Currently, the caravan where gathered around a specific place. In the dry heat and dusty roads towards Partisan, the Srayver expedition which should have already left got delayed because of an unexpected situation.
A man was held by the collar by a blue-haired woman in a bloody suit. This woman had her fists dripping with fresh red liquid that fell to the ground. Surprisingly however the man in question neither got angry nor vengeful his reply carried with it palpable gratitude.
"Thank you Tsugu, you are the best!"
With his face full of bruises, multiple holes on his back, and blood coming out of him all over, even his assailant suddenly felt regretful at his reply. In her distress, she sought help from the man who tried to stop her the entire time.
"Aurum help. I think I hit Ototo-kun too hard and he broke…"
"Sigh. You two are extremely alike you know? Lady Tsugumi you saw at the auction the damage Master could receive without dying. Smacking him around with your fists alone is equivalent to hitting him with pies, he will be alright."
"But I don't remember him being a masochist pervert! Who says thank you so warm-heartedly after all I did?"
Geo who wanted to make clear distinctions spoke to cover their asses from retribution. "Ojou-sama we have only known the Master for a month, I don't think any of us can fathom what he would prefer during such activities so asking us for our opinion is hardly a good idea."
"We also do not wish to die. Tsugumi-sama." Lars who knew how protective the butcher could be tried to ensure the Mitsurugi Sister understood why they did not answer.
The people around, Alan and Hach included tried to watch the entire drama happening since the butcher's group arrived last night. Alan who almost got killed had a front-row seat as Hiro brutally broke down Fregit and stomped her into the ground. Only for him to heal her afterwards.
The merchant then saw how the two made up but when the discussions started to become personal. As Alan knew giving them privacy is the right thing to do, he left and slept.
For Hach's group, however, they seldom had a chance to encounter such juicy gossip. Thus they all tried to strain their ears to listen but found out they couldn't. A sound curtain made from pure Aura dropped around the Mitsurugi siblings like a veil.
For the entire duration of their discussions, no one could see or hear them it was like they were no longer among the living. Much to the annoyance of the other escorts.
The veil only lifted when morning arrived. Curious eyes could feel the newfound sense of closeness between the butcher and his nanny. Most even though the butcher would take her in as his wife. Or that the veil simply covered their "Spicy Activities"
Aurum who felt the veil disappearing believed that confidential matters were now over. In consequence, he approached and returned the young miss of the Mitsurugi back to her father. What came next shocked everyone. The two who seemed to be extremely close started to shout at each other.
Then the woman started attacking the butcher. She kneed him in the sternum, then the temple. After separating the man from his daughter she then drew a sword and assaulted Him.
Due to Hiro's overbearing nature, the escorts who expected him to murder her in retaliation got perplexed as he did nothing. More so when she stabbed his back more than 30 times.
Not satisfied she then slashed his entire body with a skill so fast her arms looked like a blur. The butcher who normally dominated and intimidated everyone around him lay pathetically in a bloody heap on the ground.
The woman then picked him up and started smashing her fist in his face, turning it black and blue. After what seemed like an eternity the man then regained consciousness and thanked his assailant. Not rebuke, not retaliate but thanked.
Because of such a series of events everyone looked on to see what happens next. Love-hate didn't even begin to describe the relationship between these two even with everything said though most still eavesdropped. What Alan and his caravan learned. When the butcher is present, expect the unexpected.
Within seconds Hiro digested the implications of how to raise Aura, he now understood why Antheia's law focuses so much on the past. He likened it to reading a book, you can know the words but if you watch a movie, the sound, the visuals, and the emotion add to the experience.
Aura carried the bloodlust for a hundred battles this is why simply just having it makes one prone to bouts of aggression. Uncontrolled, unrestrained similar to a hurricane, you will be swept away in emotion if you cannot reign it in.
This also explains why when people bottom out on AP they became angry without reason. Bloodlust commonly seeks a target to kill, and when it suddenly dissipates without being unleashed, you are left with nothing but anger.
Bit by bit Hiro felt the truths of the world being revealed to him one after another. Knowing such information would allow him to ensure his forces all knew what to do to get better.
Much like Priests would get a better ledger rating by default due to their occupations. Knights who learn of battle and history while also being in the thick of combat would be the ones who fulfill all the conditions of Aura.
This distinction also explains why those with long lineages like nobles and peoples engulfed in nothing but warlike mercenaries are both Inferior to knights.
Nobles who learn of the bloodline's past victories but do not do battle dilute their blood. While mercenaries do gain their own bloodlust but as most of them are unlearned, each generation would lose the ability to regain the power of their forefathers.
Now that both Spirit and Aura are laid bare before the reincarnator if he gains the truths of Mana, then he could strengthen his Regalia rating as a result. But nothing will come from overthinking.
He only figured out Spirit due to seeing Rilu's reincarnations. Understanding of Aura only came after analyzing the changes in Tsugumi. With all his intelligence, the truths arrived only due to an outside source.
With Mana Hero believed it would be similarly impossible to understand it without an impetus to prompt his trail of thought. 'But it will come to me I am sure of it. Although the hand of fate is still against me, I now feel a force overturning it. '
The boon Hiro gained from just meeting Alan outside the forest could not be overstated. If Hiro exited a day early or a day late he would have missed him. The San-Baka, Rilu, and Tsugumi all of them connected one after another like a puzzle that made no sense.
'Does this mean God is helping me? They call him the [Creator] right? [Creator]-Sama thank you for letting me meet my sister and my daughter. Please let me reunite with my wives and I will ask for nothing any longer.'
Hiro placed little importance on religion, Japan had Shinto and Buddhism as their primary religions. Shinto didn't have a main god but several smaller ones ingrained in the world. Buddhism didn't even have gods but focused on the Spiritual enlightenment of the person.
He normally cursed the world itself as he led a life devoid of meaning or purpose. Yet now that he carried the burden of responsibility he felt that asking for help from above couldn't hurt.