Max: Hello.
The others turned at the sound of my voice—Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika looked over and immediately noticed the weights I was wearing.
Leorio: Hey, where'd you get those things?
Max: The Kiriko family delivered them, you guys remembered right?. (Lied)
They accepted the explanation without much fuss, and I continued.
Max: So… what were you guys talking about?
They began explaining everything—Killua's situation, the need to rescue him, and their plan to go to Kukuroo Mountain.
Max: I see. So you're going to rescue Killua at Kukuroo Mountain… Welp, I don't even know where that is.
Max (thought): Is an assassin family's location supposed to be tell that easily? Weird. I guess they're confident no one would dare approach.
Kurapika: We can just look it up online.
Hanzo: Yo!
Gon: Oh, Hanzo-san!
Hanzo walked over to us with a relaxed smile.
Hanzo: I'm heading back to my country. It was a short, yet somehow long journey with you all. I had fun.
Gon: So did I!
Max (thought): You had fun with the guy who broke your arm? I have no idea what happened between them after that match… Nah, I regret nothing.
Hanzo: If you ever visit my country, let me know. I'll show you the best tourist spots!
He handed each of us a business card before turning to leave.
Hanzo: See ya!
Gon: Bye!
We glanced down at the card. It read: Cloud-Hidden Ninja Hanzo.
Kurapika: A shinobi who really wants to leave an impression...
Max (thought): I don't get it at all.
Pokkle: Hey!
We turned to the source of the voice—it was Pokkle, approaching us with a sheepish expression.
Pokkle: Sorry about getting so worked up back there.
Max: No, I lost control too. Forgive me.
Max (thought): Yeah, screaming at him and breaking the table wasn't my brightest moment. Still, I'm impressed he had the guts to apologize. I respect that.
Leorio (thought): You definitely lost control.
Pokkle: No, you didn't do anything wrong. You had every right to be that mad. Honestly, I was planning to use him (Kurapika) to vent my frustration over winning by default. But I've moved past it now. You were right—since I've already passed, I should make the most of it. Now the question is... what should I do next?
Max: Yeah, you're right.
Max (thought): I've been thinking about that too. For now, I'll stick with Gon and the others—maybe I'll find a way to earn some money after we rescue Killua. But if we end up fighting, I might just bail. I really hope it doesn't come to that...
Pokkle: I'm going to travel the world, gather intel, and discover new species—as an exotic game hunter!
Max: An erotic hunter? Is that even a thing? So you're planning to discover "girl species," hunt wives, or do... erotic stuff to them? Wow. Don't worry—I still respect you.
Kurapika and Leorio went red in the face, visibly cringing.
Kurapika:Exotic game hunter, Max... Exotic. Sigh. You and your jokes.
Max: Wait, seriously? I thought he said erotic hunter. My bad.
The three just stared at me, completely dumbfounded. Then Gon pointed at something Pokkle was holding.
Gon: Hey, what's that?
Pokkle: Oh, this? It's a device that can access all kinds of information. Got anything you want to know? I can look it up right now.
Gon thought for a second, then asked:
Gon: Can you search for a hunter named Ging? Ging Freecss?
While Gon spoke, I sensed something behind us. I glanced back and saw Satotz standing silently nearby. I decided to ignore him for now and stayed focused.
Pokkle: Sure, one sec...
He began typing, but quickly frowned.
Pokkle: Huh? Who is this guy?
Gon: Huh?
Pokkle: His data's locked behind an insane security system. You'd need all kinds of high-level access. He's got serious pull—even at the national level.
Gon: Really? ...Forget it, then.
Leorio: Looks like your dad's kind of a big deal.
Gon just smiled and laughed quietly.
Max (thought): Of course the protagonist's dad is some top-tier figure. It's always like this—look at Naruto's dad, the Fourth Hokage.
Pokkle: Anyway, if anything comes up, here's my email address.
He handed us a card and turned to leave.
Pokkle: Later!
Gon: Bye!
Max (thought): Wait—I didn't even get to ask my question yet...
But Pokkle was already gone. I sighed.
Leorio: Wait we should've asked him to look up Kukuroo Mountain.
Gon: Oh, right!
Kurapika: True. But it's okay. Like Chairman Netero said—we're hunters now. It's probably not smart to let other hunters know our movements. We can find the info ourselves.
Leorio and Gon scratched their heads and smiled awkwardly. I just shrugged.
Max: Yeah, good point. I bet there are erotic hunters out there—and they wouldn't want anyone to know what they're up to either.
Everyone went silent and stared at me.
Max: What? There are all kinds of hunters. I'm just saying it's possible.
Then we heard someone call out.
Satotz: Gon!
We turned to see it was Satotz. Gon walked up to him.
Gon: Mr. Satotz?
Satotz: You forgot this.
He handed Gon a book with the Hunter Association logo on the cover—it was a guidebook for new Hunters.
Gon: Oh, right... Thanks.
Max (thought): I didn't bother reading mine. I accidentally destroyed it when I slammed the table earlier—I hit the book first, then the table broke. There wasn't much left to recover. Oh well, the license card is still intact. That's all that matters.
Satotz: Also... do you have a moment?
Kurapika: We'll be waiting in the lobby.
Gon: Okay.
Max (thought): I'm curious, but I'll let it go. Judging by Satotz's reaction during the first exam when Gon mentioned his father, I bet this is about that.
While waiting in the lobby, we used the computers provided by the Hunter Association—they were free to access.
Max (thought): Why is there a tube with a brain in it next to the computer...? Am I the only one who finds that weird?
As the computer booted up, Gon came back.
Kurapika: What did he want to talk about?
Gon: He said he knew something about my dad.
That was all he said, and we didn't press further.
Leorio: First, let's look up Kukuroo Mountain.
Kurapika: Yeah.
Kurapika typed on the keyboard, and the results came up.
Kurapika: Kukuroo Mountain… it's 3,722 meters tall, located in the Dentora region of the Republic of Padokea.
Max (thought): That high?! Don't tell me Killua's house is at the peak...
Leorio: The Republic of Padokea? Never heard of it. Where is it?
Kurapika: Hold on, I'll bring up a map.
He searched again, and a map popped up.
Kurapika: This is the Republic of Padokea. Looks stable. The country allows regular tourists, so it should be fine.
Max (thought): Tourists? Don't tell me their assassin mansion is counted as a tourist attraction. These people are elite for real...
Gon: That's where Killua is?
Kurapika: By airship, it'll take about three days to reach. When should we leave?
Gon: Today. Right now!
Leorio: Yeah, no objections here! Right, Max?
Max: Wait, I'm part of this too?
Max (thought): I was just about to ask if I could come along...
Gon: Why are you asking? Of course you're coming.
Max: After what I said to Killua?
Max (thought): Still don't regret it.
Leorio: Killua probably didn't take it to heart.
Gon: What did he say to Killua? Actually, never mind. I'm sure Killua's already forgiven you.
Max: Look, I've only ever seen him as an acquaintance. Same goes for you guys.
Leorio: That's fine. We already think of you as a friend. Just takes some time to get used to your… unique personality.
Gon: Even if you still think of us as acquaintances, we think of you as a friend.
Max: Honestly, I was just about to ask if I could come along... didn't expect you guys to invite me first. But you know I might not help you guys that much, right?
Gon: That's okay. You can just tag along. You're still better than Hisoka or Killua's brother.
Leorio: Yeah, seriously.
Max: Sigh… Fine, I'm in. Might even apologize to Killua—if he's mad or even remembers what I said.
Max (thought): Or not…
Kurapika: Got it. I'll order the tickets.
After Kurapika booked the airship tickets, we packed up our things and headed to the airport. The taxi ride there was a nightmare—traffic was jammed with cars everywhere.
Leorio: What's going on? We've been stuck in the same spot forever!
Kurapika: This won't do. We'll miss our flight at this rate.
Gon glanced at the time, clearly thinking of something. Meanwhile, I looked out the window.
Max (thought): So many cars… Can't we just use a helicopter or something? I don't even see a single motorcycle around. Honestly, running sounds better than sitting in this traffic. I'm more worried about my bag strapped to the roof of the car...
Leorio: Pops! Do something!
Driver: Sorry, kid. I can't do anything about the traffic. And this is the only road to the airport.
Gon: In that case...
Leorio and Kurapika turned to Gon, curious what idea he had. I already had a good guess.
Max (thought): Heh, looks like Gon's thinking the same thing I am.
Then we all got out of the taxi with our stuff and took off running along the roadside.
Leorio: Do you guys even realize how far the airport is!?
Gon: I want to rescue Killua as soon as humanly possible!
Max (thought):"As humanly"? Weird phrasing, but okay.
Leorio and Kurapika exchanged glances, then smiled.
Leorio: Fine. You win.
As we ran, Kurapika looked over.
Kurapika: This reminds me of the Hunter Exam.
Max: The one where you guys stripped?
Kurapika and Leorio shot me a look, then sighed and chose to ignore it.
Kurapika & Leorio (thought):It was just a shirt (Leorio)… a garb (Kurapika)...
Gon: That's right! This is nothing compared to the Hunter Exam.
Leorio: Yeah… You got that right.
Gon: Okay… Race you to the airport! Ready... go!
Max (thought): Finally, I can run with this weight on. Yup, this is definitely tough… but I can handle it.
We made it to the airport just in time and boarded the airship heading to the Republic of Padokea.
While in the airship, Leorio, Kurapika, and I were buying food from the onboard cafeteria. Gon, meanwhile, stood quietly by the window, watching the scenery drift by beneath the clouds. He seemed deep in thought and quietly muttered to himself:
Gon:Killua...
Leorio popped a few fries into his mouth as he and Kurapika returned to their seats with trays of food. Gon noticed them and gave a faint smile—but he didn't see me coming at all, mostly because my face was hidden behind the massive stack of burgers I was carrying.
Leorio: What's with the long face, Gon?
Kurapika: We'll be in the Republic of Padokea by morning. You'll see Killua soon enough.
Gon(smiling): Yeah, you're right!
Gon (thought):We'll definitely bring Killua back with us!
Max (thought):Thank god all this food is free with the Hunter License. I went a little overboard though...
Just as I thought that, I fumbled. One burger slipped from the stack—and in trying to catch it, I ended up dropping the entire pile. The burgers flew in all directions... and landed squarely on Gon.
Max: Oops. Sorry.
Leorio laughed at Gon, he nearly choked on the fries he was eating, while Kurapika sighed but smiled. Gon pouted for a moment before deciding to forgive Max, especially since the burger was wrapped. Max then offered the burger to Gon, and they both ate together, enjoying the view from the airship.
To be continued...