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"Did you just make that appear out of thin air?"
Machi's voice was calm, but the tension in her eyes gave her away. Anything unknown—or anything that broke the rules she understood—always put her on guard. That was how you survived in Meteor City. If you weren't cautious, you didn't live long.
This place wasn't built for sheep or rabbits, let alone naïve little dreamers.
"Don't worry about where it came from," Morin said with a grin. "Just tell me—what do you think of this tablecloth? Looks nice, doesn't it?"
Machi studied it up and down before nodding. "Yeah… it's beautiful."
Just on appearance alone, it was the finest fabric she'd ever seen in her life.
"Trade this in, you'd get a mountain of black rice," she added matter-of-factly.
"Black rice? You mean that sludge you're eating?" Morin glanced at the bowl in her hands and shook his head, amused.
"This thing isn't meant to be wasted like that. Using it as trade goods would be killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. This isn't just some cloth—it's called the Gourmet Tablecloth."
Machi gave him a look that basically said, So what? It's just a name.
"Watch closely."
Morin spread the tablecloth across the battered old table in front of her.
"And now, the moment of truth!" His grin widened as his aura flared, the flow of nen surging inside him.
Item: Gourmet Tablecloth(also called Dining Napkin, Magic Feast Cloth, Automatic Banquet Linen, etc.)
•Effect: Can produce any food out of nowhere. Just name the dish, and the tablecloth creates it. The food is real, endless, and completely free.
•Notes: A legendary tool desired by everyone. Perfect for when you're too tired to cook but still want something good, or when you crave a dish you can't buy or make.
The Gourmet Tablecloth—one of those props practically everyone recognized. Anything you could imagine on a menu, it would give you instantly.
Morin thought to himself, If I'd had this back in my old world, I'd never have touched a stove again. Happiness indexes would've shot through the roof.
Whether it would still work properly here in the Hunter × Hunter world, though—that was the real test.
"Well then," Morin announced, "bring me sweet-and-sour ribs, braised duck, mapo tofu, steamed fish, ham and winter-melon soup, and… one whole bucket of white rice!"
He snapped his fingers.
Immediately his nen and aura dipped, and before Machi's eyes—eyes that narrowed in disbelief—plates began appearing on the tablecloth, steaming and fragrant.
"This is…"
Machi froze, her composure cracking for the first time. What she saw was far beyond anything she could have imagined.
"Now you see why it's called the Gourmet Tablecloth?" Morin chuckled as she stared, wide-eyed, at the food materializing in front of her. "Because it can make anything appear. Anything."
He dragged the rickety wooden bed over and sat down as if this were all perfectly normal. Picking up the spoon, bowl, and chopsticks that came with the set, he dug into the mountain of rice.
"Haah…" He inhaled deeply, savoring the rich aroma rising from the table. "God, it smells amazing!"
This was the classic spread—four dishes and one soup—something passed down since the Ming dynasty. Sure, the menu had changed over time, but it had long been a staple for formal meals and banquets.
Morin didn't waste another word. He grabbed a rib with his chopsticks and popped it into his mouth.
"Delicious!" He gave a big thumbs-up. "Hands down the best ribs I've ever had. The flavor's perfectly balanced—sweet and sour without being greasy, rich but not heavy. Absolutely incredible."
Machi glanced down at the black mush in her bowl, then back up at Morin, who was blissfully spooning mapo tofu into his mouth like he'd died and gone to heaven.
Her own food suddenly seemed even more disgusting than usual.
Not that it had ever been appetizing to begin with.
"…Is it really that good?" she muttered, trying to sound casual as she slid into the seat across from him.
Shhk.
Morin pushed a fresh bowl and chopsticks toward her.
"Why don't you taste for yourself?" he said around a mouthful of rice. "I made sure to set aside your share."
He barely had time to talk between bites.
Machi went quiet again. But this time her body betrayed her, her hand reaching out on its own to take the utensils from him.
"Fine. I'll try it," she said, her voice level and controlled.
But there was no hiding the curiosity in her eyes.
"....."