The Emperor's Omega Is An Extra-Chapter 288: Arren’s Adventures (2)

The woman laughed at his question, but she didn’t appear to be mocking him either. She only looked gently at Arren before she stuffed something in her bag.

"You see, I often see people like you." She then paused and then looked up again to meet Arren’s gaze. "Well, people like us. I don’t want to judge what happened for you to fall in this state, but in a huge city like this, your... Our experiences are very common, unfortunately."

Arren fell silent, and then he looked at himself. He was beginning to understand what the older woman was saying. Judging by how Arren looked, especially the stench that was coming from him, he did indeed appear to be a homeless beggar.

However, for those with keener perception, as Arren said, if one overlooked his current state, they would definitely sense something different from him.

Unlike the beggars that had long wandered in the area, Arren’s skin still looked soft despite not being clean. His demeanor couldn’t be disregarded either, as Arren was still ultimately a noble.

When he searched from the dumpster earlier, his every action was still more organized than the usual actions of every garbage collector. Since Arren only wanted a change of clothes to begin with and didn’t have the mindset of the others in this dumpster.

The woman smiled. "People like us, we always get enchanted by the prosperous city, but... Not everyone can be successful like others."

So, Arren concluded, then, the woman assumed Arren was like those unsuccessful aspirants who arrive in a city only to fail and be reduced to this state.

Arren didn’t want to lie, and he wasn’t a good liar in the first place, but in his current condition... He had no choice but to play along. Compared to wandering like a beggar, he would prefer to be with someone kind enough to give him shelter.

It seemed fate had not fully abandoned him.

After talking with the woman, Auntie Mildred, who was a beta woman who had been a garbage diver for a few years, Arren decided to accept the former’s invitation to her place.

Of course, he appeared timid on the outside, giving the impression of distrust after what happened to him. In fact, Arren wasn’t merely acting. He had not fully trusted the woman, no matter how gentle she looked.

Didn’t Duke Merphen do the same?

Still, he still followed her while being on guard. Once he sensed something was wrong, he would immediately escape. While Auntie Mildred was guiding him, Arren roamed his eyes around and looked at the surroundings.

It seemed the woman was not purposely guiding him to a suspicious place, much to her relief. Even if the place they were heading appeared not to be a prosperous area, it didn’t look to be a rundown area either.

There were a lot of houses, and it appeared even so lively that Arren had to lower his hat and his head to avoid any gazes.

While they were passing by a store with older women gossiping with each other, they recognized Auntie Mildred.

"Look... look! Mildred is at it again!" The store owner exclaimed.

"You’re looking for those beggars again."

"Tsk. Mildred, one of these days, you’ll be in danger."

"Why?" Someone asked after the other’s claim.

"Of course, these children might be children, but they are still of suspicious origins! Who knows what their history is?" the other answered.

Arren looked at them, and they looked at him with disgust after he passed by. He then looked at Auntie Mildred; she didn’t have a change of her expression at all, as though she was already used to all these words.

She only turned around to look at Arren and smiled, "We’re almost at my place."

He could only look at her, and for a moment, he began to be curious. Just... Who was she? And why is she doing this? It didn’t take long, and they arrived.

Just after Auntie Mildred had opened the door, rows of children eagerly greeted her. If Arren could count it, perhaps there would be over a dozen children there, averaging from five to sixteen years old.

They hugged Auntie Mildred, especially the youngest child. Arren was momentarily dumbfounded by this sight, and he stood next to the gate with a frozen expression.

Now he understood where those old women were coming from. After greeting her, someone from the children noticed Arren.

"Auntie..." She scrunched her nose cutely and pointed at Arren. "Who is that smelly brother?"

And it didn’t need to be said; Arren was especially embarrassed because of this.

Auntie Mildred laughed and then pointed at the bathroom to Arren, which he gratefully entered. Arren didn’t think of anything else and immediately took a bath.

He was a bit uncomfortable wearing the used clothes, but he had no choice but to do so. He didn’t even have underwear underneath, which was extremely... distracting, to say the least.

He also used the hat once more to cover his head. Arren, as much as he dislikes suspecting his savior, still needed to be cautious as much as possible. Especially as... Recognizing him was not a good thing. They might be implicated because of him.

When he left the bathroom, there was already a kitchen beside him, so he immediately saw Auntie Mildred and the children who were watching her prepare the food.

They instinctively glanced at Arren before shifting back again to Auntie Mildred, but some kids still couldn’t help but observe Arren with curiosity.

"Oh, you’re done?" Auntie Mildred noticed him and smiled. "Just wait up; the dinner’s almost ready." She also pointed at the table, signaling for Arren to sit down.

Arren awkwardly nodded his head and sat in one of the vacant seats. Next to him was the little girl who made him flustered earlier. She stared at Arren, who was being self-conscious because of her.

Who would’ve thought Arren was flustered just from being stared at?

"Brother..." the little girl called.

Arren swallowed, and he pulled down his hat a bit.

"Yes?" He replied, reserved.

"You smell good, brother," she remarked with her innocent round eyes. Arren was still shocked in his eyes, though.

He touched his neck where his glands were and finally recalled that he didn’t have his scent blocker on so his pheromones could freely leak out.

Arren was about to think of what to say when someone ruffled the little girl’s hair.

"Ivanna, didn’t I already tell you that it’s rude to casually smell other people’s pheromones?" Auntie Mildred chided her, which made the girl pout and lower her head.

"Ah... No, it’s fine." Arren felt sorry that the cute little girl became sad.

Auntie Mildred shook her head, then laughed, and put down a huge bowl on the table. When its aroma filled the air, the children, including Arren, gulped.

In fact, one of the reasons why Arren accepted the invitation was... He was hungry—really hungry.