With the sun shining in through the curtains, Auren slowly gets up, showers, dresses, and begins preparing his things—especially the insanely heavy, oversized bags filled with his newly acquired collection pieces, courtesy of the Glam Clan.
After he finishes, he joins the others one last time for breakfast in the grand dining hall of the Royal Glam Hotel.
I'm gonna miss the luxury room, just a little at least. Although our hotel rooms in Swardani City were quite nice as well. When I'm bored, I'll return... and next time I'll rent the best VIP suite.
As he eats, he can't help but look around. The large hall is nearly deserted, and countless waiters stand idle, leaning on their trays, with almost nobody left to serve.
Looks like the Glam Clan's once-grand reputation is fading. I wonder how long they can hold on under this pressure.
"Things are really going downhill for the Glam Clan. We might be one of the last visitors who get to frequent this hotel before it gets sold or revamped. I wonder what the Clan is planning?" Auren wonders.
"Do you really care?" Neffi asks him, her expression puzzled.
"Not really," Auren admits. "Still, it's kind of interesting. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the trip. I think each of you made real progress—including me."
I probably gained the most here. With Eternity's change, I'm quite satisfied.
"I loved it!" Jean exclaims. "The shopping was the best, and the hotel and shows were just incredible. You are the best, Auren! If you ever need a mistress, I dare you to look elsewhere! I'll provide the best service money can buy you!"
"Shut up, you ungrateful girl!" Marsha shouts, storms over, and smacks Jean over the head. To Auren's surprise, the one who yelps "Ouch!" is Marsha herself.
He glances quickly and notices a faint Aura flickering around Jean.
"You... did it," Auren says with a calm smile. "I actually didn't notice before." His gaze shifts to Joanne, who flushes, but with Auren's attention slowly begins to use Ten, covering her body in Aura.
"You too," Auren notes. "Congratulations, both of you. I'm impressed."
Their Ten is weak, unstable, and extremely weak. However, they actually did it in the time I gave them. Both of them are indeed talented.
"Hehehe, thank you!" Jean beams with joy, while Marsha rubs her hand and then pinches her ear in irritation.
"Ouch!" Jean cries, her Ten unable to protect her this time.
"This girl was already thick-headed, and now her head feels even thicker. Auren! This is partly your fault, too! I know you secretly gave them money! I checked Joanne's bank account."
"You... why did you tell her?!" Jean snaps, glaring at Joanne, who looks guilty.
Jolt, overhearing this, looks confused. "Why did you give them money, Auren? I'm feeling a little guilty myself. You are really being too generous... after all you have done for us."
"Well, being stuck here without funds must be kind of boring—with all those luxury shops around. I just gave them a couple of million each. Joanne, you were supposed to spend it, not hoard it. That amount is nothing to me," Auren explains. "They're extremely talented—they could even repay me later—not that I need it." He shrugs. "So don't make a big deal. Money is one thing I have in excess, and I'll gladly spread it around a little."
With all my money, a few million mean nothing to me. I also want to show them that the hunter lifestyle is worth it. They are already adults. They need to focus on Nen, and thankfully, they seem to appreciate the lifestyle.
"You're spoiling them!" Marsha complains. "You even gave something to the little ones! I saw them constantly buying snacks and games! Killi, Mio and Kai have at least fifty Joystation games in their bags. It looks like only Joanne kept most of the money."
"It's hard spending so much on books..." Joanne mutters defensively, trying to justify herself.
"Well, whatever," Auren says. "Vanessa, Eren, Konrad, Goreinu—I need your help after we finish eating here."
"Sure," Eren responds immediately. "What can I do for you? I'd love a chance to help. You have done so much for us."
"...Carry my bags," Auren says, earning laughs from the group.
"I was serious!" Eren protests, looking dissatisfied.
"Sorry, but I'm serious too," Auren says, looking at him with a grin. "I told you I obtained a lot of rare items. I need you to help me carry them and make sure nothing goes missing until they're safely stashed on the airship. If the value is anywhere near what I believe, they're worth at least a few hundred million—could even reach the billions. So guard them carefully."
Neffi immediately complains, "Next time, take me along!"
"Soon you'll own every Ben's Knife in the world," Konrad notes, his tone dry. "Well, at least the ones that haven't been lost or destroyed," he quickly adds.
Auren nods at him,"Well, I'll settle for most of them," he says. "I'm constantly getting emails from Pariston's handlers. They're working for me, trying to track down and buy more items. They managed to get their hands on a couple more, but now the prices have shot up—they're currently sitting at over 100 million per knife. Word got out that someone's throwing serious money around collecting them. These assholes think they can scam me," Auren says, sounding both irritated and amused.
He continues, "But even so, I'll keep buying. I've got 52 now. A few days ago, I called my Instructors back home, and they're already talking to Elder Rein about remodeling my house. The plan is to carve out a massive room in the mountain. Once that's done, I'll install security and turn it into my personal collection vault. It's starting to get pretty interesting."
Everyone turns to stare at Auren, clearly confused.
"Mountain?" Goreinu wonders.
"Instructors?" Vanessa asks. "I'd love to meet them!"
"You'll understand soon enough. For now, we're heading back to Swardani City. There's still business left to take care of, right?" Auren asks, glancing toward Killi.
She nods quietly, then whispers, "Thank you..."
I'd better not tell them they're about to join a cult... it's easier and funnier if they find out after it's too late.
"What about the girls, Auren?" Marsha speaks up. "I truly respect what you've done for them, but Killi and her friend—once she recovers—will need proper education. They've been horribly neglected. The orphanage Killi told me about sounded like a nightmare. Honestly, it's a miracle Killi is as stable and well-behaved as she is."
"Well, that's all going to change soon. If they're lucky, they might even end up learning under a god-like teacher," Auren replies with a smile. "I haven't explained much yet, but I'm part of a rather unusual community. That place has everything—schools, shops, anything they could possibly need. They won't just learn Nen, they'll be taken care of properly." He pauses, then adds, "I hope the rest of you decide to join me there, too. But for now, let's get moving. We've stayed long enough, and we can talk more during the flight."
"But Auren..." Killi says hesitantly. "Can't you or Neffi teach us?"
"We will, don't worry," Auren says, gently reassuring her. "But we move around a lot, and some of the places we go are just too dangerous to take you with us. Also, a little bit of education can't hurt. Even I had some basic schooling. Once you've grown a little stronger, learned some self-defense, and gotten the basics of martial arts down—you can come with us." He smiles at her. "Also, the person I have in mind... you'll definitely like her."
Rakshala hinted she's interested in them. Even if she changes her mind... maybe I can ask Grunah? She might feel lonely without Neffi around. The two girls might cheer her up.
Auren rises from his seat, the others following his lead.
They return to their hotel rooms and begin gathering their things.
With the help of the group, Auren manages to pack everything into a few taxis, courtesy of the Royal Glam Hotel, and they make their way to the airport.
Before long, they're back aboard the familiar airship.
Thanks to their Glam Clan connections, Vanessa and Eren managed to bring their favorite weapons on board—neither of them willing to give them up after training so hard with them.
Auren heads straight to Jolt and asks, "Everything ready? Can we lift off?"
"Of course!" Jolt replies proudly, grinning. "We could fly to the ends of the world!"
"Let's not," Auren says drily. "Just back to Swardani City."
"Understood!" Jolt says, saluting with a grin.
He smoothly navigates the airship out of the Glam Gas City airport and takes off, steering directly toward Swardani City.
Inside the airship, the most popular place becomes the gym located on the lowest deck.
Everyone, even Jolt and Marsha, spends at least a couple of hours there every day.
Auren throws himself back into his endless Nen training. He focuses on increasing his Aura capacity, refining his control over the different Nen categories, with his usual exercises, pushing his body's limits doing physical training, and repeatedly using his Hatsus, especially Azure Restoration, to quickly recover, allowing him to train an average of 16 hours every single day.
Just three and a half days later, they arrive in Swardani City, the sun still hanging bright in the sky, as they fly past the Hunter Association Headquarters and land inside the airport close by.
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