[Yahallo~ Akarin here!
Just a quick update: daily uploads for Gourmet: Cooking for the Multiverse are officially bumping up to 2 chapters a day!
Also, regarding the confusion about Azazel (Helltaker) in chapter 205... yeah, that was totally my bad. I've gone back and fixed it, so you can check the end of chapter 205 again.]
Chapter 207: Azazel is Very Excited
Azazel sat comfortably at the polished wooden table, his elbows resting on the surface as he looked at the woman sitting across from him.
Lucifer, the CEO of Hell from another universe, was currently staring off into space with a pair of brilliant, shining crimson eyes. It was impossible to tell exactly what was going through her mind, but the subtle, rhythmic swishing of her white, spade-tipped tail beneath the table hinted at a deep, calculating amusement.
Azazel casually scratched his goatee, momentarily at a loss for words. The sheer absurdity of the situation wasn't lost on him. He was a Fallen Angel Governor casually drinking in an interdimensional restaurant, making small talk with a female counterpart of the original Devil King.
He didn't know what to say to break the silence. But looking at her gleaming eyes, he genuinely wanted to point out that, in a certain sense, a being who held the title of Lucifer *should* inherently possess such grand, analytical thoughts.
After a moment of silence, Lucifer gracefully reached up, brushing a stray lock of pristine white hair behind her horn. She tilted her head, her crimson eyes locking onto Azazel's.
"Your world's power ranking system is truly absurd," Lucifer declared, her voice dripping with aristocratic disbelief. "But what I find even more ridiculous is the God of your world. He isn't an omnipotent ruler, but rather a strange... mad scientist?"
"Creating artificial tools to implant into the souls of humans... Those Longinus weapons are quite an interesting little hobby, aren't they~?"
Azazel chuckled, leaning back in his chair and swirling the ice in his empty glass. "To be perfectly honest, I happen to agree with you."
"I'm also deeply interested in those Sacred Gears and the Longinus class. They are masterpieces of spiritual engineering."
Lucifer let out a delicate sigh, gently resting her chin on the palm of her hand. She looked at him with an expression entirely devoid of speech.
"So, let me get this straight," Lucifer began, her tone incredulous. "Your world's three major factions are currently operating like this: the Angels are just idling around maintaining a broken system, the Fallen Angels are left to their own devices to research whatever they please, and the Underworld is desperately trying to recover from a massive civil war?"
Azazel nodded without a hint of shame. He stretched his arms above his head, letting out a lazy, contented groan.
"Well, to be fair, one thing I have to clarify is that I am essentially the *only* one among the top brass of the Fallen Angels who is idling. So, it's really no big deal."
Lucifer was visibly stunned for a moment. Her crimson eyes widened slightly, and her tail stopped its rhythmic swaying. "Eh? You are the leader of your faction, yet you don't have to work?"
Azazel waved his hand dismissively, offering a thoroughly relaxed, carefree smile. "Work? Why would I do that?"
"Isn't the fundamental purpose of having subordinates to help you handle the tedious work?"
Lucifer was taken aback by the sheer audacity of his laziness. A few seconds passed before a genuine, entertained smile crept onto her lips.
"Your awareness as a ruler is surprisingly high," Lucifer chuckled, picking up her cup of coffee and taking a refined sip. "No wonder you managed to become the absolute leader of the Fallen Angels in your universe."
"You understand the core tenets of delegation perfectly. But tell me, what exactly do your forces usually do on a day-to-day basis?"
Hearing this question, the laid-back Governor of the Fallen Angels suddenly stiffened. Azazel felt a sudden wave of awkward conflict wash over him.
He cleared his throat, suddenly finding the grain of the wooden table incredibly interesting. It felt wildly inappropriate to explain the daily routines of his subordinates in front of *this* particular Fallen Angel. Especially since this version of Lucifer was an impeccably dressed, cultured female CEO.
Noticing his sudden change in demeanor, Lucifer tilted her head in curiosity. "Eh? What's with the silence? Is it really that hard to say?"
"Sigh... Forget it, forget it~" Azazel rubbed the back of his neck, deciding to just rip the bandage off. "There's nothing that can't be said between fellow demons and fallen angels, right?"
"Essentially... the female Fallen Angels under my command go up to the human world to seduce men into falling to their primal desires. Meanwhile, the male Fallen Angels' work is pretty much the exact same as the females, but with mortal women."
Azazel quickly raised a finger, attempting to salvage his faction's reputation. "Of course, they mostly act as scouts! They check for potential harm, monitor magical threats, and if they happen to come across humans possessing Sacred Gears, they are instructed to bring them back to me for my research."
Lucifer's mouth twitched violently. The elegant, refined image she had been maintaining slipped for a fraction of a second as she stared at the man in pure, unadulterated disbelief.
"The Fallen Angels in your world are really just a bunch of glorious pimps and succubi..." Lucifer muttered, shaking her head. "But no matter how I try to wrap my mind around it, your world's demonic structure feels completely absurd."
"Usually, hell is governed by the Seven Princes of Hell. But in your world, there are only four great Satans left~?"
[Akarin's Note: In the High School DxD universe, the original Lucifer died in the Great War. The Underworld is currently ruled by the Four Great Satans who inherited the titles of the original founders: Lucifer, Leviathan, Beelzebub, and Asmodeus. Sirzechs Gremory currently holds the title of Sirzechs Lucifer.]
Azazel was stunned. He blinked, looking at Lucifer in genuine confusion.
He had never felt that there was anything strange about the four Satan system. It had been that way since the dawn of their mythology.
Lucifer practically slammed her cup down on the saucer, clearly agitated by this theological butchery. "The Seven Princes of Hell! These seven princes are all incredibly powerful entities that govern the fundamental laws of sin."
"Among them, the absolute strongest should always be Lucifer and Beelzebub! Furthermore, the Seven Princes of Hell represent the Seven Deadly Sins, which are the foundational sins given form by that bastard God!"
Azazel sat in silence, letting her words sink in. He stroked his goatee, his brilliant scientific mind rapidly processing the theological implications of her statement.
Thinking about it deeply from a mythological standpoint, it actually made an alarming amount of sense. Looking at it through the lens of human history and primal sins, a seven-tiered system was far more balanced.
Yet, the DxD Underworld currently only had four Satans, and it had *always* only been four Satans. It was, objectively speaking, a very strange architectural flaw in their world's creation.
Thinking of these multiverse discrepancies, a sudden spark of curiosity ignited within Azazel's chest. He leaned forward, resting his chin on his folded hands.
He desperately wanted to know what his counterpart was like in her world. Was the Azazel of the Helltaker universe a brilliant, eccentric researcher looking for thesis material in the depths of Hell?
As if peering straight through his soul and reading his exact thoughts, Lucifer raised a hand and waved it dismissively.
"Trust me, you really don't want to know what the name 'Azazel' represents in my world," Lucifer stated, her tone flat and completely devoid of pity. "If you genuinely must know, just think of it as an obscure place name out in the barren wilderness. Or better yet... a literal scapegoat sent out to die~"
Azazel's mouth twitched downward. His confident, laid-back aura instantly deflated.
*Forget it,* he thought bitterly. *My universe is definitely better.*
No matter how you tried to spin it, 'scapegoat' was absolutely not a flattering term! The Azazel of her world sounded incredibly miserable, devoid of any scientific freedom or a harem of devoted subordinates.
Perhaps because they were, in a very bizarre, convoluted sense, from the exact same overarching mythological pantheon, the two found it incredibly easy to chat idly. The atmosphere naturally warmed up as they swapped tales of their respective domains.
Lucifer quickly grew bored of cosmic politics and became utterly fascinated by the various strange little trinkets and magical artifacts Azazel carried with him. Meanwhile, Azazel leaned in closely, furiously absorbing proper, untainted demonic history from a being who actually lived through a functionally complete Hell system.
During their chat, Lucifer casually stated that this interdimensional restaurant was easily the second world she wanted to frequently visit, right behind the Pokémon world. The Pokémon world held the top spot entirely because she desperately wanted to adopt a cute, fiery pet to roam her penthouse. But coming to this world was purely driven by the fact that there were simply too many fun, delicious, and fascinating things to experience.
Not to mention the Longinus and the endless array of Sacred Gears. Lucifer admitted she was incredibly interested in the Heavenly Dragons of Azazel's world. She wanted to see the sheer scale of the Red Dragon Emperor and the White Dragon Emperor with her own eyes.
But most importantly, she wanted to see exactly what kind of person managed to inherit the position of 'Lucifer'.
Somewhere far away in the Underworld of the DxD universe, a certain Crimson-Haired Satan named Sirzechs suddenly sneezed violently, a cold chill running down his spine as if he was being targeted by an immensely terrifying mother-in-law.
Just as Azazel opened his mouth to warn her about Sirzechs' overwhelming aura of destruction, his words caught in his throat.
A rich, overwhelmingly potent aroma drifted out from the kitchen, cutting through the ambient air of the restaurant like a heated blade. Azazel was instantly stunned. His eyes widened, and his nostrils flared as his brain tried to process the scent.
This smell was not just ordinarily fragrant. It was deeply complex. It lacked the briny, oceanic tang of the sea, carrying instead the distinct, subtle earthiness that could only belong to freshwater fish.
People who consider themselves true gourmets, especially those who love to eat fish, are very clear about one fundamental culinary truth: sea fish and freshwater fish are completely different beasts when it comes to taste and aroma.
Putting aside the obvious differences in texture and flesh density, the pure flavor profiles are worlds apart. Sea fish, when cooked to perfection by a master chef, will always release a unique, deep-sea aroma—a fresh, slightly salty, and inherently fishy tang that is entirely exclusive to the ocean.
On the other hand, ordinary freshwater fish often suffer from a severe lack of flavor, or worse, carry a heavy, muddy, earthy taste drawn from the riverbeds and lakes they inhabit. Masking that mud without destroying the delicate flesh is the true test of a chef.
Naturally, a dish served in this legendary restaurant couldn't possibly carry such a foul, muddy taste. Therefore, the absolute best way to distinguish whether a chef has prepared a sea fish is to close your eyes and inhale the steam immediately after it's plated. If that briny, oceanic freshness lingers in the air, it belongs to the sea.
But the thick, mouth-watering aroma currently wrapping around Azazel's senses was completely devoid of the sea. It was a purely savory, deeply appetizing aroma heavily laced with the sharp, acidic tang of black vinegar, the warmth of ginger, and the caramelized sweetness of a perfectly reduced glaze.
Across the table, Lucifer merely tilted her head. A deeply satisfied, knowingly smug smile graced her flawless features. She already knew exactly what was coming out of that kitchen, because she had been entirely spoiled by this very dish in the past.
Azazel tore his eyes away from the kitchen doors, looking at the proud Devil CEO. He offered a somewhat joking, highly impressed smile. "I certainly didn't expect Your Excellency Lucifer's husband to be such a superb, transcendent chef..."
Lucifer's smile widened into a thoroughly proud, aristocratic smirk. She crossed her legs beneath the table, her tail swishing with utter delight.
"It's alright to be envious. Ren's strength in the kitchen is quite formidable. Actually, his strength in general is quite formidable too~"
Just as Azazel was about to reply to her subtle boasting, the swinging doors of the kitchen pushed open. Ren stepped out into the dining area, steadily pushing a sleek, silver dining cart toward their table.
To be completely honest, beneath his laid-back exterior, Azazel was actually feeling a bit nervous. However, that nervousness was rapidly being eclipsed by an overwhelming surge of fanboy-like excitement.
His excitement was currently veering in the exact same direction as a certain billionaire playboy named Tony Stark. Azazel, the brilliant researcher and Governor of the Fallen Angels, was actually about to eat a gourmet dish lovingly prepared by *Lucifer's husband*.
If he went back to his universe and told Vali or Michael about this, who on earth would actually believe him? It sounded like the setup to a ridiculous cosmic joke!
*Man, I really want to introduce Tony Stark to my lab,* Azazel thought giddily to himself as he watched the cart approach. *If Tony and I could just sit down and research the mass production of artificial Sacred Gears... oh, man! Throw in that super-intelligent Alakazam I saw earlier to run the quantum calculations, and we'd conquer the technological world in a week!*
Pushing his wild, scientific fantasies aside, Azazel refocused his attention on the host.
Ren walked up to Azazel's side of the table, bringing the cart to a smooth halt. He offered a warm, hospitable smile as he gracefully lifted the silver cloche from the main plate, allowing a thick, fragrant cloud of sweet and sour steam to billow into the air.
"I originally intended to make you the classic Sichuan Boiled Fish with Pickled Mustard Greens," Ren explained smoothly, his voice carrying the calm confidence of a master chef. "However, I noticed that you ordered a glass of neat whiskey. Pairing a peaty, smoky whiskey with the numbing spice and acidic broth of Sauerkraut Fish might cause some severe flavor clashes on your palate after eating."
Ren carefully transferred the massive, beautifully glazed fish onto the table right in front of Azazel. "So, I took the liberty of changing the menu to this. Please enjoy the West Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy~"
Azazel sat entirely stunned for a moment, his eyes locked onto the culinary masterpiece resting before him. The entire fish was bathed in a glossy, dark mahogany sauce that caught the ambient light of the restaurant. Delicate julienned ginger rested atop the perfectly cooked flesh, which was naturally flaking apart to reveal the tender, snow-white meat beneath the rich glaze.
He finally snapped out of his daze, flashing a brilliant, excited smile. "It looks absolutely incredible! Let me guess... this is grass carp, right?"
"I honestly didn't expect a simple grass carp to look this appetizing. I remember reading that this is a famous staple of Chinese Cuisine?"
Azazel paused, glancing down at his glass of amber liquid. "But tell me, Chef... is pairing a strong whiskey with a dish like West Lake Vinegar Fish not a strange combination?"
Ren wiped his hands on his apron, thinking for a brief moment before giving a soft chuckle. "If I had to explain my reasoning, it's probably because I've been in the zone making traditional Chinese food all day, so I just stuck with that culinary path."
"When it comes to Chinese cuisine, heavy, broth-based dishes like hot pot fish or numbing spicy stews are simply not suitable for a strong, sipping drink like whiskey."
"Drinking a heavy oak whiskey right after swallowing a mouthful of spicy soup would completely destroy the nuanced notes of the liquor. It would be an incredibly strange experience."
Ren gestured to the glossy fish on the table. "This, however, is the more artistic option. The dark Chinkiang vinegar and caramelized sugar create a sweet and sour profile that actually compliments the smoky malt of the whiskey, while the ginger cleanses the palate between sips."
Azazel listened to the detailed explanation, his respect for the young man skyrocketing. He let out a hearty laugh, his eyes crinkling with genuine joy.
"You're truly a man of all trades, Ren," Azazel praised, reaching out and eagerly picking up his chopsticks. "Well then, I definitely won't be polite! I'm going to dig right in."
Azazel carefully pinched a piece of the delicate white flesh, dragging it through the thick, glossy vinegar gravy before bringing it to his mouth.
The moment the fish touched his tongue, Azazel's eyes widened drastically. The sheer tenderness of the grass carp was unbelievable; it practically melted away without needing to be chewed.
But it was the sauce that stole the show. The initial sharp, appetizing tang of the dark vinegar perfectly masked any hint of the river's muddiness, quickly giving way to a deep, complex sweetness that coated his entire palate.
He immediately reached for his glass, taking a slow sip of the whiskey. The smoky, peaty notes of the alcohol washed over his tongue, perfectly mingling with the lingering sweet and sour glaze, creating a symphony of warmth that radiated straight down to his chest.
"Incredible..." Azazel muttered, going in for a second, much larger bite. He chewed happily, looking up at Ren with a thoroughly satisfied grin.
"If this is really how delicious the fish can be, I have a feeling I might have to specifically take a trip out to China to go fishing in the future~"
Ren let out a light laugh, shaking his head at the mental image. "The grand Governor of the Fallen Angels traveling all the way to rural China just to sit by a river and fish..."
"No matter how you think about it, that's quite an interesting sight. Well then, please take your time and enjoy your meal."
[Akarin's Note:
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