"Um… please continue."
Leorio looked at Menchi with an earnest expression, cutting off the complaints from the crowd.
"Yeah, please go on," Gon added.
"It's simple," Menchi said, glancing at Leorio a few times before finally explaining the rules of the exam in a serious tone. "As long as both of us think the food tastes good, you pass. This phase of the exam ends once we're full."
She no longer bothered arguing with the people who had been shouting earlier.
"Men usually eat a lot, but that woman doesn't look like she can eat much. Looks like quite a few people are going to be eliminated this round," Hanzo muttered as he glanced around, analyzing the situation while rambling nonstop—living up to his reputation as a chatterbox.
"Tch… I've never cooked anything in my life," Leorio said dejectedly. Life had been hard, but even so, he'd never actually made food himself. This was going to be tough.
"I didn't expect a cooking test," Kurapika said with a grave expression. "I never imagined we'd be judged on making food. I'm not sure analysis alone will help here."
"The food Lu makes is really delicious. You can just copy him later—and I've cooked before too," Gon said excitedly. He knew how to make food.
"Then teach me later!" Leorio quickly said.
"Don't worry. Just watch me," Lu replied. "But I don't think cooking itself is the main challenge. The ingredients probably won't be easy to get—otherwise this test would be too simple."
"That makes sense," Kurapika agreed. "Let's stick together for now."
"Killua, you should come with us too," Lu said, looking over at Killua standing nearby.
Killua thought about it for a moment. Being with friends felt nice, so he didn't refuse.
"By the way," Killua said, "you said you can cook too, Gon. What can you make?"
He had eaten food Leo brought out before and knew it was all homemade. Now that Gon said he could cook as well, Killua couldn't help being curious.
After all, Killua hadn't unlocked any cooking skills at all. Lu being able to cook was one thing—that was just expected. But Gon, who was the same age as him, also knowing how to cook was… kind of frustrating.
Didn't that mean he'd fallen to the same level as Leorio, that old guy? Just thinking about it annoyed him.
"Yeah, you really don't look like the type. What can you cook?" Leorio asked, equally surprised. They hadn't seen Gon cook anything during the journey, so this came out of nowhere.
"I can make lots of dishes," Gon said seriously, breaking into a bright smile. "But my specialty is special omurice."
"Special… omurice?"
Leorio froze, black lines practically appearing over his head. Either his Japanese was terrible, or his ears were malfunctioning. Did Gon really just say his specialty was special omurice?
That had to be a mistake.
"Well, I wouldn't say that isn't cooking…" Kurapika began gently, choosing his words carefully so as not to hurt Gon's feelings.
But Leorio had no such consideration—his nerves were about as thick as power cables.
"Come on! Isn't that something anyone could make?" Leorio laughed loudly, covering his eyes as if he couldn't bear to look, cutting Kurapika off mid-sentence.
"That's not true!" Gon protested. "Aunt Mito says my special omurice is really delicious—and Lu loves it too!"
His eyes sparkled as he looked at Lu, clearly waiting for praise.
Killua had heard of omurice before. But no matter how "special" it was… wasn't it still just omurice? Watching Gon insist so enthusiastically that it was delicious somehow put Killua in a good mood.
"Gon's special omurice is the ultimate omurice," Lu said with a small smile. "The flavor is seriously good."
"Alright, alright, I get it," Leorio said. "Make it for me sometime if you get the chance. If Leo says it's good, I'll believe it. But today probably isn't happening—there's no way the exam will be about making omurice."
That would be way too ridiculous.
"I'd like to try it too someday," Kurapika said with a gentle smile. Even if he didn't know what it tasted like, Lu's endorsement was enough. And even if it wasn't amazing, he wouldn't want to hurt Gon's feelings.
"Me too," Killua added with a grin. "I want to eat it."
"Yeah!" Gon said happily. Sharing food he made with friends was something that genuinely made him happy.
"Then my order is—roast whole pig!"
Buhara stood up enthusiastically.
Given his massive size, even standing up caused the ground to tremble. The earth shook as he rose, making it obvious he'd never need to worry about being ambushed—there was no way someone that loud could hide.
With that body mass, no one would doubt he was a Gourmet Hunter.
"A whole roasted pig… each?" Hanzo muttered. He wondered if he'd misheard. The image of everyone preparing one each was hard to imagine.
"Lu," Gon whispered, "is roasting a pig like roasting fish?"
"It's similar," Lu replied, "but there are a lot of differences. Just watch what I do later."
"Okay!" Gon nodded.
Leorio, Killua, and Kurapika—who had all been listening carefully—also quietly let out sighs of relief. Cooking really wasn't their strong suit. They'd much rather get into a fight.
"This is my favorite food," Buhara said dreamily, drool spilling from the corner of his mouth—a clear sign he meant it.
"And it has to be made from the most ferocious beast in the world: the Great Stamp Wild Boar."
He raised a finger and explained the ingredient excitedly.
Buhara wasn't picky. As long as it was food, he could stuff it into his mouth to fill his stomach. But if there was something delicious available, there was no reason to eat something mediocre.
And if he was going to eat roast pig, of course he wanted it made from the fiercest possible boar. With the right time and place, everything aligned perfectly—the Visca Forest they were in was the natural habitat of the Great Stamp Wild Boar.
It couldn't have been more convenient.
Just thinking about it made Buhara drool even more, as if countless roasted boars were already right in front of him. His empty stomach growled loudly in protest.
"A… boar?"
"Great Stamp Wild Boar?"
Aside from a few people, most of the examinees looked completely confused. What was that?
They wouldn't stay confused for long.
Reality would soon show them exactly what a Great Stamp Wild Boar looked like—
—and that was when Lu's real performance would begin.