Ronin's only real boundary was that he wouldn't kill indiscriminately—when it came to loving a fight, he didn't think he was any less battle-hungry than Hisoka.
So if they were going to fight, then they'd do it at Heavens Arena.
They could enjoy the crowd's roar, and Ronin could even use it as bait again. Even if he couldn't hook the Troupe this time, winning would still earn him money—Milia would probably love that.
Hisoka's eyes shone brightly, though a strange feeling rose in him: Am I… becoming the fruit now?
"Fine. When?" Hisoka had no reason to refuse.
"Do you even have the qualifications?" Ronin asked.
Hisoka shook his head.
He'd learned about Heavens Arena, but before he ever went, he'd been busy with the whole "join the Troupe" plan.
"Then October 1st," Ronin set the date. "I still have things to handle."
By normal timing, Ronin only needed to return to Heavens Arena for a match sometime before December.
But since Hisoka had challenged him, Ronin would "reluctantly" schedule his fifth Heavens Arena match and get it done.
Hisoka wanted to fight immediately, but after weighing it, he agreed—because he also had a job with Illumi in mid-September.
"Deal. I'll reach the 200th floor before October 1st. Don't stand me up."
"I won't."
"By the way—do you know where Chrollo went?" Hisoka's expression carried a hint of mischievous malice.
Ronin didn't even look at him. "Compared to Chrollo, I'm more interested in how much you know about Meteor City. Do you have contacts there?"
Even though Owl now worked as a "manual moving backpack," Ronin hadn't given up on Shizuku.
If possible, he didn't even want to kill her.
She hadn't participated in the Kurta massacre, and she hadn't joined the Troupe yet. If Ronin could recruit her, she'd be a useful assistant for whatever came next.
He even wondered: if he found her early, could he use her as bait to ambush the Troupe?
And even if not… Ronin still enjoyed the feeling of "stealing" something away first.
Hisoka looked surprised by Ronin's question.
"I don't really have anything to do with Meteor City," Hisoka said. "But I've been there a few times. What do you want to know?"
"I'm looking for someone. If you can give me intel, I wouldn't mind delaying our fight—or even letting you have Chrollo first," Ronin named his price.
"Who?" Hisoka was genuinely interested now.
"Shizuku Murasaki," Ronin said.
Hisoka thought carefully for a long moment, then shook his head. "Never heard of her. But I can ask around."
"Good."
"Is she that important?" Hisoka asked.
"Eh. Sort of," Ronin said without elaborating.
"You really aren't curious where Chrollo went?" Hisoka didn't press the Shizuku topic. Meteor City had endless people.
Finding one specific Meteor City person wasn't hard as long as you chose the right partner.
And Hisoka happened to know a "Meteor City know-it-all."
Getting them to look wouldn't be difficult. Whether he'd tell Ronin after finding her—that was another matter.
"Not curious." Ronin shrugged. "And you're being so eager about it that the answer is basically shoved in my face—besides the Kurta village, where else could it be?"
"You're just going to let him go?" Hisoka looked surprised.
"Yep." Ronin nodded. "Knowing now is already too late. Instead of chasing him, I'd rather wait for him to come find me."
"You're making me want to kill a Troupe member just to see," Hisoka complained, unsatisfied.
"Do it," Ronin encouraged. "None of them are good birds."
Hisoka smiled and didn't answer—but he looked like he was seriously considering it.
The auction ended.
Neon had bid on some items, but they were all things Ronin wasn't interested in.
Hisoka left before the auction even finished.
Ronin didn't know whether Hisoka would actually find Shizuku, but even if he didn't, Ronin lost nothing.
As Ronin left the auction house, the first person he saw was the tycoon Battera, surrounded by media.
Ronin had no intention of approaching him yet. It wasn't time. Besides, Kurapika had already investigated Battera's residence—if they needed access to Greed Island, they could visit his castle directly at any time.
When Ronin pulled his gaze away from Battera, he saw a tall man with pointed, elf-like ears walking toward him.
"Long time no see, Ronin," Muherr greeted him.
"Captain Muherr—let's go." Ronin pointed toward a café by the street.
They sat facing each other, while Neon played with the little trinkets she'd just bought.
A waiter brought coffee.
Ronin dropped in two sugar cubes, then turned the cup in his hands, waiting for Muherr to speak first.
"I want to invite you to temporarily join the Rock mercenary group for a job," Muherr said directly.
"What kind of job?" Ronin didn't refuse outright.
The Rock mercenary group was strong, and keeping a good relationship with them had no downside for Ronin.
And their previous two collaborations had gone smoothly for both sides.
"An ruins exploration job. I think you'll be interested." As he spoke, Muherr pulled out a file and handed it to Ronin.
Ronin accepted it with some confusion. But the very first photo inside made his expression shift in surprise.
It showed clothing—clothing Ronin recognized instantly.
Because the style matched what he and Kurapika had:
Kurta traditional clothing.
A poncho-like cloak, blue as the base color, with simple patterns outlined in golden-yellow lines.
Kurapika usually wore that outer cloak, with white-toned casual clothing underneath, and flat shoes.
"Is it related to the Kurta?" Ronin asked, flipping through.
"Not sure," Muherr said, "but that outfit is very similar to Kurta traditional dress."
The ruins were located on the Ejene Continent—not in Kakin, but in a small country neighboring Kakin: the Aitri Kingdom.
The Mahavi Ruins had only been discovered in Aitri in recent years. A year ago, an expedition entered fully prepared, but instead of returning with news of treasure, they fled in panic.
The ruins contained huge numbers of magical beasts—terrifying monsters with brown, rock-like bodies and two emerald-green arms.
Half a year ago, the monsters began leaving the ruins and attacking nearby towns.
The king ordered the national guard to seal off the Mahavi Ruins and began clearing the monsters that escaped.
But the monsters' bodies were so hard that normal bullets barely hurt them. After paying a steep price, Aitri barely held the blockade line—then sent a mission request to the Hunter Association.
~~~
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