"You two have been here for days. You must have collected some cards by now, right?"
The white-haired boy's lazy smile remained, but the black markings on his face seemed to have deepened in color.
At his words, Gon's and Killua's expressions turned… awkward.
Cards…? They had collected some, technically.
But none of them were Specified Cards.
And the only Specified Card they did have?
Well… Cyr had it now.
And in this game, you could only clear it by collecting 100 Specified Cards.
"…You're kidding, right?"
Cyr blinked, looking at them suspiciously.
Wait, weren't these two supposed to be the protagonists?
How had they not made any progress yet?
What was the main plot of Greed Island again…?
He reached into the library of his mind, flipping through his memories.
Originally, the concept of a "Mind Palace" had been nothing more than a metaphor for memory techniques.
But after gaining the Six Eyes, he had been forced to construct a real one—a massive, library-like structure to store his thoughts and memories.
From a distance, it looked like an endless maze of bookshelves and filing cabinets, each drawer holding a different piece of his past.
His personal memories?
Those barely took up a tiny section of the place.
Cyr pulled open one of the drawers.
Fragments of memory spun around him in a blur.
"Ah, got it."
The memories snapped back into the drawer, and he shut it with a click.
So that was it.
He had never actually watched the Greed Island arc.
But he could guess a few things.
For example—clearing the game wasn't the main goal.
For Killua and Gon, the real purpose of being here was training and getting stronger.
They'd only start collecting cards after they had leveled up.
And once they did…
The game would probably end really fast.
Which meant…
The real plot of Greed Island was their training and fighting monsters.
And if the protagonists needed to get stronger…
Then there had to be a mentor or guide who would teach them.
Which meant…
The person following them right now was probably—
"What do you want with these two brats?"
Cyr turned his gaze toward a nearby corner.
Killua and Gon froze, then immediately snapped to attention.
Someone was following them?
But…
Even when they turned to look, they couldn't see or sense anything.
Then—
"Click."
The sharp tap of heels against stone echoed.
A moment later, a blonde girl with twin pigtails, dressed in a red frilly dress, stepped forward.
She looked like a rich lady or princess straight out of a shoujo manga.
"…You don't happen to have a thing for little boys, do you?"
Cyr's eyes narrowed slightly as he sized her up.
This person was… sort of familiar.
Not exactly a close acquaintance, but they had met before.
"No way! I like mature, handsome men~!"
Biscuit folded her arms, correcting him with a huff.
Not that she minded cute boys and pretty young men either.
"Then why are you following these two?"
Cyr's tone was skeptical.
Judging by her character design and strength, this girl probably had a significant role in the original story.
Her main plot relevance was likely centered around Greed Island.
Which meant—the key to Killua and Gon getting stronger lay with her?
Not surprising.
After all, side characters didn't get this much detail in their designs.
Twin pigtails? Big eyes? A frilly dress? Not weak at all?
Yeah. Definitely a major character.
"I was simply drawn in by the pure and innocent friendship of young boys…"
Biscuit smiled, though there was something off about it.
It was too beautiful.
So beautiful that she almost wanted to ruin it.
"…What are you, a priest?"
Cyr muttered, his mouth twitching.
This woman was weird.
No way she was training them just for their potential…
Wait.
Could she actually just like cute boys?
…Wouldn't be impossible.
"I just want to join them. Can I travel with you all?"
Biscuit fidgeted, pinching the hem of her dress, eyes glistening with unshed tears as she gazed at Killua and Gon.
Kids were softer-hearted, right?
Way easier to fool than a certain stone-hearted brat standing next to them…
"Is she a friend of yours?"
Killua turned to Cyr, eyes narrowed.
"Nope. Seen her a few times, that's all."
Cyr shrugged.
"I see. Then no."
Killua nodded and turned back to Biscuit.
…Hah?!
Damn it!
Another pain-in-the-ass white-haired brat!
What, were these two from the same family?!
Some inherited bloodline of troublemakers?!
Biscuit internally cursed, resisting the urge to punch both of them into the sky.
But she had to stay patient.
"W-Why not?"
She put on a devastated expression.
Damn it.
Was her charm really useless here?
She was supposed to be a fantastically dreamy and adorable girl!
"Because you look like you'd just get in the way."
Killua tilted his head up, somehow managing to look down on her despite being shorter.
A crybaby girl?
Wearing a dress that was hard to move in?
Definitely a liability.
…He looked just like that other damn white-haired brat.
Biscuit's patience snapped.
Her mental image of them darkened.
She cracked her knuckles.
And in the next second—
She punched Killua straight into the sky.
Her second punch, however—
Was stopped.
"Aiming for my face? That's bold. Should I compliment you?"
Cyr's hand was raised, fingers blocking her fist with ease.
His brows pressed down, his tone light—but not amused.
"That's…"
Gon and Maro's eyes flickered as they watched the nen clash between the two.
But they couldn't tell who was stronger.
"…Just a little test."
Biscuit smoothly withdrew her hand, elegantly flattening the wrinkles in her dress.
Her ladylike demeanor returned.
This kid… had gotten even stronger.
Even she could no longer gauge his limits.
And she had been training nen for forty years!
This boy—
He wasn't some rough stone that needed polishing.
He was a gem that had already begun to shine.
A breathtakingly beautiful…
Liquid crystal.
"I..."
Killua crashed into a building wall, finally coming to a stop.
His face was full of shock.
Wait. What just happened?!
He got sent flying?
How?
He had been on guard the whole time!
And yet, he hadn't reacted at all.
Or rather—by the time he did, it was already too late.
That woman...
She was on a completely different level.
What the hell?!
He could understand that other white-haired brat being absurdly strong.
At least he looked a couple of years older than them.
But this girl?!
She looked their age!
How the hell was she this strong?!
"No sense at all, huh? Getting hit was inevitable."
Cyr clicked his tongue, shaking his head.
He glanced at Killua with an expression that was somewhere between pity and schadenfreude.
"I barely managed to catch the trajectory of her attack..."
Maro murmured, his expression grim.
But if he had been the one facing that punch—
He probably wouldn't have dodged it either.
"Looking at these two... don't you feel a little excited?"
Cyr turned to Biscuit.
As if no one cared about what had just happened.
"...A little."
Biscuit didn't bother hiding it.
She answered frankly.
These two kids...
They were the kind that needed only a little refining to turn into something incredible.
A Gem Hunter didn't always seek just stones, after all.
"Thought so."
Cyr nodded knowingly.
If this were a novel, this was when the MC's cheat ability—the veteran mentor grandma—would make her entrance.
"Then what about them?"
Cyr pointed to Maro and Sora.
Since they were already here, wasn't it only fair to let them leech some protagonist luck?
No harm in sharing a cheat mentor, right?
"This one's quality is pretty good."
Biscuit studied the blonde youth and the magical beast.
"But why are you asking me about a monster?"
She sounded perplexed.
The blond kid was an unfinished gemstone.
Already polished a bit, but still lacking refinement.
If properly cut and shaped, he'd probably turn into a beautiful chrysoberyl cat's eye.
As for the beast...
That was hard to say.
She wasn't experienced with magical creatures.
°°°
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