The Church Gathering and Screening Day

Rumble~

Feeling the violent tremors beneath her feet, Carl grinned as an inexplicable excitement welled up in his chest.

Now this was more like it!

He had been pushed around by his boss before transmigrating. Was he supposed to put up with thugs pushing him around afterward, too?

Wouldn't that make his cheat a complete waste?!

This was how it should be... this was how it should be!!!

Without stopping, Carl picked up the pace and ran toward the church, even though her small body was already gasping for breath.

Before the Elders' Guard arrived, he had to get away from the scene as quickly as possible, or the consequences would be impossible to predict!

Carl had always disdained doing something as stupid as placing her hopes in someone else.

Half an hour later, Carl hurriedly arrived at her destination: the church.

The dirt road, scorched by acid rain, was full of potholes. Carl stepped over stone stairs that had corroded into fragments, kicking up clouds of dark yellow dust with every step.

Along the way, groups of cheering children were scattered on both sides of the road, chattering about something.

"I-I heard they're showing a cartoon at the church today~"

A short child sniffled and spoke to a companion beside him.

"What's a cartoon?" The companion tilted his head in confusion.

"It's moving pictures! You idiot!!!"

The child who had spoken earlier sniffled, then raised his head proudly.

In his eyes, cartoons were moving pictures, so weren't they pictures that could move?

"Whoa~~~ big bro, you're so smart! You even know that?!!"

"Of course! I'm your big bro!"

Nearby, Carl, who had been listening in all along, raised an eyebrow, somewhat at a loss for words.

These orphans abandoned in Meteor City...

The fence wasn't far from the church. After walking a little farther, she could already see the church doors ahead.

At the entrance, a familiar figure caught Carl's eye.

"Hey, hey, hey, Chrollo, don't you run off after the screening!"

"We still have some intimate exchanges to make!!!"

The boy who spoke wore a yellowed tank top. He slapped his knotted, muscular arm against his chest with a dull thud.

Directly opposite him, Chrollo wiped the smile from his face and said nothing.

Looking at the boy's distinctive messy white hair, a name suddenly surfaced in Carl's mind:

"Uvogin!"

"It's screening day, so hurry inside and sit down!"

Suddenly, a girl who only came up to Uvogin's waist rushed in front of him, planted her hands on her hips, and shouted.

"Tch!"

Uvogin seemed somewhat wary of the girl. He turned his head, snorted, and strode into the church.

Chrollo had just breathed a sigh of relief when a grating voice suddenly sounded beside his ear:

"If you still have any strength left after playing with Uvogin, we'd like to have some fun with you too, Chrollo."

Carl turned to see a boy with a blond mohawk approaching slowly with his underlings.

"Phinks, come help me hand out snacks!!!"

The girl who had sent Uvogin away stepped forward and held out the basket of snacks in her hands.

"Huh???"

Phinks stared at her in disbelief.

He was here to cause trouble, not to help out...

Stare~~~

The girl with twin ponytails held the basket high, her big, watery eyes fixed on Phinks.

"All right, all right..."

After a while, Phinks finally admitted defeat. He took the snacks from the girl and held them high.

"Snack time~~"

As he spoke, he walked toward the children gathered together.

"I knew it..."

Seeing the tense atmosphere disappear, Feitan frowned, shoved his hands in his pockets, and walked away.

He hated softhearted guys like Phinks most of all! He was just like a woman!!!

"Carl?"

Noticing an inconspicuous person in the crowd, Chrollo suddenly called out.

Hearing the name from Chrollo's lips, quite a few children turned around, as though the name held some kind of magic!

Feitan, who had already walked away, spun around. His sharp gaze searched the crowd until it finally settled on Carl.

"..."

"What? Didn't we agree on today?"

Feeling the strange gazes around her, Carl licked her chapped lips and spoke calmly.

While going through the original owner's memories, she had discovered that he was an oddity in Meteor City.

He had no adoptive mother, no partners, and no fixed area where he could be found. Aside from occasionally exchanging seeds with Chrollo, he only interacted with the people he traded food with.

He was a complete "invisible man" of Meteor City!

Now that the "invisible man" had appeared in a crowd, how could the children not be curious?

"I was just trying my luck. I didn't think you'd actually come..." Chrollo scratched his head, looking somewhat incredulous.

"..."

Carl's body stiffened at his words.

Right. Just because Chrollo invited him, did that mean he had to come?

The original owner had never liked crowds...

At that thought, Carl abruptly turned around, ready to go back the way she had come.

In any case, according to the code, she had already met Chrollo. She didn't have to stay and watch some cartoon.

"Hey, hey, hey, Carl, don't leave! You're already here, so stay and watch the cartoon with us!"

Seeing Carl move, Chrollo hurried forward and grabbed her arm.

"Besides, I've got another batch of new seeds ready. We can exchange them after the screening!"

"What do you think?" Chrollo asked with a smile.

The Carl in front of him had understood the code, so there was naturally no question about her identity.

And from what he knew of Carl, no matter what changes Carl had undergone, as long as she was still Carl, she would definitely be drawn in by "new seeds"!

Paku, who was handing out snacks nearby, chimed in, "Stay. The cartoon's really good!"

The cartoon isn't important. The new seeds are what matter...

Carl retorted inwardly, but nodded without betraying anything on her face and let Chrollo lead her into the church.

There was no helping it. In a godforsaken place like Meteor City, new seeds were just too hard to get...

In the screening room, sunlight streamed through stained glass, casting rainbow-colored light.

After leading Carl to a seat and getting her settled, Chrollo turned and left.

Carl didn't feel neglected. Chrollo had to voice the cartoon, after all, so it was only natural that he couldn't stay beside her!

It's just...

"Clang, clang, clang!"

Without even turning around, Carl knew it was Uvogin knocking his knuckles against the bench.

Beside her, the ends of a girl's purple hair brushed against Carl's arm, making her rub her forehead helplessly.

Did I stir up a Phantom Troupe nest today?

Why do I see Troupe members everywhere I go?

"Hey! Do you know me?" After swallowing the snack in her mouth, Machi suddenly turned and fixed her gaze on Carl's face.

Carl's expression stiffened, but she immediately answered with a question.

"Why do you ask? We've never met, have we?"

Of course she knew Machi. She had watched the Hunter anime more than a dozen times in her previous life and knew its characters inside out!

Machi was naturally no exception...

"My intuition tells me you're very familiar with me."

"I trust my intuition."

Machi licked the crumbs from her fingertips and spoke as though it were only natural.

From the moment Carl's gaze fell on her, Machi's intuition had told her that this person knew her very well.

Wait... seriously?

So your ability is just always on?

Carl sighed and admitted with a wry smile:

"I do know you..."

"You know me, so that makes you my good friend! It's not too much to share snacks with a good friend, is it?"

Before she could finish, Machi rattled off a string of words.

As she spoke, Machi pointed at Carl's left pants pocket.

"What's this..."

Looking at the pocket, which had somehow been stuffed full, Carl suddenly remembered how Chrollo had been holding on to her earlier.

There was no need to guess. That guy had definitely done it on the sly!

"Give me half, gulp, and I won't tell anyone you took extra snacks!"

"How about it?"

Machi swallowed as she looked at the squashed snacks.

"..."

"I think your intuition's fake, and you just want snacks..." Carl rolled her eyes and grumbled.

Even so, Carl took all the snacks out of her pocket, kept one for herself, and handed the rest to Machi.

"I don't like snacks, so you can have the rest!"

Carl waved the white snack in her hand at Machi, then tossed it into her mouth.

"Th-thanks~"

Machi thanked her as she reached out and took the snacks.

"Crack~"

A crisp snapping sound suddenly rang out, interrupting Machi as she counted the snacks.

She looked up to see Carl covering her mouth with both hands, her shoulders twitching nonstop.

"What's wrong?" Machi asked curiously.

"I'm f-fine," Carl turned her head and answered quietly, the words coming out slurred.

Damn it, what kind of person puts hard candy inside a snack!!!

My poor, mighty and handsome baby tooth...

Suddenly, the screening room's sheet-metal dome began to tremble. With the sound of rusty gears meshing, a beam of light pierced the dust and fell on the wall.

A voice shouting in Meteor City's dialect instantly rang throughout the room:

"Cleanup Squad: Cleaners!!!"

Lively special-effects music followed, quickly filling the ears of every child in the screening room.

The cartoon had begun!