"Fine! If you're moving in, I'll do the same!" Neffi declares firmly.
"Don't act silly, Neffi," Grunah quickly chides her, looking more than a little annoyed.
"It's part of the contract! Legally, I can't be away from him!" Neffi retorts, wearing a playful grin.
"Haha, seems you're not in any position to make fun of us, boy," Buno says with amusement. "There are more than enough rooms in Auren's house. If he agrees, feel free to pick one and stay over sometimes."
"I'm still twelve years old… spare me your nonsense, please. Anyway, I like your mansion," Auren says, standing up to look around.
Walking toward the southern side, he pauses by large windows, taking in the sight of the circular mountain town outside.
The view from the highest floor must be fantastic.
"Let's take a look at your house, shall we? We can enter it directly from the third floor. It's on the same level as the third, fourth, and fifth floors of our complex. There are stairs along the side, so you can still enter from outside," Bunu explains.
"Sure," Auren replies.
"You all go ahead without me," Grunah says. "Thank you again for helping my student. Neffi can show you where my house is later, so you can visit to begin your training."
"Thanks, I'll see you later," Auren answers.
Bunu, Buno, Auren, and Neffi then head up the stairs to the third floor and move along a short corridor leading directly into Auren's house.
As soon as they step inside, a spacious living room greets them. It's a bit simpler than the twins' luxurious mansion, but still elegantly decorated.
Immediately, two maids, looking to be in their late twenties, approach and bow deeply, greeting in unison, "Welcome, Master Auren!"
"No," Auren says immediately.
"What do you mean, no?" Buno asks, slightly confused.
"I'll gladly rely on the help of a few housekeepers, and I'm more than willing to pay, but I really can't deal with this maid thing," Auren firmly states.
"You really must learn to enjoy life!" Bunu chuckles, while Neffi shoots the twins an annoyed glare.
"But I like these uniforms," one of the women responds—she's tall, with long black hair and warm brown eyes. "Perhaps we could wear them occasionally? I'd genuinely love to work for you if you give me the chance," she says sincerely.
"Fine. What's your name?"
"Natsuko," she replies politely.
"Please hire me as well—I'm Catherine, I am a great cook!" the other woman eagerly adds. Auren notes she has nearly exactly the same height and appearance as Natsuko, only with striking blue eyes and blond hair.
Weird pair! They are clearly from different backgrounds, but they make a nice pair.
"All right, nice meeting you two. How about a million Jenny a month?" Auren suggests generously.
Both women immediately shake their heads in unison. "No, that's far too much! The standard rate is more than enough," Catherine replies earnestly.
"Which is…?" Auren asks, turning to Buno.
"250,000 Jenny starting salary, along with free boarding, food, and periodic raises every few years," Buno explains.
"Fine, let's go with that. I'll give bonuses depending on your performance. Now, could you give me a little tour?"
"Gladly," Natsuko replies, visibly pleased with Auren's acceptance.
Led by Natsuko and Catherine, the group explores Auren's new home. The ground floor—level with the third floor of Buno's mansion—features a large living room, a spacious kitchen, a dining room, a bathroom, and four medium-sized rooms suitable for staff.
The floor above has a huge master bedroom, multiple smaller bedrooms, a sizable office, an extravagant bathroom with a tub as big as a small pool, and several empty rooms awaiting furnishing.
The third floor surprises him. There are no walls—just an enormous, open hall.
Auren looks around in shock. The walls are raw rock, but polished smooth. The room is filled with countless custom-built machines, resembling heavy-duty gym equipment, clearly handcrafted from steel and loaded with immense weights. A ring for sparring stands at one end, opposite the large windows, is a vast natural rock wall that's left rough—perfect for training. Nearby, there's a shallow pool, barely ankle-deep, surrounded by multiple faucets.
"Okay, I owe you both an apology," Auren says sincerely, turning to Buno and Bunu. "I didn't expect much, but this is simply perfect. I can practice my Claw technique on the rock wall, I can use this shallow pool to refine my techniques, and I planned on setting up my own gym anyway! This is ideal. I'm genuinely grateful!"
Buno and Bunu both nod, satisfied by Auren's enthusiastic response, before placing their hands supportively on his back.
"You deserve it. You can dig as deeply as you like. You own everything in that direction—just make sure not to dig sideways, or you might accidentally break into someone else's bedroom," Buno says teasingly with a smirk.
"The thing I like the most is this," Auren says, stepping toward the large windows at the edge of the room. As he gazes out, he sees nearly the entire city below. His elevated position makes him feel incredibly privileged. "I can even see the sky, so I'll actually get some natural light for a few hours each day."
Okay, that's settled. I'll definitely be staying here. This is the perfect place to train!
Neffi stares around at the gym, clearly impressed. She walks closer to Auren, seemingly hesitating, as she tries to find the right words.
"Yes, you can visit. Choose any bedroom on the second floor. You're always welcome here, and maybe Grunah can come by as well, so we can use this space for training," Auren says with a smile.
Neffi, looking slightly surprised, immediately hugs Auren, clearly delighted by his proactive offer.
"There's just one more thing I need," Auren continues.
"What do you need?" Bunu asks curiously.
"Build me the most secure safe possible. It should be pretty large."
Maybe I can dig out a suitable space for it.
"No problem. If you're willing to spend a couple million, anything is possible," Buno casually assures him, making it sound like a trivial matter.
Perfect!
As Auren settles comfortably into his new home, he's reminded of his time back in Lidor's mansion.
Every day, without fail, he trains rigorously. He doesn't spend all his time on physical workouts alone; instead, he balances it carefully with Aura training, knife practice with Grunah and Neffi, sword practice, Claw technique training, and even regular sparring sessions with his twin instructors.
Thanks to Azure Restoration, which he diligently uses on himself every night, he's able to push himself to the limit every single day, constantly restoring his body to its peak state.
The results are clear: Auren notices significant progress in his physical strength, gradually increasing the weights on all the machines. His Aura reserves steadily grow, and after just one month, he masters a more refined and advanced form of En, extending his range to a radius of over 30 meters.
Naturally, Auren takes Rakshala's advice seriously, frequently visiting her and progressing steadily under her guidance—not only in En but also in other advanced Nen techniques.
Aside from his relentless training, Auren also spends plenty of leisure time with his former instructors and Neffi, who eagerly shows him around their small town. They go on daily shopping trips, and despite the town's modest size, the stores somehow manage to stock an impressive variety of goods, thanks to regular airship deliveries. Everything is sold at cost to the residents of Hollow Blade. Neffi even gifts him a dozen seemingly ordinary black outfits, all made from special nanofiber capable of stopping most knives, their protective qualities further enhanced when he channels Aura through them, using Shu.
Thanks to his new 'employees'—who, despite their earlier promises, seem to prefer their maid uniforms—Auren doesn't have to worry about cleaning, cooking, or housework. Anything he requires is swiftly taken care of with just a simple request. Despite Buno's advice, he decides to immediately reward them by giving them a regular 50,000 Jenny Bonus, starting almost immediately.
He spends a considerable amount of resources acquiring additional Ben's knives, willingly paying almost double the usual price—around 20 million Jenny each. By now, thanks to his insistence, he has gathered a certain reputation, and people are realizing they can sell him these knives at a premium, pleasing Auren greatly. Even Eren finally manages to obtain an authentic Ben's knife, promptly sending it to him.
His collection now proudly numbers twenty knives, all securely hidden within his newly constructed, highly secure safe, which took ten strong men to maneuver into place on the upper floor of his house.
Auren's birthday soon arrives, marking the first time he celebrates it properly—this time surrounded by more than twenty people in the twins' luxurious living room.
For the first time ever, he genuinely feels at home, surrounded by people who genuinely care for him, while steadily making enormous strides in his training.
Yet, despite his new life, Auren never forgets his past in Meteor City. Through Buno and Bunu, he decides to donate 50 million Jenny—enough to avoid souring relations with the Elders, at least for the time being, as he is not yet comfortable 'betraying' their expectations.
Time passes quickly, and now it's late July. Auren sits comfortably in his massive bathtub, practicing En. The normally spherical shape of his En begins morphing slowly, shifting into something that resembles thick fog, constantly twisting and changing as if alive.
Suddenly, his concentration breaks as his phone vibrates nearby.
Feeling his Aura almost fully drained, he decides to end his En training for the day and checks the message.
To his surprise, it's from Rakshala:
"Hello Auren, we've finalized most of the details. We've rented a hospital in Yorknew. Battera remains skeptical, and it took significant effort, but he finally agreed. He selected the tenth of August for our first meeting, shortly before this year's Southern Piece Auction. If things go poorly, he may try purchasing even more copies of Greed Island. Rumors indicate a few copies might show up, spontaneously. Meet me when you're available, and we'll go over everything in detail."
A smile spreads across Auren's face. He climbs out of the bath, quickly dresses himself, and eagerly heads out to meet Rakshala.
Time to solve my money troubles… forever!
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