In the early morning, rays of sunlight shone through the window onto a lovely sleeping face.
Sonoka slowly opened her eyes, feeling a bit of a headache.
As the scene gradually became clear, she hesitated for a moment, then let out a delayed scream!
She frantically felt her body and breathed a sigh of relief when she found her clothing intact.
Her memory stopped at last night's tavern drinking scene, where she only remembered Zane praising her alcohol tolerance. However, she had no recollection of what happened next!
"Could it be that Chef Zane brought me back?" Sonoka blushed.
Thinking about being tightly held by Zane and then being taken back to Shunkatei, she felt so embarrassed that she wanted to bury her head in the blankets.
"It's really embarrassing!"
"This was my first time going to a tavern, how could I get drunk at someone else's place?"
After saying this, Sonoka covered her blushing cheeks with her hands but couldn't help feeling fluttery inside.
For the rich material possessions are always abundant.
While regular folks buy groceries and cook, the wealthy use special products!
$3,000 for a cup of cat poop coffee, $50,000 for an antique wine, $240,000 for a box of caviar, and dining at a restaurant on a 4,000-foot-high platform...
They pursue unique items, and whether they are worth the price has never been their focus.
At the headquarters of the WGO Food Association, the buildings are designed in a classical castle style.
In these magnificent castles, everything from columns, domes, arches, ornate decorations, sculptures, lighting, and walls is lavishly decorated, making you feel as if you were in a palace!
As the only special executive of the Food Association, Mana Nakiri, just finished bathing.
She was wearing a delicate kimono, with her hair loosely rolled, cascading down her waist.
Droplets of water trickled down her face, making her seem more mature and refined.
She then sat upright and knelt with a solemn expression.
Before her, there was a small plate of an exceptionally precious dish—sturgeon caviar that was plump and looked like black pearls!
Caviar.
It symbolized wealth.
Usually, sturgeon caviar is the most expensive of all caviars.
A 1.8 kg jar of sturgeon caviar can sell for up to £24,000 at a high-end restaurant.
The reason for its high price lies in its extremely limited production.
While capitalist speculation may play a role, due to the 12-year time it takes for sturgeons to lay eggs, the caviar becomes especially rare.
Thus, its price inevitably rises!
As for the sturgeon caviar in front of Mana, it was truly the best of the best.
She had sent someone to North America and spent over $1.5 million to purchase a sturgeon. This sturgeon was 20 feet long, weighed 712 pounds, and had a lifespan of over 100 years.
It could be said that this sturgeon was the largest, heaviest, and oldest sturgeon in the world.
And the value of the caviar obtained from it was certainly top-tier.
"I hope this sturgeon caviar can satisfy my god's tongue a bit."
Staring at the caviar before her, Mana's expression became a mix of excitement and concern.
...
Eventually, she seemed to have made a decision.
She used a shell-made spoon to scoop some caviar and placed it on the acupuncture point in her palm.
By using her warm hand, the aroma of the caviar gradually wafted into the air.
After hesitating a few more times, Mana reluctantly opened her mouth and swallowed all the caviar.
Snap!
The infinite freshness of the caviar danced on Mana's palate.
As her god's tongue quickly adapted to the caviar's taste, Mana, who was already quite weak, seemed to gain a certain power.
She closed her eyes quickly and started to use the power of her god's tongue to savor the caviar's different stages and layers of taste, from the foretaste to the aftertaste, feeling the rich, intricate changes!
Hot and cold, freshness and fragrance, four completely different tastes intertwined and echoed each other, creating a wonderful harmony.
For Mana, it provided a taste of deliciousness that was just right.
For her palate, it was like embarking on a marvelous journey. But after that, with her throat perceiving the caviar's flavor, her natural freshness made Mana savor it without ever wanting it to end.
"This taste..."
"I actually don't feel repulsed?"
"Could it be that this caviar can satisfy my god's tongue?"
Feeling the full grains of caviar rolling continuously between the tip of the tongue and the palate.
The bursting fragrance filled the mouth, and with every chew, it was incredibly fresh. Mana was amazed and pleasantly surprised.
...
However, in the next moment.
As her god's tongue quickly adapted to the fresh taste of the sturgeon caviar,
Mana gradually began to feel a wave of nausea rising within her. She seemed to realize something, and her joyful expression turned into panic.
She then spat out all the caviar that had bitten her mouth into a pulp.
"It's really awful, this taste is like chewing on a salty and fresh stone, it's really nauseating!"
After saying this, Mana's face showed a moment of loss.
Over the years, she had tasted almost all kinds of rare ingredients and noble dishes from around the world.
However, it seemed as if she was cursed; no matter how delicious the food was, her god's tongue wouldn't find it satisfying or enjoyable!
Even if it managed to slightly conquer her at first, as her god's tongue quickly adapted to the taste, she would still reject it.
Due to the torment of the god's tongue's curse, her anorexia symptoms became more severe, to the point where she couldn't eat anything at all.
Her body was gradually deteriorating like worn-out machine parts!
"Those hosts cursed by the god's tongue, starve to death because of anorexia."
"Could it be that I will face the same fate in the end?"
Feeling deep despair, Mana let out a deep sigh.
—---------
The tavern was open for business tonight.
It had been two days since Rindo, who hadn't visited the tavern in quite some time, finally appeared again!
In the past, when she visited the tavern, she usually wore the blue and white Totsuki Academy uniform.
Not that the uniform was unattractive. On the contrary, every time she wore it, she looked every bit like a Totsuki Academy student, pure and vibrant!
But today, she was clad in a deep red short shoulder-wrap jacket, exquisitely tailored, giving her a petite and lovely appearance with a pronounced collar and beautiful collarbones.
This kind of stylish attire actually accentuated her excellent figure.
Combined with a knee-length black velvet skirt and a pair of black high boots, she exuded a unique charm that struck a balance between maturity and youthfulness.
At this moment, Rindo found a place to sit and wore a troubled expression, occasionally even heaving a sigh, looking quite gloomy.
"What's wrong? Is something bothering you?" Zane asked casually, placing a bottle of low-proof sake in front of her.
Rindo looked up, glanced at Zane, and without saying a word, quickly unscrewed the sake bottle and took a sip.
"Ah~"
"That's refreshing!"
With a sigh, Rindo put down the bottle, but her eyes dimmed once more.
"In a few days, the new term examinations will begin. But in the past two days, Eishi took over the Ten Outstanding Professionals' evaluation council, and he assigned me to be the interviewer for this examination," Rindo muttered, feeling puzzled.
"Oh."
"Is it almost time for the new term to start?" Zane responded calmly.
"Yeah, in a few days, I'll be a third-year student."
With a tinge of nostalgia, Rindo sighed softly.
"So you haven't been to the tavern in the last two days because you've been busy with the start-of-term matters?" Zane finally understood why Rindo hadn't been to the tavern these past few days based on the original plot timeline.
Even so, these things had nothing to do with Zane, so he didn't care to pay attention.
...
"Boss, are you keeping fugu here?" Rindo, who hadn't been here for two days, couldn't help but look around the tavern with a pair of curious eyes.
When she saw a large aquarium in the corner with 10 fugu inside, her eyes lit up.
"Not exactly 'keeping' them," Zane hesitated before responding vaguely.
Rindo quickly got up and approached the aquarium, her big watery eyes fixed on the fugu.
Perhaps she had expertise in rare ingredients, hence her inevitable interest in fugu.
Of course, it could also be that the fugu looked quite cute and had melted her heart.
"Boss."
"Can I pick one up?"
"Yes, you can do whatever you like!"
With Zane's permission, Rindo reached into the aquarium and grabbed the tail of a fugu, letting it gently sway in the air.
The fugu, perhaps feeling provoked by Rindo's actions, puffed up its belly with a "gu-gu" sound, looking like a round little ball, and really cute!
"Hehe, it's really fun."
Rindo couldn't help but smile spontaneously.
"Do you like it?"
"I like it."
"Who wouldn't like such a little animal?" Rindo replied truthfully.
"If you like it, I can prepare fugu sashimi for you by catching and slicing it right now!"
Little did she know that at this heartwarming moment, Zane uttered words akin to a demon.
"Huh?"
Rindo was dumbfounded!
...
Before handling fugu, it must be washed, disinfected, and rinsed with running water to remove surface dirt and mucus, and then cleaned thoroughly.
Next, using a pair of scissors, the fugu's mouth was swiftly cut off.
Afterward, a kill knife was used to separate the pectoral fins from the body along the pectoral fin roots, and then the peeling process commenced, requiring the chef to be extremely careful to avoid damaging the internal organs during the peeling, as any toxin flowing over the fugu's body would be a problem.
Zane took several deep breaths to relax himself and then continued to earnestly cut along the fugu's back and belly division line from head to tail, cutting its skin with absolute precision!
Even Rindo, who watched silently, couldn't help but feel nervous.
After that, Zane used a clean, dry towel to wipe the fugu's body and remove excess moisture.
He then used the tip of his knife to remove the eyes and place them aside.
He separated the gills along the gill covers, cut the gill arches, and divided the gills, tongue, and internal organs, separating the internal organs from the muscle connections.
As time passed, Rindo increasingly appreciated Zane's fugu handling process, which was slow but flawless, without a single mistake.
Finally, Zane changed to a new knife and began to slice the fugu.
With a swish-swash sound, thin slices of fugu sashimi were neatly placed on a beautiful plate.
"Impressive, Zane, your knife skills are truly refined," Rindo exclaimed in admiration.
The fugu sashimi slices were so thin they resembled transparent paper.
They looked as if a gentle poke with a finger would break them, making Rindo marvel at the perfection of the cleaning, peeling, slicing, and internal organ and toxin handling.
At the same time, the slices of fugu sashimi were characterized by their "thinness."
Indeed, Zane's knife skills were unmatched.
...
Following this, a plate of fugu sashimi was placed in front of Rindo.
Under the dim light, it was magnificent, like a peacock spreading its feathers, but upon closer inspection, it resembled a delicate, translucent fan.
The fugu meat on the tail fins reflected tiny specks of light, like many small mirrors, sparkling and glowing.
"It's so beautiful, I've never seen fugu sashimi presented so elegantly!" Rindo exclaimed, covering her mouth in surprise.
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This was a 2-in-1 chapter, meaning there is 2 different chapters in this 1 chapter. Make sure to give more power stones! Late chapter cause I was lazy.