For this event, the chosen means of transportation was still an airship.
Probably all the planes he didn't ride in his past life, he had to make up for in this one.
—He really was flying all over the world on business trips.
That said, the bosses he traveled with were all the kind who didn't lack money. After riding airships so many times, every single time it was first class.
After three days of travel, the troupe arrived in the Republic of Pinsge.
After walking out of the airship terminal, Chrollo looked at the people following behind him and said calmly:
"Before the assembly time, you can go rest at the hotel, or move around freely—but don't cause trouble."
The only troublesome problem child present, Feitan, was given special attention by Chrollo's gaze, and he clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.
"I thought we'd start preparing for the mission as soon as we reached the destination."
Kisho complained as he looked at everyone who appeared completely relaxed, as if they were truly here for sightseeing.
Hearing what he said, Chrollo smiled and said:
"The troupe will act after the people dispatched by the Elders' Council complete their task, so there's no need to rush."
At the mention of the people dispatched by the Elders' Council, Kisho couldn't help but think of that night, the group of people standing in front of the church, all dressed in pitch-black suits.
Thirty-one people. Without exception, every one of them wore a calm expression as if heading toward death—bringing death to others, and to themselves.
"How… are they planning to carry out their revenge?"
Kisho frowned and looked at Chrollo, asking:
"Is the target of their revenge different from the troupe's?"
"Brat."
Phinks, who couldn't just leave because of the excessive number of questions, walked over to Kisho and smacked him on the head.
"You really ask a lot of questions."
"Having lots of questions means plenty of energy."
Feitan spoke coldly.
"Well, that's not bad either. Before this, these things were always arranged by the boss and handed to Shalnark. Shalnark's been complaining about being tired for a long time now."
He glanced at Kisho and said in a mocking tone:
"Who knows, maybe Kisho will be willing to share Shalnark's workload in the future?"
"What are you people even imagining?"
Kisho was speechless, black lines forming on his face.
"I just wanted to ask a question, that's all."
After saying that, his expression suddenly grew serious.
He suddenly realized that everyone in the troupe except him seemed completely indifferent to the mission—no, indifferent wasn't quite accurate. Rather, they simply didn't care at all.
They didn't care about the target of the mission, nor about how it would be carried out. Because they only needed to fully carry out the instructions of the "brain."
This was a group of people who fundamentally didn't know what they themselves wanted. And it was precisely because of the existence of the "Phantom Troupe" that their actions had a clear and unified goal.
This was—
The Phantom Troupe.
He looked at Chrollo and suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
Chrollo merely responded to his gaze with indifference.
"If you want to know, I can naturally tell you."
"However, the answer may not be something you want to hear."
His tone carried a faint hint of mockery, yet also gentleness toward the members, as he smiled and asked:
"—Even so, do you still want to hear it?"
Kisho froze, falling silent.
An answer he wouldn't want to hear—what would it be like?
"It seems you're not quite ready yet. But the answer you want, you'll soon obtain it through other means."
Chrollo said softly.
He withdrew his gaze from Kisho and said to the others:
"You may disperse."
Phinks and Feitan headed off in a certain direction.
"Then we're off, boss."
Machi's figure disappeared before her words finished.
"I'm leaving too."
Kortopi nodded and walked toward the hotel.
Pakunoda, who was still standing in place, looked at Chrollo and asked softly:
"Does the boss have any plans?"
"Mhm."
Chrollo nodded.
"I want to visit this city's museum."
As he spoke, he smiled slightly at Kisho, who was preparing to slip away.
Feeling his scalp go numb under that gaze, Kisho turned around immediately.
"Then I'll go back to the hotel to rest—"
"Let's go together."
A certain authoritarian someone spoke with a smile.
...
Perhaps because it wasn't a holiday, there were hardly any people inside the rather sizable city museum.
After entering, Kisho very skillfully handed over his fake ID and cash to the staff, then followed at a distance behind Chrollo and Pakunoda, who were walking side by side.
"If you're not even going to talk to each other, then why did you insist on dragging me along!"
Looking at the extremely harmonious backs of the two, Kisho slowed his pace while complaining about someone's utterly incomprehensible orders.
He didn't believe for a second that Chrollo was here just to visit. Better to keep some distance—so he wouldn't end up being treated as an accomplice in robbing the museum later.
"Still, since it's a museum, there should be exhibits related to musical instruments, right?"
Thinking that, Kisho walked toward the antiquities exhibition area on the other side.
Behind glass display cases were all kinds of strange and bizarre exhibits.
A painting made entirely of color blocks, "The Girl After the Boko War"; a strange stone labeled as a "fossil"; a pile of papers stained with blood, filthy no matter how you looked at them, yet referred to as "The Vester Manuscript"… and so on, a dazzling variety.
"...Maybe it's not a problem with the exhibits. Maybe I really just don't have any artistic cells."
Kisho quickly went from "full of interest" to a state of empty-eyed detachment.
It wasn't until he reached the end of the display cases that he finally saw something that might be slightly related to the purpose of his visit.
Behind a case made of bulletproof glass sat a violin.
Kisho stared at that violin. But for some reason, despite the label clearly stating that it had a history of over six hundred years, his "The Fantasizing Musician" showed no reaction whatsoever.
"...You're picky too, huh."
Kisho was speechless.
He thought of the two instruments he had previously been able to store in the book.
"So, the only instruments that can make 'The Fantasizing Musician' react are those that have some kind of connection to the Dragonline Dynasty?"
"What are you looking at?"
Lost in thought, Kisho heard Chrollo's voice from not far behind him. His gaze also fell on the violin in the display case, then a few seconds later he looked at Kisho.
"You like this?"
Sensing the implication behind Chrollo's words, Kisho said:
"...I don't like it."
Chrollo responded to Kisho's answer with a meaningful smile.
Kisho immediately changed the subject.
"Did you find what you were looking for?"
"I'm just here to visit."
Chrollo smiled. But under Kisho's speechless stare, he grew slightly more serious and answered his member's question earnestly.
"No. But there were some extra gains."
Kisho said:
"Are they related to our mission target this time?"
"Indeed."
Chrollo nodded, looking Kisho up and down, covering his mouth as he pondered.
"Hmm, your reactions are indeed quite good. Maybe in the future you really can be made to share Shalnark's workload?"
Black lines crossed Kisho's face.
"...No thanks. Exploiting child labor is illegal."
Chrollo showed no awareness of having been rejected, the corners of his mouth lifting into a smile that suggested the plan was feasible.
He continued:
"Originally, I only intended to use 'En' to probe whether this museum contained spaces like underground rooms. But I unexpectedly discovered a Nen formation."
Kisho said:
"What's a 'Nen formation'?"
"Depending on the type and scale, some 'Nen formations' can amplify a certain Nen ability by several hundred times, or weaken certain restrictions on specific Nen abilities."
Chrollo smiled.
"By the way, the 'Nen formation' present in this museum is absolutely considerable in scale."
Kisho's pupils shrank. "...?!"
Chrollo smiled and withdrew his gaze from Kisho, whose face had gone as dark as the bottom of a pot. Turning around, he said:
"Let's go. We'll make plans after we get back."