Theta was lost in thought when Salkov nudged him gently.
He looked up to see the Fourth Prince, Tserriednich, running a hand through his hair as he stepped away from the communication channel.
Perfect timing.
"Let's go~" Tserriednich said casually to Theta and Salkov as they approached.
There was a glint of curiosity in his eyes, and a faint smile played on his lips.
"Have the guards assemble. I want to learn more about this next topic~"
So it's really happening...
Theta and Salkov exchanged a brief, knowing glance, then gave a subtle nod.
...
Meanwhile, in the Seventh Prince's quarters—
"I see... so there's a guardian Nen beast behind me."
Seventh Prince Luzurus—tall, lean, with a mustache and tufts of fluffy hair on either temple—lay languidly on a plush sofa. His long nose and sharply pointed chin gave him an almost theatrical appearance.
He took a drag from a luxurious, jewel-encrusted pipe and exhaled slowly, his voice laced with curiosity.
"Even if the guardian beast is here to protect me... I can't actually command it directly, right?"
Just as Theta had suspected, the other princes—and their guards—had also heard the term "Nen beast" over the public channel.
That single word ignited curiosity across the royal quarters. One by one, the princes began looking into it.
Luzurus had caught wind of it during the banquet and had immediately summoned his guards afterward to dig for details.
"Yes, that's correct," said one of the guards—one of the few knowledgeable in Nen, recruited through official channels.
He glanced nervously at the beast standing behind Luzurus: a grotesque fusion of creatures—mite-like head, centipede body, dragonfly limbs, and crab-like pincers for a tail.
The guard swallowed hard before continuing, his voice stiff with tension.
Its sheer size was overwhelming.
While the other princes had their own beasts—like the Twelfth Prince Momoze's mouse-like creature, or the one-eyed, bull-like beast perched on Ninth Prince Halkenburg's shoulder—none were even a third the size of Luzurus's monster.
It filled nearly two-thirds of the entire room.
Its insectoid, glowing green eyes bore down on them, triggering the primal sense that something unnatural was watching. Even trained royal guards felt the pressure. Some were so disturbed by its pulsating, blotchy carapace that they envied those who didn't know Nen—at least they couldn't see the thing.
"How long would it take me to learn Nen?" Luzurus asked, almost idly.
"Normally, about a year… for someone with average talent to learn how to see aura."
The guard answered cautiously, drawing from his own experience.
It was the truth.
Not everyone was like Zushi or Gon and Killua—prodigies among a hundred thousand.
An average person could take an entire year to reach the basics.
That's why the Hunter Association assigns certified Hunters to train examinees after they pass the test. If they can't learn Ten within a year, they're considered to have failed the hidden portion of the exam.
That said, such failures are rare. After all, anyone who can pass the Hunter Exam usually has above-average potential.
"In that case... it's totally meaningless~"
Luzurus's interest waned the moment he heard "a year."
The Succession War would only last two months. If Nen mastery took longer, it wasn't even worth considering.
He exhaled a puff of smoke, a little bored, and waved his hand lazily.
"Let's stick to the original plan—follow Tubeppa's lead and take things step by step."
What Fifth Prince Tubeppa had said wasn't wrong. The Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Princes really weren't competing seriously.
Luzurus took another drag from his pipe. The smoke seemed to bring him some clarity, and a mischievous glint flashed in his eyes.
"If abilities like this are part of the game... things might get messy."
"If the other princes' soldiers and guards don't understand Nen, I could end up with a huge advantage."
He tapped the pipe toward his guards.
"Rotate shifts. Make sure there's always someone with Nen knowledge near me. And if you spot any Nen beasts, report everything they do. Immediately."
"Yes, sir!" responded the guards in unison—including Clone No. 2 of Ronnel, who was quietly observing everything.
...
Truth be told, the Seventh Prince didn't seem to have much ambition in the Succession War. He probably intended to play the fisherman—watching calmly from the sidelines while others fought, ready to benefit once both sides were exhausted.
Clone No. 2 had seen enough since boarding the ship. Luzurus spent his time drinking and smoking without restraint.
If he'd been more careful, his earlier missteps wouldn't have gotten his subordinates kicked out of the Hunter Exam. Later, he'd even clashed with the Association.
Clone No. 2 reached the same conclusion as Clone No. 1.
...
At that moment, Clone No. 1 was with the Sixth Prince, Tyson.
"So... if the Egg in the Pot ritual caused all this, that means every prince is possessed by a Nen beast, right?"
Tyson lounged on a bench, arms outstretched, luxuriating under the touch of several handsome men massaging her shoulders. She let out a satisfied hum.
The name Tyson might bring to mind a world-class heavyweight boxer—someone burly, intimidating, muscular.
But the reality couldn't be more different.
Sixth Prince Tyson of the Kakin Empire was petite, round, and short. Her narrow-topped, wide-bottomed face resembled a melon, accentuated by two dark mole-like eyebrows.
The result? Far from elegant. In fact—objectively speaking—she was hideous.
And yet, Tyson was unmistakably a woman.
Not just any woman—she was a swordswoman with a taste for beautiful, chiseled male bodyguards.
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (799 chapters in total)