After leaving the Red Cat Ramen Shop, Kei returned to his Gourmet Store.
"Welcome back."
As soon as Kei walked in, Binchotan ran over and greeted him with her soft and cute voice.
"Yeah, I'm back."
Kei reached out and patted Binchotan's head. "Did anyone call while I was out?"
"Yes, the head of the Hundred Gates Department called..."
"I asked what the matter was, but he said he had to speak to the shop owner directly. I wrote down the number."
Binchotan spoke as she pulled out the small notebook Kei had prepared for her. On it were a few scribbled numbers that were slightly messy.
"Well done."
Kei praised Binchotan and then dialed the number written in the notebook. The call connected after a short wait.
"Hello, this is Kei. What's the matter?"
"I heard you can get your hands on any kind of ingredient. I want a Puffer Whale. Can you obtain one?"
"Puffer Whale?"
Kei recalled the Puffer Whale, a creature with a hunting difficulty level of 29. It usually lived in the deep sea and only surfaced once every ten years.
"Isn't this something a Gourmet Hunter should be dealing with? Why ask me?"
"I've already hired quite a few Gourmet Hunters, but they were all useless. I've heard you have connections with the Four Heavenly Kings."
"I'm willing to pay a high price to acquire a Puffer Whale. You can entrust the task to Toriko, or try other methods."
Kei thought for a moment and replied, "Alright, I'll take the job. Come by in three days to collect it."
"I'll be waiting for the good news."
The voice on the other end hung up after speaking.
"A single, unprocessed Puffer Whale can sell for a hundred million yen. If it's perfectly prepared, the price can go up to five hundred million yen."
"It's a fight worth taking!"
Kei remembered that today was the once-in-a-decade Puffer Whale spawning season. He needed to go online and investigate the best location to catch one.
As Kei was researching, a familiar figure walked into the shop.
"Long time no see, Binchotan-chan!"
"Hello, Miss Reporter."
"Such a good girl. Here, have some candy."
Tina pulled a chocolate energy bar from her pocket and handed it to Binchotan. Then she asked, "Is the shop owner in?"
"He's home."
Binchotan nodded.
"Boss! Let's go catch some Puffer Whales!"
Tina shouted eagerly when she found out Kei was home.
"Hm? Did you secretly install surveillance cameras in my house or something?"
Kei walked out from the inner room and asked.
"No, why would I do that?" Tina replied, puzzled.
"I just accepted a job to catch a Puffer Whale, and you show up right away. That's too much of a coincidence."
"It's not a coincidence. This year is the once-in-a-decade spawning season. Tons of Gourmet Hunters, media outlets, and food enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting the Puffer Whale."
Tina explained, "So, Boss... Can you please take me along? I promise not to cause trouble."
"I brought plenty of equipment this time, and there's even a TV station vehicle we can use." Tina pleaded with all her might.
"No."
Kei rejected her outright. "Last time, you promised an interview to promote my shop, but it still hasn't aired."
"That... that's not my fault! The approval process at the station hasn't gone through yet. It'll take a few more days." Tina replied, feeling a bit embarrassed.
She stepped forward and hugged Kei's arm, shaking it back and forth. "Boss, Boss, pretty please take me along. We're friends who have even shared a meal together."
"Nope."
"Boss~~"
"No matter what you say, the answer is still no."
"Boss, do you know the best place to catch Puffer Whales this year?"
"Uh, I only know they can be found in shallow water areas. But the best spot? That I don't know. Tell me."
Kei's interest was piqued. As a food program host, Tina was well-versed in various ingredients.
Especially when it came to hot topics like this one; she would have done her research in advance.
"The best place this year is the Cave Shallows. It's not only an underground cave but also very dark, making it perfect for Puffer Whales to spawn."
"And it's also the habitat of the Demon Serpent!" Tina explained.
"The 21st-level Gourmet Serpent... Hmm, catching two valuable ingredients on one trip sounds good."
Kei nodded, noting down the location. Then he started preparing his gear. "Binchotan, I'll leave the shop to you for the next few days."
"Yes."
Binchotan nodded. "I'll make sure to take good care of the shop."
After gathering his equipment, Kei was ready to set off. Because Tina provided useful information, she earned the right to accompany him.
The two of them boarded a train heading to the Cave Shallows.
"So many Gourmet Hunters!"
Tina looked around at the other passengers in the carriage. Most of them were Gourmet Hunters, while the rest were food enthusiasts or researchers.
"Most of these guys are just here for the excitement. Very few of them have the skills to venture deep into the Cave Shallows."
Kei glanced around but didn't see Toriko. Maybe he had taken a different train.
After sitting down, they ordered some food. Not long after, someone deliberately caused trouble by spilling a drink on their table.
"Sorry, I'm really sorry! I drank too much and couldn't even hold my glass properly."
The Gourmet Hunter apologized and started wiping the spilled drink from the table. He cleaned up quickly and left.
"That guy did it on purpose, didn't he?" Tina asked. She could tell the man was being intentional but didn't understand his motive.
"It was a test. He intentionally tried to spill his drink on me to see if I would react."
"When he noticed I didn't respond, he went ahead and poured the drink on the table." Kei explained.
"A test? Isn't he supposed to be more aggressive and barbaric? Shouldn't people like that just start a fight at the slightest disagreement?" Tina asked.
"Watch fewer movies." Kei said bluntly. "Even if everyone is a competitor, this is still a lawful society. Not everyone is picking fights for no reason."
"The purpose of a test is just to gauge the situation. Having a rough estimate is enough. There's no need to really offend someone over it."
"I see. That's different from what I imagined. I thought it'd be more like raw combat, with fists flying and you beating everyone down!"
Tina waved her fists around, her excitement showing. She was confident in Kei's strength after witnessing him kill the Kyla Crocodile with a single strike.
After some time, the train reached its destination, the Cave Shallows.
Entering the cave, they were immediately surrounded by darkness. Tina turned on her headlamp and carefully followed Kei.
"Turn your headlamp's brightness down a bit. Creatures in the cave are easily disturbed by strong light."
"But if I make it too dim, we won't be able to see our surroundings! Wouldn't that make us vulnerable to attacks?!" Tina said as she adjusted her headlamp to the lowest setting.
"No problem. I can see just fine in the dark. Whether I have a headlamp or not doesn't matter."
Kei felt that it might be due to the power of the Shadow Dragon. In darkness, everything was clear to him, almost as if the darkness itself was part of his body, greatly enhancing his perception.
"That's so cool! If I had night vision like you, I wouldn't be afraid of the dark anymore."
Tina muttered softly to herself.
"Huh? So you're actually afraid of the dark? If you had told me earlier, you could've just waited outside. There's no need to force yourself to come along."
Kei overheard Tina's mumbling and responded.
"It's just because of some things that happened when I was little. But it's okay! To get firsthand material, I can overcome it!"
Tina was truly dedicated to her food-related interviews, willing to go through anything for her work.
"Whooosh!"
"Ah! Something's coming!"
Tina suddenly heard a piercing sound. She covered her ears tightly and clung to Kei's side.
"It's just cave bats. I can't tell which species yet. Turn off your headlamp for now."
Kei guided Tina to crouch down and switch off her light. They waited until a group of bats flew past overhead.
"By the way, why do you always do interviews alone? It was the same with the Crocodile and now with the Puffer Whale." Kei asked while waiting for the bats to leave.
"Because the other staff members are all cowards. No matter how much I try to convince them, no one wants to come along."
"And I didn't want to miss the once-in-a-decade grand event, so I had to come alone for the interview."
Tina sighed in frustration. Even though their TV station was focused on gourmet content, no one wanted to actually film the process of catching ingredients.
They were all far too comfortable in their cushy lives.
The two continued moving forward while chatting.
Meanwhile, back at the shop, there was a visitor.
"Hello? Is anyone here?"
"Yes, I'm here. How can I help you?"
Binchotan opened the door and saw two cats standing outside. She tilted her head in confusion.
"Is the shop owner here?" Sasaki asked.
"He's not here. The shop owner went out to gather new ingredients. If you have any messages, I can pass them along to him."
Binchotan replied.
"Ah, I'm Sasaki, and this is Monzo. We're here to thank the shop owner for his help earlier. Please accept this gift."
Sasaki handed over the gift he had prepared for Binchotan.
Binchotan didn't accept it right away. She looked at the visitors closely—gray fur, a cat, able to speak, and named Sasaki. Yep, that matched the description.
"The shop owner told me to treat Mr. Sasaki kindly if he came by. Please, come in and have some tea."
Binchotan invited the two cats inside and served them tea.
Sasaki looked at the cheerful and welcoming Binchotan, not sure how to respond.
"Well... we'll come in then."
The two cats sat down inside the shop.
"What about the gift..."
"Oh, you can just leave it with me."
After confirming their identities, Binchotan accepted the gift and placed it on the counter, planning to let the shop owner open it when he returned.
The three of them sat at the table for a while.
"W-Well, if there's nothing else, we'll be going. We'll come back to visit when the shop owner is around."
Sasaki said, feeling a bit awkward.
"Mm, the shop owner said he also prepared a gift for you, Mr. Sasaki. He said he wasn't sure what kind of food cats like, so he decided to give you fish instead."
"Mr. Sasaki, you can come with me to pick one out."
(End of Chapter)
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