There's a saying in an advertisement: if it's delicious, eat more. Kael didn't know how to praise Hinako's cooking, so he proved it through action. In just two hours, he ate every dish on Kiri no Ya's menu.
An ordinary person would have burst their stomach eating that much. But Kael was a cultivator—no matter how much he ate, he could use mana to digest it completely. So his stomach never bulged.
Meanwhile, Marin and Saki only managed three to five set meals before they were full. As beginners, they lacked Kael's digestion ability. Eating that much was already impressive.
After the meal, Hinako stood dumbfounded beside Kael. "You actually ate everything?" She had personally set the menu, and serving all of it could feed dozens of men.
Yet most of it had gone into Kael's stomach, with only a small portion eaten by the two girls. No matter how she looked, his stomach hadn't changed at all. Even competitive eaters couldn't reach this level. What kind of monster was he?
In all her years running the restaurant, she had seen big eaters, but never anything like this. It defied reason. She had rushed out to see for herself, only to watch Kael devour the food like a storm. She was stunned.
Kael smiled. "Graduates of Totsuki's Elite Ten never disappoint. If your skill is this high, I can't imagine how refined the cooking of Shinomiya Kojirō, Dōjima Gin, or Yukihira Jōichirō must be."
Hinako dismissed the first two names, but froze at the last. "Who is Jōichirō Yukihira?"
"Oh, that's Saiba. He married into the Yukihira family and changed his surname."
Hinako was shocked. "What? That proud man actually married into another family? That's hilarious! Him, of all people?"
She laughed uncontrollably, as if hearing the funniest joke. She couldn't imagine that rebellious senior ending up like that.
"Is Yukihira some great family?" she wondered, though she had never heard of it.
Kael recalled the original story. "Just a woman with some charm."
Food Wars had grown increasingly absurd, moving beyond cooking into near-superpowers. He had been baffled. The author even gave the protagonist, Yukihira Sōma, a buff by making him part of the strongest cooking family, the Yukihira clan.
As for Sōma's mother, Yukihira Tamako, she was the daughter of the former owner of Yukihira Diner. In her youth, she was a delinquent leader, bold and unrestrained. She loved experimenting with dishes, creating a "special of the day" menu item. Customers would guess whether it would be tasty or terrible.
When Jōichirō, having lost his passion for cooking, wandered into Yukihira Diner, he ordered her dish—it was terrible. But he noticed that despite the bad food, the diner's atmosphere was warm. Every time he returned to Japan, he visited the diner and helped out. Over time, Tamako's passion rekindled his own, and they fell in love, eventually marrying and having Sōma.
So Kael said Tamako was just a woman with some charm. Such women existed everywhere. It was simply fate that brought her and Jōichirō together.
Hinako muttered, "A woman with just some charm capturing Jōichirō? I can't imagine it."
Kael shrugged. "That's fate."
"Fate?" she whispered, then asked, "What's your relationship to Jōichirō? Are you his son?"
Kael rolled his eyes. "Do you think he could handle that? I have no connection to him. He doesn't even know me."
"Really?" Hinako was surprised. "You know so much about his past, I thought you were related."
"You're mistaken. I just pay attention to skilled chefs."
Kael pulled out his phone. "Your cooking is excellent. I enjoyed it. Let's exchange contacts. If you ever face trouble, call me. It would be a shame if someone like you died."
"Don't jinx me!" Hinako snapped, glaring. "What's wrong with you, cursing me out of nowhere?"
Kael laughed. "My mistake, my mistake. So, contacts?"
Hinako sighed. "Fine. Considering how much you spent today, I'll agree."
She had set the prices herself—each dish cost tens of thousands of yen. Kael's meal had cost at least three million yen, equivalent to a year's salary for an ordinary person. Such a big customer asking to exchange contacts couldn't be refused.
They exchanged numbers. Before leaving, Kael reminded her: "If you ever face danger, call me."
Hinako smiled playfully. "Are you trying to pursue me? Sorry, but you're not my type."
Kael rolled his eyes. "Do I lack pretty gyaru or obedient schoolgirls around me? Why would I chase after an aging woman?"
One sentence struck Hinako so hard she nearly cried. "You're too cruel. I'm not even thirty yet!"
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Gimme your stones, please.
( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)