Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 22 (Patreon)

Chapter 22: Chrollo

Waking up was good news for Uvogin, allowing Luo to proceed to the church with Nobunaga without worries. Due to Nobunaga's injuries, Luo made a simple stretcher from materials at hand. It was only after Machi explained what had happened after he had passed out that Uvogin, enduring severe pain, kicked Cook's corpse dozens of meters away with a forceful kick imbued with his aura.

Such an attack, wrapped in a Nen user's aura, forcibly opens the aura nodes in the victim's body. As the aura tries to escape, the victim almost instinctively learns to control its flow. Uvogin's way of thinking was always straightforward and brutal, and in situations where his thoughts were pure, he quickly mastered the method of emitting aura.

"I owe you my life," Uvogin muttered as he watched Luo secure Nobunaga onto the stretcher. He had intended to help but accidentally damaged one corner of the stretcher because he couldn't control his aura properly yet.

"Don't worry about it," Luo replied, making sure Nobunaga was securely in place. It was critical to ensure there were no oversights that could cause Nobunaga to fall and sustain further injuries.

Uvogin nodded silently, thanking Luo once and putting the debt of gratitude deep in his heart, ready to repay it whenever possible. Now, he fully accepted Luo; without him, the three of them would have died today. In fact, without Luo's arrival, they wouldn't have encountered this situation at all—a fact unknown to both parties.

After securing Nobunaga on the stretcher, Luo hoisted it onto his back, maintaining a bent posture to keep the stretcher aloft, which made walking uncomfortable.

"I'll rush back to Meteor Street as fast as I can. Don't force yourself to keep up," Luo said to Uvogin, not forgetting to take the Ominous Hand with him, leaving their findings behind as they couldn't carry them.

"Okay," Uvogin responded, then carried Machi, following Luo. He too was injured, carrying Machi, who couldn't walk because of his injured legs, and couldn't move too fast. The urgent task of getting Nobunaga back to the church in Meteor Street was left to Luo.

The difference in their pace meant Luo quickly left Uvogin behind. Along the way, they encountered many residents of Meteor Street wearing protective gear, but neither Luo nor Uvogin sought help, and the residents remained indifferent.

Residents of Meteor Street were both deeply loyal and indifferent: loyal to those they cared about and indifferent to strangers. Even if Luo and Uvogin had asked for help, they would have been ignored.

Luo didn't wait for Uvogin and Machi, focusing on Nobunaga's critical condition. Uvogin didn't hurry to catch up.

"Sorry," Machi suddenly apologized.

Uvogin raised an eyebrow, puzzled, "What for?"

"It was because of me and Luo that he came after us," Machi said in a low voice, "If it weren't for Luo, we would have died today."

"We didn't die, though. And don't act like it's your first day in Meteor Street," Uvogin retorted.

Machi fell silent.

"Nen really is something," Uvogin said, looking towards the silhouette of Meteor Street and smiling with a mouth full of blood-stained teeth, appearing ferocious.

An Enhancer monster's journey begins at this moment.

...

Luo was the first to arrive at the church with Nobunaga, fortunately met with immediate treatment rather than demands for payment.

"Hopefully, I made it in time," Luo sighed, sitting against the wall, overcome with exhaustion and finally resting.

As night fell, Uvogin, carrying Machi, arrived at the church and saw Luo asleep in a corner. They, too, were quickly attended to for treatment.

The next morning, Luo woke to find himself covered with a blanket and felt something hard against his shoulder, turning to see Machi sleeping against him.

"Hmm?"

He didn't immediately wake Machi, wondering why she was there and carefully checking her leg wounds under the blanket. It wasn't voyeurism but concern for her injuries. Seeing her legs were bandaged, Luo was reassured and gently replaced the blanket. When he turned to look at Machi, he found her awake and looking at him.

"Ah... Good morning," Luo said awkwardly, feeling inexplicably guilty as if caught doing something wrong.

Machi nodded slightly, sensitive even in sleep to slight disturbances.

"Why are you sleeping here?" Luo asked, relieved by Machi's calm response.

"No beds left," Machi explained.

"How is Nobunaga?" Luo inquired.

"He's fine, just needs time to recover," Machi said.

"That's good

. And Uvogin?"

"Uvogin is resting in bed. He was just being stubborn yesterday," Machi shared.

Luo could only smirk, thinking it served Uvogin right.

Machi then glanced at a middle-aged man far inside the church, adding, "The church isn't free; they charge for treatment."

"Oh?" Luo was startled.

"We don't have enough to cover even a tenth of the medical fees for the three of us," Machi stated calmly.

"What do we do?" Luo asked, rubbing his forehead.

"I informed Chrollo yesterday. He should be here by noon at the latest, with the money," Machi mentioned.

As if on cue, the church door opened, and two people walked in. Luo and Machi turned to look, with Machi noting, "Chrollo has arrived."

Luo's gaze sharpened as he observed the black-haired young man among the newcomers, comparing ages.

"So this is the leader of the Phantom Troupe, he looks so young…"

As Luo assessed Chrollo, Chrollo also looked in their direction. Normally, Chrollo would have acknowledged Machi, but instead, he focused on Luo.

This was Luo and Chrollo's first meeting.

-------

Table of content - Next Chapter >>>

• Your invaluable feedback and ratings mean the world to me. Please take a moment to rate this novel at Novelupdate.

• You can also check out the other Novels I'm currently translating by clicking HERE.