"Step... step..."
Roy walked straight past the little beggar, following the knight's squire who had called him, slowly leaving...
Once he was gone, the previously silent street returned to its former clamor...
A few kids who had bolted off came back, visibly stunned at seeing Roy leave, then hurriedly helped the little beggar up from the ground, saying, "Hey~ Paramon, you're so lucky you didn't end up like Jerome, kicked to death with one blow!"
Jerome used to be part of their beggar group. Late last month, he brushed against Andrew while trying to snatch a piece of bread and was hit by Longergon's shield, making him spew blood and guts all over the place. The sight turned him into a meat pancake, almost causing several kids to vomit their dinner from the night before...
So today, the little beggar's actions were even more reckless than Jerome's. He directly collided, but surprisingly nothing happened... Many people who saw this, such as the uncle selling mushrooms, couldn't help but marvel at his luck.
The little beggar named Paramon, snapped back from his daze, glanced in the direction Roy left, feeling a chill down his pants. Looking down, he realized he wet himself, hurriedly pressed his legs together to avoid being noticed... Fortunately, after everyone privately marveled for a moment, they were caught off guard by the slave trader's malicious glance and scattered like startled birds, paying no more attention to him.
Left alone, Paramon shouted, "Wait for me," while awkwardly clamping his legs and running in a comical, quirky gait, disappearing from the slave trader's sight into a secluded alley...
"Whoosh~" A gentle breeze arose, dispersing a white cloud in the sky,
Amidst the muddy and filthy surroundings, it seemed only the azure sky above could offer Roy a bit of comfort.
The boy's silver hair transformed into brown hair draped behind him, with red light flickering in his eyes, he casually glanced at the knight's squire ahead with a somewhat stern face, using Andrew Cooper's memories to recognize the man named Dunne, serving both as Lord Knight's guardian, Edmund Bellberg, and also a Nen user.
'Judging from "Aura" and "Nen", he's evidently much stronger than that uncle pulling a cart or the aunt selling mushrooms…'
[True Eye]flashed... a string of information floated into Roy's mind....
[Dunne West]
[Knight's Squire]
[Constitution: 274]
[Exhibited Nen: 74,120/100,000]
[Potential Nen: 270,000/1,000,000 (illusory)]
[Rating: C—]
[Note: Elite Squad Leader of the ant type hierarchy, slightly inferior to a Master General but slightly superior to ordinary elite squad leaders]
[Reference: Lion Haga, who once fought with Kate]
Roy's brow twitched, making a mental note at the word [illusory], then looked up again... Quietly leading the way, Dunne appeared uninterested in conversing with Roy, yet Roy felt a strange sense of familiarity from him, akin to [protection], yet it felt off, very strange…
"Step... step..." The two proceeded in silence, soon arriving in front of a luxurious mansion.
An area in front of the mansion had been cleared, paved with exquisite tiles connected to a straight asphalt road, indicating that Bandle City or Samille Principality wasn't as backward as Roy initially imagined, indirectly proving that advanced things were controlled by the elite, rarely trickling to the lower levels — a fact!
"Good noon, Lord Dunne!" The guards at the mansion stood erect upon seeing Dunne, saluting by removing their hats.
Dunne, looking to be in his early thirties, wore a split vest, his waist belted with a thin leather strap, nodded to the guards as usual, waiting for the mansion doors to open, directly leading Roy inside.
Roy maintained Andrew Cooper's appearance, recalling various instances he used to frequent the villa, discreetly glanced at the guards, mostly ranked "E", on par with Gon and Killua when they first opened their Acupoints in the Four Major Principles of [Ten][Zetsu][Ren][Hatsu], awkwardly grasping the first two, not far from unlocking [Hatsu] to develop their own "Nenryoku," clearly lacking… proper guidance…
His eyes flickered, straightened his attire, then followed Dunne with a step into the villa courtyard, immediately hearing tantalizing music faintly emanating from the grand hall within…
Occasionally, he could make out a man's heavy breathing and lewd laughter amid the melodies,
Instinctively bringing Roy back to the scenes witnessed within Riberi Garcia's memories... The noble Viscount Garcia along with his guard captain triumphed over Lady Garcia....
Roy slightly lowered his gaze, took a deep breath, heard Dunne West open the door, looked back at him and said, "Please go ahead."
Roy nodded, stepped into the villa's grand hall, immediately seeing a pot-bellied middle-aged man swirling a glass of red wine, watching several scantily clad young men and women singing and dancing in front of him... their privates deliberately veiled in sheer fabric, faintly revealing, mysterious, yet tantalizing, making one crave more...
Imitating Andrew Cooper, Roy quietly waited on the side, not intervening... only after the man finished his drink, signaled for Dunne West to escort the young men and women out, leaving one boy in his arms, then leisurely sighed, saying, "Andrew, none of them compare to your raunchy wife~"