Homecoming × Enormous Gains

On the Airship.

"Haha, you really found a lively young lady." Biscuit sat on the sofa, watching Melusina drifting around in the Airship, and said with a smile.

This older "young girl" has once again been overflowing with maternal love.

By this time, they had already boarded the Airship for their return journey.

Melusin was filled with curiosity about airships, something she had only seen in comics.

She was incredibly excited after boarding the Airship.

For her, everything outside was new and exciting, like a child entering an amusement park.

Things that could only be seen in comics and stories before, can now be touched in person.

So she was almost constantly in a state of excitement.

Kevin smiled broadly as he looked at Melusina.

"After all, she was confined to that small Village for over a decade; it's only natural for her to be curious about the outside world." Kevin then looked at Biscuit and asked, "How's the situation in that Village now?"

It wasn't convenient for him to inquire about this information, since as a key participant, actively seeking related information would easily be noticed and could lead to unnecessary trouble.

Biscuit picked up her teacup, took a sip, and casually said, "I'm caught up in a bunch of tedious tasks, aren't I? Although the main affairs are handled by the Association, other countries still want to extract something from them."

"There will definitely be some trouble for a while, but it should be fine in a year or two."

Kevin nodded and stopped paying attention to the matter.

Just then, he saw Biscuit take the gem out again, place it on the coffee table, and admire it over and over.

Do you really like this gemstone that much?

"You clueless jeweler, shut up." Biscuit, who was engrossed in admiring the beauty of the gemstone, interrupted Kevin.

Then, she casually changed the subject, asking, "Didn't you try to heal Melusina's legs?"

The image of a beautiful girl with paralyzed legs gives Melusina a tragic beauty.

But being able to run healthily is always better than that thin layer of beauty.

Biscuit wouldn't have asked such a question if it were anyone else, but Kevin possessed miraculous potions and had a precedent of treating other people's illnesses with Qiduo, so she asked out of curiosity.

"Her leg problems are a consequence of being Saintess, caused by the influence of Nen ability."

"With some time and proper care, the problems with your legs will naturally resolve themselves; there's no need to worry."

Hearing this, Biscuit nodded.

Her attention shifted back to the gem in front of her, and her eyes lit up with excitement once more.

I really don't understand this woman.

Becoming Gem Hunter is definitely no joke.

She truly loved him to the core.

Kevin stood up and walked to Melusina's side.

"Isn't it beautiful outside?"

Upon hearing this, Melusina turned her head, blushed, nodded, and floated over to take Kevin's hand.

The White Snake has temporarily retained her position.

The two airships landed in the city one after the other.

Transport vehicles were already parked at the airport, and Men Qi and Buhaci quickly moved the materials from the Locke airship onto the vehicles.

Kevin and his group, however, saw Pairo at the exit.

When Pairo saw Kevin, he waved, but when he saw Biscuit next to Kevin, his face immediately fell.

"Heh, you brat, why are you making that face when you see Princess Biscuit?"

Biscuit immediately noticed the subtle change in his expression.

"Haha, how could that be? It's my honor to see the princess here. Please." As he spoke, Pairo exaggeratedly bent down and stretched out his arm for Biscuit to put it on, as if he were really serving a princess.

"Hmph, you're smart to know what's good for you."

Melusina, standing next to Kevin, looked around curiously, her arms around his shoulders.

This scene stunned Pairo.

He wondered if he was seeing things and rubbed his eyes.

"Uncle Kevin, who is this?"

Kevin smiled. "This is my girlfriend —Melusina."

Girlfriend?

Throat?

So what happened in the last few months?

Although surprised, Pairo immediately nodded and called out, "Uncle—Sister Melusina."

While this title might seem odd, it's mainly because Melusina looks so young.

When Pairo thought of Biscuit, he worried that Melusina's personality was similar to Biscuit's, so he quickly changed his address to "sister".

You must maintain a good first impression; you can't afford to offend the other person.

Nion, Biscuit, Men Qi.

These three women instilled in Pairo a stereotype about the nature of women in the world.

"This is Pairo, my nephew."

"You can just call me Pairo," Pairo quickly replied.

After getting to know each other, the two got into a car and quickly drove away from the airport.

Soon, the convoy returned to the Manor.

"The security system here has improved a lot since last time," Biscuit said, looking out the window.

Those hidden security measures naturally couldn't escape her notice.

Upon hearing this, Kevin said, "We recruited a Professional Hunter specializing in this area before."

The group arrived at the entrance of the Manor.

"What a huge house! This should be called Manor, right?" Melusina of the car and saw the Manor.

In most romance comics of this era, the story settings are mostly concentrated in places like Castle and Manor.

"What's so surprising? Aren't you still living in the Castle?"

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"What's so great about Castle? They're huge and deserted. Manor look much better."

Melusina had never had a good impression of that Castle.

"Castle? Did Uncle kidnap a princess from somewhere?" Pairo wondered.

Although we have been in contact with the outside world for a year now.

But living in Castle is almost synonymous with royalty and nobility, which is a stereotype.

The group walked into the hall.

Light and the others had been waiting there for a long time; they all knew that Kevin and the others would be returning today after being gone for several months.

Next came introductions and casual conversation.

Everyone was quite surprised that Kevin had gotten a girlfriend after only a few months away, and couldn't help but look Melusina up and down.

Judging from her appearance alone, Melusina is indeed outstanding.

"It's really true? I thought you were lying to me," Nion whispered, pulling Kurapika along.

She didn't read the Prophecy Poem she wrote before, but Kurapika did.

The Prophecy Poem at the time did not indicate a very optimistic outcome.

So they were quite worried and even asked if they needed any help.

However, Kevin refused.

Aside from the less-than-ideal outcome, there were some interesting aspects to the Prophecy Poem, such as mentioning that Kevin would have a partner.

At the time, they wondered if there might be some special circumstances, and that things weren't as they thought.

Now it seems that this was indeed the case.

Although Nion cannot actively read the prophecies she wrote, she is not affected by gleaning information from Kurapika and the others' casual conversations.

Nion and Rosana were very curious about Kevin's girlfriend, so they pulled Melusina, and also called Biscuit and Men Qi.

They gathered together and started chatting.

"I heard you encountered something very dangerous on your trip?" Light asked, looking Kevin up and down.

Light was very concerned about his ally.

After all, Kevin is the backbone of their team.

Kevin waved his hand casually. "It's not that dangerous, just a bit troublesome."

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, everyone quickly got to work.

A large amount of material needs to be classified, stored, and recorded.

The next day.

Kevin and his friends arrived at the Training Ground early in the morning.

"Would you call me a runaway girl who was then taken in by a mafia boss and brought home to live with him?" Melusina muttered to Kevin.

"You read too many comics, and besides, we're not gangsters; we do legitimate business," Kevin corrected him gently, with a hint of helplessness.

"Oh, isn't that right? But—"

Melusina was puzzled. Yesterday, when she was chatting with Biscuit and Nion, they had mentioned the underworld.

That's all in the past.

"And don't you think I'm a very kind person?"

"Isn't the character of the gangster's son a kind person more in line with the character setting in the comics?"

Kevin patted Melusina's head, changing the subject. "How did you sleep last night?"

"Yes, this place is very nice, much better than the Village."

"You've already gotten tired of the old and the new so quickly."

"No, you're so annoying." With that, Melusina lightly punched him with her little fist.

The two walked to the rest area and sat down.

Kevin checked the time, then looked at the empty Training Ground in the center, and waited quietly.

As the Gate was pushed open, it wasn't Kurapika and his two companions who entered, but rather Men Qi and Buhaci.

"I knew you'd be here so early in the morning. Oh dear, the three little ones aren't here?" Men Qi said with a smug smile.

As she spoke, she walked over, leaned close to Melusina, took her hand, and began to whisper.

"It's all over, it's all over."

With a series of anxious shouts, Kurapika and his two companions rushed into the Training Ground.

Upon seeing the group of people sitting in the rest area, their faces instantly fell, and sweat streamed down their cheeks.

The three looked at each other.

"I told you to hurry up," Pairo said through gritted teeth, his voice low.

"But Nion- "

"What a slow woman."

Faced with Pairo's complaints, Nion, unusually, did not refute them, but instead said with a look of frustration, "It's all over."

During the few months Kevin was away, they enjoyed a period of leisure.

As a result, after being relaxed for a while, they forgot Kevin's training rules.

Kevin won't hold back when he trains.

"Looks like you guys had a pretty comfortable time while I was away."

"No—today, hearing—was an accident."

"Alright, I'm not some monster. Let's train each other and see if you've improved."

The group began training.

After a while, Biscuit slowly arrived at the Training Ground.

"You guys got here so early in the morning?"

As she spoke, she sat down and looked curiously at the young people in the center of the room.

After a quick check, Kevin nodded.

Although he wasn't there to supervise them, Kurapika and Pairo's strength clearly didn't stagnate; both steadily improved.

As for Nion, we can't expect too much; it's already quite good as long as she hasn't wasted her time.

"Not bad, Kurapika. You can start working on developing your Nen ability now. You must have been preparing for this for a long time, right?"

Hearing this, Kurapika nodded excitedly. He had indeed thought about it for a long time and had a detailed plan for all aspects of his future Nen ability.

"They seem to be even better than me?" Gowen suddenly said, sounding somewhat insecure.

Gowen's sudden voice startled Pairo and his companion, sending a chill down their spines.

What's going on?

How come they didn't notice someone was following Kevin the whole time?

Pairo noticed that, apart from himself and Kurapika, no one else seemed surprised by this.

He looked at Kevin.

Kevin was smiling as he watched them.

"It seems you're not vigilant enough."

From the moment they disembarked from the Airship, Gowen followed Kevin closely, never leaving his side except for a moment while resting last night.

However, neither Pairo nor his companion noticed.

This is thanks to Gowen's Nen ability.

After the battle, on the Airship, Gowen successfully constructed Cape, one of his Nen ability.

His Nen ability is the Materialization Type [Seven Virtues Knight Armament], which is constructed based on the seven virtues of his country and family.

It's something very old.

When his Nen ability was first developed, he could only manifest one of them—[Courage].

The materialized weapon is a greatsword made of earth, whose effect is to [Nen Severance].

After this incident, he pledged his loyalty to Kevin, and another virtue was awakened within him— Loyalty.

What materialized was the Cape from before, except that it was illusory before, but this time he was able to truly materialize a red Cape.

Its ability is that it gains a power boost when completing orders given by Kevin.

The passive effect is that her presence is reduced when she is near Kevin.

However, this reduction in his presence is limited; as long as one is slightly more vigilant, it is easy to spot him.

Moreover, people who know him and have no ill intentions are almost unaffected by this reduced presence effect.

After all, this is just a passive effect that comes with it.

However, this also shows that Pairo and his companion were completely unsuspecting of Kevin, so it wasn't until Gowen spoke up that they realized what was happening.

They only then realized it.

"Don't underestimate yourselves. They've probably spent just as much time learning Nen ability as you have," Kevin said with a smile.

Strictly speaking, they spent about the same amount of time learning Nen ability.

However, Pairo and Kurapika were trained by Kevin and Biscuit, so they had a more solid foundation.

Gowen's Nen ability teacher simply taught in the conventional way.

"After that, you'll train with them."

"Yes."

Kevin deliberately used a commanding tone to trigger the Cape's effect, allowing Gowen to achieve better results in training.

Afterwards, Kevin followed Men Qi and the others to the Material Storage Room, where they began to classify, store, and record the materials.

"What a bountiful harvest this time!" Looking at the warehouse full of various materials, Men Qi's smile was exceptionally bright.

They had already gathered a considerable amount of materials, and the subsequent chaotic battle brought with it a mountain of various monster carcasses.

Even if they only took the materials given to them by the Village, it would be enough to fill the warehouse in front of them.

Similarly, Kevin's needs for materials were also largely met.

It's safe to say that Kevin won't have to worry about a lack of materials for a long time.

Just thoroughly studying these materials and formulating a suitable medicine would take him more than half a year.

Thinking of this, Kevin suddenly slapped his forehead.

"How stupid! There's still Melusina. With her around, the speed of making New Potion will definitely be faster."

"At the usual pace, it could take a year or even two to gather this much material."

Everyone began to tally and record the data.

Kevin looked at the notes in his Record Book:

A: Resentment Snake Pearl [Preservation Potion]

B: Resentment Snake Scale, Jade Bone, Griffin Wind Core, Griffin Heart, Griffin Claw, Red Sparrow, Hidden Snake, Crowman Heart, White Pattern Ivory, Spring Snake Tendon, Pure White Blood.

There are too many C-grade Material to list.

The monsters left behind in the later battles can usually be dismantled to yield two or three different usable materials.

Among them, ivory, snake tendons, and Pure White Blood are all B-Rank materials obtained from those monsters during the final battle.

Moreover, Kevin doesn't need to worry about the quantity of these materials, as most of them are taken from giant beasts and are almost all measured in units of hundreds of kilograms.

"I'm going to be busy in the future."

"I'm leaving now. You two keep busy."

Compared to Kevin's simple and quick inventory of materials, Men Qi and his partner had to spend a lot of time determining how to use the ingredients and even considering how to preserve them.

After all, different baking methods will result in different delicious flavors from the ingredients.

Especially the snake meat stored in the treasure vault.

Kevin returned to his room.

Besides the materials mentioned earlier, his gains from this trip went far beyond that.

Melusina, his girlfriend, is already a powerful Nen user.

Furthermore, her Nen ability is highly versatile, capable of playing a vital role in combat, assistance, and support.

The only drawback might be that she can only reach her full potential when she's with Kevin.

Then there's Gowen, who is loyal to him. Without a doubt, Gowen is an absolute front-line combat talent.

This is precisely what Kevin Team currently lacks.

After all, apart from Kevin, there is no one else on the team who can stand alone in direct combat.

Next came the belongings.

Kevin silently placed several items on the table.

Those were the items he received after completing the contract.

A round object, like a marble;

A white bone plate with black veins;

A small, beautifully decorated gold dagger, about the size of a palm.

These three items are Vipera's belongings. Although it cannot be confirmed that all three items came from the Dark Continent, Vipera did go to the Dark Continent and returned safely.

Anything he passed down as a legacy, even if it didn't come from the Dark Continent, must be a priceless treasure.

However, Kevin hadn't had time to study the uses of these three items yet.

Now, he no longer needs to study them one by one.

Because the most important gain was that Record Book.

Kevin looked at the Record Book in his hand, wrapped in an unknown leather, which he could now freely flip through.

He couldn't resist his curiosity and had already looked through it.

This is not a Travelogue, but a simple record book.

It contained important information that was extremely useful to Kevin.

This can be considered his biggest takeaway from this trip.