Gourmet Hunter (HxH Fanfic)

The dish, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, had conquered the unrefined palates of its audience.

This delicacy marked the Phantom Troupe's first culinary awakening. Undoubtedly, the memory would remain etched in the depths of their minds for years to come.

After everyone was full, the topic of recruiting Law into the Troupe was tactfully dropped, much to Law's relief.

With the events of the next day in mind, Law made a firm request: the Troupe should remain uninvolved. They didn't need to help him, but they also can't help Meteor City.

In terms of stance, the Troupe would naturally side with Meteor City.

Law didn't want the relationship between Machi and the others with Meteor City to become strained, but he also didn't want the Troupe to stand on Meteor City's side.

The Troupe agreed to Law's request. Even Franklin was forced to remain neutral under the circumstances of minority obeying the majority.

The attitudes of Machi and the other two were very clear. They obviously regarded Law to be more important than Meteor City. If Law had not been very firm in telling them not to interfere, they would have involved themselves without hesitation.

Chrollo shared this perspective, believing that the bond between the Troupe and Law was more valuable than their ties to Meteor City.

Even though Law had no intention of joining the Troupe, it does not prevent them from establishing a good and lasting relationship with each other.

In fact, there was another reason why Law didn't want the Troupe involved. That was because he was worried that they would become liabilities. If Machi and the others couldn't help effectively, they might end up hindering him instead.

Although the threat posed by firearms to first-rate Nen Users is almost negligible, they are very dangerous to second-rate or third-rate Nen Users.

Unfortunately, in Law's opinion, even the current Uvogin can't withstand bullets, let alone Nobunaga and Machi.

As for Chrollo, Law can't make a conclusion because he has never fought with him.

If Machi and the others knew of this assessment, Law would probably be hung up and whipped. But since he could convince them to stay out of it without revealing this reasoning, he saw no need to voice it.

As the night deepened, the group dispersed.

Machi's house was too small, and considering the addition of Sanbica, Law decided to spend the night at Uvogin's house. It would be his last night in Meteor City.

Since Sanbica was unfamiliar with the area, she naturally went wherever Law went, so she also stayed in Uvogin's house. Fortunately, Uvogin's house was big enough and there were enough rooms to accommodate them.

Seeing that Law and Sanbica stayed at Uvogin's house, Machi returned to her own home alone.

She jumped onto the hammock, lay back, and stared at the dark ceiling in a daze.

A sliver of moonlight slipped through the cracks in her window, forming a band of light that swept across her face.

She took out the pearl necklace and held it up to the light, quietly admiring it. Then, she thought of the scene when Law threw the two small pearls to Uvogin and Nobunaga, and a smile appeared on her face.

"Even if you don't want to join the Troupe, you'll have to join me!"

She murmured to herself before putting the necklace around her neck. Tucking the pearls into her clothing, she slowly closed her eyes.

…

The next morning.

Law and Sanbica left the house together and walked on the streets of West District.

The saying 'the early bird gets the worm' was vividly illustrated in Meteor City. By 8 AM, the streets were already bustling with people.

Speaking of which, when Law first arrived in Meteor City, he would saw Machi head out early every morning.

The two walked on the main street, and the people passing by did not pay any attention to them.

"What's your plan after this is over?" Law asked softly, looking straight ahead.

Samika, maintaining a slight distance from him, replied calmly, "I don't know."

Law was startled, then smiled and said, "Why not stay?"

Sanbica raised her eyes to glance at Law, then looked away and remained silent.

Their original agreement had been for three months, and that time was nearly up, so there was no need for Sanbica to stay with Law's side any longer. Law hadn't wanted her involved in this mess to begin with, but she had chosen to join him of her own accord.

After nearly three months together, even Sanbica herself wasn't sure what she had gained.

Because of the special nature of my body, she had always been alone and had resigned herself to the idea of walking living alone for the rest of her life.

Before she met Law, she would never think about traveling with someone, and she might even have rejected the idea outright.

However, during the time she spent with Law, she felt an unusual sense of ease. If she were to leave now, she wondered if she would come to long for that feeling.

Seeing that Sanbica remained silent, Law thought she was unwilling. A hint of regret flashed across his eyes and he decided to drop the topic.

He had many places he wanted to visit, and having a doctor as a companion would be ideal. However, if Samika didn't wish to stay, Law wouldn't force her.

The two walked quietly along the straight street. In the distance, the silhouette of the church came into view. Once they passed it, they would reach East Street, and after a short walk, the East District's Elder's house.

There were a lot of people on the street, but hardly any of them looked familiar to Law.

Although he had stayed in Meteor City for several months, most of his time had been with Machi and the others, and he rarely paid attention to the city's other inhabitants.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, a sturdy, middle-aged man came up to him.

When Law saw this middle-aged man, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

The middle-aged man was Marza, the man who had once used him as an excuse to cause trouble for Machi. He is also responsible for dragging the Kuri brothers into the chaos.

If Law remembers correctly, when he went to raid Cook's base that day, he didn't see Marza among the Cook's men. After that, he didn't pay any attention to Marza and just treated him as a small fry.

When Law noticed Marza, Marza also saw Law, and his body immediately froze, rooted to the spot.

He stared at Law, and in his eyes, which used to be arrogant and domineering, there was now only terror and disbelief.

'Why is Law here? Wasn't he supposed to be dead?'

Marza just stared blankly at Law who was walking slowly towards him, his body shaking like a sieve.

Such an obvious abnormality made Sanbica notice Marza, and then she turned her head to look at Law. She felt that the middle-aged man's strange reaction must be related to Law.

Noticing Sanbica's gaze, Law remained indifferent. He just looked at Marza coldly for a moment, then retracted his gaze and stopped looking at him.

Just like that, Law and Sanbica walked past Marza, who was still standing there trembling with fear.

After they had gone several dozen meters, Marza collapsed to his knees in a daze, his eyes full of confusion and shock.

He had seen the look in Law's eyes, and besides being afraid, he felt a deep sadness.

What kind of gaze was that?

Is it condescending?

No, it was more like the gaze a human gives an ant.

That's right…

At that moment, Marza had been nothing more than an ant in Law's eyes. An ant unworthy of even the effort it would take to step on it.

"Hahaha…"

Marza pressed his hands to the ground, letting out a string of bitter, self-deprecating laughter that only he could hear them. Droplets of sweat fell on the ground one after another, glistening in the faint light.

"Who is that?" Sanbica asked after they had walked several hundred meters.

"Someone who once caused me trouble. I've forgotten his name." Law replied flatly.

When Sanbica heard this, she immediately lost interest.

As they continued toward East District, neither of them paid much attention to the people on the street.

At the intersection where the street leads to the alley, there were two people, one old and one young, both looking at Law's back as he walked away.

The older one was an old woman holding a brass smoking pipe, and the younger one was a black-haired, black-eyed boy carrying a bundle.

"Do you know that kid?" The old woman took a puff of her cigarette.

"I've met him twice." The black-haired boy replied.

If Law was here, he would definitely recognize that the young man was Illumi, and the old woman smoking the pipe was the rude shopkeeper of the West District's clothing store. Her terrible service had left a lasting impression on Law.