Kurapika sat in the private room for a long time before his emotions finally began to settle.
"nii-san Ronin… you…" Kurapika hesitated for a long while, but eventually asked, "Were you in the village back then?"
"I was." Ronin nodded. "My father got me out—but on the way, he was killed by Uvogin."
"Then Uvogin really is a member of the Phantom Troupe! And the two with him are murderers too!" Kurapika's eyes, which had only just returned to normal, flared into Scarlet Eyes again with the surge of emotion.
"Yes." Ronin poured him a glass of water. "So what are you going to do?"
"Revenge!" Kurapika answered without hesitation.
"Can you win?" Ronin asked again.
Kurapika fell silent.
Ronin, however, smiled with relief. What he feared most was Kurapika charging in recklessly the moment he confirmed Uvogin and the others' identities.
That was exactly why, after learning of Kurapika's movements from Milia, Ronin had rushed to the restaurant.
A portion of Ronin's own strength came from the Kurta's Scarlet Eyes. Even if only for that reason, protecting Kurapika—within reason—was something he ought to do.
It was, in a way, repaying the Kurta.
Besides, Kurapika himself had huge "investment value."
And there was another crucial point: even though Ronin had been in this world for only a little over a month, he had already confirmed one thing—
He was better suited for battle.
Scheming and politics weren't his strengths.
But Kurapika, with his delicate mind, was very good at that.
With the bond of their clan between them, Ronin was confident of one thing: with Kurapika's character, he would never betray him.
Even if Kurapika learned that Ronin was increasing his strength by fusing the clan's eyes, Ronin didn't think Kurapika would turn against him.
Ronin even believed Kurapika could become an ally in collecting Scarlet Eyes.
Of course, if things ever broke down, they would go their separate ways.
Ronin just didn't want it to come to that.
After all, he genuinely liked Kurapika as a character in the manga—and in the previous owner's memories, Kurapika had left an extremely good impression too.
Kurapika shook his head. "I can feel it—the gap between me and them is like a chasm."
"You're right." Ronin accepted the judgment directly. "If you fight them now, it's just an egg striking a stone."
"Then what about you, nii-san Ronin?" Kurapika looked at him with hope.
Ronin shook his head. "I'm still far from enough too."
Even with Milia's aura-leasing as his final trump card, Ronin didn't have much confidence about the coming game against the Troupe.
But he liked it—and he enjoyed the challenge of fighting the strong.
Maybe he was born to be a warrior.
If not, the best choice after escaping pursuit would've been to disappear and live under a false name, not to step into the spotlight so openly.
Even when Milia approached him, he had to admit he felt excited.
Not only excited to become a star fighter watched by all—
But excited for the crisis that was coming.
So he followed his instincts: he cooperated with Milia, made preparations in secret, and pushed everything toward the outcome he wanted.
The only real regret was that he hadn't found a third pair of Scarlet Eyes to fuse before facing Uvogin.
If he'd fused a third pair, the gap between him and Uvogin would be smaller—and his chances of beating or even killing Uvogin would be higher.
Kurapika's eyes dimmed slightly. "Then…"
"But even if there's a gap, I'm still going to rip a chunk of flesh off those bastard dogs first!" A savage edge surfaced on Ronin's face.
After being hunted again and again, even clay would grow angry—let alone someone like Ronin, who hated letting grudges sit overnight.
Kurapika stared at Ronin. He was shocked for a heartbeat… then admiration flooded his gaze.
nii-san Ronin really was reliable.
"nii-san Ronin, we can wait!" Kurapika tried to persuade him, forcing rationality into his voice.
No matter how badly he wanted to tear flesh from those scum, he wanted even less to lose Ronin.
But when he remembered that Ronin was about to fight Uvogin—the one who killed his father—Kurapika also felt his persuasion was weak.
"No." Ronin's expression turned solemn. "I've already made arrangements. I'll be fine. But you—if you trust me, do what I say next. Leave Heavens Arena first."
His tone was heavy, sincere.
"When I've handled things here, I'll come find you. Then we'll take back all of our people's eyes together."
"Okay."
Kurapika agreed without even thinking.
Ronin looked at him and fell silent for a moment. Then his eyes hardened with resolve.
"When we meet again, I'll tell you a secret. I hope you'll still trust me and stand with me the way you do now."
Kurapika sensed the seriousness in Ronin's voice.
It made him nervous. His mind began racing.
The only "bad" possibility he could think of was… that Ronin might never really come to meet him again.
Could it be—
"Don't overthink it." Ronin saw right through him. He patted Kurapika's shoulder and smiled. "I'm not going to gamble with my life. You go to Molding City first. Once I'm done at Heavens Arena, I'll come find you."
After seeing Kurapika off—reluctant to leave—Ronin returned to Heavens Arena feeling lighter.
Now all he had to do was prepare with everything he had for his battle with Uvogin.
Three days passed quickly.
In the waiting room, Ronin accepted the contract Milia handed him. It listed the quantified aura amount: 15,000.
This time, Ronin didn't hesitate. He signed his name.
That abstract, doodle-like Lease Devil immediately moved from Milia onto Ronin's shoulder.
"You should leave too," Ronin said, a hint of regret in his voice. "What happens next might go beyond the plan. And after this fight, I probably won't return to Heavens Arena to compete for a while."
Working with Milia had been great.
She was professional, and her Nen support was extremely effective.
"So what are you going to do next?" Milia didn't rush to split ways. "You've been investigating the mafia lately, right? That's a very profitable business. And honestly, with your abilities, you're not great at management. Want to keep working together?"
"An agent expanding into new business lines?" Ronin glanced sideways.
"Yeah. Money," Milia said, a faint smile appearing on her cool face. And this time, she didn't hide her hands. Instead she lifted one hand and tucked hair behind her ear.
Just as she expected, Ronin's eyes drifted to those delicate, beautiful hands.
"Alright."
Ronin turned. "Next stop is Molding City. I'm guessing you already knew that too."
"Of course." Milia's voice carried a rare note of concern. "Don't die."
"Relax." Ronin raised a hand in reassurance and walked out of the corridor's shadow, stepping into the crowd's view as the announcer introduced him with blazing enthusiasm.
In that instant, the audience erupted into frenzied cheers.
~~~
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