Chapter 55

While waiting, I suddenly remembered something.

My brother... I mean, my own brother from the same mother, the day he left me, I didn't feel anything special.

I've even somewhat forgotten what we were doing at the time, so there's no way I could mention my anticipation of his coming home.

I first realized the agony of waiting after my father was driven away by my mother.

During that time, I couldn't understand what had happened at home. I only knew that my father never appeared again after a certain day. My mother was busy with work, leaving early and returning late. In my spare time, I could only hold my pet dog and wait alone under the big tree at the door.

By the way, that tree was very lush, and its top could reach my room's window. To cheer me up, Kuroro, at my urging, climbed up that tree into my room several times... He could have used the front door, but I liked seeing others make a fool of themselves for me.

Later, the tree was cut down by the mother.

I was recalling that big tree so intently that when Kurapika appeared, I was still immersed in the scenes of the past, unable to pull myself away.

Speaking of which, our pet dog also... was shot by the kidnappers while protecting me during a kidnapping incident, and we haven't kept any pets since.

I seem to be a rather unlucky person. I've had everything, but only briefly.

...A strange aura and fluctuations of psychic power surged around me. After the space distorted, the blond youth appeared in the location I had predicted. Perhaps because of the difference in horizontal height, he fell about ten centimeters when he appeared, which made his expression show a hint of surprise.

But the person with the expression quickly regained their composure, steadied themselves, and landed calmly and steadily.

"It worked!" I couldn't help but laugh. "I knew it! I timed it perfectly, so nothing would go wrong."

I briefly mentioned the risks of the bounty hunter ability to Kurapika, but I don't know if he listened. I was actually prepared for the possibility that he might not be able to handle the risk, so I didn't have high expectations when I discussed it with him... Anyway, I know that I've done my best.

But for some reason, he ultimately chose to believe me, and the result was a fortunate happy ending for everyone.

"Where do you want to go next?" I asked him.

He stood quietly for a while, seemingly pondering my question. I looked at him, resting my chin on my hand. After a long pause, he hesitated for a moment, then slowly shook his head and nodded.

...Does this action mean that there is somewhere to go, or that there is nowhere to go?

I looked at him with a puzzled expression, and for some reason, a sudden idea flashed into my mind.

I widened my eyes and asked, "You didn't happen to have nowhere else to go, but you didn't want to stay with me, so you changed your answer and nodded at the last minute, did you?"

Kurapika: "..."

He didn't speak, his face was cold, and he looked a bit intimidating, but I knew that it was just a pretense he deliberately created because he didn't know what to say.

"I told you so!" I jumped up and continued to question him.

Kurapika continued: "..."

I couldn't help but accuse them: "You've really gone too far."

"...We're not companions, so there's no need for us to stay together." Under the barrage of accusations, he finally spoke, but his words were cold and ruthless.

"Ha," I couldn't help but scoff, completely rejecting his assessment. "Whether it's necessary or not isn't for you to judge, it's for me to decide! ...Anyway, I'm the one who helped you this time, you should at least show some appreciation."

He said coldly, "I have nothing to repay you with, so I'm sorry, the effort you've put into me has probably been wasted."

This guy can be really awful sometimes, it's a waste of his pretty face.

“I don’t care,” I said, and started to act spoiled. “You have to listen to me, or I’ll tell Gon and Killua about your situation. You’ll have to choose between facing me alone or both of them plus me.”

The numbers one and three are clearly different.

Kurapika was ultimately forced to choose the first option.

I explained my sightseeing route to him with satisfaction:

"I haven't really decided where to go yet, but during the few days I've been here, I've heard that there are some interesting attractions in the nearby cities..."

After I listed more than ten attractions in one go, Kurapika's gaze towards me subtly changed.

"Is this a sign that they haven't figured out where to go next..." he complained.

I immediately retorted, "You have the face of a prince charming, but sometimes you talk as much nonsense as a prince's comical servant!"

“I was never going to be a Prince Charming,” he said.

I opened my eyes wide: "So you're blaming the gods for giving you the wrong face?"

He gave him a sharp look: "Why don't you reflect on yourself first? Maybe the root of the problem is that you're judging people by their appearance."

Me: "...So you admit that your appearance and your inner self don't match, right?"

He thought for a moment.

“Overall,” he then said, “I don’t think so…”

Then what are you thinking about?

I snorted.

“And speaking of this, you don’t seem to be much better than me…” he added.

Me: "...What are you trying to say? My soul is just as beautiful as my appearance."

Kurapika: "Whatever makes you happy."

I realized once again that the personality of this temporary partner was indeed somewhat different from his appearance.

We stared at each other for a while, one big and one small.

After a moment, preoccupied with my own travel plans, I generously decided to take the lead in backing down and compromising.

"Forget it, there's no point in discussing this," I said. "First of all, you probably already know who I am. My ID card is at the Zoldyck company, so I can't use it for now. Anyway, our next destination is nearby, let's take a taxi there... By the way, how much money do you have on you right now?"

Kurapika remained silent for a moment.

The next second, as I looked at him suspiciously with a "you're not a penniless pauper, are you?" expression, he slowly pulled out a hunter's license card from somewhere and announced:

"Travel is free for hunters with licenses; you can get reimbursed by the association for rides in small vehicles."

Me: "...So what if you have a hunter's license?"

“No, I don’t think it’s a big deal.” He shook his head, and just as my initial dissatisfaction subsided, he abruptly added, “But you don’t seem to have a license.”

I was seething with rage inside.

But I put on a fake smile.

"I'm a rich kid," I said sweetly. "I don't need to take any license tests."

Kurapika nodded: "Indeed, Miss Adrian only needs to hire hunters; she doesn't need to become a hunter herself."

I said insincerely, "It's good that you know."

"So you can pay for your own taxi fare," he asked again.

I:"……"

Why bring up something you shouldn't talk about!

Given the current situation... I obviously can't!

I've already squandered the last bit of money I got from Kurt, and now I only have a few large bills left in my pocket, which is definitely not enough to take a bus to the next city.

hateful!

“No,” I said fiercely, “I have no money. Our young lady never pays for herself when she goes out.”

"So I'll have to take care of this." He pinched his chin, his expression serious and earnest.

“It’s not a request, it’s what you should do,” I said.

“Is that so?” He raised an eyebrow.

I:"……"

Well, that's how it is.

My arrogance lasted for less than two seconds before it was extinguished by his ambiguous smile.

"I'm begging you..." I finally said reluctantly, "Please help me with the fare, otherwise I'll have no choice but to steal a car."

Kurapika's expression froze.

“That’s a threat,” he remarked subtly.

"Yes, please." I repeated listlessly, "I will not steal a car unless absolutely necessary."

"...Should I praise you for being truly righteous?" he asked.

“No need,” I said honestly. “I just think that stealing a car would involve dealing with a whole host of problems, like being tracked by the police…it would be a lot of trouble.”

“…As expected of you.” Kurapika said again.

I said without changing my expression, "Praise Illumi before praising me. He taught me all of that. ... Don't be fooled by Killua's reformed ways now; he wasn't much better before."

"...As expected of you all."

I think so too.

...

The chaotic conversation lasted for quite a while, finally ending with us hailing a ride on the roadside.

After discussing the destination with the driver, Kurapika readily paid the fare for two people, without producing his Hunter License to offset his own share.

"So you brought a nun with you," I couldn't help but say.

He sighed, "Since you're going out, of course you'll bring some with you... You really are a pampered young lady."

I yawned and waved my hand: "It's okay, someone will be willing to pay for me."

"Free things are the scariest," he replied seriously.

I was uninterested and casually replied, "Oh, so you're going into a lecturing tone again?"

“No,” he said seriously, “I mean it, you need to rely on yourself more.”

“I’m already doing that,” I muttered. “Don’t you even think about who saved you… Humph.”

"Are you siblings?" the driver in the front seat asked with a smile. "You two have such a good relationship. Even though you're arguing, the atmosphere is very harmonious."

"No way!" Thanks to Illumi and Chrollo, I'm now particularly sensitive to this word. I immediately widened my eyes and said urgently, "My hair is dyed! Our features don't look alike at all."

"Is that so?" the driver asked again, "Are they a couple?"

Before I could even speak, Kurapika immediately said without any politeness:

"There seems to be no obligation to answer this question... and it's impolite of you to presume to guess my relationship with this lady; it's an offense to both of us."

The driver looked wronged: "I was just asking casually."

“I don’t think this is casual,” Kurapika said seriously. “There is a prejudice hidden in these two questions. It implies that you can’t imagine any other relationship between us, so I think you have offended both me and this lady.”

The driver seemed to be reaching his limit.

"So what is your relationship?" he asked.

Kurapika looked serious, as if he wanted to say something more, but I interrupted him, raised my hand, and shouted out the answer:

"Employment relationship!"

"I'm a rich kid, and he's my bodyguard. Your question underestimates both my financial power and his noble work ethic!"

I said.

Kurapika: "..."

driver:"……"

"I see," the driver finally chuckled dryly, "Then I must have been very offensive."

Even so, his expression clearly showed that he didn't care.

But I don't care about those things anymore.

I just find this dialogue hilarious, and I can't help but chuckle to myself. While chuckling, I turn to look at Kurapika.

Surprisingly, he seemed to have encountered something interesting, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly.

I gave him a thumbs up.

He gently shook his head, looking helpless as if he couldn't stand me anymore, then leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes again, and rested.

They probably think my obsession with being a "second-generation rich kid" is something that leaves others speechless.

But I am, after all, a lady of the Adrian family—

However, I must say, when he insisted on explaining to the driver that we weren't siblings or lovers, it really made me feel... how should I put it?

A refreshing experience

If it were Illumi, he would probably accept everything the driver says.

Kurapika is a really strange guy; I've never met anyone like him before.

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Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!