Chapter 206. Ghost

Aiden entered the suite. The place was extremely luxurious and nice. There were several windows that faced the ocean. The sunlight peeped through the windows into the suite.

Aiden entered the washroom and washed down. After that, he came out of the washroom in shorts and slippers. Then, he went to the bedroom to get some sleep.

Several hours later, Aiden’s eyes flashed open. Someone was knocking on his door.

"Room service," he heard a voice from behind the door.

Aiden walked calmly and opened the door. A person in a white uniform was standing there.

"Would you like anything, sir?" she asked.

"Not really," Aiden replied. "I will be heading to the restaurant for a meal. Thank you."

"Oh, alright, sir." The person in the white uniform nodded politely and left the place.

Aiden closed the door behind him. He was serious when he said he would be going to the restaurant to have a meal. He wanted to seriously unwind. Aiden wanted to treat his time on the ship as some sort of mini-vacation. He was a human being, not a robot. He needed to chill, too.

Aiden dressed up in a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. He left the suite and headed toward the restaurant.

When he arrived at the restaurant, the sound of jazz music, plates, forks, and knives clanging pervaded the place. Several people were having conversations, downing alcohol, and enjoying their meals.

Aiden looked around the large room. The ceiling had nice lights, and large glass windows gave a clear view of the deep blue ocean outside.

He walked over to a small table near one of the windows and sat down. A waiter quickly came over and handed him a menu. Aiden looked at it, picked a simple steak with rice and a glass of cold juice, and handed the menu back.

While he waited for his food, he looked around the restaurant. Not far from his table, he spotted two familiar faces. It was the two ladies from earlier—the ones who lived in the suite across from his. The blonde one, Genevieve, was looking at her phone, while her brown-haired friend, Anly, was cutting a piece of meat on her plate.

"I told you the casino was a bad idea," Genevieve said, as she put her phone on the table. "You lost three thousand dollars in twenty minutes."

"It was just bad luck," Anly groaned, taking a sip of her water. "The dealer was cheating. I know it."

"Sure he was," Genevieve laughed softly. Then her eyes drifted over toward Aiden’s table. She gestured to Anly. "Look. It’s the guy from across our suite. The one in the cheap clothes."

Anly turned her head slightly and looked at Aiden. "He really does look plain. Black hair, blue eyes, simple t-shirt. If I saw him on the street, I would think he was just a regular student back at Sauna City University."

"Don’t judge people by their clothes," Genevieve whispered. "Did you see how the worker looked after escorting him to his room earlier? That worker looked like he just won the lottery. This guy tipped him a lot of cash. Plus, he is staying in a VIP suite just like us. He definitely has money. Also, the rumors I heard about him are terrifying. They said he really caused a commotion in the Kahra Desert. People from the Kahra Desert look like they have seen a ghost when they hear the name, The Lodgekeeper."

"Could be just exaggerated rumors," Anly shrugged.

Aiden just sat quietly with his hands resting on the table. He enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere.

A few minutes later, the waiter returned and set a hot plate of food and a cold glass of juice in front of him.

"Thank you," Aiden said to the waiter and tipped him.

"Pleasure, sir," the waiter replied with a happy expression on his face as he left.

The steak smelled great. It was well grilled with the right amount of spices. Aiden picked up his fork and knife and started eating. The food was good.

As Aiden was enjoying his meal, loud laughter echoed near the entrance of the restaurant. A tall young man walked into the dining area. He wore a fancy silk suit with gold rings on his fingers, and his hair was combed back neatly with gel. Walking beside him was a young woman in a shiny red dress, holding his arm tightly.

The man walked with a high chin. His nose was up in the air. He was a Beginner Rank 3 warrior. Several guests looked up from their tables, but most people just ignored him and went back to their food.

The tall man scanned the crowded restaurant. Most of the tables near the large ocean windows were already taken.

"Babe, I want to sit near the window," the woman in the red dress pouted. "The view from the middle of the room is so boring."

"Don’t worry, sweetie," the man said in a loud voice. "I’ll get us the best seat in the house."

He looked around again until his eyes landed on Aiden’s table. Aiden was sitting alone at a four-person table right next to the main window, quietly chewing his meat.

The tall man smirked. He looked at Aiden’s simple t-shirt, cheap jeans, and sneakers. He did not feel any dangerous energy coming from Aiden at all. To him, Aiden looked like a nobody who somehow managed to sneak into the VIP restaurant.

"Follow me," the man told his girlfriend.

He swaggered over to Aiden’s table, stopping right beside it.

Aiden paused, his fork halfway to his mouth. He looked up calmly at the man.

"Hey, kid," the tall man said, putting one hand in his pocket. "This table is too big for just one person. My girlfriend wants to sit by the window. Pack your food and move to that small table near the kitchen."

He pointed toward a tiny table right next to the swinging kitchen doors, where the waiters were constantly running in and out with dirty dishes.

A few tables nearby fell quiet. Genevieve and Anly stopped talking and turned their heads to watch.

"Is that guy crazy?" Anly whispered under her breath. "Who talks to people like that?"

"He’s trying to impress his girlfriend," Genevieve said, watching Aiden closely. "Let’s see how the rumored Lodgekeeper reacts."

Aiden did not get angry. He did not raise his voice. He simply chewed his food, swallowed, and looked at the tall man.

"I am eating here," Aiden said in a calm, polite, indifferent tone. "There are other open tables over there."

The tall man’s face darkened. He had expected the kid in cheap clothes to get scared, apologize, and leave right away. Having his order rejected in front of his girlfriend made his face turn hot with anger.

The woman in the red dress crossed her arms and sniffed. "Babe, he’s being so rude to you. Just tell the manager to throw him out."

"Listen to me, kid," the tall man sneered. He leaned down slightly and pressed both hands onto Aiden’s table. "Do you know who I am? I am Dorian Vance from the Iron Vanguard Guild in Sauna City of the Iron Empire. I am a Beginner Rank 3 warrior."

He took off his aura-masking artifact and released his whole aura. He thought the heavy pressure of a Beginner Rank 3 warrior from a prominent guild in the Iron Empire would make the young man tremble and drop his fork.

Instead, nothing happened.

Aiden sat there like a mountain and kept eating.

"This tastes really good," Aiden muttered.

He wiped his mouth, lifted his eyes, and looked straight into Dorian’s face. He just looked at Dorian with cold, quiet blue eyes.

In that single second, Dorian felt his heart skip a beat. The air around the table suddenly felt ice-cold. A heavy, terrifying, foreboding feeling washed over him.

He was not a Rank 3 warrior for nothing. He had encountered his fair share of life-and-death situations. This man he had tried to use to flaunt his power was a terrifying individual he had offended. His instincts, honed through countless life-and-death situations, gnawed at him.

He felt like he was standing naked in front of a giant monster that could snap his neck before he could even blink. His legs went stiff, and an expression of fear washed over him.

Sweat started to form on Dorian’s forehead. The smug smile on his face completely froze.

"Are you going to let me finish my meal?" Aiden asked smoothly. His voice was soft, but to Dorian, it sounded like thunder.

Dorian’s mouth opened, but no words came out. His instincts were screaming at him to step back immediately. Every nerve in his body told him that if he raised his voice again, something terrible would happen.

"D-Dorian?" the woman in the red dress asked, looking confused as she noticed her boyfriend shaking. "What’s wrong?"

Dorian swallowed hard.

"N-nothing," Dorian stammered, stepping back so fast he almost tripped over his own sneakers. "The... the view over there near the kitchen is actually better. Let’s go sit over there."

He did not wait for his girlfriend. He turned around instantly and hurried toward the back of the restaurant, his face pale and his back soaked in cold sweat.

The woman stood there stunned for a second before running after him. "Dorian! Wait for me!"

The restaurant went back to its normal chatter. Most people had not noticed what happened, but the people sitting close by were staring in shock.

At the nearby table, Anly’s jaw was slightly open. "What just happened? Dorian Vance is one of the young masters from the Iron Vanguard Guild in Sauna City. Why did he get so scared all of a sudden?"

Genevieve looked at Aiden with sharp, curious eyes. She had noticed the slight shift in the air right before the young master panicked.

"He didn’t even lift a finger," Genevieve whispered, her voice full of surprise. "Dorian is a Beginner Rank 3 warrior, but he looked like he saw a ghost."

Aiden did not pay attention to the stares or the whispers around him. He picked up his fork, cut another piece of steak, and went right back to enjoying his quiet meal by the window.