[Congratulations, host, for completing the fourth simulation. Reward: Mastery of Gourmet Energy!]
Kei instantly felt a flood of information pour into his mind. Unlike the previous rewards he had received, this one required him to earn it himself!
The so-called Gourmet Energy can be understood as the meaning of food—or rather, the meaning behind eating itself. Learning Gourmet Energy means understanding the significance of food to condense and refine one's own spirit.
By focusing the mind with intense concentration, one can maximize the efficiency of using energy within the body. A person who has mastered Gourmet Energy can exert the full potential of their strength—every single bit of it!
[Unyielding Will of Diamond, Invincible Heart against Ten Thousand Evils! You possess an incredibly strong will, firmly believing that there is nothing that cannot be overcome!]
[You have established absolute confidence as your gourmet path! You've grasped the foundation of Gourmet Energy!]
After grasping the basics of Gourmet Energy, Kei found his perception of energy within his body becoming more and more refined. He suddenly discovered that his body was filled with all kinds of "undigested" energies!
Ripple, Dragon Force, the power from the Sword Saint profession, and the psychic power he acquired in the Fox Spirit world—his Gourmet Cells had consumed all of them.
But they hadn't been properly digested. These energies were now clashing subtly inside him, their interference affecting the circulation of power. Even the tiniest inefficiencies were amplified—ten parts of power might only yield 9.99 in performance. That seemed small, but it had a huge overall impact.
"I'm digging in!"
Kei began to work on digesting each type of energy inside him. First came Ripple, which originated from the body, and was easily absorbed by the Gourmet Cells.
Next was the Sword Saint power—this one was difficult to fuse. Kei chose to simply devour it and turn it into nourishment.
The biggest contribution from the Sword Saint profession wasn't its magic, but the creativity it offered. The mana and similar elements were unimportant. They were simply food to be digested.
Then came Dragon Force. Kei didn't need to retain all of it. Using a special absorption technique, he let the various elemental attributes—lightning, fire, sky, metal, poison, light, shadow, and so on—stimulate his Gourmet Cells.
Once the Gourmet Cells had adapted to these traits, he consumed the rest of the Dragon Force and digested it.
Finally, the psychic power—he fused this directly with his physical body, merging it with the Gourmet Cells.
Now, only Ripple remained. However, after many layers of refinement, the Ripple inside him was no longer the same as before. Still, Kei felt it wasn't strong enough.
"Gourmet Cells are incredibly adaptive and devouring. They can even turn an entire planet into gourmet food."
"Ripple, in essence, is using special vibrations to gather uncontrollable life energy within the body."
Kei looked down at the golden arcs of electricity jumping between his fingertips and suddenly felt… it all seemed pointless.
The simplest is often the best! He realized he needed to strip away all unnecessary things—to refine and focus the energy to its most delicate and precise form for maximum utility.
With that in mind, he began to act. He discarded Ripple's external forms and focused purely on condensing life energy within his body!
He started by repeating the breathing techniques he had practiced countless times, gathering energy within.
It first became raw life force, then transformed into Ripple—but Kei slowly removed that intermediate step.
He focused solely on merging life energy into his body!
Gradually, his breathing quieted. The Gourmet Cells in his body began to pulse rhythmically.
They were "breathing"—with each breath, drawing in life energy from his body, absorbing it, compressing it, and storing it.
[Congratulations, through your unrelenting effort, all energies have fused into your Gourmet Cells. Your daily energy consumption has decreased!]
[Your energy utilization efficiency has increased!]
[Congratulations on combining Ripple and Gourmet Energy—your energy has transformed into purer life force. Energy capacity increased! Energy quality improved!]
[Congratulations, you've learned Food Absorption—your energy storage has greatly improved once again!]
"Whew!"
Kei let out a deep breath. He felt much lighter, and it wasn't an illusion. With all the chaotic energy now refined and harmonized, his body was naturally unburdened.
He moved around and noticed his speed had increased. His energy flow was more responsive than ever.
"The healing effect of Ripple didn't disappear—it got even stronger!"
Kei placed his hand on a piece of wood. A small pulse of life energy flowed out, and the wood immediately began to sprout!
Ripple has the power to make trees grow and wounds heal—it's essentially a way of transmitting life force.
Now Kei no longer needed any special technique. His life energy could do that all on its own!
He also tried vibrating the life energy. Although the golden electric arcs were gone, the attributes remained.
Attraction and repulsion, enhanced sharpness, pressure point strikes—everything Ripple could do, he could now perform even better!
After spending some time adjusting to his new state, Kei suddenly noticed something.
"Hm? Where's Binchō-tan~?"
He realized that the small figure he saw so often was nowhere to be found. Looking around, he found her lying on the living room floor, drawing with crayons.
She was drawing what looked like a shop—with two people standing in front. One was Binchō-tan, the other was Kei. They were holding hands, looking very happy.
Kei walked over and gently patted her head, smiling. "Binchō-tan, is this a picture of our shop and me?"
"Mhm." She nodded.
"What are you going to do with it?"
"I'm going to take it back and show Grandma. I want to tell her that I'm doing really well here, and that the shopkeeper takes good care of me, so she doesn't have to worry."
"Oh, right—can I take a day off, shopkeeper?"
She suddenly remembered something, stood up, and looked at Kei with big hopeful eyes.
"That's fine, but what are you going to do?"
"I want to visit my old home in the mountains and leave the picture there. So when Grandma comes back, she'll see it."
Even though Binchō-tan knew her grandma was gone, she still believed deep down that she might come back one day—she just couldn't see her.
"Want me to come with you?"
"No need. I can go by myself."
She ran off happily, but after a few steps, she stopped, turned around, and gave Kei a grateful smile. "Thank you so much for everything, shopkeeper."
"Don't talk like you're not coming back. Your house isn't that far, right?"
"It's only half a day's walk round trip."
Kei had asked her before about where her mountain home was, so he knew the distance. Still, her tone made him feel a bit uneasy.
"I'll definitely be back! I still need to help the shopkeeper run the shop better!"
She didn't realize there was anything strange about what she said. She just saw people on TV say things like that during serious farewells.
"Alright then, come back soon."
Kei packed some food for her and sent her off.
After she left…
"Why does it feel so quiet all of a sudden? Has the shop always been this quiet?"
Kei sat in the living room drinking tea and flipping through TV channels, the silence feeling unfamiliar.
He looked around and thought, if Binchō-tan were here, she'd be pointing at the TV and asking all sorts of questions.
A while later, ten people entered the shop.
"Meow~ Shopkeeper, hello!"
Sasaki pushed open the door and entered. Seeing Kei, he was surprised. "Oh? Binchō-tan isn't here today?"
Usually, Binchō-tan handled the front. Seeing Kei himself was rare.
"She went back to her old home in the mountains. She'll be back this afternoon. What brings you here?"
Kei invited Sasaki to sit and asked.
"Not much, just that our shop recently launched a new ramen flavor. I wanted to invite you both to try it."
"Thanks to your earlier introductions, we got some amazing ingredients."
"I'll go try it with Binchō-tan when she gets back. By the way, weren't you hiring? Found anyone yet?"
"No luck. Not many humans want to work in a shop run by cats…"
Sasaki sighed deeply. The cat lovers are too distracted to focus, and non-cat lovers don't want to work there. He was so stressed, he was even shedding fur.
"You don't look so good. Did you know you've got a weird expression right now?"
"Huh? Really?"
Sasaki was surprised. Though he was feeling bad, he thought he was hiding it well.
"You're smiling, but I can tell. Let me brush your fur."
Kei suddenly realized he could perceive others' emotions more clearly now—probably the result of fusing Gourmet Energy with psychic power.
"Eh? That's too much trouble for you!"
"It's fine. You can't work properly like this."
Kei brushed Sasaki's fur using magnetic Ripple energy. The loose hair stuck to his hand, and the life force rejuvenated Sasaki's skin.
"Meow! That feels so good! Yes, right there! Aah~ so comfortable! Human hands really are the best!"
The grooming didn't take long, and Sasaki looked refreshed and happy.
"Thanks a lot, shopkeeper!"
"No need. I've got nothing else to do."
"I'll be waiting at our place for you two to come try the ramen!"
After checking the time, Sasaki waved and left.
Right then, Kei ran into someone familiar just outside.
"Coco? What brings you to the Gourmet Market?"
One of the Four Heavenly Kings—Coco—had come. After dealing with the puffer whale incident, he got Kei's address from Toriko and came to visit.
"I wanted to check out your shop. This market is huge—I wandered for a while before I found it."
"Next time, just call me. Come on in."
Kei led him inside. No need to brew new tea; the one from before was still warm.
Coco was a bit shy and overly polite. "No, I won't sit. I'm full of toxins—don't want to contaminate your ingredients."
"It's fine. I know toxins too well—I'm immune. Come on."
Kei patted Coco's shoulder and dragged him inside.
Seeing Kei unafraid and even casually touching him, Coco smiled warmly.
"Then I'll gladly accept."
They chatted about everything—food, electromagnetism, poisons, and more.
"It's noon. Let's have lunch. I don't have any rare ingredients, just regular home cooking."
"Too bad Binchō-tan's not here, or I'd let you try her amazing steamed rice."
Kei cooked while Coco helped. The meal was mostly meat—Kei's favorite.
Coco was delighted. It had been a while since he had such a good time eating with a friend, without worrying about rejection.
Before leaving, Coco handed Kei his number. "Call me anytime."
"This is my shop number. If I'm not around, just tell Binchō-tan."
Coco walked off, waving back with a smile.
Kei reentered the house and barely sat down before the door opened.
"I'm back!" came Binchō-tan's voice.
"Welcome home."
She smiled brightly, but tripped on her ribbon. Kei caught her.
"Thank you, shopkeeper."
"No problem. Did anything happen on the way?"
"Yeah! Duck-san helped me cross the river. Bird-san flew me up the mountain."
"I even made a new friend—a purple-haired girl who says Nyapasu a lot."
"What's Nyapasu?"
"No idea. Maybe it means hello?"
"I cleaned the house and left the drawing for Grandma. Then I talked to her a lot."
Binchō-tan looked up, eyes sparkling. "I told her that I love the shopkeeper and the shop the most!"
Kei patted her head with a smile.
"By the way, Sasaki-san invited us to try their new ramen flavor."
"Mhm!"
"Oh, and I have a card from Grandma Settsuno's shop. Let's try some gourmet food made by a National Treasure chef sometime!"
"Mhm!"
As evening fell, Kei cooked while Binchō-tan steamed rice. They sat in front of the TV together.
"Hey, it's Tina-neesan! What's that on her shoulder? A pet?"
"Looks like a Balloon Pigeon. All meat. Best grilled."
"Looks delicious!"
And just like that, a simple, joyful day came to a close.
...
"Hello, this is Jirō."
"Old man Jirō? What made you call me?"
"Wanted to treat you to some food! You never come by, so I had to call."
"I wasn't avoiding you! I just didn't have time. I was just getting ready to visit."
"Then hurry up! Granny Settsuno just made some Gourmet Soup. It's made from over ten thousand ingredients!"
"Alright, I'm on my way!"
(End of Chapter)
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