"Is that so... but the chance of getting along well with them is low. We are actually the same kind. The Zoldyck family stands independent outside all the world's powers, and Meteor City develops with the same goal. In recent years, the Zoldycks have started some downstream business chains and specifically taken in 40% of their staff from Meteor City people. That's help on another level."
"Well... that's true for that part. But I still feel uneasy."
Chrollo picked up his beer glass and tapped the table twice.
"By the spiders' rules, fighting us only gets you bitten and hurt with no benefits, so let's ease up on our guard against them a bit. Come on, everyone, cheers."
"Cheers!"
...
The first ray of morning sunlight shone into the room with the curtains drawn. Saiki Kusuo turned over several times, using telekinesis to pull the curtains... no use, controlling the carpet to cover it... no, he already said telekinesis can't be used! Damn it, it's rare to have such a peaceful morning.
He was just a normal person now.
With no choice, Saiki Kusuo finally faced the side where the sunlight came in and opened his blurry eyes.
He had taken off the glasses before bed, and now he didn't need to put them back on.
Saiki Kusuo sat up and looked at the window. It turned out the entire wall was floor-to-ceiling windows, letting in plenty of light.
But the middle part of the light was blocked by something dark. Saiki Kusuo rubbed his eyes and saw the back of someone standing on the balcony.
The back figure wore tight black clothes with a gold trim around the collar that reflected the light clearly. Below, black leather shoes and black pants. Saiki Kusuo was not familiar with human bodies with flesh, so he couldn't tell who it was at a glance.
But the leather coat hanging on the arm and the long white fur peeking out made the person's identity obvious.
Breaking into someone's home early in the morning was one thing, but this was the 10th floor?
Chrollo turned his head as if sensing something.
"Ah, you're awake."
He couldn't hear through the window. Saiki Kusuo got up and walked closer. She was wearing the sleep dress matched from the hotel closet. Though his original gender was male, Saiki Kusuo didn't mind wearing women's clothes in female form.
Or rather, he didn't care about gender at all, or even if he was human or not. His body could change into any shape he wanted.
On the balcony, Chrollo also turned around, facing Saiki Kusuo and waving, waiting for her to open the balcony door from inside.
Saiki Kusuo pulled the curtains closed.
Good night.
Chrollo pressed his forehead against the balcony door frame.
He took out the knife he always carried from his pocket.
Three minutes later, Chrollo opened the balcony door and slipped into the room silently.
The room was large, with a long sofa against the other wall, but lying on it would make noise. Solving that was simple. Chrollo activated his thief's extreme intent, covering Saiki Kusuo's bed with a sound-blocking ability.
He went to the sofa and was about to lie down when the door to Saiki Kusuo's room was knocked on.
Saiki Kusuo was in a luxury suite with a living room and large bathtub, a single-person type. From the cleaning staff to Saiki Kusuo's room, there were two doors and a good distance.
Because of that, the cleaning staff shouted loudly to make sure Saiki Kusuo could hear: "Guest!! Do you need! Room cleaning!! Breakfast! Has been! Delivered!!"
Chrollo: ...
Good thing he activated the ability in time.
The cleaning staff waited a bit with no response, cleared his throat, and sang out: "Cough um um, ah—ah—~ um good pronunciation nice, guest!"
The door opened, and the cleaning staff stood straight right away. The chance to clean for people on this floor was something he traded two frogs and a turtle for—that thing was hard to catch with its tough shell. He couldn't waste this opportunity; he had to perform well and try to touch the beauty's hand.
He waited with a bright smile, but instead got a man.
"Huh? Who are you?"
"Kikyo is still sleeping. Give me the breakfast. I'll feed her when she wakes up. No need to clean the room."
"Hey, wait! I checked the records—no one has entered this floor since last night..."
"Bang!" Chrollo slammed the door shut hard.
Chrollo put the breakfast tray on the entryway cabinet by the door, turned to face the door, and the fake smile on his face faded.
These love targets were not念beasts, not even human, but some kind of dark creatures. He had noticed it after brief interactions with a few targets.
Though they tried hard to learn and pretend, there were still many places where their logic didn't match humans.
For example, they couldn't control their greed for people, which gave Chrollo chills a few times. These creatures couldn't be warned with normal sense—if they got angry, they might break down the door.
Calling it love was off; what craved "love" more than people were these dark creatures.
Chrollo patiently flipped through his book and waited. Only after half an hour did he hear the creature outside leave.
The creatures walked silently when unobserved, but the cart they pushed made noise and vibrations through the floor and walls.
Chrollo pressed his hand to the wall, confirmed the creature was far away, then used his circle to check outside.
He could relax now.
The food should be fine. Chrollo lifted the metal cover off the food, and surprisingly, most of it was fried stuff.
Fried meat chunks, french fries, oil sticks, and cookies, plus a plate of nuts mixed with sauce.
What logic was behind this meal combo? He didn't think Saiki Kusuo ordered it.
He glanced over, picked up a french fry, and scooped some nut sauce.
Ah, of course.
Of course no one could resist french fries.
After eating a bit, he turned the AC down a few degrees and stood under the vent. He pulled down the zipper of his black inner shirt to his chest, shook his clothes to fan himself, but a heat feeling lingered without fading.
This was... heat rising from inside.
Chrollo got more serious, holding a french fry in his mouth. He reached one hand inside his clothes to feel his body and soon understood.
The food was as expected—no problem. The person delivering it was the issue.
Adding something to the sauce was easy, and with rules here against harming humans, the only option was that kind of drug.
But it was mild, not harmful to Nen users. Even Saiki Kusuo now probably wouldn't react to it. Whether with or without Nen, the Zoldyck family's poison resistance was high.
Chrollo picked up the plate with the sauce and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Soon, the sound of a shower came from inside.
At 3 PM, Saiki Kusuo woke up. Maybe he slept too long—this nap left him with a headache, and right after waking, hunger hit his stomach.
This time he was fully alert. He sat up and quickly noticed someone else in the room.
On the sofa, it looked like a creature, a long shape lying across. Looking closer, it was human-shaped. Good, not one of those perverts from the dark creatures.
Saiki Kusuo, used to total darkness for blocking light, adapted in two or three seconds and could see clearly.
The coat with the upside-down cross was draped over him as a blanket. The long coat only showed the legs in black pants and bare feet without socks. He couldn't see the face because the right hand held a book unique to him, covering his face, just lying on the sofa sleeping.
How relaxed this guy was. So why come find him? Was there something?
Saiki Kusuo took two steps closer, and suddenly there were sounds around.
Hm? Saiki Kusuo stepped back, and the sounds vanished.
No wonder he slept so long—it must have been because during sleep, he was in some barrier that blocked all sound.
Saiki Kusuo stepped out with one foot.
"Knock knock knock!"
"Guest! Hello!! Do you need room service!"
"I seriously suspect our guest has died inside! I demand we break the door!"
"Knock knock knock knock knock!"
"Stop, everyone calm down! This isn't by the rules..."
...
Saiki Kusuo looked at the guy in front of him with the book over his face.
He sure could sleep through that.
He wasn't actually sleeping, right?
Saiki Kusuo leaned in, wanting to remove the book to check if he was alive. If he died in her room, that would be bad.
Suddenly, her wrist was grabbed.
In that instant, it was a strong grip, then it relaxed right after.
Looks like he's doing fine. Saiki Kusuo raised her hand, and their contact broke.
"Ah... what a noisy nap."
Then include yourself in the barrier next time.
"Can't hear sounds and get attacked—that would be bad. I usually don't use this ability on myself."
Chrollo deactivated the thief's extreme intent and closed it, pushing aside the coat's fur collar that was at his neck.
Saiki Kusuo then noticed this guy was shirtless again. Were clothes that annoying?
Chrollo pushed up with one hand and turned to sit, then shook out his coat with one hand and draped it over himself as it fell.
"You're finally awake. Can you turn on the light? Or pull the curtains."
Saiki Kusuo didn't respond and directly used telekinesis to pull the curtains.
Hm, couldn't do it. No telekinesis now.
"...Do you really not like talking that much?" Chrollo took Saiki Kusuo's silence as her answering in her mind again.
Chrollo sighed and summoned the thief's extreme intent again, flipping to the frequency transmission ability. He also reached out to touch Saiki Kusuo's arm, leaving a tanuki cat brooch on the hotel's old-fashioned pajamas.
"I'll pull the curtains. Then we can sit on the sofa and talk."
So there is something. Saiki Kusuo, with top-notch night vision, looked down. Why change the pattern? What was wrong with the tanuki cat versus the earlier short-haired cat.
Chrollo, already standing, heard something and bent down again: "What did you say? I didn't hear clearly."
No, nothing. Go pull the curtains. I don't want to repeat wondering why the brooch patterns differ twice, guessing if it's like Kite's ability with some randomness and different effects. Don't mind. Go pull the curtains.
"Oh, that pattern. Don't you like cats?"
Kusuke did like cats, but why would I like cats.
"Normal cats can't keep up with your pace, so I specially made an all-around little robot cat, right?" Chrollo said as he pulled the curtains open.
Ah! Blinding—the kind only normal people feel from sunlight!
...Just kidding. Super-powered eyes were top-tier too. One blink and it adjusted, no going blind, no soreness, no tears.
But the light did fill the whole room.
Saiki Kusuo looked down and saw in the sofa corner, Wapu the little white cat robot sitting obediently.
Because Kusuke turned on follow mode, its presence was really weak. Most cat behaviors were gone; it was just a following machine.
"It's an amazing machine. Last night when you came by hotel car, it was flying in the air following you."
He totally forgot about it. Good job it kept up.
"The difference in brooch patterns is just because I bought a set of different ones. Since it can't be used twice, I threw away yesterday's after use. The medium doesn't matter—it can be a brooch, a pin, a thumbtack, even handcuffs."
You keep the handcuffs for yourself.
"Back to the point, Leader."
Suddenly a new title. Time for the main talk. A bit hungry. Hurry and finish.
Chrollo paused, then took the tray from above.
"It's gone cold, but if you don't mind."
I do mind. Just say it quick.
Chrollo put the tray back: "Then do you need a sound barrier? The noises outside are loud."
Just say it. I'm used to hearing people talk amid countless thoughts. No problem.
"Okay, straight to the point. You won't easily use the Leader's Pieces. Based on that, I've sent the other Troupe members to take territory and find allies. Next, you come with me to other areas that won't trigger siege battles to get Leader's Pieces. Any objections?"
Why decide my actions without asking? I want a place to rest. You fight if you want.
"With me, safety isn't a worry. Um... so what's Kusuo's plan? I'll listen."
Shopping, eating, sleeping. Best if no one but my brother and butler shows up in my sight. Um, my dream normal person vacation starts today.
Chrollo: "...Why did you come to the Dark Continent? No goal?"
Without powers now, guess no goal either. Can't be a frontline leader anymore. What a shame.
"Such fake acting."
You really don't know how to talk to people.
"You're only thinking from your own angle. Kusuo, is doing nothing really okay? Assuming there are 25 Territory Pieces, 6 is a big number, but that's the lowest for winning a siege battle. If someone else like us has done a siege once, you'll be overtaken in a flash."
Well, doesn't matter much.
"...Your confidence comes from your abilities, right? When do the powers recover?"
Don't know. At least no sign yet.
"If Hisoka or other forces get pieces, you okay with them controlling win and loss? Kakin Empire princes and elites easily team up, and their numbers far exceed ours. If they really get Leader's Piece power, the result will be crazy exaggerated."
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