Conrad took a breath, focused himself, and started walking.
A few minutes later, he arrived in front of the Hunter Association headquarters.
He headed toward the entrance, and a familiar face greeted him at the door.
"Conrad..."
"Sorry for calling you in like this again," said Mizaistom.
Conrad smiled.
"It's fine."
"I assume you wouldn't have called me here like this if it weren't important."
Mizaistom smiled and gestured for him to follow.
Conrad and Mizaistom entered an elevator and rode upward.
After walking through several hallways, they entered a large room with double white doors. From there, they entered another enclosed room inside.
After stepping inside, Conrad quickly surveyed the area.
"Netero..."
The chairman was standing quietly with a neutral expression.
Beside him stood a man well over two meters tall, and on the other side was a shorter man who seemed naturally aggressive.
"Netero, Botobai, Kanzai, and Mizaistom behind me..."
"They really prepared well. Netero alone would have been enough, but I wasn't expecting three Zodiacs, especially ones known for combat ability."
Finally, Netero smiled and pointed toward a chair.
"Sorry about this, Conrad."
"I wouldn't enjoy being summoned like this either."
"Sit down. Let's talk."
Conrad nodded and took one of the seats. Mizaistom sat beside him.
Netero sat across from Conrad. Botobai sat directly opposite him, while Kanzai took the seat next to Botobai.
Netero took a deep breath and began speaking.
"There are two reasons why you were called here."
"We won't move on to the second reason until we settle the first."
Conrad smiled.
"That means the first reason could make the second one meaningless."
"And it is probably somewhat hostile?"
Botobai quietly exhaled.
Netero smiled.
Kanzai cracked his neck.
Mizaistom simply folded his arms and remained silent.
"Yes."
"That's correct," Netero answered without hesitation.
Because of his authority, experience, and strength, Netero was generally honest when dealing with Hunters and Nen users.
There was little reason for him not to be.
His position was powerful enough that honesty rarely worked against him.
"I'll keep it short."
"Even though a few checks had already been done, I started thinking after hearing what Mizaistom told me."
Netero leaned back slightly.
"Mizaistom contacted you after you wiped out that mafia family."
"The Quarmir family, I believe."
"When he called you, what exactly did you understand from that conversation?"
Conrad paused.
"What should I say?"
"If I tell an obvious lie, Netero and the others won't have any trouble noticing."
"Especially someone like Mizaistom. A man whose work revolves around discussions, negotiations, and investigations."
"For someone like him, recognizing a lie is probably a second instinct."
Conrad looked directly into Netero's eyes and slowly shook his head.
"The Hunter Association isn't as honest or well-intentioned as it claims to be."
Netero took a breath.
"Continue."
"Explain."
Conrad rested his hand against his chin and glanced toward Mizaistom.
"The fact that Mizaistom understood what I had done so quickly told me something."
"The Hunter Association must have placed something inside the Hunter Licenses."
"Some kind of device."
"You're able to track us and know our location through it."
"That's not exactly the kind of behavior people would expect."
"To be honest, I lost a significant amount of respect for the Hunter Association because of that."
Netero nodded.
Mizaistom remained silent.
Botobai and Kanzai continued watching.
Conrad was honestly surprised by Kanzai's silence.
Normally, Kanzai's behavior could easily be described as aggressive and impulsive.
Yet now he remained calm.
"Maybe Netero's presence is enough to keep him under control," Conrad thought.
Netero looked at him and spoke.
"Your opinion isn't entirely wrong."
"However, during the last three or four years, we've lost a large number of Hunters."
"When I say lost, I don't mean killed."
"I mean truly missing."
"Because of that, we added devices to Hunter Licenses that continuously transmit their location."
"It may not look good, but the purpose is to locate missing hunters."
Conrad remained silent.
His expression showed slight discomfort.
"A lie..."
"He's very good at it."
Conrad took a breath.
"If I accept that explanation immediately, they'll realize my earlier reaction wasn't genuine."
"I need to show at least some continued dissatisfaction."
He turned toward Netero.
"Bad outcomes don't justify violating people's privacy."
"There were other ways to handle the situation."
"At the very least, Hunters could have been informed."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kanzai showed a small amount of irritation.
Botobai continued observing quietly.
Mizaistom kept watching Conrad from the corner of his eye.
Netero thought for a moment.
"As I said, I can't change how you feel about it."
"But I can do something else for you."
"Now we'll move on to the second matter."
Conrad was glad to leave the topic behind, but he knew what he had to say to maintain consistency.
"So we're moving on."
"I suppose that means you got the answer you wanted."
"Otherwise, as you said, we wouldn't be discussing the second matter."
Netero nodded.
"Yes."
"It seems you aren't as angry as I expected."
"So there won't be a problem."
Conrad stayed quiet and looked away.
Netero continued.
"There is a mission."
"It involves a Nen user."
"Not a hunter, which makes the assignment acceptable."
"I want you to handle it."
Conrad remained silent while considering the proposal.
"The target is Lamor Angenia."
"I won't explain why the target has been designated as a target."
"But you should understand that he is a powerful Nen user."
"Mizaistom will brief you on his abilities and the relevant details."
"He will also explain the reward."
Conrad nodded.
Netero smiled.
"This is Botobai, and the other one is Kanzai."
"They are among the most important people in the Hunter Association."
"Only Pariston, the vice chairman, and I stand above them."
"Like Mizaistom, they are members of the Zodiacs."
"You may discuss the target with them as well."
"I'm sure they'll be willing to share information."
After finishing his explanation, Netero stood from his chair.
"The discussion is over."
Without another word, he turned around and left the room.