Chapter 4: ADVENTURES AND QUIZZES
Kurapika then turned to the two members who had sailed with him. "So, guys, how about we continue our journey together?" he invited with a smile on his face.
"With pleasure!" exclaimed Gon. "What nonsense are you talking about?" growled Leorio, as usual. "We are heading to the same destination, so it's obvious that we will travel together for a while."
As he finished pointing out the obvious to his colleague, Leorio realized that the two men had already taken the road, leaving him there like a lost soul. "Hey, you rascals!" he shouted.
He wanted to consult the city map to locate Zazan, the location chosen for this year's hunter exam, but he gave up and pursued his two companions. 'Damn! I hope that old man was right!' he swore to himself.
Having caught up with Leorio, the trio continued their journey, heading towards the great cedar as the captain had advised. After a certain walking time, they reached a gloomy and lifeless city. "What is this place?" grumbled Leorio.
"It's the last stop before reaching the forest that will lead us to the great cedar," Kurapika replied calmly. "I know, I know," retorted Leorio, annoyed.
Throughout their journey, the young boy with an angelic face and golden hair had not stopped replying to each of his remarks, making him look like an idiot. As an elder, Leorio saw it as a great lack of respect for his person. However, Kurapika's words had no hint of insolence, and that's what irritated Leorio even more.
They had traveled a certain distance through the abandoned city when a convoy appeared from the corner of one of its streets. It was a troupe resembling charlatans—enigmatic figures in white robes and masks. In the center, an old lady sat on a balustrade supported by a masked character on each side.
The convoy stopped just in front of the trio, blocking the rest of the road. Masked figures then began to beat drums and play the flute, giving a kind of carnival performance to the trio.
Gon had the gaze of someone corresponding to his young age, completely admiring the performance unfolding before him. Leorio, on the other hand, had no words to describe what he saw, completely lost. As for Kurapika, well, just a slight smile on his lips.
After a few minutes of the show, the old lady raised her frail right arm, putting an end to her troupe's performance. The gloomy silence that suited the city returned.
"May I know who you are?" Leorio finally asked, coming back to himself.
"Exciting, exciting," retorted the old lady. "Huh?" Leorio exclaimed. "Exciting, exciting," the old lady continued.
"Darn it!" Leorio impatiently said. "You're blocking our way!"
He then turned to his group. "Let's find a way to bypass these crazies," he suggested.
"Exciting, exciting. That's the Exciting Quiz!" the old lady shouted this time.
In the face of her loud tone, the trio refocused on the troupe. "To continue your journey, you must correctly answer my quiz," the old lady continued, her tone still shouting.
Although annoyed by the old lady's intonation, whom he had already labeled as the "crazy old lady" in his mind, Leorio understood that they were dealing with another examiner. "A quiz?" Gon repeated, a little intrigued.
"Indeed," confirmed the old lady, but this time without shouting. "Should we take it together or individually?" Gon asked, looking distressed.
"You seem to be companions, and you have arrived here together, so you will participate in the quiz together," replied the old lady.
"What?!" protested Leorio. "Why is that? I find it unfair. It means that if one of us fails, we all fall with him."
"Calm down, Leorio," intervened Kurapika.
"What's the matter, brat?" Leorio asked in an annoyed tone.
"Participating together also increases our chances of success," said Kurapika. 'Darn it!' Leorio swore to himself. He knew Kurapika was right. However, there was no guarantee that the quiz would allow them to consult before. And if that happened, then they would be in trouble.
Leorio sighed. Nevertheless, the eccentric examiner had already decided. Complaining wouldn't change anything. He just crossed his fingers that his two companions weren't idiots.
Seeing that the trio had calmed down, the old lady spoke again, "Very well. The quiz consists of only one question. A correct answer means you continue your journey; a wrong one means the Hunter exam ends here for you."
After giving this explanation, she scrutinized the trio for a moment before continuing. Little Gon had a stressed face. Quizzes weren't really his thing, and if it turned out the quiz involved math concepts, then he was done. He was happier to participate in a group.
Leorio, on the other hand, had a serious face that differed from his brutish appearance. He had a secret goal to achieve. For that, he took this exam very seriously, even if he didn't show it.
As for Kurapika, the young man's expression hadn't changed. The more things went in the direction of the remembered intrigue, the better. Obviously, some aspects on the surface change and will change, but the core was still intact. Moreover, he would soon be forced to change a lot of things, so he might as well enjoy it while things are still under control.
"Here is the quiz," the old lady finally began. "Your mother and your beloved are kidnapped by a band of bandits. You can only save one of the two. Which one will you save? One, your mother? Or two, your beloved?"
At the announcement of the quiz content, Gon and Leorio were astonished. "What is this nonsense?" Leorio exclaimed. "Are you serious?"
"You have ten seconds. I will consider any word you say as an answer from now on," declared the old lady, ignoring Gon and Leorio's feelings.
Gon began to stress, starting to think hard on his own. Leorio wanted to shout scandal again but remembered the old lady's warning, which made him increasingly enraged. What could they answer? None of the choices offered was good!
'This kind of quiz never has a right or wrong answer. What are we supposed to say?' he thought to himself. With this thought, he turned to Kurapika. He didn't know why, but the latter didn't seem troubled at all.
'Does he not care about failing the exam? No, he said he wanted to accomplish a goal, and given the character, he must know what to do.'
Although he didn't want to admit it, Leorio could feel that his junior seemed smarter than him. As he turned to him, their eyes met, as if Kurapika knew he was going to turn to him. Leorio then saw the young blond-haired boy give him a slight smile and nod. And that was enough for Leorio to understand the situation.
As he thought, Kurapika had an idea. 'My future is in your hands, kid,' Leorio prayed to himself.
Meanwhile, the old lady's ten-second countdown came to an end. They hadn't given any answers. Leorio clenched his fists and closed his eyes in frustration. He wanted to avoid meeting the gaze of this "crazy old lady" because, knowing himself, he wouldn't hesitate to leap to strangle her. It was over; he had failed, and serious things hadn't even started yet.
'Damn.' He knew he could apply for the exam next year, but the idea of repeating frustrated him a lot.
But just as he was already resigning...
"Madam, are you going to remain silent for long?"
Kurapika's voice made him open his eyes. Seeing the young man's appearance, a glimmer of hope crossed Leorio's thoughts. At Kurapika's question, a subtle smile appeared on the old lady's lips. She stood up and, accompanied by some members of her troupe, stood in front of a large door that opened into a long dark tunnel.
A little lost, Leorio looked alternately at the old lady and Kurapika. "We did it, Leorio. Our attitude was correct," Kurapika announced.
"What do you mean?" Leorio asked, still not understanding.
"The quiz was a call to awaken our awareness of the world's bipolarity. Whether it's the mother or the beloved, based on the fact that we can only save one person, it was evident that no matter which answer we chose, it would be unfair. The right attitude is, therefore, to remain silent because the quiz was objective, but the choices proposed were all subjective," retorted Kurapika.
He then turned to the old lady. "Is that correct?" he inquired.
The old lady smiled more intensely. "I am surprised that your analysis reached this far. Indeed, you answered correctly."
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