"Ron."
"Unte Kikyo."
After that, Kikyo looked at Wendy, who was beside Ron.
"This must be Wendy, right?"
"Hello, Unte Kikyo."
Following Ron's way of addressing her.
"The banquet is already prepared, let's go inside first."
Kikyo walked over to Ron and said, "Your grandpa Zeno and Uncle Silva aren't here, so I can only arrange things on my own. I hope nothing goes wrong."
"Unte Kikyo, it doesn't need to be too grand."
Ron's expression was somewhat odd.
Because at this moment, Ron remembered the scene in the original story where Gon and the others came to the Zoldyck Estate.
Back then, the Zoldyck Estate's attitude was completely different.
But the circumstances were different too.
Killua was the heir of the Zoldyck family, destined to be an assassin in the future.
Ron, however, was not the same.
Right now, Ron was an assassin, but it didn't mean he would always be one. Or that it was a mandatory and only job he could do.
Ron could decide his own future path.
Even if he didn't stay in the Zoldyck Estate, that would be fine.
That was one of the perks of not being an heir or someone from the main line.
"That won't do. This is your first time bringing a friend home, after all."
Kikyo looked at Wendy and smiled.
"Wendy, I don't know your tastes very well, so I prepared a variety of dishes. I hope there's something you'll like."
"Unte Kikyo, you're too kind."
After entering the dining hall—
A figure ran over.
"Cousin Ron."
"Kalluto."
Kalluto curiously looked at Wendy, who was beside Ron.
Wendy smiled.
"Hello, little girl."
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
Ron leaned close to Wendy's ear.
"Kalluto is my younger male cousin."
Wendy's face flushed, and she quickly apologized.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"Hello, little boy."
Kalluto himself didn't mind.
Kikyo acted as if she hadn't heard anything, warmly inviting Ron and Wendy to take their seats.
"Come, sit down. The dishes are served."
"Otherwise they'll get cold."
The dining hall was very large, and so was the dining table.
It was virtually filled with various dishes.
Only four people were seated, which made it feel a bit empty.
But Wendy was used to such scenes.
In the Fiore Kingdom, it was often the same.
Whether it was the Zoldyck family or the Fiore royal family, in this world and on the human continent, both stood at the pinnacle of resources. Such people inevitably lived in circumstances like this.
Having resources meant paying more attention to their own comfort.
A bit of wastefulness was inevitable.
After dinner, Ron took Wendy away from the main estate and headed to the back mountain.
Shinji stood guard at the door.
"Young Master Ron."
Ron nodded.
"Is the room prepared?"
"Yes, Young Master Ron, it's already prepared, right next to your room."
"Good."
Ron led Wendy upstairs.
Meanwhile, Kikyo made a phone call, briefly informing Zeno of the evening's situation.
"Mother, can I go find Cousin Ron tomorrow?" Kalluto asked, looking up.
"No, you still have unfinished training tomorrow, and your Cousin Ron needs to entertain his friend. It wouldn't be good to disturb them."
When Dominica looked at Ron and Wendy, he couldn't help but think about the idea of having them together.
For the Zoldyck side, it was similar.
Forming marital ties with the Fiore royal family would also be beneficial to the Zoldyck family.
Zeno hung up the phone.
He looked up at the night sky outside the window.
"I never expected Ron would form such a close friendship with the Fiore Kingdom's Dragon Child."
Zeno had gathered quite a bit of information about Wendy through his own intelligence network.
A Dragon Child of the current Fiore royal family.
One of the three most gifted individuals among the younger generation of the Fiore royal family.
As long as she didn't fall from grace, she would likely enter the Fiore royal family's Round Table Council in the future.
Members of the Round Table Council held extremely high status in the Fiore royal family.
One could say it was second only to the King.
"But Ron isn't bad either."
"After all, he was chosen and personally nurtured by the ancestor."
"Moreover, Ron's talent surpasses Wendy's."
From the actions in the Taris Kingdom, it was evident that Ron's strength was greater than Wendy's.
And they were about the same age.
Ron had even less exposure to Nen than Wendy originally did.
This proved Ron's talent.
-----------------------------------
"Wendy, is this alright?" Ron brought Wendy to the guest room.
"It's very nice."
Wendy looked around and nodded. "Ron, thank you for your hospitality."
"No need to thank me. We're friends, and you invited me to visit the Fiore Kingdom before. I remember that, and when the time comes, I definitely won't be polite."
Wendy smiled.
"Alright."
As the night deepened, Ron returned to his own room.
The night passed quietly.
Early the next day.
Ron woke up very early.
Back at the Zoldyck Estate, Ron always slept more soundly, which meant he needed less sleep to restore more energy.
Half a month later, Ron and Wendy left the Zoldyck Estate.
They went down the mountain and returned to the small town.
Then they took a bus to a nearby city.
A middle-aged woman drove over.
She was a member of the Fiore royal family, one of Wendy's elders. Since she happened to be returning to the Fiore Kingdom, she made a detour here to bring Wendy back with her.
"Ron, goodbye."
"Til next time, Wendy."
Ron waved at the airship in the sky.
Wendy had invited Ron to visit the Fiore royal family.
Ron also wanted to do so.
But before that, Ron needed to head to Heaven's Arena for a match.
He had already forfeited two matches. If he continued to forfeit, he might lose the right to challenge for a Floor Master position that he was about to secure.
Using Heaven's Arena as a base for the team, Ron found it very suitable.
Thus, securing a Floor Master position would be useful.
Compared to ordinary contestants, a Floor Master had the right to use an entire floor.
In terms of area, it was much larger than a luxury suite.
Additionally, a Floor Master didn't have to fight every three months.
Even if challenged by others, a Floor Master could choose the time of the match.
And the time limit for choosing a match date was six months.
This meant that once Ron became a Floor Master, he wouldn't need to go to Heaven's Arena every three months—every six months would suffice in the tightest scenario.
In reality, it could be even more relaxed.
The competitors at Heaven's Arena weren't fools. They would investigate which Floor Master was strong and which was weak.
With Ron's current strength, among the Floor Masters, he wasn't considered weak.
He could at least rank in the middle.
Possibly even higher.
According to the conventional Nen user classification, Ron was still at C-level.
However, Ron's true strength was stronger than many B-level Nen users.
With multiple Nen beasts cooperating, he could overcome a numerical disadvantage.