Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 28 (Patreon)

Chapter 28: Beyond Imagination

As the cane fell, Luo easily dodged it.

Machi put down the cane, a thin anger on her face, but she made no further move. After all, with her legs injured, even if she wanted to teach Luo a lesson, she was powerless.

Although she was only ten years old, she already had a clear understanding of matters between men and women. Being seen naked was embarrassing, to say the least, but her strong character meant that blushing was not something she associated with, only swinging her cane to prove her state of mind.

"What did Luo do, Machi?" Uvogin asked curiously at that moment.

Upon hearing this, Machi first glared fiercely at Luo, then calmly said, "Nothing."

"Did this kid peek at you taking a bath?" Uvogin casually remarked.

Chrollo Lucilfer and Pakunoda silently looked towards Luo, thinking there might be some truth to Uvogin's words.

"Hey, hey, big guy, don't spout nonsense!" Luo immediately became unstable.

"Don't think just because you saved me, you can call me any nickname. Don't believe me? I could knock you down with one punch," Uvogin slightly angered.

"I don't believe you," Luo shrugged.

A crossroad immediately appeared above Uvogin's head, and if not for his injuries, he would have jumped out of bed to punch Luo. However, he wasn't foolish and retorted, "Peeping Tom."

"Do I look like that kind of person? Machi, explain, please?" Luo looked at Machi with pleading eyes.

"Uvogin, he didn't peek at me taking a bath," Machi explained.

Uvogin smirked, while Luo sighed in relief. But Machi's next statement dumbfounded him.

"He used his Nen ability to remove my clothes. At that time, I didn't know about Nen abilities. I had my suspicions, but it was more confusion than anything. Now, it makes sense."

Luo, facing Machi's calm demeanor, was at a loss for words.

Even if you're young, is it really okay to calmly mention this?

"Are you a pervert?" Uvogin widened his eyes, looking incredulously at Luo.

Chrollo Lucilfer and Pakunoda didn't speak, but their gazes revealed their thoughts.

"Can I explain for a second?" Luo weakly raised his hand.

Machi glanced at him, indifferently saying, "No need for explanations. Go with Chrollo Lucilfer to see the Elder of East Street right now and take the ominous hand to resolve this matter."

"Alright then." Luo massaged his forehead. "Might as well stay here until I've mastered Nen abilities before leaving."

After a long silence, Chrollo Lucilfer finally asked, "Have we come to a conclusion?"

Luo nodded, jokingly probing, "You're not going to sell me, are you? Just to let you know, my flesh is only worth about as much as Machi's, not worth much."

Hearing Luo's words, Machi and Uvogin also became concerned.

Chrollo Lucilfer's smile faded, and he seriously replied, "No, to the Elder, a human life is far less valuable than a rare collectible. To be more precise, humans, in his eyes, are no different from dolls."

Only Chrollo Lucilfer understood the Elder of East Street who also had Nen abilities. Facing Luo's concealed worry in his probe, he gave a very serious response.

The truth is, in the eyes of the Elder of East Street, humans and dolls have no difference. If there must be a distinction, it's that humans can exhibit a bit more utility value.

But whether human or doll, neither is as valuable as rare collectibles. This is the viewpoint of the Elder of East Street, also a very dark consciousness. Therefore, this also forms the key to the Elder of East Street's Nen ability.

Hearing Chrollo Lucilfer's answer, Luo's eyes narrowed slightly, saying, "That explanation... isn't very friendly."

"So, have we come to a conclusion?" Chrollo Lucilfer continued to ask.

"Of course, I'll go with you, but before that..." Luo touched his stomach.

"Hmm?" Chrollo Lucilfer and Machi looked at Luo, waiting for what was next.

"How about we eat first?" Luo seriously said.

...

The church's healing services were not free and charged a fee as outrageous as the prices on Meteor Street, ten times higher than regular hospitals.

Like hospitals, to facilitate patients, the church also provided food, likewise at ten times the cost of raw materials.

Luo's request to eat was not unreasonable. Not just him, but Uvogin and Machi hadn't eaten since yesterday.

Since most of the medical fees were borrowed from Chrollo Lucilfer anyway, borrowing a bit more for food wasn't a big deal.

Chrollo Lucilfer then asked Pakunoda to notify the church staff to bring three full meals. As for Nobunaga, who was still asleep, they decided to skip his portion.

After Pakunoda left, Chrollo Lucilfer sat in a chair by the window, quietly reading a book, not continuing the conversation with Luo, which was somewhat unexpected to him.

After all, in Luo's view, Chrollo Lucilfer would not give up on the idea of stealing abilities. Therefore, he should not be so quiet but should keep talking to Luo, then find an opportunity to ask about Nen abilities.

Knowing that an hour later the condition would expire, and it would not be so simple to have such an opportunity again.

Luo was puzzled but was too lazy to think further, looking forward to the church's food.

"Having eaten porridge for so long, finally, we can eat something different," Luo remarked.

Machi coldly huffed in response, not bothering to engage with Luo.

About twenty minutes later, Pakunoda returned with the church staff, bringing three full meals.

After the church staff placed the meals and left, Luo eagerly looked at the table, immediately confused, pointing at the blackened spherical object on the plate, asking, "What is this?"

"Have you never seen a potato?" Uvogin, helped by Pakunoda to get the plate closer to his bed, didn't hesitate to pick up a potato. After simply removing the burnt skin, he started to eat it.

The plate was not large, containing a bowl full of rice, a fist-sized baked potato, several raw lettuce leaves that hadn't even touched boiling water, and a bowl of clear soup with a few specks of oil floating on top.

The most comforting item might be the five thin slices of smoked meat next to the baked potato.

Even though the smoked meat somewhat saved the day, Luo found it hard to imagine that this was the church's highest standard of a full meal.

Machi and Uvogin, however, didn't care much and started eating right away.

Uvogin, who had relatively good living conditions, was quite satisfied, not to mention Machi, who usually only had porridge. Their expressions were as if they were enjoying some delicacy.

"How miserable can this get..."

Luo picked up his chopsticks and inserted them into the potato. The surface was easy to penetrate, but resistance was met near the center, indicating the potato wasn't fully baked.

It was normal, for a whole potato to be baked like this and still be raw inside. Moreover, there were many simpler and more pleasing methods than this time-consuming and least appealing one.

As for the raw lettuce, it looked somewhat acceptable. Then there was the smoked meat, with its bright red color and glossy appearance, showing high-quality raw materials were used, the only dish Luo looked forward to.

Indeed, Machi and Uvogin quickly finished off the five slices of smoked meat.

Luo pulled out his chopsticks from the baked potato, picked up a slice of smoked meat, and began to chew. His expression slowly fell.

"Machi and the others... are really too pitiful."

At that moment, Luo felt that with his culinary skills, if he could open a restaurant in Meteor Street, it would undoubtedly be a hit.

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