Despite Illumi not moving closer, Measles couldn't help but raise her hand to block his face.
Illumi was a skilled opportunist, his behavior dictated by the perceived strength of the other person.
When facing someone weaker, he would press his advantage, disregarding their will. Killua was a prime example of this.
When facing someone of similar strength, he would observe and make appropriate concessions. Hiscelt for Hisoka.
When facing someone stronger, he would at least outwardly display obedience, even submission. Silva was an example of this.
In Measles's eyes, Illumi belonged to the second category. Thus, he wisely straightened up and resumed a normal distance from Measles.
"When shall we start the first wish?" he asked.
Measles replied with pen and paper: [I need to get back to my mission, can't delay work progress.]
Then, Measles retrieved the [Kalluto Family Eyedrop Replica] from her game inventory, twisted off the cap, inverted the bottle, and dripped the eyedrops into her eyes.
"They say the Scarlet Eyes are a symbol of demons," Illumi stated. By now, he was fairly certain Measles needed 999 bottles of the Kalluto Family Eyedrops, not just due to her collector's compulsion for the number 999, but for a more practical reason. "Under the Scarlet Eyes state, Sister's 'Nen' quantity significantly increases. If I'm not mistaken, Sister has also developed related Nen abilities."
Although Measles was categorized by Illumi in the same tier as Hisoka, Measles was not Hisoka, and their relationship wasn't close enough to freely discuss secrets.
Measles had initially intended to ignore him, but then she reconsidered. Illumi had entered the "pre-nuptial contract" with her precisely because he recognized her utility. The more value she displayed, the more Illumi would value her. When Illumi became utterly engrossed, making him lose her would be the perfect "face-slapping" scenario.
Losing one jenny wouldn't hurt, but losing ten thousand jenny or more would. The more money lost, the more memorable it would be!
However, Measles intended to hold back, not reveal the specifics of her Nen abilities. It was enough to make Illumi understand she possessed greater utility.
So, Measles nodded, acknowledging Illumi's deduction.
"Do you need my help?" Illumi asked.
"..."
Measles was unsure what "help" Illumi was referring to, but regardless of what it was, she had never intended to ask Illumi for it.
Did Illumi underestimate her so much that he thought she'd become careless and wasteful upon seeing the number of wishes was 999?
Hmph! She was a deeply ingrained completionist gamer. In simple terms, she was poor in the "real world" and couldn't feel at ease without hoarding and saving!
She had played many games in the "real world," and in countless of them, she had items she was reluctant to use, letting them gather dust in her game inventory until she abandoned the game without ever using them.
In terms of "delayed gratification," she was a king. She had suppressed herself so much in the "real world" that she had lost all desire.
She had waited for too long, so when she finally obtained what she initially wanted, she only felt a sense of emptiness.
It was meaningless. Life was truly meaningless.
"I can help Sister activate her Scarlet Eyes state," Illumi said, knowing she must have reservations. He continued, "This time it's free. Because if Sister finishes her work sooner, she'll have free time to fulfill the terms of our first contract."
"That's right, Sister can usually do it herself and doesn't need my help."
"But Sister can try a more relaxed method this time."
"I'll only use this," Illumi said, raising his index finger and tapping his lips. "...How about it?"
Free things were always hard to refuse, and this was a unilateral service from Illumi, with no apparent issues with his reasoning.
...Were there really no issues?
As the saying goes, free is the most expensive thing in the world, because what is obtained for free might be paid for in another form.
Yes, Measles had already paid. She had mortgaged her future, her corpse, to Illumi. Illumi's current free service was merely a small rebate, a trivial byproduct of the entire transaction, much like the common promotional tactic in malls: "Spend XX jenny and get a discount coupon."
Alright, let it be.
.........
........
...
As Illumi approached, Measles, seated on the sofa, waved him over. Once he knelt down, she cupped his chin in her hands, pinched his cheeks, and examined his mouth.
It wasn't that she suspected Illumi hadn't brushed his teeth thoroughly, but rather... doing so was akin to inspecting livestock or slaves, a peculiar quirk of Measles'.
Illumi knelt before her, placing his hands on her knees. "Sister, this is just like what we did in the interrogation room for the first time." (Chapter 107)
"..."
"I kind of miss it."
"..."
Too much chatter.
Measles impatiently patted the armrest of the sofa, almost extending her middle finger at him.
"Understood, I'll finish quickly."
.........
........
...
While Measles went to complete her work, Illumi waited for her on the airship. When she returned, they went together to buy a new sofa and a piggy bank.
To clarify the process of Illumi fulfilling the contract, Measles stipulated that a 1-jenny coin would serve as a witness and be used for counting. The piggy bank would be kept by Measles in her game inventory. Each time Illumi completed one of Measles' wishes, he could place a 1-jenny coin into the piggy bank.
Without the process of "placing a 1-jenny coin into the piggy bank," which required mutual acknowledgment, Illumi's completion of Measles' wish would not be considered valid.
This would prevent Illumi from taking actions without Measles' consent or awareness, such as pre-emptive moves or overstepping boundaries, and then later claiming he had proactively helped Measles solve a problem and fulfilled her wish.
As expected, Measles chose a rabbit-shaped piggy bank. A rabbit was her favorite stuffed animal as a child.
Speaking of rabbits, due to their reproductive capabilities, they were also considered an evil symbol of desire, Illumi thought to himself.
"Mm." He stroked the eyes of the rabbit piggy bank. "Red eyes, much like Sister's (Scarlet Eyes)."
"..." Measles ignored him. After paying, within the blind spot of onlookers, she [picked up] the rabbit piggy bank into her game inventory.
After buying the sofa, Illumi asked Measles if she needed to buy rings, and of course, he would pay.
"..." Measles looked perplexed.
Illumi hadn't mentioned buying rings for the "pre-nuptial contract" before. No, shouldn't this be decided by the ability developer? Why was he asking her if she needed them?
"Since we've added a piggy bank, I thought adding rings might make it more ceremonial," Illumi said, resting his chin on one hand as if in thought. Regarding rings, it seemed to be a spur-of-the-moment idea. "When developing this ability, I hadn't considered rings. Hmm, the naming was just a personal preference."
"..." Personal preference, more like a perverse preference.
Measles was not interested in Illumi paying for rings, nor did she dare to be. Rather, the more Illumi gave for free, the more wary she became, because he never did business at a loss.
Unless it was clearly priced.
"..." Measles stared at Illumi's hair, and a new idea suddenly struck her.
Less than three years remained until the main storyline of the original work, yet Illumi showed no intention of growing his hair long.
If he didn't start growing his hair now, by the time of the main storyline, Illumi wouldn't match the original work's appearance of waist-length hair, making him indistinguishable from a woman.
What was going on? Illumi's "vibe" was too unauthentic.
As a child, he had refused to learn the Zoldyck family's inherited [Heart Steal] skill because he found it dirty.
What was going on? Illumi's "vibe" was too unauthentic.
Measles gnawed on her thumb.
After "Kalluto Zoldyck" was deleted, Illumi Zoldyck was also secretly deviating from the main plot.
Most importantly, she had looked at the short-haired version of Illumi for a full 21 years and was tired of it.
Did Illumi really have no intention of growing his hair long?
No, it was useless to ask, as Illumi would only discover her so-called "wish" and use it as leverage.
Hate, I really hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it.
Measles agonized for a while and then simply gave up thinking.
Time was money. Instead of wasting effort trying to guess Illumi's thoughts and observe his plans regarding his hair, it was better to use a contract and order Illumi to grow his hair long.
Firstly, it saved time and effort.
Secondly, it could make Illumi complacent, making him believe the contract terms were very easy to fulfill.
Thirdly, long hair required maintenance and would cause some trouble in combat, consuming Illumi's time and energy.
Yes, that's what she would do!
Thus, Measles, with the reason "I'm tired of seeing you with short hair," ordered Illumi to grow his hair long from that day onwards, until it reached his waist.
Ding.
A 1-jenny coin was placed by Illumi into the rabbit piggy bank held by Measles.
[Pre-nuptial Contract (1/999)]
"When will the second wish be completed?" Illumi asked.
"..." Measles was a little troubled.
There was no help for it. Measles had overbooked her schedule, and she had to rush back to work—she had originally planned to work for an entire year. Having her schedule packed with work would greatly reduce her opportunities to stop and think erratically.
"How about this," Illumi said. "Sister could privately delegate some tasks to me. After receiving the task rewards, transfer the full reward amount, and then we'll be even, okay?"
Being even was good.
Measles nodded.
The two parted ways to complete their tasks. It took over a month before they finally had enough free time.
In a hotel room in a certain city.
After receiving the message, Measles peered expectantly and nervously out the window.
Finally, a tall figure with silver-white hair entered her field of vision.
It was [Silva Zoldyck].