The next morning, He welcomes Neffi back, who is not returning with not only his new glidesuit but also a new set of armour.
"Hehe," she says, laughing proudly. "This one will blow your mind. Try it out!"
"Later, Neffi," Auren says, receiving her gifts gratefully, sensing her anticipation.
"I have work to do, and we're taking off in a few days. You are coming along, right?"
"Of course," she replies. "I'd better get ready and spend some time with Master then."
I'd better get to work myself.
Auren immediately walks towards the now continuously empty hospital. Thanks to his previous work, every single patient has been cured and is back on duty.
As he arrives, he is welcomed by a few of Rakshala's assistants, whose number has skyrocketed.
Aside from them, Auren sees various injured leaders and members of small cells, apparently operating globally.
Auren immediately recognizes that some of them are hurt, however that's not all.
They are... Nen users. Decently strong. Nothing I would struggle against, but still, the sheer number of Nen users is very scary. Since Rakshala does not care about the rules and secrecy practiced by the Hunter Association, she can increase the number of Nen users as much as she likes. Anyone with enough potential is allowed to learn.
That's scary... give it a few more years, and she'll have a small army of Nen users. That's also the reason for the country she is founding. With millions of people, it's childishly easy to find talented Nen users, and with a territory of her own, nobody can stop her, especially if they are fully loyal to the cause.
"Greetings, Vice-Leader Auren," a woman wearing an eyepatch says, bowing down.
"I like you," Auren says, smiling. "You're first."
"Thank you," she says, smiling wildly, the others looking a little frustrated, having missed their chance to make a good first impression.
"Excuse me, Vice-Leader Auren, this is not quite what we had in mind," one of Rakshala's assistants says, stepping forward.
"Let's just get on with it," Auren says, continuing forward.
Spending the next three days successfully treating people with various degrees of injuries, the day finally arrives, and Auren, Neffi, Vanessa, Eren, and Leira prepare for their journey.
As they load a bunch of supplies into the airship, Grunah approaches them.
"Master!" Neffi yells, running over to her, hugging the small woman.
"Be careful, girl, this might be more difficult than you imagine," Grunah says, then walks over to Auren. "Auren, take care of her. Also, the leader asks you to take a few people with you. Most of them you cured yourself over the last few days, so you at least know their faces."
A few of the cell leaders and members, who arrived with injuries and whom Auren cured, step forward. Auren counts a total of twenty members—four five-person cells.
All of them are obviously trained and strong Nen users.
"No problem," Auren says, approving of them. "Though I didn't bring that many supplies."
Grunah smiles, and a few dozen people begin carrying a load of boxes forward, bringing them onto the airship.
"That will be all then," Auren says, slightly annoyed.
"Take care," Grunah says before turning around.
Eren hugs his siblings goodbye, who came to say goodbye.
Killi, Ella, Goreinu, Zepile, Joanne, and Jean also wave them goodbye.
With their goal clear, Auren, Neffi, Vanessa, Eren, and Leira enter the airship, Jolt and Marsha already onboard, ready to leave.
The Hollow Blade members, keeping a slight distance, follow them onto the airship.
They're a little... stiff. This better not continue. I should say something.
Onboard, Auren briefly addresses them.
"This is my private airship. The lowest deck has a modern gym that cost me a fortune—built with specially enhanced machinery that can even challenge Nen users with extraordinary physiques. You're free to use it," Auren explains.
He continues, "There aren't enough private cabins for everyone, so you'll have to share... It might not be the most comfortable ride, but please distribute the empty cabins amongst yourselves. I'm sure you can handle sharing a cabin. Compared to the field, this might even be luxurious. The two people on board you have to know about are Jolt and Marsha," Auren says, pointing to his pilot and his wife.
"Jolt is our pilot, so ask him for anything related to our flight course. Marsha is his wife, but she's also an extremely skilled cook who manages the daily chores on the airship. I'm not doing this to humiliate you, but she's in charge. If she asks—or orders—you to do something, just do it... so my airship doesn't fall into complete chaos." Auren lets his gaze sweep over them, voice steady. "I suggest you relax as best as you can and calm yourself mentally. I heard things are rough on the ground, with dangerous beasts and even unknown diseases waiting for us. If training helps calm you down, train. If you are bored, train. If you are unsure about yourself, train. If you'd rather meditate, which is a perfectly viable choice, be my guest," he concludes.
No reaction....
Finally, he looks towards the calm, unreadable faces. "Any questions?"
None of the twenty members speaks up, all of them just silently staring at him.
"...Please talk normally to me." Auren exhales, visibly irritated now. "You should know by now that my position is only because of my Hatsu. You're probably more capable in most things related to field work than I am, so relax. If this atmosphere continues, I might be the one who needs mental treatment."
"No," the same woman he met in the hospital a few days ago says, smiling, perfectly calm. "However, I'll gladly use the gym. I've rarely had the time to train, since we were constantly on missions."
"I want to sleep... and eat.... Can I just grab food at my own discretion?" another member asks, sounding half-dead already.
"Yeah, I need a lot of food as well... my Hatsu requires it!" a chubby man speaks up, his stomach actually churning as he speaks.
Is he trying to make a point?
Auren shrugs, but Marsha steps forward without hesitation, like she's done this before.
"I'll focus on cooking, and I'll do my best to provide you with three meals a day, along with snacks," she says firmly. "I see we've also got a lot of pre-packaged food and even some kind of fancy army food. I'll store that food on the main deck, and you can grab as much as you want, but it'd be better if you only eat that stuff if my dishes are all gone."
"Just listen to her," Auren replies. "Let's lift off. We can discuss anything else onboard."
As everyone enters and explores their new home for the next few days, Auren stays in the cockpit together with Jolt, watching the crew settle through the glass and reflections.
"Ever been to the part we're headed to?" Auren asks after a moment. "You mentioned a lot of sketchy jobs in the past. Surely you must have flown over that part already."
"No," Jolt replies. "The east of the Yorbian continent is wild land. There are barely any routes flying over that part. Only a few intercontinental routes even take the risk. Do you know there are flying beasts that are capable of taking down airships?"
I actually didn't....
Jolt continues, smiling, "It's been mostly unexplored. The waters are dangerous, with a lot of sea creatures around. There are jungles, forests, mountains—dangerous beasts—and most importantly, the part we're entering isn't inhabited by humans. So I never had a reason to fly there. Though that shouldn't be an issue. I've been handed detailed coordinates, and our ship's navigation system is working beautifully. Even without it, I can navigate with the compass and the maps I've been given." He glances at Auren. "We're flying to point A, right?"
"Yes," Auren confirms. "Point A is the landing point... According to the information we've been given, we bought a lot of old Empire cargo and transport boats. The first wave of people and supplies has been unloaded already, at point A. There are two major bays that are almost fully surrounded by land, and they're enormous."
Auren takes out a map and holds it in front of him, so Jolt can see.
"The northern one is larger and slightly less suitable, but the geography is easier to navigate. Point B is the lower bay. It will be colonised and explored in phase two, which starts in a few months."
"I see," Jolt replies, nodding along.
"I also read about points C1 to C10. I didn't quite get what those points are supposed to mean," Jolt asks, glancing over the notes again.
"They're not even fully settled yet." Auren shakes his head once. "These are ten provisional points where disguised Eco activists, under the control of Hollow Blade, set up official barricades, small settlements, and borders. Remember, to the rest of the world, the land we bought is just a nature reserve. These points C1 to C10 are the easiest way into that land. They are on the most western part of the land we've purchased. They're a facade, and only small communities will live there. It's almost like NGL—you've heard about that place, right?"
"Neo-Green Life?" Jolt asks. "Those crazies who live without technology and refuse medicine?"
"Yes... though our settlements will have access to every technology... just without too much industry. We're trying to find a believable and sustainable compromise between the lunatics at NGL and normal people." Auren speaks as if he's repeating something he has already explained a dozen times. "Anyway, points C1 to C10 are just small settlements that are, in truth, border points and a distraction—far away from our actual settlements in the two major bays. Even if Hunters go past them, they would need weeks to reach our actual landing points. It's pretty much fool-proof."
"Once we've settled the two bays, we'll expand further inland, but point A and point B are the initial settlements, close to those two bays," Auren continues.
"I get it," Jolt says, finally sounding like he's pieced it together.
"If you ever need help or rest, I'll take over. Maybe one of our guests can also take a shift or two," Auren offers.
"I'll be fine," Jolt says. "I'm used to flying solo. This ship lets me get enough sleep. It flies pretty much on its own. With the additions this baby has, it'll never sink below a certain height, and I can automatically steady it to fly as straight as light."
Can't light bend and reflect? I might keep that to myself... he seems confident enough.
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