"I have a Special Ability. After entering the Gourmet World this time, I caught a glimpse of someone named Joie. That's how I learned what happened between him and Frohze."
The moment Kael said that, Midora didn't react much. But Ichiryu and Jiro both frowned.
"What is it? You two know this Joie guy?" Midora asked immediately. Kael had already said someone desecrated Frohze's corpse. If that was true, it had to be this Joie.
"We know a little. Not much," Jiro said, brows knitting together. "A few hundred years ago, a chef named Joie rose to fame. His methods were similar to your Gourmet Corp… actually, even worse."
"He clashed with Setsuno back then. But after a while, he vanished completely. For hundreds of years, there wasn't a single trace of him. We all assumed he was dead."
Ichiryu nodded. "There are records of him in the IGO archives. He plundered ingredients recklessly and even provoked wars between nations. No doubt about it—he was a despicable man."
Because Joie's appearance was brief and he deliberately avoided direct confrontation with them, they'd never actually faced him.
Midora lost interest in the history lesson and looked back at Kael, signaling him to continue.
"Joie isn't a living person," Kael said calmly. "You all know about the Soul World, right? He's a Food Spirit from there."
"After Frohze died, Acacia poured Healing Water over her grave. The water healed her body. But Frohze herself refused to be resurrected."
"A body that could revive as long as it had a soul… of course that would attract attention."
"Joie seized that opportunity. She took over Frohze's body and resurrected himself."
"And after eating Pair—which can reverse one's gender—he turned Frohze's body from female to male. From that moment on, Frohze ceased to exist. There is only Joie."
When Kael finished speaking, the pressure in the air thickened.
And this time, it wasn't just coming from Midora.
It was all three of them.
The killing intent was suffocating.
Frohze was someone they deeply respected. And now they were being told her corpse had been taken over—and even twisted into a male body.
Ichiryu spoke after a moment, voice heavy. "I've seen Food Spirits possess bodies before. On the Sixth Continent, in Blue Grill. It's not rare."
That confirmed Kael wasn't lying.
"If you still doubt it," Kael added evenly, "you can dig up Frohze's grave. There won't be a body inside."
Before his words even fully settled—
Midora vanished.
He'd already gone to check.
Ichiryu and Jiro exchanged a helpless look.
Still as impulsive as ever.
Jiro grabbed Kael without warning. In the blink of an eye, they left Area 8 at terrifying speed and arrived at the place where Frohze had been buried—the home they once shared.
The area had been carefully preserved over the years.
Frohze's grave had already been opened.
And not violently.
Midora had clearly dug it up with care.
"There's really no body…" Jiro's voice trembled with rage. "Even Frohze-sama's personal knife—Cinderella—is gone!"
No matter how Kael had learned the truth, it didn't matter anymore.
Right now, all three of them shared one thought.
Joie had to die.
Midora finally turned back to Kael.
Midora turned to Kael. "Kid, let's go. Since your intel is solid, I'll kill the Monkey King for you. But once that's done, you're telling me everything you know about Joie.
It was a transaction.
Now that the information had been verified, killing the Monkey King wasn't a problem.
"Hold on," Kael said. "Before we kill the Monkey King, you need to eat this."
He took out a portion of AIR.
He intended for all three of them to eat it.
The conflict between Midora and Ichiryu had shifted. They weren't on the brink of fighting each other anymore.
If Midora could resolve his grudge and kill Joie, he would become a powerful ally.
And allies needed to be stronger.
Especially Ichiryu.
Kael wanted to see just how terrifying Ichiryu would be at full power—especially once he unleashes Don Slime.
If Acacia tried to move against them then…
That would be interesting.
"This wasn't part of our deal," Midora said, eyeing the ingredient.
He wasn't greedy.
"I know. But I need you stronger. Joie wasn't the only thing I saw. I learned things about Acacia too."
That stunned them even more.
Over the years, they had all sensed something was wrong about the past. They'd been investigating Acacia and NEO.
But they lacked concrete information.
Now Kael was saying he knew more?
Jiro exhaled. "Then eat it. The kid's not the type to spout nonsense. If what's coming is big, we'll need all the strength we can get."
Ichiryu didn't hesitate any longer.
He ate AIR.
Midora followed.
They knew Acacia's power better than anyone.
And Kael's words echoed in Midora's mind.
Acacia had tried to resurrect Frohze.
Why hide that from them?
Why would Frohze refuse resurrection?
It meant Acacia's plan was something she rejected.
And if Frohze rejected it—
Then Acacia was his enemy.
Midora's hostility surged.
If Acacia was still alive and had already eaten eight ingredients… how would he fight that without growing stronger?
He would repay Kael's favor later.
Right now, strength came first.
Jiro, after eating AIR, felt his power spike sharply—but unlike the other two, no part of his body transformed into a Gourmet Demon.
He had already fused deeply with the Red Nitro from years of consuming them.
There was no partial awakening left to trigger.
Still, his strength rose.
"By the way," Jiro asked, "why do you want Midora to kill the Monkey King? You haven't even been to Area 7, have you?"
Kael sighed lightly. "I don't have much choice. Pair is parasitizing the Monkey King. Capturing it normally would be too troublesome."
Even if someone completed Enbu and performed the final kiss, Pair's retrieval required someone in the Soul World to secure it when it fell.
Too complicated.
Killing the Monkey King was simpler.
"Even if you kill him, Pair just transfers to another monkey," Ichiryu said. "That's how it's always worked."
"In the past, yes," Kael replied. "But this generation is different. A former Monkey King once drank all of Pair—and even the spring itself."
"That's why Pair attached to their lineage."
"But this Monkey King has no descendants. He's the last of his line. Once he dies, Pair will return to the earth."
That made sense.
Originally, Pair was one of the easiest of the Eight Kings' ingredients to obtain.
In ancient times, it flowed like a river.
Anyone could drink it.
It was only because of that greedy Monkey King that things became complicated.
Jiro chuckled. "Everyone else racks their brains trying to retrieve PAIR from the King... no one ever thought to just kill him to reset the spawn. You've got a twisted way of thinking, kid."
But he wasn't wrong.
And for them, killing the Monkey King wasn't emotionally difficult.
They hunted ingredients.
Ingredients died.
The Monkey King was no different.
As for the impact on Area 7?
Unlike Area 8's Horse King, who actively managed the continent—
The Monkey King and the Whale King barely cared about governance.
Area 7 was run by unruly monkeys.
Area 6 by the Seven Beasts Kings.
At worst, killing him would trigger a new battle for kingship.
It wouldn't destabilize the continent.
Between Kael's intelligence and the AIR he'd given them, even Ichiryu and Jiro were now willing to join the hunt.
"So once we kill the Monkey King, we get the second ingredient, right?" Midora said, cracking his neck.
"Then let's move."