Exactly two days after his return from Yorknew, Auren heads towards Rakshala's office.
He has paid close attention to her extremely busy schedule, information he obtained from his role as vice-leader. It gives him access to all ongoing projects—those known to the public, those only known to core officials, and even those only known to Rakshala and a few key elders.
After finally spotting a small empty gap in her otherwise completely packed calendar, he immediately told one of her assistants to book a short meeting for him.
Heading to the familiar office on the first floor, Auren gets stopped midway by Rosa, one of Rakshala's trusted aides. "Where do you think you're going?" she says, halting him with an outstretched hand.
"Our date, don't you remember?" Auren replies. "Didn't I tell you I need my toilet cleaned? I only entrust that important task to you. Of course, I have to supervise you directly to make sure you do an acceptable job."
"...What? You—" Rosa blinks, then forces herself back on track. "I meant to say, this isn't the correct way! Rakshala abandoned the offices on the first floor. With all those new workers, it's just too loud, even for her, who loves to be surrounded by her people. Her own tiny private quarters, just behind the office, were also an insult to her position… looks like she finally came around. Anyway, you need to go up. Highest floor—floor thirteen! It belongs to our Leader alone. You'd better show some respect," Rosa explains.
"Thank you. I'll see you tonight then. Don't let me wait too long," Auren replies, already turning away.
He takes the stairs in a flash, moving up so quickly it's like he barely touches the steps.
"Wait… you aren't actually serious… hey—Auren!!" Rosa yells after him as he disappears, racing toward the upper floors.
When Auren finally reaches the top floor, he finds a large, mostly empty floor. The walls aren't decorated at all, not even trying to hide the fact that the whole level is carved straight into the mountain. A few pieces of furniture sit around, awkwardly spaced as if someone placed them wherever they first landed. The only truly finished corner is a small section packed with bookshelves, a table, and a couple of couches.
At the far end of the floor, close to the entrance, there's a giant opening with no window, allowing one to potentially jump down outside to the ground floor. The view allows anyone to watch over the entire city. Directly in front of it sits a massive stone desk with multiple computers and monitors, as well as a few currently unoccupied tables for assistants.
I didn't pay attention… Rein is working overtime, constantly expanding the city, and according to the reports I've been reading, it's still not enough. I could've climbed up from the outside. That's a bold design choice… I guess now she can watch over the city with her En... and with her own eyes.
Auren walks across the open space. It feels like a cleanly hollowed-out cave, the ground smooth like marble under his feet.
As he reaches the opening and the stone desk, he looks at Rakshala, who is seemingly busy, flipping through notes and working on her computer.
She isn't wearing her visor. Her eyes are glued to multiple reports and monitors, one hand moving papers aside with immense speed.
"Overworking yourself doesn't sound like a particularly smart idea," Auren comments.
"Welcome, Auren," Rakshala says, looking up. Her expression softens immediately, and she smiles when she sees him. "Why didn't you visit me earlier? I heard news about the incident in Yorknew. I was worried about you."
"I know how busy you are. I can't just visit you whenever I please—not when you have so many important projects going on," Auren replies. "As for the incident… that's one of the two reasons I'm here. I'll try to keep it brief, so I don't waste your time."
"Please." Rakshala stands and gestures toward the couch. "I need a little break, and talking to you is always a pleasure."
Auren nods and walks over. When he sits down, his eyes drift toward the shelves filled with books. He takes a brief look at the books—then pauses, surprised. There isn't a single familiar title he can make out.
These aren't mass-produced… old ones. Let me see…
Auren reaches out and pulls an older-looking, colourful blue book from the shelf. He studies the title, then flips it open.
I can't even read it… Neither the title, nor the content. What kind of language is that? Okay… enough for me. This was a silly idea from the start. No need to pretend to be a scholar.
Rakshala smiles at Auren's quiet sigh when he grabs a book and puts it back within seconds.
"You are always welcome to read as much as you want. Consider this your home," Rakshala offers.
"No, thank you…" Auren replies, finally settling in properly.
To his slight annoyance, instead of taking the couch opposite him, Rakshala sits down right next to him.
She places her hand over his. "I'm worried. According to my sources, you fought against Kite? The student of Ging Freecs—one of the strongest Hunters and Nen users in the world."
"Wasn't really a challenge," Auren replies. "You don't have to worry about me."
"I… and this entire Community, we need you," she explains. "Your presence alone has significantly increased morale, almost to a fanatical degree—even for my standards. Since everyone knows what miracles you created, they no longer fear injuries. We never told anyone this, but at the back of their minds, there is a voice that whispers, 'If I'm loyal, perhaps my injuries will be healed.' It might be unconscious, but many people are relying on you. As long as you are here, people are capable of giving their all for our community. They see hope. Like a second shot of life. When people have hope, they can do things they won't even believe themselves they are capable of."
They are not totally wrong… I mean, I told the Elders that I would help.
"It isn't wrong to think like that," Auren says. "Though relying on a single person—especially if that person can't be replaced—is never a smart idea. I can't always be here... or at multiple places at the same time."
"Indeed," Rakshala replies. "That's how important you are. I'd like to keep you close by, if it were up to me. You should easily take an administrative job, and you would thrive in it. You might not see it yourself, but I believe you are quite intelligent, and you've got a natural talent as a leader."
"But—" Auren starts, only for Rakshala to interrupt him without missing a beat.
"You have other ideas," she says. "I know. That's why I'm not even attempting to convince you. Please, tell me about your little trip. Since I've stopped travelling, I'm feeling a little depressed since I haven't left our home since then."
Travelling? You mean spying on the entire world and wreaking havoc on all major stock markets.
"Where should I start…" Auren murmurs.
He carefully narrates everything, going over each event in detail. He talks about the trade fair, the other collectors, the Zoldycks he met, the annoying, yet memorable Biscuit Krueger, and Kite's students. Then he goes over his call with Pariston, and the fight that followed with Kite.
Finally, he explains his encounter with Ging, the conclusion of the trade fair, and how he recruited Leira and Zepile.
"Neffi should arrive back home shortly. She wanted to take care of her company a while longer—pick up some of my orders, as well as her custom order," Auren concludes. "Finally… this is the map."
"I compared it to other maps the Marshmallow brothers had in their residence, but as you might have guessed, this island doesn't appear in any of them." Auren's tone grows more serious as he continues. "According to a few calculations, airships should be able to barely reach it if they stock extra gas and supplies. If they are large enough, even the trip back shouldn't be a problem. There are no other known islands in the vicinity, so I'm not sure what the best route is to go there by sea."
He pauses for a moment, tapping the map lightly.
"However, according to Ging, they smuggled… slaves from the island. So I'm expecting it shouldn't be too difficult to reach it normally via boat. The small, empty island—separate from the main one—is also pretty secure, at least according to Ging. It's barren and there doesn't seem to be any danger there, a perfect safe zone. The true danger is on the real island."
Auren continues sharing thoughts, his excitement noticeable.
"The even bigger danger, though, is that I can't guarantee this island is still in Human Territorial Waters. It could already be in the Dark Waters, though that seems unlikely. It's either on the edge of Human Territorial Waters, or already part of the Border Waters."
He looks at Rakshala directly, making sure she understands he isn't exaggerating.
"You know the consequences of leaving human territory, right? Obviously, we don't have permission from the Gatekeeper to simply set out on our own. But since the slave operation was probably not very careful… it essentially confirms to me that this still isn't within the Dark Waters or else the Gatekeeper would have intervened directly or informed the V5, who would have shut their operation down instantly."
"This is rather interesting," Rakshala says, her eyes sharpening, before relaxing and even giggling, "You seem to enjoy talking about this Topic. I take it you're interested in going there yourself, if you're already in the process of researching a possible exploration trip?"
"... Yes!" Auren replies confidently.
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