Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 138 (Patreon)

Chapter 138: Possibility Zero

The expected number of members is twelve, including himself, making thirteen.

Currently, there are only seven, counting Luo, that makes eight, though it’s still uncertain whether Luo will join or not.

Chrollo indeed recognizes Luo’s abilities and would be pleased to see him join the Troupe, but regardless of Luo’s decision, his and Machi's views and attitudes differ significantly.

Firstly, Luo is not the same kind of person as they are, something Chrollo realized quite early on, hence the likelihood of Luo joining them is slim, in Chrollo's view.

Secondly, if Luo decides not to join, Chrollo wouldn’t insist, marking a significant departure from Machi and the others.

Acceptance is one thing, but there's no absolute need for Luo.

Regardless of their views and attitudes, Chrollo undeniably wishes for Luo to join the Troupe.

Without much discussion, Chrollo and Pakunoda took their seats on a sofa, with Franklin and Feitan not standing foolishly, but also squeezing onto the sofa.

Machi sat next to Sanbica Norton, perhaps out of boredom, managed to break her silence and casually chatted about how they encountered Luo.

Sanbica didn’t hide anything, answering Machi’s questions succinctly.

This Q&A caught the interest of Chrollo and others, listening in.

The Uvogin’s sofa wasn’t that big, quickly filled up by six people, leaving no space.

Seeing Uvogin and Nobunaga looking like they were about to start a fight, while others pretended not to see, Luo decided not to intervene, his hatred already redirected.

Buddha Jumps Over the Wall would take more than two hours to prepare, so he didn’t bother with the kitchen. Taking advantage of Uvogin and Nobunaga blowing into the bellows, preparing to fight, he snatched the last spot on the sofa.

He sat next to Sanbica, barely fitting.

“Move further away.”

Just as Luo sat down, Sanbica turned her head to look at him, her tone neutral.

“Isn’t a three-finger distance enough?” Luo extended three fingers, measuring the distance between them under her gaze.

“Not enough,” Sanbica said.

Luo’s mouth twitched slightly as he moved a bit further, exclaiming, “Now it’s a whole palm’s distance, that should be enough!”

Sanbica thought for a moment, then nodded slightly. Given the limited space, a palm’s distance was reluctantly acceptable, even from Machi, she kept a distance of seven to eight fingers.

Luo checked and found half of his buttocks were almost off the sofa, thankfully, Sanbica didn’t ask him to move further, or he wouldn’t be able to sit.

Their odd conversation drew a weird look from Machi.

After Luo settled, Uvogin and Nobunaga found the sofa fully occupied and had no choice but to move wooden chairs from the dining table.

Once everyone was seated, they all looked at each other, not knowing how it turned into something resembling a meeting.

“Luo, did Machi tell you about the Troupe?” The quiet atmosphere was broken by Nobunaga.

“He did,” Luo replied.

As soon as he spoke, all eyes fell on him.

Nobunaga nodded, about to invite him, but Machi spoke first.

“He refused.”

“What?” Nobunaga looked at Machi.

Machi simply said, “Luo refused to join.”

Nobunaga’s gaze shifted to Luo, frowning, “Why?”

He and Machi, like Uvogin, had assumed Luo would join before even inviting him, baseless as that assumption might have been.

At this moment, everyone quietly stared at Luo, putting silent pressure on him.

“The world is so vast, I want to see it,” Luo threw out the answer he had given Machi.

Hearing this, Machi’s eyelids drooped, feeling an urge to smack Luo, while the others were rather speechless.

“What does that have to do with joining the Troupe?” Uvogin, always direct, hit the nail on the head.

Yeah, what’s the connection between the two?

This led to more probing looks at Luo.

Uvogin’s question made Luo raise his eyes in thought, frowning for a while, considering the Troupe’s freedom, it indeed seemed unrelated.

“Now that you mention it, it really has nothing to do with it,” Luo spread his hands.

“…”

Nobunaga’s face twitched, wanting to draw his sword on Luo.

“So, can we take your earlier answer as evasive?”

Chrollo spoke up, seated directly across Luo, able to face him squarely.

That was a gaze that seemed to want to peel away layers to the truth.

Facing Chrollo’s gaze, Luo was unmoved, seriously saying, “It’s not evasive

. That’s indeed what I plan to do next, so…”

He met Chrollo’s serious gaze, asking, “Will the Troupe join me in wandering the world?”

“No,” Chrollo answered without hesitation, then continued, “But the Troupe won’t restrict your steps. The two aren’t conflicting.”

Luo smiled, “But, do you think… if one of the Spider's legs doesn’t obey, would that be a good thing? No, to be precise, if one leg wants to walk in a different direction from the others, would you accept its existence?”

Chrollo’s gaze showed a hint of surprise. He pinched his chin with his index finger, pondering for a moment before nodding slightly, “I understand.”

With that, Chrollo paused, then continued, “Though I’m not sure what your certainty about the future is based on, it’s clear, your likelihood of joining the Troupe is zero.”

He slowly lowered his hand, “Hence, the same action won’t be repeated. If you want to know the meaning of the Troupe’s existence, I can answer that.”

From Luo’s single sentence, Chrollo concluded that Luo joining the Troupe was impossible, and he vaguely saw the reason for Luo’s reluctance, consistent with his initial view, not surprising.

If there was any surprise, it was his use of the word ‘future’.

After finishing his statement, the phrase became a fleeting thought, soon disregarded, as if picking up a piece of trash from the street one day and deciding not to the next.

Luo’s reply, though in the form of a question, contained a definitive viewpoint, yet was slightly contradictory.

He seemed to think that even before the Spider was born, there would be a leg that didn’t coordinate, and that leg was himself.

Chrollo didn’t want to know the reason; he just needed to be sure Luo truly wouldn’t join the Troupe. So, inviting Luo was indeed a one-time action, never to be repeated.

Hearing Chrollo’s words, Luo’s eyes flickered, and after a moment, he exhaled softly, not following up on Chrollo’s offer to discuss the Troupe’s purpose, as he already knew the answer.

“If you could convince the others here, I’d thank you,” Luo looked towards Machi and the rest.

Uvogin and the others were at a loss, not understanding what Luo and Chrollo were discussing. Wasn’t it just a simple matter of inviting someone into the Troupe?

“I can’t help you there,” Chrollo said indifferently.

Luo smiled helplessly, clapped his hands, and said, “Let’s not talk about this. Before I invite you all to eat, there’s something I need to tell you. Tomorrow, Meteor Street is going to be chaotic.”

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