Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 27 (Patreon)

Chapter 27: The Fear of Sudden Silence

In this matter, Chrollo Lucilfer, who was an outsider, actually had control over the entire situation.

The Elder Council gave Chrollo a deadline, which essentially was Luo's time to escape. This could be interpreted as the Elder Council giving Chrollo face.

From this, it's evident that Chrollo and the Elder Council had a significant relationship, and also that Cook's death wasn't severe enough to infuriate the Elder Council, otherwise, they wouldn't have given Chrollo a deadline.

However, regardless of the severity of the matter, Luo had to be responsible for it. That was the outcome; the difference lay in the process.

Machi, Uvogin, and Nobunaga were three people Chrollo absolutely intended to save. As for Luo, he also managed to secure a chance for survival for him. Whether Luo could survive afterwards was no longer his concern, although he didn't think Luo's chances were good.

This was Chrollo's thought before coming to the church, but now, he had changed his mind.

"What do you mean?" Machi frowned, detecting the certainty in Chrollo's tone. She felt somewhat relieved but was unclear on what Chrollo's reasoning was.

At that moment, the door was knocked, halting their conversation.

Except for Chrollo, the expressions of everyone else in the room changed slightly. After all, through Chrollo's words, the Elder Council had become a sword hanging over their heads, ready to fall at any moment.

"Come in," Chrollo said lightly.

As soon as he spoke, the door opened, revealing Pakunoda with her short, blond hair efficiently styled. She was holding two wooden crutches in her hand.

"Did I interrupt?" Pakunoda glanced at the positioning of the three in the room.

"No," Machi shook her head.

Pakunoda nodded slightly, entered the room, closed the door behind her, and handed the crutches to Machi, who was somewhat surprised but thanked her and took them with one hand.

With the support of the crutches, Machi no longer had to maintain her awkward stance and was freed from Luo's grip.

Pakunoda's act of bringing the crutches was not something Chrollo had instructed beforehand but was her own doing, indicating her attentiveness.

Luo glanced at the people gathered in the room - Chrollo, Machi, Nobunaga, Uvogin, Pakunoda - the core members of the Phantom Troupe's future. Standing in the same room with them at this moment.

More than this matter, he was considering whether to continue staying in Meteor City.

His gaze shifted, landing on the Ominous Hand that Chrollo was holding intentionally, and said, "You mentioned the Elder Council of the East loves collecting treasures and antiques. Are you suggesting I use the Ominous Hand to avoid their pursuit?"

Chrollo was not surprised by Luo's question and nodded, "Exactly."

The Ominous Hand was the key to Chrollo's certainty that the Elder Council would not pursue the matter further.

Of course, if he wasn't currently interested in Luo, even if he had realized the value of the Ominous Hand in the church, he would have faced Luo with a quiet and handsome demeanor, without going into much detail.

Exploring a person is like peeling an onion layer by layer, and Chrollo enjoyed this process.

He believed Luo was worth the exploration, so he didn't want Luo to leave Meteor City.

"You saved Machi and the others, so I managed to get you four hours' time. This is my way of thanking you. But as long as the Ominous Hand is given to the Elder Council, they won't pursue this matter," Chrollo explained.

"That's great, Luo. You don't have to go," Machi said to Luo, her face filled with joy.

Luo fell silent for a moment, contemplating many things.

Machi only saw the surface, mostly now under Chrollo's favor, likely increasing their trust in Chrollo after this incident.

From meeting Chrollo to now, about fifteen minutes had passed.

This brief interaction revealed Chrollo's intentions were kind, but that was not actually the case.

If Chrollo hadn't planned to steal his Nen ability during their time in the church, then Luo would definitely have owed Chrollo a favor.

Knowing the Elder Council would pursue the matter, even securing four hours for him, but the capital for escaping pursuit was Nen ability, and Chrollo planned to steal it before notifying him to flee, effectively depriving him of the chance to survive.

Although Luo didn't know why Chrollo changed his mind suddenly, just this act alone was not something Luo could easily let go of.

Because of desire, one could easily disregard others' safety, even indirectly taking lives.

Even if Chrollo's actions were shaped by the unique values of Meteor City, Luo couldn't forgive him.

However, Luo didn’t know that Chrollo had only recently developed "Skill Hunter," and he was the first test subject for this ability.

"Machi, that’s worth eight million Jenny," Luo said, pushing down the swirling thoughts in his head, looking at Machi with a joking tone.

"And then?" Machi stared at Luo.

For some reason, Luo felt pressure out of nowhere, his smile turning slightly awkward as he let out a bitter laugh, "There’s no 'then.'"

Machi nodded slightly, then turned her gaze back to Chrollo, calmly saying, "If this piece of wood can resolve the matter, then Chrollo, you should quickly take it to the Elder Council."

"It's called the Ominous Hand."

Luo reminded softly, which Machi directly ignored.

Chrollo looked at Luo, saying, "I can’t go alone, Luo needs to come with me too."

Facing Chrollo’s gaze, Luo sighed softly, then seriously said, "I might as well just run away."

To be honest, Luo’s desire to continue staying in Meteor City had faded significantly. Being under someone’s control was not a pleasant feeling, and he needed time for significant growth, to enhance his Nen ability in a safe and free environment.

Rather than giving the Ominous Hand to the Elder Council for peace, it would be better to leave it for Machi to improve her living conditions.

"No way," Machi immediately rejected.

"Why run if this broken piece of wood can solve the issue?" Uvogin looked at Luo, confused.

Chrollo and Pakunoda remained silent.

"Broken piece of wood..."

Luo rolled his eyes, earnestly saying, "Even if it's a broken piece of wood, it's worth eight million Jenny. Think about it, what can that amount of money do?"

"Do what?" Uvogin, like an obedient child, earnestly took up the conversation.

Luo’s lips twitched, he slapped his forehead, sighing in resignation, "You can eat meat every day until you vomit. And look at Machi's skeletal figure, only eating three bowls of rice soup a day, clearly malnourished. With this money, you can improve that, which is crucial for Machi’s future confidence."

Saying this, Luo paused, as if realizing... he might have said something wrong.

In the room, Nobunaga was still deep in sleep.

Machi, Uvogin, Chrollo, and Pakunoda quietly looked at Luo, as if something significant was revealed from his previous words.

The fear of sudden silence…

Luo gave a nervous laugh, then cautiously looked towards Machi, whose brows were slightly furrowed, causing Luo to instinctively take a step back.

"So, it was indeed you."

Machi suddenly lifted one of the crutches.

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