Kusuko followed behind with a blank face, his eyes staring at Chrollo's back.
He's the leader of The Phantom Troupe, a big bad guy known around the world, right? Why doesn't he just take care of things himself? He's strong enough to do it.
Kikyo could only think about it. If those two really fought, he wouldn't stand by. He might even try to stop them.
After all, if the main body is hurt, the clone will disappear. That's a big reason why he has to protect the main body so closely.
But he really doesn't like Chrollo. He's just a big pain, right?
Back in Yorknew City, the main body had something really important to do, like saving the world. But he had to send a clone to take care of things with The Phantom Troupe. He was just thinking "What a pain" as he went to Yorknew City.
Chrollo probably isn't the main body's friend, like Illumi said. He doesn't seem like it at all.
Chrollo felt the stare and turned around. He only saw Kusuko.
And the polite young man who was always with them.
The young man smiled politely and took out a thermos from his bag. "Want some hot water? I saw you have instant noodles."
That dark creature is definitely watching him.
"Thanks. Why are you following us?"
"You're new to this prison area, so I thought you might need some help. Just think of me as a guide," the young man said with a smile.
Saiki Kusuo: The prison warden is calling himself a guide.
Kusuko casually took a few steps forward, following by Saiki Kusuo's feet, out of Chrollo's sight.
Each area has 1-2 people in charge. They manage all the dark creatures in their area and also communicate with each other. This communication is something they're born with, like how insects use their antennae. Even Kusuko can't learn it on his own.
It's better to have an assistant to order around than to use telepathy to listen to the dark creatures' thoughts.
This is more effective than giving orders with his mind. For example, the assistant quickly changed the prison settings, and helped get items from other areas.
Before players take over as leaders, each area has its own dark creature leader. After players become leaders, the original dark creature leader is really important. If you have a good relationship, you can control all the dark creatures in the area. Then the area will be much safer. Kikyo, many players haven't realized this yet.
"Just a guide? When I first met you, I thought you had more leadership than the other guards."
Many players haven't realized...
"Before it became an actor theme, this place was a prison theme, right? You handled the change the best,"
Hopefully, it's not too easy to figure out…
"Sorry to ask, but were you the 'leader' here before I became leader? The system said 'The leader has changed to a player.'"
Kusuko: I hate Chrollo.
The young man, the former leader, the dark creature leader, bowed slightly, not answering right away. He was asking Kusuko for his opinion.
Kusuko used telepathy to send a message: [Don't worry about what I think. I can't control the will of 25 leaders. Just do what you think is best. They figured it out already, so you don't need to pretend.]
"Yes, I was," the young man said. "I was the prison warden here. Now I'm probably like a director. I've heard about your acting, even though I didn't see it myself. It was amazing. Everyone was impressed. So everyone is happy to help you with things."
"You're too kind. It's just that people here aren't good at this. I'm not as good as real actors. Can I ask the guards to help us with things in the future? In return, I'll do whatever I can to give you things you want or need."
"Can I really say?" The young man looked down, thinking. He was really looking at Kusuko's tail.
The tail was wagging, not caring. So the young man felt safe to say, "We want to be closer to humans."
"Human life is interesting, but we've only learned one thing: how to be unfriendly with humans as guards or prisoners."
"If we have the chance... we want to get to know you humans better."
Chrollo was surprised, but it made sense. He already felt that these creatures were curious about humans when he was in Romance City. The only difference is that the creatures there are more outgoing, while these ones seem more polite.
They're not annoying.
"Are you sure the other guards feel the same way?"
"Yes, I'm sure. We're all connected."
"I understand. But I'll give you that reward later. It's not the right time now. I hope you don't tell them..."
"We're all connected," the young man reminded him. "So they all know already. But they'll keep it a secret."
Creatures who share all their thoughts... I wonder if the dark creatures in other areas are the same.
After realizing this, Chrollo smiled at the young man, talking to everyone through one person. "Okay, then everyone, look forward to three days later..."
Saiki Kusuo: Hey.
Why three days? I thought we were only staying for two.
"Don't you think this could be a better base than Romance City?"
What's good about a prison? I'm just a normal person now. I don't have books or comics. Life is boring enough. I'll be sad if I have to eat prison food.
"We're not prisoners. Why would we eat prison food?"
Saiki Kusuo: ?
…
Dinner time.
In the warden's office, the former warden's desk was set with six dishes and a soup.
Saiki Kusuo picked up a knife and pressed the blade on the crispy skin of the roasted duck. Oil seeped out from the duck skin. When the knife went down, the juice and tempting smell flowed out.
Next to him, Chrollo cut the steak into bite-sized pieces without making a sound against the plate. He picked up a piece with the tip of his knife, dipped it in egg yolk, and ate it gracefully.
The iron plate under the fish was sizzling.
Across the table, the young man carefully arranged the same steak into pieces on a small plate. Then, hidden by the large fish plate, he took the small plate off the table and quietly placed it next to him.
Kusuko, who was squatting on the seat, ate them one by one.
"I didn't have much time to prepare, so I don't know if you'll like it. The chefs here don't usually make desserts, but I've already asked someone to get some from Romance City."
Saiki Kusuo: Don't worry, this is already more than I expected. It would be better if we had rice.
"Prisoners have to eat bland food, but we've been trying human food. After all, the guards' food can't be the same as the prisoners' food, right?"
Don't use fancy foods to show your status. The guards' food is definitely not that good.
"But, leader, now that it's an acting theme, why not let the other prisoners eat this food too, instead of giving them boxed lunches?" the young man asked Chrollo.
"Everyone in the drama crew outside eats boxed lunches," Chrollo said. "And this kind of food can make everyone want something. With a goal, you can..."
It's sad to have a leader like that.
"I won't go into the plan now. By the way, Warden, do you have a name?"
"Yes, I'm called Kold."
That's a familiar name. There isn't someone called Reina, too.
Chrollo heard it: "Reina?"
Don't say it.
"Oh? You know Reina! She's my sister! You two are from Romance City. The former leader there is Reina. Our names were given to us by... a human. We really like our names."
"Okay, then I'll call you Kold from now on," Chrollo said.
Even though there were only a few dishes, it was hard for the three of them to finish it all.
Kold: "It's okay. I'll share what's left with my partners."
Chrollo: "Thank you. It's getting late. Saiki, you should go to sleep. Average people sleep. I've already asked Kold to get some books for you. Just ask if you need anything."
How did you become a leader of a small area and act like a king?
"I'm not going to sleep tonight."
Good luck, hard-working king. The world needs you.
Average person Saiki Kusuo's requests aren't that high. A normal life, normal food and drink, normal.
In the prison infirmary, two beds were put together, and one person slept soundly.
At night, Chrollo sat in front of the surveillance wall in the broadcasting room. As he expected, many small groups among the 40 prisoners were whispering in the night.
The air conditioner in the broadcasting room was broken. Even though it was night, the room was getting hotter. Chrollo took off his coat, and Kold, who had been following him, took it.
"Please keep watching the surveillance. I'll hang the coat over there. I asked someone to take an air conditioner from a shop outside. We can just switch them to fix it."
It was a silly idea because the dark creatures didn't know much about air conditioners. Chrollo nodded, understanding. "You don't have to be so polite. I'll install the air conditioner myself. It's less likely to mess up."
"Thank you. Can I get people to watch? Many people want to watch," Kold said sincerely.
Chrollo nodded. "Yes, but only three people."
"Then can I go out later and let four people watch?"
"You're really curious about humans. Sure," Chrollo said casually.
There might be four people, but he might not be able to handle 1 vs 4 if things got out of control.
But by now, he had a better idea of the rules here. It was strange, but it made sense. He started to believe some things...
Behind him, the young man reached into Chrollo's coat pocket and quietly took out the power-limiting collar and put it in his chest. Then he hung the coat on the rack, waiting for the moment to send it out.
At night, outside the infirmary, the surveillance camera recorded everything in front of the door.
No one came, but the infirmary door was quietly opened a crack and then closed again.
At the same time, Chrollo, who was supposed to be watching the surveillance, was installing the air conditioner and being cheered by the dark creatures. He glanced at the surveillance wall from the ladder. The door to Saiki Kusuo's room was closed. There were no problems on either surveillance camera, inside or outside the building.
The bright moonlight shined into the room, onto a white-haired figure. He was sitting by the bed, picking up Saiki Kusuo's hair, making sure he was sleeping deeply, and influencing his dreams with telepathy.
He saw Saiki Kusuo having a nice dream, a dream where he lost his powers. Saiki Kusuo was living in his old world as a normal person. In the dream, he went to school with Alluka, Killua, and Milluki. The three younger siblings went into middle school, and he went to his own high school. There were many familiar faces from the Hunter world in the high school. The teacher at the door was Wing. The homeroom teacher was a black-haired man with a tattoo on his face...
The magician!!
White Saiki Kusuo quickly controlled the dream and turned Chrollo into Hisoka, who didn't perm or dye his hair.
That scared him. If the Chrollo body came out, he would be scared and wake up, too.
[Nightmare...] Saiki Kusuo said in his dream.
So it didn't get any better?
White Saiki Kusuo pulled Saiki Kusuo's blanket off a little. He carefully reached out and touched Saiki Kusuo's neck, going to the back of the neck and pulling down his pajamas.
Good, as he expected. Superpowers or not, these kind of people are lowkey when they are sleeping.
He took out the power-limiting device and played with it.
There were a bunch of his eyes during the siege battle. It was easy to figure out what each switch did.
He carefully put the collar on Saiki Kusuo and opened the switch that removed the energy.
Once every two days should be safe, he thought. He'd replace the one Chrollo had with a fake. He had mastered the ability to create things. The main body wasn't good at creating things out of thin air, but it was easy for him.
The night wind blew into the room. White Saiki Kusuo's face didn't show any expression. The clouds hid the moonlight for a moment. When the moonlight came back to the room, the person was gone. Only a white cat was on the pillow.
They would have a normal life, or Kusuko would create a normal life for her.