Auren, Neffi, and the recently exorcised Killi spend a surprisingly ordinary afternoon together.
They stop at a family-style restaurant, order a mountain of food, then wander through the city shopping for books, a computer, a phone, and plenty of clothes—everything Killi might need to start fresh. By the end of it, they're weighed down with half a dozen large bags, but still make one last stop at a small ice-cream joint, where they order colorful sundaes.
Killi, unaccustomed to being treated this way, beams with joy the entire time. Even though her body is still clearly exhausted, she can't stop smiling. At one point, she shyly reaches out and takes Neffi's hand, enjoying the security she provides.
Looks like she likes her, she's confident and strong, after all. I guess she makes a good older sister.
When they finally return to the airship, Killi looks as though she could collapse on the spot.
Auren and Neffi head over to Jolt and Marsha, who are in the middle of a chess match. Jolt looks like he's about to rip his own beard out in frustration.
"You never learn, do you?" Auren says with an amused expression.
"Can't beat her," Jolt groans. "Not once! I think she's cheating! I always get so close, but in the end, it ends in my crushing defeat!"
"No, you just suck, you silly oaf," Neffi retorts. "It's obvious she's doing the opposite of cheating. She's holding back and giving you hope, only to crush you at the very end. Honestly, I'm impressed with your cruelty, Marsha. You really have him under your control."
Marsha simply smiles, not answering, just watching Neffi and her husband with an amused expression.
"..."
She looks so kind and unassuming, but I get the feeling there's more to her than meets the eye.
"Anyway," Auren says, shifting the topic. "This is Killi. She's been through something traumatic and is in bad shape. We need to keep training, so can you and the twins help take care of her a little? She can also play with Mio and Kai."
"Of course," Marsha says warmly, standing up and stepping closer. "You're paying us, after all. And she does look like a kind girl."
"I'll help too," Neffi adds quickly, looking at Killi, who looks visibly relieved. "If you ever feel lonely, you can come see us anytime."
"For now, just relax," Auren tells Killi, who has trouble hiding her exhaustion. "Once you feel more at home, we'll talk about the more serious things. But there's no rush. Your only job right now is to recover, slowly but surely, alright?"
"Okay..." Killi replies, managing a weak smile. Almost immediately afterwards, she yawns.
"I'll get her set up in one of the empty cabins. You bought plenty for her, so she should be fine," Marsha says, gently taking Killi by the arm and gathering as many bags as she can carry. Neffi follows with the rest.
Satisfied that she's in good hands, Auren turns his focus back to training.
"..."
A full month slips by in the blink of an eye.
Mio and Kai, Eren's siblings, are gradually improving with the breathing technique. The twins, Jean and Joanne, are nearly ready to begin opening their Aura Nodes.
Killi has made steady progress in her recovery, even joining the others in the gym from time to time, doing light exercises together with Mio and Kai, with whom she quickly became friends. Auren has chosen to only teach her Ten for now, and she practices it diligently, despite seeming more interested in playing with her friends.
Her personality is so different than the fake Killi I briefly met at the orphanage. It's a little surprising.
Everyone else continues making steady progress in their training, while Auren pushes hard to finally take one step further along his Nen journey. By now, he can apply his Manipulation exercises directly to Limitless Waters, freely shaping and controlling his Transmuted Aura even after it's been emitted and no longer directly connected to his Aura.
More importantly, thanks to the faint, scattered memories in his mind, the form of a new Hatsu is finally beginning to take shape. Every single day, he creates countless different variations with Limitless Waters, forcing himself to actively control them. Because Manipulation isn't his strongest affinity, it drains his Aura significantly—but that constant drain only helps him grow. Little by little, his overall Aura reserves expand, not unlike the steady growth that comes from dedicated Ren training.
The group, meanwhile, continues to take on small requests. At Auren's insistence, they stick almost exclusively to easy bodyguard jobs. While not overly dangerous, these often involve scuffles or run-ins with armed criminals, giving Vanessa, Konrad, and Eren their first real taste of combat.
To reinforce and build upon these experiences, the group spends hours sparring. Since none of Auren's three students had any formal martial arts training, Auren starts from scratch: teaching them how to strike, how to dodge, how to block and counter, and even the fundamentals of grappling.
Once they find their footing, he finally introduces the concept of Ryu to them. He teaches them the basics of how to consciously shift and manipulate their Aura, which is a giant leap in difficulty for them. Despite knowing the basics, even Konrad has problems shifting his Aura fast enough. After a few weeks, they finally make some progress, allowing for some slower-paced sparring sessions.
Despite their struggles, Auren convinces them to keep going, as Ryu is one of the advanced Nen techniques no serious hand-to-hand fighter can go without.
Konrad, while training as diligently as possible, still juggles his many companies, training as much as he can while working at least eight hours a day to keep things running.
Auren himself also has to balance his training with the occasional business. He gets sent updates from Hollow Blade, and he even decides some things, visiting the Hollow Blade members in Swardani City. Aside from Hollow Blade business, reports arrive from Pariston's contacts: his original 5 billion seed investment has already dropped to just under 4 billion. Alongside the reports are photos of unique clothing, accessories, antique armor of all kinds, classic weapons, and even a few of Ben's Knives. One glance at the knives erases the slightest trace of doubt in Pariston's contacts before it can even form. He instinctively realizes that the investment is worth it.
Finally, after a month of relentless training, Vanessa snaps in the middle of training.
"I can't take this anymore!" Vanessa suddenly yells. "I hate working! Every day it's nothing but training, training, training—and then babysitting some random assholes every few days. Some of them are even poorer than I am! Why are we doing this? What's the point?"
Konrad sighs, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, everyone. She's being silly. Vanessa has never worked a day in her life, and she's never stuck with anything longer than a few days. I think she's finally snapped."
"I'll snap your neck if you keep talking!" Vanessa fires back, glaring at him.
Auren looks at her, almost baffled. "I don't understand your unhappiness, Vanessa. I honestly think you've improved by leaps and bounds. You're getting stronger every single day—not only with Nen, but physically too. You've even started making real progress with martial arts. The speed at which you're improving is astonishing. Isn't it addicting, watching yourself grow stronger day after day?"
"I agree," Eren says. "Don't you see this atmosphere is perfect for training? We're getting real guidance from Auren, Neffi, and Goreinu! I'm finally starting to understand some of the advanced techniques. Not only that, we're earning a lot of Jenny. A couple of million might be nothing to you, but for me, this is huge. I'm earning more than going through the street markets, looking for valuables with Gyo."
"I agree as well," Konrad adds. "I'm even neglecting some of my businesses. I only work eight hours a day now and even miss a few important meetings, but what we're learning here will last a lifetime. You're so childish, my dear sister. Why does it feel like I'm the older sibling? I'm not only more responsible but also more logical, get your act together!"
Vanessa pouts as everyone takes sides against her. To her surprise, Neffi speaks up. "I kind of agree with Vanessa. I think we should really consider doing a few proper missions. I understand why we started with simple ones, but by now they can defend themselves and have some real experience."
"Exactly!" Vanessa says, throwing her arms around Neffi, who groans and tries to shove her off as she clings to her.
"What do you think, Goreinu?" Auren asks, glancing at his fellow Hunter.
Goreinu smiles, clearly entertained. "Can't hurt to mix it up a little. Nothing too dangerous, of course, but there are enough missions that are still manageable and not too demanding."
"Fine," Auren says at last. "We'll look for something else. But until then, focus on your training. Is that acceptable, Vanessa?"
"Great!" she says, grinning from ear to ear.
"Goreinu, let's check out the missions," Auren says, motioning for him to follow.
The two spend a few hours combing through the listings before Auren finally remarks, "You know, Neffi joked about this a month ago, but Glam Gas Land actually looks promising. At the center is a huge city built on gambling. I see countless missions for protection work. There are also some more difficult ones. The oil and gas companies there are constantly under pressure."
Scrolling further, Auren points at the screen. "Some of these companies are dealing with criminal groups—ransom demands for employees, even takeovers of entire facilities. A single day without production costs them a fortune. The rewards reflect that: some missions go as high as a hundred million Jenny for taking down certain organizations. On top of that, a lot of wanted criminals with active bounties are hiding there. It looks like a place where we could take on a lot of work and really push ourselves. It'll get intense. But... despite everything, I doubt there are too many strong Nen users around. The risks aren't low, but I don't see any disasters waiting for us either."
"It's definitely a hotspot for criminals of all kinds," Goreinu agrees. "I think heading there for a couple of weeks is a solid idea. As long as we protect your three students, we should be alright."
"With the new airship, the trip won't take long," Auren says. "It's settled then. We're heading to Glam Gas Land!"
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