"The master knew how to hold back. His aura protected him, so even though the young master suffered some shock injuries, a few days of rest will see him recover."
Night had fallen. Gotoh took over from Luke and carried Roy back to his bedroom.
The boy's forehead was wrapped in gauze, and several bloody marks had appeared on his back. The young butler knelt by the window, carefully applying medicine to him.
A lamp had already been lit on the desk against the wall. Its light mingled with the moonlight, casting a soft glow around the room...
Roy lay motionless, seemingly admiring the moon, but his mind was racing as he reviewed the day's battle.
Without a doubt, there was a vast gap in strength between him and Silva... It had nothing to do with the use of Nen. Silva hadn't even used Nen when he attacked; his sheer strength and blinding speed had been enough to utterly overwhelm Roy.
"At the end of the day, it's my body that's lacking..."
Silva was at the peak of his life, his body tempered through countless trials until it had reached a height few could hope to match.
"To have any chance of catching up to him, I need to be able to push the Testing Gate all the way open."
The Zoldyck family's Testing Gate weighed two tons per door: two doors weighed four tons, three weighed eight... To push the whole thing open required an astonishing 256 tons of strength in both arms.
An ordinary adult's maximum strength was around 400 to 800 pounds. Converted into physical stats...
In other words... Silva's current stats were at least 500. Roy had no idea how much higher they went, and Silva wasn't going to tell him. Roy wouldn't ask, either. All he knew was that in the next stage, he had to grind his physical stats up to the bare minimum of 500.
"Young Master, try to bear with it. It might sting a little." The ointment was harsh and irritating, not at all gentle. That was very Zoldyck.
Gotoh had barely finished warning Roy when Roy sucked in a breath and forgot all about his plans.
But pain only got worse when you tried to endure it... Roy simply changed the subject and asked Gotoh, "Did you get in touch with the doctor who lives near Heavens Arena?"
"I sent someone to ask. He has time on Thursday."
"Then book tickets for Wednesday."
Tanjuro's illness couldn't wait. The sooner he started treatment, the better. Whether Conjuration could be reversed through "de-Conjuration," on the other hand, was a headache. Roy wondered if, after learning the Four Major Principles, he should get a Hunter License and look it up on the Hunter Website.
Gotoh finished applying the medicine and, as he wrapped the bandage around Roy, brought up something else. "That Wing called again. He invited you to watch the fight on August seventeenth."
"He said he'd cover the tickets and all travel expenses. As long as you agree to come, everything else is taken care of."
"What day of the week is August seventeenth?"
"Next Saturday." Gotoh pushed up the glasses perched on his nose and said gravely, "That fellow probably still hasn't given up on fighting you. He's been pestering you again and again. How about..."
"I kill him."
Gotoh finished with a throat-slitting gesture.
Roy didn't look down on him, nor did he misunderstand his intentions, but he was certain of one thing: if Gotoh dared make a move, this time next year Roy might well be bringing a bouquet of his favorite violets to lay on his grave...
"There's no need for all this killing and fighting."
"Besides—"
"He's not alone. There's an old man behind him."
Roy answered casually... Thinking of that blonde, twin-tailed little girl, if she got angry and ripped off her clothes, he suspected the whole of Heavens Arena wouldn't be enough to keep her from tearing it apart.
What's more, Roy had every reason to suspect her stats were at least 500!
"Should I turn him down, then?" Gotoh asked tentatively.
Roy thought for a moment. "Never mind."
"Since he's invited me so sincerely, I'll go take a look."
"It's been a year. I really want to see how much he's grown."
"I heard he's fighting an experienced Transmutation Nen user. If you want to watch, Young Master, you're sure to learn something." Heavens Arena had already released information about the match, and anyone interested could find it online.
Roy gave a noncommittal hum. Once Gotoh had finished bandaging him, Roy waved him off, telling him to put together some information for him the next day.
That night, Roy fell fast asleep, lying on his stomach.
After a difficult battle...
Half-asleep, Roy dreamed once more. Before him was a kaleidoscopic tunnel. Beyond it lay the familiar Sea of Cognition.
He rolled up his pants and walked barefoot across the soft beach into the water, letting the waves wash over him as he shouted, "Ah—"
He emptied his heart of all its disappointment, defeat, dejection, and other Negative Emotions. Only then did he rub his face and push open the Demon Slayer door.
He stepped inside.
That familiar sensation of falling swept over him...
Roy woke again, nestled against the kotatsu and lying on the heated kang. The first thing he saw was Makomo, her beautiful eyes wide as she curiously studied him.
The demons had thought that after taking the day off yesterday and eating the hot pot Urokodaki Sakonji had specially prepared for him, Roy would set off home and go beat up his father.
Who could have guessed... Roy had done exactly as he promised and spent the whole day lying around the cabin with Urokodaki Sakonji? The few times he went out, it was only to hunt game on Mount Sagiri and bring it back for Urokodaki Sakonji to smoke, stocking up on food for the coming winter.
It wasn't until late at night, after the master and disciple had blown out the oil lamp, wished each other good night, and were about to fall asleep, that Roy mentioned he was going to fight... His master had said nothing at the time, and everyone else had been completely baffled. Shinsuke, however, had let his imagination run wild and blurted out, "He isn't going to fight in his dreams, is he?!"
That set off a lively discussion.
Some had grumbled that Eiichiro had tricked them. He'd just been using it as an excuse to slack off.
Others had said... maybe Eiichiro really had dreamed of Tanjuro. The father and son had held a grudge against each other for ages, and Eiichiro was a dutiful son who didn't dare show his feelings in the daytime, so he could only vent in his dreams...
Shinsuke and Fukuda had argued over their differing opinions and gotten into another scuffle.
For some reason, only Makomo and Sabito had exchanged a glance and believed Roy was telling the truth.
"My intuition tells me Eiichiro isn't the kind of person who'd lie," Makomo had insisted to Sabito the night before.
So she hadn't slept a wink, keeping her eyes on Roy all night to see if he showed any strange signs. Unfortunately... Roy had done little more than frown and toss and turn a bit more than usual. Otherwise, he was no different from any other night.
Makomo had been a little disappointed...
"He's awake. Sabito, hurry and ask him if he beat his father to death..."
Seeing Roy open his eyes, Makomo urged Sabito on. Sabito rolled his eyes helplessly and simply pretended not to hear.
Humans and demons lived in different worlds. They both knew the other couldn't hear them, so why was she asking him to speak to Roy...?
"Makomo's curiosity really does get worse every day," Sabito muttered to himself... Then Roy suddenly said, "I lost. And I lost badly."
Makomo, along with Shinsuke and Fukuda, who were huddled in the Small Wooden Cabin, froze on the spot!
Before you continue