Though Illumi was officially a professional Hunter, in practice, he didn't listen to the Hunter Association at all.
He had helped out at the entrance to the Coastal Fortress back then only because Gelman had asked him to.
Ever since Gelman left, no one had been able to give him orders, and no one dared approach him.
However, Chairman Netero soon figured out how to get Illumi moving: pay him.
For the sake of the money—and because Chairman Netero was an old family friend of the Zoldyck Family—Illumi finally got to work.
Today, he had come with Kurapika and Melody to wipe out a band of bandits. It was another bounty job he had accepted.
After watching Kurapika interrogate the bandits, Illumi began to clap.
Then he noticed Kurapika looking at him strangely. He turned to Melody, who wore an equally puzzled expression, and stopped clapping.
Wasn't this the sort of moment when you were supposed to applaud? Illumi didn't quite understand how normal people thought.
"Hmm. How should I put it?" Illumi said expressionlessly. "I was going to say something appreciative, like, 'As expected of Gelman's disciple.'"
"Am I supposed to say 'thank you'?" Kurapika wasn't sure what to make of Illumi's baffling behavior.
"You're welcome." Illumi took it as a genuine expression of thanks. "Gelman had his reasons for choosing you... Your talent is probably just a tiny bit worse than my younger brother's."
Illumi held up his thumb and forefinger, leaving only a small gap between them.
Kurapika looked at Melody, hoping she might offer some insight.
But even Melody, who could hear heartbeats, couldn't figure out what Illumi was thinking. She could only shake her head helplessly.
Kurapika couldn't help recalling what Chairman Netero had told him when assigning him to a team with Illumi.
"Listen.