Nen Sage - Chapter 400
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Aug 22
4
While Conrad was speaking with Morel, he was simultaneously watching the person standing outside the door with a faint smile on his face.
The person was Lefani herself.
Because of the effective range of his Obelisk, Conrad could comfortably perceive where everyone around him was. He had already noticed Lefani observing the situation from a distance while he had been about to enter his room.
At first, he had not considered it particularly strange.
She had simply been somewhere farther away from the cabin, watching what was happening.
However, the moment Morel had approached Conrad and started talking with him, Lefani had moved closer.
Then Morel and Conrad had started drinking together, and Lefani had positioned herself near the cabin door.
That was when Conrad had begun paying attention to her movements.
She is clearly watching me.
Her movements are far too deliberate to be a coincidence.
Which means there is some kind of trap inside my room.
I need to figure out exactly what that trap is.
Conrad continued thinking about the situation while maintaining his casual conversation with Morel.
A few minutes later, Morel raised his arms and yawned.
"There is still plenty of time."
"The weather is quite calm as well. I think I'll lie down for a while and let some time pass."
Conrad nodded.
"Sure."
Morel returned toward his own area, while Conrad left the cabin and stepped onto the deck.
Lefani must have noticed him, because by the time Conrad reached the deck, she had already moved away and was standing farther from the cabin, pretending to watch the ocean.
Conrad smiled faintly.
Hmmm…
Normally, I would analyze this situation in much greater detail and act according to a plan.
But right now, I don't really feel like doing that.
Instead of continuing to observe her from a distance, Conrad simply walked directly toward Lefani.
Lefani noticed him approaching.
The moment their eyes met, she took a deep breath.
Conrad stopped directly in front of her.
"Now."
"I want you to tell me what you did to my room."
Lefani remained silent.
"As you said yourself, nobody here is stupid."
"So if you try to treat me like an idiot and deny it, or if you give me some excuse instead of telling me the truth right now…"
Conrad's smile disappeared.
"I'll kill you."
Lefani's pupils contracted.
"If you're after me, and if you have a mission involving me, then you already know that I'm not someone who hesitates to kill Hunters."
Conrad had said everything that needed to be said.
Lefani swallowed.
She instinctively took a step backward.
Her heartbeat accelerated.
Her mind felt as if it had suddenly been plunged into ice-cold water.
For two or three seconds, she could not produce a response.
Then, finally, she spoke.
"There is a biological explosive inside your room."
"It only works on you."
Conrad frowned.
"A Nen ability?"
Lefani shook her head.
"No."
"It isn't a Nen ability."
"We deliberately didn't use a Nen ability because there was a possibility that you would detect it."
"It's simply a technological explosive."
"The explosive effect itself is quite weak, but after the explosion, it poisons the target."
Conrad took a slow breath.
Because I have a certain resistance to poison, there is a very good chance that I would survive and eventually find a solution.
"But this is still a completely different method of attack."
"The enemy didn't use a Nen ability…"
"That is genuinely surprising."
Conrad understood very well how important Nen and Nen abilities were in the world of Hunter x Hunter.
However, he also understood something else.
Outside of Nen users, and particularly within the broader world, there were still people capable of creating extremely dangerous plans without using Nen at all.
Modern technology could be combined with careful planning, biological weapons, explosives, surveillance methods, and assassination techniques.
A person did not necessarily need Nen to become dangerous.
Conrad knew this intellectually, but knowing something existed and being fully prepared to deal with it were two different things.
His strategies had been developed primarily around dealing with Nen abilities.
This was different.
This was an attack that deliberately avoided the system he had spent so much time learning.
"…"
Conrad took another deep breath.
"Who prepared this plan?"
Lefani swallowed again.
"I can't tell you."
"I want to tell you, but I can't."
Conrad smiled slightly.
"Hmmm."
"Did someone use a Nen ability on you to prevent you from giving me information about this?"
"A type of curse?"
Lefani nodded.
She had started sweating lightly.
Conrad's smile widened.
"You don't need to worry."
"I'll deal with that part immediately."
As soon as Conrad finished speaking, the white glove appeared in his hand.
He focused his attention on Lefani.
Even without fulfilling the full conditions required to use the ability, Conrad's perception and understanding of Nen allowed him to determine whether a person possessed a fixed Nen curse or a similar type of Nen ability.
He examined Lefani carefully.
People who create Nen curses and similar abilities generally focus on two things.
The first is making the curse powerful.
The second is making it difficult to remove.
Because they put so much importance on those two aspects, many of them don't invest nearly as much effort into concealment.
Someone like me can easily detect Nen curses that weren't designed with concealment as a priority.
Usually, the creator is far more concerned with preventing the curse from being removed than preventing someone from discovering that it exists.
Conrad continued examining her for a while.
Then he smiled.
"Hmmm."
"You're not lying."
Lefani released a small breath.
Conrad continued thinking.
I could remove this curse from her right now.
Then I could make her talk.
But would the other side fulfill my conditions exactly?
If Lefani starts moving, if she reacts differently, the result could change and I would be hit by my own ability.
Even the fact that the other side already has someone like Lefani acting as a hostage could affect the situation.
They are not amateurs, I should expect more from them.
The entire thing was more complicated than simply removing a curse and demanding answers.
Lefani took another slow breath.
"Honestly…"
"I don't have a personal problem with you."
"I was simply caught in a situation I didn't want to be involved in, and I was forced to act against you."
"If you can do something about this curse…"
"I'll help you."
Conrad smiled.
"Why?"
Lefani looked at him.
"When I first asked you, you said you couldn't tell me."
"And now you're directly using the word 'curse.'"
The moment Conrad asked the question, Lefani began trembling.