Miyoko only showed a sliver of her strength, and it scared Zongeh badly.
Zongeh realized the girl in front of him, who looked very young, wasn't weak… no, she was very strong—at least to his eyes.
"You… you!"
Terrified, Zongeh's face kept changing shades; he snatched a few bottles, and, with his lackeys, fled this car in a panic, drawing a ripple of laughter from the other passengers in the car~.
Miyoko sat back down, her expression returning to calm, and said to Shun, "Honestly, you meet all kinds; no strength but still trying to show off—shouldn't have let him leave […]."
Shun didn't say anything; Miyoko wouldn't lash out lightly.
He picked up the last bottle of tequila, took a sip, and said slowly, "To ordinary eyes, his menu does look fancy. I let him go just now because this train is a mixed bag—if we start a fight, we'll only burn energy early. The scramble began the moment we stepped aboard."
Miyoko nodded.
Then Shun smiled. "Miyoko, that guy's power's whatever, but his food luck is ridiculous—borderline heaven-defying. You could even say, among everyone alive, there are people whose food luck surpass his."
"Who has such powerful food luck?"
Miyoko froze for a beat, incredulous. "I really couldn't tell. Shuu-sensei was right—you can't judge by appearances."
"Haha, right?" Shun chuckled.
Nothing else of note happened after that, and the train arrived safely at a station still several dozen kilometers from Cave Beach.
Following the stream of people, Shun and Miyoko stepped onto a desolate stretch of land.
Everywhere they looked lay lonely gray-brown hills and jagged rubble; the air carried the briny reek of sea wind and a faint dampness wafting from deep caves—it was hard to imagine this was the gateway to the spawning grounds of the deep-sea delicacy, the Puffer Whale.
"Mm, a bit bleaker than I pictured…" Shun said, taking in the stark surroundings.
Miyoko focused on the practical. "Shun, is the entrance here? It looks no different from any rocky coast."
"The general bearing is right. The precise entrance needs finding." Shun's gaze combed the tangled terrain, his Food Honor senses spreading like invisible feelers toward crevices and caves where a passage might hide.
Just then, panicked screams and scrambling footsteps rushed closer!
"Ahhh!! Zongeh-sama! Zongeh-sama, where are you?! Help!"
The so-called gourmet from the train, Zongeh, came tumbling out with his lackeys, rolling and crawling from one of a dozen dark cave mouths not far away, utterly bedraggled.
Their faces were white, sweat pouring, clothes caked with dust—as if something terrifying was right behind them.
"Waaah! Don't chase us! We don't taste good!" Zongeh yelled in terror as he ran, a complete reversal from his swagger on the train.
Shun and Miyoko paused to watch. In the cave's depths, shadowy shapes seemed to writhe, but nothing actually emerged.
Shun's vision was extraordinary; even at this distance and in the pitch black, he could make out what they were.
Giant centipedes, each over four meters long. Their Capture Level was only 2, but there were so many that Zongeh had no chance.
Zongeh's crew staggered to a safer spot and bent double, gasping for air.
Trying to salvage his pride between wheezes, Zongeh puffed, "Hmph! If it weren't for my strategic relocation, those little bugs would've been chopped to bits long ago!"
His lackeys looked at each other and kept their mouths shut.
Shun walked up a few steps, greeting him with mock surprise. "Ooh—aren't you… Zangaria-kun?"
Zongeh nearly jumped, the fat on his face twitching. "Who the heck is that!! I'm Zongeh! Gourmet Zongeh-sama!! What even is 'Zangaria'!"
Shun smiled and stopped teasing, getting to the point. "So, did you find the cave to the bay beach?"
At that, Zongeh hemmed and hawed, eyes darting. "Uh, well… you see… we did come right up to it, b-but…"
One of his lackeys couldn't help muttering, "He's lying… we just circled the entrance the whole time and didn't dare go in."
For the sake of face, Zongeh kept bragging through gritted teeth. "But it felt kind of a shame! If I actually caught a 'Puffer Whale,' it just wouldn't be fun anymore! It's like playing a game—you get to the last level and it's a pity, so you stop there. That's how I am!"
"I-is~ that~ so~." Shun drew out the words, a knowing smile on his face, and stopped humoring this clown.
Looking at Zongeh's sorry state, Miyoko recalled Shun's comment about "food luck" on the train and still found it hard to believe—this guy who only bragged and bolted at danger was actually number one in food luck?
...… ...
Shun's attention had already shifted away from Zongeh. His sharp gaze slid to several groups of people sitting or standing in the shadow of far-off rocks.
Their auras were cold, their eyes hostile, their bodies reeking of blood and plunder.
"Who are they?" Miyoko noticed as well and asked under her breath.
"'Gourmet Thieves' and 'Gourmet Killers,'" Shun said evenly. "Their targets aren't us but the 'lucky ones' who might catch Puffer Whales and come out of the caves. They plan to wait here—to reap the fisherman's profit, or swoop in like the oriole."
Miyoko's face tightened as she nodded.
Behind this feast of gourmet delights, greed and danger lurked everywhere.
"But."
Shun withdrew his gaze with a faint smile. "Their faces seem shrouded in ill omen… but that has nothing to do with us."
He looked to the dark cave mouth Zongeh's group had just bolted from and said in a low voice, "Our target is inside. Let's move."
"Right!" Miyoko answered at once, gathering herself and [adjusting to her best state].
Shun took the lead without hesitation toward the entrance that seemed to swallow light.
Miyoko followed close behind, and their figures soon dissolved into the darkness.
(End of Chapter)
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