[116]: Shopping

Padokea was a well-known tourist country, famous for housing two world-renowned locations: the Zoldyck estate and Heaven's Arena. With a booming tourism industry, its commercial sector had flourished as well. Wealth dictated infrastructure, and Padokea had plenty of money—meaning there were endless places to have fun. But with limited time, Cyr didn't take Alluka to too many spots. Instead, he brought him straight to Heaven's Arena. It had everything—Betting. Spectating fights. And just outside, a well-developed shopping district. A perfect place to bring a kid.

"Where is this?"

Alluka's wide eyes darted around, taking in the lively crowd and massive screens displaying fight highlights. Excitement flickered in her expression.

"A place adults like to relax and have fun." Cyr answered deadpan. And indeed—The crowd was almost entirely adult men. Few women. Even fewer children.

Cyr suddenly gave Alluka a light push toward the betting counter. "Go test your luck. If you're lucky, you might even take home some gifts for your family."

"Luck?" Alluka tilted her head. For a kid who had been locked away since birth, gambling was a foreign concept. Then again—Even children from normal families wouldn't know much about this. As for Cyr…Well, the places he hung around as a kid were never exactly lawful. Casinos, VIP clubs, underground rings—he had free access since he was tiny. On his sixth birthday, his father took him to a casino and handed him a small box of chips worth two million as a present. Nobody even questioned why a child was allowed inside.

Cyr dug into his cursed creature's mouth, rummaging around for a moment—Then pulled out a wad of cash and handed it to Alluka. "Wait a bit. We'll watch this match." Cyr pointed to two fighters on the screen. "Pick who you think will win, then give this money to the lady at the window. Just tell her your choice." Then—Pat. A casual ruffle of Alluka's hair.

Alluka hesitated. "Why isn't Cyr-nii coming with me?" She didn't voice the question aloud—Just obediently walked toward the counter.

That's when she saw it. A notice taped to the glass: "BANNED: Tiny white-haired gremlin with blue eyes and black tattoos." …Ah. Cyr-nii was… not welcome here? Alluka blinked. Then, following Cyr's instructions, she randomly picked the person who felt more likely to win.

She was led to the spectator stands. The fight started. It was fascinating. Alluka's gray-blue eyes stayed locked on the match—Completely absorbed.

When it ended, Cyr smirked. "You picked the winner." "Mm!" Alluka nodded enthusiastically. She ran back to the counter to collect her Jenny winnings. It wasn't much. After returning Cyr's initial investment, even less remained. And what did she do with her tiny profit? Bought chocolate. All of it. Not for herself. It looked like she was planning to give it to someone else.

Cyr arched a brow at the pile of chocolates but didn't comment. There was only one white-haired sweets addict in this world. Killua. As for Cyr himself—He didn't care much for sweets anymore. Back when he couldn't have them, he had craved them. Now that he could—or sometimes had to eat them in large amounts—The novelty was gone. Every now and then, he'd pop a piece of candy in his mouth, more out of habit than desire.

Alluka found everything fun. Her smile never faded. But—Every so often, there was a flicker of sadness in her gaze.

Afterward, Cyr took her to an arcade—To experience gaming for the first time.

Cyr soon realized something—Alluka was surprisingly good at these arcade games.

Maybe, during her time locked up, the family had given her a gaming console?

Still, the way she lit up when playing online games made it obvious—The Zoldycks never gave her internet access.

They wandered around, eating, drinking, and buying random stuff. Cyr wasn't about to make a kid—who probably didn't even understand what money was—pay for anything. He didn't comment on it either. If they bought too much to carry, he just dumped the extras onto the curse and made it haul everything.

Alluka seemed like she had never tasted street food before. Everything she tried made her so happy—even the things that weren't that great.

"What do they even feed you at home…?" Cyr muttered.

Some kind of nutrient-balanced meal? Yeah… The Zoldycks didn't seem like the type to let their kids eat junk food.

"The food at home feels different from the food outside." Alluka shook her head.

Everything outside made her happy.

And Cyr noticed something else—Alluka was…really interested in stuffed animals.

And honestly, her hobbies? Kinda girly. (He thinks she's a girl, remember)

For example, the moment she saw pretty hair accessories, her gray-blue eyes widened, and she'd grab onto Cyr's sleeve, pointing eagerly—"I want that."

No subtlety. Just direct about what she wanted.

Cyr didn't mind. "Then hold onto it yourself." He paid for whatever Alluka wanted, no hesitation.

It was the same kind of indulgence Killua showed her.

The same kindness.

"Cyr-nii is just like my big brother!" Alluka cheered, clinging to Cyr's arm.

Even Nanika agreed! "First, I like Onii-chan! Second, I like Cyr-nii! Third, I like the big tiger!"

"Had enough fun? Ready to go home?"

Cyr glanced at her. He was definitely returning the kid. He wasn't a kidnapper, after all.

"Mhm! I'm good!" Alluka nodded enthusiastically. She knew this was a huge hassle to begin with.

"Alright. Let's go."

Cyr grabbed Alluka and took off toward the Zoldyck estate.

Sora, who had finally caught up, groaned in exhaustion—then took off running after them again.

---

Zoldyck Mansion.

"Found them! They're in the shopping district near Heaven's Arena—" Gotoh worked four computers at once, tracking their movements.

He spotted them on security footage—but before he could analyze it—

They vanished.

Like they were never there.

GONE. AGAIN.

For the third or fourth time.

Every time the Zoldycks managed to track them down, by the time the airship even got close—they'd already disappeared.

"DAMN IT!!" Gotoh slammed his desk. His shirt buttons popped off. He didn't even care. Grabbing a bag of chips, he shoved a handful into his mouth, absolutely fuming.

His stress-eating mode had officially activated.

"How did that thing get out?"

Silva's cold voice cut through the room. His expression was unreadable.

Despite layer upon layer of security, that thing had still escaped.

"Security footage shows… Alluka just vanished from her room." Tsubone's head was bowed as she reported the findings.

One second she was there—The next, she was gone.

When they finally found her again?

Already in the forest outside.

Silva's expression darkened. "…Monster."

And the incompetent fools who failed to stop it?

Useless.

Silva thought for a moment, then returned to his room and made a call to someone in Meteor City.

"Pampas, keep your people in check." His voice was calm, unreadable.

"…Which one? The kid we sent to your place causing trouble? Or are you just unhappy with the ones we sent?" Pampas, picking up Silva Zoldyck's call, assumed he was complaining about their latest recruit.

"Cyr DeVille. He ran off with one of mine." Silva stated flatly.

"Cyr, huh…" Pampas chuckled, completely unbothered. "I can't control him."

"Though… he's not your kid?"

"The first time I saw him, I actually thought you Zoldycks sent another heir over for training." Pampas sounded completely serious.

It made sense—The Zoldycks were a powerful family, and white hair was their signature trait.

That's why he was nice to the kid at first, even though he was arrogant and dismissive.

Because he was used to it—That's just how Zoldyck kids were.

So he wasn't one? Then… what does the actual Zoldyck heir of this generation look like?

"Anyway, if you can contact him, tell him to return what he took." Silva's voice was low and cold. When referring to Alluka, he simply said "that thing", making it clear—he didn't see her as a person.

"Relax, it's your son, right? not your daughter. It's not like Cyr's gonna elope with him." Pampas laughed, casually brushing off Silva's concerns.

Kids running off to play wasn't that big of a deal… but Cyr wasn't the type to play with kids, was he?

Back in District 12, he didn't give a damn about the other orphans.

"...What he took is dangerous." Silva fell silent for a moment, then subtly hinted at the truth.

During their experiments on Alluka—or rather, Nanika—a lot of people had died. And when that many people die, replacements are needed.

Pampas had asked about it before. Silva's explanation?

"A naturally gifted child. Uncontrollable abilities."

"…So Cyr took your kid with the dangerous, uncontrollable power?" Pampas muttered, now understanding everything.

No wonder Cyr, who had zero interest in kids, was suddenly playing big brother.

That kid just liked playing with dangerous things.

"…Don't stress. He knows what he's doing. He'll come back on his own." Pampas sighed, trying to clean up that reckless idiot's mess.

Silva hung up.

Pampas clearly knew Cyr well. His tone even carried trust.

So… maybe the kid was reliable.

Suddenly—

A loud disturbance echoed from the forest outside.

Silva stepped out of his room and found Gotoh waiting in the hallway.

The butler's walkie-talkie crackled with frantic voices.

"Cyr-sama and Alluka-sama have returned, but—"

"They didn't come through the Testing Gate. They just appeared inside—"

"Mike is chasing them!"

The voice on the other end sounded completely out of breath.

Gotoh turned to Silva and Kikyo.

Kikyo, hearing that her kid was being hunted by a giant hound, didn't react at all.

Like it wasn't even her child.

"..." Silva felt tired for the first time in his life.

As the Zoldyck head, he was born with the white hair of their bloodline, trained as an heir from birth, and had never struggled with anything.

He had never failed.

And yet—

For the first time in his life…

He felt a very particular kind of exhaustion.

Not from a lack of strength—just pure, mental fatigue.

Taking 50 billion from that brat to let him stay here?

Worst decision ever.

He felt like he got scammed.

And that feeling peaked when he finally saw them—

Cyr, laughing his ass off, holding Alluka in his arms while playing tag with Mike.

Mike, struggling to keep up, had already lost them multiple times.

And when he did? Cyr would literally jump in front of him to regain his attention, taunting him into continuing the chase.

As a result—

The forest was now littered with dozens of fallen trees.

Silva ran a hand down his face.

Since the founding of the Zoldyck family—

It had NEVER been this chaotic.

All thanks to this little bastard.

If not for Pampas's connection and that 50 billion, Silva would have kicked him out on the spot and said "Cyr DeVille—GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE."

But instead—

"Whistle—"

Silva let out a sharp whistle.

Mikke, mid-pounce, immediately slid to a stop, obeying the order perfectly.

Like a well-trained machine.

"Yo, Silva."

The white-haired teenager jumped down, still holding Alluka, landing right in front of him.

As if they were just old friends.

With a big grin, he threw a thumbs-up and said—

"Your son is amazing."

A human-shaped wish machine, still capable of rational thought.

A power totally usable—wasting it by keeping her locked up was a crime.

Silva: ...

"Alluka. You promised you wouldn't leave."

He ignored Cyr completely and stared at Alluka.

His voice was cold.

Alluka looked down. "..."

"Take him back."

Silva ordered Gotoh.

"Cyr-sama, please return Alluka-sama."

"Alluka-sama, please come with us."

Gotoh remained respectful to both of them.

"..."

Alluka obediently clutched her pile of chocolates and followed the butlers back inside.

Once she was gone—

Silva turned to the white-haired brat with a not-quite-a-smile.

"…You. Come with me."

°°°

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