To everyone's surprise, Germain said he didn't find any answers from the timeline they had laid out, and told everyone to go back to doing their own thing.
Although everyone was suspicious, they had no choice but to leave for now.
They moved around the campfire like planets orbiting in their own paths.
Germain walked around the fire and approached a large tree that sat on the edge of the dim firelight and the darkness beyond. There, under the shadow, he found Shizuku squatting quietly.
Shizuku had her arms wrapped around her knees. She looked up and gave Germain a blank stare.
Germain could tell something was off with her mood and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I…" Shizuku hesitated for a while, adjusted her black-rimmed glasses, and said, "Are there really four 'fake people' among us?"
"Yes. You heard the analysis earlier. I didn't bring more than three people into this rainforest swamp, yet there are eight of us here. That doesn't add up."
Germain gave her a doubtful look and asked, "Did you find some kind of clue?"
Shizuku shook her head. After a moment of hesitation, she asked, "Do you think… it's possible that I'm one of the fake ones?"
Huh?
Germain froze for a second when he heard that.
He hadn't expected anyone to question their own existence. But since it was Shizuku, it kind of made sense.
"Why would you think that?"
"Well, I've got a terrible memory, right? Everyone makes fun of me for it…"
Shizuku lightly tapped her head with her fist as she spoke.
"Maybe I'm one of the fake ones who snuck in… and I just forgot about it. It sounds like something I'd do, right?"
Normally, she'd never admit it. But sometimes, she was surprisingly self-aware.
Germain couldn't help but laugh and said, "Don't worry, Shizuku. You're not one of the fakes."
Shizuku's eyes widened. She stared at him like she had just heard something unbelievable, and asked:
"Is what you're saying true? How can you be so sure? Why?"
She fired off a series of rapid questions.
Germain explained:
"After I laid out that timeline earlier, I actually figured out the rules of the post-mortem Nen ability of 'Twin-Tailed Snake: Hellbell.'"
"I don't get it."
Shizuku shook her head.
Germain began explaining step by step.
"There are actually easier and more discreet ways it could've gone about this. It wouldn't have left any gaps in the timeline. Like, for example—just replacing one of us outright. Or even someone we remember."
"But it didn't do that. Which means it either chose not to… or it can't."
"If it's the former, that would mean it has the ability for something like 'perfect hypnosis,' and it purposely left holes in the story just to make us kill each other."
"But honestly, that wouldn't make sense. If it could do that, it could've just hypnotized us into fighting. No need to be so elaborate."
"So I lean toward the latter—it can't do that."
"I noticed something—the number of 'fake people' was increasing slowly. When I first realized something was wrong, there were seven of us. Then it became eight."
"In other words, they're like nails, slowly driven into your flesh. You start bleeding, then it festers, and the wound spreads."
"The way they alter reality and memory… is by inserting themselves into our memories. Bit by bit, they eat away at what's real."
"Replacing someone entirely—that's something they can't do. At least not right now."
"So, that means… if we want to figure out who's real, there's one way."
"Find someone who, like me, is essential to the timeline. Someone whose absence would make everything fall apart. If that person's not there, none of what followed could've happened."
Shizuku's eyes were already glazing over halfway through. Whether she understood or not didn't seem to matter—she just nodded in surrender, accepting that Germain must be right.
At this point, trusting Germain was enough.
Germain continued speaking:
"Your Nen ability, Blinky, is second only to mine in importance during the Dark Continent exploration."
"No one else here has an ability that can replace yours, so you must be the real one."
"If you're not real, then it shakes the very foundation of me being real."
Shizuku blinked her big eyes, licked her lips, and said:
"So basically, I'm a real person, right?"
"Yes."
At that moment, a voice suddenly came from behind a tree, and a figure stepped out, startling Shizuku.
She turned her head to look—and it was Ging, with a thick beard.
She instinctively glanced at Germain, her eyes silently asking: Did Ging hear our conversation? Should we silence him?
Germain understood her look and waved his hand to dismiss the idea.
Ging smirked and explained:
"I'm just like you guys—a real person. For the same reason—irreplaceability."
"Without me, you wouldn't even be able to connect with Greed Island, let alone get any support from it."
"They can imitate Greed Island's cards, and even partially mimic their abilities, but they can't fully replicate the core network tied to Greed Island."
"After all, they're just a bunch of creatures from the Dark Continent, trying to understand humans through our memories."
"They never expected us to stay calm in a situation like this—to not immediately suspect each other and start killing. Because of that, there were many gaps in their memory editing."
"Also, the scope of their memory alteration is limited."
"Most of their interactions with us happened from the end of 1997 up until now—everything else is a blur."
"If they had more time, maybe they could've done better, huh?"
As Ging finished, his tone actually sounded a little regretful, like he was genuinely curious to see how far they could've gone.
"In short, once Germain realized what was going on, he quietly ended the meeting and came to me first to explain the situation—before we approached you."
"The reason we're being so cautious is because we still have one more teammate. Among the five others, we don't know which one is truly on our side yet."
"Until we find him—or her—it's best to keep this part of the information secret."
When she heard words like "cautious" and "keep it secret," Shizuku instinctively covered her mouth.
Then her black-and-white eyes darted around, like she was afraid even the sound of her breathing might give them away.
Germain said:
"Just act natural."
So Shizuku slowly lowered her hands, blinked her big eyes, and asked in a soft voice:
"How are we going to find our last teammate?"
Germain said:
"Actually, we already have a suspect. We're just not sure yet. The reason, again, is irreplaceability."
"I'm irreplaceable because of the 'Teleport Lantern.' You're irreplaceable because of the 'Blinky.' And Ging's irreplaceable because of 'Greed Island.'"
"So what else is irreplaceable? Of course—it's the ability that keeps the team going in battle..."
"At first, I was torn between 'Stress Relief' and 'Healing,' but after thinking about all the times I had to go through 'Virtue and Torment,' I finally decided that 'Stress Relief' is essential."
"In our team, both Reynard and Bisky have Nen abilities related to 'Stress Relief.' So, the last teammate must be one of them."
"But the two of them joined the team pretty early on. And from what we remember, there aren't any clear gaps in their behavior. It's hard to tell who the real one is."
Shizuku asked:
"Then what do we do now? Call them both over and ask them directly?"
"That works too," Germain said. "Bring those two here first. Even if we can't tell who's real right away, it doesn't matter."
At that moment, Shizuku suddenly realized what Germain was planning.
"I get it now. We're targeting everyone except them, right?"
Germain nodded.
"Exactly… Their numbers are growing. We can't afford to wait any longer."
"If we let the sun rise, this place will be swarming with people. Things will get even messier, and reality itself might be altered by them."
He turned to Ging and added:
"I'm counting on you to keep an eye on Reynard and Bisky. See if you can spot the 'fake person' among them. Shizuku and I will take care of the rest."
"Got it. Leave it to me," Ging replied.
********
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