After the two of them returned to Gourmet City, Kael set off for his next destination—Melk Mountain.
His reason for going there wasn't to have new kitchen tools forged. Kael had two clear goals in mind. First, he wanted to enter Heavy Hole to adapt to the gravity there. Second, he planned to learn sharpening techniques.
The idea to study sharpening came from his recent trip to the former First Biotope.
Because of the Air Fruit, the Blue Demon had already awakened. Even though Kael couldn't obtain the Demon Shell yet—and awakening the White Demon wouldn't help for now—he still needed to prepare in advance.
Kael was confident that with his Food Luck, once he entered the Golden Marsh, he would definitely find the Demon Shell hidden there.
The problem was that the Demon Shell was sealed inside a Golden Can. While it was possible to break it open with brute force—Midora had done it before—Kael didn't have strength on that level.
In the original story, after Toriko and the others obtained the Golden Can, they had no way to open it. In the end, it wasn't until they reached the Sixth Continent that Melk the Second used golden materials to craft a special can opener, finally opening it and retrieving the Demon Shell.
Kael had no intention of waiting until Melk the Second entered the Gourmet World before dealing with the can opener. His plan was simple: learn sharpening techniques himself, and once he reached the Sixth Continent, make a can opener on his own.
Call it planning ahead.
So Kael's next target was Melk Mountain. As for whether Melk the Second would be willing to teach him sharpening techniques—that wasn't something he was worried about at all.
If it were someone else, Melk the Second might not even bother responding. But Kael had a trump card. After all, Melk the Second was still trapped deep in self-doubt.
All Kael needed to do was tell her the truth about Melk the First—and then take her to Heavy Hole.
The reason Melk the Second hadn't dared to go to Heavy Hole wasn't because her body couldn't endure the gravity. She could barely handle the gravity itself. The real issue was that Heavy Hole was extremely dangerous, filled with powerful beasts.
Once she endured the gravity, her movements would become extremely sluggish. Being slow in Heavy Hole was basically a death sentence. That was why Melk the Second had never dared to enter the cave to search for Melk Stardust.
In fact, she didn't even know that Melk the First was inside Heavy Hole.
Melk the First had actually told her—but his voice was far too soft. Melk the Second simply couldn't hear him.
Kael could only say that Melk the First was truly something else.
After Gourmet Cells reached a certain level, even the quietest voice should still be audible. And yet he somehow managed to speak so softly that Toriko and the others couldn't hear him clearly.
Even many members of Biotope 0 couldn't make out what he was saying. Those people were all powerful enough to enter the Gourmet World, yet they still couldn't hear him properly.
Of course, that was manga logic—probably for comedic effect. In reality, everyone's five senses were enhanced. No matter how quiet your voice was, people should still hear it.
But Melk the Second simply wasn't strong enough. Her sensory enhancement was limited, so she couldn't hear Melk the First's voice. Her strength was only enough for her to survive on Melk Mountain.
Kael estimated her level to be somewhere in the thirties or forties. Any higher than that, and she wouldn't manage.
With a secret like this in hand, Kael didn't believe Melk the Second would refuse to teach him sharpening techniques. After all, in the original story, she had willingly taught Komatsu as well.
After saying goodbye to Granny Setsuno, Kael headed for Melk Mountain.
Granny Setsuno wasn't surprised at all by his decision. Even though Kael already had excellent kitchen tools and didn't need new ones, she knew Heavy Hole well.
And there was also Melk Stardust—the so-called universal seasoning. Granny Setsuno was running low on her supply, so she asked Kael to bring some back for her as well.
After all, Melk Stardust wasn't just an outstanding whetstone. Once ground into powder, it became a universal seasoning.
For any chef, Melk Stardust was an extremely important ingredient.
This time, Kael traveled to Melk Mountain on Behemoth.
There were many fierce beasts around Melk Mountain, including flying ones. When Toriko and the others went there, airplanes didn't dare approach directly. They could only be dropped off at the mountain's base and climb up on foot.
Kael didn't need to go through that trouble.
With Behemoth around, those beasts weren't a threat at all. After reaching Melk Mountain, Kael didn't climb the stairs. He flew straight up instead.
At the mountaintop stood a house. It looked larger than normal—understandably so, since Melk the First was nearly three meters tall.
As Behemoth approached the summit, a sudden sound rang out.
Kael looked closely and spotted a Vampire Kong standing atop a tree. This Vampire Kong had been left behind by Melk the First to accompany Melk the Second.
It usually handled deliveries—going down the mountain to fetch tools or deliver finished ones. It was an extremely important partner to Melk the Second.
Sensing the arrival of Behemoth, whose aura was terrifyingly powerful, the Vampire Kong let out a warning call.
Hearing this, Melk the Second immediately rushed out.
Though the Vampire Kong couldn't speak, Melk the Second had been with it for so long that she instantly understood its cries.
That call meant a powerful presence had approached. Whether friend or foe was unknown—but she still charged out immediately.
"Don't be hasty. Let me introduce myself. My name is Kael. I'm a chef, and I'm here with no hostile intentions."
Kael spoke calmly.
Hearing that, both the Vampire Kong and Melk the Second relaxed slightly. But in the next instant, Melk the Second stared straight at Kael.
"I remember now. I saw you in the newspaper. You're Granny Setsuno's disciple!"
She spoke in surprise.
Kael's apprenticeship had caused quite a stir. It wasn't just on television—newspapers were full of stories and photos of him.
Melk the Second read newspapers to keep up with the outside world, so she recognized him.
"I didn't expect to be this famous already."
Kael hadn't thought that even someone as isolated as Melk the Second would know him.
"Mr. Kael, are you here to have kitchen tools made? I can help you with that, but I have a lot of orders right now. You might need to wait for a while."
Melk the Second spoke cautiously.
Back when her father was still around, chefs often came directly to ask Melk the First to forge tools for them.
But after she took over his work, she publicly announced that she wouldn't receive visitors. All orders were shipped in by air, so no one had come looking for her in person over the past few years.
Right now, Melk the Second was forcing herself to stay calm, hoping she could send Kael away. If he discovered anything, things would get troublesome.
Kael found her reaction a bit amusing.
"I'm not here to have tools made. I already have kitchen tools. I came here to learn sharpening techniques."
Kael stated his purpose plainly.
This time, Melk the Second was the one left stunned.
If she remembered correctly, Kael was a chef. According to the newspapers, he was also a Gourmet Hunter.
So he was already both a chef and a Gourmet Hunter—and now he wanted to learn sharpening too?
What kind of combination was that?
"Um… Mr. Kael, why do you want to learn sharpening techniques? You're already both a chef and a Gourmet Hunter. Is it really okay to add sharpening on top of that?"
"And the sharpening techniques of my lineage—"
She stopped abruptly.
The reason was simple: she was still pretending to be Melk.
She'd been about to say that without her master's permission, she couldn't casually teach these techniques.
She wanted to use that excuse to send Kael away.
But then she remembered she was supposed to be impersonating Melk the First.
So she immediately shut her mouth, suddenly at a loss for words.
"As an exchange, I can help you retrieve Melk Stardust from Heavy Hole. After Melk the First left, with your strength, you shouldn't be able to go there yourself, right?"
Kael said deliberately.
He was guiding the conversation toward Melk the First. Once he told her that Melk the First was in Heavy Hole, everything would fall into place naturally.
"You… what are you talking about?!"
Kael's words hit Melk the Second like a thunderclap.
She was still pretending to be Melk the First, yet Kael had already seen through it. She froze, completely stunned.
After some conversation, Melk the Second finally came clean, telling Kael everything—how her father had disappeared without explanation, leaving nothing behind.
"I see. It looks like both of you had some misunderstandings," Kael said.
"First, about Melk the First. He actually speaks very softly. My master told me that unless your senses are strengthened enough, you won't be able to hear him."
"So back then, he probably wasn't leaving without a word. He said something to you—you just couldn't hear it."
"As for you, have you ever considered whether Melk the First was the type to just drop everything and walk away? He left you behind so you could take over his work. Otherwise, he would've told everyone to suspend operations."
"And you've been forging knives for so long now. Has anyone ever come to complain? Has anyone said your skills declined? No, right? That means everyone recognizes you. You're the only one who doubted yourself."
Kael laid everything out clearly.
Melk the Second fell silent.
At first, his logic sounded reasonable. The more she thought about it, the more convincing it became.
Her expression grew more and more complicated as she realized she had truly misunderstood everything.
For years, she'd been consuming herself from the inside.
"I learned from my master what Melk the First is working on now. He's currently at the deepest level of Heavy Hole. If you want to go, I can take you there."
Kael pressed while the iron was hot.
"Heavy Hole? I can't survive down there. I can barely handle the gravity on the surface, let alone the lower levels—and those beasts would tear me apart before I could defend myself."
Melk the Second shook her head immediately.
Even knowing where her father was, she still didn't dare go.
"Leave that to me. As long as you can handle the gravity, I can take you in. Those beasts aren't my match."
"Just look at Behemoth over there. His capture level is over 80."
Kael pointed at Behemoth, who was resting nearby.
Only then did Melk the Second properly take in the massive beast before her.
"Over level 80? That's more than enough!"
Her eyes lit up instantly.
In Heavy Hole, the beasts were extremely powerful due to adapting to the gravity—but they still couldn't overcome a gap of dozens of levels.
The Balbamoths there weren't especially high-level. If Kael really had that kind of strength, then he could definitely take her safely into Heavy Hole to see her father.
"Then... I'll take you up on that. I need to reach Heavy Hole—to adapt to the gravity. Having you there would help."
Kael smiled.
Even though he could neutralize the gravity with Enbu, letting his Gourmet Cells adapt and improve their resilience was still beneficial.
Hearing this, Melk the Second quickly made some preparations. Then she followed Kael, mounting Behemoth as they set off toward Heavy Hole together.