Free Web NovelChapter 554: Chapter 554 Unnecessary Worry_1
"Are you okay?" Deborah noticed Aiden’s reaction.
Aiden reached for his wine and took a gulp before patting his chest and replying, "I’m... okay."
"You’re shocked too, aren’t you?" Deborah said with a grave expression, "It sounds like a rumor, but the source is very reliable, of course... you must find it hard to believe."
"No problem, I believe it," Aiden gestured with his hand, signaling her not to worry.
"Really?" Deborah looked at Aiden with surprise, finding his readiness to believe somewhat astonishing, "You don’t need to say these things just to make me feel better."
"Rest assured, I truly believe. We can’t lie now, can we?" Aiden reminded.
"Ah, I forgot about that." Deborah laughed sheepishly.
Aiden thought to himself how he could not believe, when the victim of this very matter was sitting right beside them.
He glanced to the side.
Tony was sitting at an empty seat next to the dining table. Initially, he had been passing the time by reading a magazine, but as soon as Deborah mentioned something about Duboman, he immediately turned his attention to their conversation.
He was using the "Invisibility" inherited from his father, which made him invisible to Deborah and the rest, but visible only to Aiden.
The idea to bring him along was Aiden’s. Firstly, Aiden had not trusted Deborah in the beginning, and although Tony had no combat experience, he had inherited Professor Dodge’s Divine Words and the Hand of Erasure, so at least his combat strength was undoubtedly not a problem. Secondly, the spare body created by Abigail had not been sent over yet, and without the power of the Wordless Code, Tony could only inhabit the body of a dog to guard the house.
But now, Aiden realized that his worries about Deborah were probably unnecessary.
"I came from the frontier to the Southern Continent intending to carry on the ’legacy’ my parents left on this land. No matter what corner of the world, there is evil that I have not managed to punish in time. With my parents returning to the Northern Continent, the need here for a hero remains." Deborah said this with eyes brimming with fighting spirit, her face full of integrity and public spirit.
"But I heard you started your career as an actress in the Empire..." Aiden mentioned the intelligence he had heard from Sophie.
"Maintaining one’s sense of justice requires capital, even intelligence has to be bought." Deborah answered matter-of-factly, "My father made money as a Bounty Hunter, my mother by stealing from the unjustly wealthy, and I also need to earn enough to support justice."
"Hmm, indeed, it’s clear that at least in this regard, you do exceptionally well," Aiden nodded.
Given the gifts she sent and the restaurant she had chosen, Deborah’s income seemed quite substantial.
"While being an actress, I’ve also been collecting information on secret crimes from both the underworld and the legitimate world. For this, I even made a list, and the Empire’s military projects are on it. But as I worked on tackling the criminal activities on that list, I realized my limitations. I need help. That’s when I saw the news about you capturing the Red Shark Pirate Gang. My father once told me about the location of the Wordless Code. It’s intolerable for such a Divine Artifact to be used by villains for self-preservation. Luckily, you managed to catch them." Deborah gazed intently at Aiden, "Forgive my boldness, but how did you manage to break the power of the Wordless Code?"
"It’s not convenient to explain." Aiden avoided lying under the Code’s influence and dodged the question, "So at that time, you became interested in me?"
"No, I didn’t know enough about you then. So, I investigated you a little." Deborah admitted, slightly embarrassed, lowering her head.
"And what did you find out?" Aiden became a bit more vigilant.
"In April, you overturned a wrongful conviction. Before catching the Red Shark Pirate Gang, you also captured a vampire responsible for a series of killings in the city. Am I right?" Deborah’s interest was piqued as she talked about Aiden’s actions.
"Is that all you know?" Aiden wanted to confirm whether she had dug up anything he wouldn’t want exposed.
"There are other heroic deeds of yours I don’t know about, aren’t there?" Deborah’s eyes lit up.
It seemed Deborah’s intelligence gathering about him wasn’t all that deep; she had not discovered those incidents that hadn’t been publicized or that he had secretly resolved.
Probably after investigating the few incidents mentioned earlier, Deborah quickly became keen on Aiden’s "sense of justice," regarding him as a worthy partner and companion, and traveled all the way from the Empire to the autonomous region.
Aiden had already fully sensed her enthusiasm. Her sense of justice was incredibly pure, yet somewhat naive.
Deborah didn’t realize, while Aiden had his own convictions, he wasn’t the kind of martyr who would recklessly sacrifice himself for some notion of justice. He got involved in these incidents more by being caught up in them than by choice, ultimately because he happened to trigger scripts prepared by the goddess of conspiracy.
"I’m actually not the person you think I am," Aiden told the truth frankly.
"You are being modest again," Deborah smiled.
"I’m really not being modest," Aiden couldn’t help but sigh, feeling that Deborah’s feelings for him might be a little blind, making it difficult for his true intentions to be understood.
"I believe you have your own justice in your heart. The Empire project I just mentioned, actually, I wanted to persuade you to resolve it with me. The information I got was that they initially used death row inmates, but when they ran short of materials for the experiment, they also resorted to coercion and deception to make some innocent people into experimental victims. Don’t you think such things should be stopped?" Deborah asked earnestly.
"Most people upon knowing would think so, as the practice is inhumane, but—" Aiden looked troubled.
"That’s enough!" Deborah exclaimed excitedly, "We share the same thoughts, we can work together side by side."
"No, Miss Deborah, actually—" Aiden tried to explain.
"I know, the opponent is a national military organization, and this is not going to be easy, but there are many forces we can harness!" Deborah once again didn’t let Aiden finish, persuading with significant vigor.
"I wasn’t talking about that..." freёwebnovel.com
"I’m sorry, did I assume too much again?" Seeing Aiden’s troubled expression, Deborah quickly cooled down as if doused with cold water.
"Please let me finish," Aiden sighed helplessly, "The Empire’s artificial demon offspring project you mentioned is actually no more."
