"Of course I know. I've known since I was a kid."
Tessia looked proud of herself.
Kaizen chuckled.
"Then tell me."
"A wife's job is to sleep with her husband and help him have kids."
"And then?"
"Then...?"
Tessia froze.
Kaizen tilted his head slightly.
"Do you know what that actually involves?"
"More details?"
Kaizen shook his head, smiling faintly.
"Alright, Tessia. You can go for now. That's not what a wife does."
Tessia climbed off the bed reluctantly, clearly displeased, and headed for the door. She wore a wine-red nightgown—chest rising and falling slightly. For her age, she already had a well-proportioned figure.
It caught Kaizen off guard for a moment.
She stopped at the door, one hand on the knob.
Then suddenly turned around and looked up at him.
"Kaizen... can you teach me?"
...
"Wait until you're older," Kaizen said gently.
As for Ponzu, Kaizen was going with the flow.
After all, Ponzu existed in the original timeline—he'd already known about her before entering this world. That's why Kaizen treated her with slightly more familiarity.
When the two shared a bed, Ponzu would unconsciously shift toward him in her sleep.
Things had progressed to a point that, under other circumstances, might have crossed a line—but Tessia was still too young. Not yet.
"Alright then."
Tessia gave a disappointed little nod and stepped out.
Kaizen lay back on the bed. Tessia's face still lingered in his mind, unbidden.
His phone rang.
He took it out and glanced at the screen. Unknown number.
"Hello?"
"Kaizen, it's me."
The voice was familiar.
Kaizen paused.
"Menchi-sama?"
"You told me before you wanted to come to Gourmet Paradise, right? Now's your chance. I'll send you the coordinates for the entry point. Let me know when you're here."
"Thanks, Menchi-sama."
"No need for thanks."
Kaizen hung up, grinning.
"Finally. Time for the next stage—collecting gourmet traits."
He'd been waiting for this.
After the Hunter Exam, he'd paused for a while.
Partly due to scheduling.
Partly because, after fusing with Toriko, he gained an ability related to gourmet cells.
Heading to Gourmet Paradise would not only allow him to sample exotic cuisines—it could also help him cultivate a Nen Beast specializing in culinary arts.
That would enhance his gourmet ability tremendously.
So, that was the next target: Gourmet Paradise.
Not much time had passed since the end of the exam.
But a lot had happened in between.
The strange events in Ponzu's village...
The chaos in Saherta Republic...
And the Rosgel incident.
Even Maha Zoldyck had advised him to take things slower.
But to Kaizen, going to Gourmet Paradise wasn't rushing things.
It also happened to be in the region where Linna resided.
Linna had a good relationship with the Zoldycks.
...
Kaizen walked out onto the training grounds.
Everyone was busy with their routines.
Tessia sat cross-legged, meditating.
Siper and Ponzu were doing basic drills.
"Captain."
"Kaizen."
Everyone looked toward Kaizen.
He glanced around at them.
"I'm heading to Gourmet Paradise next. Anyone want to come?"
There was a flicker of interest.
But after exchanging glances, Ponzu and Siper shook their heads.
"Captain, I'll pass," Siper said firmly. "I need to keep working on my strength."
She could feel it—she was currently the weakest link on the team. That gave her a serious sense of urgency.
"Same here," Ponzu said. "I've still got a lot of ground to cover."
She did want to go—really—but being the weakest among them made her hesitate. She didn't want to waste time having fun. Not until her Nen was up to par.
"Kaizen... I think I'm on the edge of a breakthrough."
Nina's eyes were calm but determined.
She was tempted too—but she sensed she was on the verge of breaking through to a B-rank Nen user. Just a little more effort, and she might do it.
Compared to traveling, that was the bigger priority.
"Alright then—Shizuku, Sally, Tessia. You three, come with me."
...
But Kaizen couldn't head to Gourmet Paradise just yet.
He had one more commitment.
A match against Hisoka.
They'd agreed to fight on one of the top floors of Heavens Arena. A true high-stakes battle.
Hisoka wanted to go all out.
Kaizen, for his part, wanted to use the match to test his Hexflare Bomb technique.
They had different motivations—but both wanted the same thing: a real fight.
...
"Hisoka, you ready?"
Kaizen dialed.
At that moment, Hisoka was in the ring.
Normally, fighters didn't bring phones into the arena.
But Hisoka wasn't normal.
He'd been dominating his matches on the 200th floor—no opponents had come close.
Watching from the stands was Chrollo Lucilfer, casually observing.
Gon, Killua, Wing—all of them were watching this fight as well.
Hisoka pulled out his phone and answered.
"Almost there."
"Then tomorrow. I've got some errands to run, and I won't be staying long at Heavens Arena."
"Sounds good."
The fighter across from Hisoka looked furious.
He'd already accepted that he couldn't beat Hisoka.
But what was this?
Hisoka took a phone call. Mid-match.
What kind of insult was that?
"You're mocking me!" the fighter snarled.
Hisoka, unfazed, pocketed his phone and looked at the man coldly.
The opponent exploded with rage and unleashed all his aura, launching himself toward Hisoka with a powerful punch.
"DIE!"
But Hisoka barely moved.
He flicked his wrist.
A playing card whistled through the air.
Thwip!
Straight into the fighter's chest. Piercing the heart.
The man collapsed instantly.
"Sorry," Hisoka murmured, licking his lips.
"You've completely lost your value."
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (1047 chapters in total)