Hunter x Hunter: From Obtaining the World to Beyond Heaven

After saying that, Shulikov turned around without hesitation, walked out the door, and left the scene in the light rain.

He left with extreme decisiveness.

As for his teammates on the ground, Weildl, Augustus who had just almost killed him, and even the assassin who had hidden until the very end.

He paid no attention to these corpses whatsoever.

Tonight has been full of both gains and surprises. Shulkov needs to report everything to Prince Benjamin as soon as possible so that they can discuss the next steps.

Whether it's the intelligence about Dia or the unknown assassin, both imply a great deal of information, which is not something he can decide casually.

Dia watched Shulikov leave, her eyes flickering. After a long while, she silently sheathed her knife and looked at Caesar:

What do you think of what happened today?

Caesar adjusted his glasses, looked at the headless corpse, and inwardly marveled at Dia's growing strength. He said aloud:

"Your involvement was probably just an accident. For some unknown reason, the eldest prince's side developed an interest in or hostility towards you, but in general, today's events were likely triggered by a conflict between the Bureau of Justice and the royal family."

As he spoke, he instructed a guard to gather up all the corpses on the ground, saying:

"This assassin had planned this all along. He killed a lone soldier of the eldest prince's private forces to lure the Justice Bureau into getting involved. Then, given Prince Benjamin's personality, he would never let go of this opportunity to attack the Justice Bureau. Thus, a legitimate conflict was born. If you hadn't intervened unexpectedly, tonight's outcome would have been a further escalation of the conflict between the Justice Bureau and the prince."

"However, your actions today will most likely lead you to be identified as a member of the anti-royal faction within the Justice Bureau, but your close relationship with the Twelfth Prince will mitigate that."

Caesar raised his hand to his pocket, looked at Dia, and said seriously:

"There are two possible outcomes if this continues. First, you might be seen as a fence-sitter and be courted by both sides. Second, you might be seen as a double agent and be attacked by both sides."

What's the difference between being a fence-sitter and being two-faced?

"The difference is that the fence-sitter will eventually side with one side, while the two-faced person will switch back and forth between the two sides from beginning to end."

Dia seemed to be deep in thought, stroking her chin as she said:

"So, I shouldn't make my position clear?"

"Or, make your position clear from the beginning."

Caesar's words were unexpected.

Dia frowned.

From an outsider's perspective, if one heard Caesar's words, one would probably think he was inviting Dia to join the Justice Bureau's camp.

After all, as a criminal hunter, his natural stance aligns with that of law enforcement agencies like the Justice Bureau, while as a foreign civilian, his natural stance conflicts with that of the Kakin royal family.

But Dia knew that Caesar didn't mean that.

Sure enough, Caesar continued:

"At the King's Banquet a few months from now, you should make sure to declare in some way that you are on the side of the royal family. Until then, I will try to minimize my contact with you."

With that, Caesar turned and directed the guards to leave.

A colleague died tonight. He has to write a ton of reports and hold a memorial service. I guess the Supreme Court is going to give him a hard time again tonight.

Caesar frowned at the thought of that rigid woman.

And what about this unidentified assassin? Did he deliberately shave off his facial features to hide his identity?

If his aim is to escalate the conflict between the judicial bureau and the royal family, then the stance of the person behind him becomes difficult to analyze.

After all, there are people within the royal family and the judicial bureau who are blindly confident that they can achieve their goals as long as they start a full-scale war.

In any case, this assassin is no ordinary person; there should be clues to be found, and it is worth investigating.

"Wait a minute, what do you mean by 'a certain way'?"

Before he left, Dia quickly asked.

"Anything is fine. You can become the twelfth prince's private soldier, or claim to be her future consort. The method doesn't matter~"

Without turning his head, Caesar waved his hand casually with his hands in his pockets and disappeared into the rainy night.

Even if you say that... at least ask Mumu Ze what he thinks.

Dia scratched the back of his head, stood there for a long time with a headache, and then slowly left the scene when the rain subsided.

--------------

Somewhere in a basement.

Prince Benjamin stared at the information on the screen while listening to Shulkov's report.

At this moment, Shulikov's head was wrapped in layers of white cloth, which made Barbimaina, who was also a private soldier next to him, frown.

"...That's all I've observed about what happened tonight."

Shulikov finished his report solemnly.

He reported on tonight's events from a completely objective perspective, without adding any of his own assumptions or speculations.

This was also a basic principle of military reports personally established by the eldest prince.

For Shulkov, who regarded Prince Benjamin as his own father, his orders were his principles of survival.

"Yes, thank you for your hard work. Are you alright?"

After listening quietly to the report, Benjamin calmly looked at Shulkov and asked.

There may be some aftereffects and concussion, but they will not affect memory or thinking, and are insignificant in the long run.

Shulkov said.

"No, this kind of injury might cause you to misjudge. Go back and rest."

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, Shulikov promptly put his legs together in a bow, turned around, and left the basement.

Barusamirko watched Shulikov leave silently, then turned to Benjamin and said:

What's your opinion on this matter?

"...Someone in the Bureau of Justice wants to use my background to clarify the scope of royal power, which is not clearly defined in law. After all, if I, as the first prince, were to yield first, then the others would be no threat."

"At the same time, they also believe that I am the most likely person to inherit the throne, and hope that through this victory, I can successfully bring the consensus they want to the throne."

Benjamin analyzed the situation calmly, his clear logic contrasting sharply with his burly appearance.

"That's basically in line with my thinking, so let's not focus on this for now. Just send someone to follow up on it superficially, and make sure it doesn't damage your reputation."

Barusamirko nodded in agreement, then asked:

"And what about that hunter?"

"...There are three possibilities. First, he is a member of the Justice Bureau, intending to infiltrate the royal family through my foolish sister and achieve judicial independence from the inside. Second, he has designs on the Kakin royal family and is trying to switch between the prince and the Justice Bureau to ultimately seek power. Third, he is a dagger used by the Hunter Association or even a V5 to test Kakin!"

Benjamin's voice grew lower and lower as he spoke, and the anger in his eyes was almost bursting out.

Seeing this, Barusamirko calmly said:

"The third guess is wrong. He can't be a spy for external forces. If he were, then his actions today would be considered foolish, completely exposing his irrationality."

"Only if he himself is not worried about being investigated would he dare to act so blatantly and casually."

Upon hearing this, Benjamin calmed down a little:

"So that means that whether it was using my two stupid and arrogant younger siblings or getting involved with the Justice Bureau, it was all of his own volition?"

Even now, almost everyone who knows about Dia agrees on one point at the same time—

The twelfth prince, Mumu Ze, was actually controlled by him.

In a sense, Mumu Ze is quite well-known.

"It seems so now."

"Then his threat level is not as high as imagined."

"But we still cannot let our guard down."

Barusamirko said solemnly:

"His own combat strength is enough to be regarded as a small army. Whether it is assassination or guard duty, his presence is too strong."

Even the well-informed Benjamin and Barusamirko had rarely seen a powerhouse of Dia's caliber.

The thought that such a monster might be lurking less than 100 kilometers away, ready to snap his neck at any moment if he were alone, was unbearable.

Benjamin felt a sense of unease.

A wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall, and this is even more true for a ruler.

'Damn it, can't she see what Mu Muze is doing? How could she possibly control such a powerful figure? She's completely let a wolf into the house!'

Benjamin thought through gritted teeth.

Now that Dia has the backing of two princes, it is almost impossible for him to strike with the help of the royal army and the government.

If he dares to make a move, that incredibly stupid Celidonish will definitely assume that he is targeting him and retaliate.

"Now it seems that, whether for the purpose of vying for the throne or to prevent the judicial independence of the Bureau of Justice, that person has become an enemy that cannot be ignored, and we must find a way to eliminate him!"

Benjamin stood up and said decisively:

"If a direct confrontation doesn't work, we'll try assassination. In terms of individual combat strength, we're not on par with him, so we can't use force to assassinate him. Barusamirko, are any of those cloud missiles in the warehouse out of warranty?"

“Using bombs is indeed a method, but it’s not discreet enough, especially since the other side is almost impossible to leave the capital.”

Barusamirko shook his head, rejecting Benjamin's proposal.

"Are there any other methods of assassination?"

"Have."

Barusamirko took out his phone from his pocket, opened a hidden photo album, zoomed in, and handed it to Benjamin:

"The Institute of Virology at the First Military Medical University has recently discovered a new type of virus..."

dong dong——

There was a gentle knock on the basement door, followed by silence.

"Enter."

Benjamin didn't even look up, focusing intently on the information on his phone.