Hiro felt the mysteries slowly unraveling. Why would the church's teachings suddenly click with the regalia section of his status screen? Alarmed the reincarnator brought up the other parts of the regalia.

- Aura: A | Lotus Assimilation remaining: 40% -

(Remember your past and keep strong their memory for by their sacrifice you were born. Embrace your origin as it will make you whole.)

What could be the connection? What does making you whole mean? If the Lotus needs to be assimilated, that is assimilation the embracing? So the lotus is a euphemism for one's origin?

'Remember your past and keep strong their memory for by their sacrifice you were born, what the hell does that mean? I should study my own family history then?'

- Mana: E | Hourglass Era: Root Branches Remaining : 0 -

(Never deny any truth you find, for accepting yourself and others allow for worlds to be created. By their branches and seeds will roots be judged so too will people come at the end.)

As Hiro meditated on the words branches and seed, various memories from his past life reverberated in his mind.

(I am the first of the realities of which they have failed. And you are about to be the last. You lasted this long only because the guardians are here. If even you fail the Regalia will erase [Hiroyuki Mitsurugi] and doom the entire universe.)

(So I used a domination order to have her kill herself to figure out who the Heir of Dragonblood would reincarnate as in all 100 branches, next when would be the perfect time to break your will? After she wiped herself from existence I launched a plan to kill the heir before she managed to protect you.)

'I feel like I am going insane, if alternate realities are branches, then does that mean I no longer have realities left? And what the hell does era mean?'

Hiro felt like he just stepped into something he should not have had, and started to feel a chill down his spine. What the hell was going on?

"Master! Master! Master! " Suddenly a hand attempted to grab his shoulder and in reflex, Hiro stopped it by crushing the wrist with a vice-like grip.

The sounds of multiple bones fracturing soon followed. "AHHHHH! That fucking hurts master please let go!" Hiro then came to his senses as he found Aurum's right wrist in his hand.

His slave kneeled on the ground in excruciating pain as his wrist became thinner than a straw. Naturally, the ends of his wrist didn't fare any better as his entire forearm turned purple and his hand fell off his arm.

Despite all standing up, none tried to pry Hiro's hand off in fear of being crushed like Aurum in return. Hiro then calmed his tense heart and let go of his slave's wrist or what was left of it.

He grabbed the hand on the floor and placed it before Aurum's wrist. Suddenly Hiro invoked a skill "[Sacrifice]". At his words, Aurum's destroyed limb started to heal itself to full health.

Bruises appeared on Hiro's own hand only to disappear just as fast. Hiro then let go of Aurum's now reattached hand and stood up. Noticing they were already at the gates of the city Hiro looked back to Alan and asked.

"How long was I in a daze?" The merchant then answered after a moment of silence. "About fourteen hours. We arrived two hours ago. We are next for inspection so we tried to wake you. Your Caliber's prevented anyone from coming close. Only Aurum got to touch you."

Hiro then looked at Aurum as he praised his slave. "Good job, thank you for waking me up. I will reward you later." When they heard the word reward, Geo and Lars felt envious.

A broken wrist could be considered a small payment for a reward from a man who gave out high-class magic weapons. Internally Hiro felt an extreme dissonance with time. What the hell happened to keep him stuck for fourteen hours?

'I need to pay attention next time, luckily Aurum woke me up. Who knows what could have happened? I need to get back to the girls as soon as possible.'

Alan then spoke with the guards as they began to check the cargo. When they cross-examined the good manifest as well as the security detail, the absence of three slaves and the addition of four guards became a problem.

When they checked what happened identification of Hiro and the San-Baka all they had were lame excuses like "A monster ate it.", "It got stolen.", "I lost it at a card game." The one who saved the day unsurprisingly was the man with the skill [Divine Arbiter].

"My good man, We will get our new identification tags at the adventurers guild. I give you my word. the sun seems high, here is something to use for a round of drinks."

Aurum then inconspicuously placed a thumb-sized magic stone into the guard's hands. Due to magic stones only coming from monsters, they were always in high demand. Such a small stone already went for 100 Vals.

For city guards who earned barely above the minimum wage of 250 Vals a day, it naturally made their eyes pop. The guard who received the stone quickly pocketed it and made a slight cough.

"Ahem! Right, missing Id tags are normal for adventurers. Okay, you may pass. That is provided you come back later once you get new ones reissued. Failure to do so will force us to detain you for questioning, understand?"

Nodding San-Baka and Hiro were issued temporary passes and allowed entry into the city. The guard then made a snappy salute as he announced. "Welcome to Anvil, otherwise known as the city of Fire and Steel."

The moment Hiro stepped foot into the city, a voice of a young girl crying pitifully echoed in his mind.

'Help... Somebody help me... Please... It's dark... I'm scared. '

Hiro quickly used his superior senses and X-ray vision to scan everyone in the city, using his high INT, he noted every single person and disregarded anyone above 13 as the possible source of the voice.

His slaves who saw the shining eyes of their master guarded him in a circle. After about five minutes Hiro found the origin of the voice. A black-haired girl locked in a crate in the basement of an opulent building.

When he checked her status screen, he couldn't believe his eyes.

_____________

Name: (Unnamed)

Race: Unawakened Dragonkin

Past Lives: (Orkan Vingesverd), (Nydelig Forsyn), (Lyn hellebard), (Vulkansk Kant) , (Lidende Messias), (Keiserinne Kavaleri) , (Brennende Jomfru), (Isregn brolende), (Rosasjele Gudinne), (Filiale Von Drachenfeuer), (Riluttante Zhertva)

Level: 1

Age: 10

_____________

("Hiro-sama, I have been under orders to observe you since you first arrived. Watching you confront all the hardship made me feel like I saw the Saviors in the war. Seeing your will strengthened my own.)

(I end this wretched life in happiness as I spend my last moments with you. Let us meet again Hiro, maybe next time I get to monopolize your affection instead?")historical

("Everything is ready for you Hiro-sama. Innumerable realities burned and died all for this moment. The choice from thousands of years of preparation will rest in your hands.)

(And I am sure you will not falter. After all, you are the unbreakable, the man who stole my heart and the Bloodline of Steel. Goodbye Hiro-sama. I love you.")

The image of the woman who sacrificed so much for him once again resurfaced. She loved him yet he couldn't return any of her affection. Seeing the defenseless little girl Hiro's insides started to burn.

"In this life, I repay you for all I owe. I am coming Rilu."