Of course, fortified ingredients are not entirely without merit.
Although the efficacy is not as good as that of Fantasy Ingredients, the versatility of enhanced ingredients is incomparable.
The main source of the enhanced effects of Fantasy Ingredients is Gourmet Cells , which only take effect on specific people who possess them.
This condition is actually very strict.
Looking at the entire Toriko world, among the tens of billions of people, there are only a handful who can awaken their Gourmet Cells—less than one in ten thousand, which is comparable to the ratio of wizards in the Harry Potter world.
Among the owners of these Gourmet Cells, ordinary users account for the majority. Being able to awaken the Gourmet Demon , like the Four Heavenly Kings beside the protagonist Toriko, is extremely rare.
The vast majority of people in the Toriko world are those who eat Fantasy Ingredients to no avail, gaining little reinforcement from consuming them.
This is the limitation of Fantasy Ingredients. Their effect is destined to be a benefit only for the strong, and ordinary people cannot enjoy this kind of treatment at all.
But Takumi's fortified ingredients are different. Their strengthening effect has no limitations and is effective for everyone who consumes them.
Although the effect of consuming fortified food becomes weaker as one reaches the later stages of development.
But based on this versatility, the status of strengthened ingredients cannot be shaken by Fantasy Ingredients.
Because of its versatility and accessibility for everyone, fortified food can become a kind of hard currency that can replace money for transactions and circulation.
This is one of the main reasons why Takumi planned to implement a grain-based economy in Dimension City based on fortified food ingredients from the very beginning.
Relying on the universal utility of fortified food, there is no need to worry about people in other worlds being unwilling to buy it. This will play a key role in the future economic development of Dimension City.
This is something that Fantasy Ingredients cannot match.
If enhanced food ingredients are money, then Fantasy Food Ingredients are at most just commodities that are in demand within a small circle. It is self-evident which of the two is more fundamentally important.
But this is only in Takumi's eyes; in Bubu's eyes, fortified ingredients are just a novel ingredient for the time being.
Well, she has not yet discovered the benefits of fortified ingredients, nor does she know the advantages of their versatility.
In this regard, Takumi didn't bother to explain anything. Anyway, she would understand it later.
After looking at the ingredients, Takumi took Bubu to the next place she was also interested in: the cafeteria!
"This is the canteen of Dimension City. We usually eat here, or we get food delivered from here."
Bubu curiously looked at everything around her and nodded secretly.
From a decoration point of view, this cafeteria was actually quite ordinary, just like some university or workplace cafeterias. There was nothing special about it.
But Bubu didn't look down upon this; after all, her master Setsuno's cafeteria also looked very ordinary.
Rather, this decoration style made her feel more at home.
After visiting the dining area, Takumi took her into the kitchen at the back.
The time was gradually approaching noon, and Inui Hinako and the others were leading their girls to prepare lunch. The kitchen was a busy scene at this time.
"Ah, why is the City Lord free to come to the kitchen today?"
When Inui Hinako saw Takumi come in, she said hello playfully, and then she saw Bubu in a pink chef uniform behind Takumi.
"Ah? Who is this?"
Inui Hinako was startled for a moment, then immediately put down the kitchen knife in her hand and appeared in a flash. While waving, she looked at Bubu with stars in her eyes.
"Hello, this cute little sister. My name is Inui Hinako, and I am the chef here. What is your name?"
To be fair, Bubu was indeed very cute, especially her petite figure and slightly dazed look, like a porcelain doll, which made Inui Hinako fall in love with her at first sight.
"Well..." Bubu was a little taken aback by Inui Hinako's enthusiasm, but she still replied politely, "Hello, my name is Bubu, and I am also a cook."
However, what she didn't expect was that Inui Hinako's enthusiasm was far from over.
When she answered, Inui Hinako wiped her hands clean, and then, this older single woman who likes to cling to cute girls made her move!
"It turns out that your name is Bubu. Yeah, it's a very kawaii name. Of course, Bubu-chan herself is even more kawaii."
As Inui Hinako spoke, she hugged Bubu into her arms.
"Ah?... Please, please let me go."
Bubu was completely stunned. She had never been attacked by such enthusiasm. For a moment, her brain shut down and went blank.
Then she reacted and protested weakly, but she did not physically resist.
No. Even if she didn't want to, it wasn't that she couldn't resist.
As Setsuno's direct disciple, Bubu's strength was naturally not bad. In the world of Toriko, her strength was publicly acknowledged, ranked among the most powerful people in the world, excluding the top group of hidden bosses.
If placed in Dimension City, her strength would probably be below the second echelon but above the third echelon.
(There is an episode in the anime where Madam Fish is fished on the ice and Bubu freezes the lake. Her strength is evident.)
As for Inui Hinako, she only got stronger by eating strengthened ingredients and didn't usually go out to fight monsters to upgrade. She was basically a rookie not much stronger than Yuuki Asuna in Dimension City.
If Bubu wanted to resist, she could easily break free from Inui Hinako's restraints.
The main reason why she did not take action was that she dared not do it. She was afraid of using too much force and seriously injuring Inui Hinako.
Because she was still a little flustered, she might not be able to control her strength well.
However, Inui Hinako didn't know about her concerns. After hearing the protest, she became even more excited!
"Ah! Kawaii! Oh my god, how can there be such a cute child in this world, AWSL!"
A certain older single woman hugged Bubu tightly, started to cling, and let out strange screams like a madman.
(In other words, the characters of Bubu and Tadokoro Megumi are quite similar; the only difference is that Bubu is more confident and is basically not nervous when cooking, but is otherwise very shy.)
"Uh... Takumi-san, please help me."
Maybe she was too scared. Bubu was so panicked that she even forgot she had the strength to break free. She turned around and asked Takumi for help.
BAM!!!
Before Takumi could make a move, a black shadow flew over from behind with great precision, hitting the head of the older single woman squarely.
After being hit, Inui Hinako instantly held her head and crouched defensively, and Bubu also managed to escape.
"It hurts! What are you doing, Fuyumi!"
Seeing Bubu run away, Inui Hinako angrily picked up the hidden weapon that fell on the ground (a slightly deformed pot lid) and turned around to protest against the instigator, Mizuhara Fuyumi.