Chapter 15: Difficulty

"If an ordinary person accidentally ordered a 'steak set, slow-cooked over low Fire', what would you do?"

"Take the elevator home."

"That's a surreal scene, isn't it?"

The white-haired one getting off the elevator spoke in a playful tone, while the silver-haired one spoke with some impatience. If you looked at them from the side, they would look like siblings a little older than you.

However, the younger brother was the one who was decent to me.

"Hi, you're the 100th person."

Tonpa, who was already an Elder-level regular, thought this to himself and, as usual, played the part of a kind and amiable old man as he spoke to him.

At first, the two of them looked at Tonpa with eyes that said, "What on earth is this guy?", and I opened my eyes in some surprise.

"……Are you too lazy to count?"

"That's a disaster all at once!"

However, I was immediately met with merciless criticism. What's more, it wasn't just the silver-haired boy who looked like a younger brother of about twelve, but also the white-haired boy—who was indistinguishable as an older brother or sister, though for now, he seemed about 10 years older than the other.

If a younger brother had said that, I would still be slightly annoyed in my heart, "You bastard," but I didn't expect a rude remark to immediately get a response from those around. At 20 years old, Tonpa put on a good-natured smile, just as expected. I was drawn in.

However, a long time ago, his purpose had fallen into chaos; instead of being too young to ruin the once-a-year fun, it had become his reason for living, he was no longer young, and his nature had already rotted.

"Well, I had some free time, so I was counting. Based on experience, I know the reception time is still long." The boy wearing it glanced at me and asked the white-haired person.

"You didn't hear the start and end times of the reception from the navigator, did you?"

"Yes."

The male voice was slightly higher, the female voice slightly lower; Tonpa was a bit bewildered by the white-haired one, unable to tell the gender of the voice.

"Haha, far from a regular, I've taken the exam 35 times since I was 10; you could say I'm a veteran of the exam!"

"That's nothing to brag about, is it?"

"Give it up, old man."

This time, the two of them looked at them with pitying gazes simultaneously and said:

Needless to say, Tonpa swore that he would definitely make these damn little brothers drink super-strong Laxative juice.

"No, now that we've come this far, it's almost like a hobby.

By the way, are you two rookies? Then, this is a farewell gift from your senior."

With a bit of force, Tonpa immediately took out the juice and handed it to the two.

The silver-haired one said: "Oh, luckily, I just ate meat and I'm thirsty!"

It was the white-haired one who held his hand.

Tonpa had thought his younger brother was the more resolute type, but Tonpa understood his actions; both of them were suited to their age.

I didn't expect that the eyes of the white-haired one had already changed from a near-black indigo to a deep yet vivid blue, a royal blue.

"I don't need it."

"Hm? Is it a juice you don't like? There are other flavors."

While clicking his Tongue in his heart, "Are you a loser?

If you don't think this is a trap and just stay vigilant, if you are still playing the "good-tempered old man," you still have a great chance to crush them, and you might really just not like this juice. So I pretended not to notice the white-haired one's implied words, "Don't get involved with us."

"No. I don't like the food. But I don't want this."

However, such acting was stripped away by those blue eyes.

The white-haired one answered clearly, his Finger extending into the juice can Tonpa had handed him.

In fact, if you don't Tracking the can irregularly instead of straight, the can will roll on the floor, cutting cleanly and too smoothly along the way your Finger was Tracking, and the juice will spill out.

Tonpa and the regulars who had been watching the annual cheesy show opened their mouths wide, as if their jaws were about to drop.

"I'm afraid I can't drink beverages made in cans."

I don't know if they are male or female, a child or an adult, but the white-haired one's smile—I don't know if it was amusement, mockery, or pity.

But even if Tonpa didn't know what the white-haired one was thinking or smiling about, even if he didn't have the experience of the 35th Hunter Exam, he could understand this much.

His intuition warned him that this was a person he should not get involved with, just like the Magician who was confirmed to have passed the exam last year.

"... Ah ah..."

With no intention of deceiving him further, Tonpa simply retreated.

Fortunately, the other party was not like the Magician; they didn't seem to be battle-crazed. Wanting to escape, they immediately turned and left as if they had lost interest.

Just as I breathed a sigh of relief, my arm was grabbed.

"Gaga!"

"Don't make that sound, you're a pathetic old man."

Before I knew it, the silver-haired one who should have been beside the white-haired one was standing next to Tonpa, smiling like a cat.

"? Killua, what's wrong?"

The white-haired one called out to the younger brother who had moved without him noticing, but the boy ignored him, extended his free hand, and still held Tonpa's arm with a smile on his face.

"I'm thirsty, do you have any more? Give it to me."

The boy reached out his hand and continued speaking, looking up at Tonpa, as if to provoke him.

"I don't care if you use Manipulation on it. Poison doesn't work. So, give it to me."

Not only the white-haired one, she couldn't get involved with them, her own hair was the same.

"... Ah ah."

Tonpa followed the instructions, handed over the juice, and ran away from the two newcomers.

Even while running away, years of experience spoke to him.

This year's Hunter Exam is an eventful one.

"Don't overdo it."

Killua glared at Sora while sipping the juice Tonpa had given him.

Killua, who seemed to be at an age where he wanted to stretch, was once again irritated by his own defensive instincts and ability to counterattack quickly, even if it was only a slight counter; yet Sora replied with a curious expression.

"No, I don't know. The Zoldyck Family's resistance to poison. Or rather, if you knew what you were doing and just refused me, letting you drink it, I'm the worst."

Killua hummed and took another sip of juice, because he didn't like that he couldn't refute this argument at such a time, even though he was basically a fool who couldn't read the situation.

"I mean, just how deceptive are those eyes?"

"None. In my experience, I just think it's more likely. After all, things that have been modified later or have gimmicks are more fragile than things that haven't been modified at all, or things with shorter lifespans, and there are many lines."

Killua complained about Sora's gaze in a slightly aggressive manner, but Sora didn't care and explained with a smile.

Listening from the side, there wasn't much of a response to Killua's question, but Killua pursed his lips and turned away, only letting out a slight "Heh" as he stepped back.

I heard about the eyes from Sora in the elevator.

Even after getting off, when he discovered that Sora was his sister-in-law, or his sister-in-law-to-be, or a potential wife, he didn't know what to say. That was it.

In a sense, Sora was successful in diverting Killua's attention away from his potential wife, but did Sora realize that this ultimately made Killua feel worse in another direction?

When Killua glanced at Sora, he noticed her gaze and tilted his head with a confused look.

I had a look of not caring about anything, which was really annoying, so I swallowed the juice in one gulp and drank it down.

I couldn't help but dislike it.

Although liked by the rest of his family, he was the younger brother of a man who targeted his own life, which was better than being dented."

Most importantly, I didn't like the broken mentality of walking and laughing normally in a scattered field of vision, which made me realize that the people and things around me were always on the verge of collapse.

Although we were standing side by side, walking and talking, I still felt that Sora was very far away.

"Sora, Killua. Don't litter."

Although she was like a crazy woman, she caught the can before it hit the ground, scolded Killua like a normal person, like an older sister, and there was room for objection, so I would answer.

"This is a trash can."

"That old man is over there."

"Which old man are you talking about!? The old man who squeezed juice for me!?

Don't say such cruel things!!"

Sora rushed in, forgetting that he had treated Tonpa as a trash can, and started looking for Tonpa, ignoring Killua's push.

"Are you seriously trying to push the trash onto that old man?" He was surprised, but he didn't have any complaints about it; he thought Tonpa's reaction to being pushed slightly with trash was interesting. In my heart, I also looked around.

A chill ran down his spine, and Killua jumped involuntarily, leaving Sora where she was and immediately putting a distance of nearly five meters between them.

Startled by Killua's sudden movement, the people around turned their eyes toward him, but Sora, who was closest to him, didn't even look at him.

Sora didn't even turn around; she placed the can in her left hand behind her back and caught the thing that had jumped from behind her. While holding it like this, she opened the waist pouch filled with Jewel and weapons, held several Jewel in her hand, and turned toward the direction from which it had just flown.

Even though Sora turned to face him, the opponent didn't seem to want to stop the attack and run away, so Sora continued to repel the hands and feet covered in aura flying toward her with more force than before.

Sora jumped up to aim at her, was hit by her, and caused damage to the people around.

What was driving her now was the fact that she didn't want to die. Crazy wish.

The sudden offense and defense caused the people around to panic and flee. Most of the people running away didn't want to be hit by Sora, so they didn't know the situation, just felt the danger for a moment, and there were quite a few humans.

Killua couldn't move.

Leaving Sora behind to run away, I just watched from a safe distance.

Big brother said: "Do not fight an enemy you cannot win." The Curse voice echoed in my mind.

All I could do was watch.

He just watched as Sora continued to catch the Throw of the playing cards, which easily caused Penetration to human bodies, Wall, and steel cans.

"What!? What is this situation!?

The exam hasn't even started yet!? Am I the only one taking the exam right now!? I'm the only one with a different exam difficulty, aren't I!!"

However, although I knew that the person was seriously anxious, he said he was strangely not nervous, so he didn't feel guilty about abandoning him. Instead, I thought, "Do it seriously," and watched the match normally.

In fact, the opponent was just watching, and apart from throwing cards, he didn't add any attacks.

Even so, the group threw more than 50 cards. Sora, who was dodging and blocking, panted and glared at her opponent.

"... What is this sudden Harassment? Or rather, who is it?"

"Yeah, sorry, I just waited to see at first, but the result was fun because she reacted well."

"Ugh! Disgusting! What are you, an Explosion!"

"You're amazing!!"

When a man, Number 44, clapped his hands and appeared in front of Sora dressed like a clown, Sora expressed his frank impression and request without hesitation, and Killua was barefoot; I respected him a little. I certainly didn't want to learn from him.

The people around, especially those who knew what Hisoka had done last year, admired Sora's ignorance and bravery just like Killua.

They had originally thought Sora's head would be cut off by Hisoka's cards as compensation for their bravery, but the person who was told "too scary" just hummed happily.

"I am Hisoka, nice to meet you. Are you brothers? They look very similar."

"Hi hi, by the way. Hey, boy. Let's go."

Hisoka narrowed his long, narrow eyes, introduced himself as Sora, and asked for a handshake. He called him "boy" and tried to stay away from him.

Killua was not stupid enough to question this, so he followed Sora in a rare, submissive, and silent manner.

His every word and action, even now, the viscous bloodlust he lunged at me with, clearly told me the level of danger this man posed.

Sora and Killua both indicated that they didn't want that man to know their faces, but they also didn't want to know their names.

"I'm bored. Can you tell me your names?"

"My name is Nameless Memorial, do you want to come with me!"

However, Hisoka didn't seem to give up on this, but followed Sora and Killua around, talking to them.

Seeing that persistence, and truly feeling the gaze on his own buttocks, Sora got angry and turned to complain to Hisoka. While guarding Killua and my butt.

"Sorry, sorry, you look delicious."

However, Sora let out a strange, chick-like cry, stroking her own body to calm the goosebumps all over.

Killua was also attracted by a man who looked like a pervert at a trade fair to him, but he kept sexually harassing him, making a decent reaction to a woman whose chastity and sense of shame were broken.

"What on earth are you! You really, go away! You're going to make me cry!!"

Sora, already halfway to tears, shouted a threat that lacked any menace, but of course, such shouting was merely a joyful reaction to this pervert, and Hisoka narrowed his eyes in delight.

"Hmm, I really want to see your crying face, I even want to make you cry, but if you hate me any more, it would be a waste if I couldn't avoid you, so I'll leave for now."

"With that said, I will try my best to avoid you in the future!!"

Fortunately, the other party seemed to be the type to save things for later, so he didn't want to do anything now, turning and walking away while telling Sora he wasn't happy at all.

I didn't want to see the clown's back as he walked away, but out of caution, the two of us saw him off, and the three-meter distance made me breathe a sigh of relief.

"... What was that pervert. Hey, Sora. Just how much trouble are you and that pervert in?"

"It's not my fault for attracting my attention!?"

For a moment, although he understood that Sora wasn't bad at all, Killua complained half-jokingly.

Seeing him rubbing his arm as if still holding his own body, it seemed Hisoka was truly too disgusting, and he couldn't help it.

As far as Killua knew, Sora always had plenty of time to play, so his reaction was fresh and interesting, so he tried to tease him.

"Before that, I'll ask you one thing."

The voice wasn't close, nor was it loud, but perhaps because Sora and Killua were attracted by other students involved with Hisoka, they heard it strangely.

Immediately after, Sora was pulled in.

"!"

"!? Sora!"

Attracted by a magnet, or pulled by an invisible string, Sora was blown backward and landed in Hisoka's arms.

Sora said nothing.

However, the eyes that had been streaming with tears until just a moment ago were now dry, and she looked up at Hisoka with a face of disgust, glaring at her.

Hisoka's slender fingers pinched Sora's chin, lifting her head, while Killua was unable to move and couldn't get close, I could only watch.

I couldn't say stop or leave.

Reflected in Hisoka's narrowed eyes was Sora's displeasure, and she asked.

"Didn't your eyes change color?"

Sora did not answer.

I didn't answer anything, my fingers brushing over the back of Hisoka's hand wrapped around my waist.

I crawled my fingers irregularly to draw a line.

"Are you crazy?"

Saying this, Sora pulled Hisoka's hand away from her chin.

Hisoka also released the hand resting on her waist, smiling with a face full of happiness: "Is this just my imagination?"

Looking at Sora's eyes, whether near or far, they clearly presented blue eyes, watching them with a sticky gaze.

Despite this, Sora persisted.

"That's right, it's just your imagination. So don't play this clown act anymore."

Hisoka offered an apology of "sorry" and left the scene in a good mood, though it was annoying, still without any remorse or sincerity.

Last year was truly too boring, I wanted to get involved with an Examiner, but the Examiner was also slow to react, I didn't even want to kill him, so my expectation that this year would be better than last was quickly disappointed. I couldn't help but be happy about it.

When Hisoka first saw the gray-haired, gender-ambiguous Sora, she only noticed him because he was a Nen user.

"Mata" was created, but for some reason, the amount of Aura it wrapped was unstable, and the amount of Aura on the torso was very small. I thought.

However, the base amount of Aura was large, and if I had to score it, the minimum would be 70 points, and the maximum 85 points. As a "toy," it was a passing grade, but Hisoka was more attracted to the silver-haired boy Killua, who looked like a younger brother.

"Just in case" hadn't woken up yet, but because he wasn't there, I excitedly discovered a true blue fruit with infinite possibilities. When I held a grudge.

The juice I drank at the beginning was within my expectations.

However, in an instant, the Aura rose from "mata" to the hands and feet, the Aura was further enhanced, concentrated on "Hard," just to see how he would handle the cards he threw. Hisoka's evaluation of Sora changed completely.

I thought she might have developed a strange habit through self-study, but it seemed her fighting style was to concentrate Aura on her hands and feet, and the tension was raised to a higher level.

Most importantly, I was so excited by her Aura that she covered her hands and feet with Aura to play with the cards she threw, but she used "Bungee Gum" to connect Hisoka's hands and other cards. What I was doing was avoiding or using luggage and weapons I stole from nearby Examinees, never making direct contact with them.

Meeting Sora for the first time, unexpectedly, he showed a perfect answer to Hisoka's ability, so she was excited to say "Yes," and used up a deck of Poker cards.

Hisoka's pants were loose, similar to knickerbockers, so Sora was certainly lucky for those around her. The reason is, if you don't know, the world will be more peaceful.

By the time he found her, Hisoka's goal for this year's Hunter Exam seemed to have been reached, and Hisoka walked away in a good mood, humming a tune.

When I was walking leisurely in the state of the Ten Commandments of Moses, a madman appeared and shouted at Hisoka.

"Hisoka."

This wasn't the level of punk or rock, but a Mohawk, with needles as thick as nails stuck into his body, face, and head, to the point where I wondered why he was still alive. We gave it our all.

Hisoka looked at the Needle Man, stunned for a moment, then said: "What's wrong, Illumi, are you taking the exam too?"

"Yes."

Also, that silver-haired kid I was just teasing is my brother, if you touch him, I'll kill you."

The relationship was still short, but the eldest son of the Zoldyck family, who had successfully established a concessionary relationship, I ignored it and stated my request directly.

However, although they hadn't established much of a relationship yet, Hisoka was good at reading others' thoughts, making them waver and work for his own convenience.

I noticed that the cold and indifferent Illumi was provoked to the point where Lobo looked more human.

"Silver-haired girl? Isn't the white-haired girl different from you? They look very similar, I thought they were brothers."

"No. Impossible. Or rather, they look different. That woman doesn't look like Killua."

This time, even if it wasn't Hisoka, the area around Hisoka and Illumi was struck by killing intent due to being spoken to in such a rough, rough tone, and the whole person felt empty.

Satisfied with this unusual reaction to being struck by killing intent, "Today is truly a good day," he then continued the conversation indifferently.

"Ah, so it's a girl, why do you dislike her so much?"

Just as Hisoka said, I thought they were brothers, so I didn't consider it, but if Sora is a complete stranger, I can only describe him as a kind person, and Sora is protecting Killua from Hisoka's harm.

The first time I threw the trump card, I tried my best not to run to Killua's side, flipping the trump card over so it wouldn't fly away; he stood in front of him, completely hiding Killua from Hisoka.

When he was attacked, he used the Bungee Gum he was careful not to touch to block for Killua.

Hearing Hisoka's words, Illumi's face twisted in disgust. Although Hisoka wanted to see his true face, Illumi just muttered, "... a hypocrite."

"... Because I don't like her. Because I really hate that woman!"

"No, I want to ask you why."

Although he said he was just a little annoyed, Illumi radiated an aura that he didn't want to talk about it anymore, so Hisoka gave up on trying to find out what happened to her.

I, on the other hand, deliberately tilted my head and asked: "By the way, what is unnecessary?"

"Because of your interference, that woman is completely on guard. The worst."

... Damn it! What exactly is he? He can instantly see through disguises, can see through "Zetsu" even when it's difficult to "circle around," and can dodge attacks even when attacked from a complete blind spot. You say that pair of eyes alone is troublesome, but do you also have Fortune Telling?

Well, thanks to Hisoka, my killing intent was mixed in, and the other party didn't notice me; it was a blessing in disguise."

While answering Hisoka's question, Illumi gradually began to complain, but Hisoka's eyes widened involuntarily because the content of the complaint was creepy.

Its content clearly indicated that anyone could do something terrifying enough, but what Sora did because the other person was Illumi was no longer terrifying.

Hisoka's greatest praise, "a surprise attack doesn't work" for a natural-born Assassin, made Hisoka's surprise exceed his imagination, and immediately after, a joyful smile appeared on his face.

"... Hehe, an active elite Assassin, she is enough to escape you."

Getting more and more excited about this year's exam, Hisoka, trembling with joy, told her, which even offended Illumi a little.

"... It would be fine if Hisoka liked her and killed her, but don't stop her escape or killing in front of me."

"Hey, why?"

Responding to Illumi's request, Hisoka asked with a smile.

Illumi thought for a moment, looking at that smile, with an extremely skillful expression indicating that she was really disgusted, even though it was expressionless.

"... That woman basically puts her own survival first, so even if I attack her, she will only run away. If you do that, you will have no choice."

I thought that if I told him, Hisoka would definitely use all his strength to force Sora, so I hesitated whether to say it, but because of Hisoka's personality, it was unpleasant, but my brother and I had definitely recognized her as a toy, so it was a long-awaited toy. I answered honestly, thinking I would avoid a situation where the number of people decreased.

Just as Illumi expected, the battle-crazed Hisoka was told how to make her get serious, and he laughed even harder, radiating an aura that made it impossible to tell whether it was madness, killing intent, or lust.

Illumi felt a little regretful about this person's unexpected disgusting aura and rubbed his own arm, getting goosebumps.

While rubbing, Illumi bit his lip hard, feeling uncomfortable.

Even with so many disgusting things in front of me, I can't forget the look in Sora's eyes that day; on the day we met for the third time, I met her at home, then chased her in a circle, and then I forced her into a Kabedon that day; it was unpleasant and inevitable.

With nowhere to escape, thinking that she could finally kill this woman who disliked everything and wanted to kill her with her own hands instead of as an Assassin, she muttered to herself.

"I don't want to die," he said.

Of course, if such pleading worked, Illumi wouldn't have gone to chase Sora in the first place.

The person who said this knew more than Illumi.

So this was not a plea for survival.

That was a warning before the madness that maintained a strange balance collapsed on one side.

Sora said to the person who didn't heed the warning.

"—Then that can only kill you, right?"

I will never forget that moment, I smiled so beautifully that I couldn't believe it came from this world, reflected in the azure eyes, the azure name, which means the distant sky.

For the first time in my life, I felt the fear of "death," and I thought it had always been by my side, right beside me.

If possible, I would like to throw as many Needles at her as possible now, and then attack her with Needle People, but even if I am not in the current alert mode, it is impossible for it to work. Because Illumi was able to kill him, Illumi placed his nails on the arm he had been rubbing, suppressing his killing intent.

If Sora came to take the exam alone, her personality would be identified as a natural enemy, because her personality had already been barely caught by the one-sided killing of the three. Illumi, if you find that you are there, you are very likely to give up the exam and run away.

Not being able to kill him is frustrating, but it is much better than getting close to him, so Illumi would definitely do this before talking to Hisoka, but for some reason, Sora's younger brother, who should have run away from home, and his sister. We are Together like brothers.

Killua has Illumi's poison Needle embedded in him, so I can know where he is to a certain extent, but even so, there are limitations, so if possible, I want to take him home as soon as this exam is over. I want to take the exam properly and pass, so I can't let Killua know my true identity.

Except for the Needle People disguised by Illumi, Killua usually knows that Illumi's weapon is a Needle, so Illumi feels disgusted by the current situation where he can neither approach Sora nor throw weapons.

While admiring the human-like Illumi, Hisoka thought about his expectations for the Hunter Exam that had not yet begun.

Hisoka looked up at the sky in ecstasy, because this year's exam was set as a high-difficulty exam harder than last year's, a decision that excited him.

... It's better not to say where you are looking up at the sky.

It is normal for people who run away to have crazy difficulty, but once they successfully run away, the person who kills them will also have crazy difficulty.