Padokea MegaMart.
Hiro pushed through the bustling crowd, weaving between carts and shoppers, until he finally spotted his target his rotund little brother, Milluki.
Milluki was the third-born of the Zoldyck siblings.
Clad in his usual pink shirt and sporting his signature middle-parted hair, he actually didn't look bad… if you ignored the fact that he was more than a little overweight.
At 182 centimeters tall and tipping the scales at a whopping 141 kilograms, he was, without question, the heaviest member of the Zoldyck family.
This, of course, was why Hiro had written in his notebook in bold, underlined letters that Milluki absolutely had to lose weight.
Right now, Milluki was in full battle mode, using his sheer bulk to shield the precious spoils in his cart while snatching up even more goods from the shelves.
The obasans around him battle-hardened aunties armed with decades of discount-hunting experience were struggling to keep up, left only to glare in frustration.
One could almost see the question marks over their heads:
How is a fat guy this fast?!
And yet, despite all his complaining on the phone earlier about how miserable and exhausting this was… here he was, giving it his all.
That was Milluki in a nutshell: a man who believed every transaction was about benefits and he'd do whatever it took to secure his own.
Especially if food was on the line.
Hiro smiled faintly and clapped his little brother on the shoulder.
"Not bad, little brother."
Milluki didn't even pause, his hands still flying. Only after he'd secured the last bottle of Yiniu fresh milk did he finally turn his head and beam at Hiro.
"Big brother! You finally made it!"
He puffed out his chest proudly and began rattling off his conquests, as though reporting to a general after a successful campaign:
"See for yourself soy sauce, check. Flour, check. Beef, check…"
The way he meticulously recited every item only made the surrounding obasans bristle more.
"Young man, that's not right! We're all customers here you can't just take everything for yourself!"
This one was the Reasonable Auntie™.
"Exactly, exactly! Look at you, sweating all over. Why don't you take a break outside? You'll make yourself sick, you know~"
This one was the Concerned Auntie™.
"I don't care! Fatty, if you keep this up, I'm calling the staff! This isn't how things are done!"
And this was the Petty Auntie™.
Milluki's face twisted into a scowl. He turned to them and hissed:
"Tch! So annoying! If you don't shut up, I'll ki—OUCH!"
Before he could finish his sentence, Hiro's hand came down in a sharp chop to the back of his neck, making the chubby boy yelp in pain.
"What did I tell you about civility and politeness?" Hiro said coolly. "Stop threatening people all the time you'll scare the aunties."
Hiro stepped in front of his little brother, shielding him as he turned to the obasans with a disarmingly warm smile.
And just like that…
Oh my, what a sunny and handsome young man!Look at how he disciplined that annoying fatty and even apologized to us so charming!
The aunties could almost feel the arrows striking their hearts, their long-dormant romantic instincts awakening all at once.
Hiro clasped his hands in front of him and bowed slightly, his expression equal parts apologetic and sincere.
"Ladies, I'm terribly sorry this is all my fault. I was rushing my brother on the phone earlier, and he got a little overzealous trying to keep up."
"Oh, it's alright, sweetheart!" Reasonable Auntie beamed. "Your brother didn't really do anything wrong."
"Yes, yes! He's just trying his best. If you need help finding anything, let Auntie show you the way!" offered Concerned Auntie.
"Hmph! This mall really ought to manage the crowds better. We customers are the ones suffering! I'm going to complain to management!" declared Petty Auntie now on his side.
Milluki, watching from behind, let out a long sigh of relief.
"Big brother… you're amazing at dealing with aunties."
Hiro smirked faintly and bent down slightly, crooking his finger at Milluki.
"Want to know the secret?"
Milluki's eyes sparkled with curiosity as he leaned closer.
"What is it? Tell me! I want to learn too!"
"It's all about being handsome, having a great figure, and a good attitude…"
"Stop! I get it, I get it you're just trying to convince me to lose weight again!"
"Ah, my brother really is sharp~" Hiro replied, smirking.
With Hiro pitching in, their shopping efficiency skyrocketed, and the two quickly gathered everything on their list and headed out of the MegaMart.
Hiro leisurely sipped hot tea from his thermos as they walked.
Behind him trailed Milluki, completely round under the mountain of shopping bags in his arms, waddling like an overloaded penguin.
"Big brother clearly has a Nen ability that can store things in some kind of spatial bag… so why do I still have to carry all this by hand…?" Milluki muttered bitterly, watching Hiro casually make his thermos vanish into thin air.
"Oh, my dear brother," Hiro replied without turning around, "this is called training. Do you even understand the word training? No? Want me to call Dad and ask him to explain it to you?"
He pulled out his phone and tapped the screen as though dialing.
Milluki froze. His face went pale. Then, in an instant, the chubby boy straightened up and burst forward at full speed toward the sightseeing bus stop ahead.
"No need! No need, my beloved brother! I'll carry everything!"
Hiro chuckled, watching him scurry off.
Ah… sometimes, Dad really is the best teacher~
It was true Hiro had personally asked Silva to oversee Milluki's training regimen, and all it took was a single mention of their father's name to whip Milluki into shape.
Watching his little brother hustle down the street with bags bouncing against his sides, Hiro couldn't help but smile.
Moments like this… this is what being a family is all about.
The sightseeing bus to Kukuru Mountain was already crowded when they boarded.Tourists filled nearly every seat, chattering excitedly about visiting the famous Zoldyck estate.
Hiro and Milluki had no choice but to stand in the aisle.
Milluki grumbled quietly, his round frame squeezed awkwardly between passengers.
I just want to go home, is that too much to ask?
What's so great about our busted front gate anyway? Are you all brain-damaged or something?!
Hopeless. Really. Might as well just feed them to the dogs…
While Milluki fumed silently, a little boy sitting nearby tugged at his mother's sleeve.
"Mom, the assassin family Zoldyck… that name sounds so cool! The assassin brothers inside must be really good at fighting bad guys, right?"
His young mother smiled, gently patting his head.
"Of course, sweetheart. Handsome assassin brothers always fight for justice and take down all the evil villains."
The boy's eyes sparkled.
"Wow! When I grow up, I want to be an assassin too!"
Gripping his plastic toy sword, the boy began hacking and slashing playfully and accidentally whacked Milluki in the leg.
Milluki's face darkened.
"Brat, watch where you're OUCH!"
Before he could finish, Hiro's hand came down with a sharp chop to the back of his neck.Milluki yelped, tears welling in his eyes, and immediately shut his mouth.
My dear brother… even though I'm fat and thick-skinned, your hand chops really hurt! You definitely used Nen, didn't you?!
If I wasn't already keeping up my Ren all the time now… I'd probably have dropped like a sack of flour just now!
Hiro, of course, was blissfully unaware of Milluki's internal complaints.
Instead, he nodded faintly, satisfied.
Good. My bratty little brother finally picked up the habit of always maintaining Ren. Not bad at all.
After giving Milluki a satisfied nod, Hiro turned back to the little boy and flashed his trademark sunny smile.
"Listen, little man," he said warmly, crouching slightly so their eyes met, "if you want to grow up to be an assassin, you can't be lazy. You have to exercise every day, eat healthy, and build a strong body so you can really take down the bad guys, okay?"
The boy's eyes went wide, sparkling with admiration.
"Got it, big brother! You're so smart… and so cool! You are an assassin, aren't you?" he asked innocently.
Before Hiro could even answer, the boy's young mother nearly leapt out of her seat in panic.
"X-Xiao Ming! Don't ask strangers things like that!" she scolded, waving her hands frantically. Then she turned to Hiro, flustered and apologetic.
"I'm so sorry he's just a child. He doesn't know what he's saying!"
After all, she thought to herself, being an assassin wasn't exactly a respectable thing to be announcing in public.
And yet…
Why am I only noticing now just how handsome this man standing next to me is?Tch tch… that figure, that face, that smile…
Only one word came to her mind:
Perfect.
Her son tugged at her sleeve.
"Mom? Why are you just staring like that?"
"Huh?!"
The young mother snapped out of her daze just in time to see Hiro smiling at her. Her cheeks went crimson on the spot.
The boy grinned devilishly.
"Heehee! Mom's shy because she thinks the big brother is handsome! How embarrassing! I'm totally telling Dad when we get home~"
The mother froze, feeling every pair of eyes on the bus swivel toward her, some amused, some scandalized.
Oh no. It's over. My life is over. Complete social death… utterly beyond repair…
She clutched her bag tighter, her inner monologue darkening.
You little traitor… just wait until we get home. If I don't tan your hide, I'm not your mother!