"Menchi-sama."
"Buhara-sama."
Menchi took out four cards and handed them over.
"Kaizen, here—this is a pass to Gourmet Paradise."
"Without this pass, you're restricted to the World Zone."
"But with it, you can move freely through the World, Academy, and Graduation Zones."
"No one will stop you."
"Buhara and I have some things to deal with, unfortunately."
"Sorry about that."
She gave an apologetic smile.
Kaizen took the pass without hesitation.
"Thank you, Menchi-sama. Honestly, you've already done more than enough. This place is great—and the dinner last night was delicious. We'll be fine on our own."
To be blunt, their relationship wasn't all that close.
Kaizen had met Menchi and Buhara during the Hunter Exam and exchanged contact info. That was about it.
They hadn't had much interaction since.
Even so, they provided a place to stay and took care of the pass issue.
Menchi even cooked on the first night, preparing dishes she liked best.
That's more than enough hospitality.
Kaizen didn't plan to stay in Gourmet Paradise for just a day or two. His goal was to remain until his observer's intent to absorb the characteristics of the Paradise reached 100%.
Until then, he wouldn't leave.
Gourmet Paradise stood at the pinnacle of culinary arts on the human continent.
It wasn't just that ingredients were abundant here—it was that the best ingredients from across the world were gathered here.
Dozens of Gourmet Hunters scoured the globe for rare ingredients.
And they all delivered their finds to this one place.
Only here could such ingredients be treated with the reverence and skill they deserved.
That was exactly what Kaizen needed.
"If you run into any problems, don't hesitate to contact me," Menchi said.
"Got it," Kaizen replied with a nod.
...
The four of them stepped out of the garden.
Outside was the common area of the Graduation Zone.
There weren't many people around.
The streets were well-planned, and restaurants lined both sides.
Most were closed.
A few were open for business.
Still, even the open restaurants couldn't be entered freely. You had to make a reservation before you could enjoy their services.
In the World Zone, tourists picked the restaurant.
In the Graduation Zone, the restaurants picked you.
"We should head to the World Zone," Kaizen said.
Gourmet Paradise was structured like a massive concentric circle.
The World Zone made up the outer second ring.
Inside it were the Academy and Graduation Zones.
At the very center, within the first ring, was the mysterious core zone.
It wasn't huge in terms of land area.
But it attracted a massive number of people.
As the four reached the World Zone, the crowd thickened.
People bustled in and out of restaurants.
Some paused to check menus. Others wandered about, full and satisfied.
"Which place should we try first?" Tessia asked curiously.
"Let's try them all."
Kaizen smiled. "We'll be here for a while, and this is Gourmet Paradise. We're here to experience everything—so, all of it."
He pointed at a restaurant at random.
"Let's start here."
...
They entered.
"Welcome!"
A waiter greeted them with a practiced smile.
The four took their seats.
Another waiter brought over the menu.
"It's breakfast time right now," she said. "Only the breakfast menu is available. Please take a look at our featured dishes—those marked with a star are our specialties."
Kaizen skimmed through it.
The portions didn't look large.
But the variety was impressive.
All kinds of breakfast dishes.
"This, this, this…"
Kaizen picked up the pen and circled every dish that didn't look like typical breakfast.
Then he waved the waiter over.
"You want all of these?"
The waiter blinked, stunned.
"Our portions aren't huge, but this is still more than what several people usually order..."
"It's fine. Just bring everything."
"…All right."
Having done her duty to warn them, the waiter said nothing more and passed the order to the kitchen.
...
Soon, the dishes arrived.
Before anyone took a bite, the rich aroma was already tickling their noses.
"Smells amazing."
"Hope it tastes as good as it looks," Shizuku murmured.
Kaizen started eating, quietly feeling the effect his Gourmet Cells had after ingesting these breakfasts.
The flavor didn't disappoint.
Sally and Shizuku didn't eat much.
Tessia matched the two of them combined—maybe more.
Probably a side effect of his growing body.
But Kaizen easily ate the most.
His Gourmet Cells had evolved his digestive and absorption capabilities to something beyond human.
After the group left, the waiter came by to clear the table.
When she saw the clean plates, her eyes widened.
"They really finished it all…"
"Could they be Gourmet Hunters too?"
In Gourmet Paradise, people generally fell into three categories:
Cooks.
Eaters.
And Gourmet Hunters.
There weren't many of the last kind—but the few that existed had extraordinary physiques.
Their appetite couldn't be matched by ordinary diners.
...
Kaizen stepped into the next restaurant not long after.
Sally, Shizuku, and Tessia were already too full to eat more.
But Kaizen? Still fine.
"Kaizen..." Tessia leaned over with wide eyes. "Are you able to eat so much because you're strong? Or are you strong because you can eat so much?"
Among her peers, Tessia's talent and strength were already excellent.
At her age, she was a B-rank Nen user, which was no small feat.
Even among others at the same level, he stood out.
But he also knew that Kaizen's strength and talent were on a completely different tier.
During the Rosgel incident, Tessia had felt just how far behind she still was.
It stuck with her.
Kaizen smiled.
"It depends. Everyone's different. There's no clear answer."
"But it's true—some people say the more you eat, the stronger you get."
"Tessia, if you're curious, you can give it a try."
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (1047 chapters in total)