Saiki Kusuo and the Zoldyck kids stood below the roof. The stairway from the eighteenth floor upwards had no barriers, and even the door was wide open. They only needed to walk up a few steps to see the strange people starting a musical performance on the roof in the dead of night.
But the music stopped suddenly, as if the musicians had encountered uninvited guests.
"How romantic~ So this is the truth of the Ghost Legend."
On the steps, Saiki Kusuo, leading the Zoldyck group, took a step back together.
The voice came from the roof. There's no need to explain who it was. One could imagine Hisoka used his ability to climb up the 18 floors from the wall. Well, he even climbed the small World Tree with his bare hands, so climbing up here is also reasonable.
"Ghost Legend? Are you talking about us?"
"Hey, now that you mention it, it does seem to fit. I did receive news about the Ghost Legend, but I really didn't know it was about us. I remember the boss was practicing the violin here a few days ago, right?"
"Yeah. He came with Feitan. What can you get for solving the secret of the Ghost Legend?"
"I got a task from the student council. Solving it gets you tickets~"
"The student council can also give out tickets?"
"Yeah, I am the president of the student council. I can handle these things. Is there anyone in the Troupe who hasn't gotten tickets yet?"
"It's okay, everyone already has them. So, can I bother you for tickets for next week? My quota is limited, and I can only solve half of the tickets."
"Sure, as long as you arrange a little task."
"The boss even became a sports teacher for this..."
"It's easy to hand out tickets for the high school section."
...
The adults were talking upstairs, and the Zoldyck younger brothers were communicating by writing with their Nen.
Killua: Illumi is here too!!
Kalluto: Big brother is awesome, student council president!
Milluki: The main point is that it's a bit dangerous for us to stay here, eavesdropping and stuff.
Alluka: But the music is so nice. Will they play it again? Who is playing it anyway?
Only Alluka hadn't guessed who was upstairs.
Milluki: Bro, why aren't you writing with Nen?
Sorry, I'm the only one who can't use Nen.
Wait, aren't I a normal person? Why can I see it? Can I see it by default?
A shadow blocked half of the moonlight coming in from the door. The Zoldycks, who were squatting on the steps writing, were stunned.
They looked up warily.
"Hehehe, it seems there are some little surprises here. Your big brother has a good relationship with the Troupe, don't be shy~"
It was good that they were exposed.
Illumi also came to the door. After thinking for a moment, he pushed Hisoka to the side, pressing his face.
"What's wrong? Why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night? Did you come out for a walk?"
What kid walks to the 18th floor of the school building?
"I even asked the butler to prepare warm milk and made sure everyone drank it."
When did the Zoldyck family live together?
Illumi's eyes fell on Saiki Kusuo. After a little while, he glanced past him and looked at Killua: "Killua, answer me, what are you here for?"
Killua got nervous and lowered his head: "We... We came to investigate the Ghost Legend."
"Hmm, is that so? Why are you hiding behind Kusuo? Killua."
Saiki Kusuo didn't know why Killua suddenly became afraid of Illumi. He seemed to be fine earlier? Didn't he get braver after getting Silva's permission? Did he get pricked with a needle again?
At this crucial moment, Alluka raised her hand: "Can we really go up and listen? Big brother!"
With a sweet "big brother", Illumi didn't change his expression, but took a step back: "Kikyo."
Saiki Kusuo didn't really want to go up and listen.
He had just turned around when he met four pairs of small, expectant eyes lined up behind him.
"..."
Milluki, you're already a big kid, don't hide behind me.
As for the others...
Saiki Kusuo went up.
The music performers on the roof were actually the Phantom Troupe.
Chrollo had a violin beside his feet. Paku was also using a violin. Shalnark sat at the piano, showing a bright smile and greeting the children. There were many people on the roof. Korutopi was holding a piccolo, Shizuku was sitting at the electric organ, Machi was actually playing the keyboard, Phinks was holding a trumpet and leaning against the wall, and Feitan was sitting at the drum set, now stepping on a drum, looking down at the kids who had just come in.
The huge roof now seemed small too.
"Shasha shasha"
The sound came from behind. Saiki Kusuo turned around and found Uvogin and Nobunaga behind him. Nobunaga handed a sand hammer to Alluka: "Well-behaved kid, you and our Mimi can each have a sand hammer as accompaniment."
What kindergarten musical toys are these?
"Thank you Uncle Nobunaga, but I like the violin more, it's so cool!"
Alluka pointed to Paku, who hadn't put down her violin yet, eliciting a gentle smile from Paku.
"Ghost Legend? Putting it on us isn't bad either." Chrollo's mouth curved into a smile. "We only practiced it on a whim, not for any reason. It's just that this place is a bit boring. A fictional game to gradually clear while ensuring our own safety is really pointless."
This is a group of creatures who don't enjoy themselves without danger.
——"But we'll be leaving soon. Let's continue, partners."
After Chrollo finished speaking, everyone struck a pose.
Chrollo also lowered his hand to grab the violin, but caught nothing.
Hmm?
Beside Chrollo, Illumi was holding the violin and resting it on his shoulder. The moonlight shone on his slender figure. His long hair fell naturally on both sides of his shoulders, swaying gently with the wind and his movements. He raised his hand to press the strings and put the bow on the violin, every movement was standard and elegant.
He had practiced.
Alluka looked at him with admiration.
Faced with such a brother-complex, Chrollo could only lose his violin.
But Chrollo quickly wandered to Shalnark's side and placed his hand on the piano. He and Shalnark locked eyes.
Their relationship since childhood made them very understanding.
Shalnark stretched out his hands and pressed the keys, playing a series of notes.
He was rejected! He was rejected from playing the piano together!
Shalnark smiled, mouthing wordlessly. Chrollo had no choice but to reach out and took the baton from the piano stand.
Chrollo tapped the baton and walked around leisurely, looking at all the members and also the young audience, and quickly dodged Hisoka's cards with a Z-shaped shake.
Perhaps he thought it was too much of a trouble, he easily jumped onto the wall and flipped over to the platform above the elevator. Hisoka chuckled below, raising his empty hands to show that he would no longer ruin this romance.
Only then did Chrollo shift his gaze from Hisoka and looked up at the moon on the high platform.
Moonlight sprinkled on this stage, and the random music of everyone rose in his ears. After a moment of standing tall, he lowered his eyes and suppressed all the sounds. In the silence, both the performers and audience waited breathlessly.
When he hooked his finger under the moonlight, the music rose with it.
...
"So, instead of going home in the middle of the night, you went to the 18th floor of the high school to listen to a concert?"
I couldn't say I wanted to go home and sleep in that situation. There are times when people just want to be alone when the mood is different; they are already tired. But everyone else in the venue besides me seemed to have endless social energy and planned to party until 2 AM.
I couldn't leave alone at that time. Saiki Kusuo sighed with reluctance.
"How about your superpowers, are there any signs of recovery?"
Not at all. My body temperature is also at a normal 36.4 degrees Celsius, the standard body temperature for entering and exiting major shopping malls freely during the pandemic.
"Really none?"
Really.
"What a pity. Then you don't need to wear glasses, right? If you want new glasses, what style do you want?"
Whatever, the style has never been important.
"Then how about glasses in the shape of the letters 'cool' or 'good'?"
How would I wear those kind of glasses out? Even if I am willing to become a superpowered person, I still want to be seen as a normal superpowered person to some extent.
Thinking of this, Saiki Kusuo couldn't help but yawn.
As a normal person now, he is not a Nen user, nor is he Saiki Kusuke, who evolves out of sleep like foreigners at some point.
Saiki Kusuo, who accidentally fell asleep at four in the morning and was brought to class by his younger brothers on an early day, was already doing very well to be awake now.
"Do you want some coffee? You look tired."
No coffee, sleeping is a better solution than coffee. One of the great advantages of not wearing glasses is that I can directly sleep on my arms, nothing will be in the way, and I don't have to worry about breaking the glasses legs. It's a great perk that ordinary people can enjoy sleeping anytime, anywhere, even though I don't have glasses now.
"Aren't you going to the arena with everyone? It opens in half an hour."
What can I do in the arena? Am I really needed as an audience member? I don't even have points, do I?
"But Kusuo will still go, right? No matter how much you say, you'll still go because you already agreed?"
That's why I regret agreeing now.
"It's okay, just find a safe place to watch. You can bring some money, I heard there are vendors there selling grilled sausages and cotton candy. Kusuo can rely on those things to perk up."
Cotton candy, huh, I feel like I can survive.
Speaking of which, don't you have to go to see the arena as a teacher?
"It's because I'm a teacher that I don't have time to watch it. Suddenly, a teacher's meeting was arranged. There might be an event next week. I hope it's not a marathon or a sports day, something that would kill people in the summer. And a few monkey students applied for an interview."
Teachers have it so hard. No, why are you getting so immersed in your role in a place like the Dark Continent?!
"It's because it's in a place like this that I'm interested in researching. The monkeys aren't ordinary monkeys either. They piqued my interest a little. Maybe I can bring the method of Nen liberation back to the original world. If Mom and Dad learn Concealment, they won't have problems living to two hundred years old..."
Hey, that would mess things up over there.
"Huh? Are you going to stop me? Stop humans from creating new self-defense abilities and achieving world harmony?"
Looking at the Hunter world, you'd know that this kind of violence only brings disaster, right? If the original world completely loses its ordinariness, there will be no unique pure land left in the entire universe.
"At least wait until I have some results before stopping me. Right now, everything can only remain in imagination."
Then I can only hope that you won't be able to figure it out in this lifetime.
...
The great ordinary body of mankind has a kind of balancing inertia.
In days when everything is as usual, sudden collapses rarely occur, but if a habit that is completely different from usual suddenly occurs, the body will most likely be exposed.
For example, if you suddenly break out in stomach problems after continuously eating unhealthy meals, it will be difficult to cure.
For example, people are prone to sudden death after continuously staying up late.
For example, office workers or students who have been sitting for long periods of time will suddenly get intractable hemorrhoids from resting in the bed for two days in a row!
These conditions, different from the norm, can easily trigger something, problems that the body has long been unable to bear.
...
Killua climbed in through the window, bringing breakfast.
"Salmon slices, sea cucumber porridge, and roasted meat with flatbread! Is it really okay for you to only eat buns and soy milk, Kusuo bro?"
It would have been okay originally, but after knowing about your treatment, it's not quite so okay.
However, compared to the others in the class, it's very okay. Rather, people who eat those things for breakfast are too extraordinary and should be avoided.
"I'll share with you, Kusuo bro!"
No, please allow me to be alone at my seat.
Saiki Kusuo had three buns. At this moment, a hand quietly stretched towards the bun from the other side...
Saiki Kusuo turned his head and stared at Shizuku.
Shizuku withdrew her hand.
"Can I have one? I didn't eat breakfast either."
Well, consider it a reward for last night's performance. Saiki Kusuo opened the bag and let her choose one.
After eating the breakfast of buns and soy milk, before he had a chance to rest, the radio sounded at this time.
"Attention all teachers and students, students with arena tickets are now requested to go to the arena to participate in the 1st Arena Tournament."
More than ten people in the class stood up.
Only those with tickets can participate in the arena, so this gathering wasn't crowded.
Saiki Kusuo hesitated when he passed the toilet. Never mind, I'll go when I get to the arena.
...
What kind of competition would be held in the arena was only announced after everyone entered.
The arena's layout was similar to the lower levels of Heavens Arena.
The huge circular field was enough to accommodate tens of thousands of spectators. After three or four hundred spectators and participants entered and dispersed, there were still plenty of empty seats.
There were nine circular fighting platforms in the field, the largest one in the middle with a massive red number 0 written on it.
Surrounding the number 0 platform was a circle of eight smaller platforms, evenly distributed, with the numbers 1 to 8 written on them respectively.
The mere fighting platform isn't important. What's important is how to compete, what the rules are.
At this moment, a nimble white cat-person lightly jumped to the center of the number 0 field.
"Hello everyone, contestants and spectators meow, welcome to the school arena!" Neferpitou gave a shallow bow but spoke wildly, "Hmm~ Although you've been through the selection, you guests are as weak as we expected meow. You definitely can't surpass us in strength, but the rules in this area are that the one with the highest score is the leader meow."
"This arena allows you to plunder points. If you weak humans want to surpass the King in points, this is undoubtedly your only way meow."