The God's Tongue.
It is now impossible to determine exactly when this phenomenon first appeared.
But at the very least, according to all existing records, the birth of the God's Tongue caused an immeasurable shock to the culinary world.
Before the God's Tongue existed, people's definition of "delicious" varied wildly depending on personal taste.
Some preferred spicy food.
Some liked sour.
Others leaned toward sweet.
There were even those who enjoyed bitterness.
Naturally, people who liked spicy food often found sour dishes unpleasant. Those who couldn't handle spice found spicy food hard to swallow.
Arguments followed.
At first, people argued, but they still ate.
Later, those who disliked spicy food stopped eating spicy food altogether, completely rejecting everything associated with it. The same happened with sour, sweet, bitter-each preference formed its own closed circle.
Within the culinary world, these factions became sharply divided.
They didn't just disagree.
They refused to even try food from other factions.
In Jaden's memories from his previous life, the world had eventually developed past this stage. An ancient Eastern nation began integrating different flavors, classifying cuisines, blending tastes, and selecting representative dishes for broader promotion.
Other countries' culinary circles also created ranking systems, gradually blurring the rigid boundaries that once separated those factions.
But here-
At the peak of that extreme division-
The God's Tongue appeared.
Before its appearance, no faction possessed an absolute definition of "delicious."
The arrival of the God's Tongue was like a ruler bestowed by heaven upon a confused and conflicted world.
What the God's Tongue deemed delicious-
Was delicious.
Regardless of flavor, it must possess something extraordinary.
What the God's Tongue deemed unappetizing-
Was unappetizing.
No matter how flavors were stacked or disguised, it must contain fatal flaws.
This was how the earliest God's Tongue gained its authority.
And over time, that authority accumulated.
To the point that Erina, the current holder of the God's Tongue, possessed the terrifying ability to destroy a restaurant with a single sentence:
"It's unappetizing."
This was the benefit the world saw.
But what the world did not see-
Was the drawback of the God's Tongue.
"The initial stage is fine," Senzaemon Nakiri said slowly.
"If the God's Tongue's sense of taste remained at its starting level, then it truly would be a gift from heaven."
He sighed.
"But in reality, it does not remain there."
Senzaemon looked at Jaden and Erina.
"The God's Tongue grows."
"And it evolves."
"And its growth speed only becomes faster."
In the earliest era, the overall culinary standards were far too low for the God's Tongue.
The God's Tongue quickly surpassed the cuisine of that time.
If people back then hadn't lived within rigid family systems-
The God's Tongue might have disappeared entirely at that point.
"But it didn't," Senzaemon continued.
"It was passed down."
"Generation after generation."
"No matter how much culinary techniques advanced, the God's Tongue always surpassed the era's standards."
He paused briefly.
"In the end, the holder of the God's Tongue-someone who has tasted the very best flavors this world can offer-will reach a point where they can no longer eat anything."
"No matter what they eat, every flaw is magnified."
"Magnified endlessly."
"To the point where those flaws completely overshadow any merits the dish may have."
Senzaemon's voice grew heavier.
"So when our Nakiri ancestors realized this, they finally understood."
"The God's Tongue is not a blessing."
"It is a curse."
"And for the era that desperately needed a standard, this curse became something our Nakiri family had to bear."
"And pass down."
Senzaemon stopped speaking.
Silence filled the room.
Erina lowered her gaze.
After a moment, she frowned.
"So, Grandpa..."
"Your repeated recruitment of talented chefs from around the world..."
"That was to solve the curse of the God's Tongue."
"And Father's education of me when I was young..."
"That was meant to-"
Nakamura Azami opened his mouth to speak.
But Senzaemon interrupted him immediately.
"-Because he was too extreme."
Azami's approach had been extreme.
Because his wife had fallen victim to the curse.
Because his daughter also possessed the God's Tongue.
He had once fallen into despair.
Then, within that despair, he found an answer.
There was nothing he could do for his wife, at least not yet.
But for his daughter-
If the curse was unavoidable, then why not make use of the God's Tongue's power directly?
Bind the God's Tongue to the entire era.
Let the era be dragged forward by it.
Force the world to catch up with the God's Tongue's evolution speed.
This was Nakamura Azami's idea.
He wanted to cultivate Erina into a truly absolute yardstick.
A standard without personal opinion.
A standard without subjective preference.
He wanted to solve the curse of the God's Tongue this way.
Or rather-
He wanted to create a tool capable of solving the curse.
In doing so, Erina could save her mother.
And she could save herself.
As for the sacrifices involved-
Those were unavoidable.
Necessary sacrifices.
Azami even believed this was the only path forward.
He thought Senzaemon was too passive.
Too hesitant.
Too indecisive.
Always waiting for the right moment.
This fundamental difference in perspective was the greatest conflict between Senzaemon Nakiri and Nakamura Azami.
While the two of them stood on opposite sides of that belief-
Jaden listened quietly.
After hearing the so-called curse of the God's Tongue, he opened his system item backpack in a place where no one could see.
Inside, there was only one item.
-Two Ability Defect Compensation Pills.
He selected Erina as the target.
The system prompt confirmed it.
She was a valid subject.
Jaden checked the description again.
Erina's God's Tongue was indeed classified as a talent with a compensable defect.
After compensation, the perfected God's Tongue would allow its holder to freely decide-
Whether to magnify the merits of a dish.
Or its flaws.
And to what extent.
The control would rest entirely with the host.
The curse would be resolved completely.
Seeing this, Jaden finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.
His view of these two pills shifted subtly.
-At first, he had assumed they were items meant to rot in storage.
After all, drawing something truly powerful, like a Devil Fruit or Superman-level stats, was far too difficult.
But now-
At this crucial moment-
This item had actually come in handy.
Two pills.
Just enough.
No-
If possible, a third or fourth would be even better.
After all, if he had children in the future-
"Cough. Cough."
Jaden forcefully stopped his increasingly wayward thoughts.
Then he looked at Erina.
"Erina."
"Open your mouth."
Hearing this, Erina's face flushed slightly.
But she met Jaden's gaze.
She knew he wasn't joking.
She opened her mouth without hesitation.
Jaden placed a pill directly inside.
"That should do it."
He said this calmly.
Senzaemon Nakiri was watching.
Nakamura Azami was watching.
The six current members of the Elite Ten and Muteba had already left when Senzaemon began speaking about the Nakiri family's private matters.
There were only four people left in the room.
Jaden picked up the teapot on the table.
He poured a cup of tea.
He placed it in front of Erina.
"Drink some tea," he said evenly.
"The so-called curse of the God's Tongue..."
"Should be resolved."
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