As Sion Seymour gave the order to "begin the exam," the candidates consciously lined up, while Debest untied the rope around the bag behind him.
The blond little boy reached into the bag and pulled out a strange creature covered in brown fur, wearing a leafy crown on its head, with only one leg and a long tail dragging behind it.
The strange creature stretched out its short, thin arms, resting them on Debest's wrist. Its round eyes stared at him.
"Zzz zzz~ gurgle!"
"Here."
Debest handed the magical beast in his hand to the first candidate in line.
After the candidate reached out and took it, the magical beast—so docile in Debest's hands—suddenly began struggling and screeching.
In just a second, it broke free from the candidate's grip. Under the candidate's shocked and flustered gaze, it hopped away on its single leg and vanished behind the stone gate of the ruins in the blink of an eye.
"Ah!?"
The candidate shouted, then turned to Debest.
"W-What… what's going on?!"
Debest grinned maliciously.
"I've already handed the magical beast to you. The rest has nothing to do with me."
The candidate was about to say more when Sion spoke coldly:
"Ah, it seems I left out a small detail."
A similarly malicious smile appeared on his face. His gaze swept over the serious-looking candidates before settling on the unlucky one at the front.
"By the way, if a magical beast strays too far from its temporary master, it will revert to its crystal form."
He paused slightly, deliberately dragging out his words as he spoke leisurely:
"The Tanuki-Tail Fiend is quite fast. If you don't chase after it now, you won't be able to find it."
The candidate:
"——KUSO!"
He roared angrily, no longer in the mood to say another word, and hurried off in pursuit of the mountain monkey.
In the line, Kisho withdrew his gaze from Sion and poked Amos in the back.
Amos turned sideways.
"What?"
Lowering his voice, Kisho whispered,
"Use 'Gyo' to look at those magical beasts."
Amos did as told. After a brief moment, he frowned.
"Not magical beasts. They're Nen beasts."
"Mm."
Kisho replied softly,
"If they're Nen beasts, then those two ill-tempered examiners might be able to control the candidates' movements."
"...He did say that if the magical beasts are attacked, they'll revert to crystal form, right?" Amos pondered for a moment.
"And judging from the situation, this so-called Tanuki-Tail Fiend definitely won't obediently guide the candidates."
A sharp light flashed in Amos's eyes as he spoke with a dangerous smile:
"Since it's going to run around causing trouble anyway, we might as well—"
Kisho snapped his fingers.
"Got it. It only takes a day for it to change back anyway."
Seeing that Kisho understood his implication, Amos smiled in satisfaction.
...
Several hours later, it was finally Kisho's group's turn.
Amos took the Tanuki-Tail Fiend from Debest. With a light flick to its head, the creature glared at him with teary eyes, then covered its forehead with its short hand. With a "pop," it turned into a round gemstone.
"I'm off. See you later."
Amos smiled at the astonished Debest, then waved at Kisho before slowly walking into the ruins.
Next was Kisho.
He stepped forward and met Sion's gaze.
Sion sized him up for a moment and smiled.
"You seem to have grown stronger since the last time we met."
"Ah, more or less."
Without drawing attention, Sion glanced past Kisho at C·L behind him, who was holding a book and reading, then looked back at Kisho.
"The other one inside your body—how is he? I'm quite curious how you can still stand here awake instead of being devoured by him."
"Who knows?" Kisho shrugged casually with a smile.
"Maybe he's just socially anxious."
For someone who always regarded Noah Barton as a monster, Kisho felt no goodwill whatsoever.
Sion stared at him for a long time before finally looking away, saying nothing more.
It really was strange.
Based on the "Silver-Blue" creatures he had eliminated over the years, such monsters were extremely aggressive, violent, and frenzied. They would not tolerate any living being within their perception range besides themselves.
If the monster inside this boy named Kisho truly was "Silver-Blue," then there was no reason his spiritual body wouldn't have been devoured.
Sion's eyes darkened as he pondered.
Perhaps this boy really could become the "core" of their next plan—bring him to the source of "Silver-Blue."
...
Fifteen minutes after Amos left, when the time limit was reached, Debest took a magical beast from the bag and handed it to Kisho.
"Thanks~"
Kisho received the chattering Tanuki-Tail Fiend with both hands. He scratched under its chin as if teasing a cat, making it squint in pleasure, then carried it in one hand and walked down the steps toward the ruins.
Next was C·L.
C·L closed the book in his hands and looked at Sion with a gentle smile.
"Oh?"
Sion looked at him. After a moment, he shrugged as if helpless.
"Never thought you'd join in the fun too."
His voice suddenly turned cold.
"I'm warning you—don't cause me trouble, or else—"
Faced with Sion's threat, C·L nodded good-naturedly.
"I merely heard that the Hunter Exam would be interesting. Besides, having one more licensed person makes future activities more convenient."
He said sincerely,
"Rest assured, I'm genuinely participating as a candidate."
"Tch!" Sion showed blatant disdain for his words.
"Annoying guy!"
Lowering his voice to a mutter, he grumbled,
"You should've been locked up."
C·L acted as though he hadn't heard, maintaining his composed smile.
As if trying to regain some face, Sion turned to the blond boy beside him and said loudly,
"Debest, pick a good one for this candidate."
"Got it~"
Debest rummaged through the bag for a while and pulled out a magical beast with a dull expression, unmoving for a long time, as if it might die in the next second. He handed it to Sion.
Sion took it and passed it to C·L.
C·L reached out, his expression unchanged.
"Thank you."
Sion didn't let go, grinding his teeth.
"Hey! You'd better take it easy!"
C·L nodded lightly.
"Don't worry."
Sion released his grip and watched C·L's figure leave, muttering,
"The more you say don't worry, the more I worry…"
He thought to himself:
"I hope this year's candidates are smart enough not to provoke him…"
...
As the last candidate entered the ruins, Debest snapped his fingers. The remaining magical beasts inside the bag vanished in an instant, turning into a puff of aura that the blond boy reabsorbed into his body.
"You head to the exit first."
Sion looked at him and gave the order calmly.
"Got it—what about you?"
Debest stuffed the bag into the pocket of his fur coat and turned back to ask,
"By the way, you seem especially concerned about that white-haired kid. You even came to be an examiner for him. But I don't think he's anything special. Are you going to follow him again?"
A black line appeared across Sion's forehead.
"You're a kid yourself. Stop calling other people 'kid.'"
"And after this mission, you're going to take some classes. You can't just casually use the word 'follow' like that!"
Debest grinned mischievously.
But Sion grew serious, his gaze dark as he spoke:
"I'm taking this opportunity to properly observe that boy—whether he is the 'key' I've been searching for."