The magical beast dragon flew into the sky, soon piercing through the clouds.
Killua absolutely didn't want to return, his intense reluctance was plain on his face.
So infuriating… that feeling of being tricked lingered.
Silva kept looking ahead. Even without seeing Killua's expression, he could sense Killua's thoughts.
That setting wasn't suitable for Killua and Gon's presence… It's simply bad timing.
Thus, following Ging and Law's intentions, Silva spoke up to take the two youngsters away, which others also preferred.
However, Silva's original intent in taking Killua and Gon wasn't to force Killua home.
Gon looked at Killua's reluctant face, then thought about the conversation with Ging. Though somewhat regretful, he got Ging's promise.
When actually meeting, many words remained unspoken. After parting, those words resurfaced from the heart.
The magical beast dragon flew steadily, wind swirling with scattered clouds roaring past.
After about ten minutes, Killua mustered courage and said, "I don't want to go home."
Hearing this, Silva turned to look at Killua, silent.
Killua involuntarily lowered his head, repeating, "I don't want to go home now."
The first sentence left no room, while the second left some.
The change between sentences reflected Killua's shifting mindset.
From mustering courage to involuntarily diminishing partly… just an interval of one sentence.
Silva remained silent for a moment, then asked, "Where do you want to go?"
'Where to...?'
Killua was momentarily speechless, instinctively looking at Gon.
Silva's gaze swept over Killua and Gon, then withdrew, looking at the blue sky and white clouds ahead.
He clearly understood: Killua's talent was the most outstanding among Zoldyck generations, but he also had a fatal flaw a killer shouldn't have… being too emotional.
Even forcing his own path onto Killua showed no obvious results.
Only after Killua ran away did he comprehend some things.
Killua wasn't a spring, so they couldn't just keep pressing.
In Silva's eyes, Killua still had killer blood, but the teaching method needed change.
"Can't answer?" Silva looked ahead.
"I..." Killua gritted his teeth, then voiced his thoughts: "I want to go with Gon to many places I've never been, eat many foods I've never tasted, see many sights I've never seen."
Gon watched Killua and Silva, knowing he shouldn't interrupt, silently observing.
"Is that so..." Silva said calmly, "Then go. Do what you want."
Hearing this, Killua was stunned.
He never expected his father to agree so easily… truly a turn of events.
"But promise me one thing."
Silva turned to look at Killua again, eyes calm.
Killua didn't ask what, just nodded silently. He felt his father had conceded, and even with demands, he wouldn't make things difficult.
"You must swear never to betray a friend," Silva said, glancing at Gon.
Among concepts instilled in Killua, making friends was a major taboo.
But Silva could see Killua's importance placed on Gon.
Since so, as a Zoldyck, either don't do it, or do it best. So the principle to uphold most was never betraying a friend.
Once tarnishing that relationship, previous resolve would become utterly laughable.
Hearing Silva's words, Killua and Gon involuntarily exchanged glances, sensing a solemn attitude from Silva.
Though Killua didn't understand why his father suddenly became so solemn, he nodded without hesitation, seriously saying, "I swear, never betray a friend, never!"
Hearing this, Silva bit his thumb.
Seeing this, Killua understood, also biting his thumb.
Thus, a large and small thumb, each bleeding, pressed together, completing the oath.
After a while, the magical beast dragon landed on an island within the Balsa Islands, dropping Killua and Gon off, then flying back into the sky.
That island nation was north of the Mitene Union, not too far.
Killua and Gon stood on a mountaintop, watching the magical beast dragon's distant figure.
After a moment, Killua sighed in relief, looking at Gon. "Let's return to the Mitene Union."
"But..." Gon showed hesitation.
"As long as we don't go to East Gorteau, it's not breaking the promise. Besides, aren't you waiting for your dad to finish the mission?" Killua said.
Gon thought it made sense and agreed.
Silva was unwilling to reveal any information about this mission. Before dropping them off, he made them promise not to go to East Gorteau.
To this, Killua and Gon agreed.
Even unclear about Law's mission, with Zeno and Netero present, they knew it must be extremely challenging.
Silva didn't mention something else, so Killua didn't know Illumi was also in the Mitene Union.
High in the sky, on the magical beast dragon's back.
Silva gave an order to speed up, so the dragon flew faster.
Facing the fierce wind, Silva's gaze was deep.
That needle in Killua's head would make Killua decisively flee when encountering danger.
This was also why Silva and Zeno could let Killua wander outside.
However, now Killua had a true friend. While wandering, dangers were inevitable.
When that time came, Killua might abandon his friend and flee.
Silva couldn't articulate which outcome he wanted. Subconsciously, he might hope Killua could independently cross this hurdle. So at parting, he demanded Killua swear never to betray a friend.
Whether that solemn oath would bring change, Silva wasn't sure.
…
With Killua and Gon no longer involved, the meeting about exterminating Chimera Ants proceeded inside Knov's Hide-and-Seek.
This meeting didn't avoid Nique. In a sense, Nique was a prisoner in Hide-and-Seek. He probably couldn't leave until this incident ended.
His role in this meeting was mostly giving not-too-objective assessments.
After all, he had been close to the King.
"Hmm."
Nique chewed grass while observing the newly joined members.
Zeno, Kite, Ging...
Then he looked at Netero, curiously asking, "What did you do during this time? Though you feel much stronger, you still can't match the King."
Saying this, he looked at Kite. "If he faces any Royal Guard alone, he'll definitely die."
Hearing this assessment, Kite remained calm.
Nique then looked at Zeno. "You're weaker than Netero."
Zeno knew this himself.
Nique then looked at Ging, pondered for a moment, then shrugged. "You... I can't conclude. You feel extremely dangerous, yet also feel non-threatening."
"Is that so." Ging pinched his chin.
Finally, Nique couldn't help but look at Law, saying gravely, "In terms of Aura alone, I can assert you're on par with the three Royal Guards. Yet the feeling you give me is far more terrifying than them. This is something I never understood."
"To put it bluntly..."
Nique furrowed his brows, words surfacing in his mind were unclear.
Not lacking vocabulary, but hard to describe that feeling.
Facing Law, fear always arose involuntarily, as if Law had stepped over countless corpses of his kind to stand before him.
"Anyway, I suggest you don't fight alone, but act in groups. Especially against the King. If fighting solo, I think only Law has a chance to survive."
Survive, not defeat the King.
Saying this, Nique thought: 'Oops, got carried away.'
"The King… I'll handle him alone."
Just as Nique wondered how to proceed, Netero spoke.
His words attracted everyone's attention.
Watching this, Nique secretly sighed in relief.
'Better to keep a low profile indeed.'