Speaking of which, ever since coming back from the Kyokugenryu Dojo a few days ago, her mood hadn't been very good. Although she had recovered a bit afterward, he still felt a little uneasy.
However, when he took out the spare key and opened the door to the room, he saw Shermie making breakfast while humming a song, with a carefully done, exquisite makeup on her face.
It seemed that Shermie had completely recovered today.
Aiden relaxed, at least he didn't have to waste words trying to comfort her again.
"Aiden, have you eaten?" Hearing the sound of the door opening, Shermie didn't even need to guess who had come. She turned around to face Aiden, openly showing off her hourglass figure.
"I have." Aiden nodded, and he'd eaten happily too, after all, Chizuru's cooking skills had been getting better and better.
Then he glanced at Shermie's face and asked, "Why did you suddenly make yourself look so pretty today?"
"I'm still pretty even without makeup, okay?" Shermie gave him a charming white-eyed glance, but unfortunately her bangs covered it, so Aiden didn't see it.
Then she continued, "I'm getting ready to go out and find a job. I'm not used to living under someone else's roof."
'Especially when the place was found for me by my mortal enemy.' She added that silently in her heart.
Knowing that the conflict between the Eight Kings of Orochi and the Three Sacred Families was practically irreconcilable, Aiden didn't ask more.
He just curiously glanced at the breakfast on the table, seeing that it was only simple fried eggs and sandwiches, and lost interest. After thinking for a bit, he asked, "What kind of job are you planning to find? Going back to being a bar singer?"
"Being a bar singer was something I did out of necessity. Now that I'm your woman, it's not appropriate to keep doing that kind of work anymore, and you should know exactly what kind of environment bars are."
After all, Shermie had memories from multiple cycles of reincarnation. Don't look at her sleeping with Aiden on the first day, they had their reasons for that. In truth, she still kept some old-fashioned habits.
"So I'm planning to find a new job."
'A new job? Looks like she wants to become a fashion designer.'
Aiden knew Shermie's hobbies, besides music, she loved designing beautiful clothes.
But if that's the case, doesn't that mean there won't be a future Band anymore?
Thinking that to himself, Aiden still asked knowingly, "So, what kind of job are you going to look for?"
"Fashion designer." Shermie's answer was exactly as Aiden expected.
She spoke seriously, "After thinking it over, this is the only job that suits me best. Plus, the pay is decent, and there's no need to work overtime. After all, you wouldn't want to come to my place and find I'm not home, right?"
"No, I wouldn't." Aiden answered honestly, then added, "Actually, I have money, you could just stay home and do nothing."
"Then would you stay with me all day?" Shermie smiled playfully and asked, "If you would, I'll stay home and be a full-time housewife."
"Uh…" Aiden didn't know how to respond. After all, he had "banners waving in the wind" all over the place, he couldn't possibly stay with just one woman.
Shrugging a little awkwardly, Aiden said, "No."
"See? I knew it. You're a busy man." Shermie mimicked his shrug.
"So I still need to find a job to pass the time. Otherwise, staying home every day just playing games would get boring."
As she spoke, she placed the cooked bacon on a plate.
Aiden went over to help set the table and grabbed a bottle of milk from the fridge.
After everything was ready, Aiden sat across from Shermie, looking at her beautiful face, and asked curiously, "But nowadays, everything's about education. Don't you need a degree to be a fashion designer?"
"I have a diploma! Learning stuff like that is too easy for me." Shermie said proudly, "I got my degree in fashion design when I was sixteen, from a prestigious European school, by the way!"
"I see…" Aiden scratched his head awkwardly. He suddenly felt a little stupid, what was the existence of one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Orochi?
As the subordinate of the planetary will Orochi and someone who possessed the Orochi bloodline, she was practically a divine messenger. Superhuman learning ability was probably just one of her basic traits.
After a moment, Aiden asked, "So, have you decided which company you're going to apply to?"
"I already found one. I sent in my resume and even got an interview notice." Shermie spoke between bites. She hadn't been idle these past few days, basically, the moment Aiden left, she went out.
"Then I'll drive you there after breakfast."
"Aren't you going to spend time with those other lovers of yours?" Shermie looked at him with a sandwich in one hand and her chin resting on the other. "Won't they be upset if you're late?"
"What do you mean 'those'? There's only one, okay!" Aiden defended himself in a small voice. "And don't call them lovers, 'girlfriend' sounds better. It's not like I'm married."
"Tch!" Shermie shot him a disdainful glance but didn't say more. After all, she had to admit Aiden's words kind of made sense.
'If you're not married, then as long as you handle things properly, having a few more girlfriends seems… normal.'
———
"Is it this one?"
"This is the one."
Not long after breakfast, Aiden drove Shermie to the company where she'd be having her interview. Parking across from a fairly large office building, he leaned forward to look, it turned out the company logo looked oddly familiar, kind of similar to a real-life Japanese fashion brand.
But that had nothing to do with Aiden anyway. He was just here to drop Shermie off. Pulling his gaze back, he turned to the girl next to him, who was adjusting her appearance in the car mirror, and said, "Once your interview's over, give me a call. I'll come pick you up."
Shermie paused what she was doing and looked at him, slightly dissatisfied. "You're not coming in with me?"
'This isn't dropping off a kid at school, and you're definitely not a kid…' Aiden wanted to say that, but instead he joked, "Would me going in make it more likely for you to pass the interview?"
"No, but having you next to me is still useful." Shermie pointed to herself with a finger. "If I pass, you'll be right there to celebrate with me, with a kiss, a hug. That would make me really happy."
"And if you fail?"
"I won't fail."
Shermie lifted her chin confidently, then unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car.
Aiden shrugged but followed her out anyway. Shermie wasn't wrong, being with her was probably the better choice. Women needed companionship, after all.
They crossed the street and entered the building's first-floor lobby.
After asking the receptionist for directions, they took the elevator to the tenth floor.
Once the doors opened, they found that quite a few people were already waiting in the hallway. So they picked a quieter corner and sat down to wait.
"There's quite a crowd, huh, Shermie." Aiden only knew that she later joined Yashiro and Chris to form the Band, but he had no idea if she'd ever actually worked as a fashion designer before. So even though Shermie said she'd graduated from a top European school, he was still a little worried.
"Relax, relax. If this one doesn't work out, we'll just move on to the next. Tokyo's got plenty of fashion companies." Shermie waved her hand casually, far more carefree than Aiden.
"True enough." Aiden thought about it, it made sense, so he stopped worrying.
As they chatted and waited, even more people arrived. Surprisingly, almost all of them were young women, each one dressed stylishly and beautifully, showing off their sense of fashion.
And since it was summer, their skirts were shorter than short, creating a dazzling white scene down the hallway that was hard to look away from.
Even though Aiden already had a top-tier beauty beside him, his eyes still wandered like any other man's. But it wasn't purely for pleasure, since compared to Shermie, these women didn't come close. In fact, seeing others just made him realize even more how beautiful Shermie really was.
However, unexpected things tend to happen in situations like this.
When the elevator at the end of the hallway opened again, a girl with dark brown hair and a matching long dress stepped out. Shermie raised an eyebrow slightly.
But it wasn't just because the girl's looks could rival hers, since beauty still needed a body to match. It was mainly because Shermie could feel an extremely strong aura coming from her.
"This little one's a martial artist," Shermie whispered into Aiden's ear.
"I can tell."
Aiden nodded.
Not only could he tell she was a fighter, he recognized her identity too.
Now that he thought about it, ever since meeting Nyotengu and Helena, he'd had a hunch he'd run into more Dead or Alive characters. And now that hunch had come true.
That brown-haired girl's name was Lei Fang,
a martial artist and also a fashion designer.
[T/N: Lei Fang is a character from Dead or Alive]
Then Aiden withdrew his gaze, not because he felt awkward staring. The brown-haired girl, full of confidence, clearly didn't mind being looked at. Rather, it was because she walked right over and sat directly across from them.
Now, here's the thing, it's practically a universal quirk among confident women, when they meet another woman who matches them in one area, they subconsciously start comparing in other areas.
After Lei Fang sat across from them, her gaze naturally landed on Shermie's face. Even though most of Shermie's eyes were covered by her bangs, the visible parts made it clear she was beautiful.
Deciding that their looks were about even, Lei Fang's eyes shifted down to Shermie's chest.
And then her eyes widened, her mouth falling slightly open.
It was obvious, based on Aiden's rough estimate, the brown-haired girl's bust was around an 84, while Shermie's was a solid 92. From the flicker of envy and the shocked look on her face, Lei Fang had clearly taken a heavy blow.
The once-confident girl actually pulled her chest back slightly.
And that little gesture didn't go unnoticed, both Aiden and Shermie saw it. Shermie's lips curved into a smug smile as she whispered, "Aiden, looks like I just struck a blow to her pride."
Aiden nodded lightly, replying just as softly, "With your 'power level,' there really aren't many who can beat you."
"There aren't any who can beat me," Shermie pouted, shooting him a look. "I've never met anyone stronger than me."
"But I have." Aiden looked back at her. "I know people stronger than you."
"Mm-hmm, I don't believe that." Shermie snorted.
"Whether it's those two from the Kagura family, or Helena, or King, they're all way below my level. And that Mai Shiranui girl too, I compared with her last time, she's trash tier."
When Mai had returned to her dojo, Aiden had once brought Shermie along, since they were all "feathers of the same wing," it made sense to introduce them.
But seeing the smile that stayed on Aiden's face without him saying anything, Shermie frowned. "Don't tell me you've got another lover."
"I told you already, they're not lovers, they're girlfriends." Aiden first corrected her wording, then added, "Actually, maybe not exactly girlfriends, but I think she might have a bit of a thing for me."