Hunter x Hunter : Germain Joins The Hunt

8:30 AM, September 28th.

After seven hours of sleep, Germain got out of bed, freshened up briefly, and began his daily training routine.

Once he finished his required practice, Germain opened his door, ready to go have breakfast.

Just as he stepped out, the door across from his creaked open, and Shizuku stepped out at the exact same time.

To be honest, Germain didn't recognize her at first glance. It took him a second look to realize it was her.

The reason was that Shizuku wasn't wearing her glasses. One of the lenses had cracked, making the entire pair unusable, and she needed to get a replacement.

When someone who always wears glasses suddenly takes them off, it can give others a sense of unfamiliarity.

Shizuku was no exception.

Squinting her eyes due to her severe nearsightedness, she pressed her hands against the wall, listening to the sound of footsteps. Seeing the blurry figure in front of her, she leaned in a little closer.

"Oh, it's Germain."

"It's me. Can you not see clearly?"

"No, not at all." Shizuku took another step forward. This time, she could just about make out the outline of Germain's face.

"When will your glasses be ready? Or maybe… just switch to contact lenses?"

"I don't like contacts." Shizuku leaned in again, this time tilting her body forward until she was almost right next to Germain's neck. "Can you take me for an eye exam later? List said they could have a new pair ready before noon."

"Why do you need me to take you for an eye exam?"

"Because I can't see where I'm going." Shizuku naturally stretched out her hand. After a moment of hesitation about where to grab, she eventually settled on Germain's head, pulling at a small tuft of his black hair. "Let's go. Breakfast first."

Germain glanced at her, his expression incredulous. "Are you serious?"

"Move already! What are you waiting for?" Shizuku, not understanding his hesitation, tugged harder at his hair in retaliation.

Fortunately, Germain had no issues with hair loss—it stayed firmly in place.

When Germain protested, Shizuku suggested taking off her inverted cross necklace and putting it around Germain's neck instead. She proposed pulling him along by the chain. That idea, too, was swiftly rejected.

In the end, Shizuku had no choice but to rest her hand on Germain's shoulder and follow his steps forward.

But after just a few steps, Germain felt like this setup made him look like a eunuch escorting the empress out of the palace. He dismissed this method as well.

"This won't work, and that won't work either. Germain, you're such a hassle."

For some reason, the root of the problem—Shizuku—got angry instead, as if she was completely justified.

When they finally entered the dining room, Bisky, Menchi, and Buhara were greeted by the sight of Shizuku tugging on Germain's sleeve, following him slowly and unhurriedly.

After everyone sat down, Germain still had to bring Shizuku the breakfast she wanted.

Germain's team had returned eight hours earlier. Since it was the middle of the night, they had only exchanged a few casual words to confirm the situation before heading to their rooms to rest.

This afternoon, they planned to hold a meeting to thoroughly discuss their recent "Ancient Labyrinth Journey" and the "Future Direction of Greed Island."

Germain sipped his porridge—cooked by Menchi, who sat diagonally across from him. Menchi was skilled in various cuisines from different countries and regions. As Germain ate, Bisky spoke to him.

"Germain, Menchi, Buhara, and I are planning to take a plant of 'Herb for All-illnesses' and negotiate with Chairman Netero. We expect to return within a week."

"Although Chairman Netero hasn't promised us anything, we've retrieved something that represents 'hope.' I believe this gives us an advantage in the negotiations."

Menchi, with her five spiky braids sticking upward, and Buhara, who was as large as a bear, both nodded in agreement.

Germain took another sip of porridge with his spoon.

"A week..."

As soon as Germain returned to Greed Island, he had checked the cooldown time for the "Teleport Lantern." Surprisingly, it wasn't the expected doubled time of "128 hours," but rather "5 days" (120 hours).

This meant 8 hours had been deducted, which was a good thing for Germain.

However, this also meant that in 5 days, Germain would have to make a choice: Should he immediately go meet up with Ging, or wait for Bisky and the others to return?

He decided to bring this up during the afternoon meeting with everyone, so he didn't respond to Bisky's comment right away.

After breakfast, Germain took Shizuku to see List to have her eyesight checked.

List said the glasses would be ready in half an hour, which was faster than expected.

Shizuku had chosen the same style of glasses as before.

When she put on the new glasses, they didn't slip down her nose like the old ones used to. This was something she wasn't quite used to yet.

She fiddled with the frames, her large eyes darting back and forth, as if trying to test the glasses' effectiveness with her own vision. Only after that did she thank List.

The boyish List gave a slight bow in return and watched as the two walked away.

Shizuku didn't need Germain to play the role of a "guide dog" anymore, but since she had nothing better to do, she quickened her pace and caught up to him.

"Where are you going? What are you doing?"

"I'm going to find Abengane to help me remove a Nen curse."

"Oh, oh, oh! I'm coming too."

"Why are you tagging along?"

"How would I know?"

Shizuku shot Germain a glare, her expression unreadable, as if scolding him for asking such a pointless question.

Germain didn't pay her much mind and let her follow him. Soon, they reached the first basement level of "Limeiro Castle's Treatment Room."

The entire structure of Limeiro Castle had undergone significant modifications after Germain and the others joined.

The second floor and above were dedicated to "bedrooms" and "studies." The first floor housed "dining areas," "parlors," and "training rooms."

The first basement level contained the "library," "treatment room," and "conference room."

The second basement level was where the "research lab" and the "Lantern Teleportation Hall" were located.

Germain and Shizuku arrived at the first basement level and found Abengane sitting at a desk, flipping through a book.

The dark-skinned Abengane heard their footsteps and put down the book in his hands. When he saw Germain, he quickly stood up.

"Mr. Germain, you're here." Abengane rubbed his hands together, stepped around the desk, and walked toward them. "Would you like some tea?"

"No need for formalities," Germain said with a wave of his hand. "I need you to help me with a Nen exorcism."

Abangane naturally knew why Germain had come to see him. "Alright, please follow me," he said.

Thanks to Bisky's ability, "Magical Beautician Miss Cookie", the "pressure" on Abangane after performing exorcisms had significantly lessened. Now, he didn't need to wait a whole month before removing Germain's curse again.

The "Treatment Room" was spacious and temporarily divided into sections dedicated to Bisky, Sanbica, and Abangane.

Abangane's personal area was located at the very back—a greenhouse filled with vibrant flowers in full bloom and lush green foliage.

Here, he had set up the ritual array needed for the "Forest Spirit".

This time, Germain returned with two types of "traits."

The first was a positive trait, "Comeback Boost". When Germain's Nen was reduced by more than half, his combat strength would increase.

The second was a negative trait, "Terrible Gambler". Whenever Germain tried to gamble, his chances of losing would increase significantly.

Of course, the trait Germain wanted Abangane to remove was the negative trait.

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