Balaril.
In a cemetery halfway up a mountain, overlooking a vast lake.
At this moment, a young man in a suit, his blond hair neatly slicked back, stood before a grand, newly erected tomb.
He knelt quietly in front of the grave.
The space around the tomb was covered with offerings of flowers — most already wilted, leaving only the topmost bouquet still fresh.
Clearly, it was just placed there by this young man.
"Dad, look."
He held up a tablet computer toward the stately photograph of the elderly man on the gravestone. A video was playing on the screen.
"Dad, you have to watch carefully… not a single one of those demons who hurt you was spared.
"Look — this despicable demon confessed all his vile deeds himself. Now everyone in the world can see his wretched face.
"Listen — their screams and wails as they endured that horrible punishment, that's the perfect offering to you!
"And finally… their hearts were pierced, one by one. That was the sharp blade of justice delivering its final judgment!"
The young man's voice trembled slightly, but his eyes were blazing with determination.
"Dad… you can rest in peace now."
"My son was incompetent and failed to notice that you were being controlled by those devils earlier. In the end, I stood by and watched you die at their hands.
"But today… I, Terry Robert, have avenged you with the help of the world's number one assassin family, the Zoldycks!
"We've also saved many innocent people in the process. Surely the gods will see this merit, and you will live a happy and peaceful life in heaven from now on!"
Wiping away his tears, the young man named Terry took out his phone and made a call:
"Hello. I've received the video. As expected of the Zoldyck family — I'm very satisfied with the quality of the job. You lived up to the commission, Mr. Killer."
From the other end came an emotionless, mechanical voice:
"Please transfer the payment to the account as soon as possible. Goodbye."
"Please wait! Let me say a few more words."
Terry hadn't expected the other party to hang up so quickly, cutting him off before he could finish.
"…Go ahead."
Hearing that the other party didn't refuse outright, Terry immediately said:
"To be honest, even I thought at the time that the revised commission requirements were impossible to achieve."
"Actually, I just wanted to give it a try. If you had really told me it couldn't be done, I would've let you carry out the original plan.
"But I have to say, you are so professional that you actually accomplished something so incredible. I think even ten billion isn't enough to repay you.
"That's why I've decided to add another ten billion, for a total of twenty billion. I'll have it transferred to your account today."
In Terry's view, money was the thing he had in abundance. In the eyes of outsiders, he was the least favored illegitimate child of the family — but in reality, he had been running his own business under a secret identity for years.
And now, his business had already grown into the second-largest conglomerate in Balaril, right behind the Robert family.
Twenty billion? He could even come up with a hundred billion if he wanted to.
For someone to complete such a difficult commission, twenty billion was more than worth it.
"…I appreciate your generosity," the mechanical voice replied flatly, "but I cannot accept your praise.
"Because I myself did not have the ability to handle the revised commission. The one who truly carried it out was my eldest brother.
"I will be sure to pass along your compliments to him exactly as you said."
When he heard that, Terry couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.
"So that's how it is… it was your brother who completed it."
"Okay, it's great to have a brother you can rely on. I'm so envious of you.
"Haha, I never thought that even a cold-blooded killer family like yours would still rely on each other and help each other.
"Look at our Robert family — also called the number one family in Balaril — yet the relatives are all fighting over the inheritance, not even recognizing each other as family.
"What's the point of such a family continuing to exist?"
The other side clearly didn't expect Terry to suddenly say such a thing. After a short silence, the mechanical voice replied:
"If you need, you can also ask me to help you deal with the trash. I can give you a 10% discount."
Even though the voice was still flat and emotionless, Terry could tell that the other party was a little… pleased.
Mr. Killer must have a very good relationship with his brother. Thinking of this, Terry felt even more envious.
"Haha, that won't be necessary. My brothers and sisters may be useless, but they're still my family. No matter what, I can't really bring myself to kill them.
"Mr. Killer, I believe even your killer family has this bottom line, right?"
"…
"That's the end of this call. If you have any further requests, feel free to contact me anytime.
"Goodbye."
…
Balaril Art Exhibition Center, lounge.
"Ilmi, your client is really something. Thanks to him, your brother here just made another 5 billion."
After taking photos with another group of fans, Hiro finally found a moment to retreat back to the lounge and sip some hot tea.
Before he could even sit down properly, Illumi's call came through.
Illumi relayed the client's reaction: very satisfied with the result, not only increasing the payment but also giving Hiro lavish praise.
"Brother, you know I'm a low-key person. So why were you so honest about it?
"When someone praises you, just take it. Why push the credit onto your brother?
"Anyway, the client doesn't know who you really are. Him praising you is the same as praising the Zoldyck family.
"And him praising the Zoldyck family is the same as praising me, your brother, isn't it?
"Don't you think that's how it works?"
Illumi was quiet for a moment, clearly not wanting to argue with Hiro's roundabout nonsense. He simply waited for Hiro to finish his little speech and finally replied in his usual flat tone:
"…Is that so…"
"What do you mean 'is that so'? Speak more confidently, little brother. Say: Yes, it is."
"…Yes…"
"… …"
Oh, Illumi. You dare to perfunctorily brush me off like that? Just wait and see how your brother will deal with you later.
"Well then, now that the commission's over, if little Ilmi has some free time, shouldn't you come over and support your brother's exhibition?
"And really now, you're already 24 years old and still don't even have a girlfriend? Are you just too introverted?
"There are so many beautiful young ladies here at the exhibition, plenty of them are my fans too. Come over, I'll introduce a few to you.
"What type do you like? Cute? Sexy?
"…Wait… don't tell me you're into someone like Hisoka? Oh my god~"
"..."
Haha, silenced by me, you little brat!
Just as Hiro was about to press his advantage and tease him even more, the agent Colleen opened the door, poked her head in and said:
"Mr. Hiro, there's a very special fan asking for you outside. It'd be a shame not to come out and take a photo with him."
Hiro shot Colleen an "OK" gesture and, before hanging up, took one last chance to speak into the phone:
"Alright, I'm busy again. Got a dinner party tonight too. Don't wait for me — go have a romantic candlelight dinner with Hisoka."
........................
📢 Author's Note:
Hi everyone! 🌟
Thank you so much for reading and supporting Hiro's journey so far. Your comments, votes, and power stones mean the world to me and keep me motivated to write more chapters for you!
If we can reach 50 power stones this week, I'll release 5 bonus chapters as a thank-you to all of you amazing readers. 💎✨
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Stay tuned… and happy reading! 🙌