After receiving the notice that he had passed the first exam, Kisho happily ran toward Amos.
Amos stopped his brush and looked up at him.
"You're here?"
Kisho nodded vigorously, smiling.
"Mm~"
Amos patted the ground beside him, and Kisho sat down next to him.
"We passed the first stage, but now we have to wait a long time again."
Amos sighed.
"If I'd known, I would've gone in with you to save them."
Kisho waved his hand.
"Don't. It was really disgusting in there. If you had gone too, you definitely would've been too grossed out to eat."
"That's true."
Amos nodded thoughtfully, then looked at Kisho and asked:
"So, did you rescue the people inside? They didn't come out with you?"
Kisho glanced at C·L, then looked back at Amos and nodded.
"Following the method Mr. C·L taught me, there weren't any problems."
He paused before continuing:
"But even if I rescued them, I could only save them once."
Kisho added:
"After that, they have to take responsibility for themselves—whether they continue the exam or give up; whether they manage to stay alive or die immediately afterward—none of that has anything to do with me anymore."
"Or rather, I saved them just to make myself feel better."
After hearing Kisho's words, Amos smiled slyly.
"Then what if they run into danger again in the next stage?"
Kisho spread his hands.
"That's not my problem. People with no self-awareness will still die even if you save them a hundred times."
"Exactly. You can't save people who are bent on getting themselves killed." Amos patted Kisho's shoulder. "If you can think like that, I'm relieved."
"What's with that tone like you're some hundred-year-old geezer!"
Kisho laughed and swatted Amos's hand away.
Amos withdrew his hand and glanced at C·L without anyone noticing, then sighed inwardly:
Actually, without you knowing, I've worried far more than any hundred-year-old man ever would.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side, Bisky's gaze had been firmly glued to Kisho and Amos the entire time.
"So nice~ Cute boys, and the friendship between cute boys, heeheehee~"
"I really want to stir things up just a tiny bit~"
Thinking this, she lifted the hem of her fluffy skirt, tapped lightly against the rock beneath her toes, and sped toward the two boys at astonishing speed.
When she was still at least five hundred meters away, the two boys instantly stopped talking.
A pair of gray-blue eyes and a pair of pitch-black eyes locked onto her at the same time, watching her every move with caution.
"Oh? Such alert little ones. Not bad, not bad~"
She praised them silently to herself, but put on an innocent expression and blinked.
"What are you two talking about? Mind if I join in?"
Kisho looked puzzled.
"Aren't you an examiner? Shouldn't examiners keep their distance from candidates?"
"That's right."
Amos nodded firmly.
"Aren't you afraid that if you get too close to us, other candidates will think you're secretly leaking the exam questions?"
"Heh heh~ Knowing the exam questions and being able to pass are two completely different things."
Bisky said,
"Even if someone gets the questions, trash who can't pass still won't pass."
Amos nodded seriously, then put on a straight face.
"Since you're not planning to tell us the questions, sorry, but we refuse."
Amos said sternly,
"You're an examiner. If you suddenly come up to candidates, it can't be for anything good!"
Kisho nodded in agreement from the side.
Bisky: "..."
That annoying little brat with chestnut hair!
She ground her teeth for a moment, then suddenly smiled with exaggerated innocence, widening her eyes.
"Well, it's not impossible if you really want to know the questions~"
Amos was speechless.
"Hey, hey, you do realize that was just an excuse so you wouldn't come over, right?"
Kisho added:
"And you're talking too loudly. Other candidates are already looking this way!"
"So what if they look? Heh heh. As long as it satisfies this young lad—this young lady, telling you wouldn't be a problem."
Bisky stood up and beckoned at Kisho and Amos with her finger.
"So? There's still a whole day before the next stage. Are you just going to sit around doing nothing? Why not fight me?"
"You don't even have to win. As long as you satisfy me, I'll answer any one question you have about the next round."
She turned to look at the other candidates as well.
"Of course, this offer applies to everyone."
Kisho and Amos exchanged a glance.
"What do you say?" Amos shrugged. "If you ask me, we're idle anyway."
"That's true, but she's just a little girl."
Kisho hesitated slightly.
"Even if she's a little girl who can use Nen, hitting a little girl doesn't feel very appropriate… right?"
"Heh heh~"
Hearing Kisho's words, C·L, who was sitting nearby, chuckled.
"She's not some little girl."
C·L glanced at Bisky and spoke calmly.
"Biscuit Krueger. Profession: Stone Hunter. As for her real age…"
A mysterious smile appeared on C·L's face.
However, he shook his head slightly and didn't continue.
"It's not polite to casually reveal a lady's real age. Let's leave it at that."
Standing nearby, Bisky turned to look at C·L, nodded in satisfaction, and smiled, wearing an expression that clearly said, "You've got some sense."
C·L smiled back, then lowered his head and continued reading his book.
Kisho: "..."
Hey! Leaving people hanging like that is even worse!
"I remember now! Stone Hunter Bisky! She earned her one-star title over twenty years ago!"
Among the candidates, a burly man suddenly spoke up. He stared at the little girl standing before Kisho and Amos in horror and said in disbelief:
"This year she should be 51—"
With a loud bang.
Bisky hadn't moved from where she stood. Even the folds of her skirt hadn't shifted in the slightest.
But the brave soul who had dared to speak had already been sent flying over twenty meters with a scream, crashing into the rock behind him before slowly sliding down…
"By the way, your information is outdated." Bisky leisurely lowered her small fist.
"I became a two-star Hunter three years ago."
Kisho: "..."
Amos: "..."
The surrounding candidates: "..."
"So, you two boys~ Care to give it a try? I'm quite interested in your strength."
Bisky smiled and looked back at the two boys.
"Especially you, white-haired kid. You seem to have quite a few hidden cards."
Kisho: "..."
He stood up, turning his head slightly, then pleasantly surprised to find that in Amos's eyes, a trace of fighting spirit was also gathering.
Kisho extended his hand toward Amos.
"Well?"
Amos smiled and took Kisho's hand, standing up.
"Sure."
"Let's see what the two of us can accomplish together after being apart for more than half a year."
----------------
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