"Is this really okay?" Bisky nervously twirled her fingers around her golden hair, which had grown past her ears.
She glanced anxiously toward the kitchen, her gaze lingering on the door. The sounds of a spatula stirring and sizzling oil reached her ears, making her shift uneasily, trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on inside.
"Re-lax," Germain said, embodying his own advice as he sat on a nearby sofa, flipping through a copy of Journey to the New World: Eastern Edition, Fragmented Volume.
"Granny Linne insisted on cooking herself. Plus, Menchi and Buhara are helping, along with Sanbica, four accompanying doctors, and a ton of 'Herb for All-illnesses.' What could possibly go wrong?"
Germain thought Bisky was worrying unnecessarily, but Bisky felt Germain was being far too indifferent and detached.
"You have no idea how important Granny Linne's position in the Hunter Association is!" Bisky retorted, her neck turning red with frustration. "Everyone's terrified she'll fall, get sick, or even have the slightest bump or scratch!"
Germain, ever the one to look past appearances, shrugged. "That Granny seems perfectly healthy to me. You've got a two-person team supporting her, a four-person medical squad tagging along—it's way over the top."
Bisky's eyes flared when she heard Germain refer to Granny Linne as "that Granny." It reminded her of the time she accidentally discovered that Germain had nicknamed her "Little Granny" in his notes.
Fueled by a mix of new anger and old grudges, Bisky's eyes turned red with fury. She expanded her body to its massive form and lunged at Germain, intending to trap him with her powerful arms.
But Germain seemed to have eyes on the back of his head. He quickly jumped up, rolled up the Journey to the New World volume, and began dodging Bisky's relentless pursuit across the hall.
"Stop running!" Bisky shouted, her voice rising with impatience.
Germain refused to stop. "Didn't you call Chairman Netero 'old man' all the time? I'm just doing the same thing you did!"
"You dare talk back?!" Bisky exclaimed, her expression incredulous. "What's my relationship with that old man? You—you—you—stop running! Shizuku, help me catch him!"
Shizuku had been sitting quietly on a sofa by the window, cleaning her glasses. She would occasionally breathe warm air onto the lenses before wiping them meticulously with a tissue.
At Bisky's call, she didn't say a word. She calmly put on her glasses and, just as Germain passed by, stood up abruptly. In one swift motion, she grabbed Germain around the waist and tackled him to the ground.
"Alright, alright, alright!" Bisky shouted in surprise and excitement, "Hold him down, hold him down!"
Shizuku immediately used her full body weight, pressing down on Germain like an octopus, ensuring he couldn't escape easily.
So, when Menchi emerged from the kitchen, supporting Granny Linne, with Buhara carrying dishes, they were greeted by the sight of Bisky and Shizuku together using different grappling techniques to subdue Germain on the floor.
Menchi coughed a few times to get Bisky's attention.
Seeing Granny Linne, Bisky quickly released her hold and scrambled to her feet, flashing an embarrassed smile.
Shizuku, however, didn't let go, seemingly unaware that everyone was watching her.
She had Germain in a guillotine choke, with her legs clamped around his hips and her arms wrapped tightly around his head, pinning the back of his skull against her chest.
Bisky extended her leg and lightly tapped Shizuku on the shoulder.
Shizuku looked up blankly and saw Bisky glaring at her.
Stop fooling around, everyone's watching! Bisky signaled with her eyes.
Unfortunately, this team member couldn't pick up on subtle signals. Shizuku blinked her big, clueless eyes.
"Get up already," Bisky said awkwardly, finally resorting to words. "Granny Linne and the others are watching!"
As Germain struggled to get up, Shizuku still attempted to continue the chokehold, switching from a front guillotine to a rear naked choke.
"Cut it out," Germain said easily as he broke free from Shizuku's grip. His current strength was no joke. "Haven't you had enough?"
He patted the dust off his clothes.
"I want to try the cross-stranglehold next time," Shizuku said, her cheeks flushed from the physical activity, looking a little unsatisfied.
Granny Linne maintained her usual half-asleep, half-awake demeanor.
It wasn't until Menchi softly reminded her that she seemed to snap out of a dream, raising her head with a kind smile.
"Gather everyone in the dining room. Let them taste my cooking," she said.
Fifteen minutes later, after the castle's internal broadcast ended, everyone gathered in the dining room to enjoy a dinner personally prepared by Granny Linne.
Of course, she didn't have the energy to cook an entire feast alone, so much of the prep work was handled by Menchi and Buhara.
Under the soft glow of the chandelier, everyone only needed one bite of the food to declare its unmatched deliciousness.
Even though Menchi and Buhara's cooking skills were already world-class, they still fell slightly short compared to Granny Linne's expertise.
Everyone showered her with compliments.
Granny Linne accepted them all with a smile and warmly encouraged everyone to eat more, just like a Granny urging her grandchildren to enjoy her homemade meals.
The group feasted heartily, savoring every bite, and offered yet another wave of praise.
However, the next morning, a piercing scream echoed through the castle, waking everyone up.
Germain, startled by the sound, got out of bed and immediately felt something was off with his body.
Looking down, he noticed his arms seemed… rounder and chubbier?
Slipping on his slippers, he walked to the full-length mirror and finally confirmed the truth.
He had indeed gained weight overnight. In the mirror, he lifted his shirt, and his once-defined abs had been replaced by a layer of fat.
Gaining weight so suddenly overnight was simply unbelievable.
Germain quickly realized what had caused it.
At that moment, his door was slammed open with a loud bang. Whoever it was didn't even bother knocking.
The intruder was none other than Bisky, who had been the one to scream earlier.
But now, Bisky had turned into a chubby girl, all round and pudgy.
She frantically grabbed the fat on her face, completely panicking. "I've gained weight... so much... so much... how could this happen?!"
Bisky's reaction was as if the sky had fallen.
Germain almost thought she wouldn't be able to catch her breath, but soon, she calmed down.
At this point, Shizuku also appeared at the door. She had heard the screams and the banging on the door, so she came over from the opposite room to check what was going on.
"What happened?" Shizuku asked, curious.
Bisky quickly turned her head and sized up Shizuku.
She noticed that while Shizuku had gained some weight too, the amount seemed nowhere near as much as hers...
Why was that?!
Soon, Bisky figured out the problem. Her anger flared up, and she stormed over, slapping Shizuku's chest with a loud "smack."
"Why did all your fat go here?!" Bisky was furious!
Later, when everyone gathered together, they realized that anyone who had eaten last night's dinner had all gained weight, as if their bodies had puffed up like bread rising.
Bisky tried to get "Magical Beautician Miss Cookie" to help her lose weight quickly, but it barely worked. This made her even more disbelieving.
Later, they found Sanbica, whose face was so round that even her mask couldn't cover it, to see if this was some sort of illness.
Then, the appearance of Granny Linne revealed the answer.
She smiled and said, "You don't need to look for Sanbica, and you don't need to panic. This is neither an illness nor poison; it's my nen ability."
"'Transmutation Type· Excessive Nutrition Cooking'!"
"As long as you eat the 'carefully prepared' food I made, your bodies will start to swell up within a few hours, just like an inflated balloon. But don't worry, I'm not trying to harm you."
"What you need to do is exercise intensely for the next few hours until you can't move anymore. This way, the fat will disappear quickly, and your body will be transformed."
"Your body will become healthier and stronger, or more flexible and agile. The healing speed of wounds will increase, and your resistance to diseases and toxins will improve..."
"Although these improvements are small, little by little, they will add up."
Granny Linne suddenly changed her tone, laughing eerily like an old witch in a horror story.
"However... if you fail to lose all this fat within the next few hours by exercising, it will stay on your body for at least a week, and you won't be able to get rid of it."
"Remember, only exercise works. No other methods will help, unless you can find a special Nen ability that counters this ability."
Bisky, who cared deeply about her appearance, felt as if a thunderbolt had struck her when she heard this. She almost collapsed to the ground.
Granny Linne turned to look at Germain and asked, "You all are probably leaving for the Dark Continent again soon, right? When is that?"
"At midnight on October 8th," Germain answered truthfully.
"Ho ho ho..." Granny Linne chuckled, and her wrinkled face relaxed.
"About two days from now? Then, besides dinner on the night of the 7th, leave all your meals to me."
"You all should remember the story about the wrinkles on my face, right?" Granny Linne pointed to the three layers of wrinkles on her face.
"But countless people have given up on themselves because of 'Excessive Nutrition Cooking,' and they turned into full-fledged fat people."
"If you don't believe it, you can try it. Hehehe..."
Everyone knew that Granny Linne was lying, but in this atmosphere, they couldn't help but feel that maybe what she said was all true.
********
Support me on my patreon and read upto 15 early chapters.
https://www.patreon.com/Unique_Writer