On the way through the garden, Saiki Kusuo passed the main room.
It was basically his father Silva's office, a room with no trace of light or warmth.
Using x-ray vision, Saiki Kusuo looked through the walls to see inside.
Silva sat on a stone chair that was so dense it took ten seconds to see through. There was a tiger pelt on the chair, and a big cat-like magical beast in the room. It came and went, but it was always there when Silva was.
Animals can think too. Telepathy doesn't just let you hear human thoughts—if you listen carefully, you can pick up on animals' thoughts too.
When the master isn't around, I'm the boss.
Are all cats this cocky no matter where they are?
Saiki_Kusuo kept looking around.
On the wall was a row of assassin blades and swords. You could see how sharp they were with just your eyes—sharp enough to cut hair in midair.
The lighting was a gloomy assassin-style black, with two tall candle holders giving off dim, flickering flames.
In a room filled with this much intense energy—
He glanced at Silva's desk and noticed a Children's Health and Growth Guide (Ages 0–3).
Next to it was 101 Ways to Talk to Your Child.
For a moment, he felt bad for being curious about what books a killer family head reads.
Why? Do kids give him a hard time? I don't think I've caused any trouble.
Saiki Kusuo felt a little confused.
Illumi isn't the talkative type.
Saiki Kusuo wasn't the talkative type either.
Normally, even kids would chat with each other.
But both the eldest and second son being like this—Silva had noticed for a long time, but there was nothing he could do.
The amount of stress it caused him was something the two kids couldn't understand.
"Young Master Kusuo, are you curious about the master's room?" Tsubone noticed Kusuo's eyes resting on the door for a while.
No, don't make this old servant deal with more awkwardness.
Saiki Kusuo turned and walked away.
Tsubone smiled as she watched his back: Just as I thought, Young Master Kusuo's body has gotten much better than before. The dark energy here doesn't affect him anymore.
…Is it too late to fake it now?
Sheesh, I let my guard down.
"Young Master Kusuo, if you keep going forward, you'll reach the backyard. The little masters are waiting for you there."
Thanks to his x-ray vision, Saiki Kusuo had already seen them—three kids gathered and playing with toys. Fancy mini cars, expensive-looking carved wind chimes.
The room seemed simple, but the cost of everything was ridiculous.
Still, he was more worried about accidentally killing the fragile kids by touching them.
He hadn't regained his full power yet. His ability to bring someone back to life the moment they die wasn't working right now.
As he thought about it, Tsubone had already opened the door for him.
The door made a soft sound, and the three kids in the backyard all turned toward it. Saiki Kusuo became the center of attention.
"It's second brother!" said the chubby one, Milluki.
"Phew, I thought it was big bro," said the white-haired one, Killua.
"Hi, second bro!" said the well-behaved one—Alluka.
They were easy to tell apart.
Yeah. Hey. Saiki Kusuo gave a casual reply.
Even though he hadn't met the kids many times, the servants who looked after them talked about him often.
It was probably part of Zoldyck family education. As a kid, when he listened carefully, he realized the servants who brought up Illumi around him were doing it on purpose.
They were required to mention family members to the kids at least ten times a day. Each brother had to be mentioned three times.
Isn't that exhausting?
I just wanted to stay invisible, honestly. Saiki Kusuo was not impressed.
"Brother, brother... hug!"
No way. Learn Nen and Zetsu first, then come hug me—at least get some resistance.
Saiki Kusuo coldly rejected the hug, but then, out of nowhere, his head started to hurt.
What was that? This feeling... He closed his eyes—
and saw Kukuroo Mountain cut in half.
...It was gone in a flash. Based on the feeling he got from using his psychic powers, Saiki could tell it was a recreation of Zetsu's future sight ability.
You showed up too? Please don't bring bad news at a time like this.
What caused this? Why was the body cut clean in half?
"Big brother, big brother…" A child tugged on Saiki Kusuo's sleeve.
Saiki looked down at the child, only to suddenly realize—it wasn't Alluka who was speaking.
It was Nanika, who lived inside Alluka. Saiki knew about this character from the original story, but he hadn't actually watched past the Chimera Ant arc. Mainly because Togashi kept going on hiatus. Everything he knew after that came from people who had already seen it. He'd been spoiled so much he basically knew everything and completely lost interest in watching the rest.
But right now, the most important thing was still figuring out the cause of the incident.
Saiki Kusuo expanded his telepathy and listened closely to every sound on Kukuroo Mountain.
From the servant cleaning the bathroom to the gatekeeper Three-Hairs who was thinking about picking his teeth—
There was no danger. No powerful aura sensed either… Hm?
A group of people was hiding in the forest. The leader had Nen powers.
Though they were nowhere near Tsubone's level—probably couldn't even get past the Zoldyck mansion gate—they were still a potential threat.
"Big brother… mmm…"
He focused again and listened to the thoughts of those people.
Alluka's voice was completely ignored by Saiki Kusuo.
"Young master Kusuo, young master Kusuo? Young master Alluka is asking for a hug."
It was Gotoh who spoke, standing nearby. Tsubone was off playing a racing game with Killua. Her Nen power let her transform into all kinds of vehicles, so she knew them really well.
Because Gotoh had been with Kusuo for a long time, she knew how kind he was. She guessed that right now, he was just too shy to hug Alluka, not actually cold or distant like he seemed on the outside.
Gotoh: [I must get young master Kusuo to hug young master Alluka!]
Please spare me. Saiki Kusuo was distracted by too much at once, and his head was starting to hurt.