"Since you've learned Food Honor, I have a commission for you."
Chef Sumire's statement surprised Zed. Accepting a commission now would expend the favor he'd earned by securing Erina and Hisako's enrollment at Nakaume Culinary Academy. Without his influence, the two would've failed the academy's rigorous entrance assessments.
Nakaume , while nurturing all enrolled students, maintained strict admission standards. Among tens of billions in the Human World, only a few thousand earned slots annually—a testament to its prestige.
Zed pondered Chef Sumire's motives. Favors are transactional. If she redeems mine now, he avoids owing a future debt to a rising Saiseiya.
Yet Chef Sumire, a top-ten chef, stood at the pinnacle of her field. Zed's potential, while vast, couldn't yet rival her stature. By cashing in this favor, he'd convert a fleeting debt into reciprocal goodwill—a shrewd move.
"Name the commission," Zed said. "If I can fulfill it, I will."
Building rapport with Chef Sumire mattered. Erina and Hisako's arrival suggested cross-dimensional rifts might persist. More Shokugeki refugees—or others—could follow, needing Nakaume 's training. Even if not, aligning with a culinary legend never hurt.
"You're aware of the commission's details. The Puffer Whale spawning season in the Beach Cave approaches. You'll be hunting them, yes?" Chef Sumire asked.
"Puffer Whales are rare, but you shouldn't lack access to them," Zed replied, puzzled. Though the whales spawned only once a decade, a chef of Sumire's stature could acquire them through connections.
"The whales are incidental. What I need lies deeper in the Beach Cave."
Zed understood. The Beach Cave's middle layer hosted the spawning grounds, but its depths held greater secrets.
The cave had three strata:
Upper Layer: Realm of Giant Centipedes, Death Scorpions, and Ironhide Cockroaches.
Middle Layer: Puffer Whale spawning grounds and weaker Devil Serpents (Capture Level ~20).
Deep Layer: Home to Skeleton Moss, a bone-growing plant that detoxifies poisons into delicacies.
The moss thrived near the skeleton of a Primordial Devil Serpent—a Gourmet World species (Capture Level 5,000+) whose descendants now languished in the Human World, diluted to Level 60 at strongest.
"I accept the commission," Zed said. Post-Food Honor mastery, a Level 60 Devil Serpent was manageable. Plus, he had one edge: a reserved Rainbow Fruit from his work with IGO, boosting his Gourmet Cells further.