After returning to the Human World, Toriko thanked Setsuna and left, as he still had his own goals to complete.
Twenty days later, Setsuna was led by Jirō to the Healing City.
The journey wasn't boring. Setsuna sold several of the beasts he captured before returning to the Human World to the IGO (International Gourmet Organization). He earned a hefty sum of money and naturally indulged in various delicacies along the way.
In this world centered around food, even street vendors sold food that was incredibly delicious. Setsuna's taste buds were thoroughly spoiled, and it only made him look forward to the truly rare ingredients even more.
Upon landing in Healing City, he saw masses of "Healing Butterflies" fluttering in the air—red ones identifying severe injuries, and blue ones identifying minor injuries—performing a preliminary diagnosis.
As Setsuna curiously took in his surroundings, Jirō smiled and said, "You should buy some of the Healing City's Regeneration Tulips and Acupuncture Cacti to take with you when you leave."
"Take them with me?" Setsuna was confused. These two plants could treat injuries, but how could he possibly carry them?
"Ah, you still don't know. The Queen Snake's stomach acid is deadly poison for animals, but it's the best fertilizer for plants. That's why the best garden in the world is the spatial dimension inside the Queen Snake's body."
Jirō explained, "So, you can absolutely plant things like the Regeneration Tulips and Acupuncture Cacti inside the Queen Snake for use whenever you need them."
"I see!" Setsuna suddenly understood. He had heard the King Snake mention something similar, but he thought it only applied to the fruit he was given.
"Once Titan grows to the size of the Mother King Snake, I wonder if that would help with planting the God Tree?" Setsuna let his thoughts wander as Jirō led him to a large building.
"The IGO (International Gourmet Organization)?" Setsuna was a little confused. What were they doing here?
"Why, for the Gourmet Hunter Exam, of course," Jirō replied matter-of-factly.
Setsuna froze. The Hunter Exam? Where had he jumped to? Was he still in the Gourmet World?
Jirō clarified, "Transplanting Gourmet Cells is a bit risky—it can lead to death in severe cases, or mutation in minor ones. You must pass the Gourmet Hunter Exam to confirm your physical fitness is up to the task before you can receive the transplant. Given how strong you are, that part of the test will just be a formality."
Setsuna slowly nodded. That made sense; no wonder the testing center was located here in Healing City. But he quickly picked up on a detail in Jirō's words: "That part of the test?"
Jirō continued explaining, "To become a certified Gourmet Hunter, you can't just rely on brute strength. Academic knowledge is also very important. You need to be able to distinguish which animals are protected species so you don't hunt them by mistake. You also need to know the proper way to preserve precious ingredients that have extremely short shelf lives."
Setsuna felt speechless. He hadn't even taken his Chunin Exam yet, and now he was taking the Gourmet Hunter Exam in this world.
Setsuna couldn't help but sigh, "What other parts are there to the Hunter Exam, Sensei? Please just tell me all at once."
Jirō chuckled, "There's also the Endurance Test and the Cooking Test. Some ingredients have a very short ripening period, requiring you to guard them for a long time in harsh environments until they are ready. So, endurance is essential."
"As for the Cooking Test, we don't expect you to have a chef's background, but you must at least be able to combine ingredients logically and absolutely cannot waste any ingredients."
Setsuna sighed, "Alright, I understand."
Jirō patted his student's shoulder. "Even though you can't get the Gourmet Cells yet, I can still teach you a few tricks for processing ingredients using Point Striking (Acupressure) to maintain maximum freshness."
Setsuna gave a wry smile. He really didn't want to become a full-fledged chef.
"Speaking of maintaining freshness, can I use this to tenderize meat?" Setsuna took a sword hilt out of his pouch, gently pressed the switch, and a blade of electrical energy shot out like a lightsaber.
"Oh? That's a high-quality cooking knife you have there," Jirō nodded in approval. "Electric current stimulation relaxes the muscle fibers, which can indeed improve the meat's tenderness and flavor."
Setsuna quietly thought, Forgive me, Second Hokage. I'll let your weapon shine in the culinary world. Maybe it will become a legendary cooking tool.
Setsuna applied the same dedication he once used for his college entrance exams in his past life, furiously studying knowledge he wasn't sure he'd ever use. Five months later, just before the next Hunter Exam began, he finally crammed through all the academic subjects and even picked up some cooking skills.
On the day of the Hunter Exam.
"All candidates, please enter the venue in order."
Setsuna strode into the IGO headquarters and was about to fill out his registration form when he noticed the person who had just successfully registered returning, shaking as he said, "I... I want to cancel my application."
It wasn't just him. The people queued up behind Setsuna suddenly panicked and ran off. Even the staff looked flustered, and the entire registration hall instantly devolved into chaos.
"Is a ferocious beast attacking the city?" Setsuna was bewildered. But that didn't make sense; if a beast was attacking, why would the successfully registered candidates have time to run back and cancel their applications?
Setsuna decided not to dwell on it. After all, Jirō-sensei was in the city. Forget a beast attack, even if one of the Eight Kings attacked, they might not succeed.
Soon, only Setsuna was left among the candidates in the hall, with just a few staff members grimly holding their posts.
"Hey! I'm here to register for the exam!" On another queue line, a man with a menacing face, looking like an angry demon, shouted loudly.
The staff member on that line looked close to tears, trembling as he handed out a card: "Zebra-sama, this is your identification information. Please, please keep it safe."
"Zebra, one of the Heavenly Kings?" Setsuna knew who he was. Due to his brutal nature, he had driven 26 species to extinction and was an extremely dangerous individual, previously imprisoned. He had only recently been released due at Toriko's request.
"Zebra, why are you taking the exam too?" Setsuna didn't hold back and asked whatever came to mind.
"Because my Gourmet Hunter license was revoked, of course!" Zebra laughed loudly, then realized something. "Aren't you afraid of me?"
"You just have a very... distinct look. You're not quite ugly enough to be truly frightening," Setsuna replied "tactfully."
Hearing Setsuna's comment, the surrounding staff members almost passed out from fright.
However, Zebra burst out laughing. "You're a good kid. I like honest people. Don't I know what I look like? There were actually fools who said I was so handsome it scared them!"
Setsuna smiled wryly. This guy had an interesting personality.
Just then, the chief examiner slowly sidled over, leaning against the wall: "Given the extremely low number of candidates for this exam, the first three stages are waived. You will proceed directly to the final combat assessment."
Setsuna's expression instantly turned to stone. If he had known skipping three stages was this easy, why did he study his butt off?