Pariston closed the office door, walked over to his desk, picked up the phone, and dialed a number.
"Hello, is this V5's International Permit Agency? I'm Pariston, Vice Chairman of the Hunter Association. Here's the thing. I'd like to ask whether there have been any stowaway incidents recently…"
While no small commotion was taking place at the Hunter Association, Roy had already used Instant Transmission to arrive in an unknown city.
He dialed the number Netero had written on the slip of paper.
"Beep… beep… click. May I ask who's calling?"
After the call connected, a deep, middle-aged man's voice sounded from the other end.
"Hello, my name is Roy. I have two new ingredients here that I'd like Linne-senpai to investigate. Netero-san gave me this phone number," Roy answered.
On the other end of the line, a middle-aged man with black-rimmed glasses and a mustache held the phone while looking at Linne, who was lying on a rocking chair with her eyes closed, basking in the sun.
"Is it the kid called Roy? Good grief. Netero only just called me about that boy, and now the little fellow has already called so soon." Linne slowly opened her eyes.
"Let him come over. I'm especially interested in the two new ingredients he mentioned!"
As she spoke, a deep light of expectation flashed through Linne's eyes, then quickly vanished.
"Huh? Yes!" The middle-aged mustached man was stunned at first, then quickly answered. At the same time, he became curious about this man named Roy.
After all, Linne-sensei had not shown interest in anything for a very long time.
Even when several new ingredients had been discovered in recent years, Linne-sensei had merely given them a few calm glances and then ignored them.
It felt as if Linne-sensei no longer cared much about this world at all. Aside from looking toward the north at a fixed time every day, she did nothing else.
It was as though there was something in the north that could particularly attract Linne-sensei, or rather, as though Linne-sensei had some deep obsession with the north.
Thoughts turned through the middle-aged mustached man's mind, and then he went back to speaking with Roy on the phone.
While they were talking, Linne once again turned her gaze northward and murmured in a voice so low it was almost inaudible, "Soon, I'll be able to cook dishes of darkness again. Finally, I'll be able to cook them once more."
Linne's voice choked up, and her body and hands trembled faintly.
She was trembling with excitement!
Linne could clearly feel that her entire body was longing for Roy's arrival, and for the ingredients in his hands.
"Very well. I'll head over right away."
After confirming everything with Linne's side and giving his greeting, Roy hung up.
Then, with another use of Instant Transmission, he arrived before the gate of an ancient castle in a forest. This was Linne's residence.
Of course, Roy would not teleport directly into Linne's home. That would be far too rude.
Ding-dong!
He rang the doorbell, confirmed his identity, and then the gate opened. Roy was welcomed inside.
"Hello, Roy-sama. I am Linne-sensei's butler, Izuk. Please follow me. Linne-sensei is waiting for you."
The middle-aged mustached man, Izuk, was surprised that Roy had arrived so quickly, but he was smart enough not to ask too much. Everyone had their own secrets, and prying rashly would be impolite.
"Thank you for the trouble."
Roy returned the courtesy. He could sense that this man named Izuk had a considerable amount of aura. He was probably not merely a butler. Just as his way of addressing Linne suggested, he was also Linne's disciple.
The two of them passed through the courtyard, and soon appeared before Linne.
What stood out next was the atmosphere around her, which seemed completely incompatible with the rest of the world. It felt as though she had already seen through everything, carrying a somewhat lifeless air.
"So you're the outstanding kid Netero mentioned?" Linne opened her eyes and looked at Roy, speaking in a calm tone. When she spoke, she did not avoid Izuk at all, which clearly showed that their relationship was not ordinary.
"You said you have new ingredients in your hands, right? Can you take them out and let this old woman have a look?"
As she spoke, Linne's body leaned slightly forward from the rocking chair.
Roy could feel that, when she said those words, the lifeless atmosphere around Linne suddenly vanished, transforming into a feeling of expectation—almost yearning.
Seeing her like this, Roy did not keep her in suspense. With his left hand, he took out the gourd. With his right hand, he took out a Capsule, which contained the detoxified black-and-white fish.
Roy tossed the Capsule out. After a burst of sound, a large refrigerator appeared.
Izuk, standing nearby, looked over curiously. He wanted to know exactly what kind of ingredient could make Linne-sensei look forward to it so much.
"So these are the ingredients?" Izuk's expression became strange, and he felt somewhat disappointed.
He was also a Gourmet Hunter. Moreover, he was Linne's prized disciple, someone she had taught for many years, and he had inherited her true teachings.
Although this fish was indeed a type he had never seen before, and it was indeed a new ingredient, when he used the ingredient-observation methods Linne had taught him to judge it, he discovered that no matter what cooking method or treatment approach he considered, this fish was simply ordinary. It was no different from some farmed fish found on the Six Continents.
It could only be said that ingredients from the Dark Continent were far too unique and deceptive. The observation methods Linne had taught Izuk were only applicable to ingredients from the Six Continents—the sort that could be explained within the bounds of common sense.
Were ingredients from the Dark Continent the sort of thing that could be explained by reasonable laws?
As someone who had once been to the Dark Continent, and as a professional Gourmet Hunter, Linne had been staring fixedly at these black-and-white fish ever since Roy opened the refrigerator.
She also knew that Dark Continent ingredients could not be measured by common sense. She did not doubt whether these fish had truly come from the Dark Continent, because Netero had personally called her.
As an old partner and old comrade of many years, someone with whom she had once risked life and death while exploring the Dark Continent, Netero would never deceive her about something like this.
(End of Chapter)
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