Chapter 7: Betting on the Risk, or Waiting
The Director-General is coming?
A look of surprise flashed across Dojima Gin's face. Totsuki Resort was a property belonging to Totsuki Academy. As the Director-General of Totsuki Academy, it was only natural for Nakiri Senzaemon to visit this place.
In fact, Nakiri Senzaemon usually came here once a month to rest for a day, while also handling some official business.
But the issue was, he had just visited a few days ago.
Logically speaking, his next visit to Totsuki Resort should have been a month from now.
Why did he come again today? And so suddenly?
However, Dojima Gin did not stop his hands from moving and said calmly, "You go greet the Director-General first. Once I finish this dish, I will go meet him."
The manager gave a brief reply, then hurried to the lobby to welcome the Food King of Totsuki Academy.
The lobby of Totsuki Resort.
The Food King, Nakiri Senzaemon, possessed a powerful, imposing build with remarkably spiky hair. Wearing a brown kimono, he walked inside with slow, measured steps. Beside him followed Nakiri Erina.
"Director-General, Young Mistress Erina," the manager stepped forward quickly, bowing politely.
Nakiri Senzaemon let out a short grunt, his gaze fixing on the manager. "I heard Erina has some friends dining at our establishment, is that true?"
The manager glanced at Nakiri Erina cautiously, then replied briefly, "Yes, they are indeed here."
"Where are they? Take me to pay my respects."
Hearing those words, the manager's heart instantly skipped a beat.
The phrase "paying respects" was a term used when someone of lower status went to see someone of higher status.
Could it be that the grand Director-General of Totsuki Academy, the legendary Food King himself, considered himself beneath those people?
Just who were these friends of the young mistress?
The manager felt incredibly lucky that he hadn't offended these guests, and immediately bowed to show the way. "Director-General, please come this way."
...
Knock, knock, knock.
Inside the private room, when there was no one else around, Yumesaki raised his hand and pushed open the doorway to the world of One Piece, stepping right back into the world of One Piece.
He finally couldn't hold back his curiosity and intended to find some fresh meat for Dojima Gin to cook.
He wanted to see what kind of sparks would fly from combining the meat quality of the One Piece world with Dojima Gin's supreme culinary skills.
Arriving at the Calm Belt, Yumesaki activated his Clairvoyance magic, locking onto a Sea King shaped like a massive cow, and snapped his fingers.
The magic capable of cutting through almost anything was unleashed.
Swoosh!
An invisible slash instantly split the sea for dozens of meters, slicing through the Sea King's body.
However, Yumesaki did not take its life.
Instead, he merely severed one of the sea cow's legs.
Sea Kings possessed colossal bodies, so just one leg was dozens of meters long—more than enough to be eaten multiple times.
Having lost its leg, the Sea King let out a cry of agony and fled at an incredible speed.
Don't assume Sea Kings lack intelligence; in fact, the stronger a Sea King is, the higher its intelligence.
After that, Yumesaki chopped the massive leg into dozens of chunks of meat of vastly different sizes, then stored them inside his pocket.
Such was the convenience of the Pocket-Pocket Fruit capability.
Returning to the private room back at Totsuki Resort, Yumesaki was just about to look for Dojima Gin when he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in," Yumesaki called out.
The private room door was pushed open, and Nakiri Senzaemon and Nakiri Erina walked inside.
As for the manager, he was left standing outside the door by the two of them.
Inside the room, before Yumesaki could even speak, Nakiri Senzaemon first bowed a full ninety degrees toward Yumesaki.
"This old man, Nakiri Senzaemon, begs Your Excellency to step forward and help Erina break her curse. Whatever terms Your Excellency wishes to state, this old man will absolutely not refuse them."
Nakiri Erina also bowed ninety degrees. "Please, both of you, help me."
Yumesaki's gaze shifted upward, looking at Nakiri Senzaemon who was still bowing, and remarked, "It seems you aren't surprised at all by the fact that Nakiri Erina is cursed."
Logically speaking, he had just informed Erina about her being cursed.
After that, Nakiri Erina told her grandfather, Nakiri Senzaemon.
The very first thing Nakiri Senzaemon should have done was find someone to verify the truth of the matter.
Only after confirming the reality of the curse should he have gone looking for someone to break it.
That was the standard procedure for any prominent, wealthy family.
Yet, the result?
How long had Nakiri Erina even been gone? If calculated roughly, it hadn't even been an hour.
Such a short amount of time wasn't even enough for Nakiri Senzaemon to find a specialist to verify the curse's existence.
However, the opposing party had brought Nakiri Erina directly to him instead, begging so humbly, hoping that he could lift the curse on Nakiri Erina's body.
He even allowed Yumesaki to make massive demands, declaring that whatever conditions Yumesaki set would not be rejected.
No matter how one looked at it, this reaction was abnormal.
It was as if Nakiri Senzaemon had already known about Nakiri Erina being cursed for a long time.
"That is correct."
Facing Yumesaki's inquiry, Nakiri Senzaemon showed no hesitation whatsoever. He stood up slowly, nodded at Yumesaki, and confessed, "In fact, shortly after Erina was cursed, I already knew about it."
"Oh? How did you find out? Could it be that the person who cast the curse used it to threaten you?" Yumesaki asked out of curiosity.
Nakiri Senzaemon shook his head. "This matter was brought to my attention by the Zashiki-warashi enshrined by our Nakiri family."
The Zashiki-warashi, one of the famous Youkai in Japanese mythology.
Though a Youkai, it was a benevolent one.
In legends, it often appeared in the form of a young girl between three and six years old wearing a red kimono, and was considered a guardian deity of the household as well as a bringer of good fortune.
A family that harbored a Zashiki-warashi in their home would obtain abundant wealth and double the fortune.
Because of this, some selfish families would collaborate with unscrupulous exorcists to use barriers to trap the Zashiki-warashi so it couldn't move around freely.
Yumesaki hadn't expected that in this world teeming with monsters, the Nakiri family actually had a resident Zashiki-warashi.
No wonder their business flourished so intensely.
"So, the Zashiki-warashi was also the one who told you to seek me out to lift the curse?"
"Yes."
Nakiri Senzaemon stated, "The Zashiki-warashi informed me that the curse on Erina's body is incredibly powerful, to the point that even she herself cannot undo it. Only a grand entity who transcends common logic can lift this kind of curse."
"Though my Nakiri family is prosperous, we do not have access to an entity of such power."
"At this moment, only Your Excellency can assist us."
Regarding this, Yumesaki wasn't surprised at all.
Don't look at Nakiri Senzaemon looking all grand as the Director-General of Totsuki or the Food King.
At his core, he was still just a chef.
In a world filled with supernatural monsters, how high could a chef's status truly be?
It was only natural that he had no connections to those apex figures of the underworld.
"The curse on Nakiri Erina's body can indeed be lifted by me," Yumesaki spoke up, giving reassurance to Nakiri Senzaemon, while Nakiri Erina beside him felt a surge of joy.
If given the choice to live, who would ever want to die?
"However, I want to ask, do you know who cast the curse on Nakiri Erina?"
Hearing this question, Nakiri Senzaemon shook his head and replied, "In truth, I do not know who cast the curse on Erina either. I only know that this curse manifested three days ago."
"I recall Erina mentioned before that you once rejected someone from Asahi Heavy Industries, right?" Yumesaki said, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Do you not suspect them?"
Nakiri Senzaemon shook his head, his eyes naturally displaying a hint of disdain.
"Asahi Heavy Industries may seem like a massive giant in the eyes of others, backed by the Koushuu-kai, ruling over both legal and illegal pathways."
"But in the eyes of people like us, Asahi Heavy Industries is merely a nouveau riche upstart."
"The curse on Erina's body is incredibly sophisticated and remarkably potent."
"A vulgar upstart like Asahi Heavy Industries has absolutely no access to that kind of mystical power."
Previously, Nakiri Senzaemon had mentioned he lacked access to grand entities; now he claimed Asahi Heavy Industries was merely a nouveau riche upstart.
It seemed that in the eyes of certain hidden circles, Asahi Heavy Industries truly occupied the absolute lowest rung of the ladder.
Not even worth considering.
No wonder Nakiri Senzaemon refused to believe that this matter was the work of Asahi Heavy Industries.
Of course, whether this matter was truly Asahi Heavy Industries' doing or not, Yumesaki wasn't entirely certain either.
Even though Asuna's family and Nakiri Erina had both experienced conflicts with Asahi Heavy Industries, what if it was just a pure coincidence?
Thinking up to this point, Yumesaki looked back at Nakiri Erina.
"The curse within your body, though powerful and complex, is not difficult for me to handle. I can remove it, but there is one thing I must warn you about."
"If I were to lift the curse inside you right now, it will definitely alert the person who cast it on you."
"At that point, whether this mysterious person will back off and leave you alone, or instead become thoroughly enraged and strike at you from the shadows again... only that mysterious person knows."
"Right now, I have already dispatched someone to investigate this matter."
"If he manages to capture the mastermind behind the scenes, you can avoid this disaster altogether because of it."
"At the same time, I can also help you suppress the curse temporarily to delay its activation time."
"Of course, if you insist on lifting the curse right now, I can help you with that too."
"But as for the risks, you must weigh them carefully yourselves."
Hearing that, Nakiri Erina couldn't help but fall into deep hesitation.
Before coming here, she had formally met the Zashiki-warashi residing in her home.
That encounter had truly stunned Nakiri Erina, because throughout her entire life growing up, it was her very first time seeing the Zashiki-warashi in their residence.
The girl was tiny and incredibly cute.
Her grandfather had kept it a secret from her for a very long time.
However, the Zashiki-warashi had told her, "The curse inside your body is exceptionally dangerous. If it isn't removed swiftly, it could claim your life at any moment. If the person who saves you can truly lift the curse, no matter what happens, ask him to help you."
Nakiri Erina remembered that sentence vividly. Originally, she had thought she must beg Yumesaki by any means necessary to help lift the curse.
But when Yumesaki handed the choice over to her and asked if she wanted to remove it right away.
She wavered. She was truly, deeply hesitant.
Should she bet on the risk by begging Yumesaki to remove the curse right now, or follow Yumesaki's suggestion to wait a little longer, letting Yumesaki help suppress the curse and delay its activation while waiting for him to uncover the true mastermind?
For a moment, Nakiri Erina didn't know what to do.
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