"Have they been notified?"
"They have been notified."
After Luke called Gotoh and instructed him to have Young Master Roy take care of Young Master Illumi, Luke immediately went to the second floor of the old castle to report to Silva.
In the bedroom, Kikyo lay lazily on the sofa, flipping through a magazine. Beside her, a young butler was serving her some fruit.
Her belly was gradually swelling. If one pressed against it, they could even hear a strong heartbeat.
When she had nothing to do, she would often hold her belly and act spoiled with Silva, insisting, "This baby will definitely have silver hair."
Each time, Silva would listen quietly, his mind unable to stop thinking of that stubborn boy who had looked at him and declared he would kill him.
The old master always said it was a good thing for a child to have spirit. Keeping him cooped up at home all day would sooner or later turn him into a good-for-nothing.
Silva understood this principle and agreed with the old master's words, but... a few days had passed. Without Roy, without Illumi, Silva stayed alone in the empty training room during the day, always feeling a sense of emptiness and boredom. This was something he had never felt before.
This led to him training Milluki too harshly over the past few days. Milluki was still lying in his bedroom, unable to get out of bed, and would play dead and foam at the mouth whenever he heard the word "training."
At nine in the morning, the sun rose, casting a ray of light through the French window onto Silva.
Today, he didn't even go to the training room, staying in the bedroom to rest with Kikyo, drinking red wine while listening to Luke's report.
"What did he say?" The man, blocking the window, was like a high wall.
Luke bowed slightly and replied truthfully, "The Young Master didn't say anything."
"He was very unhappy?"
Luke bowed his head, not daring to make a sound.
Silva drained the red wine in his cup in one gulp and pondered for a moment. "Prepare the car. Book the tickets."
He stuffed the wine glass into Luke's hands, pushed open the door, and walked out.
Downstairs, around the corner, through the long corridor... at a certain moment, his footsteps paused. He looked up ahead. Outside the dim little room, the rocking chair had been moved into the hallway, where a skinny old man was quietly basking in the sun.
The weather was getting cold, and the daylight hours were shorter. It was rare to see the sun, so it should be cherished.
"Great-grandfather..." Silva narrowed his eyes and bowed in greeting.
Maha was lying down, feigning sleep, a blanket covering him. He asked lazily, "Where are you going?"
"To Saheiruta."
"What for?"
"To see the kids."
"Which kids?"
"Both of them."
"Too late..." The old man slowly opened his eyes. "Your father left early this morning."
Mentioning Zeno made Maha angry. That dog, ever since he got kicked by him, went straight to the Hunter Association. He glared at Silva irritably as well. "All you know is to run around all day. With him there, you just stay home and keep your wife company. When you have a daughter, bring her over for this old man to hold."
"Yes." Silva straightened his back, didn't say another useless word, and turned to leave. With his back to the sun, he faintly heard another sigh. "I've seen it. That kid Roy, although he's stubborn, he generally knows what's what..."
"Even if you didn't remind him, he would take care of Illumi. After all..."
"That child... we can beat him up ourselves behind closed doors, but others... they can't touch him one bit..."
A cold wind blew, making the silver hair sway. Silva listened silently, looking out the window. The sunlight was perfect, and the sun was high in the sky. After a moment, he said, "Understood."
He then walked back along the path he came, returned to the bedroom, and his heart was at ease.
...January 4th,
Fishing. Nen aura turned into drops, failed to pull into a line. [Nen Ability "Morphology Change" +10... Current Progress: 21/100 → 31/100]
January 5th,
Fishing. Nen aura turned into drops, successfully pulled into a line, but it wasn't long enough. [Nen Ability "Morphology Change" +20... Current Progress: 31/100 → 51/100]
January 6th.
Fishing. Nen aura formed a line, extended to the water's surface. It broke several times in the middle, still not strong enough. [Nen Ability "Morphology Change" +25... Current Progress: 51/100 → 76/100]
January 7th, the Hunter Exam begins. A loud ship's horn sounded...
The pickup ship heading to the official exam site, Dole Island, arrived at Dole Harbor. It lowered its gangplank, and candidates boarded one after another.
The bald ninja, the man in bandages, the snake charmer, the boy with the bow, and the Kurta clan girl boarded the deck with the flow of people, tacitly keeping their distance from the several figures behind them.
One was a strange person, the other was Pariston, who had turned Donovan into meat paste at the airport. Clearly distinct, they walked toward the gangplank on opposite sides.
"Kri... kri..."
The pushpins on the strange person's face creaked. His expression was stiff, unlike a living person, attracting Pariston's attention.
The blond-haired youth, with Clark and Gore, stopped and let him board first. His gaze followed his back with great interest as he asked, "Friend, what's your name?"
The strange person didn't answer. His purple hair was styled into a mohawk, and the whites of his eyes were rolled up, looking incredibly bizarre...
He completely ignored Pariston. The moment his front foot stepped onto the deck, he began to scan with his dead fish eyes. After a moment, he didn't find the figure he had been dreaming of. Greatly disappointed, he stood stunned for a good while before walking to the mast and sitting down cross-legged.
"Just putting on an act!"
"Little Hill, want me to twist his head off?"
Clark couldn't stand seeing Pariston being ignored. 'That Roy Zoldyck guy is one thing, but who do you think you are?'
"Hehehe... no need." Pariston squinted at Illumi, the corner of his mouth hooking up as he took an extremely enjoyable breath. His intuition told him that things were about to get interesting... Besides the strange person, there was also that boy with the blue baseball cap leaning against the ship's railing. It seemed they were all decent toys. Of course...
None of them could compare to Roy Zoldyck!
Pariston collected his thoughts and boarded the deck. He immediately started searching, just as the strange person had. The smile on his face gradually faded.
"It seems he didn't come?" Gore touched the cross on his chest, his eyes scanning around, and he let out a breath of relief for some reason.
Indeed.
Pariston searched again, unwilling to give up. His expression grew uglier.
"There's still time. Let's wait." He could only comfort himself this way. He found a corner, leaned against the backdrop of the blue sea, and gazed at the horizon, trying to relieve his gloom.
In the distance, the jungle was lush and green. Flocks of seabirds could be seen flying by... Deep within, by the lake...
Roy had been fishing all this time, immersed and unaware of the passing days.
Visibly, at the end of the branch serving as a fishing rod, a "Nen line" dived into the water, extending wantonly, chasing an underwater shadow.
It was a behemoth, visually about five meters long.
Gotoh watched nervously. He wanted to remind the Young Master that time was almost up, but he was afraid of interrupting his training. He clasped his hands and paced anxiously nearby.
Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long...
January 7th. The Nen line entered the water, moving with ease... At a certain moment, Roy's eyes flickered. "Come up!"
The "Nen line" deep underwater shot out with a "swoosh," piercing the shadow. As the young master pulled hard... water splashed everywhere.
A giant catfish broke the surface and was brutally dragged ashore!
[Notification: Nen Ability Morphology Change +30]
[Current Progress v1: 76/100 → v2: 6/1000]