Multiverse Gourmet Hunter

Haruto left the Water Meat soaking for exactly ten minutes.

When he removed it from the stock, the meat had absorbed the broth completely, becoming plump, glossy, and even more delicate than before.

He set a frying pan over the heat and added oil. The moment it reached the right temperature, he placed the Water Meat into the pan.

Sssssss—!

A beautiful seared crust formed almost instantly across the surface.

The aroma of roasted meat exploded into the air, even richer and more aggressive than the stock from earlier. In seconds, it overwhelmed every other fragrance in the plaza and spread in all directions.

Almost everyone turned toward Haruto’s cooking station at the same time.

Haruto remained completely focused.

Using a pair of tongs, he carefully rotated the Water Meat while controlling the heat with absolute precision, searing every side until the exterior reached the perfect reddish-brown color.

The purpose was simple.

Lock every drop of juice inside.

Once the searing was complete, Haruto brought out several Dryad branches and lit them beneath a small grill.

He placed the Water Meat over the low flame and began roasting it slowly.

As the Dryad wood burned, it released a subtle, clean woody fragrance that gently smoked the meat.

With each passing minute, the aroma of the Water Meat became richer, blending with the faint scent of the wood until the spectators around him were visibly struggling to contain themselves.

People swallowed repeatedly, their eyes fixed on the grill.

Time continued to pass.

With only seven minutes remaining in the competition, Haruto finally removed the Water Meat from the heat.

The exterior had become a beautiful deep reddish brown, with a few delicately crisp edges. The intense aroma of roasted meat mixed with the clean fragrance of the burning wood so thoroughly that it almost seemed tangible.

Haruto drew the Melk Knife.

A light movement of his wrist was all it took.

The blade slipped cleanly through the crisp exterior, dividing the Water Meat into evenly sized pieces.

The soft interior was revealed beneath the crust, while juices that had been locked inside slowly began seeping from the cut surfaces.

Haruto picked up one piece with chopsticks and tasted it.

The lightly charred exterior touched his tongue first, carrying the smoky fragrance of the fire along with the subtle woody aroma of the Dryad branches.

Then the juices burst.

An incredible amount of liquid flooded his mouth, combining the mellow richness of the stock, the savory saltiness of Water 7 sea salt, and the natural sweetness of the Water Meat itself.

Warm juices coated every taste bud.

For a moment, it felt as though every cell responsible for taste was trembling beneath the intensity of the flavor.

Then came the texture.

The interior was so tender that it resembled freshly softened cream. There was none of the dryness or fibrous resistance normally associated with meat. With the slightest pressure from his tongue, it almost melted away, leaving behind nothing but pure savoriness and rich meaty sweetness without any greasy aftertaste.

Haruto’s Gourmet Cells seemed to cheer in delight.

A faint tremor spread from his tongue throughout his entire body as every cell relaxed and awakened.

Satisfied, Haruto nodded.

He arranged the grilled Water Meat neatly on a serving plate, added a small amount of fresh herbs for presentation, then carried the dish toward the judges’ table.

The three judges had already been driven half-mad by the aroma.

The moment Haruto approached, they grabbed their chopsticks and began eating without hesitation.

Their bodies froze simultaneously.

Their eyes widened.

Their pupils contracted.

Then color rose to all three faces as their bodies unconsciously tensed, their legs drawing slightly together while involuntary sounds of satisfaction escaped their throats.

At that moment, there was only one thought in their minds.

Delicious.

The contrast in texture was flawless—the lightly crisp exterior followed by an impossibly tender center.

And when the juices burst across their tongues, the overwhelming sweetness and umami seemed to shoot straight through their heads.

The instant they recovered, all three judges began eating at a frantic pace.

Within moments, the entire plate of grilled Water Meat had vanished.

They even cleaned up the small amount of juice left on the plate without leaving a drop behind.

Afterward, the judges exchanged glances and saw the same deep satisfaction reflected in one another’s eyes.

One of them finally sighed.

"I’ve eaten food my entire life, and I’ve never tasted grilled meat this perfect. At this point, this isn’t simply cooking anymore. It’s art."

"The control over the texture, the balance of seasoning, the way every drop of juice was preserved... there isn’t a single flaw."

"This is unquestionably the best dish served today."

There was no suspense.

Haruto’s grilled Water Meat won the competition.

The entire plaza erupted into deafening cheers.

The chefs who had mocked him before the contest now stood pale-faced and silent, unable even to raise their heads.

Compared with Haruto’s dish, their cooking was not merely inferior.

It was in another world entirely.

Haruto received the Silver Shuttle Flying Fish, but he did not immediately cook it.

Instead, he stored it safely inside the Gourmet Restaurant.

Afterward, he specifically purchased several books containing information about the species before returning to his room at the inn and studying them carefully.

According to the records, the two most prized parts of the Silver Shuttle Flying Fish were its swim bladder and spinal marrow.

They even had special names.

The swim bladder was known as the Cloudsea Bladder.

The marrow inside the spine was called Moonlight Marrow.

The books repeatedly emphasized that the Cloudsea Bladder had to remain completely intact while the fish was being opened. If it was punctured, more than ninety percent of its flavor would be lost almost immediately.

Moonlight Marrow was even more delicate.

Once exposed to the air for longer than three minutes, it would rapidly become fibrous and harden, completely destroying its value as an ingredient.

The fish’s muscle fibers were equally unusual.

If an ordinary knife damaged their structure during preparation, the naturally springy and sweet flesh would become dry and develop an unpleasant fishiness, completely wasting such a rare ingredient.

Haruto closed the book and let out a quiet breath.

Waiting had definitely been the right decision.

If he had tried to prepare the fish immediately after winning it, he might have ruined an ingredient that had taken years to appear in Gourmet City.

Haruto read through the material twice more, making sure he had missed nothing.

Only then did he enter the Gourmet Restaurant.

He activated Ingredient Deconstruction on the Silver Shuttle Flying Fish.

Within Haruto’s perception, the fish ceased to appear as a single complete creature.

Instead, it separated into countless minute components.

He could clearly perceive the direction of every muscle fiber, the density and distribution of fat across every section of the body, the concentration of flavor compounds in each organ, the path of every blood vessel, and even the tiny structural gaps between the bones.

The information poured into his mind with astonishing clarity.

From the analysis, Haruto quickly determined that the ideal cooking method for the Cloudsea Bladder was a simple clear stew.

Gentle heat would slowly draw out its natural flavor.

Any seasoning at all would only get in the way.

The Moonlight Marrow, meanwhile, contained several dozen times more concentrated umami than the ordinary flesh. Its flavor could best be preserved by heating it and then immediately chilling it at extremely low temperature, locking in both the texture and freshness.

The belly meat had the most evenly distributed fat of any part of the fish, making it ideal for an entirely different preparation.

In less than a minute, Haruto had already constructed a complete cooking plan in his head.

He entered the kitchen built inside the Gourmet Restaurant and began preparing the Silver Shuttle Flying Fish.

His left hand steadied the fish while his right held the Melk Knife.

With a subtle turn of his wrist, the blade flowed along the centerline of the belly like running water.

The silver scales parted effortlessly beneath the edge without the slightest resistance.

Haruto carefully opened the body and removed the Cloudsea Bladder intact.

It had the same elegant spindle shape as the fish itself and was almost completely translucent.

Through its thin outer wall, Haruto could actually see something resembling pale mist slowly drifting within.

That strange sight probably explained why the organ had been given the name Cloudsea Bladder.

Haruto gently rinsed it with clean water and placed it inside a pot.

He added only enough water to barely cover the organ.

Nothing else.

No salt.

No aromatics.

No seasoning whatsoever.

He turned the heat to high.

The clear water gradually went from still, to forming tiny pearl-like bubbles, and finally to a gentle boil.

As the temperature rose, the Cloudsea Bladder slowly relaxed and expanded, releasing a faint but remarkably soft fragrance of the sea.

The instant the water reached a full boil, Haruto lowered the heat.

From there, the broth needed to remain at the gentlest possible simmer.

The process would take quite some time, and the temperature had to remain perfectly stable throughout. The liquid also could not be allowed to reduce too far.

Haruto naturally had no intention of standing beside the pot for the entire process.

So he called Charizard over.

He patted its head and spoke seriously.

"Keep an eye on the heat for me. Maintain exactly this temperature. Don’t let it change at all, got it?"

"And one more thing..."

Charizard listened carefully to every instruction.

Then it nodded firmly, letting out a deep, solemn rumble from its throat.

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