HxH: Ryomen... Satoru?

In the dead silence, the two standing examiners finally moved.

"It was our mistake, so we should give you a passing evaluation," Bindo said through gritted teeth, clearly unwilling.

"I also give you a passing evaluation," Rogoff said indifferently.

Everyone's eyes turned to the white-haired boy, their minds filled with a single question: would he accept the examiners' apology?

Cyr pressed down harder on the head beneath his foot, grinding it into the ground. His smile was laced with malice. "No, I don't feel any sincerity from you at all."

"When you've made a mistake and need to apologize, you should try harder to show you mean it."

"At least put in some effort to make me satisfied." He bent down, grabbing the examiner's hair and forcing his head up.

His words struck a chord of familiarity with both the candidates and the examiners.

Upon closer thought, this supposed "sincerity" sounded exactly like the critique the examiners had given earlier during the food evaluation.

"…V-e-r-y s-o-r-r-y. We were too hasty in our judgment. Please let go of Hoshou," Bindo apologized one word at a time, his face as dark as if he'd just lost his entire family.

"…We've come to appreciate the sincerity in your cooking," Rogoff added reluctantly.

Truth be told, being forced to eat the spilled dish didn't help them feel any sincerity, but they had definitely tasted dirt and grass.

"How did my cooking taste?" Cyr pressed further, unwilling to let the matter go.

"…D-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s," Bindo answered, and it looked as though he'd been drained of all his energy in saying so.

"Yes, it was very delicious," Rogoff echoed in a subdued tone.

"Pfft—" Cyr chuckled, glancing down at the person still stuck in the pit. "What about you?"

"You—" Hoshou spat out a mouthful of dirt, his expression twisted with rage.

"Mind your tone. That's not how you should be apologizing, examiner," Cyr snapped, pushing the man's face back into the dirt with a thud. His tone was irritated.

Already, Cyr's constant headache was testing his patience. These fools were making it worse.

Three seconds later, he yanked Hoshou's head back up.

"…D-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s," Hoshou forced out, mud covering his face as he spoke with rigid precision.

"Then there's no problem. I've passed the culinary test, right?" Cyr asked as he stood up, clapping his hands as though wiping off dirt.

The three examiners remained silent, so Cyr raised his gaze and looked at them one by one.

"Of course, you've passed," Bindo admitted begrudgingly, his expression sour.

"Good." The white-haired boy exhaled, as if relieved.

"Cooking for others really isn't my thing. Definitely won't happen again." He turned and began walking toward the depths of the forest, his ears picking up a cascade of laughter behind him.

The laughter was excited, frenzied, even breathless—the kind you'd hear in an anime and immediately know that the character was a complete maniac.

And the only maniac here was—

Cyr, expressionless and unbothered, didn't look back. He didn't need to. He knew perfectly well who was watching him.

He could feel Hisoka's gaze burning into him.

After all, Hisoka's whole reason for participating in the Hunter Exam was to seek out worthy opponents and spot promising future rivals.

Given the strength Cyr had just demonstrated, there was no way Hisoka wouldn't set his sights on him.

Even without turning around, Cyr could feel the waves of bloodlust and excitement emanating from Hisoka.

The candidates left behind at the scene were in for a rough time...

Well, that had nothing to do with him.

The white-haired boy's figure gradually disappeared from view, while a golden-haired one hurried to follow him.

The remaining candidates returned their attention to the ongoing test.

"Fail!" "This is awful!"

"Is this food or animal feed?"

"I'd rather eat mud dredged up from a swamp than this!"

The three examiners, still seething with anger, unleashed even harsher critiques on the other candidates.

"Ahahaha—" The red-haired man, facing the harsh reviews, merely licked the cards in his hand, his throat releasing a twisted, guttural laugh.

"I've already…" His face flushed, and his voice wavered with unsettling pleasure.

"Had enough!" Before he finished speaking, the cards in his hand shot out, cutting through the air and claiming the lives of those present.

...

Sensing several life forces vanish in an instant behind him, Cyr didn't even glance back.

"You should walk separately from me now," he said to Maro, who was following close behind.

"Is there a problem?" Maro asked, confused but clearly concerned.

"It won't be long before a lunatic comes looking for me, and I'm not about to go out of my way to protect you," Cyr replied with a click of his tongue, waving dismissively.

If those three examiners hadn't been so obnoxious, he wouldn't have had to get involved.

Honestly, what a hassle.

"With your level of skill, sticking by my side is a guaranteed death sentence," Cyr added with a smirk, knowing full well Hisoka was after him.

Far from being worried, he even had the presence of mind to mock Maro's lack of strength.

"I understand now. If I continue following you, I'll only hold you back," Maro said with a serious expression. He turned to leave without hesitation.

"Please take care," he added, his tone devoid of worry, as though firmly believing the young man before him would undoubtedly prevail.

That unwavering confidence, bordering on blind faith, made Cyr touch his chin thoughtfully.

It was true he needed to be cautious—after all, Hisoka was no ordinary opponent.

Cyr couldn't definitively say who was stronger between them without actually crossing fists.

Different worlds had entirely different power systems, making direct comparisons tricky.

Cyr judged his current strength to be roughly equivalent to four or five of Sukuna's fingers. As for Hisoka, it was harder to gauge. The man's life force was undeniably vigorous, but in a system like Nen, the power one could exert depended heavily on how well the individual developed their abilities.

From Hisoka's application of Bungee Gum and Texture Surprise, it was evident he'd refined his Nen abilities to an impressive degree. Who knew what other tricks he might have?

The more Cyr thought about it, the more troublesome it seemed.

While Hisoka's Nen was highly optimized, his own ability was annoyingly random.

Still, once he got a better understanding of the effects of the cards, Cyr figured he'd gain better control over his powers.

"Seriously, isn't Hisoka supposed to be distracted by those two non-human siblings?" Cyr muttered, lowering his gaze just in time to see a pure white lamb stumble out of the bushes, bleating as it clumsily bumped into him. With a loud thud, it collapsed, unmoving.

If memory served him right, this was the pet of the younger sister of those non-human siblings.

What was it doing here? Where were those two?

Closing his eyes, Cyr scanned the area with his Six Eyes, searching for the two uniquely conspicuous life signatures.

After a moment of observation, he noted that the pair wasn't particularly close.

Might as well go find them, then—he had some questions for them anyway.

"Faking an accident, huh? Should I turn you into roast lamb?" Cyr picked up the little lamb by its scruff, shaking it lightly as he spoke with mock malice.

The lamb, seemingly oblivious to his words, let out a series of distressed bleats.

Still shaking the lamb playfully, Cyr started making his way toward the siblings' location.

°°°

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