Chương 32: The Troupe Is Formed

"We join." Aren smiled, stood, and extended his right hand toward Chrollo. When he first heard about the deal between Chrollo and the elders, his instincts pushed him into analyzing advantages and risks again. After thinking for a while, he recognized the obvious. The deal did not need to matter to him. Aren was not joining the Phantom Troupe for money. He joined because the group's strength might become useful in the future and because the idea brought him pleasure.

Whatever obligation existed between Chrollo and the Second Elder belonged to Chrollo. As long as Chrollo had no authority to force Aren into an action, there was no problem. Whether Aren participated in the Troupe's future operations could depend on his mood. The realization amused him. Sometimes, he still obeyed the habits of his old life too closely. With his current vitality, even if he could not call himself immortal, living for thousands of years did not seem unrealistic.

If he continued judging every choice by his old standards, that life would become unbearably dull. From now on, he could consider his own pleasure. Chrollo stood and accepted Aren's hand with an equally bright smile.

"Welcome." Once the decision was made, Aren looked around the room.

"Since we're a team now, let's introduce ourselves again. Aren Voss. Conjurer. My ability is object creation." Chrollo followed his example.

"Chrollo Lucilfer. Specialist. I have not developed my ability yet."

"Pakunoda. Specialist. Undeveloped."

"Machi. Transmuter. Nen Threads."

"Franklin. Emitter. Undeveloped." Uvogin thumped his chest.

"Uvogin. Enhancer. Big Bang Impact."

"Feitan. Transmuter. Undeveloped." Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

"Nobunaga. Enhancer. I use iaido." The Phantom Troupe was officially born. After the introductions, the newly formed team had at least begun to cohere. Aren dropped back into his seat.

"Do you have a name in mind?" Chrollo nodded.

"We all come from Meteor City, a place that does not exist to the outside world. I thought of Phantom. Phantom Troupe." No one objected. The name fit unexpectedly well.

"I also want to limit the Troupe to thirteen members," Chrollo continued.

"No more, no fewer. That prevents the team from becoming bloated while giving us enough people to handle most situations."

"Every member should carry the same mark. A symbol will strengthen our sense of identity." He looked around the room.

"What do you think?" Uvogin shrugged.

"Whatever. I follow Aren." No one expected a thoughtful answer from him.

"Same," Machi said. Nobunaga nodded. In principle, Aren, Machi, Uvogin, and Nobunaga were now equal members of the Troupe. In practice, the other three still followed Aren. Chrollo noticed. Something shifted in his eyes. Pakunoda and Franklin already trusted Chrollo, so they accepted his suggestions easily. Feitan's answer was different.

"As long as I get to kill arrogant pigs outside, decide the rest yourselves." Only Aren had not answered.

"I like it," he said.

"For the mark, what about a spider?" Everyone looked at him.

"Spiders are among Meteor City's apex predators. When we enter the outside world, we should become predators there too." He lifted one hand.

"A spider with twelve legs. Each member represents one leg. Chrollo, you represent the head. Use numbers to distinguish the members." Aren smiled.

"What do you think, Chrollo? Or rather, captain?" Pretending to think it over while quietly shaping the Phantom Troupe into the group he remembered felt like assembling a model kit piece by piece. The word captain mattered to Chrollo more than Aren expected. Not because Chrollo craved a title. The new Troupe lacked shared identity. Every new team faced that problem. Someone needed to step forward first and encourage the others to invest themselves emotionally. That person could not be the leader alone.

If Chrollo forced the issue, it might cause resistance. Aren's acceptance changed everything. Anyone with eyes could see that Aren was stronger than Chrollo. Meteor City respected strength. Uvogin, Nobunaga, and Machi already treated Aren as their center. When Aren voluntarily called Chrollo captain, the others could accept the structure naturally. The suggestion struck Chrollo perfectly as well. The coin toss. The spider. The numbers.

Again and again, Aren seemed to give shape to ideas Chrollo had not fully expressed. For the first time, Chrollo felt he had found someone who understood him instinctively.

"Perfect," Chrollo said. The others imagined the spider and nodded.

"The twelve legs can correspond to the numbers one through twelve," Aren continued.

"Captain, you can choose zero, thirteen, or no number at all. Only the spider mark. What do you prefer?" Chrollo considered it.

"Thirteen."

"Then I'll take one," Aren said. Feitan glanced at him.

"Two." Aren's mouth twitched. Feitan clearly treated the numbers like a strength ranking. Uvogin scratched his head.

"Aren took one. Then I'll choose eleven. It still has a connection to one."

"Then I take ten," Nobunaga said.

"One step over you."

"What did you say?" Uvogin leaned his forehead against Nobunaga's, and the two began arguing again. Machi gave them an irritated look.

"Three." Pakunoda thought for a moment.

"I like nine." Franklin waited for the others to finish.

"Seven, then." Chrollo turned to Machi.

"Can I leave the tattoos to you?" He had invited Machi before and understood her fine control. If anyone in the group could handle the work, it was her. Machi glanced at Aren.

"No problem. Leave it to me... captain." Chrollo's smile deepened.

"I have one final suggestion." His eyes returned to Aren.

"Are you interested in becoming the Troupe's deputy leader?"