Moirasu did not bite down too hard on Illumi Zoldyck's thumb, so Illumi Zoldyck moved his finger and caressed each of her fangs. Fangs were the sharpest part of Moirasu's entire mouth, and caressing them was like touching her reverse scale.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
A total of four, two on the top and two on the bottom.
As if hypnotized, Moirasu dazedly looked up at Illumi Zoldyck, letting his shadow cover her face as he examined her teeth.
…
…
…
“That’s all for now,” he said. “This is just a trial service. Are you satisfied with the results, my… Moirasu?”
Moirasu bit her lip, shook off Illumi Zoldyck's hand with a blank expression, and took a step back, widening the distance.
Just as the real Illumi Zoldyck's usual posture, Illumi Zoldyck crossed his arms and calmly watched Moirasu. “Moirasu, no one in this world is closer to fulfilling your wish than I am.”
“Because it’s not just my appearance; half of his blood flows within me.”
“Think it over carefully,” he said. “I’ll be waiting for your contact anytime.”
In the blink of an eye, he was no longer within Moirasu’s line of sight.
Moirasu clenched her fists, her fingernails digging into her palms.
This was terrible.
Moirasu hadn't expected her wavering to be so quick and so intense, crumbling almost instantly.
When the unrealistic fantasies in her dreams turned into real sensations, something hidden and suppressed became substantial, tightly entwining Moirasu’s body.
Moirasu's mind was in a mess.
She forced herself to pull herself together and rushed to the next mission location.
Work had betrayed her again today, leaving her with deep wounds and clearly proving her current poor state.
Wrapping the wounds layer by layer with bandages until no blood seeped out, Moirasu returned to the Zoldyck private airship she had summoned and took out a [Moirasu Omelet Rice] from her game backpack, scooping it with a spoon.
By the time she finished the [Moirasu Omelet Rice], her wounds had completely healed.
This was the third skill she had developed in the Red-Eye state: [Master Chef]
[Skill 3 Unlocked: Master Chef]
[Skill Description: While in the Red-Eye state, personally cooking can yield food with special effects that trigger when consumed.]
[Restorative Foods: The higher the satiety and the better the taste, the better the restorative effect. However, no restorative effect will trigger when hunger is zero or health is full.]
[Foods with Buff Effects: The higher the cooking difficulty, the more likely buff effects will appear. One food can only have one buff effect, and buff and restorative effects do not occur simultaneously. The better the taste, the better the buff effect. The same type of buff effect cannot stack, but new buff effects can overwrite old ones. Buff effects can also be triggered when hunger is zero.]
Due to the hunger restriction for restorative foods, Moirasu deliberately starved herself before work to ensure she had sufficient hunger for any unforeseen circumstances.
Removing the bandages, bathing, and changing clothes. With plenty of time before her next mission, Moirasu sat down and drank a carton of milk.
Relying on others is not as good as relying on oneself. Including cooking, Moirasu no longer tried to place all her hopes on others, so she felt nothing when Illumi said he could help her fulfill 999 wishes.
Except…
Moirasu tightened her fingers, crushing the milk carton.
Damn it, Illumi had hit her weak spot, precisely targeting a need she had never revealed to anyone—how did Illumi know?! How did he find out?! Even Kikyo hadn't discovered this!
The more she tried to ignore it, the more she couldn't help but recall the "trial service" Illumi had offered.
In Moirasu's "real world," the original manga of "Hunter x Hunter" had not yet concluded. The manga had mentioned that Illumi had a Nen ability called "Engagement Ring," but its specific details had not yet been explained.
No, if she thought about it carefully, the "butterfly effect" caused by Moirasu had made Kalluto Zoldyck cease to exist in this world. In that case, would Illumi's "Engagement Ring" Nen ability be the same as the original setting?
Moirasu, who had no chance to continue reading the original manga in the "real world," had no way of knowing.
Moirasu had to think for herself, ponder the information Illumi had given her so far, and make her own choices.
First, Illumi never did business at a loss, nor did he do anything without certainty.
Yes, Illumi had come prepared. He offered conditions that Moirasu found difficult to refuse, and they were far more generous than Moirasu could have imagined.
999 wishes. Even if he completed one a day, it would take nearly three years to finish! And then he would still have to personally kill Moirasu.
Illumi's desired reward was Moirasu's corpse, in other words, a high-level puppet that retained Moirasu's abilities from when she was alive.
…Was it worth it?
Moirasu couldn't help but wonder.
Was it worth it?
As the saying goes, "long nights bring many dreams." The time span for completing the prerequisite for the Nen ability was too vast. How many variables would arise in that time? The mere existence of this risk made the reward and the constraints seem disproportionate.
In terms of rewards, after Moirasu died, her remaining value would only be her corpse and property. Could it be that Illumi's reward was not just her remains but also her inheritance? Thinking of it that way, the reward seemed more reasonable.
In terms of constraints, Illumi was definitely hiding something, or there was a trap. However, there was not enough information currently, and a further detailed discussion with Illumi was necessary.
“Can’t I just look without buying?” Would Illumi be able to “force a purchase”?
Fine, she would talk to Illumi.
Since Moirasu had scheduled her missions too tightly, she decided to have Illumi board her airship while it was en route to the next mission location for a detailed discussion.
Upon receiving the message, Illumi stood on the rooftop of a building, waiting for Moirasu's airship to arrive, and then dropped a rope.
Illumi closed his eyes, feeling the wind blowing from above.
He was very good at waiting.
He liked this wait very much.
He liked it more than ever before.
The prey would actively walk into his carefully laid trap, and the prey, knowing full well it was a trap, would leap in without hesitation. Ah, what a wonderful thing! The taste of waiting also became exceptionally sweet.
Hours later, the roar of the engine drifted overhead, breaking the silence surrounding Illumi.
A long rope dangled down, like the long, golden-silk beautiful hair of a princess imprisoned in a tower in some fairy tale, inviting someone to step into the tower with no stairs and no doors, accessible only from the highest window.
In that fairy tale, the princess was almost isolated from the world, and besides the witch who raised her, only one man had the opportunity to enter the tower.
They met secretly every evening, and the witch discovered nothing.
If only the princess hadn't accidentally let it slip…
But Moirasu would not let anything slip; Moirasu was better at silence than anyone.
Indeed, fairy tales were just fairy tales.
Illumi grabbed the rope with a smile that no one else knew.
Certainty: 100%