HxH : Saiki Kusuo’s Ordinary Days in the Zoldyck Family Chapter 14 15: At Least the Glasses Are Back

"If I wanted to kill that pastry chef in front of us right now, he wouldn't be able to resist. Kusuo, you need to understand how cruel the world is. Do you really think people with Nen, like , are common?"

Honestly, even if they had Nen, most regular people still couldn't hurt …

[Turns out, so decisions the family made were right. Every Zoldyck child should go through a trial in teor City. We once thought about sending Killua there when he was four. Looking back, that place really does have its uses—to help kids see how the world works, how cruel it is, and to shake off their naivety.]

"Looks like little Kusuo's got so fun ahead, hehe…" Hisoka chuckled from the side. "I can't wait to see what you'll be like after you co out of there."

Saiki Kusuo looked completely dumbfounded. He'd been part of the conversation the whole ti—so why was the result so far from what he expected? Why did he have to go there? Wasn't that way too extre?!

"Oh right, before we go—at that arcade earlier, I won a bunch of prize points. Is there anything you want?" Illumi asked. The carrot before the stick. That was his usual thod, and this was the final "reward" before sending Kusuo to the trash heap.

A dying wish before getting dumped in the slums? teor City lacked so much that anyone could guess what was missing. Saiki Kusuo quickly answered:

[I want water and food.]

Illumi paused for a second, then repeated himself: "Kusuo, is there anything you want?"

He repeated it! Ignored the answer like it didn't exist! Just monts ago he was the caring older brother, and now he'd turned into a strict teacher. So this is the Illumi that Killua always talks about?!

[If I really can't pick… then get a toy pair of glasses. I'll take good care of them.]

Saiki Kusuo picked sothing else he actually needed. After all, this wasn't his original body. His powers were gradually coming back like skills on a talent tree. Now that he was nine, most of his basic abilities had returned. And he could feel it—his petrification vision was probably about to co back too.

There were all sorts of toy glasses. While browsing, Saiki Kusuo suddenly spotted a pair with white fras and green lenses. The shape was slightly different, but it was close enough—he felt like he'd just gotten lucky.

[I want this one, big bro.]

teor City.

Clean and neat, Saiki Kusuo now stood on top of a garbage pile in teor City with Illumi beside him.

No speech, no warning, no food rations—just a bottle of soda he grabbed before getting off the ship.

"This is teor City. Can you tell what the biggest problem people here face?" Illumi asked as they had their final talk.

[Food and water. Then probably weapons and clothes. People here struggle to survive. Every day is a challenge just to get enough to eat.]

A textbook answer, influenced by all the thoughts he'd heard from others about teor City in his past life.

Illumi gave no further advice: "You'll be one of them now. Don't trust people easily, and don't be too kind. I have another job to do, so I'm leaving. Fourteen days. You'll be picked up by a ship after fourteen days. No one will protect you during this ti. Understand?"

After that, Illumi vanished into the surroundings.

Saiki Kusuo was left stunned. He actually *wanted* Illumi gone—then he could spend the cash in his pocket freely. But from the look of things, Illumi was going to keep an eye on him the whole ti. If he made it through this trial, Illumi would agree not to tell the family about his powers for now. But if they found out again… Kusuo would have to explain it himself.

What happens then… he'd deal with it later.

He stood on top of the trash pile for a long ti.

The population in teor City was clearly low. As soon as the ship left, people started gathering toward the new trash that had just arrived. And standing at the top of the pile, with his bright pink hair, Saiki Kusuo instantly beca the center of attention.

Even though no one said anything out loud, Saiki Kusuo could hear all their thoughts clearly.

[Delicate skin, no scars at all. This kid must have lived a comfy life outside. Coming to teor City just for fun? So full of himself.]

[Hah, if he were a piece of trash that crawled out of the garbage, we might let him go. But standing up there like he owns the place? Who does he think he is?]

[Soone like that probably can't even swallow the simplest food here. Two days? No, I give him three days before he starves to death.]

Yare yare… Completely rejected. Not that it was any better outside, where he wasn't exactly welcod either.

But now that things had co to this, Saiki Kusuo knew what he had to do. Illumi was worried he was too kind, thinking he grew up sheltered at ho and didn't understand how dangerous the world could be, so he chose not to learn how to hurt others.

Everyone in the Zoldyck family beca assassins. Assassins have many enemies. But as long as every family mber is strong, they'll have no weak points.

So, ideally, every family mber should be an assassin. Until now, Kusuo was the exception only because he wasn't fit for training. But now that he could learn, Kikyo wouldn't let him off so easily, especially since his kindness made them uneasy.

But Saiki Kusuo would say he wasn't really that kind.

With his psychic powers, he could hear the voices of people all over the world every day, and as he got older, his range only kept growing.

He'd heard the thoughts of people wanting to end their own lives while walking past neighborhoods, heard the cries for help from old people who had fallen and couldn't get up, and even the plans of dangerous criminals.

People with strong empathy might've done sothing about those things—but he never did.

He saw those as fated events. Lives that had nothing directly to do with him. Even if people were dying—many people—just one wall away where his x-ray vision couldn't see, he would still calmly ignore it.

If he really tried to be a savior, he'd never have ti to live his own life. He'd be busy 24/7 rescuing others. He had said it before in his original world—if he took charge of half the world, beca the king of a new world, and kept everything within his control peaceful and free of killing or chaos, he could give humanity the rich, safe life they always dread of.

But he rejected that idea. To him, it was aningless. Life, death, sickness, and accidents are all part of a normal life. A world without a savior is the one with real joy, anger, sadness, and happiness—that's what makes life rich and aningful.

So no, he's not so kind-hearted pushover.

He also understood human nature very well. He could hear people's thoughts from the mont he was born. Just one month after arriving in this world, he knew—people's hearts aren't clean or pure. The side they hide inside is always darker and dirtier than what they show. There were countless people who smiled on the outside while cursing you on the inside.

So he understood what people are really like—greedy, selfish, with so evil in everyone.

Here in teor City, people were surprisingly honest about it. In a way, that kind of honesty made him respect them more.

If there was a difference, it's that people outside have laws. Even if they want to kill, they usually just think about it. But people here in teor City don't just think about it—they act on it. Yeah, seeing that many murder scenes in people's heads got a little too bloody. Ti to leave.

Saiki Kusuo turned around and jumped off the garbage heap.

[Now.]

Hmm? Who was that? Soone's voice ca from behind him.

Actually, everything was moving quite slowly. With Saiki Kusuo's sharp vision, he could've dodged even without using telepathy.

A little boy showed up from under the trash. His eyes were clear and focused—if only he weren't holding a small knife.