Maybe in the eyes of the Zoldyck Family, installing an elevator on Kukuroo Mountain would be considered tacky. Moreover, given the Kukuroo Mountain's height, ascending and descending served as excellent physical training.
Illumi had made countless trips up and down the mountain and had long since memorized the optimal path. Now, he followed his usual route, scaling the cliffs at a speed faster than walking on flat ground.
He had no intention of waiting for Law. Or rather, he would patiently wait for Law at the summit, but he wouldn't slow down to accommodate him during the climb. That would just be annoying.
Watching Illumi leap effortlessly to a height of forty or fifty meters in just a few bounds, Law rubbed his chin, 'This kind of daily mountain-climbing routine is so very Zoldyck Family.'
He glanced up at Illumi, who was climbing higher and higher, then smirked slightly.
With a sudden leap, he activated [Sky Walk], propelling himself upward with each step on the air. In just a few seconds, he had overtaken Illumi.
Sky Walk is the name Luo gave to this technique, which implied the ability to walk through the air. However, there is still a long way to go between the actual effect and the meaning of the name.
Seeing Law ascend as if stepping on invisible stairs, Illumi was stunned for a moment.
While there are many different kinds of Nen Abilities, this was the first time he'd seen someone use Nen to pull off something like this.
With Sky Walk, Law quickly left Illumi behind and soon approached the summit.
A short while later, Law reached the summit and stood at the edge, waiting for Illumi to catch up.
It took about five or six minutes for Illumi to reach the summit, but his face was not red and he was not out of breath. Despite his young age, his stamina was impressive, a testament to the brutal training methods of the Zoldyck Family.
After reaching the top of the mountain, Illumi walked straight towards the house without even saying anything to Law.
Law chuckled and followed after Illumi.
He had been to the Zoldyck Family's estate once before and knew where Maha's room was, but as a guest, he needed Illumi to lead the way rather than wandering around on his own.
The mansion was enormous, and its design is leaning toward a dark, imposing aesthetic. The halls were eerily quiet, with almost no one in sight.
After walking for quite a while, they finally arrived at Maha's room.
Illumi knocked on the door, and a moment later, Maha's voice came from inside.
"Come in."
Hearing the response, Illumi opened the door entered walked in, with Law following behind.
It was still a large room with very little furniture.
Maha was sitting in a chair, holding a cup of hot tea in his hand, his eyes narrowed as he intently watched an old cartoon playing on the TV.
Only when Illumi and Law approached did Maha finally tear his gaze from the screen and look at Law, "You could've just left it outside. No need to come see me."
He thought Law was here to return the dragon, so he thought that Law could just leave the dragon at the gate and there was no need for him to come and see him specially.
Law understood his meaning, and immediately said with a little embarrassment: "Well… the dragon is dead."
Hearing this, Maha opened his narrowed eyes a little. He frowned slightly, and asked, "Dead?"
"Yeah." Law nodded.
Maha fell silent for a moment. It was not easy to tame a dragon. It was an essential mode of transportation for the family, and played great role in many situations. And now, the first time they lent it to an outsider, it ended up dead.
Regardless of his relationship with Netero, Maha was displeased, though he did not show it on his face.
Regarding the death of the family's tamed dragon, Illumi remained indifferent. He just stood aside and watched quietly, there's even a hint of gloating in his heart.
"I'll pay whatever compensation is necessary."
Law's attitude was very sincere. He truly was grateful for the Zoldyck Family's dragon. After all, if he had not ridden the dragon to Demon Island, he would not have been able to rescue Sanbica in time.
To be more precise, without that dragon, Sanbica would likely have met a tragic end.
At that time, he didn't expect that the prison had the [Surprise Box], and naturally, he wouldn't think of the flying artificial monsters. Because of that, the dragon had died in vain. Looking back, Law still felt guilty.
"We are not short of money."
Maha rejected Law's proposal with a calm remark.
Indeed, every Zoldyck Family's business deal is calculated in billions, so how could they be short of money?
No matter how much money Maha asked for, Law was prepared to pay. Hunting for A-Grade ingredients or acquiring a few clues for the Treasure Hunters could let him amass the funds quickly.
However, for Zoldycks, some things simply couldn't be resolved with money, because they already had more than enough.
Now, Law was stuck.
"Then tell me a solution." Left with no choice, Law relinquished the initiative to Maha.
"It's simple, just return it as it was." Maha said calmly.
Law raised his eyebrows, 'How was he supposed to return it 'as it was' when it was already dead? Wasn't this clearly a way to make things difficult for me?'
His mind raced, 'It seemed the conversation had reached a dead end. Despite Maha's calm demeanor, his stance was unyielding to the core.'
'If he said 'return it as it was', then that was final. There's no negotiations.'
'The question is, how could I pay it back? Should I go back to Demon Island and retrieve the corpse?'
'That's unrealistic. Not to mention that the corpse would most likely become a pile of bones now, what Maha wants is not a pile of useless bones.'
'Then… do I need to capture another dragon of the same species to replace it?'
'This is probably what Maha meant by 'return it as it was', right?'
Thinking of this, Law gritted his teeth and agreed, "I understand. I'll capture another dragon of the same breed and return it to you." After a pause, he added, "A tamed dragon."
Maha stared at Law seriously.
The last addition made him very satisfied, though he showed no sign of it. He gave a slight nod, accepting the terms.
Seeing Maha's approval, Law heaved a sigh of relief. At least this temporarily resolved the issue. As for how to tame a dragon… he'd figure that out later.
Setting the matter aside, he lifted the lunchbox in his hand, and said with a smile: "I brought Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. I made it at the foot of the mountain, so it should still be warm now."
When Maha heard this, a gleam of light flashed through the slits of his eyes.
That time when he packed Buddha Jumps Over the Wall back from the Hunter Association, it had already gone cold. Even after reheating it, the flavor had been lacking. Now that Law brought a ready-made one over, wasn't it wonderful?
…
Half an hour later, in the Zoldyck Family's dining room, everyone gathered around a circular table adorned with Chinese-style tableware, particularly the white porcelain chopstick rests with red markings.
Perhaps the allure of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall was strong enough, as every member of the Zoldyck Family was present.
As the only outsider, Law felt slightly out of place when he sat down.
'That must be Illumi's mother, right? Her outfit is way different from the original. And her stomach's huge… I wonder how many months it's been. She should be pregnant with Killua, right?'
Law kept his gaze fixed on the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall at the center of the table, avoiding unnecessary glances.
After everyone was seated, brief introductions had been made.
Among the Zoldycks, Law had never met Kikyo or Milluki before, and this was the first time he saw them.
Kikyo was Illumi's mother, and while Milluki, Illumi's younger brother, was currently a chubby six- or seven-year-old who would later become a skilled tech geek.
Law remembered that Killua was the third child in the Zoldyck family, so he guessed Kikyo was currently pregnant with him.
With an outsider at the table, except for Milluki, who kept staring at Law with curiosity, the reactions of others were relatively normal, treating Law as just another guest sharing their meal.
In the spacious dining room, an elderly woman in a butler's uniform stood nearby. Her huge body reminiscent of Biscuit Krueger's transformed state. She stood like a bodyguard, watching over the scene.
That was Tsubone.
At this moment, she was both astonished and intrigued. Law was only the third outsider she had ever seen dining with the family.
Holding a camera, she silently snapped a photo.
This camera had originally been prepared to document Kikyo's pregnancy.
When the lid of the clay pot was lifted, the rich, distinctive aroma of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall wafted out with the rising steam.
Law's efforts to maintain the temperature with his Aura had paid off somewhat.
The people from the Zoldyk Family had tasted this dish once before, so they recognized it immediately.
Soon, everyone served themselves a bowl and began eating.
In just about ten minutes, the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall in the pot was completely emptied.
The pot Law used for packing was not big, so the quantity was not much, and everyone was still not satisfied after eating it all.
Just as he was about to suggest making another batch using local ingredients, Kikyo suddenly let out a soft gasp.
"What's wrong?" Silva, who was sitting next to her, immediately asked.
Kikyo frowned slightly and looked down at her belly. Given her high pain tolerance, her initial gasp had been due to surprise, and after that, she was able to endure it quietly.
Reaching out her hand to gently stroke her belly, Kikyo smiled at Silva and the others. Her reaction was very calm, not look like a pregnant woman who was about to give birth at all.
Silva, Zeno, and Maha are all experienced people, so how could they not know what is going on? Even Law could guess what was happening.
Tsubone, who was standing not far away, strode over with vigorous steps. Among her current duties, midwifery was included.
"Madam, are these the signs of labor?" Tsubone asked.
"Mhm." Kikyo nodded, looking quite excited, without any sign of pain.
'No way… What are the odds?'
'I had come to settle the matter of the killed dragon, only to coincidentally arrive on the day Killua was born?'
'What's the date today again?'
'July 7th.'
'It turns out that this day is the day Killua was born.'
'I wonder if I can take a photo after he's born.' Law thought to himself.