On the afternoon of March 30th, Germain arrived at a remote mountain range. He found a forest so hidden that even a mobile phone couldn't locate it and came to a lake as clear as glass.
By the lake stood a three-story Western-style mansion. It was much less grand than the Zoldyck family mansion and looked like a temporary residence a family might rent for a trip.
Bisky had received the news beforehand and was waiting at the door with her hands on her hips. When she saw Germain, she waved at him from a distance.
"Hey, you're finally here!" she shouted. "You're brave to make a lady wait this long!"
Despite Bisky's loud shouting, Germain continued walking at a leisurely pace, unaffected by her calls.
Bisky, losing patience, lifted the hem of her princess dress with both hands and quickly walked over to him.
"Everyone's here except you," Bisky complained when she reached Germain. "How can the main person of this trip be late? Sanbica must be even more worried."
"Sorry," Germain replied, hands in the pockets of his black hunter's robe. "I usually arrive half an hour early, but I didn't expect you all to be here already."
"Forget it," Bisky said, waving her white-gloved hand dismissively. "Let's go inside."
She pointed excitedly at the mansion, her blonde hair tied into a bun. "Look, isn't this house beautiful? I bought it. It will be our temporary base from now on."
"It's really nice here," Germain remarked, scanning the surroundings and then the mansion's exterior. "Looks like you've made quite a bit of money."
"Thanks to you," Bisky replied with a smile, playfully nudging Germain's arm with her petite frame. "Shizuku and I both earned a good amount. I'll show you my new collection when I have free time."
"Sure," Germain nodded knowingly. He understood it was just a polite gesture. Bisky wouldn't actually take him to see her "gem collection spot."
Bisky eagerly led Germain towards the mansion's door. Just then, a window on the second floor suddenly opened, and Shizuku's head popped out.
"Germain!" Shizuku leaned on the windowsill and greeted him from above. "You're here."
"I'm here," Germain waved back.
Shizuku nodded calmly, retreated, and closed the window casually, as if nothing had happened.
"You two, seriously..." Bisky sighed as she opened the mansion's door, rubbing her forehead with a hint of frustration. "I can't figure out the wavelength between you two. It's like you have your own unique way of communicating."
Entering the house, a brick-red fireplace crackled with burning firewood. Wing sat beside it, deeply engrossed in flipping through a thick notebook, its pages curling under his touch.
"Ah, Mr. Germain," he acknowledged someone entering the room, looking up with a smile. He stood up and placed the notebook on a nearby table. "You're here."
Wing hurried over and shook hands with Germain.
"Wing, your attire," Bisky interjected without even looking up, skillfully offering advice. She picked up an apple from a fruit plate and began to eat. "Mind your appearance."
Embarrassed, Wing quickly adjusted his clothes after being reminded. "Sorry, teacher, Mr. Germain, for any embarrassment."
"No need for formality, just call me Germain."
Germain glanced at the notebook Wing had been reading, which contained information from Bisky's last trip, filling about a third of its pages.
Wing glanced at Bisky, who nodded. Smiling, he said, "Alright, Germain..."
Germain admired the paintings on the wall—handsome knights, sinister robbers, and youthful antique dealers—revealing Bisky's interests.
"Wing, it's been two months since we last met," Germain remarked. "What have you been up to?"
For some reason, Wing felt a bit tense facing Germain, almost as if he were facing his teacher, Bisky despite him being older. He cleared his throat and replied earnestly, "After delivering the color-changing stone to the teacher, I continued traveling to spread our 'Nen of the Flame.'"
"Oh?" Bisky, intrigued, sat back on a soft sofa, tossing the apple core into a distant trash can with precision. "How's it been going?"
Wing felt touched by Bisky's caring inquiry, a hallmark of a true inheritor of the Nen of the Flame in recent years.
Thinking about it, Netero, the founder of Shingen-ryu, and his successor, Bisky, seemed less concerned about whether Shingen-ryu had a next generation, often preoccupied with their own matters.
This reflected Shingen-ryu's nature as a "minority elite school," selectively teaching only the most favored and talented disciples, rather than expanding indiscriminately.
Wing, the interim teacher at Shingen-ryu, was particularly concerned about this.
"Teacher Bisky, I was just about to talk to you about this," Wing smiled. "I've taken a liking to a child with exceptional qualities and character named Zushi. I wish to take him on as my disciple."
"Oh... then go ahead," Bisky embraced the stuffed doll pillow in his arms, blinking innocently like a girl.
"Take him..." Wing hadn't expected Bisky to agree so readily. Caught off guard, he asked helplessly, "You don't want to ask about him or see him for yourself?"
"What's the need?" Bisky cut him off bluntly. "I trust your judgment. Then I've chosen this child named Zushi."
Wing sighed inwardly. He should have anticipated this. While other schools treated succession as a matter of life and death, Chairman Netero and Teacher Bisky were more relaxed about it.
"This aligns with the philosophy of the Shingen-ryu School," Wing thought to himself. "I still have much to learn."
So he said, "If everything goes as planned, after we return from this trip to the Dark Continent, I will..."
"Hey, hey, hey!" Bisky suddenly jumped up, cutting him off sharply. "Don't make such statements that could bring bad luck when we still have two days before departure."
Wing looked embarrassed and nodded. "Teacher, I didn't mean to..."
"What if you did?" Bisky laughed and scolded lightly.
Just then, footsteps echoed on the stairs.
Shizuku hurried down, nodded to everyone, and adjusted her large black-framed glasses that were slipping down her nose.
Germain glanced around and asked, "Where's the other person?"
********
Support me on my patreon and read upto 15 early chapters.
https://www.patreon.com/Unique_Writer