After hearing that answer, Pariston's smile remained unchanged. His gaze shifted from the white-haired boy to the blond figure standing three steps behind him.
"I don't know anything." Maro shook his head under Pariston's gaze.
"Is that so? I thought I might learn something from you two survivors..." Pariston said with a smile.
"Has the interview started? If you have questions, ask them quickly. I'm busy." The white-haired, blue-eyed boy clearly had little patience for the exchange and urged him on lazily.
He was busy making money to buy pets and weapons.
Every minute wasted was money down the drain.
"Oh ho ho—seems you're in a hurry..." The chairman chuckled, but his smile gave off a different feeling from Pariston's.
"The interview should take place indoors. Come with me." He clasped his hands behind his back and ambled forward.
No matter how you looked at him, he seemed like an ordinary old man.
"I have nothing to do here, so I'll be going, Chairman Netero." Pariston stood where he was, speaking with a smile.
Netero merely waved a hand without saying anything.
Su Wu and Maro followed him to a private room.
Pink curtains and a green leather sofa in the same room... What a color scheme.
Su Wu twitched his mouth, ignored the decor, and pulled out a chair to sit down.
Maro stood behind his chair and handed him a cup of tea.
"Brew this." Su Wu took a blood-restoring medicine from his backpack and passed it to him.
Maro ignored everyone else in the room, carefully rinsed the cup three times with hot water, then poured the medicine in.
Chairman Netero watched the whole thing with a smile. Only after Su Wu had picked up the cup and started drinking did he ask, "What do you think of the examinee Hisoka?"
Huh? Why ask that?
You could say Hisoka seemed pretty normal when he wasn't being a pervert.
But most of the time, he was a perverted battle maniac.
"...He's a hardworking fruit farmer." Su Wu thought it over, then answered with complete seriousness.
For a moment, the room fell into a strange silence.
What did it mean to answer a different question? This was exactly that.
"What went through your mind when you fought him?" Chairman Netero continued.
"His ability is sticky and kind of disgusting." Su Wu set down his cup and rested his index finger against his chin. He called it disgusting, but his face wore an inscrutable smile.
"I see." Chairman Netero nodded knowingly.
Even though the answers he got were meaningless nonsense, he didn't mind.
Any answer an examinee gave revealed something about them.
For example... the answer from the boy in front of him suggested that he wasn't put off by Hisoka's ways, even though the two had just fought fiercely.
A promising newcomer.
Hunters were all willful people. The boy clearly suited the role.
"Then, what's your hunting goal?" Netero asked.
Every Hunter needed a hunting goal. It was a rule set by the current Hunter Association chairman, Isaac Netero—himself.
Sil Devil. Just a name, with no past. Supposedly an orphan who grew up in Youkelin City.
"For now, money, I guess," the white-haired, blue-eyed boy said carelessly.
Becoming a Hunter for money was a very common reason.
But he didn't look like he was short on cash. If anything, he seemed like the sort who treated money as dirt.
"And you?" Netero turned to the blond boy.
Maro Pelisha, a member of the Pelisha Family, one of the world's largest mafia families.
The Hunter Association didn't restrict who could take the exam, but examinees like him were rare.
"I want to become the finest Gourmet Hunter and make more delicious food." The blond boy smiled, looking Netero straight in the eye.
But whenever he looked at the white-haired boy, his eyes were always lowered.
That meant the white-haired boy held a higher place in Maro Pelisha's heart than Netero did?
And a member of a mafia family dreamed of becoming a Gourmet Hunter...
It was as awkward as hearing that a member of the Zoldyck assassin family dreamed of becoming someone who benefited society... But it was interesting.
"I understand. Congratulations, you've both passed." Netero stroked his beard twice and promptly announced that they had passed.
"Ah, finally over." Su Wu stood and stretched his limbs. "Come to think of it, how much could I get if I pawned my Hunter License?"
"Probably quite a lot. Oh ho ho, this old man doesn't know the details." Chairman Netero gave a vague answer.
"All right." Su Wu yawned and said nothing more.
On January 11, 1998, after taking the exam and listening to the mascot with the egg-shaped head give them an introductory lecture, Su Wu successfully obtained his Hunter License. Much of the credit went to Hisoka, who had cut the exam time down by more than half.
After getting their Hunter Licenses, Su Wu and Maro didn't linger at the hotel booked by the Hunter Association. They shouldered their bags and left immediately.
"Somewhere to make money fast..." Su Wu pondered as he stood on a busy street.
The Heaven's Arena in the original story seemed like a place where you could earn money.
He thought you could win a total of over two hundred million Geni in prize money by reaching the 190th or 200th floor.
They also took bets on the matches, and you could wager on which side would win.
If he and Maro fought their way to the 190th floor, they'd earn four hundred million Geni. If they placed bets along the way...
Maybe one trip to Heaven's Arena would be enough to buy the Ugly Treasure.
"We're going to Heaven's Arena." He made the decision on the spot.
Maro had no objections, of course, and eagerly accepted.
In his heart, the person he'd chosen to follow was the strongest.
Even the Hunter Association chairman was nothing more than an old man. If his master wanted to, he could become chairman too.
So a powerful person like him was bound to make the right decision every time.
The two of them bought tickets for the next airship and headed to Heaven's Arena.
The building that housed Heaven's Arena was the fourth-tallest in the Hunter World. It stood 991 meters tall and had 251 floors.
It had a dedicated airship landing area, drew tens of thousands of visitors every day, and attracted plenty of spectators to every match.
Even newcomers had spectators cheering them on or jeering from the stands.
And tickets to matches above the 200th floor had to be snapped up quickly.
You could say Heaven's Arena was a place that raked in money by the day.
"This is my first time here... There are so many people..." Maro looked around.
As soon as they stepped through the entrance, they saw people wearing all kinds of martial arts uniforms.
The line of people registering at the front desk stretched all the way to the door.
Quite a few people who had already registered sat in the waiting area nearby, waiting for their match announcements over the loudspeaker.
Ugh... Waiting in line was so boring. He didn't want to do it at all.
Su Wu took Maro straight to the front of the line, ignoring the furious glares behind them. He filled out the registration form and handed it to the receptionist, who had clearly grown used to this sort of thing and still maintained her perfect, polite smile.
"There are no special rules for the matches. You can use any means you like; you only need to defeat your opponent within the time limit to win."
"Please wait in the lounge. We'll arrange your first match shortly," the receptionist said.
Before you continue