The group soon returned to the garden shared by Menchi and Buhara. The enormous corpse of the Barkslong had been laid out flat in the courtyard outside the kitchen. Its sheer size was staggering, standing several meters tall and stretching over ten meters long.
The total weight of the Barkslong exceeded ten tons, and aside from a tiny portion that could not be used as food, nearly the entire body could be processed into high-quality ingredients. Under these circumstances, the yield from the Barkslong alone was enough to exceed ten tons of usable meat—far more than any single chef or a few dishes could ever exhaust. Without proper preservation methods, simply storing it would result in waste.
Ron didn't mind sharing part of the Barkslong's meat with Menchi and Buhara. On one hand, this would help strengthen their friendship; on the other, the dishes made by Menchi and Buhara would naturally be shared back with Ron, allowing his Gourmet Cell to benefit from the resulting cuisine.
Just then, a phone rang. Menchi picked up the call. After she hung up, she walked over to Ron and Alice with a slightly apologetic look on her face.
"Ron, Alice…"
But there was no need for her to say anything—Ron and Alice had already guessed what she was about to bring up.
"It's fine, Senior Menchi," Alice said.
Menchi was a bit surprised. "You knew what I was going to say?"
"It's about the Barkslong, right? Some of your friends also want to participate in preparing dishes from it—should be that, right?" Alice shrugged slightly.
"That's right."
"It's fine. There's no way just the few of us could cook the whole thing. The Barkslong is far too massive—let them come."
Ron and Alice had already discussed this earlier. Rather than hoarding the Barkslong and letting its freshness decline, it was better to share it directly. This would also be a good thing for Alice. Her talent had already been proven—she was only a first-year in senior high, yet she had become the top of the Elite Ten at the Moon Institute. However, the gap between the Elite Ten and the Council Members was still vast. New Elite Ten appeared every year, but there were only nine Council Members in all of Gourmet Paradise, and each held their seat for decades.
In this Council Member candidate tournament, Alice's advancement was largely due to Ron's strength. Offering the Barkslong as an ingredient guaranteed her a very high score even if her actual dish was just average. That was why, when Ron and Alice's team took first place, no one questioned it. Yet that didn't mean everyone accepted it. There were still many who felt unconvinced by Alice's new Council Member status. No matter how gifted she was, and regardless of being Linne's great-granddaughter, her age alone made some feel she didn't deserve the position. Sharing the Barkslong now could help Alice earn some goodwill.
Soon, Menchi called back, and a dozen chefs entered, expressing their gratitude to Ron and Alice before immersing themselves in preparing dishes using Barkslong meat. Ron, Misty, and the others waited outside. One dish after another was brought out and placed before them. As the one who had supplied the ingredient, Ron naturally had the right to taste first.
Menchi had just finished her dish and leaned against the wall for a brief rest. Alice also happened to finish hers.
"Alice."
"Senior Menchi."
"Did you two set out from the start with the Barkslong as your target?"
"Sort of."
Alice hadn't originally aimed for the Barkslong. But Ron had.
"I didn't expect you to actually bring down a Barkslong. That's incredible. Even Buhara and I together couldn't handle it."
"I didn't do much. It was all thanks to Ron," Alice said, shaking her head.
"Alice, can you tell me about how you fought the Barkslong?"
"You'll have to ask Ron about that."
Alice deflected the question. After all, it involved combat—details tied to Ron's abilities. She wasn't sure if explaining the whole battle would expose too much information. "I'll go ask him for you, Senior Menchi."
Alice headed to the dining area. "Ron…"
She explained what Menchi wanted to know. Ron hesitated briefly, then replied, "Senior Menchi probably wants to know the Barkslong's weakness, right? That's fine—you can tell her. Just keep my ability vague."
In that battle, Ron had used several of his trump cards. The Barkslong's strength, if translated into Nen terms, would place it at the top tier among A-rank Nen users. And because of its massive body and overwhelming vitality, killing it was even harder than killing a human of the same level.
Besides Natsu and Uchiha Sasuke, Ron had also used Lampent's ability, as well as Sheer Heart Attack. Akame's ability hadn't been used, since if Murasame struck, the Barkslong's corpse might no longer be usable as food.
Because of their contract, Alice was permitted to see Ron's abilities so he held no worries there. However, his relationship with Menchi and Buhara was good—but not that good.
Alice nodded. "Senior Menchi, the Barkslong's weak point is in its abdomen. There's a small patch of white skin that's more fragile than the rest. Attacking that spot works well. Ron used a Nen Beast to restrain it and lured the Barkslong into a trap we had prepared in advance. That was how we created the opportunity to defeat it."
Menchi's eyes lit up slightly. "The white patch on the belly, huh? Thank you, Alice."
"You're welcome."
"This really helps me and Buhara a lot. Right now, our main goal is to take down a Barkslong and prepare a dish from it." Menchi said, "Knowing that weak point makes our chances of success much higher."
"Alice, if you and Ron ever need anything from me, just say the word."
As he continued eating, Ron gradually felt a subtle shift taking place within his Gourmet Cell ability. It was as if, upon reaching a certain threshold, something would soon undergo a qualitative transformation.
That made Ron genuinely excited.
The next morning, Alice came by early. "Ron, Great-Grandma asked me to bring you over for a meal. She's cooking personally."