"Oh? Are there other guests?" Upon entering from outside, Ichiryu immediately noticed the group, his gaze lingering particularly on Jibril.
*A person with wings? And she doesn't look like an ingredient, either,* Ichiryu couldn't help but think. Jiro was equally puzzled. Just who were these people?
"Hello, Mr. Ichiryu, Mr. Jiro!" Ren Isana smiled and greeted the two.
Ichiryu and Jiro looked Ren up and down. Ichiryu asked, his face full of suspicion, "Who might you be? You don't have a single Gourmet Cell in your body. You aren't from this world, are you?"
Someone without Gourmet Cells? This was truly their first time seeing such a person. In their world, even ordinary people who ate food containing Gourmet Cells growing up would have at least a small amount lingering in their bodies.
But Ren and Jibril? They had absolutely zero Gourmet Cells. He couldn't sense even a trace of that aura from them, which was incredibly surprising and impossible to ignore.
"As expected of Mr. Ichiryu. My name is Ren Isana, and I come from another world!" Ren wasn't too surprised that the man saw through him at a glance. After all, the Gourmet World was also another realm.
Furthermore, almost everyone in this world possessed Gourmet Cells; it was merely a matter of whether they could awaken them. For the young man standing before him to have none at all made it hard not to be suspicious.
Coupled with the massive, incompatible energy flowing through Ren's body, deducing that he was an otherworldly visitor wasn't difficult in the slightest. Now that Ren had admitted it, Ichiryu couldn't help but feel curious.
At the same time, his guard went up. If these people could enter their world so casually, did that mean others could too? What kind of changes would their arrival bring to this world?
These looming questions forced him to treat the situation with caution. However, the fact that they were standing right in front of him suggested they were at least willing to talk. The real trouble would be if they had sneaked in to cause chaos from the shadows.
The three of them had shown themselves openly and even come straight to Setsuno's place... Were they looking for him? Ichiryu quickly pieced it all together. As long as they harbored no ill intent, they could have a proper discussion.
"Can the people of your world come to ours whenever they please? And what is your purpose here?" Ichiryu asked, cutting straight to the core of the matter.
Slumped weakly in Jibril's arms, Erina immediately tensed up upon hearing this. *Is he interrogating us?* To the people of this world, they were invaders!
"Your world is currently fusing with this young lady's world, and in the future, the two might completely merge into one. However, her world is incredibly weak. If the ingredients from your world were to descend upon hers..." Ren explained, gesturing toward Erina in Jibril's embrace.
Hearing this, Ichiryu looked surprised. He naturally understood the unspoken implication of Ren's words, but he was far more focused on the underlying detail: these people weren't even from the same world?
"This young lady's world isn't your world?" Ichiryu looked at Ren strangely. These three were from entirely different universes? Just how many worlds were connecting to theirs?
*Is our world already riddled with holes?* The thought made Ichiryu feel a sudden wave of dread. Had their universe become a place anyone could just stroll into?
"That's right. Her world is currently linking up with mine, and during that process, we discovered that her world is also fusing with yours!" Ren slowly laid out the situation, explaining the mechanics of the convergence to Ichiryu.
As Ren elaborated, Ichiryu finally grasped the full picture. His expression turned solemn as he looked Ren straight in the eye. "So, in the future, our world will also completely connect with yours, correct? Meaning even more people will be coming here!"
That was the gist of it. It was earth-shattering news, but relatively speaking, it was a decent scenario—mainly because Ren's world didn't seem to harbor any malice toward theirs.
"Yes. The World Will of our world has already descended upon this one. By now, it should have finished negotiating with your World Will!" As for *how* those negotiations went, that wasn't important. All that mattered was that Pandora would be calling the shots from now on.
After all, the World Will of this realm didn't possess its own sapience like Pandora did. In the future, this world would simply become a part of Pandora. They were going to be lifelong partners in the World Will business!
Listening to Ren's explanation, Ichiryu and Jiro exchanged a glance. This information was simply too astonishing. Who could have imagined that other worlds would descend upon them without any warning? If Ren hadn't come over, they might have remained completely in the dark.
"Then, since you've suddenly come to our side, you must have some sort of plan in mind, right?" Having understood the situation, Ichiryu calmed down. Now, he wanted to know what the young man standing before him was thinking.
Looking at the boss of the IGO, Ren stated their stance. "Our side has always prioritized a win-win approach through cooperation. That applies to any world we encounter. Therefore, Mr. Ichiryu, we hope to establish a partnership with you."
Receiving this response, Ichiryu nodded thoughtfully. "I have no objections to cooperating. We can take our time discussing the details later."
He figured this kid probably wasn't the actual designated negotiator anyway. They could hash out the specifics of the partnership once the official representatives from that world arrived. There was no rush. Today, he was just here to eat.
Hearing this, Ren nodded. That was perfectly fine. Reaching a preliminary agreement was enough; he could leave the follow-up work to the others.
However, Ichiryu was still highly intrigued by Ren's world, especially the power Ren wielded. It was fundamentally different from anything in their world, which made it quite fascinating.
While waiting for the food, the group naturally fell into a deep exchange of knowledge. Ren was equally curious about this world's [Knocking] techniques—especially Jiro's absurd ability to apply [Knocking] to an entire planet.
He was incredibly interested. Since the other party was curious about the power systems of another world, why not have a thorough exchange? Magic was out of the question, of course, since these people didn't possess any Magic Power.
Therefore, Ren discussed his modified breathing techniques and martial arts. He shared genuine, practical knowledge rather than empty fluff—techniques that even ordinary people could learn.
Ichiryu and Jiro listened with great interest, finding plenty of valuable insights in Ren's explanations. In return, Jiro shared his own expertise on [Knocking] techniques with Ren.
In fact, upon learning about Erina's condition, Jiro immediately applied a [Knocking] technique to partially seal her tongue's sense of taste on the spot. The seal would automatically release once she grew strong enough to handle the sensory overload.
Erina was astonished to find that her tongue's sensitivity had actually decreased. *It's actually possible to do something like this?* It seemed her lifelong burden wasn't even considered a major issue in this world.
Afterward, Ren and the others shamelessly freeloaded a meal at Granny Setsuno's place, finally tasting the legendary Century Soup. The only downside was that drinking it forced a rather goofy, ecstatic expression onto their faces.
Erina, in particular, completely short-circuited from the flavor, even with her taste buds partially sealed. She had finally witnessed what it meant to be a true chef.
Her lifelong pride was shattered in an instant. There was always someone better, always a higher peak to climb. She truly understood that now. This trip to another world had completely opened her eyes.
After eating Granny Setsuno's food, Ren could feel the changes within his own body. Gourmet Cells had taken root inside him. When they would awaken depended on an individual's aptitude, though if they didn't receive continuous energy nourishment, the cells would eventually die off.
Once the Gourmet Cells awakened, they would multiply madly, replacing the body's other cells and turning the host into an absolute glutton. If these Gourmet Cells fully rooted themselves in his body, he would never be able to live without this world's food again.
If something were to happen to the food supply in this world, his strength would be completely bottlenecked. Thinking about it that way, there were definitely drawbacks. After a moment of thought, Ren made his decision.
If he wanted to reach the absolute pinnacle, it was best not to be restricted by such a thing. While the upper limits of Gourmet Cells were incredibly high and offered massive benefits to most people, they weren't for him.
If someone couldn't find their own path forward, fully committing to this route was a fantastic option. However, Ren already had a better alternative. Everything Gourmet Cells could achieve, he could already do himself—especially now that the [Third Magic] had completely fused with his physical body.
The perfect fusion of his soul and flesh meant Ren had no need for Gourmet Cells. He could leave this path for others to walk; he would pass. He glanced at Jibril beside him. The Flügel was completely submerged in an ocean of culinary bliss, not sparing a single thought for such complex matters.
"The taste is incredible. Granny Setsuno's culinary skills truly live up to their reputation~!" Ren gave Setsuno a thumbs-up. He had really broadened his horizons today; the flavor was simply unforgettable.
Hearing Ren's praise, Setsuno merely smiled without saying a word. As a National Living Treasure chef, she had long grown tired of such compliments. What caught her attention more was that Ren seemed somewhat disinterested in their world's cuisine.
Had he completely lost interest after finishing his meal? She definitely hadn't misread his expression. Unable to hold back, Setsuno asked, "Little Ren, you seem to have lost interest in our world's food?"
Ren paused in surprise at Granny Setsuno's question. Ichiryu and Jiro also turned their gazes toward him. This was getting interesting. Was there a specific reason?
"That's not it. The only thing I'm not interested in is the Gourmet Cells. The Gourmet Cells of your world are a wonderful thing for most people, but for me, they are a restriction..." He trailed off, leaving the rest unspoken.
Because they offered him no real benefit, he had no interest in them. As for the delicious food itself, Ren was still highly interested—along with some of the unique combat techniques this world had to offer!
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