Matthew stole the rhino and left first—it happened so suddenly that, aside from Lu Ou, no one had time to react.
"We're companions. Matthew-san should travel together with us," Gon said.
"Who's your companion?" Matthew replied without even turning his head.
"You really are just kids—actually believing that the Hunter Exam has something like 'companions.'"
"I'll go on ahead. That Lu Ou guy—thanks for the rhino. When I pass the Hunter Exam, I'll definitely repay you."
Matthew laughed loudly atop the rhino, his tone brimming with smug satisfaction.
An enraged Leorio broke into a run, chasing after him.
Lu Ou didn't get angry. He simply watched Matthew's retreating figure calmly and remarked,
"You must be very close with Machi. She gave you a lot of courage."
Matthew never heard those last words.
Leorio didn't catch up either—after all, how could two legs outrun four?
Unable to do anything, Leorio had no choice but to return.
"Damn it… someone like that got away with it."
"It's fine," Lu Ou said calmly.
"At least now we've seen Matthew-san true character clearly. How about this—I'll tell you a story to cheer you up."
Leorio curled his lip and muttered, "Not in the mood."
Gon, on the other hand, happily agreed. Although Matthew's actions had dampened his spirits for a moment, he still listened attentively.
Lu Ou began his story.
"At the foot of a great mountain lived a group of villagers. They worked from sunrise to sunset every day, laboring tirelessly, yet their harvests were meager.
One day, a traveler from outside the mountains arrived and told them, 'I know a spell. If you face the mountain and silently chant it in your heart, a great pile of Jenny will appear before you. I can teach you the spell—but first, you must pay me a sum of Jenny.'
The villagers struggled to gather the money and handed it over. Then they sat down eagerly, all ears. The traveler taught them the spell and warned them carefully:
'When you chant this spell, you must absolutely not think about the Himalayan mountain monkey. If you do, the spell will fail.'"
Although Leorio kept telling himself I'm not listening, the moment the word Jenny appeared in the story, he couldn't help but pay attention.
"The villagers replied, 'Of course! Of course! Why would anyone think about some Himalayan mountain monkey?'
After the traveler left, the villagers prepared themselves. Each of them faced the mountain and devoutly began chanting the spell.
But that damned Himalayan mountain monkey kept appearing in their minds. The more they reminded themselves not to think about it, the clearer the image became.
In the end, no Jenny appeared before anyone.
The villagers concluded: 'He was right. The spell really did fail.'"
"These villagers are idiots. That's obviously a scam," Leorio said.
"But why didn't they find someone who didn't know about the condition?" Gon asked.
"Just give that person the spell and see if Jenny appears. If it really doesn't, then go after the scammer."
"Because no one had ever tried not thinking about the Himalayan mountain monkey," Gon continued seriously.
"So it's not impossible that the traveler wasn't lying."
Gon's way of thinking was always straightforward. He treated everyone with kindness, and his words were surprisingly enlightening.
Even Lu Ou himself realized that his own first reaction had been: I can see through this instantly—it's clearly exploiting the psychology of 'the more you try not to think about something, the more you will.'
But Gon's thought raised another possibility.
What if it really was true?
After hearing the story, Kurapika felt even more impressed by Lu Ou. With just a single story, he had laid bare the weaknesses of human nature with striking clarity. At the same time, Kurapika felt a great deal of admiration for Gon's sincere kindness.
Back to the main thread.
Matthew rode the male rhino at breakneck speed through the forest. No wild beast dared to challenge such a terrifying presence, so their progress was incredibly fast.
"That guy's method really works," Matthew thought, relaxing.
"Even a ferocious beast like this listens obediently. But what exactly does that 'can't say' phrase mean?"
He immediately shook his head, forcing the thought away.
Soon, the outline of the town came into view.
Matthew was ecstatic.
"They're just a bunch of kids. I'm the smart one. I got here effortlessly. This year, I'll definitely get my Hunter License."
He rode on for a while longer.
Perhaps he praised himself so much that he started believing it.
"What nonsense consequences? I really overestimated that guy," Matthew muttered angrily.
"I, Matthew, refuse to believe that saying one sentence could possibly lead to any consequences."
"Hi—Himalaya—"
"No—wait. Not now."
Matthew abruptly stopped himself, swallowing the remaining words.
Victory was within sight.
But another possibility suddenly crossed his mind.
"What if 'not letting me say it' is actually part of the beast-taming technique? That kid's full of tricks—maybe he was afraid I'd discover it, so he made that up. That must be it."
Beast-taming techniques were practically godlike.
With such a skill, even if he failed to become a Hunter, he could still earn an enormous amount of Jenny.
Driven by this thought, Matthew decided to test it.
"Himalayan mountain—no, no. What if this phrase itself is a trap?"
In the end, his desire to become a Hunter overcame his greed for the technique.
He continued riding the rhino all the way into town. Along the way, he had the urge to test it countless times, but he suppressed it with great difficulty.
It was exhausting.
"Hahaha! I, Matthew, have arrived!"
Looking at the calm, obedient rhino—and remembering that he'd already spoken half the phrase before with no issue—Matthew convinced himself it had all been a lie.
In the end, temptation to gain everything at once, combined with overwhelming curiosity, proved too much.
Leaning toward the rhino, Matthew whispered:
"Himalayan mountain monkey."
The moment the words left his mouth—
"MOOO!"
The rhino instantly went berserk.
It kicked off the ground with explosive force, transforming into a roaring off-road vehicle at full speed.
Matthew tried to dodge instinctively, but everything happened too fast.
Even though it was only a glancing blow—
BAM!
A terrifying crack echoed as bones shattered.
Matthew couldn't hold it in and spat out a mouthful of blood, his face instantly draining of color.
At this point, even if he wanted to regret it, he no longer had the strength.
He lay half-dead at the entrance of the town, sprawled across the street.
The white rhino snorted twice more, turned around, and disappeared back into the depths of the forest.
On the other side, Lu Ou's group finally set off as well.
"Come on, Gon, Leorio, Kurapika—get on quickly. Let's go, it's getting late," Lu Ou called as he climbed onto the rhino's back.
"I'm coming!" Gon cheered, leaping up carefully without a second thought.
"Thank you," Kurapika said, moving just as quickly and landing almost at the same time as Gon.
The rhino, sensing everyone was aboard, immediately straightened up and began running forward.
"Wait for me! I'm not on yet!"
Leorio stared in disbelief.
"Why does everyone always bully the older guy? I'm just a little slower!"