"My ears are different from an ordinary person's too. You could say I have 'super hearing,'" Roy said, pointing at his ears. "Back during the Hunter Exam, I heard the little secret conversation you two were having."
What Roy said was only half true.
He had not possessed "super hearing" during the Hunter Exam. It was a skill he had manifested only recently.
Piccolo's Super Hearing allowed him to hear sounds clearly even from a great distance.
Back then, when Son Goku and the warrior from the future were talking about the Androids, Piccolo had been the only one present who heard the entire conversation thanks to his super hearing. Even outstanding Saiyan fighters like Vegeta and Son Gohan had not heard it.
That alone showed how practical this ability was.
"Is that so? Just as I thought, Roy, you really do have a lot of mysterious abilities." Ever since the very beginning, starting with his "Gold Finger," Roy had shown him far too many miracles.
Come to think of it, Roy was the reason he had been able to learn about this vast world ahead of time and grasp the power of Nen.
If his aura nodes had not been opened in advance, then during the Hunter Exam, surrounded by powerful enemies like Hisoka and Illumi, would he really have been able to obtain a Hunter License as easily as he had now, and even continue down the path he was currently walking?
Kurapika fell into thought. At the same time, Melody beside him kept glancing toward Roy from time to time.
Naturally, Roy noticed.
So he smiled and asked, "What is it? Is there something on my face?"
"Ah, no!" Melody hurriedly shook her head. Then, as if she had finally made up her mind, she asked in a somewhat excited voice, "Um, Kurapika called you Roy... Are you that manga artist Roy, the one who drew Dragon Ball?!"
The question caught Roy off guard.
Then Squala, who was driving up front, exclaimed, "That's right! I knew the name Roy sounded familiar! So you really are that manga artist Roy? I never thought you'd turn out to be Kurapika's friend!"
At that moment, the burly man in the car also turned around. Holding the paper and pen he used for writing haiku, he asked awkwardly, "Um, Mr. Roy, could you give me your autograph? I'm a loyal Dragon Ball fan too!"
Roy: "..."
Was he really that famous already?
He had not expected his reputation to spread even into the bodyguard business. Even the Nostrade Family's bodyguards knew his name now.
Then Squala hurriedly added from the front, "Hey, Basho, get one for me too. No, two! Eliza is also a devoted fan of Mr. Roy. She's even the vice president of our Nostrade Family's Dragon Ball Fan Club!"
Eliza was Squala's girlfriend, and also Neon's maid.
"..."
There was even a fan club for him inside a mafia family?
Roy truly did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Taking the paper and pen Basho handed him, Roy casually asked, "So who's the president of your family's fan club?"
"It's our young lady, Neon," Melody replied. "She watches the Dragon Ball anime every single day right on time."
"And every time, Miss Neon drags Eliza along to watch with her too," Squala cut in. "And Miss Neon is especially interested in the fingers Mr. Roy uses to draw manga. She even said that once Mr. Roy—"
"Ahem!" Basho in the front passenger seat hurriedly coughed.
Squala realized immediately that he had said too much and shut his mouth at once.
Roy: "..."
Even without hearing the rest, Roy already knew what Squala had been about to say.
All right then. Having a mafia heiress fan who liked collecting human body parts really did make his fingers feel a little cold.
At that moment, Kurapika, after thinking things over for a long time, finally raised his head and said to Roy, "Roy, come with me. Come meet that person."
That was trust without reservation.
"All right."
...
Meanwhile, back at the abandoned building, Hisoka still had not found the deck of playing cards he had lost.
But since he could not find it, he gave up, stood up, and said to Chrollo with a crooked smile, "By the way, Danchō, I just remembered I have an appointment too. May I head out for a bit?"
"That's fine. As long as you're back before six o'clock tomorrow evening."
"Then, see you later."
"Hisoka."
"Hm?"
"Of course. By the way, Danchō, you're not planning to send people to tail me again like before, are you~~?"
...
Naturally, Chrollo did not send anyone to follow Hisoka.
Phinks had still not returned, and the others, such as Kortopi and Pakunoda, were not combat-type members. If they followed Hisoka, something unexpected could easily happen.
So Hisoka came alone to the place they had agreed upon in advance.
It was a shabby little room, almost like a prison cell. Moonlight filtered in through the iron bars, making the place look especially gloomy.
...
Then, after Hisoka stepped into the room, he saw Kurapika standing there.
"Oh my, looks like you got here pretty—"
Suddenly, Hisoka stopped in his tracks.
The smile disappeared from his face.
"Hello there, Hisoka." Roy stepped out from a patch of shadow nearby and greeted him as if they were old acquaintances.
"So you didn't bring anyone else with you. Is that because you don't trust me?"
Hisoka took out a playing card and began to toy with it in his hand.
He had never expected Kurapika to bring this troublesome wild card here. That truly had caught him off guard.
"To be honest, I have no intention of fighting you right now. The reason we called you out here was because we wanted to cooperate with you. But seeing the precautions you've taken, I think cooperation is going to be a serious problem. After all, no one wants a partner who could bring danger at any moment, right?"
"I agree with that," Kurapika said calmly. "And I suggest you do the same."
"Hm?"
"There's someone following behind you too." Kurapika pointed behind Hisoka.
Just now, he had only sensed Hisoka's aura. But Roy had told him that there was another person trailing behind Hisoka.
Kurapika trusted Roy's words without the slightest hesitation, so he said it outright.
"Oh?"
This time, it was Hisoka who was surprised.
(End of Chapter)
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