"Ah, it's Erina and Hoshino boy. Why are you suddenly coming to see me?"
Bare-chested, with well-defined muscles, Senzaemon Nakiri opened the door and asked, looking at Hoshino Sora and Erina Nakiri standing at the entrance with some confusion. He then stepped aside, inviting the two inside.
"Regarding…"
Entering the house, the two rested for a while, then Erina Nakiri slowly began to recount what had just happened. After listening to the entire story, Senzaemon Nakiri's brows furrowed.
"Someone ambushed you at Tenshukaku?"
His voice was filled with surprise. Tenshukaku was heavily guarded; it was practically impossible to break in from the outside without causing a disturbance. Yet, the fact remained that Hoshino Sora had been ambushed by an outsider inside Tenshukaku.
"Although I had anticipated it, I didn't expect those fellows to be so bold as to make a move inside Tenshukaku. They truly will do anything for the Legendary Cooking Utensil!"
A cold glint flashed in his eyes. Hoshino Sora was his important grandson-in-law; both his granddaughters were entrusted to him. If anything unexpected happened, he wouldn't be able to explain it to Erina and Alice!
"Grandfather, you said they were after the Legendary Cooking Utensil? What secret does the Legendary Cooking Utensil hold? Why would it make those fellows so crazy? The ability to accelerate fermentation, while valuable, shouldn't make them lose their minds."
Erina Nakiri asked in confusion, and Hoshino Sora also cast a bewildered gaze. The Legendary Cooking Utensil was useful, but in the end, it was just a cooking utensil.
What kind of secret was hidden within it that would make the Chinese from the ancient Eastern country so insane?! To the point of 'kidnapping' him in Tenshukaku!?
"Given the circumstances, I won't hide it from you anymore. This was originally a secret of the upper echelons; if it were to reach the common people, it would certainly cause panic."
Looking at Hoshino Sora and Erina Nakiri, who were eager for answers, Senzaemon Nakiri slowly stood up, walked to the window, closed it, and then checked if the door was tightly shut.
After finishing, he slowly sat down and turned his gaze to the two.
At this moment, Hoshino Sora and Erina Nakiri sat side by side, their eyes filled with confusion, yet deep down, they were full of anticipation, as they were about to learn this great secret.
A Legendary Cooking Utensil revered by Oriental Academy and Dark Cuisine World, a secret that would cause panic if known by the common people—what kind of secret was this?!
"Gulp."
Swallowing, Hoshino Sora grasped Erina Nakiri's hand, their fingers intertwined under the table, and Senzaemon Nakiri spoke at that moment.
"Each Legendary Cooking Utensil possesses incredibly miraculous abilities, but its most important aspect is not this ability, but its inherent function: a key."
"A key?" Erina Nakiri murmured in confusion. How could a cooking utensil be a key? They don't even look alike!
"In recent centuries, China discovered a new world. To enter this new world, one must hold a Legendary Cooking Utensil, and this new world is called the Gourmet Continent by the Chinese.
The Gourmet Continent is a place full of aromas and colors. It is composed of countless regions, each renowned for its unique culinary culture and flavors. Its area is vast; the Chinese have explored for centuries and have only charted five, though it's possible they know more but haven't disclosed it.
Now, I will tell you about the five regions they have disclosed. Listen carefully.
First, upon entering the Gourmet Continent, you will arrive at the "Spice Valley." This is a valley filled with various spices and herbs, each with its unique aroma and taste.
The residents here specialize in making various spices their main food, and their cooking techniques can bring out the flavor of spices to the extreme. Every person is an incredibly skilled chef. That's right, you heard correctly, there are indigenous people in that world!"
A hint of madness was revealed in his eyes. A new world with intelligent life forms other than Earthlings—isn't that aliens? If the common people knew, they would probably go crazy!
The closer to the starting point, the lower the danger level. For example, in Spice Valley, I have never heard of anyone dying there. Of course, if you truly venture deep into the Gourmet Continent, the mortality rate is quite high.
I heard there are Gourmet Monsters with powerful bodies inside; these monsters are incredibly strong, capable of rivaling tanks and airplanes, and their meat is exceptionally delicious. A Chinese person once ate it while being hosted by the natives, and after returning to China, he began to starve himself until he re-entered the Gourmet Continent, where he died pursuing gourmet food."
Senzaemon Nakiri's voice carried a hint of melancholy; such cases were countless. As soon as they entered the Gourmet Continent, these chefs would madly venture through the continent, tasting all the delicacies in the world while honing their culinary skills, allowing themselves to break through to a new realm.
"Leaving Spice Valley, you will enter 'Sweet Forest.' This area is characterized by dense sugar maple trees, and some trees whose names are unknown, but whose sap can extract uniquely flavored syrup.
The residents of the forest make a living by creating various candies and desserts; their cooking skills can transform simple ingredients into rich-tasting desserts, and the desserts produced in Sweet Forest are also the best-selling desserts in the surrounding areas."
Taking a sip of tea, Senzaemon Nakiri slowly spoke, his eyes showing a rare hint of nostalgia. Evidently, he too had once adventured in that vast and boundless Gourmet Continent.
"'Sour Mountain' is the third area explored by China. It is covered with various sour ingredients such as lemons, currants, and limes, as well as many unknown acidic ingredients. The residents on the mountain are skilled in preparing various sour dishes; their cooking techniques can bring out unique flavors from these ingredients.
Next is "Umami Coast." This area is close to the ocean and is rich in various seafood. Every fisherman along the coast is a master at cooking seafood!
Finally, there is "Hundred Flavors Mountain." This area is very large, exceeding the combined total of the previous four areas, covering various types of ingredients, including vegetables, fruits, meats, and grains.
The residents on the mountain are skilled in preparing various complex dishes; their cooking techniques can perfectly blend the flavors of various ingredients. China has not yet fully explored this area.
However, what is certain is that although there are incredibly delicious ingredients here,
But, opportunity and danger usually coexist. Besides the readily available plant-based ingredients, there are also many huge, incredibly delicious fierce beasts!
By the way, the natives there are all physically strong. The chefs sent by China once personally witnessed a resident of the Gourmet Continent fighting a ten-meter-tall monster with a spear!"
By the end of his speech, Senzaemon Nakiri's voice was filled with shock. Fighting a monster with a flesh-and-blood body and ultimately winning felt incredibly surreal no matter how he heard it!
If it weren't for the fact that the news was brought back by a famous Chinese chef, it's estimated that no one would have believed this fact; rather, they wouldn't have wanted to believe it.
In another world, someone could defeat a fierce beast with a flesh-and-blood body! And it was a fierce beast a hundred times his size! This was undoubtedly an incredibly unbelievable thing!
"Is it that amazing…?"
Hoshino Sora and Erina Nakiri listened enthralled. Fighting fierce beasts with a mortal body, while he could also do it, was based on the enhancement of his body by Gourmet Cells.
However, Hoshino Sora had not expected that there was a new world outside of Earth. It seemed that this mixed-genre world was much more complex than he had imagined.
"Phew…"
Exhaling a long breath, Hoshino Sora picked up his tea and sipped it. Gourmet Continent? The legendary cooking utensils were just keys to open the path to the continent? This news was indeed very impactful.
Although he now had a Gourmet Manor that could stably produce high-quality special ingredients, compared to the vast and boundless Gourmet Continent, Gourmet Manor still had considerable limitations.
At least, when Hoshino Sora heard Senzaemon Nakiri's description of the Gourmet Continent, a sense of yearning involuntarily arose in his heart. He possessed power, but had nowhere to use it. In the real world, he dared not use his full strength. Perhaps, the Gourmet Continent was the most suitable place for him to go right now.
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