In the evening, the entire Zoldyck family gathered except for Killua. Saiki Kusuo still used exploring the Dark Continent as his reason to decide his wish and said goodbye to everyone, especially his younger brothers.
What surprised him was that none of the brothers tried to stop him. They all respected Saiki Kusuo's idea, with just a bit of regret.
[Damn, after this, no one to chat with about anime stuff anymore!] "Big brother, you have to come back alive!"
Is that my only role, Milluki?
[After a year on Greed Island, I just realized how much fun Kusuo brother is to talk to. I really want to stay together forever. Why does everyone always have to leave home... I kind of get it now. The outside world is so full of wonders. So even though I don't want to let go, I'll wish brother well.]
Kalluto, you've grown into a fine young man.
[Hmph, brother lied again, but this is brother's choice, right? There must be a reason... A lying brother isn't a good brother, hmph!] Alluka puffed up her cheeks.
Well, saying I'm from another world would be too much trouble, so forgive me.
"Nanika says the second wish is complete," Alluka said.
His long Hatsu activated on its own. From the shadows, a little girl crawled out.
"Kusuo brother... be safe..."
Nanika was blessing Saiki Kusuo too.
Saiki Kusuo gave Nanika a piece of cake and stuffed it straight into her hollow mouth.
The other adults: ?! Can you feed Nanika like that?!
"Alluka, what do you want for your last wish?" Mom fanned herself with a fan in one hand and held a teacup in the other, looking very elegant.
"Can I wish for anything?" Alluka asked.
"Ah—! My sweet child!! Of course you can wish for anything, our Alluka has always been free to make wishes, right?!" Mom set down her teacup, pulled Alluka into her arms, and gave her a big hug.
Yeah, yeah... elegant.
Saiki Kusuo wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead.
It wasn't because of Kikyo's scream, but because he heard Alluka's thoughts.
Alluka was excited. He had long thought about his third wish: "Then my wish is—"
Saiki Kusuo knew what Alluka's wish was...
"For Kusuo brother to have a super super lively birthday!"
Hellish wish.
This birthday wasn't Saiki Kusuo's original summer one, but the day he joined the Zoldyck family. The Zoldycks usually didn't celebrate birthdays in a big way, but Alluka was super interested in it.
This is... a scary obsession.
The birthday was just one week away, so Saiki Kusuo couldn't leave until after that day.
"What do you mean by lively, Alluka?" Illumi asked.
"Having all of everyone's fri... I mean, all the people we know really well come over!" Alluka almost said friends but held it back.
"He means inviting all the close acquaintances," someone said.
Kalluto was the first to think of it: "For example, can we invite Mr. Chrollo?"
Alluka: "Yeah! Hisoka brother can come too!"
[Hey, that guy's not someone I know well.]
Kalluto: "But he's someone big brother knows well, right?"
Zeno: "Then can grandpa invite President Netero?"
Alluka: "Sure! It's been ages since we saw President Netero! Can we really see him?"
Zeno: "Haha, that depends if he has time."
Milluki: "Alluka, I have an online friend?"
Silva: "Milluki, the other person might get scared."
Milluki: "Dad! You guys aren't planning to hold it at home, right? Letting so many people into the family grounds would be dangerous. We should set it up on that big plain halfway up Kukuroo Mountain!"
Kikyo: "Ana, invite Archie to the house too!"
Alluka: "Dad, then can I..."
Kalluto: "Oh yeah, we have a master..."
...
Super lively. Saiki Kusuo sat in the corner and slowly hugged his knees.
That day wouldn't just be a birthday. It would be a real, full-on [Day of Suffering]!
The next day.
The Zoldyck family's invitations had already been sent out one after another. In theory, invitations for this kind of gathering should go out at least a month in advance, but with the birthday date set, the Zoldycks could only send them as fast as possible and scramble to set up the venue.
There were three ways to send the invitations.
One, use the phone for verbal invites.
Two, use cell phones to send texts.
Three,
Milluki, as one of the organizers, sat casually in a lounge chair munching on chips: "Don't worry, we're using the world's fastest, top-class, guaranteed-delivery smart messenger..."
[Who's the messenger?]
Saiki Kusuo teleported there. This was already his eighth delivery today, and the invites had gone to over 30 people, not counting the ones the family members handled themselves.
Such a lively scene, not even for his birthday.
Meanwhile, Milluki next to him was directing loudly: "Yes! Hang it up like that over there. Saiki Kusuo Zoldyck Birthday Party, not a single word missing or too small! If you can't make a sign that big, that's your problem! Our Zoldyck family has such a huge gate..."
His brother was doing everything he could to make sure Saiki Kusuo had the best.
Kalluto brother kindly handed Saiki Kusuo a glass of water: "Brother, did you find old man Netero?"
[Found him, cooling off under the world's tallest waterfall.] He even wanted to join me in the shower before taking the invite, which left me soaked all over. But drying my clothes with psychokinesis only took a few seconds.
"The last invite left is for the Phantom Troupe. Killua brother will come back, but whether to invite Kurapika is up to you, Kusuo brother..."
Saiki Kusuo: ...
Even the Hunter Association president was on the list. Why was the Phantom Troupe still included?
Saiki Kusuo held the black invitation. The name spot just said Phantom Troupe, which saved paper.
The standard for guests was friends of the Zoldyck family could all come. If possible, Saiki Kusuo hoped Killua's friends, except Gon, like Kurapika and Leorio, would show up.
[Kalluto, have all the text invites been sent?]
"We sent to everyone whose numbers we have. For the Troupe, only Mr. Chrollo got one. Big brother has his contact."
Saiki Kusuo pulled out his phone. Among the Troupe, he only had Shalnark's number.
[By the way, where are the gifts for the guests?]
Kalluto pointed nearby: "We haven't decided on the final ones yet, but we've prepared those."
In a clearing in the woods, all sorts of gifts were piled up like a mountain. Saiki Kusuo scanned it and took two baskets of snacks.
He dialed the number.
"Hello—"
Saiki Kusuo arrived. The internet was really handy.
But he realized he'd landed right in the spider's nest. The place seemed like their base, a five-story large building, but an old abandoned one. His spot was probably levels 2-4. Why 2-4? Because the walls between floors 2, 3, and 4 had been knocked out, leaving only the load-bearing walls for safety.
The room had lots of pillars, high shelves, and even an excavator. Feitan was sitting on the excavator.
Who puts an excavator in their living room for decoration?
"Shalnark, some people's numbers you really should block," Feitan said from above.
Shalnark sat on a high platform and hung up the phone call. "At this hour, it can only be someone looking for the boss. Because we didn't reply to the message?"
"What message?" Feitan asked.
"Last night, the Zoldycks sent an invite for a birthday party, asking us to join."
"Birthday? What's that? People in Meteor City never celebrate birthdays."
"Yeah, there's a chance the chain user will come too, and we have stuff to do in Meteor City, so probably not going... Oh, but we did reply."
Shalnark checked the message on Chrollo's phone.
He pulled out another phone: "Actually, I got a personal invite to Kukuroo Mountain too, but it said it's a holiday. Is there some festival there? If you can, could you take me over that day? Qi Mu-san."
This guy has a lot of phones.
[Same day, so probably the same event.]
"Huh, so who is this person I know?"
[My brother Milluki.] Saiki Kusuo bluntly exposed it.
But weird, didn't Milluki know Shalnark's account? He didn't figure it out?
Shalnark stared at the phone for a long time: ...
What's wrong, Shalnark? What did you do to my brother?
"Someone who chats with me all night about computers is just a twelve-year-old kid!"
[Milluki's thirteen.]
While talking, a cup bumped against Saiki Kusuo's leg.
It was Kortopi, small and even shorter than Kalluto, and skinnier too.
On Kortopi's head sat a little monkey that blended right in. The weird proportions let Saiki Kusuo recognize it as the chameleon cat he hadn't seen in ages.
Looks like it's doing well.
"Here, champagne," Kortopi said.
Saiki Kusuo suddenly realized that after living 36 years, he'd never had alcohol.
But mere alcohol couldn't affect a psychic like him. Saiki Kusuo took it.
That's when he noticed everyone was drinking, like they were celebrating something. Some were even eating grilled meat.
Would his arrival ruin their fun?
"Thump thump."
A knocking sound came from above.
"Who took the rope—?" Chrollo shouted.
Shalnark looked around and suddenly spotted the rope on the ground.
"The rope fell with the brick! Boss, just jump down, we'll catch you!"
After Shalnark's suggestion, the excavator under Feitan suddenly moved.
Nobunaga had climbed into the driver's seat.
"Hahaha! Time like this, we use this big guy!"
"Hey, say something before using it."
"You won't die from falling!"
The excavator arm swung around, adjusted a few times, and finally stopped in a twisted position.
The Troupe's bathroom was on the fifth floor. Chrollo, in a bathrobe coat, held a towel to dry his hair while jumping down from the broken ledge, landing steadily on the raised excavator arm.
Dust and dirt shook off the arm, covering Chrollo.
What kind of bath was that? A ritual? He just got clean and dirty again.
The arm lowered Chrollo, who shook his damp hair.
"I thought we wouldn't meet again. Aren't you setting off soon?"
[Stay of execution.]
"Going to the Dark Continent is your own choice, right? With such high death rates, why not wait a couple years? You're still young."
[I'm saying the birthday is my doomsday.]
"Hm—?" Chrollo dried his hair. "Don't worry, we won't go. It's a bit dangerous for us there."
Though Saiki Kusuo came to keep the Troupe from attending, now they were turning it down.
[The Zoldycks won't turn the party into a battlefield.]
"No, I mean the environment with Nen users is risky for me. If it's just normal people, it'd be fine, but the Zoldyck party's guests aren't simple, right?" Chrollo sat down somewhere.
Kortopi brought over another tall glass. "Ice beer."
"Thanks, Kortopi." Chrollo took it low, clinked gently with Kortopi, then raised it to Saiki Kusuo and downed it in one go.
"I just lent out my ability again yesterday, so I'm in Nen-sealed state now," Chrollo explained.
Why seal Nen again, and lending it out? Is that even a thing? Saiki Kusuo swirled the champagne in his glass, hesitated a bit, then took a sip.
"With Nen sealed and some other costs, I lend my ability to someone else, who then removes Nen from a Troupe member. The whole process is a real hassle," Chrollo explained simply. He reached low to Kortopi again. "But we got a teammate back."
Nobunaga walked over grinning. This guy drank straight from the bottle, tossed one empty, grabbed another beer, and in one step, drew his sword to show off popping the cap with the hilt: "Next up is Uvogin, haha! Can't wait!"
"Nen-seal must be tough on the boss," Kortopi said, pouring a beer and handing it to Chrollo. "Ice beer."
"Yeah! Thanks, Kortopi, not tough at all." Chrollo took it happily.
Like one big happy family.
So Saiki Kusuo got the picture a bit. The Troupe was very close-knit, just wanting all members safe and back.
"Once everyone's recovered, if we run into Kurta again, no hesitation or detours—just fight head-on and wipe them out in one go," Chrollo said after downing another beer.
Too reckless. From now on, I'm firmly on the side that bad guys get what they deserve.
Chrollo's second ice beer went down, his thoughts clear and sure: "There will be sacrifices for sure, maybe nearly half dead or injured, but I have a feeling. A group like Kurta with such strong focus, letting even one go could doom us badly."
The feeling was right.
"Ha, half dead or hurt? Don't worry boss, Feitan alone could burn a bunch."
The Troupe chatted about fights. Saiki Kusuo rubbed his ears.
He should go, but before leaving, a question popped up in his mind.
[You guys treasure your teammates so much. Why do something that has to end with deaths?]
Nobunaga took a swig: "Not do it and wait for the chain guy to catch us? That guy's awfully cocky."
If I remember right, when Uvogin died, you cried the hardest.
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