Multiverse Gourmet Hunter

Haruto glanced at Kagura and Kanna and smiled.

Both of them looked thoroughly satisfied, clearly enjoying the Air Tree Fruit just as much as he had.

His attention then returned to the remaining fruit.

Now that they had tasted it raw, Haruto wanted to see whether different cooking methods could bring out any other unique qualities.

Kagura and Kanna immediately looked interested when they saw him preparing to experiment.

After a moment of thought, Haruto decided to start with the simplest method: stir-frying.

With a light turn of his wrist, Myriad Worlds traced several elegant arcs through the air. In an instant, the Air Tree Fruit had been cut into uniformly thin slices.

Haruto heated a pan, poured in a small amount of oil extracted from Oil Coconuts, and waited until it warmed slightly before adding the sliced fruit.

Sizzle—

The Air Tree Fruit immediately turned an even brighter green as a rich fragrance rose from the pan.

Haruto quickly tossed the slices a few times, adding only a tiny pinch of Orange Salt to bring out the flavor before immediately transferring everything onto a plate.

”Try it.”

He pushed the plate toward Kagura and Kanna.

Kagura eagerly picked up her chopsticks, grabbed several slices, and put them into her mouth.

They were crisp, carrying a faint richness from the oil and a light saltiness, but...

”It doesn’t seem as good as eating it raw.”

Kagura sounded disappointed.

”That light, floating feeling is gone, and the sweetness is much weaker too.”

Kanna tried a piece as well, slowly savored it, then gently shook her head.

She agreed.

Haruto tasted a slice himself and nodded.

”Yeah. The high temperature damaged the internal structure of the fruit. Stir-frying isn’t the right approach.”

He was not discouraged.

There were plenty of other methods to try.

This time, Haruto decided to make a stew with the Air Tree Fruit.

He took out a piece of Beak Frog meat, cut it into chunks, briefly blanched it to remove any unpleasant odor, then placed it into a clay pot with an appropriate amount of water and began simmering it over low heat.

Once the meat was roughly seventy to eighty percent cooked and the broth had grown rich, Haruto added sliced Air Tree Fruit and continued simmering everything for another ten minutes.

The moment he lifted the lid, a rich meaty fragrance mingled with the refreshing aroma of Air Tree Fruit and rushed outward.

Kagura’s eyes lit up.

”That smells amazing!”

Haruto served bowls for Kagura and Kanna, then filled one for himself.

The Beak Frog meat had become tender enough to fall apart in the mouth, while the broth was rich and deeply savory.

The Air Tree Fruit had absorbed the meat stock, becoming pleasantly salty and flavorful while still leaving behind a refreshing sweetness in the aftertaste.

It was quite good.

”The meat’s delicious, and the Air Tree Fruit tastes pretty good too.”

Kagura spoke around a mouthful of food.

Beside her, Kanna quietly sipped the soup and nodded in agreement.

Haruto set down his spoon, looking thoughtful.

”The flavor works well enough.”

After that, he continued experimenting.

He juiced the Air Tree Fruit into a vegetable drink. It carried a faint sweetness and a pleasant sparkling sensation, which made it rather enjoyable.

He combined it with Chestnut Salad to make a fresh vegetable salad, where the nutty aroma and sweet-and-sour dressing paired surprisingly well with the fruit’s clean freshness.

He even tried turning the Air Tree Fruit into a dessert.

Haruto experimented for the entire afternoon.

By the time he finally stopped, the cooking station was covered with plates of all different sizes, and the remaining half of the Air Tree Fruit had been completely used up.

Yet all three of them ultimately reached the same conclusion.

Nothing tasted better than simply eating it raw.

Haruto gave a helpless smile.

”Sometimes the simplest preparation really is the best.”

”Nature has already brought this ingredient to its perfect state. Anything extra just gets in the way.”

Kagura and Kanna both agreed.

By then, evening had already arrived, so Haruto decided to spend the night inside the Gourmet Restaurant.

The Gourmet World became even more dangerous after dark.

The next morning, Haruto woke, stretched, and loosened up his body.

”Time to head back out.”

He was about to leave the Gourmet Restaurant when Kagura spoke.

”Can we come outside too?”

Kanna looked toward Haruto as well.

Haruto considered the two of them for a moment before nodding.

”You can, but stay close to me.”

The Air Tree Fruit had strengthened him considerably.

Kagura and Kanna were still somewhat weak by Gourmet World standards, but as long as he stayed nearby, bringing them along should be manageable.

If something truly dangerous appeared, Haruto was confident he could quickly send them back into the Gourmet Restaurant.

Both Kagura and Kanna looked pleased.

They followed Haruto out.

Once outside, Haruto surveyed the surroundings before turning toward the direction he had come from the previous day.

He was not planning to return to the Air Tree.

Its fruiting process had drained practically all of its stored nutrients, so it would probably take several years before it produced another fruit.

What Haruto was interested in was the Waterfall Tree.

Its water had been excellent—clean, cool, and naturally sweet.

It would make outstanding cooking water, whether for rice, soup, or tea.

Haruto was also curious about how the Waterfall Tree could continuously produce such enormous quantities of water.

More importantly, when he had passed beneath it yesterday, he had smelled something that reminded him of an ingredient.

So Haruto led Kagura and Kanna back along the route he had taken before.

After roughly half an hour, they reached the Waterfall Tree.

At the moment, it stood completely still, looking almost like an ordinary giant tree in the forest.

”Don’t step beneath the canopy yet.”

Haruto warned Kagura and Kanna before approaching it alone.

As soon as he entered beneath the branches, however, raindrops like cannonballs immediately began falling toward him.

After several attempts, combined with various detection methods, Haruto finally determined what triggered the tree’s attacks.

The Waterfall Tree’s roots were extraordinarily sensitive.

They could detect even the faintest vibrations passing through the ground.

The moment a living creature entered beneath its canopy, the vibrations caused by their footsteps were picked up by the root system, causing the tree to attack.

Once Haruto understood the mechanism, he smiled.

He simply cast a flight spell.

Sure enough, when Haruto floated beneath the Waterfall Tree’s canopy without touching the ground, the tree did not react at all.

”So flying is enough?”

Kagura immediately understood.

She removed the feather from her hair, enlarged it, and carried Kanna into the air with her.

Haruto glanced back but said nothing, merely gesturing for them to follow.

The three soon reached the top of the Waterfall Tree.

Its enormous crown was dense with foliage, and every branch was exceptionally thick.

At the end of each branch was a small opening.

Haruto leaned closer to one and peered inside.

The interior was too dark to see clearly, but he could sense moisture within.

Clearly, the powerful raindrops from earlier had been fired through these openings.

After examining them briefly, Haruto began carefully searching across the canopy.

His gaze moved over every branch, refusing to overlook even the smallest detail.

Kagura and Kanna followed behind him, curiously looking around.

A short while later, Haruto’s attention settled on one thick branch.

Several round fruits about the size of a fist were hanging from the fork where two branches split apart.

The fruits were completely transparent, almost as though they had been carved from pure crystal.

A soft glow shimmered across their surfaces.

Sunlight passed through them, revealing what looked like liquid slowly moving inside.

Haruto floated closer and touched one.

The sensation was unusual.

The fruit felt cool and highly elastic, almost like a water balloon filled to bursting.

Even when Haruto squeezed it firmly, the skin did not break.

”What’s that?”

Kagura brought Kanna closer and stared curiously at the fruits.

”Are those this tree’s fruit? Can we eat them?”

”They are Waterfall Tree Fruits. Whether they’re edible or not, I’ll need to check first.”

Haruto expanded the Gourmet Restaurant around the fruits.

A few seconds later, a smile appeared on his face.

”They’re edible—and they’re actually quite good ingredients. They contain an enormous amount of water.”

The instant Kagura heard that, she quickly plucked one.

The fruit was much heavier than it looked, as though it were completely packed with liquid.

Without hesitation, Kagura brought it to her mouth and bit down.

Haruto’s lips twitched slightly.

He did not stop her.

The fruit was perfectly edible.

There was just one minor issue.

The moment Kagura broke through the thin skin—

FWOOSH!

A huge stream of clear, sweet juice erupted from the opening like a fountain.

Kagura had no time to react.

The spray hit her directly in the face and soaked part of her clothes.

With the juice continuing to gush out, Kagura instinctively opened her mouth and started gulping it down.

Fortunately, she immediately liked the flavor.

The juice was cool, crisp, and naturally sweet, with a faint fruity fragrance.

A refreshing chill traveled from her throat throughout her entire body, leaving her feeling completely invigorated.

The amount of juice inside the fruit was equally astonishing.

Despite being only the size of a fist, it released enough liquid to fill an entire large bucket.

Kagura drank for quite a while before the stream finally stopped.

By then, the once-round and plump Waterfall Tree Fruit had shriveled into a wrinkled shell, like a deflated ball.

Its color had also faded into a translucent white.