Hayato noticed Jiro's excitement and wondered what psyched him so much about meeting him.
Hayato: "What got into you, kid? Did I say or do something that got you excited?"
Jiro remained speechless, so Akihiko asked him about the conditions Denji had imposed.
Akihiko: "By the way, Mr. Hayato…"
Hayato: "Just Hayato."
'He's way too easy-going,' thought Akihiko.
Akihiko: "So then Hayato, did you get notified about a certain applicant who was forced to take you as his examiner?"
Hayato: "I usually tend to ignore additional information about new applicants but I barely remember that one applicant with a silly condition... Oh wait, I forgot who it was in the first place."
Jiro: "It was me! Jiro! My father put up a condition to let me try the hunter examination, and it was to choose you as my examiner."
Hayato: "And do you really want to?"
Jiro and Akihiko were shocked by the man's absurd words, staring at him in disbelief.
Hayato: "What's this expression? Nobody sane would accept such a condition."
His face was always the same—blank, eyes that spoke of fear and submission.
Akihiko: "But what if his father finds out that he didn't respect the terms he imposed?"
Hayato: "What can he do about it once he's accepted?"
Akihiko hadn't considered that possibility; if forced to choose, his tendency to overthink would prevent him from fighting Hayato.
Jiro: "No… I don't want to! Even if my father hadn't intervened in this, I still would've chosen you as my examiner. "
Jiro's friend was sure that he wouldn't back down once his decision was made. Though it was clear to the two friends, Hayato was impressed by the little guy's decision, one that wouldn't even be considered by any rational human who was about to do something that could potentially change their life.
Hayato: "I like your enthusiasm, but if you want to back down, now is the time."
Akihiko turned to face Hayato with a mocking smile.
Akihiko: "Scared of your opponent, genius?"
Hayato: "Opponent? An opponent is someone who's at least able to compete with you… Not sure if this kid falls into that category."
Akihiko: "Hey! Shut it, old geezer!"
Hayato, keeping his emotionless face on, punched Akihiko on the head by disagreeing with his disrespectful vocabulary.
Hayato: "I'm only twenty-three years old, you little punk."
Akihiko: "Wha!! Seriously?!"
Akihiko's reaction was understandable since being the strongest person in a country at only twenty-one sounded ridiculous; meanwhile, Jiro was standing there completely embarrassed by their childish attitude.
Hayato: "By the way, what's your dad's name, dumb kid?"
The two of them looked at Hayato, slowly realizing who he meant by 'dumb kid'.
Jiro: "Who're you calling a dumb kid?!"Hayato: "In a sense you are… Aren't you?"
Jiro replied in a frustrated manner.
Jiro: "Denji Yamato."Hayato: "You're Denji's kid? That snub actually has a kid?"
Because of his expressionless demeanor, everything Hayato said seemed disrespectful and harmful; regardless, Denji and Hayato were actually on "good terms" _ at least from Hayato's perspective. Naively, the boys believed Hayato's personality was simply like that, and his harsh words were unintentional. After a brief exchange of uninteresting topics, Hayato invited them to follow him. He guided the two boys in front of a room where a man in a black suit was waiting.
Hayato: "Takaba, here are the last two applicants."
Junichiro Takaba is a fifty-seven-year-old man working as a butler for Hayato.
The hunters work as teams and are separated into groups. The purpose of fighting a hunter chosen by the applicant during the examination is to be part of a team. Once the examination is over, the selected few will have the privilege to live with the group in a location the team's leader has chosen arbitrarily.
Hayato: "I need to go now… I'm looking forward to seeing what you have in store for me, Jiro Yamato.
He kept walking away as the two boys stood in front of Takaba.
Takaba: "Are you acquainted with Master Hayato?"
Akihiko: "No, we nearly met him a few minutes ago."
Takaba: "I see… I'm actually working for him as a butler and… But enough about me! Let me re-introduce myself. Welcome to both of you! I'm Junichiro Takaba, and I'll be the supervisor for today's examination. Applicant number 7, Akihiko Hara, and applicant number 8, Jiro Yamato, let me explain how this will work. When your number is called, you'll enter the arena and confirm who your examiner will be in front of the crowd. You're allowed to use quartz energy, techniques, weapons, and anything you need to fight. Note that everything must be inside the arena. It's not a fight to the death, but don't worry if you suffer any injury, no matter how bad they are, we will take care of it as we have a medical team ready to heal you up after your fight is over."
Jiro's head overheated as he had just heard new words out of the blue, such as "quartz energy", "techniques".... As for Akihiko, he got confused since he wasn't familiar with those words and a blurry idea of what it meant.
After finishing his explanation, Takaba opened the door and guided the two boys in. The circular-shaped room was well-maintained. It had just enough furniture to welcome, a dozen applicants at best, and contained three red sofas, two wooden tables, and a little bonsai tree in the middle of the room.
They looked around for a familiar face, but they found none. All the applicants appeared quite strong, and looked at them with judgmental eyes. One of them stepped forward to break the ice.
Ichiro: "You two are newbies, right? Let me introduce myself. I'm Ichiro Yuzaki, and who might you two be?"
Jiro: "I'm Jiro Yamato, and this is my friend, Akihiko Hara. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Ichiro: "The pleasure is mine, Mister Jiro… but wait, did you say Hara?"
Everyone listening to the conversation in the room looked surprised. Ichiro turned his gaze toward Akihiko with a serious look on his face.
Ichiro: "Are you from that famous family of assassins?"
Akihiko: "Yes, I am… Why do you ask?"
Ichiro: "Your father is one of the examiners, isn't he? Doesn't that give you an advantage? If he really wants to, he can just accept you in his team."
Akihiko: "Perhaps… But you know, my father isn't that kind-hearted. Besides… I think I'm gonna go for Hayato's team."
Ichiro: "Oh? So your candidates are potentially Hayato or Daphne… They only have three members in their team, but you should definitely aim for these two."
Jiro: "Daphne? Who's that?"
Ichiro: "You don't know her? Seriously? She's known as the most beautiful hunter in the country, but nobody knows her true abilities since she has never accomplished anything in public. Her reputation isn't that great since she's in Hayato's team, but you will definitely recognize her with her beautiful, long blond hair and her sapphire eyes."
Jiro: "Wait… Is her reputation bad because she's on Hayato's side?"
The other applicants all looked at the three boys who were having that conversation.
Ichiro: "Seriously, you have no clue? Hayato has the worst reputation in the country. He's suspected of mass murdering his own allies in various missions."
Jiro: "That can't be true… I refuse to believe that! We met with him when we arrived, and even if he seemed expressionless, he didn't appear that frightening to me."
Akihiko: "He was scary, I admit… But not to that extreme, even if he's quite imposing when you stand next to him. Plus, he was super approachable when we met him earlier."
Ichiro: "I also don't think he's that kind of man… I believe that to be recognized as the strongest, you don't need to do that kind of stuff. Am I right, Jiro?
Jiro nodded in agreement. As they were about to continue their conversation, the door opened and Takaba entered the room.
Takaba: "Applicant number 1, Hilary Fujiwara, you are asked to join the arena."
They turned around to see a young adult woman standing up from her seat. Hilary Fujiwara had beautiful mid-length silver hair tied in a high pigtail. Her green eyes were shining, and she had her usual frown expression on her face. She was wearing a midriff white shirt, a beige and white block-printed skirt, and low-heeled beige sandals. She strolled across the room, getting past Takaba and heading toward the arena.
Akihiko: "That girl… she's also quite imposing, but I have no clue why."
While Akihiko was talking to himself, still focused on Hilary, he suddenly heard a feminine voice.
???: "You got good eyes, kiddo!"
Akihiko: "Huh?"
He turned around to take a look at the person who had just spoken.
Sakura: "Oh, sorry! I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Suzuki Sakura, and for your information… The girl who just left already failed the hunter examination three times."
Jiro: "THREE TIMES!? THAT'S…"
Takaba interrupted the conversation between them.
Takaba: "The rest of you can follow the current fight with this."
He placed a little blue stone on the table that emitted a video transmission, where they could see what was happening in the arena.
Hilary calmly entered the arena. Civilians crowded the arena, waiting for the battles to begin, all ears to hear Hilary's choice. She continued straight up and raised her head upon arriving in the middle of the arena to look at the hunters who had their personal space designed for them. A woman named Rose, who's also the queen of Lenquartika, sitting with the hunters, spoke.
Rose: "Welcome to all of you, children of Lenquartika. Our annual hunter examination will take place in this arena, which will reveal to us the new generation of hunters who will fight to protect our beloved country with all their might. I want a big round of applause for our applicants, who are waiting for their chance to prove themselves to all of you present in this stadium!"
The stadium resounded with applause and shouts.
Rose: "Without further ado, let's begin this examination with our first candidate standing in the arena, Hilary Fujiwara!"
The crowd suddenly went silent as they heard Hilary's name.
Rose: "Now, tell us, who do you wish to face for your examination?"
Hilary looked at Rose with disgust in her eyes, but her unwavering determination was visible within all that hatred as she said confidently.
Hilary: "My examiner will be… Hayato Seishii!"
The stadium went silent momentarily as Hilary Fujiwara, the girl who had already failed the examination three times in a row, wanted to face the greatest hunter in Lenquartika.