HxH: Ryomen... Satoru?

At first, when Hisoka laid eyes on his delicious little apple, he was in a great mood.

After all, the little apple had visibly grown—

Better.

Riper.

More delicious than it had been a year ago.

…Until he read what the boy had mouthed to him.

In that instant, Hisoka's expression crumbled.

A dark, brooding aura of disappointment radiated off him.

"Looks like you've been working hard this past year—"

"To become a more valuable and capable adult."

"Very good. Very good."

—

That one sentence alone dragged Hisoka back to the day he found those words carved into the tree a year ago.

The feeling he had then—

Was exactly the same as the one he had now.

A strange, indescribable sensation that was almost exciting.

But it was fine.

He was very tolerant of his little apple.

Even after receiving such a greeting, though his emotions felt a little complicated, he wasn't actually angry.

—

"I'm so hungry… I want a whole Roast Boar-Beast…"

Buhara's stomach rumbled like thunder.

His eyes were unfocused, his mind hazy from hunger.

Menchi pulled out a ceremonial gong and slammed it with a loud clang!

"For the first part of the second test—"

"You will be cooking a Whole Roast Boar!"

Before the candidates could even ask where to find such boars—

The ground rumbled like an earthquake.

A massive herd of black wild boars charged straight at them, trampling down trees and hurling unlucky candidates into the air.

Those who weren't hit immediately turned and ran for their lives.

—

"This seems… even easier than last year's test."

Cyr yawned, lazily stroking the big tiger beside him.

To people who couldn't use Nen, it wasn't exactly easy.

But still—

"Can they cook my hunt for me?"

The big tiger turned to look at its prey—

A three-meter-tall frog lying nearby.

"…For who?"

Cyr's lips twitched, his voice carrying subtle disbelief.

"It's my gift for you."

The white-furred, black-striped tiger's voice carried an odd sense of pride.

The bigger the prey, the stronger the hunter—

And the more it proved its loyalty to its master.

Smack.

Cyr raised his hand and slapped the tiger's head.

His palm landed against its thick, armor-like fur—

A hit like that didn't hurt at all.

The tiger simply flicked its ears in response.

Who the hell wants to eat a mutant giant frog?!

"How could you even suggest making the Master eat something like that?!"

The blond man glared at the tiger, clearly offended.

Just because the colors matched didn't mean it could act so spoiled.

The Master was far too indulgent with this tiger!

"…"

The tiger lowered its head, ears drooping, looking wronged.

But it didn't dare talk back.

Instead, it let out a small whine and rubbed itself against Cyr.

…As if it had forgotten that it wasn't a small cub anymore.

At its current size—

One of its heads alone could cover half of Cyr's body.

"Enough with the cuddling—!"

Maro grabbed onto the tiger's hind leg, trying to pull it away.

Sora, feeling mildly annoyed, kicked its leg—

Its thick tail swung around and smacked Maro right in the face.

One human, one tiger—

Both glaring at each other, ready to brawl.

Meanwhile, candidates returning with their roasted boars saw this scene—

And paused.

Their expressions were…

Difficult to describe.

Was something wrong with their examiner…?

And that tiger…?

Menchi and Buhara, however, showed no reaction at all.

Hunters having a few screws loose was normal.

Even they had their own weird habits.

No big deal.

"Seventy candidates have passed the first stage."

Menchi slammed the golden gong again.

"Now, we move on to the second stage—"

She glanced at the blond examiner.

…Who was completely ignoring everything else, still wrestling with the tiger.

Are you also that bounty devil's pet? Are you two fighting for his favor?

Do you even know where you are right now?

"Pelisha." The pink-haired woman placed one hand on her hip and called out coldly.

When the blond youth introduced himself to them, he had said, "Call me Pelisha. Only my lord can say my name."

And that white-haired boy, who had risen to fame over the past year as the so-called bounty devil, wasn't much different.

At first, he had greeted them politely with a smile, but the moment after, he had turned away, lying on the couch and playing his game.

As for that magical beast, it had ignored them completely from the moment it appeared.

The arrogance was obvious in every little detail.

Truly, like master, like pet.

The blond youth still paid them no attention. To him, setting challenges for the examinees was clearly far less important than competing with a beast for affection.

The white-haired boy, seeming a little impatient with their argument, pressed his fingers against his brow and said coldly, "Quiet."

Maro immediately stopped. Sora's tail froze mid-air before slowly, stiffly, lowering straight down. It then curled up obediently at Cyr's feet, motionless.

That was true authority.

"It's your turn to give the challenge," Menchi reminded, quietly evaluating the scene.

Maro swept a cold gaze across the remaining examinees. After a moment, he retracted his eyes and said flatly, "Then my challenge will be lion's head."

Lion's head???

Where the hell were they supposed to find a lion in the forest? A tiger's head might be more realistic!

But even if there was one, there was no guarantee they could even take it down.

Just the roasted whole pig had eliminated half of them—if a lion-type magical beast showed up…

Would they even make it to single digits?

"You're deliberately making this impossible for us!" One of the examinees protested angrily.

But the red-haired man wasn't looking at the blond examiner. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the white-haired boy beside him.

Faced with Hisoka's blank, unreadable expression, Cyr raised two fingers in a scissor gesture.

After spending a year at Cyr's side, Maro had become a fully competent chef.

Cyr had long since gotten tired of roasted meat, ramen, and omelets—he constantly craved traditional dishes. But since he was a complete disaster in the kitchen, Maro had been forced to become his personal chef.

All Cyr had to do was describe the general process, and Maro would stay up all night trying to perfect the dish.

Sora, on the other hand, served as the garbage disposal for all the failed attempts.

Only the successful ones made it to Cyr's plate.

That was just what a good underling was supposed to do.

"Lion's head doesn't mean an actual lion's head," the white-haired boy said, pretending to be helpful. "Simply put, it's a meatball made by rolling fatty and lean meat together. The seasoning is the key."

"Then can you tell us how to make the seasoning?" One of the examinees, thinking the white-haired boy was easy to talk to, pushed their luck and asked.

Cyr gave them a dazzling smile. Seeing the anticipation in their eyes, he kept smiling and said, "Nope."

Watching the light of hope shatter in their gaze, his bright expression took on a hint of mischief.

Well, he had already given them a hint. The rest was up to their own efforts.

Feeling quite pleased with himself, Cyr patted the tiger's head, convinced he had just done a good deed.

What a kindhearted person he was.

With that hint in hand, the crowd of examinees scrambled out to find ingredients.

Meatballs made from a mix of fat and lean meat—how hard could that be?

And since Buhara had previously accepted everything, praising it as delicious no matter how it tasted, they were full of confidence.

They believed that as long as they made something, they would pass with ease.

Until they all returned, brimming with confidence, each presenting their meatballs to the blond examiner.

And after taking a single bite from each dish, the examiner coldly, without a second of hesitation, gave his verdict—

"Not qualified."

Seventy resounding declarations of failure.

The examinees' expressions turned identically grim.

Not a single one had passed the blond examiner's judgment.

A complete contrast to the easygoing Buhara from before.

°°°

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