"Hey! Look!"
"That enormous sword... could it be... Banryū? If it's Banryū, then that corpse..."
"You've got to be kidding! That kid's only been a Hunter for a year?!"
"Yeah~ No matter how talented Bred is, his opponent was the Phantom Troupe's Spider Leader!"
"..."
Hunter Association, West Blue Branch.
When Bred entered the lobby carrying the massive sword Banryū like an ant hauling food several times its own weight, while Mosquito Girl casually carried a dried corpse, countless people turned to look and immediately began discussing it. Bankotsu and his massive sword Banryū were extremely famous. For four consecutive years, assassination requests targeting him had remained in the top ten on the Hunter Association's list, and his threat level had been classified as the highest rank: A.
Bred had not intended to pay attention to the people around him and had planned to go straight to find Mizaistom, the current head of the Hunter Association's West Blue Branch, but he suddenly changed his mind.
"You guessed right. It's the Phantom Troupe's Spider Leader!" Bred stopped on the stairs between the first and second floors, his smile warm and lovely. "I think I'm rich now?"
"Really?!"
"How did you do it, Bred?! This is unbelievable!"
"Congratulations, hahaha~ You really are rich now. If that really is Bankotsu, then as long as the deadlines haven't passed, every assassination request the Association has received for him over the years belongs to you! You can even collect a bounty from the World Government!"
"..."
Some people congratulated him sincerely, others falsely. There was also doubt, shock, envy, jealousy—every imaginable expression played out in full splendor.
"To be honest, I wasn't a match for the Spider Leader. Apart from relying on my intelligence, luck played a huge role in my successful hunt." Bred's warm,