Early the next morning, after lingering in each other's warmth for a while, Morena departed.
A car pulled up at the entrance of the hotel. Morena opened the door and got in. From the passenger seat, through the rearview mirror, she glanced back at the hotel, and a soft look surfaced in her eyes.
"Ron, thank you," she whispered. "These past few days have made me truly happy." But then she sighed. "It might have been the happiest time of my entire life."
The woman driving glanced at Morena and hesitated slightly. "Lady Morena..."
But before she could finish, she was cut off.
"This has nothing to do with you. Don't ask questions. Just pretend nothing happened these past few days. Understand?"
"Otherwise, I won't hesitate to change drivers."
The woman's face turned pale. "Yes, Lady Morena. I understand."
Because when Morena replaced someone, it wasn't just a matter of swapping one person for another—the person being replaced wouldn't be left alive.
Morena closed her eyes. These days had brought her joy, but she hadn't dared to hope for more, because in her eyes, her fate was beyond her power to change. As an illegitimate daughter of the King of Kakin, her destiny had been determined from the moment she was born. The mark of the Second Tier would always follow her. Her life was confined to the underworld. While those princes could live in the spotlight with splendor and dignity, her sole purpose was to serve them, and when necessary, even become their stepping stone.
At one point, Morena had felt deep hatred for this world. But only Ron was a light in her heart.
....................
........
.
After Morena left, Ron got up.
He opened his laptop and uploaded new chapters of Baki and Bungou Stray Dogs. Then, with a single thought, Erina's form materialized and walked into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
The phone rang.
Ron picked up.
"Ron."
"Illumi."
"Where are you now?"
Ron gave the location of his hotel.
"I'll be there shortly."
"Alright."
By the time Illumi arrived, Ron had already eaten and checked out. They sat down in a nearby café.
After glancing around to make sure the area was clear, Illumi began slowly.
"The Phantom Troupe's request to us is to kill the Ten Dons."
"This auction at Yorknew is a good opportunity to do that."
"The Phantom Troupe will attack the auction to draw the Underworld Mafia's attention, giving us a window to act."
"But things aren't going smoothly."
"Within the Mafia, there's a Nen user with the ability of divination."
"The Ten Dons have already used divination and foresee a potential fatal outcome."
"As a result, they likely won't attend the auction in person."
"Additionally, there's a rumor that the Mafia has a so-called absolutely safe zone. If the Ten Dons hide in that place, it will be complicated to kill them."
Ron hesitated. "Great-grandfather once mentioned that the Mafia possesses a Nen spirit. Could that safe zone be related to it?"
Illumi nodded. "It's possible."
Ron already knew the Underworld Mafia had access to Nen spirits. Apart from those they had naturally acquired, one had also been sold to them by Silva—named Kanroji, the same Nen spirit he and Silva had obtained from that Monostari shrine.
But the absolutely safe zone likely had nothing to do with Kanroji.
Ron understood Kanroji. It was a spirit that absorbed human lust and transformed it into power, lending that power to its host. However, Kanroji itself had no combat capability.
In that context, its value to the Mafia was limited. At best, it allowed someone to possess nearly unlimited aura.
But aura volume alone did not determine a Nen user's strength.
Take the Chimera Ants, for example. The Royal Guards had overwhelming aura reserves—far more than Netero. Yet, did they surpass Netero in true power? Likely not.
Each of the three Royal Guards had developed unique abilities, but even so, when Youpi faced Killua, Knuckle, and the others working together, he was once forced into a disadvantage. Had Knuckle not released his ability, they might have been able to kill Youpi.
By comparison, Killua and the others had far less aura than Youpi. And Kanroji's current host was even weaker than Youpi.
In aura volume, that host certainly couldn't compare to Youpi, and in physical strength, they fell even further behind. Back then, when Ron and Silva faced Kanroji's former host, they killed him easily.
So how much stronger could the current host be?
"But obtaining information on this spirit won't be easy," Illumi continued. "The Mafia keeps it tightly under wraps. Very few people know about it."
Illumi paused.
"I'll continue infiltrating the Mafia to gather intel. Ron, do you have any reliable means of getting information?"
"Do you remember Elita from the Hunter Exam?"
"I do," Illumi nodded.
"Elita is part of the Mafia. But we've had previous dealings. If she has to choose between me and them, she'll likely side with me."
"I can try to reach out and see what I can get."
Illumi's eyes lit up slightly. "If you can do that, it'd be ideal. But Ron, are you sure she's trustworthy?"
"Likely."
"Alright. Let's split up and proceed separately."
Illumi left.
Ron wasn't completely certain Elita was 100% reliable. But having a potential source was better than having none. If they couldn't uncover information about the spirit, this operation would become extremely difficult. For Nen users, intelligence was the prerequisite for any action, especially so for Zoldycks. Without it, the mission might have to be abandoned. Or they'd have to request Maha Zoldyck to take action.
Ron opened his laptop and checked his inbox.
There were many messages, and a large portion of them were from Elita.
After the Hunter Exam, Ron had asked her to gather information on the Underworld Mafia. From the contents of the emails, she had consistently followed through.
"Still, nothing on the absolutely safe zone."
"Seems her current position might not grant her access to that level of information."
------------------------
You can read up to 120 Advanced chapters!
Patreon(.)com/IDKjust