Only Wisdom Awakened - Chapter 54

Bitter taste
While Aiden relaxed on his chair, listening to an incredibly annoying literature lesson, Hans ventured into the scorching desert in search of the gate boss.

This time, he came prepared and brought some extra water with him to make sure that his stay would last longer.

After more than an hour of scouting the desert, Hans found that nothing other than the scorpions seemed to inhabit the area of the desert, which now were nowhere to be seen, likely due to their extremely sensitive tremor sensors, which allowed them to detect the {Seismic Pulse} from afar, prompting every single one of them to react and gather all around him before meeting their demise.

With no traces of them left it was as if they had simply vanished into extinction.

Hours passed with no success and after three hours his water supply dwindled, Hans decided to call it a day and try again later.

He then went to work, but not before going home once to take a shower to wash all the sweat and dress up in a new set of clothes.

After working for another few hours, he returned home at seven by taking a cab since he was already tired from all the day’s work, but when he opened the door, Aiden greeted him.

The kid was full of smiles as he greeted, “Welcome home brother!”

“Did something good happen?” Hans couldn’t help but ask after reading the young boy’s face for a moment.

As if being easily seen through, the boy seemed embarrassed, but cheerfully shared the situation, “Yeah, someone invited me to their birthday party.”

“Is it the first time?” Hans frowned.

‘How dare those kids never invite such a kind child, if I ever find out who they are I’ll be sure to punish them accordingly.’

“No, no, it’s not the first time they asked me, but I usually had to turn them down because of my dad, so I wanted to ask you, can I go?”

Hans considered patting Aiden’s head but considering that the fellow was grown enough to rebel, he instead, settled for a shoulder grab and a hug.

“Of course, when is it? I’ll take you there myself.”

“It’s in two weeks. They said it would be a themed party and everyone is supposed to dress in the same clothes as the hunters. Do you perhaps have any clothes that I can borrow?”

“I do have some, but I don’t think they’ll fit you. I’ll ask at the association tomorrow, don’t worry,” Hans suggested before asking.

“What do you want to eat? I’ll go get something,” Hans said while washing his hands.

“Anything you like is fine, I don’t really have preferences, maybe you could just avoid vegetables,” Aiden replied.

‘Haizz, kids these days, I ate almost nothing but vegetables during these past few years,’ Hans couldn’t help but shake his head.

“Okay, I’ll go get a few ingredients from the store and be back in a minute.”

“Okay,” replied Aiden from the bed, while he flipped through the news channels with the remote.

As the door closed behind Hans after he walked out, the voice of the journalist on TV started talking about Him.

“Let’s turn our attention now to the newly appointed association branch leader of Chicago City. We are joined by Mr. Anderson, an experienced professional, who has been researching monsters and gates since the day of the catastrophe.

The anchor on the TV then turned to the man beside him and asked, “What are your thoughts on a young man assuming such a powerful position?”

The bearded man beside him took a moment to reflect before speaking, “Hello everyone, it’s a pleasure to be back here today. While I am not an expert in analyzing people, I would like to share a few of my thoughts about him.”

“First of all, he seems to be really young and he indeed is, he was born just eighteen years ago.”

“His righteous spirit became evident during the last week’s incident where he defeated Logan Harris after exposing his crimes and stripping him of his position.”

“However, we have not yet seen his way of resolving complex problems. For example, what if two high-rank gates were to appear simultaneously? He definitely would be able to clear one, but what about the other?”

“Garrison, the previous leader, could count on numerous favors he had accumulated over the years and call the strong awakened individuals to help the city. But the new leader, being a greenhorn, does not have such valuable connections.”

“Other than that, we’ll have to wait and see before making any definitive judgments. We need to see how he performs in action.”

By the time the man finished talking, Hans returned with a white plastic bag in his hand.

“Hey, brother.”

“Still watching the TV?”

“Mh, they were talking about you.”

“Oh? And what did they say?”

Aiden’s next words were akin to an arrow that directly pierced Hans’s heart, “That you are a greenhorn.”

With a wry smile on his face, Hans could only nod, “I- I see.”

“And, what do you think of me Aiden?”

Aiden turned the TV off to think about what to say.

“Mhh, I don’t know, but I’m sure that you are a good person. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have chosen to live with you.”

Seeing that there was no response from the other side, only the sound of various kitchen utensils echoed in the apartment, Aiden got up from the bed and took a couple of steps to see what was actually happening there.

Hans was skillfully handling the pans and the pots, even chopping some ingredients.

The hot water in the pot was nearly boiling, while Hans stirred the pan to prevent the pork cheek from sticking to it.

The oil on the pan sizzled and fried the meat, giving it a crispy texture and a dark golden color.

Hans then took the pan off the flame before breaking a couple of eggs into a bowl and vigorously whisking them.

With that done, he added some salt to the boiling water before tossing in a generous amount of spaghetti.

_____

Shortly after, the table was adorned with two beautiful plates of pasta with their aroma alone enough to make the two salivate.

“This is a dish my mother taught me. I haven’t had it in months. Carbonara,” Hans revealed as they both dug in eagerly, savoring every bite until the plates gleamed clean.

“I didn’t know you could cook, brother. Is there anything you can’t do?” Aiden marveled.

“Haha, it’s nothing, I learned how to do it while living alone,” Hans shrugged.

Truth be told, cooking was a time-consuming task, but about two years ago, Hans realized that he would save more money by cooking rather than buying pre-made meals from the market, which was much cheaper than working extra hours.

“Brother, you mentioned that your mom taught you. Where is she? Why are you living alone?” Aiden inquired, which prompted a sigh from Hans.

Seeing Hans like this, Aiden immediately regretted his rudeness and bowed his head, slightly embarrassed, and apologized, “I’m sorry brother Hans, I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No, it’s okay. If you want to know, you can come with me. We’ll go visit them,” Hans offered.

The two then dressed up and took a taxi, leaving their unwashed plates on the table.

During the ride, Aiden wondered where they were headed but refrained from asking.

He just hoped with all his heart that they weren’t going to a cemetery but a normal house.

When the taxi stopped in front of the hospital, the two got down and made their way towards the entrance.

The staff there recognized Hans as a usual visitor and greeted him warmly.

On the fifth floor, Hans pulled an old door handle to open the room, letting Aiden see what lay inside.

Three people were lying on the beds, seemingly having been drained of their lives, remaining completely motionless and seriously malnourished.

“They are my family. Here, this is my sister,” Hans introduced while sitting on one of the beds that hosted a weak young woman.

“Her name is Sara, she is the same age as you, she’s a really lively and sweet girl, well at least she used to be,” Hans said as he recalled the smile on her face which he had seen years ago.

“Next, this is my dad, Grant Ritcher. Dad, this is Aiden, he is currently living with me as my brother, he is 14 just like Sara, and is still studying.”

“Aiden, introduce yourself, dad can hear you.”

The boy was surprised by the information but quickly bowed down to introduce himself. He would’ve liked to shake the other’s hand or exchange a friendly smile, but this was the only way he could do it right now.

“It’s my pleasure to meet you, sir, I’m Aiden,” his introduction was really short, not only because he didn’t have anything to share, but also because he didn’t know for sure if the other person was actually capable of hearing him.

Turning his head to Hans he couldn’t help but whisper, “Brother Hans, I’m sorry to ask this, but… how do you know he is awake, and why is it only him?”

Hans watched his poor dad’s face, before turning to Aiden and shaking his head, “I know, I just know. Both mom and Sara aren’t conscious, but I know he is, and I can feel it, there must be a specific reason.”

Since the status window didn’t show any update or display emotions, Hans simply continued, “And last but not least, here is my mom, Silvia.”

The once gracious woman lay on the bed, looking more like a mummy than a human, every glance he threw at her, hurt Hans’s heart.

After a moment of silence, they bid farewell to the three and returned home.

“Thank you for showing me your family,” Aiden said to Hans before retiring to their respective beds.

“No, in fact, I’m sorry for ruining your day, it must’ve left quite a bitter feeling,” Hans apologized.

“No, don’t even think about it, it’s perfectly fine,” Aiden replied.

Saying that, he turned to the other side, getting ready to sleep before closing his eyelids.

While his head rested on the pillow and his body remained relaxed, the incredibly awful feeling and image of Hans’ family lingered in his mind.

It wasn’t a bitter feeling, it was worse than that, so much that he couldn’t manage to fall asleep for a couple of hours and only kept thinking about it.