"Bisky is waiting for you," Germain said, pointing to the large mansion nearby. "I'll take you there."
Menchi followed Germain and touched one of the five strands of hair he had tied up. "Who's that blond young man with you?"
"I'm teaching him," Germain answered, which was unexpected but made sense.
"You're already taking on disciples? And you're just leaving him alone?" Menchi asked as he walked with Germain.
Germain replied, "I set a timer for him for half an hour. When the time's up, his training will be over for the day."
"I see," Menchi said, satisfied with that explanation. Then another question came to mind, "Is the fish you caught for tonight's dinner?"
"Yes," Germain said, opening the front door for them. "Generally, Bisky, Shizuku, and Wing take turns buying ingredients."
"I don't have any important tasks, so I just catch some fish now and then to change things up," he added.
Menchi asked, "Who cooks when you all live together?"
"Most of the time, it's Wing," Germain said as they entered the hall. "Sometimes, I cook."
Does that mean no one else cooks? Menchi and Buhara exchanged knowing looks.
At that moment, they heard quick footsteps, and Bisky appeared at the corner of the stairs, looking surprised.
"Ah, Menchi, Buhara, you're here," she said, hurrying over with her skirt lifted. "You know Germain, and you must have seen his disciple Kurapika, right?"
"You've met Wing. I'll introduce you to Shizuku and Wing's disciple Zushi later. Come in and sit in the living room."
Bisky watched as Germain returned with the fish and couldn't help but smile slyly, though the smile quickly faded.
Menchi and Buhara were surprised by Bisky's warm welcome, given her status as Chairman Netero's direct disciple. They were happy but puzzled.
Still, their curiosity remained, so Bisky quickly led them to the sofa in the living room to chat.
Time flew by, and soon it was dusk.
The setting sun cast a reddish hue over the darkening sky.
"Swish, swish, swish——"
In the open kitchen, two men were busy at work.
Wing was flipping the fried fish, while the range hood buzzed overhead.
Germain was chopping vegetables on the counter.
Zushi sat on the floor, close to the TV, engrossed in an action movie. The excitement of the film had him shouting and cheering.
Kurapika, just out of the shower, stood by the window, his head resting on the glass as he stared blankly at the sunset.
Bisky was comfortably seated on the sofa in front of the fireplace, entertaining his guests Menchi and Buhara with engaging stories. He was lively and animated, keeping the conversation flowing with interesting anecdotes.
Shizuku was seated quietly on a separate sofa, remaining mostly silent.
Whenever Bisky mentioned her, Shizuku would respond with a nod, almost like a doll, under everyone's gaze.
Buhara, who was quite large, nearly filled the entire sofa. When reminded by Menchi, he moved to sit cross-legged on the carpet to eat the dessert Shizuku had brought.
Although it was somewhat unconventional to have a guest sit on the floor, Buhara's size made it necessary, and neither he nor Menchi minded. Bisky, ever the gracious host, accepted it without comment.
Despite the warm hospitality from Bisky, Menchi felt a bit uneasy and glanced nervously towards the kitchen.
While she was chatting with Bisky, Menchi noticed Germain extracting the venom from a fish and tossing it into the pool. She tried to ignore it.
Then she saw Wing casually marinating the fish, then immediately throwing it into hot oil. He glanced at a recipe laid out next to him.
Menchi gritted her teeth and continued to endure.
The two men managed to cook two fish and place them on a plate. Wing then added the potato strips and beef slices, cut to varying lengths by Germain, into the pot and began stir-frying them.
"Tsk."
Menchi's focus was no longer on Bisky. She wasn't even listening to what Bisky was saying. She was simply biting her fingers and nodding absentmindedly.
After hearing Wing shyly admit to Germain that he had over-fried the beef, Menchi could no longer contain herself.
She sprang up from the sofa, eyes locked on the kitchen.
"What's wrong?" Bisky blinked innocently.
"Sorry, I have to deal with something urgent." Menchi walked around Bisky and headed for the kitchen, her expression dark. "Buhara, stop eating!"
Buhara, as expected, wiped his mouth with a tissue and calmly stood up.
The two of them walked briskly to the open kitchen, drawing the attention of Germain and Wing.
Wing looked surprised and was about to speak, but Menchi raised a hand to stop him. "Don't say anything. Just leave it to us."
"This..." Wing glanced at the sizzling food and then at Germain.
Germain, seeing the situation, decided to leave the kitchen on his own.
Wing was momentarily stunned as Buhara gently nudged him away. "You should focus on satisfying Menchi. Don't worry, we'll handle everything here."
Wing, still in shock, watched as Buhara removed the apron from his waist and handed it to Menchi.
With that, Menchi and Buhara took over the entire open kitchen.
Menchi, now wearing the apron, picked up a kitchen knife from the shelf, tested its weight, and found it quite comfortable to use.
She then grabbed a large shrimp, deftly sliced open its back, and skillfully used the knife to remove the shrimp thread, tossing it onto the edge of the chopping board.
She quickly repeated the process with another shrimp, her movements so fast they seemed like a blur.
Buhara, meanwhile, turned the heat to high and started stir-frying the remaining vegetables in the wok. Based on his experience, he judged the heat was perfect and served the vegetables.
Wing watched in awe, feeling a bit embarrassed, much like Zushi felt when he learned about Kurapika's training progress.
Bisky approached, rubbing his hands with a smile. "Oh dear, I'm so embarrassed. You're our esteemed guests; how could I let you do the cooking?"
Menchi shot Bisky a look of annoyance.
She realized she had walked right into Bisky's trap. Even though she knew it was a trap, she was willing to fall for it. After all, as a "Gourmet hunter," how could she stand by and watch others waste food?
Indeed, Bisky, a disciple of Chairman Netero, was just like him—crafty and clever.
It seemed that even Wing of the third generation and Zushi of the fourth generation will likely inherit this cunning trait, almost as if it were a genetic mutation.
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