Hunter x Hunter: From Obtaining the World to Beyond Heaven

But there was a certain familiarity about the other person's demeanor.

"What, don't you recognize me?"

The female official's voice held a hint of amusement as she abruptly uttered a self-reference that would never be mistakenly mentioned again—

【I】!

"cat-tail?!"

Dia's eyes widened instantly, and she blurted out.

His voice startled Mu Muze, who was half-asleep, and he looked over there alertly.

"It seems the court makeup artist wasn't exaggerating. No one could see through this mask, but if you can recognize it now, you've passed the test."

The female official laughed and reached out to pull off a mask that was as thin as a cicada's wing yet incredibly tough.

The next moment, she used both hands to remove her wig and contact lenses, and finally coughed twice, spitting out a strange round ball.

And so, in full view of everyone, the plain-looking female official transformed in the blink of an eye into a spirited young woman with purple hair and purple eyes, and a beauty mark at the corner of her eye!

It was none other than the long-absent ancient Ganyu contemporary king—Xiangpu.

"Really you?"

Dia stared in astonishment at the girl before him, unable to believe that the king of a great nation would so casually disguise himself and run off to another great nation.

Isn't she afraid of something going wrong and triggering a world war?

Swish!

Mumu Ze's figure instantly appeared beside Diya. His legs were no longer sore, and his back was no longer aching. He just looked warily at Xiangpu, who had made a miraculous transformation, without saying a word.

In contrast, Xiangpu merely glanced at her indifferently, showing no interest.

“Um… This is King Xiangpu of the ancient Ganyu Kingdom, and that is Qiqi Ke, with whom I have a past relationship.”

Diya hesitated for a moment, but still introduced him to Mumu Ze:

"How about your leaders hold a meeting? I'll listen in from the sidelines."

"No, you do it."

Mu Muze straightened his back, stood up straight with dignity, his smile impeccable, showing not a trace of timidity:

"It's just an informal meeting. We don't distinguish between primary and secondary roles; it doesn't matter who comes."

"……it is good."

Dia then turned to look at the cattail and asked:

"Would you mind explaining why you're here?"

She said:

"Because there is a very important task."

"It should have been Hechigo who came, but I was tired of sitting in the palace, so I insisted on coming out for a walk."

"It's not unexpected to see you here. It's been a long time, Dia."

"Take a break? Don't you know what kind of chaos would ensue if something happened to you here?"

Diya couldn't help but ask.

"I will not be in any accidents. The First Secret guarantees that I will not die, and I will not be without guards."

"I'll answer that casually," Xiangpu replied.

The next moment, a male official behind her suddenly ripped off his mask, raised his face, and said casually:

“Mr. Dia, it’s been a long time.”

It was the face of a familiar middle-aged man.

“Chichiko…”

Diya's lips twitched; she was powerless to judge whether this guard was competent or not.

However, the appearance of this royal guard captain also proves that the cattail in front of us is undoubtedly genuine!

This instantly piqued Diya's curiosity.

What important mission could possibly warrant Xiangpu's personal involvement?

"You really surprise me, when it comes to being willful..."

Dia shook her head and said:

"And everyone keeps saying it's been a long time. I've only been away from the Ancient Ganyu Kingdom for two months now, right? Your 'long time' doesn't seem like that."

"A day apart feels like three autumns, and two months is a long time."

Xiangpu crossed her legs, her long, cascading crimson hair falling behind her, and looked at Diya with a touch of emotion in her bright purple eyes.

She seemed to be implying something.

Click~

Diya suddenly felt a pain in his waist, as if someone was pinching and kneading a muscle in his waist.

"..."

The young man glanced at the Crown Prince beside him.

The other person squinted and remained silent.

He withdrew "as if," indicating that someone was indeed targeting him.

Thanks to the Nen user's strong pain tolerance, Dia remained expressionless and looked at the unexpectedly arriving cattail, asking:

"What is it that you, as a king, would risk so much to come here?"

He skipped the pointless small talk and went straight to the point.

The purple-haired girl's gaze subtly swept over the hand that was holding Dia, and she calmly replied:

"Then I'll get straight to the point. I've come here to find you—"

"Do one thing for me, for the ancient Ganyu Kingdom."

Xiangpu gasped for breath, almost causing Mumu Ze to tear the flesh off Dia's waist...

'It seems like she did it on purpose.'

Dia once again displayed the prowess of a star hunter, asking without batting an eye:

"A hunter's request? Why not submit it to the association?"

"Because this matter will be directly rejected by your association's president, it won't even reach you."

President Netero rejected it...

Could it be "that" again?

Diya's eyelids twitched, and she couldn't help but ask:

"The Dark Continent?"

"It seems you already know, so I won't waste my breath explaining some common knowledge."

Xiangpu paused, somewhat surprised, but not entirely unexpected:

"Do you know about Yang De's boastful claims?"

"Making a boast?"

"Yes, three days ago, his envoy came to the palace of Gu Ganyu and relayed his words, boasting that he would set sail for the Dark Continent within a month, but he did not mention how he would do it."

Xiangpu swayed her calves, her voice leisurely, as if she were talking about something that wasn't worth caring about.

But what made her make a special trip here?

It's absolutely impossible that they genuinely don't care.

Diya frowned slightly, a bunch of questions flashing through her mind.

"You might be wondering what this has to do with you, and why you made a special trip to Kajin."

Xiangpu, looking completely at ease, chuckled lightly:

"Actually, there is no connection. It's just that I don't trust that cowardly fellow. He still hopes to receive personnel and material investment from the Ancient Ganyu Kingdom, just like he did decades ago."

"It was V5's attempt to colonize the Dark Continent that time. Compared to Yang De's time, he gained his father's trust and led a team of thousands to find the alchemical plant Metarion."

"You should already know the result. Because of Byangde's stubbornness in choosing an unexplored route to return, the team was almost completely wiped out, the alchemical plants withered, and the kingdom's investment went down the drain."

She shrugged:

"How can he possibly expect to receive investment from the kingdom after such a disastrous exploration?"

"To avoid appearing to beg, he only sent one messenger. Such arrogance makes it impossible for anyone to believe that he has made any changes."

That makes sense.

Dia nodded and asked:

So you came to see me because of what?

"Clearly, I hope you can take over the role of Byangde, accept the investment from the Kingdom of Ancient Ganyu, and lead a new team to explore the Dark Continent!"

'As expected, they also hoped I could go to the Dark Continent…'

Dia's eyes flickered for a moment.

He wasn't surprised at all.

He didn't know when it started, but there seemed to be a subtle, ever-present force pushing him toward the Dark Continent in a very secretive way.

Sherlock and Cattail both had their own starting points, but their core purpose was to subtly push him toward that new continent.

Even they themselves were unaware of this.

It's not that these people conspired to do anything; Dia felt they wouldn't harm him. It's just that in doing these things, they probably didn't even realize they were doing something unnecessary—inviting Dia.

It's strange that everything that's reasonable and logical ultimately leads to one goal.

The evidence is that, so far, Dia has only been prevented from going to the Dark Continent once.