On December 5, the rain had cleared. Puddles filled the pockmarked ground, reflecting a shattered sky. The world seemed divided into countless pieces.
After the Professional Hunter Website published the names of the heroes of the Chimera Ant Extermination War and their rewards, even more people wanted to get close to Gelman.
Gelman, however, didn't like it.
A private celebration with Morel, Nobunaga, Knuckle, Shoto, Pam, and the others was enough for him.
The hands reaching out to him, the business cards being offered, the cameras pointed his way, and the microphones thrust toward him were all things he wanted to avoid.
Gelman had never wanted to stay long at Hunter Association headquarters in the first place. Being constantly pestered by people like burrs only made him more impatient to leave.
So, on the night he became the "Rat," he decided to leave on December 5.
Gido had been swamped with work lately, but once she learned what Gelman intended, she still helped arrange an airship to Greed Island.
Word had it that Gido was the most likely candidate for the next vice-chairman. All that remained was for Netero to agree and make the announcement official.
Regardless, Gido was already doing the work of a vice-chairman—and some of the chairman's work had been dumped on her, too.
Lately, she'd been running herself ragged. That wasn't a figure of speech; it was the plain truth.
Even so, she found time to arrange an airship for Gelman, which showed just how good she was at managing her time.
Meanwhile, the choice put before the Chimera Ants on the 23rd of last month had finally reached the point where they had to make a decision.
For the past dozen or so days, the Chimera Ants had been thinking over what to do. Each