"Hey! Chrollo's cooking! Come look, quick!"
"What? The boss is cooking himself?"
"Whoa, when was the last time Chrollo cooked anything?"
"No way… Boss must be in a really good mood today, huh?"
"The boss's cooking, huh? Can't wait to see it."
"Lock the door. Whatever happens, don't let that pink-haired guy in."
Saiki Kusuo—Chrollo—stood at the kitchen door, his face dark. Outside, the rest of the Troupe had instantly gathered. But the second he turned around, they all pretended to whistle and do their own thing.
Could they be any more obvious? With how hyped they were, was Chrollo not just the boss, but also their favorite?
Before The Phantom Troupe was formed, the members were already close comrades who went through life and death together. Chrollo had always been their core, and in their eyes, his place in the group was even more important than outsiders could imagine.
"Alright, out of the kitchen! You bunch of pot-breaking maniacs are banned!" Machi picked up a scrub brush and started chasing them out.
"Hey, Chrollo's chopped veggies before, hasn't he? You're being unfair!"
"Chrollo isn't like you guys! Out! These threads here—anyone who touches them doesn't get dinner!" With a flick of her hand, Machi set up a web of threads across the door.
Thanks to Machi guarding the kitchen so fiercely, Saiki Kusuo—Chrollo—calmly picked up the book and started reading the steps. The Gulu Meat recipe… So what's this character again? Gotta translate it fast—ah, okay, got it. Wait, can people actually eat this stuff?
"Boss, do you see anything else we need to prep?" With the crowd dealt with, Machi turned to Chrollo with excitement.
Saiki Kusuo started checking the ingredients Machi had prepared. Thankfully, she kept a respectful distance—maybe because that was Chrollo's usual habit?
If she touched him, the illusion would break. Saiki Kusuo was using an illusion to make everyone think he was Chrollo. But if anyone touched him, the truth would come out instantly. Like, if someone patted Chrollo's head right now, their hand would go straight through—because Kusuo wasn't that tall to begin with.
Looking through everything, Saiki Kusuo realized that their "salt" was actually black pepper with salt in it. Yeah, no recipe would be dumb enough to actually draw a salt symbol… So Machi really thought black pepper was salt?!
He looked around and, using x-ray vision, spotted a small jar of real salt in the cupboard. Thank goodness. Checking the other ingredients… The type of chili pepper was also wrong.
Yare yare… If this dish is going to taste like anything decent, it's gonna be a long road.
Saiki Kusuo grabbed some chili and quietly used equivalent exchange.
When it was time to eat, Saiki Kusuo—Chrollo's Gulu Meat was a big hit. Too bad he didn't like spicy food, so he just took a few bites and went back to reading on the couch. But of course, the Troupe wasn't the kind of group to stay calm for long.
Phinks: "I'll say it one more time. I found this thing, so it's mine. Got it?"
Feitan: "That treasure belongs to the whole Troupe. You were just the guy who brought it back. Now we're splitting it. I'm taking my share—and that means this one. Got a problem?"
Phinks: "You can have the rest. You know I like shiny stuff, right? You're just trying to start something, aren't you? Huh?!"
Feitan: "Heh. I want it today, so what? Not happy? Let's fight then."
Nobunaga: "Hey! You two! No fighting between members. If there's a problem, ask the boss. You forgot that?"
Saiki Kusuo—Chrollo—looked up from his book, confused: ? Is this my problem now?
"Boss! Who should get this thing?" Feitan and Phinks both looked at Chrollo, each holding on tightly.
Still, judging by their faces, this was apparently the kind of thing Chrollo usually decided.
Can I just name one at random?
Even Saiki Kusuo hesitated. This wasn't easy. He was the worst at making fair decisions . Both of them were mentally fighting over the same item. Normally, in this kind of situation, you'd need to know who the boss liked more, or who contributed more in this mission… But how would he know that?! He'd only known them for two days!
"So? Boss, what's your answer?"
After a while, Phinks seemed to lose his patience. He and the other guy started tugging harder on the item they were holding, and the rest of the group began watching them.
Saiki Kusuo rested his hand on his chin, deep in thought. There were still 19 hours left until Chrollo would be revived. Keeping things would be too hard. Was there a way to settle this in one go…?
[Feitan, Phinks, I just realized—not every little thing should be decided by me.]
Actually, there was a way. Saiki Kusuo remembered it. Just now, he used x-ray vision and saw a few special spider coins in the bag of treasures.
Saiki Kusuo stood up, walked over to the treasure bag, and rummaged around for the coins. One side had a spider, the other side was blank.
[From now on, let's use spider coins to decide small stuff .]
"What? Boss, don't tell me you just don't want to deal with it…"
"I like it. It's a good way to test our luck," Feitan fully supported the idea.
[No fighting among members. For small disagreements, use a coin toss. I'll have someone make stronger coins later, and each member will get one.]
"I'm in! Can we start now? I pick the spider side!"
"Then I'll take the blank side."
[Let the boss do the toss.]
Saiki Kusuo quickly tossed the coin to Phinks, and it flew harder than expected. Good thing Phinks was sturdy—he caught it easily without noticing anything strange.
These people being weird was actually great. Saiki Kusuo felt lucky to be around such powerful individuals in the troupe.
[Boss tossed me the coin, so I'll do the flip.]
Exactly. Good call, Phinks. If Saiki had flipped the coin himself and accidentally threw it into the ceiling in front of everyone, it'd be hard to play it off.
At 11 PM, Saiki Kusuo was still curled up with a book. Honestly, he didn't want to read anymore—hadn't wanted to for a while. How could Chrollo stare at books all day long?
By night, the other members had all gone upstairs to their rooms.
The candle in front of Saiki Kusuo had already gone out. He didn't bother lighting another. Just as he was about to doze off, he suddenly sensed Illumi moving nearby.
What gave Illumi away were his thoughts—otherwise, Saiki Kusuo would've never noticed him.
He immediately canceled the illusion he had on the area and went outside. He needed Illumi to see he was safe—otherwise, the guy might break a window and sneak in.
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