There was a moment of silence in the attic.
"…No need for that," Silva finally said.
"I'll take you to see Alluka."
He knew too. The Gaseous Lifeform "Ai" from the Dark Continent that lived inside Alluka… sooner or later, it had to be dealt with.
And Germain might just be the key to that solution.
Half an hour later, Silva led the way.
Germain followed behind him, passing through one heavy gate after another.
Other than them, there were two more people traveling together on this trip: Killua and Tsubone.
Finally, only the last gate stood before them.
But after opening it, Silva let Tsubone go in alone. Everyone else stayed outside.
A while later, Tsubone came back out.
She was tall and broad-shouldered, wearing a monocle, and smiling cheerfully like nothing had happened.
If you ignored the blood dripping from her finger, that is…
"Young Master Alluka wanted the fingernail from my pinky," Tsubone explained, then bowed slightly toward Silva. "Lord Silva, I'll take my leave now."
"Hm," Silva nodded.
Then Tsubone vanished like a blur, quickly disappearing down the corridor lined with heavy gates.
Silva let Tsubone interact with Alluka, but of course, he didn't allow it without some form of control.
He understood that the best restriction was to use the rules of "wishing and demanding."
The last person who made a wish was Milluki. He had asked for an expensive, high-performance computer.
Alluka granted that wish.
Normally, after such a wish, the next person would have to fulfill Alluka's "requests," but they wouldn't be too difficult.
And just as Silva had predicted, Alluka's first "request" this time was simply Tsubone's pinky nail.
In Silva's understanding, to reach the point where Alluka can grant a new wish, Tsubone would need to fulfill two more of Alluka's "requests."
However, if Tsubone fulfilled just one request and then left midway, Alluka wouldn't be able to pass the rest of the requests onto someone else.
In other words, as long as Tsubone never appears in front of Alluka again, no one else can make a wish.
But if Tsubone were to die for any reason, it would be considered a "request failed."
Everything would reset, and the difficulty of fulfilling new requests would drop back to the lowest level.
This was also one of the reasons why the Zoldyck family, knowing the limitations, still decided to imprison Alluka.
"Now we can go in," said Silva.
In fact, before Silva could finish his sentence, Killua had already taken the lead and quickly walked inside. After that, Germain followed and entered with Silva.
A surprised scream echoed from inside the room.
When Germain entered the rather spacious, enclosed prison cell, the first thing he noticed was the floor covered with various sized dolls. Only then did he spot Alluka.
Alluka's hair was still the same as her mother Kiyoka's—pure black, long, and straight.
She was small in stature, dressed in a shrine maiden outfit, with a headband engraved with the four expressions of "joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness."
At that moment, Alluka was enjoying a long-awaited warm hug from her most beloved older brother. Her cute face showed an expression of contentment.
Silva simply crossed his arms and watched, not saying a word.
Meanwhile, the other members of the Zoldyck family were watching the scene from the monitoring room.
Killua sincerely apologized for not coming to visit Alluka for a long time.
Alluka immediately forgave him without hesitation. In fact, she had never blamed or resented Killua.
"I'll never be angry with my brother! Just being able to see you makes me so happy! I'm really so glad!"
Alluka cheerfully leapt onto Killua, rubbing against him like a little kitten.
The more she acted like this, the more guilty Killua felt inside.
Over the past year, he'd been thinking about traveling and having fun, and he had left Alluka and Nanika behind here.
It was then that Alluka noticed Silva's presence. She immediately jumped off Killua and, in an obedient manner, ran over and hugged Silva's leg.
"Father, long time no see! I'm so happy! Today, I actually get to see both my brother and father together!"
Silva smiled and returned the hug, asking a few concerned questions before releasing Alluka.
Alluka's attention was then drawn to the stranger standing nearby—Germain.
However, she wasn't shy at all. She simply stared at Germain with big, curious eyes.
"You... who are you?"
Killua approached, whispered a few words to Alluka, and then, holding her hand, introduced the only stranger in the room to her.
"This is Mr. Germain, our friend," Killua said. "He wanted to meet you."
"Mr. Germain." Alluka blinked her large eyes and walked over, extending her hands to him.
"My brother just told me that you've been taking care of him recently. Thank you so much for looking after him!"
"You're welcome." Germain shook her hand, feeling that she was really small and delicate, like fragile tofu—like she could break if handled too roughly.
However, this doesn't mean that the "Gaseous Lifeform, Ai" is weak.
After all, this body is human, a vessel where Alluka and Nanika coexist.
Germain could sense the energy hidden within Alluka, a very strong life force.
Perhaps, even if Alluka were to be eliminated, Nanika could not be completely killed—that was Germain's first impression.
"My brother said you came to see me," Alluka tilted her head slightly, her hands clasped behind her back, looking both curious and cute. "Why is that?"
Germain replied, "I heard that Alluka is Killua's favorite younger sister, so I came to see you. Besides that, I brought you a gift."
When Alluka heard Germain say she was "Killua's favorite younger sister," her face lit up with satisfaction, and she giggled foolishly.
When she heard Germain had a gift for her, her curiosity was instantly piqued.
However, she knew basic manners and stole a glance at Silva and Killua, uncertain if she should accept it.
Silva silently nodded. He had already learned from Germain what the gift was, so of course, he wouldn't oppose it.
Killua also smiled and said, "Alluka, it's fine. You can accept the gift."
Alluka immediately became excited.
She placed her hands on her chest, looking expectantly at Germain.
What could it be? What could it be? Alluka couldn't help but shake her head and sway in anticipation.
Germain opened the bag he was holding, revealing a handheld gaming console, marked with the logo "Greed Island Z."
Alluka tilted her head in surprise.
She recognized the handheld gaming console, but she wasn't really in need of one and didn't particularly enjoy playing games.
Although she wasn't fond of the gaming console, she wouldn't outright refuse it.
Just as she was about to reluctantly accept, she heard Germain explain further.
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