Chapter 109: What Happened Inside?!

In the blink of an eye, a month had vanished since Aron embarked on his hellish training with Thyra. During this time a lot of things happened. But for Aron's family in the mansion, everything was relatively calm.

Numerous factions, clans, and groups attempted to establish contact with Aron and his party, seeking the chance to recruit them, since their achievement in slaying the twisted monsters in Oakridge had reached the ears of everyone.

A race quickly arose among them on who would be the first to succeed in recruiting Aron. Yet this race ended before it even started thanks to one simple yet powerful piece of information.

Thyra Sapphire is a guest in his house.

The mere idea of meeting her was enough to inflict dread in their hearts, forcing them to delay their desire for recruitment to a later date.

But not just them, a week after Aron began his training, an order came to Father Valarian from Solara Sanctum.

Describing it as an order would be an overstatement; it resembled more of a request or a formality. After all, only the Oracle, acting upon direct orders from the Aspect, held the authority to command Valarian.

His ability to use the holy magic without the Aspect's help coupled with circulating rumors implicating him as her son, and with the Aspect not confirming or denying these rumors, placed him in the highest position in the Sun church hierarchy.

The request was straightforward; ascertain whether the individual responsible for vanquishing the demon possessed its core and, if so, procure it through any means necessary.

Valarian, on the other hand, didn't want to deal with all the hassle that this would bring. And reapplied with the only thing he knew very well that would silence them.

"Lady Thyra has taken an interest in said individual and currently lodges within his estate."

With this, he was able to politely decline their request, saving himself the trouble. Yet even with the mention of Thyra, Solara Sanctum kept calling daily, asking if Lady Thyra Sapphire had departed or not.

Valarian wasn't stupid; he knew that a company of paladins were already set from the city heading to Larton as their first call. They won't give up easily. But he shook his head, throwing the problem to Aron.

For him, dealing with the Sunborn was always a pain in the ass. They don't understand the words that come from a person with different beliefs or ideas than them. They can't; minds closed as a whole, only believing with their Aspect says.

If the Oracle were to declare on behalf of the Aspect that the sky was pink even though it's blue, they would unquestioningly accept and act accordingly as if the sky was truly pink.

Sigh…Fanatics.

Valarian himself wasn't as devoted as the rest of the Sunborn to the Aspect, for him, he got nothing from the Aspect, Holy magic? He was born with it. Power and influence? Just by having the Holy magic, he got them automatically with a little help from the rumors.

It was more like a way to survive; he was young when the Sun church took him. And what could a young boy could do, but accept just to survive, for Valarian at that time, it was a huge jump in living conditions from a simple orphanage to a huge palace.

Another thing that happened during the month period was the coming of the dwarf Balin. He liked Aron's personality and was interested in the offer he spoke about in the Inn back then.

With Aron inside the black box training, Scarlett took the lead presenting Aron's offer to Balin.

The offer was simple: Become our Blacksmith.

An offer came as a surprise to Balin since he didn't show any of his skills to Aron.

The reply he got from Scarlett was "Aron has a good eye for talents."

Accepting the offer, Scarlett, Elina, with the help of the merchant's guild, they were able to set up a decent workshop for Balin to start working. The old dwarf wasted no time firing up the forge; he was excited to do some hammering after a long time

…

"This is taking too long." A blond young girl with light-blue eyes complained as she crossed her arms.

"You're right, we're standing here for hours." Sharing the same opinion and standing next to her was another woman with long thick silver hair and tanned skin.

The two of them earned blank glances from the rest of the gathering. Why? Because they were the last to show up and first to complain; even the little girl standing next to them didn't voice a word and she was here since dawn.

"Could you please shut up, I'm tired of hearing your complaints every five minutes."

The voice belonged to a tall red-haired woman sitting calmly sipping some tea with two sisters on a small tree branch.

"Shut up, torch-head!" Freya growled, shooting death stares at Scarlett.

Scarlett shook her head sighing; she turned to Kasumi asking, "What's wrong with them, they were on edge for the past two weeks?"

Kasumi didn't reply right away, instead, she scanned Pethra and Freya's faces then shifted her sight to Raum who was in his Raven form and being held tightly by Luna. Lastly, she saw the irritating look on the little vampire with the golden eyes, Aurora.

"I think the reason for their mood is the Master's absence."

"What do you mean?" Scarlett asked.

"Hmm…only Pethra-dono, Freya-dono, Raum, and Aurora share the same mood, and what do they have in common?"

Scarlett thought for a moment then opened her eyes in realization. "Aron's Blood."

"Exactly, I think being away from Master so long affected them somehow."

While Scarlett and Kasumi were discussing among themselves, Victoria was listening carefully to their words, observing and studying the dynamics among the girls and their reaction to Aron's absence; by now she got a really solid idea of Aron from the girls.

However, she would finalize it only after meeting the man, especially after hearing about his blood empowering the two girls and giving a raven the ability to change forms.

Waiting in the mansion garden were all the girls—the former slaves that Aron and Pethra saved from that sick dealer. Mia the maid too was waiting patiently for his return.

Then suddenly a hush fell over the garden. The air crackled with anticipation as the girls sensed a shift in the atmosphere.

Click.

"!!!" With a click, all eyes shifted to a certain door; their hearts pounding with a mixture of excitement.

Slowly, the door creaked open, revealing a shadowy figure; they couldn't see it but all knew that it was the person they all had been yearning to see.

The moment the figure placed his foot on the mansion ground. A tremendous pressure fell on everyone's shoulders. It wasn't a harmful one but a commanding, and at the same time comforting one.

Slowly the light of the sun revealed the shadowy figure for all to see.

Clad in full black metal armor, with a draconic design emblazoned on the chestplate Aron emerged from the darkness of the doorway. His presence was both imposing and reassuring, a testament to his newfound strength and resolve.

The girls gasped in awe as they beheld their beloved master, his appearance didn't change much, except for the hair that was tied in a short ponytail. Yet they all knew that something definitely changed inside him.

"Hmm?" Aron, blinded momentarily by the sunlight. The first thing he did was take a deep breath of fresh air. He took a while to notice the gathering before him.

Upon beholding his eager audience, a smile graced his lips, suddenly disappearing before their eyes and reappearing amidst them garbed in simple attire instead of the black armor.

Victoria, wide-eyed with astonishment, realized the depth of Aron's abilities.

"I've missed you all," he declared, arms outstretched as he enveloped five girls in a warm embrace.

"FATHER!" a voice exclaimed from behind, jolting everyone from their stupor.

"HEY!" The sudden outburst caught Aron off guard; he turned only to see Aurora leaping towards him, landing on his shoulder with a tight hug around his neck.

"Hehe, I missed you too," Aron chuckled, his heart swelling with love for the young vampire who had become like a daughter to him.

"Hmm?... What are you all doing back there, come here," Aron called out waving his hand, his voice filled with warmth and affection. In an instant, Scarlett and Kasumi found themselves floating towards him, enveloped in an invisible embrace.

""WHAT!"" Exclaimed the two girls, taken aback by the sudden movement. They glanced around, seeking help, only to find every person in the garden floating towards Aron.

"This is better," Aron said with a chuckle, as he continued to embrace each person warmly, giving out head pats and affectionate gestures like it was a special hugging day.

'Can't Breathe!'

Raum found himself caught in the middle of the embrace, unable to escape Luna's tight grip as she eagerly sought head pats from Aron.

"So how have you all been? Doing great? How is the training? I hope nothing happened when I was away?"

Aron's rapid questions were met with silence as most of the girls found themselves unable to meet his gaze directly after his warm hugs. Only those like Pethra, Kasumi, Freya, Luna, Elina, or Scarlett, who had directly interacted with him many times, seemed more at ease.

"What are you doing?" A sudden voice came from behind.

The girls turned, only to see Thyra standing at the door, wearing a similar armor to the one Aron was wearing moments ago.

Aron replied without turning back "Ah, just enjoying some quality time with my family, Thyra."

"!!!" Everyone, including Victoria, visibly trembled hearing the tone in which Aron called her name. It was carrying, in a strange way, a weight of familiarity and intimacy. 

Extremely familiar to one girl in particular: Pethra. She knew this tone well, it was the same tone Aron used when he affectionately called her "My little witch."

'No way!' Pethra's heart skipped a beat as she recognized the familiar cadence in Aron's voice. Her mind raced with hundreds of possibilities and none of them were good for her.

Victoria was going through a similar mental condition, as she observed with hawk's eyes, her Lady.

"Tsk," Thyra clicked her tongue turning away, saying, "If I didn't know you, I would have thought you're one of those perverted nobles—"

"But you do know me, right Mentor?" Aron cut her off, earning some worried glances from the girls around him. "Come join us Thyra you promised, remember?" he playfully teased, inviting his Mentor.

"Tsk," Thyra clicked her tongue again but actually started walking toward him.

'Impossible!' Victoria was screaming in her mind, wondering what happened to her Lady.

As Thyra reached Aron, there was a fleeting moment of silence, broken only by the rustle of leaves in the gentle breeze. Then, unexpectedly, Thyra reached out and ruffled Aron's hair, a gesture that seemed out of character.

"Why do you like this so much?" she gently asked, wondering and remembering that Aron tried to do the same thing to her before. Sadly, he failed, ending in a horrible shape after The 'Training'.

"Father…stink," Aurora suddenly spoke, breaking the momentary silence, her voice innocent and playful as she wrinkled her nose in mock disgust.

"Oh! Sorry Aurora, I haven't had a good bath in three months."

"Three months? What do you mean?" Pethra and Scarlett quickly asked.

"Time worked differently inside, you know, magic bullshit," Aron casually replied as he stood up.

Sniff. Sniff.

He sniffed his clothes, noticing the smell. "Yeah, I stink."

He turned to Thyra sniffing the air around her. "You stink too, Thyra."

"!!!" Everyone's hearts skipped a beat at Aron's bold words, they knew that he managed to escape with words in the past, but this…this was on a whole new level.

Victoria, knowing how her Lady would react, braced herself and prepared to use her magic, hoping to stop her Lady and save the life of her sister's future Master.

Sniff. Sniff.

Thyra raised an arm sniffing. Her face turned ugly because of the smell.

"Yeah, you're right," she said, admitting.

"A bath? We haven't had one in a long time?"

"Sure. but you're washing my back this time."

"What! Nonsense I did it last time, this time is my turn," Aron protested.

"Yeah. Yeah…But I'm the Mentor. I deserve some privileges."

"Privileges my ass"

Crack!

Cracking her fingers, Thyra flashed a wicked grin. "Oh! You want me to break your bones again?"

"Leave your back to me, Mentor."

"Good, that's what I thought."

The two casually walked inside the mansion seeking a long bath. Leaving the rest stunned, unable to process what just happened. Only one thought consumed their minds.

"What just happened during the three months of training?"