"What's more, even though you had your own motives at the time, you still paid your respects to those ancestors one by one and helped them find peace, regardless of their past deeds. Strictly speaking, as the Chairman of the Hunter Association, I should be thanking you."
"No need for that~" Ronnel replied seriously. "It's just something I ought to do."
Netero glanced at him sideways but said nothing.
This guy had a knack for taking advantage of opportunities, just like Ging.
It's a pity the Twelve Zodiacs already had enough members. Otherwise, giving him a seat would certainly make the Hunter Association a livelier place.
With that thought, Netero shook his head slightly, then suddenly stood up and said to Ronnel, who was sipping his tea:
"You should get a good night's rest. You'll be back to full strength by tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah, one night is plenty~"
Ronnel raised his head, met Netero's eyes, and smirked.
He understood exactly what Netero was implying.
"Good. This old man has been idle for too long—time to loosen up a bit~"
Netero chuckled, stretching his neck and shoulders as he slowly walked out.
"Loosen up, huh?"
Ronnel smirked, lifted his teacup, and downed the rest in one gulp.
"Just don't throw your back out. If you end up with a fracture or muscle tear, it won't be a good look, old man."
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, five days had flown by.
"Didn't expect it to take five days. This is cutting it close~!"
Killua had passed all the tests, grabbed his Hunter License, and bolted.
He didn't even bother attending Beans' usual briefing on the license's functions.
According to Greed Island's rules, if a player left the game and didn't return within ten days, all their cards would vanish.
Killua didn't have many cards, but the thought of losing them still annoyed him.
This year's Hunter Exam had wrapped up after three rounds.
The first round was quick—done in under forty minutes.
The second round, however, dragged on. The examiner asked a convoluted question, and the process took nearly four days.
During that time, Killua's patience was completely worn out.
By the third round, the new examiner assigned another test, but Killua immediately spotted the loophole and eliminated all the other examinees.
In the end, the examiner had no choice but to make a pained phone call to Beans and Netero.
And just like that, Killua earned their Hunter Licenses amid Netero's roaring laughter.
Beans, standing at the podium, was left speechless.
Killua, who had been walking away, suddenly stopped.
His body tensed as he spotted a familiar figure ahead. Instinctively, he took a step back.
"Long time no see, Ronnel. What a coincidence running into you here."
Killua swallowed hard and forced a smile.
"Yeah, it's been ages—five whole days! That's practically forever!"
Ronnel crossed his arms and stood in front of Killua, grinning.
"Haha, yeah, five days is a long time... Uh, Ronnel, what's up with your eyes? Did something happen?"
"This?"
Ronnel rubbed the corners of his eyes, which still glowed faintly blue.
"Just a little accident during training. Nothing serious. But you..."
He looked at Killua, who was glancing around, clearly searching for an escape route. Ronnel smirked and waved a hand dismissively.
"Cut the act. Just tell me—why were you avoiding me during the Hunter Exam? And how do you stack up against Biscuit, Shizuku, and Gon?"
"Uh... well..."
Killua, realizing he couldn't dodge the question, sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Alright, alright. Not long after Gon and I entered Greed Island, we ran into Biscuit and Shizuku. We ended up training with them, and, well... we've been sticking together ever since."
"That so?" Ronnel nodded, unfazed. "Still haven't answered me—why were you avoiding me~?"
"Uh... this..."
Killua scratched his head, finally giving in.
"Fine, I'll be honest. When Gon and I first met Biscuit and Shizuku, let's just say it wasn't exactly a friendly encounter."
"Not friendly?"
"Yeah... They stopped us and started grilling us about you."
"About me?"
A strange feeling crept up Ronnel's spine.
He thought back and couldn't recall doing anything recently that might warrant such an interrogation. Raising an eyebrow, he asked:
"What exactly did they ask?"
"Mostly basic stuff at first... but then they got real nosy about your personal life."
"My personal life...?" Ronnel's expression grew wary. "And what did you tell them?"
"The truth, of course!"
Killua blurted out immediately.
"...Yeah?"
Ronnel shot Killua a skeptical look, but when he saw the kid's serious face, he had no choice but to nod.
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