Chapter 13: Things You Cannot Lose

"Hmm, this is my first time acting as a navigator for the Hunter Exam; I didn't expect a child like this to take it."

The navigator's words made Killua's already bad mood even worse.

"Killua, the wrinkles between your brows are really something."

"Noisy."

(Who do you think's fault it is!!)

Killua said this in his heart to the woman next to him who was deeply moved.

Yes, eight hits. The reason for Killua's bad mood was, of course, that woman, Sora, who had boarded the Airship and traveled with him for some unknown reason, but Sora was by no means a disadvantage to Killua.

On the contrary, many people benefited from being Together with her.

12 years old this year. The reason why the runaway Killua could easily use the airship and accommodation facilities was because Sora claimed to be Killua's "older sister" and handled the procedures for him.

Their hair colors were white and silver; although they were complete strangers, they had cat-like eyes, and no one had doubted them so far.

Furthermore, even if the child Killua mixed in with the Hunter Exam applicants, it was Sora, who acted more like a guardian than Killua, who looked at them with strange eyes and persuaded them to go home; not being an idiot was also an advantage. Who would go and lick a child's direction.

Thanks to Sora, I have now found the navigator for the exam site.

At the airport, Sora discovered an elderly person who had been separated from their spouse and was in trouble.

When they arrived at the airport, the last bus directly to the exam site, Zaban City, was about to depart, but Sora did not hesitate to prioritize the elderly couple.

Killua stopped her because he didn't have time for such things, but he was surprised when Sora said: "If you miss the bus, I'll run! If I have to, I'll carry Killua on my back!!" However, the old man who let me find his wife is now guiding me to take the real bus to Zaban City.

Apparently, a preliminary screening was conducted at that airport, emphasizing the kindness of the applicants; it wasn't just the elderly couple that Sora and Killua found, but also a lost child and a person looking for lost luggage. "Who is there," it is said, was asking the Examinee for help.

Examinees who ignored the requests would go to the trap bus, prioritizing people in need over the exam, while those who faithfully responded until the last moment had to go directly to the real bus station to Zaban City. It is this mechanism that the preliminary selection will guide you through.

"They said it's very difficult to get to the exam site, but is there a direct bus?" I can easily imagine that if I were alone, I wouldn't be able to figure anything out.

If it were Killua, even if he had time, he would feel it was "troublesome" and would ignore the cries for help from the elderly and the lost child, saying "I'm in a hurry." Although he was seriously determined to become a Hunter, he also knew that his temperament was worse than those Examinees who lost too much peace of mind and were dismissive or unfriendly to him.

Killua felt that the gap in physique between himself and Sora had been exposed, and he was annoyed to the extreme by himself.

Killua gained a lot from being Together with Sora, but I couldn't help but feel frustrated that Killua did some things for Sora that didn't bring Sora any benefit.

It wasn't a lucky thought of wanting to repay a kindness; it was entirely Killua's pride.

Killua was very annoyed by the conflict between his adolescent desire to grow taller, grow up, and be recognized as a mature person, and the reality that these wishes were not being realized.

Of course, it was impossible for Sora to read these unreasonable inner feelings, so she said: "Seriously, what's wrong? Are you hungry?"

The obvious child treatment made Killua even more frustrated, but I knew this was also sincere kindness, not stupidity.

That is why I took the chocolate candy from Sora's hand and silently took a bite.

In a sense, he was not an obedient child who would be offended by her kindness, but he was also not an adult stubborn enough to say "I don't want it" when given his favorite candy.

The elderly navigator looked at the two of them with a smile and said.

"He is a cute little brother."

"Right?"

Facing Sora's triumphant face as she treated him like her own younger brother, Killua got angry again and gave Sora's knee a light kick.

Killua, who had just finished reading a volume of manga, noticed the state of Sora sitting opposite him and asked with a puzzled look.

"Why are you erasing your presence while reading manga?"

Some navigators who guide you to the Hunter Exam site have the ability to measure the capabilities of aspiring Hunters, but like Killua's navigator, they are hired because they happen to be residents around the exam site. Moreover, there are many who are just working part-time this year.

Of course, no matter how you teach such an ordinary person the correct route, if you deviate half a step from that route, you cannot make them guide you through a route full of traps; such an ordinary navigator can guide you to the "real direct bus station." The real navigator is the bus driver.

Thus, the old man brought them to a coffee shop in a corner of the city that didn't seem very popular and asked the coffee shop owner: "Do you have any food that goes well with two cups of coffee? Sugarless milk?" He smiled and replied, "That would be our special biscuits."

It seemed that this slogan was what brought the Examinees, so when the bus came, Sora and Killua said, "This is service," and brought the biscuits to their seats. I told him that if I spoke to the person on the bus, he would let me on, and then he left.

Just as they were told, they ordered drinks and snacks at will and read the sun-bleached manga on the coffee shop's bookshelf until they got a biscuit, indicating that the bus had arrived. However, when Killua finished reading a book, it was time for the beginning.

The old-fashioned design and story were fresh to Killua, and I looked at it sideways to kill time, but I didn't notice until I finished reading, but there was no sign of Sora who should have been sitting opposite me. When I realized this, I panicked for a moment.

However, when I looked up, Sora was sitting opposite me as usual, drinking coffee and seriously reading an old manga.

However, even though she was in front of me, her presence was absurdly thin. Although she didn't make any sound, Sora had completely disappeared; if he hadn't realized it, he wouldn't have noticed Sora's presence.

Killua knew that this woman had fought enough on the Airship, so it was no surprise that she had the ability to completely erase her presence, but why was she still seriously reading manga now and erasing her presence? When I asked her, Sora looked up at Killua in the manga in surprise; at that moment, her presence was restored, as if a monochrome screen had turned into color.

"Oh, sorry. It's just a habit, don't worry."

"What habit?"

Sora returned to answer, but that answer only deepened Killua's suspicion.

Sora closed the manga she was reading, placed it on the corner of the table, and sipped her coffee while thinking about the answer to Killua's question.

Staring at the ceiling for a while, I thought about how much I should explain.

The lines and points of "things" that appeared after releasing "Gyo," and the "living creatures" that had been visible for the past three years regardless of whether "Gyo" was used or not... while looking at Killua's lines and points, I thought, "Well, how far should I say?"

But before I could organize my thoughts, my thoughts and the conversation were disrupted.

A man rushed in with such momentum that he almost broke the door, let alone the coffee shop's doorbell.

Startled by the violent force, Sora and Killua hurriedly shifted their attention to the entrance. The owner of the coffee shop, the ordinary customers, and the students like Sora and the others were the same.

A man with an irregular bald head, an eyepatch, and a prosthetic limb extending forward from his left wrist moved his right eye, which was exposed, and looked around the shop.

"... Finally found you! This monster!!"

Although Killua was closer to the man, one of his eyes slid past Killua and glared at Sora.

Although he was just pretending to smile, his eyes were Burning with hatred and anger. "Is this guy hungry?" I turned my gaze to Sora.

When Killua looked back, Sora opened her mouth.

"Who?"

Sora seemed to be puzzled from the bottom of her heart and tilted her head as she spoke. From her appearance, it didn't seem like a provocation; she was completely indifferent.

But being innocent in this situation was of no help to the opponent. On the contrary, it would only buy more resentment.

"You're joking! Have you forgotten? Three years ago, I killed all my friends with incredible power, and my eyes and hands did this to me!?"

He was able to get this far, not to mention the ordinary masters and customers, saying "I killed him," meaning the aspiring Hunters here were not criminals, nor were they offenders, but they were all people with a Conscience. For a moment, Sora was filled with righteous indignation, but she still sat down and puffed out her chest to declare.

"Even if I remember such an ordinary thing, I'll be like 'Which one?'! Bring a more unique plot!"

"How reckless!!"

Knowing Sora's personality, Killua had thought it was self-defense, but even so, Killua rushed into Sora, and Sora unrepentantly declared the phrase "killing people" to be "an everyday occurrence," and the people around were even more drawn back.

The man who held a grudge against Sora was also stunned for a few seconds by Sora's shameless remarks, but he still rolled up his sleeves, exposed his shoulder, and said: "!"

Looking at the Tattoo on his shoulder, the aspiring Hunters in the shop opened their eyes wide, and Sora also opened her eyes slightly.

When Killua saw the Tattoo... a 12-legged Spider, his father's words revived for a moment, and I also noticed it.

Sora clapped her hands, confirming Killua's imagination.

"Oh! The survivor of the Fake Spider from that time!"

"Not fake!! Show some respect!!"

Not only Killua, but other aspiring Hunters were weakened by the interaction between Sora and the man, which was almost like a skit.

Apparently, this man and his companions who were "killed" by Sora three years ago had the 12-legged Spider Tattoo on their bodies, which proved they were members of the notorious "Phantom Troupe." I don't know if he borrowed their power, or if he really respected them as he said, but using that Tattoo for the time being, they had done quite a few bad things compared to the original family. I had an idea.

Other humans presumably had the same thought, so they stopped their accusatory gazes at Sora, each raised their weapons, and glared at the man wearing the eye patch.

Because the aspiring Hunters present now were all people with a strong sense of justice, because they helped ordinary people in trouble, so was Sora judged as self-defense even if she killed a group of people impersonating the Brigade?, or was Sora trying to protect Killua who was Together with her anyway.

"So, what do you want? I have plans after this, so I hope you finish quickly."

However, this man himself did not understand the situation at all, tilted his head to ask back, and looked weakly at the surrounding environment.

"No matter what you think, I'm sure you're here to take revenge on me!" I said to Sora, who had a ferocious face.

"...... Hmm. Plan... plan... are you talking about the 'Hunter Exam'?"

"? What happened?"

Seeing Sora's puzzled counter-question, the man's smile became soft. But, if I could afford it, I could do it, and that smile was twisted horribly.

Not only Sora, but even Killua and the people around were suspicious of that twisted, gloomy smile, and cautiously waited for the other party's words.

I don't know if he didn't understand that not only Sora, but most of the people around were aspiring Hunters, or if he had the confidence to deal with more than a dozen aspiring Hunters, but the surviving Fake Spider grinned. I told him a smile.

"Poor old man, if he hadn't been working part-time as a navigator in the Hunter Exam, he wouldn't have shortened his short life."

"!?"

While the man was speaking, he showed something he took out of his pocket.

He showed Sora a fresh folding knife still stained with blood.

As soon as the man entered the coffee shop, he looked around the shop for people, so Killua thought that even if it was a Coincidence that he found Sora somewhere, it was not a Coincidence that he came to this shop. It is possible that Sora would know.

However, if he had seen him enter this shop, this trouble would have happened long ago, so he didn't know when or where this man had seen Sora.

In the airport full of ambitious Hunters, I vaguely saw him for a moment, and immediately couldn't see him, thinking he had been searching the area with brute force all along.

The image of the old man who had just taken him so far and had been watching him and Sora interact with a smile appeared in Killua's mind.

Killua couldn't say that bitter thing.

Guilt, self-reproach, and self-loathing could not be labeled.

But it really made me feel terrible.

Just as Killua was desperately trying to swallow the bitterness welling up in his mouth, the man's words and the knife he showed Sora caused an uproar around him.

Every ambitious Hunter holding a weapon prepared their weapons.

In order to settle the grudge against him, he happened to see an innocent old man, who was nothing more than Sora's part-time job.

However, Sora did not provoke further, but made a statement that stunned the people around her.

"Yes."

I finished the remaining coffee in the cup and said faintly.

The emotion that could be read from the voice was faint sympathy. Killua could not read any other emotions from Sora.

No righteous indignation, no guilt, no remorse, no self-loathing.

Even if she implicitly told him that she "killed" a complete stranger, an innocent civilian, for the sake of showing off, Sora's feelings were nothing more than "pity" and sympathy for other people's affairs.

It was not just Killua who felt that there was only "sympathy" in Sora's voice and words, and the shop fell into silence.

It was a Fake Spider that broke the silence.

"...... Are you crazy!? Because of you, an unrelated old man died!!"

"Don't blame others, even if it's my fault, I'm not responsible."

After Sora answered directly, the air at the scene solidified even more.

As she said, the reason an innocent old man was killed was because of Sora's involvement, but it was wrong to ask Sora to take responsibility.

The specific situation was not yet known, but 8 or 9 out of 10 grudges had no legitimate reason, but were unilateral grudges. Even if what Sora did to this man and his companions was not self-defense, it was this man's will that directed his resentment at someone else, not Sora herself.

The only person who should be responsible for killing the old man who guided Sora and Killua was the person who killed him, and Sora was completely correct.

However, this reason was far from human Conscience.

At least she shouldn't have said that. The people around me felt that this sentence should have been said by someone else, to comfort someone who was carrying a Heavy sense of guilt because they were the cause, even though it was neither a fault nor a responsibility.

Although there should be no responsibility, Sora's words were completely a transfer of responsibility from someone else's perspective.

The man who noticed this showed a twisted smile again.

"...... Haha! Is this your true nature! Ah, right! You said that three years ago!

If you can survive, you can sacrifice anyone! Hahaha! Whether now or in the past, you always bring a child and act like a good person, but you are a born criminal just like me!!"

Sora ignored the man's words and reached for the sugar jar on the edge of the table.

Regardless of whether he didn't realize he was being ignored, or whether he ignored what he ignored, the man continued to speak to himself with a smile on his face.

"... Hey, if you don't want to die, if you want to survive, then join forces with me. If you do, I'll forgive the price of these eyes and hands, and the revenge for my companions."

"With that 'power' of yours, you could join the real 'Spider'... No! You could become something that surpasses the Phantom Troupe!!"

"Shut up."

Sora told the man—who had gone from being "an annoying guy with a fake good-person face" to "someone of my own kind," and who had begun calculating profits with high tension, perhaps because greed had overcome his hatred—a single sentence, and then Sora brandished the teaspoon taken from the sugar bowl.

There was no longer even a trace of sympathy in that voice.

With nothing but a terribly cold disdain showing in those azure eyes, Sora sliced off the man's prosthetic hand.

From within the prosthetic hand that rolled away, the gun barrel spilled out along with it.

It was strange that a man whose strength was no different from the guys on the airship a few days ago, from Killua's perspective, had been so full of confidence, but it seemed this must have been his trump card.

In fact, the condescending attitude he had held just a moment ago had vanished, his smile stiffened on his face, and his eyes had already turned into those of a servile loser.

Sora stood up, holding the cheap silver-plated teaspoon in one hand, and looked down at such a man.

In terms of height, Sora was slightly shorter, so it would be more accurate to say she was looking up, but those eyes, like a cloudless midsummer sky, were cold and deep, and she spoke while looking down at her opponent.

"That's right. As I said before, I am a greedy, bottom-of-the-barrel person who would sacrifice anyone to survive, and I don't feel guilt if I'm not at fault, even if I am the cause."

"But don't lump me in with you. Don't compare me to a weakling who uses being a 'born criminal' as an indulgence, uses 'therefore, committing crimes is natural' as an excuse, and cannot even face their own sins."

"You are the one who did it, the one who killed. You are undoubtedly the one who killed innocent people who, just like you, wanted to live. That is a sin that even God cannot judge, a sin that only you will carry until you are one day crushed by its weight."

"Just as I killed your companions because I wanted to live."

Sora held the teaspoon against the man's face and continued to speak calmly, moving the spoon irregularly as if drawing a "line."

"Get lost, you cheap fake. I don't have enough desire to finish you off yet, at least not until you are crushed by your own sins and make your death my fault."

"Instead, I should cut off not just your left hand, but all your remaining limbs, turn them into Daruma dolls, so they can never see me again, nor that inferior, ugly Spider."

As she issued her final warning, the tip of Sora's spoon just touched the man's shoulder for a moment, and the man let out a shriek like a strangled bird, crawling away with his waist sagging.

When the man left, no one said anything, nor did they do anything. The well-meaning prospective Hunters did not go to catch the person who should have confessed to murder, but everyone just stared at Sora.

I looked at what I couldn't believe with the eyes of a monster.

That gaze that saw her as a monster was probably because the plain spoon had not only successfully sliced through the ceramic prosthetic hand, but also cut through the barrel embedded in the cavity, or perhaps because he didn't push the responsibility away. Was it because he heard a terrifying resolution that didn't even acknowledge self-defense?

Killua was also looking at Sora.

I was just watching.

"... Sorry, Killua. Got caught up in some strange trouble."

It was Sora herself who broke the few seconds of silence.

Turning to Killua, she apologized with a wry smile, her gaze already having returned from the azure sky to the night sky.

A clear change that could not be achieved by imagination or lighting. And then, the supernatural ability I had already seen several times.

Watching that smile, that troubled smile, Killua watched.

"Brother."

"Killua."

I saw the image of someone I didn't remember, someone who had been isolated and Sealed, forced to be forgotten, yet someone who could never disappear... I saw the image of "something."

I don't remember. Killua couldn't even realize he had seen this face.

Before it was perceived, it was forgotten. The twisted love of the Needle embedded in his brain decided it was "unnecessary" and placed it in the least-used corner of his head.

Nevertheless, no matter how he was induced, his heart made him resist.

Looking at Sora, he did nothing, casting a reproachful look just like at the beginning. Despite being terrified by Sora's supernatural ability, and although he wanted to hear Sora's resolve, he still wanted to be a "good person," and he could hear someone muttering for the sake of self-satisfaction.

"Such a dangerous guy, and they want to become a Hunter?"

Another voice that lacked the courage to criticize him to his face, wanting only to get rid of the heresy it didn't understand, followed by Sora's smile.

It didn't look sad.

However, she appeared lonely, as if she had given up on something.

A few years ago, Killua had certainly seen the same smile.

Before it could appear in Killua's mind, it was pushed back into the depths of his memory, crushed, trapped, and Sealed.

Yet, it truly touched my heart, which I could not control.

The helplessness and regret of time reignited, like when one is in a room full of toys and sees a "younger sibling" waving goodbye through a Heavy gate.

"... Killua?"

Unknowingly, Sora before him widened her eyes.

The table in front was smashed to pieces, and the wood chips on his fist reminded him of how he had suddenly smashed the table to pieces.

Killua didn't know what it was that made the helplessness and regret that revived in him want to cry.

But for some reason, it didn't confuse me.

Because I knew very well what I wanted.

From the day I met Sora, I never let go of that "answer."

"I am Killua Zoldyck, the third son of the Zoldyck family, a family of Assassins."

His name came out suddenly, and there was another commotion around them.

Even Sora raised her voice: "Eh!?"

Ignoring any of their reactions, Killua announced.

"Dangerous guy? Do you think aspiring Hunters and Professional Hunters are saints who know nothing!? What a calm brain!"

"If you can't forgive a murderer under any circumstances, then catch that stupid Fake Spider! Say what you want to say to me and the person in front of me!"

"If you don't have that level of 'preparation,' shut up!"

"I'm talking to you, Sora! What are you too?"

"Huh? Are you going to target me too?"

Even Sora, whose specialty is the Qi-breaking technique, could not understand the sudden sharpness of Killua, and asked blandly.

Killua answered this question immediately.

"Of course! What are you giving up on! If you can't say anything in the end, that face can smile, but you can't read the situation as usual, nor can you mentally read the other person's face." And body. And destroy the target!

"No, getting angry is annoying and tiring, isn't it?"

"Why do you have to ruin the atmosphere at a time like this!?"

Not knowing if it was intentional, a break in the flow appeared at an unexpected moment, and Killua rushed in, striking Sora quite heavily.

I jumped onto the chair and hit his head, but even though he was hit by Killua, who could open a 16-ton gate, Sora ended it with "That hurts!"

Although it is said to be an enhanced Nen Ability, the strong man rubbed his bruised head and still said without any regret as usual.

"Sorry, sorry. But getting angry is really tiring, so it's not that I don't get angry, I just get angry before I get angry. So I'm not good at seeing people get angry at me. It looks like I'm forcing people to do things I don't do because it's too troublesome, I'm sorry.

So, Killua, I'm sorry, I ruined you when you went to the trouble of getting angry.

But I'm glad you got angry for me and not at me. Thank you."

Kushari, Sora stroked Killua's head.

Instead of that lonely smile that seemed to have given up on something, it was Killua's childish selfishness, stubbornness, pride, and the usual smile that accepted everything, accepted everything, and Killua was speechless.

I waved Sora's hand, covering the heat on my face, and could only show my usual stubbornness, saying:

Killua didn't know, there was no more helplessness and regret in Killua's heart.

This is a memory he can't remember, but Killua doesn't know that someone's smile has been revived somewhere in his heart.

No one knows that Sora's smile is a repetition of the smile he saw when he healed the injured bird and watched it fly away.

"... Impossible, why don't you ask?"

"What are you doing?"

Sora asked Killua next to him while taking the direct bus to Zaban City, but Killua asked back.

Besides Sora and Killua, there were 2-3 other passengers on the bus.

Most of the prospective Hunters who arrived at that coffee shop and were waiting for the bus did not get on.

I don't know if they gave up on the exam, or if they were going to rely on other routes or navigators to reach the venue.

The reason for not getting on the bus was the fear of Sora, who possessed unknown abilities and was well-versed in the heavy sins of murder, and had made up his mind to "kill for a living." However, I don't know if he was afraid of Killua of the Zoldyck family, or if he had any thoughts about what the two said.

Sora and Killua didn't care.

I was curious, and what I wanted to know more was different.

"My strange power and my past."

I remember how I worried about how to explain my eyes until that Fake Spider appeared.

"... I just think it's the same whether I know it or not."

Killua rested his chin on the bus window and turned away, pretending to look at the passing scenery, but he knew Sora was looking straight at him through the window glass.

"The same? What?"

Killua continued to turn away with meaningless stubbornness and answered.

The answer given by hearts facing each other.

"Your strange power, your past, no matter what you know, it won't change the fact that Sora is a very strange woman. It's just troublesome to ask questions in doubt."

I'm not afraid to know it doesn't matter what you know. I decided never to let go.

So if you want to talk, wait until you talk. The answer I gave is that if you don't want to talk, I won't ask for the rest of my life, but I have no intention of being honest, and I answered a lie with my usual shamelessness.

"Oh, right! That's wise!"

"I can't believe it!!"

However, his unscrupulous words and deeds were still accepted with his usual smile.

He seemed to be able to see through Killua's true intentions, and it was frustrating that he couldn't help but like his smile, even though that smile was a bit painful.

(... Remember. One day, I will definitely make you so angry that you won't even have time to think it's annoying, or just very tiring.)

Having set such a childish goal, I thought I could take a nap until I reached my destination, but Sora said: "Ah, wait, Killua, don't sleep! I remembered something else I wanted to say!" However, he forcefully turned Killua's head in his direction.

Killua wanted to complain, holding his neck, making an unpleasant sound and faint pain, but before he could do so, Sora interrupted.

"Kimi's eldest son, do something!"

"Suddenly!? Or rather, what do you mean by the eldest son you mentioned!? An acquaintance!?"

"I don't know you! In the three times we met, three times, you said 'Hello, die'!!"

"Wait a minute! Seriously, what is your relationship with Illumi!!"

This is a place where Killua has nothing to do with it, but in the end, Sora succeeded in making Killua's self-introduction so annoying and tiring.

About 15 minutes later, Killua discovered that Sora was his sister-in-law, or a bride-to-be, and continued to keep his head down in a Genthru pose until the bus arrived in Zaban City.

The rare journey of Sora and Killua ended.

However, I haven't entered the original work yet. Sorry.

Before following the original work, the next time is a story that might cause problems if you don't let go for a while.