Chapter 75 – Chairman Netero (Part 3)
A soft laugh escaped Menchi's lips.
"Hehehehe… It's no wonder you couldn't appreciate the flavor. The ingredient I used came from the horn moss of the Last Big Horn Bear living deep inside Lauru Mountains beyond the Milsy Wetlands—there are said to be only a handful left in the world."
Menchi's eyes gleamed with pride as she explained the rarity.
She seemed quite pleased with herself, taking the chance to lecture everyone about Gourmet Hunters while she was at it.
"Impressive… no wonder she's a One-Star Hunter, and a renowned Gourmet Hunter on top of that," Satotz murmured from the treetop nearby. Even without lips, he somehow managed to sound impressed as he continued watching the spectacle.
Leorio suddenly stiffened.
"Wait—Milsy Wetlands? That place wiped out half the applicants! That madwoman walked even deeper inside… and came back with the bear's scales?!"
He felt a cold sweat trickling down.
Thank goodness he had listened to Osren—otherwise the one lying in a puddle somewhere might've been him.
The weather suddenly felt several degrees colder.
"And she returned without a single scratch," Kurapika noted calmly. "What's even more terrifying is that she made a round trip… in under one hour."
Killua nodded. "Yeah… that speed and stamina? I'm not there yet. Not even close."
"Hunters are all monsters," Osren said simply.
He had predicted Menchi was strong—but seeing it firsthand was something else entirely.
Unfortunately, some people were blind to reality.
"Are you all starting to see Gourmet Hunters differently now?" Menchi asked, lounging elegantly back on the sofa.
"I want a little more! I can't judge properly with just one bite!" Gon zipped over and practically stuck his face into her table—eyeing the remaining Rice with naked desire.
Since it was so rare, Gon felt he should eat more of it.
Osren had one bowl.
If he could grab another… then they'd have two!
Perfectly balanced. Perfectly fair.
"You think rare ingredients grows on trees?! This dish is unbelievably precious!" Menchi snapped, snatching the bowl out of reach with lightning-fast reflexes.
"Mmhmm! I know!" Gon nodded eagerly.
"…Fine. Take it."
Menchi sighed and glanced toward Osren.
Since Osren already had a bowl—and since his teammates had been failed in the test—it was a fair bit of compensation.
She handed the bowl to Gon.
"Thank you, examiner!"
Gon lifted the bowl and bounded back toward Osren, ready to share.
Unfortunately, that moment of harmony greatly irritated someone who'd been simmering on the edge of fury the whole time.
Todo.
He marched forward, face twisted with rage, and kicked Menchi's table over.
The bottle of precious horn moss spun into the air.
Osren's heart clenched.
Such a rare ingredient—don't spill—don't spill—
"Swish!"
Menchi's petite form twisted through the air with feline grace, snatching the bottle mid-fall.
"I don't care what kind of fancy ingredients those are!" Todo roared. "Food is food—it just needs to fill your stomach! You're obsessed with cooking to the point of madness! You're not a Hunter—you're just a glorified foodie!"
Silence fell.
Menchi slowly rose to her feet.
Her smile was gone.
Her eyes were very, very cold.
"It seems your brain really is made of porridge," she said.
"What did you say?"
Todo didn't notice how every other examinee instinctively backed away from him, wanting absolutely no part of what was about to happen.
"Back up," Osren told his friends. "We don't want to get caught in the crossfire."
Leorio, after finishing the dish Menchi had given out, patted his stomach.
He had resisted earlier… but once Menchi explained how expensive and coveted it was, he decided not eating more would've been a financial crime.
He stepped back quickly.
The moment Osren spoke, his group instinctively took several steps back—
no one wanted a repeat of the time they were nearly trampled by a herd of Wild Boar Hogs.
But the other examinees weren't as cautious.
"We refuse to accept being marked as failures!"
Maybe Todo's reckless bravado infected them, because two more examinees stepped forward to support him—openly challenging Menchi.
"I say we twist your head off and show the Committee that some worthless 'Gourmet Hunter' has no right to be an examiner! We'll file a complaint!"
Todo's voice rose with confidence now that he had backup.
He jabbed a finger at Menchi as if he were delivering justice.
"Do as you like."
Menchi didn't spare the three of them a single serious glance.
She simply turned and started walking out of the arena.
"Hey! Stop! Don't run!"
The man in the green jacket thought Menchi was trying to escape and charged after her.
Her petite, delicate appearance really was misleading—
she looked harmless, like a decorative flower.
Unfortunately for him, that "flower" turned into a man-eating blossom when provoked.
Smack!
In one fluid motion, Buhara slid in front of Menchi, and with a single sweeping slap sent the two charging men flying across the arena, where they hit the ground and stayed down.
"Damn it!"
Todo, who had lagged behind, avoided the strike—but seeing his "allies" drop only fueled his anger.
He lunged forward and grabbed Buhara, bodily lifting the large man before hurling him aside.
Not bad for a heavyweight wrestler—his strength and lifting power were outstanding.
BOOM!
Buhara crashed into a wall and caved it in.
Todo grinned smugly. "Heh. One hit and he's down. Pathetic."
But—
"You're pretty strong."
Buhara stood up as if nothing had happened, brushing dust off his shoulders.
"What—?!"
Todo's proud grin froze solid.
"I suppose I'll need to get a little serious then."
Buhara stretched his muscles, expression sharpening.
"Buhara, there's no need for you to handle this."
Menchi stepped in front of him, eager to deal with Todo herself.
Todo's eyes lit up.
Perfect—
he was hoping Buhara wouldn't interfere.
"Let's see what you've got!"
Todo charged straight at Menchi, convinced she was the weaker target.
After all, why punch a boulder when you could kick a pillow?
But as he reached her—
—Menchi wasn't there.
She moved so quickly her silhouette blurred, appearing several steps away before Todo even realized he'd missed.
"This year's exam is something else…"
Buhara sighed as he folded his arms.
"In ten years, I've never seen a candidate with more potential to become a Gourmet Hunter—"
(his eyes flicked to Osren)
"—and I've never seen someone as idiotic and unqualified as this one."
He nodded toward Todo.
And indeed, Menchi didn't need to lift a finger.
Standing casually with her arms crossed, she raised one slender leg and unleashed a flurry of lightning-fast kicks.
Three, maybe four strikes—too fast to count.
Todo spun like a rag doll, slammed into the ground, and didn't get up again.
"With that pathetic level, you want to be a Hunter? Don't make me laugh."
Menchi planted a foot on Todo's back, lecturing him like a misbehaving child.
"Regardless of type—all Hunters share one requirement: skill and agility. Whether you like it or not, every Hunter must be physically exceptional."
Just as she drew back her leg to deliver the final blow—
someone arrived.
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