The next day Aron chose to remain in his quarters and wait for Scarlett to come inform when they arrived at the coordinates he had given her.
Whilst in his quarters, he sat quietly on the floor in a crossed legged position with his hands placed on his knees. He wore a pained expression the entire time and a whistish mist could be seen emanating from his body at a gradual pace.
His breathing was aggressive and his muscles were tense. The longer he continued to hold the pose the more in pain he seemed and the more white mist would emanate from his body.
"Grr..."
He had began this routine early in the morning and by midday, he began to mutter deep growl like noises. His nails and hair could also be seen growing slightly in length while his eyes now looked like that of a beast and had a faint glow to them. What he was currently doing was trying to suppress his beast wills from the Luna mana.
Despite all this occurring however, Aron did not shift his position. It was only when evening fell that he heard a knock resound on his door.
'Finally time?'
He thought to himself before releasing a long sigh and standing up from his position. He then stretched his hands and then rubbed his neck a bit whilst walking towards the door before opening it.
"Finally, you know the least you could do is answer....quick..ly" Upon having the door opened, Scarlett began to complain before soon trailing off as her eyes began to wonder over Aron's exposed upper body.
"I was in the middle of something that required my focus, have we arrived?" Aron explained briefly without getting into the details of what he was doing. It took Scarlett a moment before she finally looked up at his face and responded after chuckling mischievously.
"Right, we've arrived. Hurry and meet me on the deck, I'm anxious to get a hold of whatever it is that has one of the members of a big family so eager to get." Scarlett briefly responded in her usual vulgar and straightforward manner of speaking.
Without saying anything more, she waved at Aron and walked away.
'I think I've stabilized my mana enough for now, should a battle occur I should be fine.' Aron looked at his body for a moment before clicking his tongue in an annoyed manner and returning to the room.
Meanwhile in the lower floors, Anastasia stood with her arms crossed and brows furrowed as she thought of something.
"What's bothering you my Lady?" The maid Igna asked in a concerned manner but Anastasia simply shook her head.
"Henry and the other's shouldn't be too far off from here, it's just a matter of time now before I get to go free and make that man wish he had agreed to my offer earlier." Anastasia chuckled slightly at the thought of having Aron at her mercy.
Aron on the other hand wasn't at all worried about what consequences his actions would bear thus far. Instead he got himself cleaned up and went out to meet the others on the deck, he was fairly confident in the measures he'd prepared so why overthink it any longer.
Once he got to the deck and looked at the area surrounding the ship, he saw a beautiful valley. Most of it was made up of dense forestry with two large mountain peaks opposing each other. The others present on the deck were gathered at the far front observing the land below before soon turning behind to face Aron
"Has Scarlett already informed you on what's happening?" Aron asked the group as he walked out to the deck as he personally hadn't informed anyone else about the coordinates nor did he tell Scarlett to keep it secret.
"Well she mentioned something about becoming rich and pissing off aristocrats, it's only natural I'd be interested." Jin showed a grin as he said these words while Jagu just nodded and Oxin followed suit.
"I have nothing better to do, it could serve as good battle experience for me however." Jagu added while flexing his muscles and baring his teeth. Unlike Jin and Scarlett who Aron thought to be smarter than they appear Jagu was relatively simple and straightforward in his eyes.
"I'm fine as long I get some of the treasure or whatever it is you're looking for." Oxin declared and placed her hands on her waist to try and show her seriousness on the matter. Given her general character being a simple one like Jagu, Aron could only wonder if this was just how Komi were.
"Here you'll need this, it's the map of the area I found in the control room.I've already marked the location of the coordinates so you three investigate while Oxin and I will remain on the airship in case of anything. Just don't take too long or we'll just assume you're dead and leave." Scarlett handed over the map she held towards Aron who nodded at her words.
He suspected that her wanting to remain on the airship was due to her desire to avoid possible danger by using them. Aron's belief was responsible for this line of thought as it caused him to see people in mainly three parts, the user, the used and the unused.
"Well if that's the case, let's begin. Oh and should any other airships come-." Aron was about to warn but Scarlett simply cut him off with a click of her tongue before speaking.
"Tsk. You just worry about securing the loot, I'll handle this side of things." Scarlett spoke with confidence as she declared this causing Aron to end there.
'Right, I underestimated them all but they seem far more capable than I give them credit for. Reminds me of father's words...'
[ Even though I was the strongest among all men, they were times we would hunt in groups. I never liked the idea at first but that was until I teamed up with each clan's strongest to stop a minor horde. We did so without losing a single life, so the moral of the story is. Although as a beast monger the most important thing is to focus on self growth, never turn down the chance to rise up with others help, because they won't hesitate to use you ]
As Aron thought of this he almost chuckled because he found it comical how the men of his Settlement were being used by the women for generations now as a means to get stronger. 'He was partially right I suppose, operating with a group of individuals who could cover areas I lack or skills I'm not pro efficient in would equal less work. It's unfortunate no one here really stands out...'
"I trust your judgement. Should the situation arise do as you see fit, it's not like we have any hierarchy established." Aron showed a small smile as he said this and shrugged his shoulders slightly. This fake display of indifference towards facing danger was just to better his image and it worked quite well.
"True but I think we can all agree you're the most fit to call the shots on the airship. Unless someone else wants to?" Jin pointed out before asking the question but as he looked at the others no one raised their hand.
Aron wasn't shocked by this move by Jin to avoid the authoritative position as taking it was a sure fire way to draw attention to one's self. The point in him agreeing to Scarlett's suggestions was to make her seem like a leader so why would Jin suggest him?
"Normally I'd argue but I know when outmatched. You're definitely more fit for it." Scarlett complimented with wink while Jagu just shrugged.
"Thinking and planning are something someone like me shouldn't have to deal with." Jagu added before turning away from the group entirely.
"A princess leaves all the work to her subjects." Oxin showed a smirk and raised her head high as she declared proudly.
"Well then it's unanimous, you're in charge of this merry band of misfits." Jin placed his hand over Aron's shoulder and pointed out with a smile.
"Well with that out of the way shall we get started?" Aron asked in his usual calm voice showing neither happiness or displeasure at being made in-charge.
What was there to be happy about since it was basically a shallow role with no real authority but with danger still.
....
[ RULE#7: Capable Allies Are Hard To Come By. Use Them Wisely. ]