Chapter 6: Leo
Orson remained noncommittal regarding Muse's words, which could be true or false.
He had too little information.
He didn't know if the woman who was supposedly the mother of his current body was a Nen user before she died. As for the specific identity of the man in front of him, it wasn't just that he wasn't crystal clear; it was more like he knew nothing at all.
Most importantly, Orson's "Star Mark" either allowed his own consciousness to control the other's body, or it let him control or command the other from an observer's perspective. The common point was—he could only control the other's body, not their thoughts.
In short, Orson could make the other person say what Orson himself wanted to say, but he couldn't make them reveal information that only existed in their own mind and was unknown to Orson.
Orson knew his own limits.
At his current level, trying to interrogate a well-trained desperado like this was too difficult. One wrong move, and instead of getting information from the other side, he might end up leaking all of his own…
Thinking of the spoils he had already gained—a pile of cash and a Hunter License—was satisfying enough.
Forget it, let's leave it at that.
With this in mind, Orson chuckled. "What a rich imagination! That baby boy was crying the whole way, so I helped him out with a rock and sank him in the sea. When your accomplices come looking tomorrow, you can tell them to go fishing for him."
"Aren't all my companions already dead?" Muse gave Orson no opportunity to fish for information. The next second, his body uncontrollably rose from a kneeling position to stand up straight, involuntarily following behind Orson.
Orson hadn't really expected to trick any information out of him. Besides, even if Muse had answered, Orson had no way of confirming if it was true. On the other hand, regardless of how Muse answered or didn't answer, Orson would assume that Muse would have more accomplices coming to the scene…
He stuck his hands in his pockets and led the way, soon bringing Muse to a windowless room inside the cabin.
"Get in."
Orson said, "You are not to come out without my command."
As Muse obediently stepped into the narrow and cramped room, he marveled once again at this little brat's bizarrely powerful Manipulation-type Nen ability.
From his personal experience, this brat could either completely strip him of his consciousness for total control or preserve his consciousness for command-based control… Such a convenient and free Manipulation ability was simply too perfect.
「And such a perfect Manipulation ability…」 Muse sat on the floor inside the room, staring expressionlessly at the slowly closing door. 「Must have some kind of restriction!」
Bang. Orson closed the door. The cabin fell silent again, with only the sound of the ocean waves from outside.
…
"I can move?" Inside the room, Muse immediately realized this fact. He muttered to himself, instantly understanding, "He has three methods of control! Total control that strips me of my self-awareness, command control that preserves my consciousness, and remote control that also preserves my consciousness. Before closing the door, he was actually using the last one the whole time!"
It's even more perfect…
「But, unfortunately, I am also a Manipulation type. And, when you touched me before, it was equivalent to me touching you. We both met the conditions to activate our abilities!」 Muse raised his hand, holding his palm up towards the door. 「Unfortunately, impressive brat, you should have killed me immediately… Rear Window Bird!」
…
How should I kill this guy?
After leaving the room where Muse was temporarily held, Orson frowned all the way, pondering this problem.
The other party had his "Star Mark" on him, which meant he had gained the passive ability of self-healing. Orson himself had benefited from this passive effect earlier; his neck had been pierced by a bullet but recovered quickly—although he had also become more tired. One could imagine just how considerable, how amazing, the "healing output" of his "Star Mark" was.
"Is There Something Wrong With My Nen Ability Being So Good at Healing That I Can't Effectively Kill My Enemies?"
As he walked, he ran into the approaching large tiger. He thought that guy from before had called out the tiger's name, was it Pale Moon Tiger? What a terrible name… Orson reached out and, like peeling off a face mask, slowly tore away the thick scab of blood covering the Pale Moon Tiger's injured eye. The Pale Moon Tiger blinked its fully recovered eye and affectionately nuzzled its large head against Orson's hand.
"Pale Moon Tiger should be your species name, right?" Orson smiled while petting the tiger's head. "It doesn't sound good. I'll give you a name—let's call you 'Leo'! Haha."
Leo naturally didn't know the meaning of this name, but it was clear that it was quite happy, and it nuzzled Orson's face even more affectionately.
"Alright, alright, that's enough. Where's that cool and aloof aura you had at the beginning?" Orson chided. "Let me fix you up."
Leo blinked its eyes innocently.
Orson reached out, his hand moving towards the white fur on Leo's belly. If one were to part the fur in a certain area, one would see… a rose-gold pentagram imprinted there.
Hidden rule of "Star Mark": As long as Orson's hand touches the mark, the mark will be automatically removed.
Leo took a step back, dodging Orson's hand.
Orson took a step forward; Leo retreated again.
"Are you addicted to being controlled?" Orson chased, and Leo ran, as if they were playing.
Finally remembering the important business at hand, Orson and his Tiger Bro, Leo, wandered away from the corridor and returned to the main cabin area near the entrance. He called over "Orson-wolf," who had been hiding in the shadows.
Orson restored the wild wolf's own consciousness, then pointed towards the corridor they came from and commanded, "You stand guard here. If that guy from before leaves the room without permission, you kill him."
The wild wolf growled and nodded, then agilely leaped back, choosing a spot opposite the door to squat, staring with its wolf eyes, guarding the closed room door.
Orson touched the back of his own neck. Under the collar of his short-sleeved shirt was the "Star Mark" he had applied to himself.
"I wonder where the limit of this thing's self-healing is…" he muttered to himself, turning towards the main cabin entrance. "Can it recover from decapitation? What about a destroyed heart? How severe must an injury be to cross the boundary of being unhealable? Hmm… Maybe I'll use that guy in the room for some tests tomorrow?"
He squeezed the Hunter License, one of his spoils. Killing a murderer, this thing should be able to grant me immunity, right? I remember the Hunter License has a lot of privileges!
"Crunch."
Orson stepped on something. He looked down and saw it was that branch.
Picking up the branch, Orson sat down directly inside the doorway. If anything happened, it would be convenient to retreat. Leo, in a very human-like manner, yawned, flicked its tail, and lay down on its side behind Orson.
Orson lay back comfortably against the large tiger's warm body.
He examined the branch, plucked a leaf from it, and toyed with it in his hand…
This branch had grown from the single leaf he had picked for the Water Divination.
One leaf had grown into a branch. What it would do next was something he dared not imagine. Was it going to take root on the spot and grow into a towering tree?
It wasn't just unscientific; it was downright unscientific!
Orson's eyes held a hint of gloom. His thoughts, without realizing it, drifted back to the time before Muse appeared, when he had just awoken from his brief fainting spell…
——
"Have I gotten taller?"
Orson looked down at his sleeves and his rolled-up pant legs… The clothes on his body seemed to have become a little "shorter" in an instant.
He stood in front of his Tiger Bro and the wild wolf, comparing the change in his eye level, and confirmed one thing: whenever a living being died near him, whether human or animal, a strange aura would drill into his heart… And when this strange aura accumulated in his heart to an unbearable level, he would faint, and his body would grow in an instant, as if being artificially ripened!
Is this a good thing, or a curse?