It was October, golden autumn. Not too hot, not too cold, it was the season of abundant harvests, the most comfortable time.
Chrollo Lucilfer, the leader of the A-class rogue group, the Phantom Troupe, wore a white shirt and black trousers after his bath. He lounged lazily on the sofa, a small mountain of books piled beside him, the topmost one at a height he could easily reach.
He wasn't reading, however. A paper bag of candied chestnuts lay on his lap, and he was peeling and eating them. The chestnut meat was a radiant golden color, much like the golden leaves outside the window.
"Want some?" Chrollo looked out the window, holding up the paper bag. "I've tried them; they're really sweet."
"Meow." Kalluto leaped down from the window, his boots landing silently on the wooden floor.
The freshly baked chestnuts were fragrant and hot, with a delicate, soft texture. After eating one, Kalluto grabbed another handful from the bag and sat on the armrest of Chrollo's sofa, continuing to peel and eat.
"Would you like something to drink?" Chrollo asked.
Kalluto glanced at the teacup near Chrollo and made the same choice, "Green tea. Thank you."
The slight bitterness of the green tea perfectly balanced the sweetness of the chestnuts.
After finishing his tea, Chrollo brought out a game console, the size of a pizza box. This was Greed Island, which Chrollo had mentioned on the phone. Only 100 copies were released, with an initial sale price of 5.8 billion jenny. At this year's auction, the starting bid was 8.9 billion jenny, and it eventually sold for over twenty billion, making it undeniably the most expensive game in the world.
In Yorknew City, after being captured by Kurapika, Chrollo was placed under a restriction that prevented him from using Nen. To remove the restriction, he needed "Nen Removal." Chrollo had received reliable information that the clue to this lay in this game.
Another restriction Kurapika had placed on Chrollo was "no contact with other members of the Troupe." Since Greed Island could only be played by Nen users, Chrollo contacted Kalluto, hoping Kalluto would enter Greed Island to find a Nen remover for him, with the game console as his reward.
While Nen removers were rare, to industry insiders—especially someone like Kalluto, who possessed "the advantage of the Zoldyck family's intelligence network and the advantage of a transmigrator's intelligence"—they weren't that difficult to find. The reward Chrollo offered seemed quite generous.
"Oh, my friend, you are always so generous," Kalluto sighed.
"It's a trifle. After all, money is the least important thing."
Right. Chrollo was a criminal, engaged in risk-free, highly profitable businesses. Greed Island was something he had stolen or snatched directly without spending a single yen. Kalluto, on the other hand, had to work for Chrollo. In essence, Kalluto was being taken advantage of by Chrollo.
Come to think of it…
"Was that a dubbed voice just now?" Kalluto chuckled. "I remember Shalnark telling me that when he was a kid, he found foreign tokusatsu shows while rummaging through dumpsters. You were the only one who understood the dialogue, so you translated all the lines and even redubbed them, performing for everyone."
Meteor City received trash from all over the world, with items from every country. From a young age, Chrollo had been interested in the world outside Meteor City. To understand those unfamiliar languages and scripts, he diligently collected language learning materials. Fortunately, most people in Meteor City found these learning materials incredibly boring and treated them as commonplace garbage, so no one competed with him for them, making acquisition extremely easy. He learned smoothly, mastering several languages before he was even 12 years old.
"The broken projector at the church always malfunctioned. After a few attempts, he started learning to fix it."
"They said your most outstanding performance back then was that villain character, called…"
Chrollo, who had lowered his head in silence, suddenly looked at Kalluto. "Graffiti Monster."
"That was a long time ago." As Chrollo raised his head, the unfathomable shadows on his face vanished, replaced by a calm atmosphere of reminiscing. "When they—when Shalnark told you this story, was anyone else there? Was it Phinks? Hmm, it seems you guys had quite a good time back then."
It was like when they had first gathered as children, actively assigning roles and happily dubbing the tokusatsu shows.
Unfortunately, such stories in Meteor City were merely fleeting moments, because Meteor City was the discarded place of the entire world.
"But…" Chrollo's calm expression slowly melted away. His pure black eyes became as warm and lustrous as jade under the sunlight. "I believe you can have a very enjoyable time today as well."
Initially, Kalluto had intended to refuse Chrollo's request. He wasn't in a hurry for money and wasn't particularly interested in Greed Island. Moreover, compared to Kurapika, Chrollo was not only chewed-up gum but also a twenty-six-year-old man nearing thirty. Kalluto genuinely couldn't muster much interest in him.
Then, Chrollo mentioned on the phone that Greed Island was merely a bonus, and the real reward was that he was at Kalluto's disposal.
At Kalluto's disposal? Chrollo knew exactly what Kalluto wanted to do with him. He was confident that Kalluto wouldn't truly harm him. Even when Kalluto had been in the Troupe, he hadn't made a move against him, and Chrollo had already known about Kalluto's unusual feelings for him.
"…" Kalluto couldn't stay seated any longer.
After all, Chrollo's face was still very youthful. With his bangs down, he looked like a dashing male university student. Kalluto hadn't had his fill last time. Furthermore, Chrollo possessed the "multiple personalities" skill, and his voice on the phone could truly be captivating.
Most importantly, Chrollo clearly had no idea that Kalluto was the one who had killed Shalnark. Chrollo, often portrayed as "cunning beyond measure" in fanfiction, was actively getting into bed with the murderer of his comrade without realizing it—it was simply a colossal joke.
Was this what they meant by "extreme intelligence leads to harm"? He was heartless, but it was hilariously funny.
So, after finishing the call, Kalluto quickly had a few bites of Kurapika and then rushed to meet Chrollo, unable to resist bringing up Shalnark.
"…"
Chrollo stopped talking and kissed Kalluto's slightly parted lips, his hand gently caressing the curves of Kalluto's body. Their body temperatures gradually synchronized.
Closing the window and drawing the curtains felt like a waste of time, so they left the sofa and went to the bedroom.
"I tested the effect not long ago," Kalluto said, putting on leather gloves. "The things Shalnark made are quite effective."
"After all, he was the 'Spider's Brain'." With that, Chrollo cooperatively bit down on the hem of his shirt, which Kalluto offered him.
Now, he looked like a cat that had willingly exposed its belly, his expression harmlessly innocent, his eyes looking up at Kalluto, appearing somewhat obedient and cute at first glance.
Due to the props made by Shalnark, his body arched slightly, beyond his control.
"Chrollo, my cute little cat," Kalluto said, gently patting his cheek and stroking his hair.
Then, he leaned down.