More than ten days later.
"Knock." A knock sounded from outside the room.
"Come in." Kisho, who was sitting on the bed cultivating, opened his eyes and spoke.
The nen wrapped around the tri-pronged spike in his hand slowly dissipated along with his voice.
"Still cultivating? How's the new move coming along?"
Amos pushed the door open and walked toward him as he asked.
Kisho shrugged.
"What new move? It's just some small techniques. Using different nen on this weapon can bring different boosts… kind of like… enchantment?"
"'Enchantment'?" Amos looked at him in confusion. "What's that?"
"...A game term. Roughly means using some mysterious method to give a weapon different abilities."
Kisho didn't explain further. He stared at Amos and asked,
"What have you been busy with these past few days? You've been nowhere to be seen."
"What else could it be? All sorts of messy stuff," Amos said. "And your matter too. Jobert has already gotten in touch with the Bankro family. Tomorrow morning at five, people from the Bankro family will come to Area Three to trade with us."
"We'll have two people on our side as the 'goods.' When the time comes, you'll go with them."
Kisho paused slightly, fell silent, and a complicated look surfaced in his eyes.
Amos stared at him.
"What's with that expression? You scared?"
"No, just… suddenly leaving. I'll miss you," Kisho said with a smile.
Amos shuddered.
"Get lost."
"But you also know this trade was originally between the Bankro family and Chelsea Taber," Amos said seriously.
"Because of the White Eagle Association, and some unresolved historical issues, there's basically no chance of easing our relationship with them."
Amos warned him,
"Anyone sent out by Chelsea Taber will definitely target you."
"It's fine. I'm already prepared."
Kisho spoke slowly, his gaze drifting out the window into the distance.
"If someone really wants to do something… I definitely won't hold back."
Amos glanced at him sideways, noncommittal.
"That'd better be the case."
"I've handed all the transaction details over to Wenide. I have other things to do tomorrow, so I won't see you off."
Amos turned around, waved his hand, and walked away.
"That's it then. I'll say goodbye to you in advance."
"Mhm, goodbye."
Kisho waved at Amos's back.
He smiled softly. Once he got rid of that damn poison, maybe he could come back and hang out with Amos again.
"Tsk, why does that sound so much like a flag…"
...
The next day, five in the morning.
With the moon not yet chased away, Kisho followed Wenide—who had personally come to lead him—and arrived at the designated location.
This was the boundary between Area Three and Area Seven. Beyond the cordon, on this side, were densely packed white-roofed buildings and, not far away, the Eros family's grand estate. On the other side, smoke and the flames of war still filled the air, with no sign of people.
Wenide led Kisho into a room.
"This is the place, Mr. Noah."
After pushing the door open, Kisho saw two men sitting clearly separated on the sofa.
The man on the left wore a yellow shirt and had a buzz cut, with a knife placed by his right hand. The other man had no weapon beside him; bandages were wrapped around his wrist, and his brown hair was tied back behind his head.
On the sofa opposite them sat a blonde woman in a suit, arms crossed, quietly waiting.
At her feet was a box—the item for the transaction.
As Kisho stepped into the room, everyone's gaze fell on him.
The wariness gathered in the eyes of the two men faded the moment they saw Kisho. They had heard that the one who helped Elder Eros rise to power was a kid—but a kid who looked like he hadn't even gotten blood on his hands… was that really possible?
The blonde woman's doubt toward Kisho far exceeded that of the two men. Her brows knitted sharply as she released her nen without restraint, pressing it down violently toward the two who had entered.
"Mr. Wenide," she said coldly. "Forgive my bluntness, but your side seems to lack sincerity in this transaction."
Wenide, who had not awakened nen, instantly broke out in sweat, his face turning pale. Under nen pressure, an ordinary person could hardly even manage to speak.
Seeing that a normal person had been sent for the transaction only made the blonde woman angrier. She showed no intention of holding back and instead intensified the pressure.
Kisho frowned and stepped forward, placing himself in front of Wenide.
To be honest, this woman's nen pressure… not to mention the freak he'd encountered before or the troupe leader—even compared to an average opponent, it wasn't much to look at.
His Ten easily cut off that not-so-strong nen. He curled his lips and spoke with an almost innocent look.
"Then… what kind of sincerity would this lady like to see?"
The blonde woman froze.
In her eyes, the person who should have been the "protected target" had instead become the "protector." That result surprised her slightly.
But on second thought, this was Meteor City, the land where stars fall—countless geniuses and would-be geniuses who had already died gathered here. There was really nothing to be surprised about.
She shouldn't view everything here with the mindset of a normal person.
She adjusted herself and looked Kisho over.
"Knowing nen is just the basics, but the job of a bodyguard isn't something just anyone can handle. You need to show me something I can actually—"
Before she could finish speaking, Kisho was already standing in front of her, smiling as he met her eyes.
The boy was clearly no older than twelve. His youthful face was indeed cute, but—
Her body stiffened, and cold sweat uncontrollably seeped out.
"Is this level of strength enough to pass, ma'am?"
The boy tilted his head and asked. His voice, unique to youth, was clean and clear.
But in his hand he held a tri-pronged spike, carrying a chill utterly opposite to his tone, its tip poised before the blonde woman's throat—advance it even an inch, and her life would be gone.
The blonde woman:
"..."
The other three people in the room:
"..."
Kisho waited for her answer, his hand holding the tri-pronged spike perfectly still.
Wind-attribute nen clung to the weapon, making its movement trajectory impossible to grasp and greatly increasing its attack speed.
So fast that one couldn't see when he drew the weapon, nor when he completed the attack.
After a moment of silence, the blonde woman said,
"Of course that counts as passing, this… young sir."
"Then pardon the offense."
With Kisho's "apology," that streak of dark light vanished from his hand without a trace. Yet the murky emotion in his eyes did not ease in the slightest.
Nen pressure could kill ordinary people, and she had had no intention of holding back— from that moment on, Kisho had no intention of being polite.
"So what Amos always says really is the truth," Kisho thought to himself.
"...The transaction can proceed as agreed, Mr. Wenide. This is the item Elder Eros requested," the blonde woman said as she raised a hand, seemingly brushing aside the stray hair at her forehead, but in fact discreetly wiping away sweat.
"The follow-up goods will also be delivered in the same way as before. Please remember to send people to receive them."
"The same way as before" referred to delivering the weapons by airdropping them along with garbage at a designated location.
Wenide nodded.
"Understood. A pleasant transaction."
The blonde woman stood up.
"The transaction…" Her expression was complicated, but business courtesies still had to be carried through. "...pleasant."
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo