As night falls and the students begin their independent Nen practice, Lidor calls No. 2 into one of the backrooms, offering her his final teachings before her departure—just like he did for all the other students before her.
I only know that during this time, he won't notice my escape! He will be busy with whatever he is doing, however I only have a few hours left to find out the truth.
Wearing a self-made mask crafted from a few thin cloth layers, Auren slips out of the lavish manor into the heart of Meteor City, exiting through his window and leaping over the medium-sized wall—a joke for someone with his level of Nen mastery.
It's time to forge my own path!
I've been here for four years, and I've never once left the mansion. It's kind of funny. But I need to act fast and follow my plan to the letter. I've spent months prying information out of Buno and Bunu, slowly, carefully—because I couldn't risk raising suspicion.
Auren quickly leaves the more or less empty district, similar-sized mansions all around him, quickly rushing towards the center of the huge, chaotic city.
Auren first passes by several small shops and stalls—makeshift market stands lined with people selling all kinds of trash, obviously picked up from the vast amounts other countries are dumping nearby. He quickly makes his way to one of the more larger and polished ones. Using Zetsu, he quietly slips around the small wooden counter from the side, and without a sound, aided by Shadow Steps, hides himself at the back of the stall behind several large items stacked for sale. He waits patiently until a sale is made, and finally locks eyes on the merchant.
He watches closely as the merchant stashes the money from his sale into a small safebox beneath the counter, hidden from the front and sides. Using Gyo, Auren even manages to see the combination of the lock.
As the merchant turns to address another customer, Auren strikes—slipping in, grabbing the box, and vanishing into a nearby alley.
He opens it swiftly with the combination he just saw, pulling out a stack of assorted bills, counting them until he reaches exactly 130,000 Jenny.
Not bad! That should more than suffice!
With the cash in hand, he heads toward a particular large building marked by a small spire on its roof. Thanks to the size of the building Auren can see it, despite being quite the distance away from it.
I asked Buno and Bunu about this place. From what I've learned, if you pay, they'll do anything for you and provide you with anything you need. However if you mess with their business, you'll quietly disappear. It's a kind of mercenary service and information broker—combined.
Standing before the imposing structure, Auren turns left, entering a nearby sleazy-looking pub with a broken neon sign buzzing overhead. Inside, he finds a stairway, descends it, and knocks on a sturdy metal door at the bottom.
"Yes?" a voice calls from behind it.
"Transaction," Auren replies calmly—and the door opens, revealing a tall, fat man, easily 5 or 6 times as heavy as Auren. Ignoring the guard, Auren enters confidently.
Inside is a strangely shaped room, segmented into two by thick walls. Three counters are built into these partitions, each with a small glass window that can be opened for interaction. Only one counter seems occupied; the vague silhouette of a man sits behind the one on the far left.
Without hesitation, Auren approaches and sits down. The only part of the man visible is the lower half of his face—his neck and a thick beard. "How can I help you?"
"Information about Elder Lidor. Everything that's known. Do you need to investigate, or is it already available? It should be a fairly basic request," Auren says.
"Sure, I can tell you most things. It's an Elder, after all, this isn't a unique request. 200,000 Jenny for everything," the man replies calmly.
"Please, stop scamming me. I'll give you 100,000 for everything. Even that's too much," Auren counters.
"180,000," the man says, looking a bit sheepish, clearly interested in earning as much as he can.
Auren grabs his entire stack of bills—130,000 Jenny—and places his hand through the small window, gripping the money tightly between his fingers.
"It's all I have. Take it if you must, but if that's still not enough, I'll try my luck elsewhere," Auren says, firm and unwavering.
"Fine, young one. I'll indulge you, but make it quick in return. What do you want to know?" the man asks, reaching for the money.
Auren sighs. "I told you—everything," he says, loosening his grip, allowing the man to take it away.
"Hehe, okay, no problem, I'll give you the basic rundown."
"The man commonly known as Elder Lidor is a Hunter named Gano Tsukumogami. His parents were from Jappon, but for reasons unknown, they ended up in Meteor City, where the elder was born. I don't know the full details," the man begins, already shocking Auren.
"He's 68 years old—a famous Elder in Meteor City for over a decade, with a reputation for his significant combat strength and experience. However, he was heavily injured at some point, disappearing from the public eye for nearly a decade, before returning and claiming his position. Now, he runs a private school from his mansion, where he teaches his inherited sword style to children. He started with 24 students, though from what I've heard, only about a third remain. He specializes in Katanas, a weapon common in Jappon, and also used by many elite swordsmen around the world."
"I don't have that much time, ask what you want to know," the man urges Auren, seemingly in a hurry.
"How many students outside of his mansion does he control? How many other training halls does he run? Also, what happened to the students he dismissed?" Auren asks without hesitation.
"None. He does not have any known student or any other training hall, school, or business. He took on a lot of students in the past, however, it looks like things ended badly. I am not aware of any students he is still in contact with, including the recent ones, who I know absolutely nothing about. They all seemingly vanished," the man answers flatly.
Are they… dead?
"Does he have strong backing within Meteor City? How is his reputation among the other Elders?" Auren follows up, this time a little more cautiously.
"He has no backing," the man responds, shrugging. "Apparently he hired a few simple workers to help him with the more mundane tasks, like taking care of his mansion, however, he also hired two rather skilled ex-assassins. Their names will cost you 100,000 Jenny more, if you are interested. Anyway, aside from those two, he has no real support. His reputation amongst other Elders and the general public is incredibly bad. His position is very unstable. Elders usually don't care too much about internal politics, they just like to waste their time and argue over pointless things, but Lidor has a surprisingly negative reputation. At least I personally know about multiple Elders who have declared their disgust towards him. However, I can't tell you the reasons. I've never managed to find them out."
Do the other Elders know about his shady practices? This is good… if he is that hated and has no backing… if I get rid of him…!
What else can I ask?
"His Nen ability?" Auren finally asks, his voice tense.
"I don't know…" the man replies, looking around the room for a second. "You're also being pretty reckless, talking about these things so openly. Tell you what—I'll tell you a secret if you leave soon. I'm quite busy."
"Sure," Auren replies, nodding in agreement.
Not like I have much else to talk to him about, and I need to hurry back anyway.
"While I don't know his ability, I can tell you he is a Conjurer," the man says with a grin. "An Elder, who is now dead, said these words publicly before his demise. He was apparently laughing crazily, because he considered it his final act of revenge."
"Interesting. Fine, here is my last question," Auren says quickly. "I heard Lidor is rich. How else can he afford all these people to work for him, those two ex-assassins, and even his mansion? I also heard he bought an expensive blade. Just tell me more about his financials and the blade."
"A famous blade?" the man mutters. "I'm not aware of it. But now that you mention it, Lidor was rumored to be extremely rich. However, his current financial situation is very dire. I even heard he's in some sort of debt and he's moving some personal possessions around to obtain money. With his level of strength, it shouldn't be hard to obtain some money, but it looks like he refuses to leave his mansion."
Did he spend everything on that blade? Interesting… he might be a Conjurer, but he doesn't create things by himself… is this mark his Hatsu? I know a lot more now—this was worth it. I need to hurry back!
"Thank you, I'll see you soon," Auren says, standing up.
"Hehe, bye kid. If you're looking for a job, I might have some contacts interested in a little Nen freak like you. Dirty and bloody work, but it pays well. Just a small hint—if you want to appear weak, using such a strong display of Zetsu will tell whoever you're hiding from exactly what you're trying to hide. You should perform a shoddy Zetsu, one that still leaks some Aura, or just return to a default state with slightly opened pores if you want to appear weak," he explains with a smirk. "Normally, I would charge for this stuff, but consider it my gift to you."
"...Thank you," Auren mutters as he walks away, realizing his obvious mistake.
As soon as he leaves the building, Auren rushes back to the mansion. He jumps over the wall again and climbs back into his room through the window, which he left slightly open.
He listens closely, but doesn't hear any noise. Carefully, he walks down to the ground floor, heading into the kitchen, which is close to the room Elder Lidor uses for his 'final teaching,' which he provides to his dismissed students. He quietly activates En, which by now extends up to a range of 5 meters—barely enough to cover most of the small room.
He senses the layout of it. The room is tiny, barely allowing for movement. Then, finally, he detects his Master—and No. 2. His master is standing above her, his Aura strong, while No. 2's Aura is gone. She lies dead on the floor, a sword pierced into her heart. Auren also vaguely detects some kind of weird circle drawn around the body. To his surprise, it contains a weak amount of Aura.
Immediately, he deactivates En and turns around, unwilling to take any more risks. Auren swiftly leaves the kitchen and returns to his room, his body tense and his mind racing with all the information he obtained.
I've got all the pieces I need. So this is his 'sending off,' huh?
You're in for a little surprise, 'Master.' You probably think we are merely pawns, ready to be sacrificed. A single mastermind and twenty-four unwitting players, all playing a game without even knowing they are players in it…
However, the board just shifted, as I've finally realized the rules of this little game. You won't like the last move, as your game will end on a very sour note.
As Auren sits down on his bed, his Aura grows terrifyingly calm and cold. He tries to suppress his rage—but his eyes gleam with hatred.
He then displays a cruel smile.
Things will certainly get interesting. I will take it all from you!
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