"Hehe, I paid close attention this time. Quite a lot of people passed the Hunter Exam—eleven in total. And among them, nine were first-timers. That's an excellent result!"
As he spoke, Pariston picked up the teapot and refilled Netero's cup.
"There was a ninja, an avenger, a wanted criminal, someone from a family of assassins, and someone who wants to become a doctor. What a colorful bunch! And there was even an exceptionally talented manga artist who brought his wife along to take the Hunter Exam with him, and both of them passed. Chairman, are you sure you weren't bribed into going easy on them?"
"If someone wants to bribe me, they'd at least have to bring me a pot of tea that satisfies me," Netero replied calmly.
"Is that so? Hehe, and here I thought you were still the kind of man who was stern and impartial. Since you can be bribed, does that mean Ging bribed you too?"
Pariston's smile looked especially dangerous at that moment.
"I checked. Ging's son took this year's Hunter Exam too, and he was even the first one to pass and get his Hunter License. And I just so happened to hear that Ging has some supposedly very precious tea leaves that he got through black-market channels."
"Ging does have some good tea leaves, but I asked him for them many times and he never gave me any. And maybe I pestered him too much, because he up and vanished afterward. No idea where he ran off to."
"Is that so? Then I really did wrongfully accuse you, Chairman~" Pariston said, looking as cheerful as ever.
"Enough with the teasing, Pariston. Speak. What exactly did you come here for today?"
"Oh, it's this." Pariston sat up straighter. "There's been a rumor going around the Association lately. Supposedly, Chairman, you've been rather dissatisfied with how the Zodiacs have been handling their work recently, and you're planning to review them."
"Mm, that is true. What about it? If they're neglecting their work, then naturally I have to make random inspections."
"But not just that..." Pariston's eyes instantly grew deep and unreadable. "I also heard that you're considering removing any Zodiac whose work performance doesn't meet the standard."
"Mm, I have thought about that. If they can't do their work properly, then how are they qualified to stay in that position? The Zodiacs may all be strong people whose abilities I recognize, but as for how good they are at their jobs, I really haven't looked into it~"
Netero had once again started spewing nonsense with a completely straight face.
The Zodiacs obviously weren't all combat-oriented. Most of them were the support type, the kind who helped the Hunter Association operate smoothly. That rotten old geezer was really shameless.
"All right, that's enough tea for now. The V5 is waiting for me to attend a meeting, so I'll be off first."
With that, Netero got to his feet, patted his backside, and slowly shuffled out of the Chairman's office.
That left Pariston alone in the office, his smile gone as he sank into thought.
Pariston was a Triple-Star Hunter, the Vice Chairman of the Hunter Association, and also the Rat of the "Zodiacs." He was one of only two members whose appearance and name had not been altered to resemble the animal they represented. The other one was Ging.
His face always carried a gentle smile. At first glance, he gave people the impression of a bright, cheerful, likable young man. On the surface he seemed open, generous, and humble, yet the way he handled matters was highly overbearing.
But when he stopped smiling, it meant things were beginning to slip beyond his control.
Because Netero wanted to keep by his side "the kind of opponent he was worst at dealing with," Pariston had become the Vice Chairman of the Hunter Association three years ago.
In order to pull Netero down from the Chairman's seat while he was still alive, Pariston had constantly created one problem after another for him. To Pariston, Netero was an opponent across a game board, and causing trouble for him was simply one part of the game.
And in order to play that game against Netero, he had even planted one of his own people within the Zodiacs—the Monkey, Saiyu.
"So the Chairman has noticed something... Was Saiyu too sloppy?"
Since Pariston became Vice Chairman, eighteen Hunters had gone missing one after another. Naturally, there was no way Pariston wasn't involved.
"No, this started long ago. If he had noticed even the slightest clue earlier, he wouldn't have waited until now~"
Pariston's gaze deepened.
"And before this, the Chairman had Beans bring him a full set of manga. He had never read manga before, so why would he suddenly start taking an interest in it? And..."
Pariston took out a small notebook. Inside was a record of the people who had passed this year's Hunter Exam.
"One of the people who passed the Hunter Exam this time seems to be a manga artist, and not just any manga artist—someone whose accomplishments in that field are astonishingly high. I heard his talent and genius are absolutely unparalleled. Such remarkable talent~~~"
"And earlier, the Chairman also had Cheadle gather some materials for him. It looks like this really does have something to do with the Zodiacs. I'd better have Saiyu make preparations in advance... and notify Beyond while I'm at it~~~"
...
Greed Island, the outskirts of Antokiba.
"No good. This rough stone was fairly decent to begin with, but it was neglected for far too long. It's already covered in flaws."
Bisky stared at Milluki for a while, then shook her head.
"At most, I can give you some training and correction guidelines. Beyond that, I can't do anything else."
"That's enough." Roy smiled, while Milluki himself looked unconcerned.
After all, ever since he was born, his mom had done nothing but scold him—first by comparing him to his big brother, then after Killua was born, by comparing him to Killua too. And by the end, she had become too lazy even to scold him anymore. Milluki was already used to it.
"Then I'll leave it to you, senpai."
Roy took a small notebook from his pocket. Bisky accepted it and quickly wrote down a set of improvement guidelines inside.
It contained both the direction Milluki needed to move toward and a brutally strict training plan.
Roy was quite satisfied. After putting the notebook away, he walked over to Milluki's side and looked at him with a seriousness he rarely ever showed.
"Roy-aniki?" Milluki froze. It was the first time he had ever seen Roy with that kind of expression.
"Next, I want to put you through special training," Roy said in a deep voice. "I'm going to make you stronger."
(End of Chapter)
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