This was what happened after the Troupe's Crimson Eye hunt had concluded.
The Troupe needed to start searching for the next member, Number 8, as the current Number 8 (Mersus) had applied to withdraw from the Troupe—Kuroro had posted a recruitment notice for Troupe members.
Then, the Spiders scattered, except for… Feitan.
"Why?" Feitan asked.
A question without preamble, containing multiple queries simultaneously.
Since its formation, the Troupe had no record of any member withdrawing alive. Mersus's Nen ability for storing items was very useful to the Troupe; what reason did she give for withdrawing? And why did Kuroro accept her reason?
Kuroro, who enjoyed observing humans, was always understanding, and for his Troupe members, he added extra patience, willing to spend more time and effort explaining.
"A person's Nen ability largely depends on their own personality," Kuroro did not directly answer Feitan's question.
"She has a serious collecting habit... in every sense of the word." Kuroro was holding a book, which simultaneously reminded him of his own Nen ability (Master of Nen), making him slightly raise the corner of his mouth with a hint of humor. "A bit like me."
After saying this, Kuroro seemed to drift off somewhere, with no follow-up for a long time. However, Feitan, as an interrogation expert, appeared volatile but was surprisingly patient. During the Troupe's activities, the other Spiders had long grown accustomed to Kuroro's inexplicable absent-mindedness, and since Kuroro was the "leader" recognized by Feitan, Feitan calmly waited for Kuroro to finish thinking.
"Based on the manifestation of her Nen ability, material scarcity clearly affects her more deeply... Hmm..." Kuroro raised his hand to cover his lips, his usual posture when thinking. "I think... her actual desire is stronger than any of ours, and material satisfaction only makes her more empty..."
"She will constantly seek things to fill the void," Kuroro lowered his hand. "If you want to possess her long-term, perhaps you can only imprison her, or..."
"Or kill her," Feitan said.
At this moment, Kuroro's gaze finally fell back on Feitan. "The Troupe prohibits internal conflict."
"Isn't she planning to withdraw from the Troupe?"
"The 'or' I mentioned was... to change her..." Seemingly piqued by Feitan's reply, Kuroro smiled. "Feitan, can you change her?"
"Why don't you say that to Shalnark?" Feitan raised an eyebrow.
Kuroro did not answer immediately. As he expected, in the next moment, Feitan understood the answer himself. "Tsk, Manipulator."
The reason Manipulators are called Manipulators is because they like to control other things.
Besides that...
Feitan stared at Kuroro's pitch-black eyes meaningfully. "Want to see a good show?"
"Eh? Is there?" Kuroro smiled innocently. "I just think she might welcome your addition."
"..."
The reason Kuroro, as the leader, earned the recognition of all members was not only his strong power but also his extremely excellent decision-making ability.
As a result, Mersus would not abandon Shalnark, nor would she refuse Feitan's addition.
Everything was within Kuroro's predictions.
...As expected of the leader. Feitan had to admit Kuroro's capability once again in his heart.
"Really? Mel, I'm curious, what do you like about Feitan?" Seeing Mersus nod in agreement to Feitan's addition, Shalnark showed no resentment or surprise, but asked in a teasing tone, still intimately putting his arm around Mersus's shoulder, as if discussing something trivial. "Ah, right, you didn't scratch his face much before, do you like his face?"
This was a good question, one that both Shalnark and Feitan wanted to know.
Moreover, it was a crucial question; regardless of whether Mersus's answer was true or false, it would cause some change in the situation.
This atmosphere of anticipated "truth-telling" reminded Mersus of over a decade ago when Kikyo asked her in front of Silva what she liked most about "father" (Chapter 35).
Although there were many differences, the commonality between the two situations was... it was better to tell the truth.
"..." Mersus pursed her lips and answered very softly, "Shalnark... Feitan is older than you..."
"..." x2
It was an extremely practical reason. More practical than looking at faces.
This was probably the moment when the mechanical voice from the sound device felt the most chilling.
"Pfft." Shalnark was the first to laugh. "If you want to play with bigger toys, just say so. Their shape, frequency, and function can also be customized. Whatever you like, I'll make it."
...What Shalnark said actually made sense. Mersus was stunned.
"So..." Shalnark continued to ask, "Are there any other reasons?"
Mersus glanced at Feitan. He had a stern expression, and it was impossible to tell his mood, but Mersus could feel his displeasure.
This is difficult. She had just praised him with her heart, but it had the opposite effect.
Alright, this time she had to tell the truth even more.
"...His face." Since Feitan was already a collected specimen in her album, there was no need to worry further. After telling the truth several times today, she felt a bit insatiable and couldn't stop herself. So she looked at Feitan's face and added, "Yes, I like Feitan's face. A delicate face, but with sharp eyes, yes... it's very handsome..."
Mersus was about to say that Feitan resembled Captain Levi from "Attack on Titan," and she happened to like Levi too, so Feitan was indeed a type of character she liked. But before she could elaborate, Shalnark covered her mouth.
"No. I'm getting jealous," Shalnark said with emphasis. "Very jealous."
Compared to Shalnark's reaction, Feitan appeared exceptionally indifferent, as his confidence was not built on his appearance. As for the hardware, he felt it was a given; only men who are "no good" would obsess over finding confidence in their hardware.
Therefore, he would absolutely not feel any superfluous happiness from Mersus's words.
Absolutely not.
"..." Feitan knitted his brows.
Shalnark, with Mersus's waist in his arm, lifted her off the ground and asked for his own evaluation. "Praise me too."
"Baby face. Emerald green eyes. Golden hair." Mersus answered seriously, just as seriously as she had evaluated Feitan. "The leader also has a baby face. I like baby faces."
"Is golden hair also a compliment?" Shalnark tilted his head, imitating her. "And why bring up the leader?"
"A baby face looks young, yes, Feitan is also a baby face!" Mersus showed a somewhat innocent smile. "He looks cute when he's releasing his killing intent."
"Cute... Pfft... The word 'cute'... Pfft... I've never heard it before," Shalnark said, unable to stop laughing, and looked at Feitan. "You agree, Feitan?"
"Yes, it's quite good," Feitan said. "At least better than someone who only has a face."
"How heartless, Mersus, do you really only care about my face?" Shalnark lowered his head, pressing his forehead against Mersus's. "Praise me a little more."
The distance and posture were very suitable for kissing. It was unclear who made the first move, but ignoring Feitan, their lips met.
Feitan leaned against the window frame with a blank expression, crossing his arms and watching them kiss, as if watching a TV drama.
Yes, it was a TV drama. Shalnark was performing vigorously for him, the sole audience, to show Feitan that Mersus was already ensnared by Shalnark's spider web.
Capturing a strong prey is more interesting than capturing a weak prey, isn't it?
When Shalnark put Mersus back on the ground, Feitan tilted his chin at Shalnark. "Not continuing? I still want to watch. Show me something more exciting."
"No," Shalnark stroked Mersus's hair by her temples. "I don't have a hobby of being watched."
"Today is Tuesday," Feitan curled the corners of his mouth. Because the lines of his eyes were too sharp, any smile looked like mockery on his face. "I advise you to cherish your time well."
Feitan returned the way he came and left through the window.
According to Feitan's "Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday; Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday" schedule, Feitan should have appeared tomorrow. However, just a few hours later, as Shalnark and Mersus were sitting across from each other in a restaurant, Feitan unceremoniously pulled up a chair and sat between them.
Then, he casually took the menu that the waiter was about to hand over, and placed it in Mersus's hand. "Order whatever you want, I'm not picky."
So what was Feitan's schedule worth...
No. One couldn't mention Feitan's schedule. Shalnark knew what Feitan was planning.
Firstly, don't try to reason with a bandit; bandits are, by nature, those who disregard rules.
Secondly, rules only apply to those bound by rules, not to the rule-makers.
Thirdly, Feitan's proposed schedule was actually not acknowledged by anyone else. Questioning Feitan about the "schedule" at this moment would be admitting the validity of the "schedule."
Finally, the schedule proposed by Feitan was very general in concept and vague in content, with many ways to interpret it, or rather, it played on the "all rights of interpretation belong to the maker" trick.
Was it trust? Or a test? Mersus handed the menu back to Shalnark.
"..."
The atmosphere of this lunch was unexpectedly peaceful.
Except when it was time to pay, the exemplary bandit seemed to want to follow his usual practice of a "dine and dash," leading to a disagreement with the other two who intended to pay normally. Perhaps to make Shalnark also adhere to the principles of an exemplary bandit, Feitan even directly took out a knife towards the waiter...
No, that was wrong.
Although the action was similar, Feitan took out a bank card.
"?!" x2
Not only that, Feitan also paid a tip.
"?!?!" x2
"Don't make a fuss," Feitan glanced at Shalnark.
After paying the bill, Feitan left without looking back.
"???" x2
This was probably some kind of "flash mob" performance art.
Feitan would suddenly appear when they weren't paying attention, sometimes doing inexplicable things, sometimes just watching. Although it couldn't be called "harassment," this pervasive, omnipresent feeling was quite eerie.
What is this, a ghost behind them!
For an ordinary person, this would probably lead to neurasthenia. Shalnark, who encountered Feitan in the restroom, couldn't help but think.
Mersus chose to play deaf and mute throughout, essentially not knowing how to handle the current situation (referring to "complex interpersonal relationships"), and thus gave up thinking.
If one thought this was simple harassment, it would be too naive. This was clearly an observation, or rather, excluding the restroom part, Feitan was clearly observing the usual way Shalnark and Mersus interacted.
"...Nothing more than this." Feitan shifted his gaze from Shalnark's face downwards to a certain part.
A double entendre.
"Then should I... also look forward to your performance a little?" Shalnark smiled, narrowing his eyes.
He had no expectations for Feitan's performance at all.
Mersus, who had never reacted much to Feitan's unpredictable behavior, showed surprise when she saw Shalnark and Feitan walking out of the restroom together. "...!"
"..." x2
Shalnark and Feitan exchanged glances, and then, both of them moved away from each other with expressions of disgust.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Mersus's expression and the sparkle in her eyes disappeared, and she stepped backward.
"Wait, wait! Feitan and I don't have a relationship as close as you think!" Shalnark only managed to shout this.
Mersus ran away.
Feitan almost laughed himself to death.
As a result, they spent a day finding Mersus, and then another day proving to Mersus that they were not gay.
The method of proof was quite simple.
The three of them had a good fight.
It was late after all the commotion. Until noon the next day, the three of them woke up one after another. Shalnark ordered room service from the hotel and ordered food.
After washing up, eating, and completing these trivial matters.
Finally, the three of them sat down together... to play games.
In the game list, Shalnark found a game that could be played by up to four people.
"..." x3
"How about we call one more person to play?" Shalnark suggested.
Feitan grunted in agreement.
Mersus didn't speak, which was considered tacit consent.
"Then let's all say the person we thought of first," Shalnark said with a smile as he counted down. "Three."
"Two."
"One."
"The leader." "Phinks." "The leader."
Shalnark and Feitan turned their heads together to look at Mersus, who was between them and had answered differently.
Although their expressions were different, their gazes at this moment carried weight, or could be called "death glares."
For the question just asked, Shalnark wasn't entirely joking; he had actually given a test. Feitan's answer was within his expectations. Based on his deduction, Feitan's reason was likely "I'd rather it be the leader!" Well, he was similar, but Mersus's answer was...
"Why..." Feitan was the first to ask. "Did you choose Phinks?"
"...Doesn't the leader like to read? You should find Phinks for games," Mersus replied using the sound device.
Shalnark and Feitan withdrew their gazes.
Oh, then it's nothing. x2