From the Troupe's point of view, with Nobunaga already inside, Saiki Kusuo would have to think twice before trying anything. Time for Pakunoda to step in.

Paku understood right away. One touch, and she could read the kid's past and purpose.

"I'll show you the way. Little guy, I've been watching you. Something's bothering you, isn't it?" She rested a hand on Saiki's shoulder. The first thing that flashed into her mind…

A giant cockroach's face.

Pakunoda: ?!

[Where are the cockroaches? Under the table looks suspicious, under the sofa also looks suspicious. Compared to that, I don't care what these people want to do. Geez, I just want to find a safe place without cockroaches. Is that too much to ask in this Meteor City?]

Pakunoda: ...

Pakunoda: [No way, there's no way someone would freak out just because of a bug...]

Maybe it was Murphy's Law - the more you don't want something to happen, the more it happens. Pakunoda looked away slightly, and right then she saw a cockroach crawling on the wall.

Pakunoda: [That's definitely a cockroach. What will this person think when they see it? No, there's no way someone would lose it over just a cockroach...]

Saiki Kusuo heard Pakunoda's thoughts and followed her gaze. His expression instantly became very interesting.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

All five windows with glass in the entire building suddenly exploded. Everyone went into combat mode!

"Chief, I think keeping this kid around is a very uncertain factor now." Nobunaga raised his sword, his tone hostile.

"Heh, are you going against the Chief's orders? The Chief must have his reasons for making this decision..." Feitan moved closer step by step, clearly not planning to let it slide either.

Regardless of what they were saying, their attack was clearly aimed at Saiki Kusuo.

"Paku, what's he thinking?" Chrollo said, his book already in hand.

"Chief... it sounds crazy, but I think... he might be harmless." The moment Pakunoda touched Saiki Kusuo, she was first shocked by the thought of cockroaches. But right after, she started hearing the voices in many people's minds—so many, so loud, like touching ten people at once, and all ten were thinking about different things! These voices weren't from her own ability. They had to be coming from him.

[Man, man, man... yeah, I can hear people's thoughts. If possible, I'd like to keep this a secret between me and your Phantom Troupe. I really hope my brother doesn't find out. The fewer people who know, the better. And as for why it's you and the Troupe... well, you wouldn't keep it a secret from Chrollo, would you?]

Pakunoda: [You can hear thoughts, and you're using them to talk to me. And... you're extremely powerful.]

[Yep. Hey, isn't your head starting to hurt? I'd suggest you let go of me soon.] Saiki Kusuo was actually being kind. He knew how painful it was to hear so many thoughts all the time, and he didn't want Paku to suffer through it.

"Paku, what do you mean by that?" The other Troupe members clearly had questions about what she just said.

"Just now, when I touched him, I found out he broke the windows because he saw a cockroach. Other than that, he isn't scared of anything at all. Chief, even if all of us team up, we don't scare him one bit..."

Saiki Kusuo: Correction—hear me out—we and your cockroaches together do count as a threat.

No way. But... they had to believe it.

By this point, it was true—they hadn't hurt the boy at all. The fact that he walked out unharmed after Feitan's strongest attack already said everything.

"I've always heard some people are naturally gifted, that there are people born far beyond others. I've never seen one until today," Chrollo said after a long pause. "Let this guest stay here. Everyone, drop your hostility."

Saiki Kusuo knew it then—he could really stay here.

[Man, man, thanks so much. As a thank you, do you guys have any wishes?] Saiki Kusuo asked.

"Nothing really. We just hope you enjoy your stay," Chrollo replied with a fake smile.

After that, Chrollo led by example, and everyone started acting like Saiki Kusuo wasn't even there. Machi left to buy food that needed cooking. Saiki Kusuo went up to the third floor, locked himself in a room, and only breathed easy after making sure there wasn't a single bug in sight.

This place hardly ever had food, so unlike garbage dumps, G wouldn't come here. Perfect.

This spot was also a blind spot for Illumi. By now, Illumi had already left his post—probably to deal with food. After all, this was a long-term mission. He wouldn't let himself starve.

With no one watching, what should he do alone in this empty room? Saiki Kusuo quickly used teleportation and went straight to a dessert shop near the Heavens Arena he'd been to before.

"Hi, I'd like one brownie cake and a cup of coffee, thanks." For once, he was buying his own meal. After nine years here, he'd never once decided what to eat for dinner. Today, he happily decided to have dessert for dinner.

He had to use cash. No cards. That could raise red flags for Illumi back in Meteor City.

Just as Saiki Kusuo started enjoying his dinner, he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"Chocolate again? Well, it's your money, do what you want. Is your whole family obsessed with sweets? Didn't you just buy a ton the other day?"

"Aren't you starting to prepare the rewards for clearing Meteor City a bit too early? Even with shipping time, there's still ten days left. Heh... what a good brother you are, Il-chan..."

"Hmm, it's nothing. I just thought I saw someone. Are you sure your little brother's in Meteor City?"

Far away from Meteor City, Illumi tilted his head. Of course his brother was there—he had just confirmed Kusuo's safety.

Who would've thought Illumi would send Hisoka to ambush a dessert shop? And it just happened to be the one Saiki Kusuo had visited! With a fork in his mouth and a dessert plate in hand, Kusuo teleported to the roof of the shop. He didn't teleport away entirely in case Hisoka questioned the staff. Even the slightest slip-up could give him away, and it felt like Hisoka had caught a glimpse of him just now.

Hisoka scanned the shop: [Feels like I'm being watched…]

Saiki Kusuo instantly cut off his x-ray vision. *This guy's a monster!*

[Was that just my imagination? Mmhmm… better ask the staff. Not every day you see someone with pink hair.]

"I'll take five pieces of this chocolate cake. Send them to this address. And a box of these cookies, pack them up."

As Hisoka browsed the dessert display, even Saiki Kusuo found his eyes drawn to the cookie. It did look pretty good.

"By the way, did a pink-haired kid come by earlier?"

Hisoka had a strong impression of the pink hair. If the staff said no, it might make him suspicious. Saiki Kusuo had already prepared for this—he just needed to nudge the truth a little to make Hisoka think he'd mistaken someone else.

Under a bit of telepathic influence, the clerk answered, "Yes, there was someone with pink hair, but it was a cute little girl! And, um... looked like her parents took her home already?"

Filling the clerk's head with "girl" and "parents" was enough to make Hisoka lose interest. "Ah, I thought it was someone I knew. Oh well~"

Looks like that worked. Saiki Kusuo breathed a sigh of relief, but still didn't leave. He stayed on the roof and finished his cake. He couldn't stand eating sweets in such a tense environment—it made them taste dirty.

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