularly adept at socializing, feeling somewhat uncomfortable with Rebecca's warmth.
"Such a thing happened?" Rebecca understood, subtly glancing back and forth between Aiden and Veronica.
"The newspapers mentioned it before, didn't you see?" Aiden interjected.
"I'm always on missions, and not as leisurely as you after changing units," Rebecca pouted at Aiden.
"My current job is far from leisurely; it's just that I spend more time in the office," Aiden retorted.
Many people indeed held the stereotypical belief that prison work was leisurely. "Rebecca," who was previously impersonated by Priscilla, had mentioned this before, and now Rebecca herself shared that view.
"Um, you two..." Veronica nervously glanced between the two. "Do you have plans for tonight?"
"Oh, she mentioned wanting to thank me for what happened before, so she's treating me to dinner," Aiden replied casually.
"I see..." Veronica's expression stiffened momentarily upon hearing this.
She hadn't even thought about thanking Aiden by inviting him to dinner back then...
Well, she had considered it, but at that time, she wasn't that familiar with Aiden. Suddenly suggesting a meal felt a bit...
"The Night is falling, we should be going," Aiden took out his pocket watch, glanced at it, and said to Rebecca, "Do you want to wait for the public carriage? You must have walked quite a distance to get here."
"It's fine, it just a few steps. Let's walk; you're not in a rush, right?" Rebecca gestured in a direction.
"Alright then," Aiden turned to say goodbye to Veronica. "Let's go. Veronica, which way are you headed?"
"Oh, actually..." Veronica's eyes lit up suddenly. "I happen to be heading in that direction too. I live on Lilac Avenue..."
"Oh, so you live quite close to each other," Aiden observed the two. "Are you taking the carriage back?"
"No, I prefer to walk back," Veronica responded promptly.
"Well, why don't we walk together then?" Aiden had to go along with this response, given the awkwardness of being acquaintances and walking in opposite directions without acknowledging each other.
"Sure," Veronica agreed readily.
Rebecca glanced at her but didn't say anything.
The three of them walked along the sidewalk towards the downtown area when suddenly, a man wearing a hat and walking with a cane, approached them. He was heading straight towards Aiden.
Aiden moved to the left to give way, and the man also shifted slightly in that direction.
Instinctively, Aiden tried to move to the right, but the man mirrored his movement, creating the awkward situation that occasionally occurs on the street.
Aiden was about to stop and step aside, but the man, seemingly provoked, raised his cane and thrust it towards him. The seemingly ordinary cane unexpectedly flashed a dangerous silver light at its tip.
Startled, Aiden reflexively stepped back, his wrist turning as he skillfully wielded his cane in a sword-like manner to parry the man's thrust.
Before he could organize his next move, Rebecca and Veronica, who were flanking him, surged forward with uncanny speed and simultaneously kicked the man with force, lifting his feet off the ground and sending him flying back, crashing into a lamppost.
"Are you okay!?" They both turned back and shouted in unison.
"I'm fine..." Aiden replied dazedly.
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