An Astronomical Stitching Fee

The two turned the corner and walked for more than another half hour.

Only when the sun had climbed to an angle overhead did the church's mottled spire come into Carl's view.

The blazing sun had heated the church's cast-iron fence until it was scorching. From a distance, Carl saw Uvogin's bronze back bent like a bow.

Four boys staggered beneath a thin wooden coffin, pine shavings mixed with drops of sweat falling steadily into the freshly dug grave.

Shalnark crouched beside the grave, adjusting the speed at which the boys lowered the coffin. He wanted to align it with the direction of the rising sun, so Grandpa Will could be the first to feel its rays every day.

"Chrollo?"

Carl ran closer over the scorching flagstones, a wave of rising heat and the stench of decay washing over her.

She noticed that the boy was wearing a loose priest's robe. It looked like he was going to officiate the funeral...

Chrollo turned, closed the book in his hands, and tucked it inside his robe.

"Sorry, things at home held us up. We couldn't get to Sarasa's house in time to meet you."

"It's all right..."

Something stirred in Carl's heart. Looking at Uvogin and the other three as they positioned the coffin nearby, she asked hesitantly:

"Did you find a clue to the killer?"

Only one day had passed, yet the Phantom Troupe was in such a hurry to hold the funeral. Surely there was some other reason!

The most likely possibility was that they had already found a clue.

"We found one."

Chrollo's expression was calm. After a night of contemplation, he could now keep his emotions in check.

"It was some Meteor City residents from nearby. They couldn't stand the hunger anymore, so they attacked the church."

"They killed Grandpa Will and stole all the food in the church."

Facts didn't lie. There was only one truth.

Chrollo had spent the whole afternoon trying to find the real killer.

But all the evidence pointed to their foster mother as the killer...

"Do you need help?"

Carl furrowed her brow and spoke thoughtfully.

Though she didn't understand why Chrollo was being vague, she wasn't the type to pry!

If Chrollo didn't want to say, she wouldn't ask!

Mutual trust was the most basic thing between companions.

"We've already dealt with it." Chrollo's eyes flickered.

"..."

Noticing Chrollo's evasive gaze, Carl sighed helplessly.

The original owner of her body had played with Chrollo since childhood, and they were all familiar with one another's every move.

Chrollo had nearly figured out that she wasn't the original owner. Likewise, she could now tell that Chrollo was lying.

She had only been away from the Phantom Troupe for half a day. How had she ended up feeling like an outsider...?

Tap! Tap!

Behind Carl, a slow, crisp set of footsteps approached.

"Carl, aren't you going to introduce me, your master?"

Lianke glanced at the youngsters present. After confirming that they all showed signs of Ten, her heart gradually began to race.

Carl hadn't lied to her. Her companions really were all geniuses!

Geniuses were good. Geniuses were wonderful!!!

"Ms. Lianke, thank you for stitching Grandpa Will's body back together for us."

Before Carl could speak, Chrollo stepped forward and bowed deeply to Lianke.

"Don't mention it. Old Will and I were old friends."

Lianke spoke calmly as she studied the young boy in front of her.

Although she very much wanted to take in this group of geniuses, she understood that this sort of thing couldn't be rushed!

Just like stitching up a corpse, only by proceeding step by step could she restore it to its most perfect state!

"The stitching fee is ten million Jenny per job. When do you think you can pay it in full?"

As a professional corpse stitcher, her technique was highly skilled, so naturally her fee was high too!

At that, Chrollo froze. The book tucked inside his robe held only thirteen thousand five hundred Jenny.

That was all the savings Old Will and everyone in the Phantom Troupe had...

Unfortunately, it wasn't even enough to cover the odd change of the ten million Jenny.

Whoosh~

Dusk stained the church spire rust-red, and a draft carried the burnt stench of the incinerator into the screening room.

The funeral had long since ended. Lianke and Hisoka had finished dinner and retired early to their respective rooms.

Out of gratitude to her master, tonight's dinner had been graciously provided by Carl Manor-the "Qi and Blood Pumpkin set meal."

The church, screening room.

There was nothing on the stained-glass window. A cold wind poured through the wide-open window, leaving everyone in the Phantom Troupe feeling empty inside.

"Sigh..."

Uvogin sat slumped against a corner, sighing in exhaustion, body and mind.

Thinking of Lianke's fee of ten million Jenny, he felt a chill run through him.

"Sigh..."

To his left, Nobunaga, clutching his katana, followed his example and let out a long sigh.

He missed the bedding at Carl Manor a little. The world outside was too dark; he didn't dare look.

"Sigh..."

In the opposite corner, Phinks rested his chin on his knees and gazed at the dark night outside the window, silent for a long time.

"Ten million Jenny. How long would we have to dig through garbage mountains to earn that?"

Sitting upright on one of the room's only three chairs, Paku picked up a pen and paper and began to calculate:

"The last time we dug through a garbage mountain, the treasures we found could be exchanged for 1,000 Jenny."

"Now we're all Nen users, so our efficiency has doubled. Let's call it 2,000 Jenny."

"At 2,000 Jenny a day, with eleven people in the Phantom Troupe, ten million Jenny comes to... around 910 days."

By the time Paku finished calculating, her limbs had gone cold.

She hadn't even treated the Phantom Troupe as human beings, and this was the lowest number she'd gotten!

After a while, she silently turned her gaze to the night outside the window and quietly admired the stars in the sky.

Hmm... the night sky is so dark tonight!

"Want to hear my suggestion?"

Carl leaned against the creaking projector, moonlight casting her shadow onto the mottled screen. "I don't know if you've heard the saying: owe enough, and the debt stops weighing on you!"

With that, she deliberately let shards of glass slip through her fingers. The sound of them breaking startled the dozing Sarasa awake.

She had a secret mission from Lianke, and now was her chance to put it into action!

"Take me. I already owe Master Lianke a hundred million Jenny. I can't pay it back right now, but she's never once pressed me for repayment!"

"Once we finish our training and grow stronger, we'll naturally have plenty of ways to pay back that hundred million Jenny!"

Uvogin shook his head as he listened. How had he never heard of this reasoning?

"Carl, we can't even pay back these ten million Jenny right now, let alone fifty million in tuition each."

"Not everyone has talent like yours. Would Teacher Lianke be willing to teach us for free?"

He didn't know what the others were worth, but how could Uvogin not know his own worth?

Slap!

Chrollo snapped the book in his hands shut, his eyes lighting up.

Compared with the ten million Jenny that would be so hard to scrape together, Carl's suggestion was clearly better suited to the Phantom Troupe's current situation!

"I agree with Carl's suggestion!"

He looked around the room, his expression gradually turning serious:

"Rather than wasting time here, we might as well give it a try first!"

"Let's vote by a show of hands!"

With that, Chrollo was the first to raise his right hand.

Great assist!

Seeing Chrollo raise his right hand, Carl came to her senses and hurriedly raised her own.

This approach benefited Lianke, of course, but it benefited the whole Phantom Troupe just as much!

Just as she was Lianke's disciple, she was also a member of the Phantom Troupe!

"It can't hurt to give it a try."

Franklin and Shalnark exchanged a glance and raised their right hands together.

"We agree."

Machi, Sarasa, and Paku raised their right hands together.

"Seven votes, a majority!"

Chrollo put down the book he had been holding and looked around at everyone.

"Get a good night's rest. Tomorrow we'll go ask her to take us as disciples!"

Whoosh~

The wind howled as everyone slowly dispersed.

After putting out the oil lamp in the screening room, Chrollo slowly closed the doors.