After Amos walked out, his expression didn't look very good.
Kisho looked at him, raised an eyebrow, and asked in confusion, "What's wrong with you?"
"That annoying old man! Hmph!" Amos was still extremely displeased. He waved at Kisho, clearly unwilling to talk more about it, and said:
"It's your turn. Go in."
He paused, his expression dark and gloomy.
"You'd better be careful. That old guy is really bad news!"
"If you won't even say how he's bad," Kisho shrugged, "then stop dangling half-baked words like that."
Muttering to himself, Kisho slowly stepped forward, pushed open the door, and walked inside.
Netero was sitting behind the desk, smiling at him as he stroked his snow-white beard.
"Candidate number 233, Kisho. Hoho, you're one of the examinees who caught the special attention of several examiners in this Hunter Exam."
"Eh?" Kisho casually sat down across from chairman Netero.
"Really? What did they say about me?"
He might as well have written "Hurry up and praise me" across his face.
"You can ask them yourself after the exam is over."
Netero looked at Kisho with a smile, clearly unwilling to indulge him.
"Back to the point."
He pointed at a row of photographs of other examinees.
"Among these people, who do you most want to fight, and who do you least want to fight?"
Kisho stared at the photos, crossed his arms, and rested his chin on his fingers, thinking for a moment.
"There's no one I most want to fight. Anyone's fine."
"Oh?"
A fox-like smile appeared on Netero's face. He pointed at Amos.
"You know this young man, don't you? Would it be fine if I arranged for you two to fight?"
"I don't mind. Anyway, Amos can't beat me. He'll just have to come back next year and take the exam again."
Kisho shrugged.
"Hohohoho!"
Netero laughed, then continued,
"Now tell me—who is the one you don't want to fight?"
"Him. C·L."
Kisho answered without much hesitation.
"Tell me the reason?" Netero asked.
"There's nothing particularly special about it. It's just that we know each other, but we're not close enough that the outcome wouldn't affect my mood. So I don't really want to fight him."
"Oh?"
Netero's tone rose slightly.
"Why wouldn't you be close enough? Isn't he your guardian?"
As the question fell, Kisho slammed his palm down hard on the small table in front of Netero.
With a crack, a smooth, clean fracture split across the tabletop.
But Kisho no longer cared about the table. He stared straight at Netero, disbelief in his voice as he shot back,
"What did you just say—?!"
"Guardian"?
What the hell was that supposed to mean?!
"You broke the table. You'll have to compensate for it at full price later."
Netero glanced at the cracked table, clearly not satisfied with how much he had already provoked Kisho, and continued,
"Come to think of it, you're the only candidate in all these years of the Hunter Exam who has had a guardian accompany them."
Kisho: "..."
Kisho: "..."
Kisho: "..."
Everything went black before Kisho's eyes.
Scenes from the past flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.
"Guardian."
"Fake identity."
"A signature on the consent form where only the first initial was legible."
Kisho slowly let out a breath—then nearly failed to catch it again.
The happier he had smiled in front of C·L before, the more despair he felt now.
He was dead. Socially dead.
He was even starting to consider whether suicide to return to his previous world—switching dimensions altogether—might be a viable option.
At this moment, he felt exactly like his number badge.
Damn it—Chrollo must have done it on purpose!
Why wasn't he dead already?!
"What's wrong? Judging by your reaction, do you not know him?"
Netero feigned confusion.
"But according to the identity information you registered with, candidate number 234 is indeed your guardian. Or could it be…"
Netero winked at Kisho, clearly asking what he already knew.
"—that the identity you used to register was fake?"
Kisho ground his teeth.
"…It's real."
Netero continued playing dumb.
"Then his identity?"
Kisho clenched his teeth so hard they nearly cracked.
"…Guardian…"
Netero laughed.
"Hohohoho! Then there's no problem."
Kisho was absolutely certain this man already knew everything.
Yet he still asked these questions—clearly just to enjoy watching him flustered and humiliated.
Annoying old man!
The head of the Hunter Association and the head of the Spiders—neither of them were good people!
A gentleman takes revenge ten years later. One day, he would kill everyone who knew about this past! Kill them all!
Kisho took a deep breath, closed his eyes, then snapped them open.
To hell with waiting for the future. He would take revenge now. Immediately.
So what if it was acting? Who didn't know how to act?!
Pretending to be an ordinary person, huh? Then don't you dare revert when it's time to fight!
From another angle, maybe… this was actually the perfect opportunity to beat someone up and get revenge!
"I've changed my mind."
Kisho looked at Netero, eyes blazing.
"The person I most want to fight is my 'guardian.'"
Netero's eyes gleamed with amusement.
"Oh?"
"It's perfectly normal for a ward to challenge his guardian, right?"
Kisho widened his eyes sincerely, pressed his palms together, and put on a flawless pleading expression.
"Please arrange for me to fight him. I'm begging you!"
...
After finishing his conversation with the old fox who had lived for over a hundred years, Kisho walked to the door. He took a deep breath before finally summoning the courage to pull it open.
No matter how much mental preparation he did, he really didn't want to step outside and face the reality that he had been an absolute idiot.
Behind the door stood C·L.
When he saw Kisho walk out, he gave him a slight smile.
The smile made Kisho's whole body jolt like a startled rodent. He trembled, nearly unable to stop himself from rushing up and knocking him flat with a punch—probably.
But in the next instant, Kisho composed himself. He forced a smile in return, then quickly averted his gaze.
He didn't dare look at him. The moment he did, he remembered just how painfully stupid he had been.
Behind him, Chrollo walked into the room and politely closed the door with a soft click.
Only when the lock clicked shut did Kisho finally relax, letting out a long breath.
"You're out? What did you talk about with that old man? Took you long enough."
Amos walked over and looked at him as he spoke.
His voice helped calm the storm raging in Kisho's heart. Kisho looked back at him, his gaze meaningful.
Amos stared at him in confusion.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing."
Kisho sighed, then added in a voice so soft only he could hear it,
"I just realized how right you were."
Ignore Amos's advice, and you suffer for it immediately.
----------------
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