The Everika Continent stretched wider than it was tall. Horizontally long, vertically compact.
Most of the central and southern landmass belonged to the Mimbo Republic, one of the V5 superpowers.
Liam, freshly teleported from Greed Island in the middle of the night via Razor's spell card bullshit, had landed in the northwest corner. Republic of Padokea. Shizuku, meanwhile, got dropped on the opposite side of the continent. Small coastal nation on the eastern shore.
Liam pulled out the map he'd just bought and measured with his finger.
Eight thousand kilometers. Minimum.
Separated by the heavens, scattered across a thousand miles. The poetic phrase floated through his mind unbidden, probably pulled from some half-remembered drama his past life had watched.
Wait. That's terrible phrasing. Stop thinking in idioms.
Even Liam had to admit the Moon Mark's signal range was absolutely ridiculous. Telepathy across an entire continent? That shouldn't work. But it did.
He bought a second map at the newsstand, this one focused on the Republic of Padokea, and started walking through the city's night streets. The whole time, he kept the mental link open with Shizuku, Moon Mark active on Ring A.
[Find somewhere to rest first,] Liam sent. He'd tried looking at the map while communicating telepathically and discovered his attention kept splitting. Multitasking sucked. He tucked the maps under his arm. [Today's been exhausting enough. Airship exploded at dawn. Drifted on the ocean all day. Finally found land, and then this happened.]
Half an hour later, Liam found a small roadside hotel and collapsed onto a surprisingly comfortable bed.
Thanks to the terrorist bombing outside Cosmo Station half a month ago, his body had grown to about 1.5 meters tall. Even though Liam claimed to be twelve years old, he could easily pass for a baby-faced teenager. No need to flash the Hunter License anymore. Getting a hotel room wasn't nearly as complicated as it had been on Ghost Island when he'd been stuck in a five-year-old's body.
He stripped off his shirt, sat cross-legged on the bed, and spread out the maps.
[Shizuku. Found a place to stay yet?]
[Found one. I'm taking a shower in the hotel bathroom right now.] Shizuku's mental voice was as calm and matter-of-fact as always, even at the telepathic level. [Ah. I need to get feed for Jaku later.]
[It's a miracle you remembered to feed them,] Liam sent back, unable to suppress a grin.
Unfortunately, mental communication meant he couldn't see her reaction. But he could picture it perfectly. That confused look. Head tilted slightly. Probably wondering why he'd said that.
A few moments passed.
[I finished washing.]
[Got the map spread out?] Liam placed his palms flat on the Everika Continent map in front of him.
[Let's figure out the route for meeting up. You're in the Zolu right now, right? Head south. Southeast corner of the continent. There's a country called Terra. Found it?]
[Mm... yes. Wait, isn't that where the Heavens Arena is? The place Liam was originally going?]
[Exactly. We'll meet there.] Liam's finger tapped the lower right corner of the map, roughly where the Arena stood. [You're closer. Go wait for me there.]
[Okay.] Shizuku agreed instantly, no hesitation. Then, after a pause: [If Liam takes an airship, you should arrive quickly, right?]
[Forget airships. I'm taking trains the whole way.]
Liam moved his finger from the lower right corner to the upper left. [Look at the northwest section. Republic of Padokea. See it?]
[There's a location marked "Kukuroo Mountain." Found it?]
[Mm... yes.]
Liam smiled. [I'll give you one minute. Use your phone to look up what that place is.]
Less than a minute later, Shizuku's mental voice returned, surprised. [Zoldyck... the assassin family?]
[Kukuroo Mountain is the Zoldyck estate,] Liam confirmed. He pushed the map aside, lay back, and crossed his legs, staring at the ceiling. [I've been dying to see it in person. It's only two or three hours away by train. Be unreasonable not to stop by for a quick visit.]
[Oh. Okay then...]
[Shizuku, what's wrong?]
Silence for a few seconds.
Then Shizuku's voice returned. [I want to see you soon.]
Damn.
Liam went quiet for more than ten seconds.
Her tone hadn't changed at all. She probably didn't even realize what she'd just said. How much damage that single sentence could do.
He rubbed his thumb gently against Ring A, the silver metal warm against his skin. After a long pause, he asked, somewhat awkwardly: [What are you doing right now?]
[Lying on the bed. I'm a little hungry.]
[Doesn't Blinky have plenty of food stored?]
[Yes.] Another pause. Probably manifesting the vacuum to pull something out.
Liam stared at the faint moonlight filtering through the window. [This is the first time we've been separated this far since we met, isn't it?]
A beat. Shizuku was likely thinking back through their time together.
[Yes.]
More quiet. Liam adjusted his position on the bed. [Don't just eat. Anyway, we don't have to speak out loud when using the Moon Mark. The boss orders you to find a topic to talk about. Long night ahead. No sleep happening. Gotta pass the time somehow.]
Shizuku took the order seriously and thought for a moment. [Did Pariston really let Chrollo steal his ability on purpose?]
[Probably. That guy's a psychopath. Can't judge him by normal logic.]
[But won't the loss outweigh the gain? If Chrollo steals his ability, doesn't that make Pariston an ordinary person who can't use Nen anymore?]
Liam considered this. [Chrollo's stolen abilities disappear if the original owner dies. Based on that principle alone, his ability definitely has some built-in protection for the victim. If I were designing Skill Hunter, I'd probably include compensation. Maybe return some aura capacity or something. Otherwise, if the target dies immediately after being stolen from, the whole theft is wasted, right?]
He paused, then added: [Besides, from Pariston's perspective, even if self-destruction makes him happy, even if he really does become a powerless civilian... so what?]
Shizuku sounded confused.
Liam smiled. [Are Nen users really that special? With Pariston's brain, if he loses his Nen, he can just pivot to politics instead. Three to five years? He'd be in a high-level government position, commanding official resources and serious power. Who cares if he can't use Nen? Just hire a Professional Hunter as a bodyguard. Someone Kanzai's level would work for the right price. What about the Phantom Troupe? Forget national military forces. Top-tier assassins from the Zoldyck family can be hired with money. None of that requires personal Nen ability.]