Thinking about the consequences of refusing to answer, Alex decides to trust his gut and then swiftly changes the topic.
"I won't," Alex states. "Why would I tell you about my secrets? Your curiosity is not a valid reason. If you allow me to remain here and assist me in catching the Troupe members, I might tell you. Anyway, I need to leave; I still have business here... come to think of it... why are you even here?"
"We were warned," Kanzai says. "Those white-robed guys, not those imposter Pure Paladins who were taken out by the Troupe, those weird church members. They warned us. Since they had proof information and even gave us information about the Troupe's activities, we intervened. By now they must be playing that game they were talking about."
What the!? Did I get screwed here?! While I was busy with the Troupe, the Zoldycks and that Seeker idiot, those weird church guys have ignored everything and are now in Greed Island?
"Enough of this," Netero says, waving his hand. "We heard his position. We can't let you remain here, Hunter Kerber, Menchi. We'll fly to the headquarters, and you'll be placed under temporary house arrest, but honestly, we'd just want you to stay in Swardani City for a few days. During that time, and while we're flying there, we'll begin the investigation. If everything checks out, you'll have nothing to fear; in fact, you'll be the ones to fear. I hope you realize what it means, killing two- no, by now I'm guessing three members of the main line of the Zoldyck family."
"I didn't really have a choice; they chose to try to assassinate me!" Alex clarifies.
"..."
With everyone's shocked gazes on them, the Zodiacs split up into two teams. One flies towards Swardani City, the Chairman among them, while the other remains in Yorknew to do the investigation.
Alex and Menchi have free access on board the ship, but as they gather in the lounge and eat a few snacks, they both look bored.
"I guess... mission over," Alex says. "Those fucking hypocrites of God's Children. I guess they won in the end. They'll be playing Greed Island and probably connecting a large stack of cards while we are under house arrest until the mission's over."
"True," Menchi states. "But they'll be paying a high price. This mission was about the Yorknew conflict, not Greed Island. They might have found a way to 'play,' but I don't believe they managed to do too many missions here. They played this completely unorthodoxly. It doesn't mean they came out ahead. Benezia said that, statistically speaking, it's almost always preferable to follow the mission, at least to a large degree."
"True, they did their own thing; they did barely enough to pass by killing Franklin and kidnapping Uvogin." Alex reasons. "Who knows... in any case, we did what we wanted to do, and we picked up a huge bonus as well."
Suddenly, his phone rings.
"Forgot about her," Alex says, sighing as he picks up.
"Are you well?" Benezia immediately asks, cutting straight to the chase.
"Yes and no," Alex replies, taking a long breath before going through everything that happened.
"I am proud of you," Benezia says, shocking Alex. "I'll take what happened into consideration. Relax or, if you're in the mood, play around. I'll see you children, soon enough."
She then ends the call, as usual, not giving Alex any opportunity to comment or reply.
"This is becoming a bad habit. I'll need to teach her some manners." Alex begins to say, but seeing Menchi's sceptical eyes, he instantly clarifies, "On how to end a phone call."
"Fair enough," she says, leaning her head onto Alex's shoulder. "I'm not used to those kinds of fights, fighting that Jaffa, the Shadow Beasts, and even Silva and Zeno Zoldyck. I didn't think I'd be challenged like that. I'm not much of a fighter. Lately, I've only focused on cooking, but that seemed like a mistake. I'll train hard in the future to make your investment in me worthwhile."
"Menchi, you did fine, seriously, you were a great help! Not only did you prepare all these great dishes for me, but you also did really well against Silva," Alex says, wrapping his arm around her head.
Princess Jewel agrees.
"Wow, didn't expect that. How mature," Menchi says, smiling at Jewel as she lifts her hands and gestures for her to jump over. "Maybe you're really growing up, Jewel."
Jewel does as told, and Menchi holds her in her hands.
"Jewel..." Menchi says, her eyes widening. "Did you get fat?"
"..."
"Oh, come on, cut it out," Alex complains, sighing. "I'm leaving."
Leaving Menchi and Jewel behind, Alex walks around the airship.
On the open deck of the airship, he enjoys the clean September air.
However, seeing nothing but darkness, he turns around, intending to walk back into the airship, only to see Netero standing in front of him.
Oh shit... don't tell me he wants to avenge his friend....
"..." Alex remains silent, becoming a little tense.
Don't tell me he wants to throw me offboard... no, I'd simply float onto the ground. Stop overthinking everything... let's just talk.
"I get the impression you knew that Zeno guy," Alex says. "I'm sorry about your loss, but I won't apologize."
"No, don't misunderstand," Netero says. "I'm a little disappointed, but only because I feel lonely. An old friend has left me behind again. He may have been an assassin, but to me, he was a good acquaintance. A constant in my life. With him gone, I'm truly realizing that I'm growing old. Speaking solely as a Hunter, you have nothing to apologize for."
"I guess this," Netero begins to speak. "It is now completely worthless. You may have it."
Alex inspects the thing in his hand, and it's a small paper talisman with a special emblem on top of it.
Not recognized by the system... boring.
"What is that supposed to be?" Alex wonders.
"I once helped out that guy, back when he was still a brat. How time flies..." Netero says, laughing. "He owed me a favor, not like I ever needed one. Hoho. I guess I can't quite demand any real help from him anymore."
"Sorry that you lost out on a favor," Alex says genuinely, feeling bad for Netero.
That guy is so lonely. He's genuinely shocked and confused about Zeno's loss.
Alex then perks up and grabs a card from his inventory, stating his name, his rank, and his profession. Most importantly, Alex's business number is displayed on it.
"How about I give you my card; not such a gaudy talisman, but it works just the same. If you ever need help, give me a call!" Alex offers. "I'll take care of anything; I specialise in tricky situations that need eyeballing. I always stumble my way across the finish line, trust me!"
"Really?" Netero says, looking suspiciously at Alex.
"I might come across as an asshole..." Alex says, sighing. "But I really didn't quite come with bad intentions to this city. My conscience is clean... clean like... like... uhm... like a tissue!"
That might be confusing.
"One that hasn't been used yet, of course," he clarifies.
"I somehow doubt that very much," Netero says, grinning, his eyes full of scepticism. "However, there might be a day when I need some outside help. I can't deny that you're, without a doubt, one of the most talented Hunters. Fine, I'll accept."
He then grabs the card, and at the same time, the paper talisman in Alex's hand glows for just a second.
[Zeno's Broken Promise]
World: Hunter x Hunter:
Quality: Gold
Type: World Item / Quest Item
Effect: Allows the player to enter the World of Hunter x Hunter during the Chimera Ant Arc, becoming a member of the Hunters sent to exterminate the ants.
Requirements: Level 15-19
Note: One promise, carried on by another.
Note: This item cannot be traded or sold. It will disappear after the effect activates or the player reaches level 20.
Note: This item is a continuation item, and you will return to this particular world with memories of your person intact!
Jackpot!
Returning to the lounge, he sees Jewel completely pale, lying flat on the table.
"What's wrong?" Alex asks. "Did you fight and say something bad? Please make up with each other already."
"We... didn't quite fight," Menchi says, rubbing her neck. "The thing is... I might not have been so wrong earlier."
Soulmate... Princess Jewel... got fat!
"Don't make it confusing!" Menchi interjects. "She didn't become fat, like I mistakenly said. She... grew a little."
"Now that you say it..." Alex says, looking at Jewel, but not seeing much of a difference. He then grabs her and places her on his head, where she can barely fit now, her legs hanging at the sides of his head.
"Indeed, you got a little bigger, probably because of your broken crown," Alex realizes.
Princess Jewel doesn't want to become a nightmarish big spider; she'd rather stay a nightmarish small spider.
"..."
"You just grew a little... a healthy amount," Alex argues. "In any case, our next mission is your shot to change all of that. After that, your crown has fulfilled its function. I think we'll be alright... barely."
"Don't worry, Jewel," Alex says, petting her. "We'll get there!"
The next few days pass in a flash. Despite Alex's desperate attempts to find rare items on board, he comes up completely short. His sketchy theory that he might be able to obtain special items from the different Zodiacs also spectacularly backfires, as no one talks with him about important issues.In the end, the mission ends on an extremely low and boring note.
[Side Quest Completed:
Mission: Follow Chairman Netero and the Zodiacs and cooperate to a reasonable extent.
Reward: —]
Finally, the mission ends, and as his only goal was to survive, he easily passes the mission.
His gathered amount of World Particles comes to 1048, Alex not knowing if that is a good or a bad amount, since he didn't care too much about the number, which has been steadily growing.
Since he also completed quite a few missions and did decently from a PvP perspective, he can't help but smile in satisfaction as he looks at his rank.
[Player has completed his mission]
Overall Rating: S+
You have received 50,000 Fantasy Coins and 8 stat points
Your player level has been increased to 9
[Pure Paladin Token] x19 has been converted into 95,000 Fantasy Coins