"Your appetite didn't reveal itself? How is that possible?"
The moment someone entered the Spirit World, their true appetite would briefly surface. That was how it had always worked.
But when Kael stepped in, there wasn't the slightest reaction.
It was the first time Don Slime and Asarudy had ever seen something like this. There were only two possible explanations.
The first—Kael didn't possess Gourmet Cells at all. Without Gourmet Cells, there would be nothing to expose. But Don Slime dismissed that immediately. He could clearly tell how powerful Kael was.
Which left the second possibility.
As unbelievable as it sounded, it was the only explanation.
Kael's Gourmet Demon was completely obedient to him.
Obedient to the point of absolute compliance.
In theory, it was possible. In reality, no one had ever achieved it. Even someone he deeply respected like Ichiryu had never commanded that level of submission.
Ichiryu always discussed things with him, asked for help. If he felt like helping, he would. If he didn't, there was nothing Ichiryu could do. Even the closest of partners had differences.
So in his eyes, what Kael displayed should've existed only in theory.
And yet it was happening right in front of him.
It was incredible.
"Maybe it's just that my appetite and I get along pretty well," Kael said lightly. "That's not really the point, though. The priority right now is cooking Another, isn't it? Let's head to the kitchen."
He had no intention of dwelling on the subject.
As for the Spirit World trying to erode him—it was pointless.
His mindscape was guarded by the Red Demon and the White Demon. On top of that, there was the System itself. His consciousness was practically a forbidden zone.
He could feel the intrusion from the Spirit World.
But it was like a tiny mosquito trying to drill through the Earth.
His mind was solid to the extreme.
The only real danger here was losing track of time if he stayed too long. After all, Kael had never remained in one place for such an extended period before.
"In that case, let's go," Don Slime said. "We might run into some Food Spirits along the way. They'll likely have ingredients with them. You'll need to cook those when the time comes."
"Do I have to?" Kael asked curiously.
In the original story, when Komatsu and the others entered, they'd been surrounded by a swarm of Food Spirits. Those spirits carried ingredients and wanted them cooked.
Logically speaking, ingredients from the outside world shouldn't exist here.
But there were exceptions.
A powerful creature named Moon—a Black Hole Whale—connected to the Spirit World through its body. Anything Moon devoured could partially flow into this world.
That was how Another's fully grown form had appeared here.
Moon wasn't called the Black Hole Whale for nothing. When it chose to swallow something, not even light could escape.
Of course, for someone who had eaten NEWS, that ability was nearly meaningless. They could open passages to the Back Channel and travel freely. Even if swallowed, they could return without difficulty.
In the original story, Moon hadn't only swallowed Acacia—it had taken someone else as well.
"You don't have to cook," Don Slime replied. "But they'll keep pestering you. I can intimidate them, but do you really want a crowd of strange-looking spirits hovering around the kitchen?"
Most chefs who entered here simply cooked for them to avoid the hassle.
Besides, cooking for the Food Spirits had its benefits. Once you left, you'd receive a measure of Food Luck. Maybe not an overwhelming amount, but anyone who did so gained some measure of its blessing.
Of course, the Nitro race didn't enjoy that treatment.
You could say they were completely insulated from Food Luck.
"Fine. I'll treat it like doing a good deed," Kael said.
He glanced at the Food Spirits nearby, their eyes full of longing. Without another word, he took out his kitchen tools and got to work.
Asarudy assisted from the side.
But once the cooking began, he quickly realized he couldn't keep up with Kael's speed.
Part of it was skill.
The other part was something else entirely.
Kael could hear the voices of the ingredients.
The moment he laid eyes on them, he already knew exactly how to prepare them.
Asarudy had lived for a long time, but the variety of ingredients he'd encountered was limited. Most were native to Blue Grill. Venturing outside was dangerous for them.
So while he recognized many ingredients here and knew how to cook them, there were some he couldn't handle at all.
Those naturally fell to Kael.
And in terms of speed, Asarudy wasn't even close.
Strictly speaking, he didn't possess a Gourmet Demon—only a fragment of Don Slime.
That was why the people of Blue Grill improved so slowly. Developing Gourmet Cells was essentially the gradual process of drawing out a Gourmet Demon's power.
Without a Gourmet Demon, growth was painfully slow.
On top of that, Blue Grill didn't have many high-level ingredients.
In terms of combat strength, Asarudy simply wasn't Kael's match.
Even if they ate a wider variety of ingredients, it wouldn't change much. At best, it would only stimulate their Gourmet Cells. Compared to someone with a true Gourmet Demon, the gap in their growth rates was staggering.
As time passed, Kael and Asarudy sent the Food Spirits on their way.
It didn't take long.
The number of ingredients that flowed into this world through Moon's mouth was limited, after all.
Once the spirits ate the dishes prepared for them, most of them quietly disappeared.
They entered true death, finally at peace.
For them, it had simply been about enjoying one final meal.
There were no deep attachments left behind.