"Wow..."
As the gigantic airship broke through the sea of clouds and soared into the sky, Kisho lay against the enormous floor-to-ceiling window, staring at the scenery outside. Beneath the airship, the sea of clouds stretched endlessly, like a blue whale swimming through the clouds—he had never ridden a plane in his previous world, but in this world, that dream had finally come true.
...
After flying for about three days, Kisho and the two members of the troupe arrived at Nyugordon City in the Golden Province of the Republic of Bartochia. However, to reach Binsge Town, they still had to pass through two more towns—though the pace of these three was already nearly as fast as a car. On the fourth day after leaving Meteor City, they arrived at Binsge Town, a place filled everywhere with gigantic trees.
This town was very interesting. All the houses were built on trees—the centers of the massive trees had been hollowed out, with wooden staircases on the outside leading up to the second floor. After arriving, Shalnark contacted the others, then led the other two to an inn in town—the Giant Tree Inn.
Pakunoda was sitting in the inn's lobby waiting for the three of them. When she saw Chrollo, she stood up, smiled, and said:
"Boss."
"Mm." Chrollo replied. "Has everyone else arrived?"
"Uvogin said they'll probably arrive around three this afternoon." Pakunoda answered.
Chrollo nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.
"The rooms have already been arranged." Pakunoda handed a room card to Chrollo, then tossed another to Shalnark. Shalnark raised his hand to catch it and laughed:
"Thanks a lot, Pakunoda~!"
Pakunoda looked at him, smiled, and said nothing.
"Everyone meets at eight tonight. Before that, you're free to do as you like." Chrollo said. He turned his head and glanced at the listless Kisho, calling out:
"Kisho."
Kisho was already exhausted to the point of death.
"Oh..."
As soon as he entered the room, he collapsed onto one of the beds, not even wanting to move a finger—despite having Nen, using it to boost his speed for three consecutive days, combined with sleeping outdoors at night, had completely drained him.
"After this operation, it's time to put your physical training back on the schedule."
Chrollo said.
But Kisho didn't hear a single word—he was already asleep.
...
A little after nine in the evening, Kisho opened his eyes.
He rubbed them and sat up drowsily.
On the other side of the room, Chrollo was sitting on the bed, while Shalnark sat on the sofa. The two seemed to be discussing something, but at the same time sensed that he had woken up, so they stopped talking and looked over at him.
"Awake? Feel rested?" Shalnark smiled. "There's some work you need to do."
"Huh...?" Kisho rubbed his eyes, forcing himself to wake up, staring at him in confusion.
"Here, the Whale Manor visitor's guide—if there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me." Shalnark walked over and handed him a booklet.
Kisho took it and flipped it open, immediately drawn in by the exquisitely detailed architecture and the vast sea of flowers depicted inside.
Whale Manor was located at the summit of the White Light Mountain Range. At the top was a massive lake, and Whale Manor sat on an island in the middle of the lake. Surrounding it was a vast artificial flower sea—flowers known as "Sunward Stardrops." Under sunlight, depending on the cultivation method, droplets of various colors could condense on the flower cores, attracting large numbers of visitors during the limited open period.
Every year from March 1st to March 10th was the annual opening period of the flower sea. However, the interior of the manor was only open to special guests.
Within the flower sea lay a secret path leading to Whale Manor. Only visitors who discovered this secret were qualified to enter the manor itself.
Shalnark said:
"What you need to do is find the secret hidden in the flower sea, then enter the manor through legitimate means and investigate the interior—at the very least, figure out the building layout and personnel distribution."
Kisho closed the booklet, puzzled.
"This kind of thing... are you really comfortable letting me handle it?"
"Because for now, you're the only one who won't be suspected." Shalnark smiled, but clearly had no intention of explaining further.
By the way, the information stating that Noah Barton was "dead" had been altered by Shalnark, with the death record erased and released from the cancellation database. In other words, he was now a legally recognized citizen with an ID—by verifying his DNA, his records could be found in the database. All information before the age of five was authentic and verifiable, making it far more credible than a randomly fabricated fake ID.
Moreover, a severely ill child having no records between the ages of five and ten due to "recovery and recuperation" was also a plausible explanation.
Shalnark said:
"Each opening of the manor lasts ten days. After that, all passages will be closed. Today is March 2nd. You have three days to gather the information. The remaining time needs to be left for the troupe's activities."
He smiled, Kisho's reflection visible in his emerald-green eyes.
"Got it?"
Kisho carefully pondered Shalnark's words. He had a rather bad feeling about this.
...
After Shalnark left the room, Kisho opened the booklet again.
Besides illustrations and introductions to the flower sea, there was also information about the owner of the manor. Kisho glanced at it a bit more closely and was surprised to find that the owner of Whale Manor was actually a pianist. And at the end of the introduction, there was a strange term attached: "Music Hunter."
Music and hunter...
In Kisho's memory, no matter how he thought about it, those two words just wouldn't fit together.
"Leader..." Kisho looked toward Chrollo, hesitating over whether to ask, but in the end, curiosity won out.
At some point, Chrollo had already taken a shower and changed clothes. He was lounging lazily against the bed, flipping through a book he'd pulled out from who knew where.
He closed the book.
"Hm?"
"What does 'Music Hunter' mean?" Kisho asked.
"'Hunter' is a profession. After passing an exam administered by the Hunter Association, you're issued a license and granted special privileges." Chrollo explained. "As for what you mentioned, it's probably just one of the hunter categories."
After listening, Kisho thought for a moment.
"Is the exam hard? Could I take it?"
Chrollo looked at him thoughtfully. After a long pause, he said:
"With your level, if you use Nen to enhance your body, physical ability wouldn't be much of a problem. But you lack far too much experience—better not take it."
Kisho: "..."
"If you really want to, then finish this operation first." Chrollo's voice was calm. "This is your assessment—you haven't forgotten, have you?"
Kisho: "...Okay."
The next morning, seven o'clock.
Kisho changed into a set of casual clothes and left the inn. Not far outside was a bus stop—already packed with people.
He was surprised to find that there was a direct bus to the manor, but when it arrived, people crowded from the platform onto the bus until it was completely full. Kisho took one look, silently stepped back, and once the bus started moving, began running after it.
He'd rather run than be squeezed into a can.
An hour later, the bus stopped at a ticketing point. Standing outside, Kisho could already see the endless flower sea. It was hard to imagine that a snow-white sea of flowers could somehow support layers upon layers of rainbows.
Inside the ticketing area, there were even sightseeing hot air balloons and tour vehicles. Countless attendants wearing black bow ties pushed carts along the perfectly straight, well-paved roads.
It was said that the dew of the Sunward Stardrops could be brewed into alcohol; the flower cores and petals, depending on their color, emitted different fragrances and were premium materials for making perfume. As a result, there were also temporary stalls inside the manor selling perfumes and fruit wines.
The ticketing point stood at the main gate of the Whale Manor flower sea, surrounded by a circular wall. The Sunward Stardrops encircled the lake, and within the lake was a small island. From afar, one could see a magnificent, palace-like building standing proudly on the island.
There was a long line outside the gate. After Kisho joined it, he awkwardly noticed that most visitors were parents with children, or couples—making him, a lone child, stand out all the more.
Under the curious gazes of the staff, Kisho took out the temporary ID Shalnark had given him, along with 5,000 Jenny as the entrance fee, and handed them over.
To be honest, it was his first time using a fake ID, and nervous sweat had already broken out. But after the staff member scanned the temporary ID, they stacked together an exquisite card, 500 Jenny in change, and the temporary ID, handed them back to him, and smiled with a perfect eight-tooth grin:
"Mr. Barton, we wish you a pleasant visit~"
"Ah, thank you."
Kisho hurriedly took them, then subtly wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked inside.
But... Barton?
Was that the original owner of this body's "surname"?
As this thought crossed his mind, Kisho's steps suddenly halted. He shuddered as if electrocuted, countless fragmentary scenes flashing through his mind.
But the images passed too quickly, like lightning—gone in an instant—followed by an illusory yet excruciating pain. It felt as though his internal organs were being torn out, or like being strapped to a chair surging with massive electric currents...
"Are you alright, kid?"
Kisho suddenly heard someone calling to him. He snapped out of it. Sunlight and a gentle breeze brushed over his body, bringing a sense of comfort, making him feel as if he had come back to life.
The person speaking to him was a black-haired man wearing a finely tailored dark blue suit. He looked to be in his thirties, with a polite, gentle smile on his face.
"...I'm fine now." Kisho bowed slightly in thanks. "Thank you."
"That's good. If you're feeling unwell, you can rest in the lounge over there." The man said with a chuckle, then slowly walked away.
Kisho watched him leave, then raised a hand to press against his head.
He lowered his gaze to his fake ID. In the name field, it read: "Noah Barton," nationality: Republic of Bartochia. Following that was a long mixed string of numbers and letters.
"Here's your temporary ID. If you absolutely have to answer questions about your real ID, just say your official identification was lost, and you got a temporary one for travel purposes."
That was what Shalnark had said when he handed it to him.
He had also added:
"But since it's fake, you still need to be careful. Best not to go anywhere like hospitals."
Kisho stared at his temporary ID, reading the name printed on it.
"Noah Barton..."
"If this is fake, then... what was that hallucination just now? Was it an illusion, or... something that already happened?"