"You're saying… you're willing to help me?"
When Chiyo saw Setsuno and the others arrive, panic had flashed across her face. But with Midora suppressing the situation, she hadn't been able to act. After watching someone beaten to the brink of death, only to be revived through a series of baffling procedures, she was left completely bewildered.
Now that it was her turn, Setsuno finally spoke.
Chiyo had expected another preachy lecture like the one from Chin Chinchin. Instead, Setsuno surprised her.
She was siding with her.
"Of course," Setsuno said calmly. "You're doing this for your child. If it were me, I'd probably make the same choice."
Setsuno had always been fiercely protective of her own. If she ever learned there was even the slightest chance to bring her child back, she wouldn't let that opportunity slip by.
In fact, she might have gone to even greater extremes than Chiyo.
So what right did she have to tell her old friend to give up?
"I understand," Chiyo said at last. "In that case, I'll go back with you. But I'm not returning to Shokurin Temple."
Her anger toward Chin Chinchin hadn't faded at all. Yes, she had beaten him badly—but she hadn't killed him. She had only taken away his ability to fight so he couldn't block her path.
She wanted to revive their son.
And her own husband had tried to stop her.
That fury still burned inside her.
Watching her, Setsuno could only sigh inwardly.
Reviving the dead was no simple matter. In the original case, Frohze had been brought back using Healing Water—but that was only possible because she had already consumed eight of Acacia's ingredients.
Trying to revive someone else was far more complicated. Whether the ten Ultimate Revival ingredients could truly bring Chiyo's child back… that was still uncertain.
But support was enough for now.
If it worked, all the better.
If it didn't, at least Chiyo might finally be able to let go. Better that than watching her lose herself like this.
With Chiyo persuaded, Setsuno brought her back.
Meanwhile, Ichiryu ran into an old acquaintance of his own.
Girim.
Unlike Chiyo, their reasons were different.
Chiyo sought the Ultimate Revival ingredient CENTER for her child.
Girim, on the other hand, was after the ingredients hidden within Acacia's secret menu.
After reading about those hidden ingredients in an ancient text, he had devoted himself entirely to tracking them down. He had even abandoned his former partner without hesitation.
Girim was selfish to the core.
His partner, Ayame, had been far weaker than him—so weak that he saw her as nothing but dead weight. And once he obtained the ingredients he sought, he had no intention of sharing them with anyone.
In the original timeline, the moment he saw Gourmet Corp obtain the Hell Bees, he attacked immediately.
He had always been like this.
He had just hidden it well.
Ichiryu looked at him with a trace of helplessness.
Chiyo had clashed with Chin Chinchin for the sake of her child.
Girim had no such excuse.
Ichiryu already knew what had happened in the old 1st Biotope. Kael had taken the Hell Bees away. That meant Girim would never find that place.
He would spend his life chasing shadows.
Perhaps that was punishment enough.
Even within Gourmet Corp, people were wary of him. From the moment he joined, he had kept his distance, always carrying himself like someone with ulterior motives.
For someone so powerful, he was surprisingly bad at hiding his intentions.
The fact that he had risen this far was almost unbelievable.
Maybe it was all thanks to his Gourmet Cells.
Aside from strength, there was nothing about Girim worth praising.
One by one, the members of Gourmet Corp were evaluated.
Some chose to leave.
They had joined because Gourmet Corp let them do whatever they wanted—indulge their desires without restraint.
But now Midora was clearly planning reforms.
That didn't suit them.
Ichiryu made sure to remember every one of those faces.
For now, he wouldn't act out of respect for Midora.
But later?
They would be wanted criminals.
They'd spend their lives hiding like rats in the streets.
"Did you notice?" Jiro suddenly said, his gaze shifting toward Starjun. "That kid's different."
"I did," Ichiryu nodded. "The Don Slime told me he has incredibly dense Food Luck. He's only seen that level in a handful of people."
Starjun's strength wasn't particularly overwhelming compared to the others present.
But something about him stood out.
His presence felt out of place among Gourmet Corp's ranks.
And unlike the rest, he carried Food Luck.
Even Midora, a top-tier powerhouse, didn't possess Food Luck.
Yet Starjun's was thick—almost tangible.
The Don Slime had only ever sensed that level of Food Luck from Kael, Toriko, Komatsu, and a few others.
To find it on someone from Gourmet Corp…
It was strange.
"Do you think he could be one of those two children?" Jiro asked quietly.
Ichiryu shook his head.
"We won't know until we capture ANOTHER."
ANOTHER wasn't just capable of unlocking an entirely new sense of taste.
It had another terrifying ability.
It allowed someone to recall every memory they had ever experienced.
Childhood memories were usually hazy, fragmented. They weren't truly gone—but buried.
Sometimes a familiar smell or a certain scene could stir up flashes of the past.
But if someone consumed ANOTHER, they could remember everything—from the moment they first became aware.
If Starjun ate ANOTHER, he would know whether he was Frohze's child.
And if he was…
He might even remember who the other child was.
The two of them exchanged a look.
This matter would likely fall to Kael.
At present, Kael was the only chef capable of preparing these ingredients.
And he could hear the voices of ingredients.
Ichiryu began communicating with the Don Slime inside him.
After all, Blue Grill was its territory.
If the Don Slime gave the word…
Everything should proceed smoothly.