"I didn't expect her to take on another disciple," Ichiryu said after hanging up. "Mansam, come with me."
At IGO headquarters, Ichiryu glanced at the man beside him as he spoke. The reason he brought Mansam along was simple—he intended to groom him as his successor.
Although the current IGO vice president was Shige rather than Mansam, if the president's seat ever opened up, Ichiryu would push Mansam forward without hesitation.
The reason was equally simple. Mansam and Ichiryu were the same kind of people. Yes, Mansam had once been a brutal bandit, but after submitting to Ichiryu, he completely changed.
At first, his loyalty came from fear of Ichiryu's strength. Now, he had genuinely devoted everything to the Human World.
In the original story, when Mansam was gravely injured and later awakened, the first thing he did—despite his condition—was issue orders to mobilize ingredients and stabilize the Human World. By then, he had already become someone just like Ichiryu.
As for why Mansam wasn't made vice president, Ichiryu had thought it through. For IGO to endure, it needed expansion and development. Both he and Mansam were the type to put others first. People without ambition like them found it difficult to keep an organization growing stronger.
That was why Ichiryu chose Shige instead. Shige had ambition—plenty of it. With him, IGO could steadily expand.
But Ichiryu also knew this kind of man could never be given absolute power. Otherwise, trouble was inevitable. Shige could even turn IGO into something like Gourmet Corp.
So Mansam was the true successor. Shige was merely an important tool.
As for whether Mansam could keep Shige in check, Ichiryu wasn't worried. In canon, Shige knocked Mansam out with a single move, but that was a sneak attack after Mansam had already fought a major battle. In a fair fight, Shige wasn't necessarily Mansam's equal.
Mansam nodded immediately after hearing Ichiryu's words. Even without speakerphone, their level of strength made overhearing the call effortless.
Being brought along didn't surprise him. Ichiryu often took him to important occasions, and Mansam understood what that meant. He didn't resent the idea of taking over IGO—but as long as Ichiryu was still around, he would never do so.
"Right," Ichiryu added suddenly. "We shouldn't go empty-handed. Prepare a black gold card."
IGO had plenty of valuable items, but bringing physical goods felt inappropriate. In the end, Ichiryu chose a black gold card.
With it, one could purchase virtually anything in the Human World, obtain a wide range of ingredients from IGO, and freely enter many IGO-managed zones.
While powerful individuals could force their way into such areas, that would mean becoming enemies with IGO—something only Gourmet Corp would do.
In Ichiryu's eyes, since Kael was now Granny Setsuno's disciple, he was effectively aligned with IGO. Anyone valued by Setsuno was bound to be extraordinary. Kael might even play a role in the future preparation of the Cooking GOD.
Even if not, what if Kael eventually partnered with Ichiryu's adopted sons?
Either way, befriending Kael was necessary.
"I'll take care of it right away," Mansam said, moving immediately to arrange it.
Others who had received invitations understood Setsuno's intentions as well and prepared gifts of their own.
At the same time, Jiro also received a call from Setsuno. It wasn't an invitation—she wanted him to head into the Gourmet World and capture ingredients for the upcoming banquet.
Jiro learned about Setsuno taking another disciple and found it genuinely surprising. She had once told him that Nono was her final disciple. If she had gone back on that, there could only be one reason—Kael's talent was so overwhelming that she couldn't ignore it.
Though curious, Jiro focused on the task at hand and headed straight to the Gourmet World. Since the guests were all important figures, the ingredients couldn't be ordinary.
With Jiro's strength, capturing top-tier ingredients took little time. Anyone else would have to tread extremely carefully in the Gourmet World.
That place was terrifying. In the Human World, only three people could claim to move freely there. Even Setsuno herself wouldn't say such a thing.
The day after Setsuno's call, Jiro arrived at her kitchen with a pile of massive, high-level ingredients.
Setsuno's kitchen had multiple entrances. Besides the one above Setsuno's Dining Hall, several large access points existed specifically for transporting ingredients.
After training with Setsuno for some time, Kael was already quite familiar with the place.
"So you're Setsuno's new disciple," Jiro said, giving Kael a once-over. "Not bad. Your Food Honor is already at the mastery level, and your cell grade is high. You're solid material."
He instantly gauged Kael's level of control and cell quality. For others, that would be difficult—but for the top three, it was obvious at a glance.
"His talent goes far beyond what you're seeing," Setsuno said with a smile, explaining Kael's situation.
Jiro was stunned. Even in today's Human World, ten-star chefs were rare—let alone those who had reached the Pathfinding level. Kael was only a nine-star chef, yet no ten-star could defeat him. He could even rival Pathfinding-level chefs.
Given Kael's age, that was incredible. Any Human World chef who had reached Pathfinding was already elderly.
"What a pity," Jiro said. "If you'd been born a few decades earlier, you might've surpassed Setsuno before the Gourmet Eclipse."
After all, Setsuno herself had said Kael's talent rivaled that of the God Chef, Frohze.
Among them, no one understood Frohze better than Midora and Setsuno. Midora saw her as his mother, while Setsuno had learned cooking from her. Though Frohze never formally accepted disciples, she taught Setsuno sincerely—no different from taking her in.
If Setsuno said Kael could match Frohze, there was no doubt about it.
"Maybe it won't take that long," Setsuno replied with a chuckle.
Kael possessed a unique energy—Qi—which grew alongside his Gourmet Cells. As his cells evolved, his Qi would surge as well. Perhaps he could break through limits using it.
Miracles weren't rare in this world. The older generation reaching their current heights was itself a kind of miracle. Setsuno never imagined she'd meet Jiro, let alone learn from Frohze. Who could say what the future held?
"Seems there's still plenty I don't know," Jiro said, shrugging. "I won't meddle. Since you're Setsuno's disciple, this is for you."
He handed Kael a gift—a uniquely shaped Knocking Gun. Jiro owned many, often crafted from Gourmet World beasts. The one he gave Kael could be used even there.
A few days later, the banquet finally arrived.
Only a small number of guests were invited, and Setsuno's Dining Hall easily accommodated them. Some of the dishes were prepared by Kael and Nono, with Setsuno herself handling Gourmet World ingredients.
Kael deliberately avoided consuming those ingredients to raise his Gourmet Cell level. According to Setsuno, he should stick to Human World ingredients for now. If his cells evolved too far, Human World ingredients would become useless to him.
This was standard practice. Whether IGO or Gourmet Corp, they never fed top-tier ingredients to rookies. Growth through constant refinement in the Human World led to higher survival rates later. Forced growth only created hollow strength.
As evening fell, guests began to arrive.
Kael recognized Ichiryu, Director Mansam, Chin Chinchin of Shokurin Temple, the Medicinal King Yuda, Zaus, and others. Setsuno introduced the rest—each a major figure in their field.
Everyone brought gifts.
Ichiryu's black gold card stood out. Once Kael learned its value, he was deeply grateful. Until now, he'd only requested ordinary ingredients from Setsuno. She could easily obtain rarer ones, but she wanted him to grow properly.
She also knew why Kael wanted ingredients. Beyond his extraordinary hearing, his sense of smell was even more terrifying. She hoped he would accumulate as much knowledge as possible.
Chin Chinchin brought delicate-stream ingredients. Yuda gifted a medicinal cuisine formula. Zaus and the others offered various items—most not immediately useful, but gifts were gifts.
"Everyone," Setsuno announced, "this is my newly accepted disciple, Kael. One more thing—though he's only a nine-star chef, his true skill rivals chefs at the Pathfinding stage."
She had invited these people to pave Kael's future path. While her status alone ensured respect, stating his level outright carried more weight. High-level chefs were exceedingly rare.
Not every powerful Gourmet Hunter had a chef partner of that caliber. Even Ichiryu had once relied on Setsuno to prepare dishes during Food Immersion.
That was why the revelation shocked everyone. Pathfinding was a level above ten stars.
And Kael had already reached it.