Chapter 17 – The Dilemma
"This is exactly the same." Gon looked and nodded affirmatively.
"So that's it… This must be one of the testing points for the Hunter Exam," Kurapika concluded.
Leorio stared at the old woman with crooked teeth. "This old lady is actually an examiner?"
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
The sound of a heartbeat filled the air—chaotic yet rhythmic. But to someone like Leorio, who had a short fuse, it was a kind of invisible torment that made it impossible to concentrate.
"Two-Choice Question!" the old crone suddenly shouted, jarring everyone out of their thoughts.
Everyone looked confused—except for Osren, who seemed mentally prepared for what was to come.
Gon, with his fishing rod slung over his shoulder, stared blankly at the woman, unsure of what to think.
"Q-question?" Leorio blurted out instinctively.
"I'll ask a question next. You'll have five seconds to answer. Get it wrong, and you fail. That means giving up on becoming a Hunter," the crooked-toothed woman said coldly.
"Here it is—one of the classic dilemmas from the original storyline. A test of human nature."
Back in his previous life, when Osren saw this scene in the anime, he'd agonized over it for a long time. If it were him, what would he choose? Refuse both options? Or pick one despite there being no clearly right answer? It always seemed ambiguous—until the moment you're actually faced with the decision.
"You may only respond with one of the given choices. Anything else counts as incorrect," the old lady added.
"Wait a second—are all four of us answering the same question?" Leorio asked.
"Isn't that faster?" the old woman replied plainly.
"But what if he answers wrong? Wouldn't we all be disqualified?" Leorio said in disbelief, pointing at Kurapika.
Where exactly Leorio got the confidence to compare himself to Kurapika in intelligence was anyone's guess.
Back when Osren first watched the anime, he actually had a soft spot for Leorio. He wasn't as brave and righteous as Gon, as intelligent and composed as Kurapika, or as mysterious as Killua, so early on he often got overshadowed. But the truth was—bravery, integrity, cleverness, calm—Leorio did possess all these traits, just not in obvious ways.
Kurapika, who never had much patience to begin with, shot back, "Are you serious? Honestly, I think the reverse situation is more likely—and that makes me want to cry."
"But as long as one of us answers correctly, we all pass, right?" Gon cut in, full of confidence. "I'm not great at quizzes… but I believe in Osren. He'll get it right for sure!"
At Gon's words, both Kurapika and Leorio fell silent and, without any further debate, turned to look at Osren, who stood calmly behind Gon's left shoulder.
Leorio muttered under his breath, "He's got a point… This guy's solid."
Kurapika didn't say a word, but his expression showed agreement.
Great. Now he was being stared at by a bunch of overly bright lightbulbs masquerading as eyes. Osren nearly broke out in awkward laughter. Exhaling slowly, he gave a calm, "I'll do my best."
It was enough to put everyone at ease.
The crooked-toothed old woman glanced at Osren. In a team, for someone to be trusted to this degree, they usually had years of camaraderie. What she didn't know was that Osren had only taken a single week to reach that level of trust—through his mastery of Nen.
"Your son and daughter have both been kidnapped by criminals. You can only save one. Who do you choose?
1. Daughter
2. Son" the old woman asked, her voice grave.
"Don't be ridiculous! What kind of question is that?" Leorio immediately snapped. "That's totally subjective—how can there be a right answer? What—you just want us to guess the one you like? Forget it. We'll take another path instead."
Leorio seemed like the type to give up at the first sign of trouble, but in reality, he simply had a broader perspective.
He'd mentioned earlier that answering incorrectly meant forfeiting the Hunter Exam altogether—and since this question had no standard answer, everything now hinged entirely on how the old woman chose to interpret it.
"It's too late now. The test has already begun, so stopping isn't an option," said Osren reassuringly, patting Leorio's arm. "Don't worry, Leorio—we'll definitely pass."
Of course, Osren had initially aimed for Leorio's shoulder… but given the circumstances, the arm would have to do.
"This brat is right," the sharp-toothed old woman croaked darkly. "Once the test begins, refusing to participate means automatic disqualification. And once disqualified, you'll never be eligible for the Hunter Exam again."
"1. Continue answering the question.
2. Forfeit.
Which will you choose?" she asked with a sinister smile.
"Option 1. We'll continue," Osren responded immediately and firmly.
In the original story, Matthew had reached the heart-pounding "either-or" village alongside Gon and the others. During the question segment, however, he revealed that he didn't see them as teammates at all. He rushed to answer first and was judged to have passed.
But that was a trick of wording—"passing" didn't necessarily mean he had "qualified." As a result, he was forced to take the path teeming with beasts and monsters. You can imagine the outcome: the moment his screams echoed through the forest, Kurapika and Gon heard them and deduced the true answer to the question.
Now, due to Osren's intervention, Matthew had been left behind in the forest earlier and didn't even have a scouting stone. This butterfly effect was his responsibility to fix.
"Countdown begins: 5… 4…" the old woman began reciting without waiting for anyone to prepare.
Kurapika's face was grave. His brows furrowed, brain racing. He seemed to grasp a few threads of logic but couldn't quite pull them together. He turned toward Osren, hoping to catch a hint with a glance.
Osren met Kurapika's gaze and gave a small shake of his head, silently telling him not to speak.
Gon had been deep in thought since the question was posed, head bowed, clearly troubled and unsure how to proceed. For someone as kind-hearted as him, this kind of moral dilemma was excruciating.
Leorio, on the other hand, had instinctively opened his mouth to shout something, but the moment Osren shot him a look, he remembered what he'd promised—to follow Osren's lead. He clamped his mouth shut, eyes locked on Osren, fists clenched tight. Five seconds felt like forever under this kind of pressure.
3…
Osren still didn't speak. Leorio's fists trembled.
2…
Still nothing. Leorio gritted his teeth.
1…
The room went dead silent as the countdown ended. Not a sound—so quiet you could hear them breathing.
Actually, that wasn't quite accurate. Gon's heavy breathing could be heard even if it wasn't quiet.
Leorio thought to himself: Even Osren doesn't know how to answer this question…
But he didn't blame him. Not for this. After all, who could?