Chapter 73: Setsuno's Diner
Elysia had returned, and Kenji sighed.
Damn Honkai. He knew that as long as the Honkai was not defeated, Elysia couldn't stay in other worlds for long. This time, she had only stayed for a few days. No matter the cost, we must defeat the Honkai.
[Star Forger]: "Furina, how does it feel to use your new power?"
[Lady Justice]: "Well... I haven't had a chance to use it yet."
Furina was a little embarrassed. Although this power was strong, there was no disaster happening right now. She couldn't just go and beat up some hilichurls with it, could she?
Hilichurls: "You're so amazing. You're so noble."
However, after gaining power, she felt like she didn't have to act anymore. She was filled with confidence. She was now a god. No, she had surpassed the Hydro Archon.
Tides, I have returned.
She didn't know yet that even the Heavenly Principles were... to her now.
[Dian Mei Ruan]: "Furina, if you have time, you can send me the water from the Primordial Sea and the blood of a Fontaine person to study."
[Lady Justice]: "I know. I'll go ask Neuvillette for some later."
Now that she had power, she could ask Neuvillette with confidence, without having to be careful about exposing anything.
[Star Forger]: "Furina, you're an Emanator of Preservation now. Celestia was unhappy that the Hydro Archon used the water of the Primordial Sea. You can just go up to Celestia now, grab the Heavenly Principles by the neck, and ask, 'Will you dance, too?'"
When you have power, everything you do is justice.
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "?"
Isn't that my line?
[Lady Justice]: "Kenji, you mean I should just go and fight Celestia?"
[Star Forger]: "Not necessarily. The source of the disaster in the prophecy is actually a whale. But you know nothing about your own power."
Furina had the power now, but her vision had not yet caught up to it.
[Star Forger]: "The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, the Seven Archons... you can slap them all down with one hand."
[Star Forger]: "You are now the unparalleled one in Teyvat."
[Lady Justice]: "Am I that strong?!"
She really didn't know much about her own power.
Before—Only the Heavenly Principles are not to be defied.
Now—She had obtained power from beyond this world.
Furina looked up at Celestia. Will I win?
Celestia: "You will die."
And that whale... just wait.
[Stank]: "Can someone send me a hamburger?"
[Stank]: "Motherf***er, the food these terrorists serve is terrible."
Oh, Tony had "crashed." Now he would begin his months-long iron-forging life in a cave.
Kenji stroked his chin. In this event, Tony had created the Arc Reactor, but the man who had helped him, Yinsen, had died there. Earth had a certain bald sorcerer. Helping Tony would affect the original timeline, and she would come sniffing around. Although the Tony who had joined the chat group had already deviated from the script, if an outsider intervened, the bald sorcerer would most likely come to have a "chat" with you. He didn't want to listen to her lectures for now. He would send Tony something to save his life later.
[Star Forger]: "Here you go, Tony. A delicious Four-Leaf Clover Burger. Don't be polite. Be careful of the terrorists; they might kill you after you're no longer useful. Bullets are very deadly to a mortal body like yours."
Unlike a four-leaf clover, the four "leaves" of this burger were four different parts of a hamburger, which combined to form the whole thing.
[Stank]: "Oh, this is delicious. Thanks, brother."
Tony wasn't asking for help right now. After all, he had his pride as a genius. He would get out of this on his own.
"Atashino, have you ever been to Setsuno's Diner before?"
News of the Century Soup was now spreading online, and many confident Gourmet Hunters had started to take action.
"Lady Setsuno's diner... I haven't been. It's too hard to make a reservation," Atashino said with a wry smile. Although she was a member of Biotope 0, reservations at Setsuno's Diner didn't take that into account. Besides close relations like Ichiryu and Kenji, who didn't need a reservation, even a famous person like Toriko had to wait four years.
"Hey, Master Setsuno, it's Kenji. Are you at the diner right now?"
"I am. If you want to eat, Kenji-kun, you can come over anytime."
"That's great. I'll be right over, Master Setsuno."
After hanging up, Kenji shrugged. See? This is what it's like to have connections.
"Master Jiro is your master, Master Setsuno is your master's wife, and President Ichiryu is your grandmaster. There's probably no one in this world with a stronger backing than you, right?" Atashino couldn't help but say.
All three of them were world-renowned figures.
Kenji wanted to say that Midora was also his grand-uncle. As for Acacia, Kenji had no good impression of him. He certainly couldn't compare to Ichiryu in terms of character. If they were to face each other in the future, he wouldn't hold back. As for his end, that was their family's business.
...
"Master Setsuno, I'm here..."
"Toriko, you're here too."
Opening the door to Setsuno's Diner, Kenji saw the pompadour-sporting Toriko, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. He was a little curious if everyone who made a reservation at Setsuno's Diner had to get the same pompadour hairstyle to eat there. As for a bald person (like Mansam), would they have to wear a wig?
"It's you, Kenji. And this is?" Toriko looked at Atashino. He could feel a dangerous aura from this woman.
"Atashino, the partner Grandmaster Ichiryu introduced to me."
Toriko and Komatsu were a little surprised. They knew what a partner meant to a Gourmet Hunter. They were their right-hand man, capable of handling those special and super-special ingredients.
"Miss Atashino, I remember you're that famous genius doctor from the Healing Country, right?" Komatsu seemed to have remembered something and looked at Atashino in shock.
"If there's no one else with that name, then it's me. I'm both a doctor and a chef."
Atashino didn't recognize Komatsu yet. After all, he hadn't ranked in the top 100 of the world's chef rankings yet.
"Congratulations. I didn't expect you to find a partner first," Toriko said with some surprise. He had been thinking about finding a partner, but he hadn't decided yet.
"Why don't you just team up with Komatsu?" Kenji suggested, trying to set them up early.
"Me and Mr. Toriko?" Komatsu was slightly taken aback. He had never thought about it, but it sounded nice.
Toriko didn't directly refuse. Komatsu... there was nothing wrong with him. They had worked together many times, and he knew his cooking skills well. He was an excellent chef. However, he would decide on a partner after capturing the Century Soup. It wasn't the right time to talk about it now.
"Ho ho ho, Kenji-kun, what do you want to eat? Just say the word," Setsuno said with a cheerful laugh, wearing a pink apron with a heart printed on the front.
"Master Setsuno, just serve your signature dishes. Has Master Jiro gone to find more booze again?"
"Yes, Jiro-kun goes to the Liquor King Islands almost every day. If you want to find him, you can go there," Setsuno said with a smile. Although it was also convenient for Jiro to enter the Gourmet World, he still chose the closer option.
"So this is the partner Ichi arranged for you. Not bad, not bad," Setsuno nodded. The "not bad" she was referring to was her strength and Gourmet Luck. Toriko was currently not as strong as a powerhouse like Atashino.
"Compared to you, Lady Setsuno, I'm still far behind," Atashino said humbly. It wasn't flattery, but a statement of fact.
"You're still young. You have plenty of opportunities," Setsuno said noncommittally.
While Setsuno was cooking, Kenji chatted with Toriko. Komatsu and Atashino were both watching Setsuno's every move intently. An opportunity to observe and learn like this was a rare one.
"Toriko, I heard you went to find BB Corn. Does Terry like it?"
"Terry loves it. BB Corn is now my appetizer," Toriko said with a reminiscent expression. It was so delicious he couldn't stop eating. He even had to consciously control his chewing, or he would just swallow it down.
"Want to try the dessert on my Full Course Menu?" Kenji asked with a smile.
"Dessert? You've started deciding on your menu too?" Toriko said in surprise. An ingredient that Kenji would choose for his menu had to be incredibly delicious.
"Is it an ingredient you captured in the Gourmet World?" Toriko asked curiously.
Kenji nodded and smiled. "Atashino and I captured it together. It's a commemoration of our partnership."
Setsuno smiled with nostalgia. The emotion of capturing an ingredient with a partner... she had experienced it with Jiro-kun back in the day.
"Gulp... After I've been to the Gourmet World, I'll come and taste your dessert," Toriko said, swallowing hard.
...
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We cross the 1050 power stone goal and as promise here the bonus chapter
Next goal 1200 power stone, good luck guys.
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