Hearing Auren's declaration that he and his part of the squad are no longer required here, Commander Kieran looks visibly frustrated.
"Mission complete... my men and I barely did anything... well... everyone vital for combatting Hellbell and everyone else I deem necessary will stay, along with the new recruits who need experience. I'll gather my other men."
"Take your time, Commander; tonight we'll celebrate, and tomorrow, we'll finish preparations and leave," Auren says. "Since we finished well before schedule, we can be proud and relax... for just a night."
When the sun sets, everyone prepares for a small but still highly energetic celebration.
Ten small bonfires are lit in their camp, and the soldiers and workers celebrate with the supplies they brought with them, drinking in moderation and eating the best food from their stocked-up supplies, saved for such an occasion.
A few members are playing music and singing, while others dance in front of the bonfire, the mood surprisingly pleasant, even among the soldiers who expected to go on a life-and-death mission.
Sitting around with all the members of his own little group, Auren stares at the bonfire in front of him.
The Exam starts soon... I still need to decide what I'll do. Do I try to steer things the way I vaguely remember them, according to my old notes... or do I just act however I want and don't care about such things? I can literally play with fate. Even with my lacking, and honestly rough knowledge about the future... certain events, certain truths. I've at least got a good feeling of what will happen. If I see the people from my memories, I often know more; it's strange. Like my brain needs some sort of trigger.
What would happen if I were to interfere with fate and shape the events according to my own liking? I could change them even more than they already are....
"Auren!" Neffi yells, pulling him back to reality as she's standing in front of him with Vanessa. "Let's dance!"
"Pass..." Auren says, groaning. "I need to think...."
However, despite his firm denial, both Vanessa and Neffi gently pull him up and drag him close to a bonfire, both smiling at him as they begin to dance, each one clinging to one of his arms.
"..."
I'll think about it later....
After an awkward attempt to dance that causes an unbearable feeling of regret, the next day starts rather early.
However, despite the celebration, almost nobody is slacking off, and everyone steadily works on their tasks.
"I hope you won't regret staying," Auren says, looking at Leira.
"Never," she replies confidently with a big grin. "I'll see you soon. I'm not gonna waste this opportunity."
"I've spoken with Rosa and Mola... you are under official orders to consume some rice every day," Auren informs her, his tone akin to an order. "You need to improve physically and in terms of Nen because our next journey will be a thousand times more dangerous. Use your time here not only to study, but also to train."
"... you are correct," she replies. "I will heed your words. Thank you."
"One more thing..." Auren says, pulling Leira aside.
"If possible, get Rosa drunk and coax some info out of her for me. She's a rather... simple and honest woman... she knows something about Rakshala's intentions towards me. I want to know what they are. She almost slipped up after I joked around with her a little. Mola had to yell at her. I don't think there's anything too bad to worry about, but I hate being controlled or manipulated. If possible, find out at least something, okay?" Auren explains carefully. "If you can't do it subtly, don't force the issue..." he quickly adds.
"I'll give it my best," Leira says, her expression now showing a hint of concern.
The others also say their goodbyes to Leira, and the group prepares to leave.
Collecting all the ripe rice found on the Gatekeeper's farm, Auren's airship, accompanied by two of the three large military vessels, leaves the small island behind.
The soldier with the computer Conjuration Hatsu, capable of controlling and forcing the Gatekeeper to answer, along with Kieran and a soldier in charge of filming, decides to stay on Auren's airship for the return.
Despite the value of the 'maybe' Nitro Rice, Auren has claimed a sizeable amount for himself. Out of the entire harvest, which was almost two tons, 1950 kilos to be exact, Auren has claimed 300 kilos for himself and his group and has taken it back to his own airship.
He also tells Marsha to prepare a small portion of 50 grams for everyone on board during each meal, as well as prepare some extra snacks containing rice for training. Marsha continues to make popular dishes that feel familiar, yet still have their own unique taste, choosing to prepare rice balls, mashed rice gruel, rice soup, and rice pudding, which all turn out well, despite the large size of the individual grains.
The journey, despite the rough conditions below them and some storm winds, proceeds smoothly.
Auren and the others spend most of their time training, aside from the occasional interrogation, mostly performed by Kieran, with Auren just standing by in case of an emergency.
Despite learning some more details, the Nen oath is incredibly rigid and strong, making almost everything about the Gatekeepers' race, secret Nen techniques, and the Dark Continent a no-go.
As the days pass, Auren is constantly hounded by Vanessa to train with her. However, instead of forcing the issue, she surprises Auren by asking in a measured, kind tone, leaving him with no good reason to refuse.
Training with her, Eren, and Neffi, Auren can't help but notice that all three of them have rapidly improved, even aside from the use of their individual Hatsus.
Neffi is a somewhat balanced fighter, training in different things, but clearly prioritizing speed and agile movements, along with an all-around focus on her Nen. Despite being a Manipulator, she's doing her best to train Enhancement as far as possible, making her relatively strong in melee combat as well, and of course, tremendously benefiting her Hatsu by strengthening her nanofiber clothes.
Eren has partially overcome his low Aura output and increased his Aura capacity by more than Auren ever expected he'd be capable of, relying solely on tremendous effort. Through his sheer talent, he has also fine-tuned his control over Aura, especially the quick shifting of his Aura, allowing him to attack with almost all of it while still being able to instantly shift from offense to defense. While not particularly strong physically, he's also not very fast. However, his movements are extremely calculated and precise, giving him his own rhythm in combat, solely created to support his Hatsu.
Vanessa, however, despite focusing so much on further improving her Aura capacity and maximum Aura output, has also overcome most of her weaknesses and has trained many advanced techniques to an impressive degree, only neglecting En, a concept that, despite her interest in it, has never felt natural to her. Physically, Vanessa is somewhat close to Auren, definitely above the others, and more importantly, in terms of raw Aura output, she's also not falling too far behind Auren, managing to keep up with his progress, the gap between them not growing at all, despite Auren's own progress.
However, most surprising of all is that her personality, at least when Auren is involved, has taken a huge turn. She's extremely kind, mature, and overall sweet and easy to get along with, making Auren feel weirdly entertained by her efforts. Welcoming her 'game,' Auren enjoys talking to her.
Sitting in the lounge with a slightly drunk Konrad, the businessman can't help but warn Auren. "You know you are being played, right?"
"... can you be a little more precise?" Auren asks.
Konrad, emptying a big glass of wine immediately, does as told. "She hasn't changed, I tell you. Never, not even a little bit. She's incapable of changing. She's exactly like the 10-year-old devil who put bugs in my bed whenever I rejected her request. Even before learning Nen, she trained hard if she found something she liked. She wants something from you. You'll see... I know per personality. It's been years, and she may look mature, but she's the same person. If I were you, I'd run!"
"As long as she continues to behave like that, I'm not quite opposed to giving it to her, whatever it is. You realize that if she continues as she does, she might end up as one of the strongest Nen users? Her Hatsu has the potential to mimic a small nuke... well maybe not that extreme, but something similar. You should be proud, honestly. When she picked me up in that sports car all those years ago in Yorknew, I didn't quite expect this," Auren argues.
Konrad pours himself another glass. "That makes it worse! If she weren't a Hunter, she'd probably be in huge trouble by now! Do you know how many calls from various military leaders I'm receiving? She has exposed her insane Hatsu to the entire world. As you said, she's like a living weapon! They want to recruit her. I can never let that happen; she'd ruin our family's reputation even more."
"It's not nice to talk about me like that, brother," Vanessa suddenly says, emerging from behind Konrad.
"It's time to grow up a little, don't you agree?" she asks, looking hurt. "These petty childhood squabbles are really beneath us... right Auren?"
"You...!" Konrad says, glaring at her, while she remains completely calm, looking somewhat hurt.
I'm well aware it's an act. Inside, she's probably giggling like crazy; however, I have to admit it's quite funny to watch.
Still, it's about time I ask her directly. I had my fun. Once there is a suitable opportunity, I'll ask her.
Continuing like that, the airship convoy soon makes it back to the center of Lake Mobius, reaching the human world and allowing full communication with the Hollow Blade leadership.
After a few calls, one airship, carrying some rice and protected by two dozen soldiers, splits up from the rest of the group, deciding to head towards the East of the Yorbian Continent, towards Hollow Blade's freshly established 'nation'. The soldiers are acting as if they're carrying a treasure made of pure gold, the rice treated as more important than their own lives.
Now with only two airships, the journey feels almost completed.
Throughout the entire remaining journey, Auren feels some movement in the egg he's carrying around with him, making him believe it will soon hatch. However, after the slightest movement, the egg always falls back into another calm phase, not reacting at all.
His phone is also vibrating like crazy, several missed messages appearing on the screen. Causing him some annoyance, Pariston has asked him about new sessions, something Auren has neglected for the last 18 months. However, Auren's attitude this time is a little different, as he has actually been waiting for him.
I need the cash... I'll accept... let's send him a short reply.
Finally, the military airship, along with Auren's own airship, makes it back to Hollow Blade.
Welcomed like heroes under thunderous applause, the remaining expedition members exit their airship, and Rakshala welcomes them personally.
Staying a little more in the background, Auren doesn't want to steal the show, letting the soldiers receive some praise as well.
However, as he feared, Rakshala, of course, doesn't let him hide and walks up to him, gently hugging him and Neffi, who is being a little clingy toward her.
"Welcome back and congratulations," she says, calm as always, her smile incredibly sweet, as her eyes are almost solely focused on Auren, as if staring into his very soul.
"..."
-----------------------------------------
A/N: Always thankful for Power Stones, Comments, and Reviews. Thank you for reading!
If you are interested, then please support me at patreon.com/FRWriter
45+ Early chapters available
New Chapters every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday!
Bored? Complains? Demands? Check out the Discord: https://discord.gg/puVqWsf3y9
Thank you for supporting the story with Power Stones!