"So, are you moving in or not? Geez, are you actually hesitating? Don't tell me you want to stay in the same apartment as The Phantom Troupe?"
I almost forgot if you didn't remind me. Feitan just didn't go back for one night. It doesn't mean he won't go back after that. Wait, how do you know I'm in the same apartment as The Phantom Troupe? Did you arrange this behind the scenes?
"Huh? You're giving me a look like you're blaming me for your bad luck. What are you thinking about, Kusuo? If you want to wipe out the Troupe, your brother can help."
I'm not thinking about anything. It's settled then. Where's your place?
"It's a stand-alone villa by the river on the island. Kusuo, you can have an indoor pool, indoor boating, or even an indoor concert if you want. You can even ride an indoor motorcycle to remember your childhood."
How big is this indoor area anyway?
"Basically, everything's best done indoors. There are also rooms of all sizes, large, medium and small. Find one you like. You can go out and wander around if you feel safe during class hours. Just don't wander around too much when class isn't in session. You'll easily run into strange Nen users..."
Saiki Kusuke wasn't such a talkative person before.
Saiki Kusuo hugged apples, bananas, and other food, listening to Kusuke's instructions word by word.
"Hmm? Why are you suddenly a good little listener?" Saiki Kusuke noticed something was off.
Saiki Kusuo shook his head. No, it's just that a psychic without powers doesn't know everything. He really needs to listen to someone to get information.
Saiki Kusuke said a lot, but it was useful. Saiki Kusuo is no longer someone who can see the entire environment at a glance.
"It's cute that you're being so good." Saiki Kusuke took some of the things in Saiki Kusuo's hands, but didn't spoil him completely, only taking 2/3.
You already decided not to take everything, so why not take half? Saiki Kusuo wondered.
Saiki Kusuke: Your brother should be able to carry more than his little brother.
But he didn't say it out loud.
In the days that followed, Saiki Kusuo entered a period of rest.
A huge villa, a view of the riverside, and complete infrastructure on the other side of the island, from small things like roads, traffic lights, to large things like shops, exchanges, and restaurants.
This island within the school feels like it could be a self-sustaining island.
Class time is when Saiki Kusuo can stroll around, because during class time, students must be in the classroom. Each homeroom teacher is a supervisor. If a student skips class without permission, the security can be contacted to bring the student back.
So strict. After figuring this out, Saiki Kusuo dared to wander around during the day. Occasionally, he encountered some people, who could basically be assumed to be people transformed from dark creatures.
In a park, Saiki Kusuo was waiting in line to buy ice cream dorayaki from a mobile cart.
You heard right, ice cream dorayaki, a strange combination of hot and cold that sounds like something very magical. He was also very curious.
Today is Thursday, mid-August, and the weather is still hot. People are sitting in the shade of trees, having completely random news discussions between NPCs.
"Did you hear? People are already buying houses in that new, highly completed neighborhood from the sales office!"
"That's amazing. It's almost finished overnight. As expected of our Dark Continent's construction speed. A lot of buildings are completed overnight."
"But seriously, we don't really need houses... And the houses are just on sale. I heard it will take a while before we can move in."
"Heh heh heh, you don't understand. The new houses are unique. Each room will have very unique changes, referencing the interior decoration of nearly 8,000 residences in the human world..."
Very boring content. Saiki Kusuo is only one person away from ordering his ice cream dorayaki. Just bear with it a little longer.
"Who did you hear this information from? I've never heard of it..."
"The manager of the sales office, Shalnark, told me. Heh heh heh, he also told me that if I have a lot of money, I should consider buying a few more houses. Those buildings, the future appreciation potential, you lower beings can't even imagine."
What name did that person just say? Is it a coincidence?
"Who are you calling a lower being? You're a lower being too!"
They started arguing.
"I'm a successful elite man with a white-collar job! I'm different from you guys who have to sew and mend clothes!"
In a situation where everyone is allocated according to their needs, there's still job discrimination.
"Hmph! I'm not talking to you guys anymore. I'm going to sign my contract!"
"What did you say? A contract! Is it that kind of human contract, sacred, with a sense of mission and legal effect, the one where you have to put your fingerprint on it? But we don't have fingerprints!"
It's just a contract! So you guys don't have fingerprints!
"You can even sign that kind of thing. What are you going to sign with?"
"You can sign a contract just by buying a house!"
What are these dark creatures so excited about?
"Manager Shalnark said you can sign if you buy a house. Just be jealous! Heh heh heh..."
That NPC walked away.
The NPC in front of Saiki Kusuo finally finished buying his ice cream dorayaki. Saiki Kusuo was about to order when he suddenly saw a strange scene.
In the park next door, a lot of little old men and women appeared one after another, coming from the trees, from the bushes, from some unnoticed corners, doing backflips or crawling nimbly towards the park entrance.
Some dark creatures noticed Saiki Kusuo's presence and began to cough desperately, reminding their companions to be careful with their disguises.
"Cough!"
"Cough cough cough!"
"Cough, cough cough! Cough cough cough... Ugh!"
Hey, the last one, just pretend a little. You're coughing up blood already!
Like a zombie rush, a group of old people left the park, and the park immediately fell into desolation, with some dark creature babies left behind.
Really stop pretending. What's with this broken family where parents leave their children behind?
"My friend, do you still want an ice cream dorayaki?" the mobile cart vendor asked.
"Yes, please. One vanilla ice cream dorayaki with red bean paste filling."
"Alright! Hey friend, do you know about that housing development?"
Not interested, and I don't have any money.
"Actually, recently, we haven't had any new buildings appear. In addition, more people have been allocated different jobs. There are situations where people have to work two jobs a day. How could we build new buildings in this situation? If it's just a simple residence, we just expanded the whole thing ten days ago."
"I heard that 20 identical buildings suddenly appeared overnight in that neighborhood. It sounds worrying..."
Saiki Kusuo was silent.
Kusuke has lost his powers now. If it was last night, it definitely wasn't Kusuke who did it.
Then who could it be? Plus Shalnark, who those people just mentioned, Saiki Kusuo inevitably thought of another member of the Troupe.
Korutopi, his ability is God's Right Hand, Devil's Left Hand. The ability sounds so complicated, but it's actually just copying. Once in Yorknew City, the Troupe used Korutopi's copying ability to clone many buildings to hide the location of the real building.
So what is The Phantom Troupe doing? Are they playing the "incomplete construction trick" after failing to steal abilities? The houses built with their abilities will disappear, right?
But the victims are dark creatures, and the money is directly allocated, so I don't feel bad at all even if they get scammed.
Saiki Kusuo took the dorayaki from the vendor. The warm skin was a little hot to the touch. Is there really ice cream inside? Whether it's good or not, the aroma has already attacked my nose...
=~=
"Asking people out during class time will get them points deducted, little Illumi~"
What was that sound? Saiki Kusuo's smile suddenly disappeared.
At this moment, Saiki Kusuo was sitting on a park bench eating a dorayaki. The sound came from the bushes behind him.
Illumi leaned against a tree, and Hisoka crouched in the grass. From their higher viewpoint, they couldn't see any of the scoring dark creatures.
"With the artificial scoring of dark creatures, it's easier to identify people and NPCs." Illumi ignored Hisoka's complaints. "There's definitely a reason why I'm looking for you. Do you know about the arena?"
"Hmm~ I've heard of it recently, but I don't know the details. Anyway, we can fight, right?"
"There's a fee to fight."
Saiki Kusuo put his head down, praying they wouldn't see him.
There were no scoring dark creatures around him, probably because of his status, as the main bodies of those dark creature leaders don't need to be scored.
Illumi probably didn't notice him because of this.
Illumi introduced in a cold voice, "I'll tell you a few important rules.
One, you need to get a ticket from the teachers to participate in the arena competition. The tickets cannot be bought, sold, or stolen. The more people, the better. Don't just stand there and rob them.
Two, the winner of the arena competition can get the loser's points, but the number of points obtained is the lower of the two sides' points. In other words, if I have 10 points and you only have 1 point, if you win, you can only get 1 point.
Three, the headmaster and the three guards will participate in the arena competition."
Hisoka perked up. "The headmaster and the three guards? That headmaster's aura is very charming..."
"Hmm, Hisoka, you probably can't beat him. Don't forget, these are dark creatures. But you should be able to challenge the level of the Royal Guards."
"Heh heh heh~ I know, I've smelled their scent..."
Is Hisoka a dog?
"You seem too excited. I feel like there's fruit nearby..." Hisoka said.
Is Hisoka a dog!?
"Is that so? Where?" Illumi was about to look around.
"Little Illumi..."
"Hmm?"
"Both my hands are pointing at you."
"Oh, I won't fight."
Saiki Kusuo's face darkened. Are these two teasing him?
Illumi said, "The arena's battle mode is still unknown. If possible, I'll help you fight Chrollo one-on-one at this step."
Saiki Kusuo remembered the plan he had heard earlier that Illumi had made with Hisoka.
Is the Troupe-Hisoka battle coming? And it's in the arena again, plus Chrollo has now exposed a few abilities that overlap with those in the manga.
Will it happen? The exact same scene, although I reminded him not to take the Troupe members' abilities before, he'll definitely take them casually when he really needs them.
That would really be a chaotic scene, a death match where the audience and the judges are all taken hostage.
"The competition in the arena should be very fierce. Like a pyramid, there will definitely be us among those standing at the top..."
During their discussion, Saiki Kusuo finished eating his ice cream dorayaki and slowly walked away.
Illumi leaned against the tree trunk facing a different direction, so he didn't notice. Hisoka shifted his gaze, staring at the empty space next to the mobile cart and licking his lips.
There was no one there, but I feel like something is attracting me.
"Little Illumi, I heard there's a ghost story at school. Will investigating that get us tickets?"
"All we know so far is that helping teachers or completing assignments, or making special contributions to the school, may get you tickets."
"Heh heh heh~ Can I have a date with you tonight?"
"Are you afraid of the dark?"
"Won't the results of a two-person investigation only give one reward?"
"Student council members can get tickets directly."
...
Saiki Kusuo ran into Illumi and Hisoka in the college area and learned that the Troupe skips class, so he suddenly felt that the college area was dangerous.
So he crossed the bridge and headed for the high school area, where the people are weaker and safer.
He didn't go to the teaching building first, but went towards the stadium. The stadium was very quiet. Originally thinking there was no one here, Saiki Kusuo was walking under the shady trees on the avenue when a ninja suddenly pulled him into the bushes from behind!
I knew this world had ninjas! The world is full of dangers, and everyone, no matter where they are, should be highly vigilant!
"Shhh!! Kusuo, how dare you walk on the avenue!"
Wrong person, not a ninja, it's my little brother.
But why can't I walk on the avenue? Roads are built for people to walk on. Could it be that in the three days I haven't been to school, there have been robbers on the road!
"The scoring monster will float above everyone's highest surface. No matter how well you hide, that little thing will expose you first! You can only crawl forward!"
Although, who are you hiding from?
Killua took out a tape from his pocket. "Today, all the humans in the high school department are here. That leader of The Phantom Troupe actually kicked all the dark creatures out of this game."
I see, it's class time. Killua, are you skipping gym class? If that guy is the teacher, it's understandable.
"The top three teams that grab the most tapes will get three tickets. Someone as excellent as me still has to find a way to participate in the arena to contribute to Kurapika's victory!" Killua said.
What is Chrollo teaching in class? Don't teach the Zoldyck family to rob!
"Blinky, suck the tape over here."
The tape in Killua's hand suddenly had a great suction force! Killua immediately braced himself to protect the tape! Saiki Kusuo also instinctively stopped Killua.
Looking up, it was Shizuku walking on the avenue, holding Blinky like a vacuum cleaner, sucking up everything in every bush.
What a brutal method. Chrollo prepared this game so Shizuku could get tickets. What blatant cheating.