"I didn't expect them to catch so many," Menchi said, arms crossed. Even though she wasn't in the best mood, she had to admit the examinees were impressive. After all, the ferocity of the Great Stamp wild bear was well known and by no means exaggerated.
The moment Menchi spoke, Leorio jumped in eagerly, showing off Lu Ou's earlier analysis in full. Opportunities to shine in front of a beautiful woman didn't come often—how could he possibly miss this one?
"Where there's poison, there's always an antidote. It's the natural law of mutual balance," he concluded proudly.
Menchi repeated the words thoughtfully. With her experience in ingredient foraging, the more she turned that short sentence over in her mind, the more sense it made.
"Who told you that?" Menchi asked, looking at Lu Ou.
"I summarized it myself during my travels," Lu Ou replied.
Gon, his most loyal supporter, immediately nodded. "That's right. Ou's really smart—he knows a lot of things."
"To be able to reflect on and distill meaning from what you see and experience during your travels… that's a frightening ability," Menchi said.
"Examiner Menchi, I've heard that you're an outstanding gourmet Hunter. I've developed a new cooking method and was hoping to receive your guidance," Lu Ou said, lowering his posture sincerely.
"Hm? What is this?"
Menchi looked at the steaming dirt-covered bundle in front of her, puzzled. Eating dirt clearly wasn't an option. She raised an eyebrow and looked at the slender Lu Ou with a hint of curiosity rather than contempt.
"This is a cooking method I invented. I want to become a gourmet Hunter as well," Lu Ou said earnestly.
Hearing that the young man before her aspired to become a gourmet Hunter made Menchi genuinely happy. She was passionately devoted to food, and seeing such a capable examinee walking the same path instantly made her more favorably inclined toward him.
"Then how do you eat it?" Menchi asked, her attitude noticeably warmer than before.
"Like this."
Lu Ou pressed down with both hands. The dirt casing began to crack and crumble, chunks of hardened soil falling away to reveal layers of yellow-green leaves wrapped tightly around the contents inside.
A rich, savory aroma seeped out along with the falling earth, slipping straight into everyone's noses and making their hearts itch with hunger.
"Gon, hand those out to Leorio and the others," Lu Ou said.
Buhara was clearly going to be busy for a while—there were dozens of pigs left, and no matter how strong his appetite, it would take time. The group hadn't eaten much along the way and were surely hungry.
"Thanks, Ou."
The others took the dirt-wrapped bundles Gon distributed and mimicked Lu Ou, breaking them open in preparation to eat.
"These are Braley Banana leaves, aren't they?" Menchi guessed, catching the faint sweet-bitter fragrance.
"Correct," Lu Ou said. "I think the flavor of these leaves is perfect for enhancing the natural umami of the food itself."
As he peeled away the Braley Banana leaves, a pig's heart was revealed inside—so intact it looked as if it had just been taken from the animal.
Menchi, however, immediately saw that there was more to it. She drew a short knife and gently sliced into the heart, revealing its true contents.
Inside were all kinds of mountain delicacies, releasing an even richer aroma.
Menchi took a bite, her eyes narrowing slightly as she carefully felt the changes from the tip of her tongue to her taste buds.
"Giant Red Peak honey… rosemary grass… waterwheel herb…"
True to her status as a top-tier gourmet Hunter, she accurately identified every ingredient Lu Ou had used, each accompanied by her own insights.
Lu Ou listened attentively to her explanation. For him, learning how to properly apply the unique ingredients of the Hunter world was invaluable. As an outsider, even with extensive knowledge, he still only had a surface-level understanding of many ingredients. Menchi's guidance made things click all at once.
He was certain that from now on, he'd be able to use those ingredients with far greater precision.
"Thank you, Examiner Menchi," Lu Ou said solemnly.
No matter how knowledge was acquired, it was an irreplaceable form of wealth. What Menchi shared came from her own experience and discoveries—it deserved genuine gratitude.
"This truly shocked me," Menchi said. "I know all of these ingredients, but I never imagined combining them like this to create such a dish."
"A completely new cooking technique—'Beggar-style' cooking. Using mud to gently heat the ingredients, sealing the aroma inside so none escapes… It's an incredibly bold and imaginative approach."
She praised it without restraint.
Lu Ou responded with a few humble words. His first edition of the Gourmet Guide was nearly complete now, and this Hunter Exam had been an enormous gain for him.
Both in knowledge and ingredient reserves, his resources had more than doubled. Just what he'd obtained so far should be more than enough to earn a massive amount of goodwill.
"So tasty, so tasty… this one's not good… this one's good," Buhara muttered as he ate, criticizing as he went—but regardless of taste, everything still went into his mouth.
"It really is a great harvest," Satotz said, sitting cross-legged on a tree branch, looking perfectly at ease.
"But how do they taste overall?" Satotz continued. "Those first five were excellent. What about the rest?"
He began analyzing the examinees' chances of passing.
"How many people can truly satisfy the unusual palate of Buhara, one of the world's top gourmet Hunters?"
"Just how many will make it?"
"One of the world's foremost food experts…"
"He even eats the burnt ones? Is this guy really a gourmet Hunter?"
It had been a while since Satotz had spoken this much. Watching Buhara devour roasted pigs, he couldn't resist guessing which examinees would pass—and whether the few he had his eye on would make it.
Unfortunately, Buhara's thinking, like his stomach, was boundless. No one could tell where the end was.
Clatter.
Buhara tossed the final bone onto the pile of bones behind him. He patted his belly, which made loud pat-pat sounds, looking thoroughly satisfied.
"That was delicious. I can't eat another bite."
He sat there smiling contentedly in front of a mountain of bones—a truly astonishing sight.
Clang—clang—clang!
"Alright, that's it. Buhara has finished eating seventy-one roasted pigs," Menchi announced as she struck the gong, declaring the final result.
"This monster…"
Hanzo had seen Buhara eat a lot before, but without a concrete number, he could still fool himself. Now that the number was announced, it felt like his ears weren't working anymore. Only a monster could eat that much.
In Hanzo's memory, no human had ever consumed such an amount—not seventy-one loaves of bread, but seventy-one whole roasted pigs. Even seeing it with his own eyes, he still couldn't comprehend how it was possible.
Many examinees stared intently at Buhara's stomach, trying to find some explanation. All they saw was that it was only slightly rounder than before—nothing else had changed.
It was simply unbelievable.
"So amazing."
"That's not human."
"What kind of body is that?"
"I can't even imagine it."
Voices overlapped as everyone expressed their astonishment.
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