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Chapter 65. Do You Understand the Meaning of Life?
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"Well, if we were to summarize the story of "Battle Tendency" simply, it would be... Hey, Kars! Are you even listening?!"
Seeing Kars remain unmoved, Pucci said helplessly, "We're roommates, after all. Can you at least give me some response? You're making me really uncomfortable here."
"Fine," Kars said flatly. "Have you finished?"
"..."
"..."
Pucci stared at Kars in silence, while Kars continued to silently look at the biology book in his hands, completely ignoring Pucci's words and gaze.
"Hey, Kars, isn't this just making me more embarrassed?!"
"..."
Kars clearly had no intention of responding.
Seeing that Kars had given only a minimal reaction when asked for a bit of feedback, Pucci sighed again for what felt like the umpteenth time and said, "Alright, I'm done. But don't you think you should consider this?"
"Or is it that Dio managed to hold back from bragging to you guys?"
You have to know, the huge success of "Phantom Blood" not only allowed Pucci and the team, who were previously short on funds, to start shooting "Battle Tendency" shortly after finishing "Phantom Blood", but also made actors like Jonathan, Dio, and others who appeared in "Phantom Blood" highly sought after by various industry crews.
It's no wonder—such popular, talented actors who are relatively affordable are rare in the industry.
Before the fees for actors like Jonathan increase further, it's crucial to sign them and film several projects in advance.
So even though Dio was criticized by the audience, it actually proved his high skill level. He portrayed the villain so vividly that even the audience felt he wasn't just acting.
Thus, having experienced the treatment of a big star, Dio often showed off his success at Araki Manor, even if it was meant to seem casual.
With such a clear and successful example, Pucci thought recruiting others would be much easier. But unexpectedly, Pucci returned to Araki Manor—a place filled with talented people—and was turned down once again...
"Kars, we are roommates, right?"
Pucci, not intending to give up, continued, "In this world, we rely on our roommates. Now that you're in trouble, you wouldn't just ignore it, right? And we can definitely negotiate the price..."
"..."
Kars still didn't say a word. It seemed like none of this mattered to him.
He continued to focus on his biology book, ignoring Pucci's attempts at conversation.
This was a tough situation. Given how long Pucci had lived with Kars, he knew exactly what Kars's silence meant.
It was almost like a polite way of showing him the door.
Fortunately, if the hard approach didn't work, Pucci could try a softer one. He had already prepared for the generic persuasion techniques to fail, given his understanding of his roommates' personalities.
After all, Pucci had little hope of convincing Kars with money alone.
In the entire "JOJO" series, only a few people took on the role of the final boss purely for financial reasons.
For Kars, the only things that might interest him were the Red Stone of Aja, overcoming sunlight, and becoming a perfect organism—elements he actively pursued in "Battle Tendency".
But here's the problem. Kars in "Battle Tendency" sought these things because he was a Pillar Man. He feared sunlight and needed to overcome it. For this goal, he needed the Red Stone of Aja to evolve into a perfect organism.
Now, Kars in the real world, who wasn't a Pillar Man, wouldn't necessarily be interested in these things.
Even if he were, Pucci couldn't offer the compensation for it.
So, after recalling the plot of "Battle Tendency" and Kars's usual interests and preferences, Pucci took a moment to adjust his attire, calm his breathing, and then seriously said to Kars, "Kars, have you figured out the meaning of life?"
"...?"
Although Kars remained silent, his expression changed. Compared to his previous blank stare, Kars now showed a hint of interest.
Seeing this, Pucci pointed to the biology book Kars was holding and continued, "'Reading thousands of books is like travel thousands of miles'—this is a famous saying from an Eastern country."
"As a top student, you should understand what I'm trying to convey, right?"
"Hahaha, this is really amusing, Pucci."
The saying itself doesn't need an explanation, but...
Kars mocked, "Or do you think the resources you can provide are richer than what I can obtain while pursuing a PhD in biology?"
"I admit that being an actor can earn a lot of money, but there are specialized equipment and biological samples that I can still access, as well as knowledge you can't offer."
"So, can you still muster the courage to persuade me?"
Originally, there was no chance.
But after hearing so much from you, my courage to be persuaded suddenly increased!
In negotiations, the most challenging people are those who have no desires or needs.
Kars was clearly one of those people.
But now, despite claiming to have no desires, your numerous words can't hide the fact that you are no longer without wants.
"Indeed. Resources that can generally be bought with money are beneath your notice. Not just me, but our school's biology lab has plenty of those."
"And for rare biological samples that require special connections to obtain, I wouldn't have any access... that should be the case."
As the lights flickered, Pucci, leaning comfortably in his chair with his back supported and legs crossed, smiled at Kars and said, "But what if I told you I happen to have a biological sample that could be considered perfect?"
"..."