Conrad personally was not particularly disturbed by having a bounty placed on his head.
That did not mean he felt no discomfort regarding the situation at all.
The thing that truly bothered him was how his name had been discovered and a bounty had been issued within just a single day.
That disturbed him far more than the bounty itself.
The idea that his identity could be uncovered so easily whenever he took action was not pleasant at all.
"It might be a good idea for me to investigate this matter," he thought.
He stood up from his desk, ordered something to eat, and while waiting for the food to arrive, he took a shower and changed into comfortable clothes.
Afterward, he sat down with his computer on one side and paper and pen on the other, beginning to think deeply.
"One of the key points is that only my name surfaced… I should focus on that," he said, writing the information down on the paper.
Conrad then focused on another point.
The first people who would discover the destruction of the Quarmir Family would naturally be the other mafia groups.
After realizing what happened, those mafia groups would spread the information to others, and eventually the information would reach the Ten Dons.
The ones who issued the bounty were most likely the Ten Dons themselves.
That meant the Ten Dons possessed tremendous investigative, tracking, and identification capabilities regarding this matter.
"The core of the issue is important too," Conrad thought as he wrote two titles in his notebook.
"Normal World" and "Nen World."
One of the first things he needed to understand was whether his identity had been uncovered through ordinary real-world investigative methods or whether "Nen" had also been involved.
Cameras, agents, and various technological devices could certainly make identifying someone easier.
But for a Nen user, the first thing that naturally came to mind was Nen itself being involved.
He took a deep breath and began thinking again.
"Could one of the Shadow Beasts investigating this matter possess a Nen ability suited for situations like this?"
"An ability capable of determining who carried out a massacre and uncovering their identity afterward…"
"Or perhaps the mafia paid a Nen user with that kind of ability," Conrad thought.
At that moment, his phone rang. The caller was none other than Mizaistom.
"Yes," Conrad answered after picking up the phone.
"Attacking and destroying mafia families is not exactly expected behavior," Mizaistom said.
When Conrad heard those words, his eyes subtly shifted with emotion.
"Smart," Conrad thought, though he said nothing.
Mizaistom was likely among the highest-level Nen users, but beyond that, as a lawyer, he was extremely skilled in manipulating words, creating theories, taking calculated actions, and understanding what kinds of consequences certain actions would produce.
With just a single sentence, he had given Conrad a simple but important piece of information.
"The Hunter Association knows that I attacked and destroyed a mafia family. And they know it not because of the bounty, but because they are the Hunter Association."
If Mizaistom had learned about the matter from external sources, he would have said something like, "I saw the bounty. Is it related to the Quarmir Mafia family?" or something similar.
But instead, his wording had openly given Conrad a clue.
"I understand," Conrad replied.
Mizaistom lightly laughed, and shortly afterward, the phone call ended.
That small conversation also helped Conrad realize that Mizaistom had intentionally tried to give him information.
"Looks like I've solved at least part of it," Conrad said with a smile as he opened a clean page and began writing.
"Step 1—I carried out my attack and destroyed the Quarmir Family."
"Step 2 — Various mafia members reported the situation to the Ten Dons, and the Ten Dons sent the Shadow Beasts to the area."
"Step 3 — After the investigation, the Shadow Beasts sent a report to the Ten Dons, and the Ten Dons forwarded that report to the Hunter Association."
"Step 4 — The Hunter Association used either a Nen ability or technological tools to identify me and passed the information to the mafia."
"Step 5—The person inside the Hunter Association who transferred this information received payment from the Ten Dons on behalf of the organization, and afterward the Ten Dons placed a bounty on my head."
Conrad paused and took a deep breath.
"It wouldn't be surprising if the Hunter Association contained Nen users who needed money, enjoyed doing this sort of thing out of boredom, and viewed people like me as prey."
"Tserriednich might seek financial power and political influence to control more Hunters… Pariston may have taken an interest in me…"
At that moment, Conrad remembered a Hunter he had not thought about much before.
"Loupe Highland… a hunter who specializes in finding missing hunters."
Conrad smiled.
"For a Nen user who has never had contact with me to discover my identity and location, they would probably need two or maybe three conditions."
"But…"
"But…"
"What do I carry with me at all times as a Hunter that allows them to establish a connection to me and generally determine where I am?"
The moment Conrad asked himself that question, he found the answer simultaneously.
"The Hunter License…"
"All the actions taken to become a Hunter… every trial, every challenge that needed to be overcome…"
-
This topic had always crossed Conrad's mind, but now he was almost completely certain about it.
What he had just realized also matched many of the strange Nen applications he had seen until now.
The logic behind the creation of places like Viridian Vein and Deep Point, along with the systems established within them, was almost identical to the logic behind the foundation of the Hunter Association itself.
"The steps are very clear. Almost entirely based on Nen principles… reinforced conditions, limitations, and rewards."
"The requirements needed to obtain a Hunter License… the conditions…"
"I'll investigate this matter more deeply."
"It seems it would be better if the members of our team don't become Hunters for a while."