Gelman turned around and picked up where they had left off. "Biscuit, when you say 'hire professionals,' are you implying that the Ten Dons will hire the Zoldyck Family?"
"Mm. Talking to smart people is always easy. I don't need to explain much."
Biscuit smiled, then her expression turned serious.
"Right now, the only way they can guarantee they won't suffer another defeat is to call in the Zoldyck Family's assassins, isn't it?"
"If they lose a third time, the Ten Dons won't just be furious—they'll have their positions shaken, too."
"Of course, their positions are already rather unstable. They hate you for that, yet there's nothing they can do about it."
Indeed, if the world's foremost family of assassins, the Zoldyck Family, sent Illumi, Gelman could still put up a fight.
But if they sent either of their two strongest members, Zeno or Silva, Gelman would be in serious trouble—even facing the risk of death.
Gelman wouldn't forget that the previous Phantom Troupe member to get a Spider tattoo with the number eight had died at Silva's hands.
If he died at Silva's hands too, then the number really would be a "curse," much like the curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position at Hogwarts.
Could Shizuku be the true chosen one?
Still, even if Zeno and Silva came together, as long as they didn't kill Gelman instantly, he could escape by teleporting with his Lantern.
It was his last resort for staying alive.
"Let's put aside the possibility that the Zoldyck Family might come to assassinate you for now."
Biscuit leaned closer, studying Gelman with curiosity.
"Let's talk about why we're meeting this time. Why do you want to try Miss Cookie the Magical Beautician's beauty treatment?"
"It's an experiment."
Gelman answered, "I've built up too much 'stress' and need some way to release it. Right now, I'm looking for more ways to do that, and I thought of you."
"'Stress'?"
Biscuit placed a hand against Gelman's chest. Her Nen Energy rippled like waves. After a long while, she reached a conclusion.
"I see... Our Mind Source Style is particularly sensitive to the human mind. I can definitely sense something unusual."
"This isn't ordinary fatigue, is it? It's the kind of 'stress' that builds up from exhaustion and agitation?"
"Anyway..." Gelman dragged over a bench and set it in front of Biscuit, then lay facedown on it. "I'll leave it to you. Summon your Miss Cookie the Magical Beautician."
Biscuit sighed. "You're not answering my question directly again? The secret you're hiding is probably something 'forbidden'... To be honest, I already have a bad feeling about it."
She felt she was close to the truth, but she still hadn't pierced the baffling veil that obscured it.
Biscuit looked at Gelman's back and suddenly realized something. She swallowed, reached out to smack him on the butt, and scolded him.
"This won't do. You need to take off your shirt."
"Take it off?" Gelman turned his head and asked in surprise. "Is that another 'restriction'?"
"Not exactly." Biscuit began to lie through her teeth. "It's just that my Nen Beast's ability works better if it can touch your body directly."
"Since we're trying this as an experiment, we might as well do it the best way, right? If you don't mind imperfections or unexpected results, I don't mind either."
After saying this, Biscuit secretly glanced at Gelman from the corner of her eye.
Gelman didn't realize what Biscuit was really after. Instead, he agreed with her.
"You're right. Let's do it your way."
He got up from the bench and swiftly took off his Hunter Cloak, tossing it aside. His upper body was covered in faint scars. Then he lay facedown on the bench again.
"I'm ready. Go ahead."
"I'm just about ready too... Uh, I mean—"
Biscuit's eyes gleamed. Unable to resist, she ran her white-gloved fingers over the old and new wounds, stroking them greedily.
"Looks like you've been in a pretty intense fight recently. Judging by how these wounds have healed, I'd guess it was half a month ago?"
"No." Gelman shook his head. "These wounds are from a few days ago."
Biscuit's eyes widened in surprise. "That can't be right. It's not good to lie, you know. I lie all the time myself, but I still have to lecture you a little."
Gelman couldn't be bothered to explain. That would mean bringing up Machi's Nen Thread Stitching and his own Hunter Badge, and he'd never hear the end of it.
"Biscuit, get started."
"Mm, mm, okay."
Biscuit reluctantly gave Gelman's back one more stroke before releasing her Nen Energy. It gradually took shape as a gentle woman.
Miss Cookie the Magical Beautician, henceforth called "Miss Cookie," stood beside Biscuit. She had pink, shoulder-length hair and a professional smile.
"Miss Cookie, use Peach Blossom Breath." Biscuit could easily have given the instruction silently, but she said it aloud for Gelman's sake. "Make him feel comfortable."
Strictly speaking, Gelman and Biscuit had only met once before. All their other interactions had taken place over the phone, yet Gelman was still willing to trust her.
To Biscuit, that was actually quite unbelievable.
Gelman was lying facedown on the bench, exposing a fatal weakness to Biscuit. If she had any malicious intent at that moment, even if he dodged in time, he would still suffer serious injuries.
Biscuit was a habitual liar who traveled all over the world and had seen and learned a great deal about all kinds of people. She knew that people who trusted her this much were few and far between.
So, in return, she chose to let Gelman know what was happening at every step.
"Next, Miss Cookie's Nen Energy will change into lotion and massage you. The whole process will take about thirty minutes. You need to relax completely."
"Okay."
Gelman let the Nen Energy wrapped around his body dissipate, and his muscles gradually relaxed. Then he felt the slippery lotion and the varying pressure of Miss Cookie's fingers.
In fact, Miss Cookie never truly touched Gelman. Her fingers remained some distance from his skin; it was her Nen Energy that made contact.
Yet Gelman could clearly feel the touch of fingertips, palms, fists, and elbows. In spite of himself, his body and mind grew drowsy.
His body felt as if its flesh had softened and lost its bones, turning into a fluid, blissful mass.
Gelman already suffered from "hypersomnia," and now he had a way to fall asleep quickly. In less than ten minutes, he was breathing evenly in sleep.
Miss Cookie's attentive massage would continue for about twenty more minutes. Even after Gelman fell asleep, she didn't stop.
Watching Gelman's peaceful sleeping face, Biscuit smiled with a grandmotherly kindness for the first time.
"Your name's Shizuku, right?" She walked over to the short-haired woman at the helm and spoke quietly. "He's probably been on edge for a long time—not just one or two weeks, but several months."
"Go slowly and keep the boat steady. Let him get a good night's sleep."
"Sure," Shizuku replied, then pointed at Miss Cookie. "But after I stop the fishing boat later, let me try it too. I'm curious what it feels like."
Before you continue