The dining hall in Limeiro Castle had been deliberately decorated by Dwun to exude a vintage atmosphere.
Crystal chandeliers and candelabras cast a warm, soft glow across the room.
A long table was laden with all kinds of delicious dishes, each one expertly crafted by the elderly Granny Linne—who was now dozing off at the head of the table.
"So that's what happened!"
Dwun burst out laughing after listening to Gon recount how their team had recently cleared the large-scale raid, "Chimera Ant King."
His messy afro bobbed slightly as he turned his head toward the person seated across the table—Germain.
"I almost forgot," Dwun grinned, "You were summoned by Hero's Arrival too... So, what did you think of the Ant King? Was the design up to par?"
"Not bad at all," Germain replied casually.
He stabbed a cherry tomato with his fork and popped it into his mouth.
"There's a certain level of difficulty, but it's not impossible to handle."
He was speaking from the perspective of an average player, but then added a note of criticism.
"After Phase Two, isn't the Ant King's predictive dodging a little too frequent? Just because I can hit him doesn't mean regular players can."
Suddenly, a spherical device on the table lit up.
A second holographic projection appeared alongside Alluka's—this time, displaying the familiar image of the vacant-eyed Ickshonpe.
But in truth, Ickshonpe was far from the fool his virtual appearance suggested.
He immediately countered Germain's critique.
"The Ant King was intended to deal with multi-player attacks. That includes players' Nen abilities, skill cards—basically a wide variety of tactics."
"Without predictive dodging and a massive health pool, he'd just get ganged up on and beaten to death in seconds."
"You think every player can solo the Ant King like you?"
Dwun snapped his fingers with a proud smirk.
"Exactly. Ickshonpe and I designed the Ant King with that philosophy in mind. There's gotta be some challenge to it."
"Alright, I get it now."
Germain nodded, then followed up with another question.
"So the first raid boss has been cleared. What's next on your agenda?"
"We're already designing the second large-scale dungeon," said Ickshonpe, floating calmly above the long table, arms crossed like a bizarre version of Mickey Mouse. "The name will be Ancient Labyrinth."
The inspiration behind the dungeon was obvious to anyone familiar with the project.
Dwun continued, "To make this dungeon a reality, we've already discussed many of the details with Granny Linne, Abengane, Razor, Eta, and Elena."
He paused, then added, "Given our lack of staff, we've also sent out invitations to several professional Hunters — including Tsezguerra and Gashta — hoping they'll join the team as employees."
Tsezguerra and Gashta were veteran players from Greed Island Z. Both were licensed Hunters, once employed by the wealthy and eccentric billionaire, Battera.
After Killua's team cleared the main storyline of the game, Tsezguerra's team — with the help of Gashta — followed shortly after. Together, they completed the quest and earned the rare card Breath of Archangel for Battera.
With that card, Battera was able to save his beloved. He fulfilled his promise and paid Tsezguerra's team a generous reward.
Suddenly freed from financial burdens, Tsezguerra, Gashta, and the others began seeking something beyond money — a higher purpose.
That was why they agreed to consider joining the Greed Island development project.
They had spent a long time on Greed Island Z. It wasn't just for the missions — they genuinely cared about it.
If they could help make Greed Island Z even better, they'd be proud. After all, they were players once too.
Dwun went on, "As for the link between Greed Island and Refuelling Island, we're already working on that as well. When the time comes, I'll personally go and finish the final setup."
"List will stick to the original plan — preparing the technical groundwork on the New Continent and waiting for the day when Greed Island, Refuelling Island, and the New Continent are finally connected."
Their vision was already far beyond just Greed Island.
And the person who sparked all of this change... was Germain.
"Not bad at all. Let's go with that."
Germain leaned back slightly, echoing Ging's current stance—completely delegating authority to the team stationed on Greed Island.
When it comes to specialized tasks, it's best to leave them to the professionals.
Seated at the same table, aside from the dozing old Granny Linne with her eyes closed, and the quietly focused Shizuku, there were also members of Killua's team.
However, the atmosphere around them was noticeably tense.
They sat stiffly, half-focused on Germain and the others' conversation, while carefully nibbling on their dinner, trying not to draw attention.
Only Killua and Gon seemed immune to the pressure.
Familiar with this group, the two boys displayed their youthful energy without reserve—one hand holding a drumstick, the other clutching a steak, devouring their food with wild abandon.
Even Alluka, usually composed, couldn't help but look a little embarrassed by the two's lack of decorum.
As Germain wrapped up his talk with Dwun and Ickshonpe, Killua, still chewing his food, turned toward him and mumbled something incoherently.
"Swallow that meat first," Milluki muttered, rolling his eyes as he wiped the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief.
"No one can understand a word you're saying."
After gulping down the mouthful, Killua's eyes lit up with curiosity as he asked,
"Germain, did you come back to Greed Island so suddenly because of the New Continent... and us?"
At his question, all the "disqualified candidates" sitting at the long table turned their attention toward him.
Gon, Hanzo, and Pokkle were especially eager to hear the answer.
There was clearly a reason Killua had asked that.
Their team had already cleared the main storyline of Greed Island Z, and Granny Linne had personally confirmed that they'd passed the selection trial.
Yet despite this, they were still barred from entering the Dark Continent.
The reason?
The time hadn't come.
But then it all began to change.
When Kite and Izunavi returned with shocking news that shook the world...
When Leorio arrived on the island following a proposal from his mentor...
And when Germain appeared as well...
That's when Killua realized—
The "right time" had finally come.
Germain set down his knife and fork, picked up his napkin, and slowly wiped his mouth with measured grace.
Only then did he speak.
"That's right. You all did very well on Greed Island."
"Young people like you deserves to step onto a much bigger stage."
"As long as you're willing, I'll take you to the New Continent."
With Germain confirming Killua's earlier claim, several people who had already been yearning for the Dark Continent couldn't help but widen their eyes in excitement.
He turned his head and looked toward the spiky-haired boy.
"Gon, this time… you'll meet your father."
Gon nodded vigorously, eyes sparkling.
Then Germain turned to the silver-haired boy.
"And Killua, you'll meet your older brother, Illumi."
The room fell silent.
Killua froze for a moment before reacting.
"Ah… that guy's on the New Continent too?"
Unlike Gon's pure joy, Killua's expression instantly turned sour, like he had just stepped in something unpleasant.
"No wonder there hasn't been any news about Illumi," Milluki muttered as he stroked his round chin.
"So he boarded the BW1 and headed to the New Continent, huh?"
It wasn't unusual for Illumi to vanish for a year or two when out on a mission, so the Zoldyck family hadn't been concerned about his long absence.
But now, for the first time, the three Zoldyck siblings had a clear idea of Illumi's whereabouts—though none of them seemed thrilled by it.
Milluki, Killua, and Alluka each had their own reasons for not being particularly fond of their older brother.
That said… Illumi himself firmly believed he was well-liked by his younger siblings—especially Killua.
*******
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