After leaving the museum, the three members of the Troupe headed to their temporary base—the Figert Grand Hotel.
Probably because Chrollo would reimburse it, Shalnark was unusually generous when booking the rooms. With a grand wave of his hand, he boldly reserved the entire top floor of the hotel.
That meant every member could have their own room, with complete freedom.
Kisho sat on the huge bed that took up a full third of the room, idly switching channels with the remote control.
This was the first time in his life that he was truly "watching television."
—He even saw "paid programs" among the channel options that required swiping a card to view.
But right now, he had no interest in that sort of thing—no, to be precise, he was never interested in that kind of program at any time!
He glanced sideways at the wall clock.
The time was noon on August 6th. There were still three hours until the gathering time.
Even though there was plenty of time left, Kisho felt as if his entire heart was already filled with tension and unease.
"Why am I feeling like this…?"
Kisho murmured in confusion.
Logically speaking, the target of this operation was just the mafia. And the number of mafia members who had died by his hands… he no longer knew how many there were.
Though he did not want to admit it, he truly was someone whose hands were already stained with sin and blood. Even if everyone he had killed was mafia with blood on their own hands, what right did he have to judge the sins of others?
Targeting the "mafia" was nothing more than a way to make his own conscience feel a little better.
...
Time passed, and night fell.
"Knock, knock."
When the wall clock pointed to six o'clock, a knock came from the door, along with Shalnark's voice:
"Kisho, are you up from your nap? The leader wants everyone to come to his place."
Kisho rolled his eyes at Shalnark's choice of words, casually turned off the television, and jumped down from the bed.
He followed Shalnark into Chrollo's room. After Kisho entered, Shalnark gently closed the door.
All the other members had already gathered here, seated in a circle around the long dining table.
The leader sat at the head, calmly flipping through his book.
Having been forced to take on the role of meeting host, Shalnark waited until Kisho took his seat, then stood to Chrollo's left.
"Hi~"
Seeing Kisho walk over, Omokage at the other end of the table waved at him.
Kisho casually waved back and replied without emotion:
"Hi."
"According to the information we've found so far, Jobhan's main base is here."
A huge map was spread out on the long table. Shalnark held a red pen between his fingers and circled a spot on the map.
"Filgreen."
Kisho craned his neck to read the name of the building Shalnark had circled and asked curiously:
"What kind of place is that?"
"Interested?"
Shalnark narrowed his eyes and smiled mischievously.
"It's a club."
Kisho: "…Never mind."
Shalnark stopped teasing Kisho and drew another circle elsewhere on the map.
"And as for Jobhan himself, who commands the mafia—generally speaking, if he doesn't have pressing matters, he prefers to stay in the museum with his collection."
Shalnark raised two fingers.
"So, this operation needs to be split into an assassination team and a frontal assault team, heading to two different locations to take care of the tar—"
Before Shalnark could finish, Uvogin cut in:
"Frontal assault, frontal assault! Assassination stuff is way too boring!"
Feitan immediately followed:
"Frontal assault team."
Franklin said expressionlessly:
"Frontal assault team."
Nobunaga was not to be outdone:
"Frontal assault team."
Phinks chimed in:
"Frontal assault team."
Bonolenov was equally expressionless—mainly because his face was wrapped in bandages, so even if he had an expression, no one could see it:
"Frontal assault team."
Several people eager to go on a killing spree spoke up one after another, afraid of being assigned to the awkward and stifling assassination team.
"Ah, in that case, the assassination team might be short on manpower."
Shalnark put on a troubled expression, then looked toward Chrollo, who had been quietly watching the show, as if asking for help.
"Feitan, you'll join the assassination team."
Chrollo spoke gently to Feitan.
"Franklin and Uvogin aren't suited for assassination, and the frontal assault team doesn't lack people."
Feitan's face darkened instantly, but after being stared at by the smiling Chrollo for a short while, he nodded despite his extreme displeasure.
Still, his gaze grew even more ominous—as if he might explode at any moment.
"Well then, it's decided."
Shalnark pulled out a sheet from the stack of white paper at his side and began scribbling.
"The frontal assault team will be Uvogin, Phinks, Franklin, and Nobunaga."
He then drew two lines on the map, connecting the hotel to the destinations.
"The assassination team will be the leader, me, Feitan, Omokage, and Kisho. We'll head to the museum to assassinate Jobhan himself."
Shalnark looked at Chrollo and said seriously:
"The leader and I have investigated the Nen array in the museum, but we haven't been able to pinpoint its core. So, to be safe, once the frontal assault team finishes their task, they'll move to the museum to provide support."
"Pakunoda will go with the frontal assault team. If she can find clues about the Nen array from Jobhan's subordinates, that would be ideal."
Shalnark looked at Pakunoda seriously.
"Even if not, the threat on the frontal assault side is much lower compared to the assassination team."
Pakunoda, who was not skilled in combat, nodded slightly to show she understood.
"Kortopi, Bonolenov, Machi."
Shalnark turned to the last three.
"After all members complete their tasks, the evacuation will be handled by you—airship or car, either is fine."
Kortopi nodded.
"No problem. Leave the transportation to me."
Kortopi's Nen ability could copy anything, making him the perfect choice to prepare transportation. However, since he was also not adept at combat, Shalnark arranged for the other two members to accompany him for protection.
With the personnel assignments finished, the next step was the plan.
"To avoid alerting both sides prematurely, both teams will wait after arriving at their destinations. After synchronizing the time via contact, we'll begin the operation simultaneously."
Shalnark looked at Chrollo.
"If we discover any clues about the Nen array on our side, we'll report them to you immediately, leader."
Chrollo nodded slightly.
"Alright."
"Okay, then it's settled."
With a snap, Shalnark capped the red pen. He glanced at the wall clock and raised an eyebrow.
"Well, it's almost time for the evening news. After watching it, we can start moving."
He stepped out from behind the long table, picked up the remote control from the TV cabinet, and asked before waiting for an answer:
"Boss, can we watch it here?"
As he spoke, Shalnark started changing channels on his own.
"It feels better when everyone watches together."
Chrollo neither agreed nor objected. He smiled and lifted his gaze toward Kisho.
Kisho felt his line of sight and returned a puzzled look. "…?"
Chrollo pointed at the television.
"The question you asked me before—you'll get the answer very soon."
Kisho's pupils shrank. He slowly turned his head toward the TV.
On the screen, the opening sequence of the evening news was playing.
That familiar sense of tension and unease surged into his heart at that very moment, growing even stronger.
"But it won't be the answer you're hoping for."
Chrollo's voice drifted softly into Kisho's ears:
"Even if your emotions are affected, this mission still won't let you take a day off."