AURORA
Chapter - 10
:Love the way you lie:
Everyone woke up the next morning: Vince temporarily forgot what had happened, Sedah went out to make some other friends, Alena was reading a magazine, and Butler Ray was preparing breakfast. But why Butler?
The breakfast work was usually handled by Rena, Alena's personal maid and head of the house, who directed almost all the household chores. The cooks used to work under Rena's commands, but now they were under Ray. Surprisingly, they didn't face any difficulties, perhaps due to his experience as a servant.
When everyone woke up, they found a paper on their desks: "I am leaving. Thank you for all the love you gave me. I will never forget you all. Please don't come looking for me."
Alena called Vince to discuss this. "Vince, did something happen last night?" At first, Vince hesitated, fearing it might tarnish Rena's image in Alena's eyes. But after some pressure, he explained everything that happened. Unexpectedly, Alena revealed, "Oh! So she couldn't..."
"What?" Vince asked, smirking a little but still wearing a hesitant expression. "I was the one who ordered her to do that, bleh." Vince was confused why Alena would ask Rena to do something like that, so he inquired further.
"Lately, you've seemed down. So, to lift your mood, I..." Vince couldn't contain his laughter at Alena's cute but silly action.
"Vince, I have a request." Curious, Vince asked what she wanted. "Could you bring Rena back?" Initially refusing, Vince said it was Rena's personal decision and that they should give her some time. However, deep down, Vince knew it would be awkward for him too. Despite his efforts to hide it, he knew Alena could read him like a book. After some back-and-forth, Vince finally agreed.
Sedah was walking through the fields when he spotted a guy attempting to jump onto a tree. Observing him, Sedah saw him fail repeatedly until his other friends showed up. "Oi! Neo!" One guy rushed towards Neo, tackling him, and another began to fight-or rather, beat him up. Sedah was amazed at Neo's resilience in taking all the hits. However, as Neo noticed Sedah, he tried to impress him by declaring, "I will be just like the great hero Vince and become one of the Kugitsa."
Intrigued, Sedah asked, "What is Kugitsa?" Approaching Neo from behind, Sedah's presence deterred the other kids from continuing the fight, perhaps aware of Sedah's royalty status and unwilling to provoke him. "Kugitsa is the greatest title given to a warrior every decade, and the hero Vince is the current Kugitsa," Sedah assumed that only the strongest humans were granted this title.
"I will surpass everyone to become the next Kugitsa," Neo asserted proudly. An adult interrupted, lifting them both by their t-shirts from behind. "Hey kids, I told you what I'll do if you skip work." He hung them upside down from a tree. Sedah wondered why he was being punished and tried to break free, but it was futile. "Why are you being hung up?" Sedah asked Neo.
"I work at the local farm as a grass cutter for this man who's punishing us. But I've been skipping work for 2 days. That's why he punished me. But I don't know why he did that to you?" A girl approached them, visibly angry and likely older than both of them. "Oi Neo! Where have you been for the entire week!?" Sedah looked at Neo with a piercing gaze, and Neo tried to avoid eye contact. "Answer me!" Neo made an embarrassed face, trying to hide the truth because the older girl was his sister who had told him not to train alone. "Well... I've been meeting up with this girl after running," Neo concocted a lame lie, calling Sedah a girl. This made Sedah angry. "Aww!" She believed it, actually buying into Neo's lie. Sedah was annoyed at how foolish some people could be. However, his mother had done something even more foolish, making Sedah think the world was filled with fools. "No, that's not true. He's lying. I'm a guy. If you don't believe me, I can show you. I only met him today because he was trying to jump onto a tree, and some boys started beating him up," Sedah revealed the truth. The girl instantly shifted her mood, climbed the tree, untied them both, and then began lecturing them, highlighting their family's dire financial situation. She warned that if Neo continued training and got injured, he'd become a burden to the family.
The girl began crying, but Sedah tried to cheer her up by showing his magic. Both were amazed, their eyes glowing. "What is your name? My name is Tia," the girl asked, and Sedah answered her question.
Sedah asked Red about their power levels.
Tia: Power level 51, mana level 0/64
Neo: Power level 67, mana level 0/10
Sedah had read somewhere that mana capacity increases over time. Hence, he wasn't surprised that their mana levels were low. But Sedah was amazed at his own progress, considering that Tia and Neo were probably older but hadn't started developing their mana yet.
"Sedah!" Vince called out for him. As Sedah looked towards Vince, he found nothing, but Vince was standing right behind him.
"Boo!" Vince attempted to scare Sedah, but Sedah was amazed by Vince rather than scared.
Vince held Sedah in his arms, and Neo's and Tia's eyes sparkled at being so close to Vince. Vince waved at them, and both Neo and Tia felt their hearts flutter (if it was Tia, I would understand, but why Neo?).
"Sedah, I'm going to Mombu. Do you want to come?" Sedah nodded. It was a great opportunity to experience transportation, culture, and meet different people. Overall, it was a chance to learn more. He had read about Mombu in books, the biggest city for elves in the human kingdom (yes, Rena was an elf).
But he wanted something else as well. "Papa! Can we take them with us too?" Vince looked at them and said, "Wanna come?" Tia and Neo desperately wanted to go with Vince, but they couldn't. Neo almost said yes, but Tia stopped him, saying, "Sorry, Master Vince. We want to go, but we're busy..." Vince sensed something amiss. Initially hesitant, the kids eventually led him to their home-a hut. Inside lay an old man, seriously ill and with a bluish complexion. Vince approached the man, attempting to heal him but failing, as his healing magic only worked on himself. So, he used the caller to summon help: "Ashwa, I need help."
After a while, a man arrived-black with silver hair tied up, considered the most attractive man in the world. His physique was perfect, an inch taller than Vince, and he had a strong bond with him. His nickname was 'Mr. Perfect'.
After checking on the man, he told everyone that he was lucky or unfortunate enough to be seen this time because if he had been one more hour late, it would have become a 50/50 chance for his life. If only they had known about this earlier, he could have lived without this much pain.
"We need to do open brain surgery!" Ashwa called for some of his assistants while treating the man in bed. Everyone exited the hut and waited outside. "You were using healing magic on him," Sedah taunted him for using healing magic on a person who needed surgery.
Ashwa finished his surgery, then said to the kids, "Sorry."
