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n“Grandpa?” Yuri called out and then walked into the building where the Food War should have taken place. “Are you still here?”

nIt had been a couple of hours now. While that long wasn’t uncommon for a duel with one of her grandfather’s opponents, Yuri had a bad feeling. Because of that, after the second hour, Yuri tried calling her grandfather. But since he didn’t answer, she headed to the arena directly.

nPressing the keypad to unlock the steel doors to the kitchen, Yuri pushed them open and said, “Grandpa? Did something happen?”

nSilence.

nYuri frowned and then walked faster. At the same time, she adjusted her purse, wrapping the strap around her right hand.

n“Grandpa?”

nAgain, no answer.

nYuri hastened her steps again, rounding the corner to the center stage.

nAnd then she saw him.

nHer grandfather was standing there at the serving table, a plain bowl of ramen noodles placed in front of him.

nYuri let out a sigh of relief and then walked over. “Why didn’t you answer me, Grandpa?” Looking at the bowl, she scoffed and said, “I can’t believe it. That man cooked a plain bowl of ramen for the duel?”

nMinato gave a brief nod, but didn’t respond. Instead, his gaze seemed to be at a bowl across from him. The dish that Minato cooked, a bowl of pristine glass noodles with a fresh broth and fish.

nIt was a high-class dish that got praises even from the top three Michelin Star chefs in the world when her grandfather last served it.

nSeeing that, Yuri laughed. “What, are you just so stunned at how badly that man lost in comparison that you can’t react, Grandpa?”

nMinato shook his head.

nYuri frowned. “Then did that bastard run off in tears? Why are you so shocked?”

n“I lost.”

n“E-Eh?”

nMinato closed his eyes and then fell to his knees.

n“G-Grandpa!”

nYuri caught Minato and then tried to pull him up. But Minato stayed unmoving.

n“W-What are you doing, Grandpa?!”

nMinato let out a bitter laugh and clutched his head. “Something so simple and obvious. But I forgot it. What a fool, what an idiot I am…”

n“What are you talking about, Grandpa?! That bastard was the fool!”

nMinato sighed and then stood up. “…I’m going home, Yuri. Don’t stay out too late, alright?” Giving his granddaughter a weary smile, Minato patted Yuri on the head and then walked off, tossing his apron on the ground as he did.

nYuri froze in shock. But then she was furious. “Just what did that bastard do to Grandpa?” Scowling, she reached over and grabbed the bowl of ramen noodles.

nIt was still warm, proving that the match didn’t end that long ago.

nYuri reached into her purse and pulled out her custom spoon and fork, a gold-plated set of both, and then tried out the noodles.

nThe broth was… so-so. The noodles were so-so. In fact, everything was so-so. Not bad, not good. The technique used to create the noodles was sloppy, imperfect. Almost like somebody purposefully messed up in slicing them, but only just. Not only that, but the broth was basic, just a simple beef one.

nSure, it reminded Yuri a bit of home, but that was all. Where was the technique? The skill?

n“…He cheated.” Yuri scowled and then picked up the bowls of food, walking over to the disposal bin. Dumping the contents of both inside, she walked over to the sink and washed the bowls before glaring at the spot opposite of where her grandfather had been standing. “That bastard must have done something.”

nThere was no way that such plain and simple cooking could have caused her grandfather to admit defeat. Absolutely no way.

nYuri was sure of it.

nHer grandfather had developed his cooking techniques in accordance to her own perfect taste. He had sharpened his skills, honed his abilities, and then reached a point where even Yuri’s absolute tasting abilities couldn’t pick out a flaw.

nSo, for him to admit defeat against such sloppy cooking…!

nYuri grit her teeth.

nThe food was still warm, which meant that the man couldn’t have been gone for too long.

nAdjusting her purse around her arm, Yuri ran out of the building to search for him. “Hmph. Wait until I get my hands on you, you bastard! When I figure out what trick you used to beat Grandpa, I’ll make you regret ever showing your face in front of us!”

n—–AI|IA—–

nJohn walked across the sidewalk, a few blocks away from the warehouse where he just took part in a ‘Food War’ against Minato Miyamoto. Tucking his hands into his pocket, John sighed and muttered, “This is why I hate when people challenge me.”

nNoon, a few hours after he had Alpha take Rin and Sakura back home. And also a couple of hours after he was forced to reveal a bit of his true potential.

nSince it was a Friday afternoon, and lunch hour at that, there were quite a few people out and about. Salarymen out for a lunchbreak, some delinquent students, both actual and just class skippers, lingering around.

nWalking through the crowd, John caught the attention of more than just a few people. But perhaps since he was in such a dour mood, nobody called out to him.

nThat was perfect. John doubted that he could properly interact with anybody at the moment.

nMinato Miyamoto… John was sure of it. That guy had to have been descended from the legendary Musashi. The knife skills he showed during their duel as well as the path he took was too similar to the pursuit of ‘nothingness’ that legendary swordsman once sought.

nBut that was the problem.

n‘Nothingness’ and ‘perfection’ were applicable concepts when it came to fighting and swordsmanship. In fact, John had more than a few combat manuals devoted strictly to those paths in his Heavenly Realm.

nTaken to the pinnacle, both were paths that could lead a person to immortality. And if the underlying principle was derived, it would be enough to become an Eternal Emperor and everlasting.

nBut only in fighting.

nThe problem was that Minato tried to apply that concept to cooking as well.

nIt was… possible. Since all paths eventually converged at the pinnacle, it was indeed possible for a person to walk down the path of the culinary arts while seeking ‘nothingness’ and ‘perfection.’

nHowever, such a person would no longer be human. Or rather, it would be impossible for a human to attain such a level.

nThe culinary arts… or rather, cooking, was an integral path. Taking from many and combining features together, it was a road that drew from many sources to slowly build up a unique road.

nIn fact, it was actually a subset to John’s own Dao of ‘Accumulation’, which was why Alpha had been so upset earlier.

nA person who walked the Dao of the Culinary Arts to the end was a person who by necessity should at least step upon every path. Then, extracting the essence from each experience, that person would combine it all and create a new ‘Art’.

nThat was the essence of cooking.

nBut that guy tried to do the opposite. Rather than drawing from his own experiences, he copied others and refined the techniques to the extreme. Seamless sublimity, techniques polished to cold steel, just like a blade.

nIf this was the Three Realms, John could confidently say that Minato would be a terrifying cultivator. His path of taking the techniques from other people, polishing them to a stainless steel, and then utilizing them all in perfect harmony while removing the ego would have made him able to thrive no matter where he ended up.

nAnd in truth, on Earth, that was enough. Such technique was capable of standing at the cutting edge of the culinary arts and impress anybody.

nOnly… it was empty. That wasn’t what cooking should be at its core.

n…Or at least, that was what John believed.

n“…Dammit. This is annoying.” John frowned and then looked up at the sky.

nIt was always like this.

nSince his own path was one built up steadily through endless time and effort, he could easily see the destination of where others would end up. The history, the efforts, the struggles, the time invested, and then the ‘fate’ of what they chose to accomplish.

nAfter returning to Earth, he had been holding it back, but when confronted with a person who devoted so much, he couldn’t help but notice.

n“Argh… Screw it.” John slapped his face and then ducked into an alleyway.

nHe had been out long enough and his mood was ruined. It was better to warp straight back to his office and then play some games to get his mind off of things before working out the future plans for Myth Inc. and Project MirAIs. After that, he could enter closed door cultivation for a bit to clear his mind and start fixing the mess of karma around him that had accumulated since he arrived on Earth…

nTaking a deep breath, John walked down the alleyway, looking for a spot that could conceal his departure-

n“You bastard! I finally found you!”

n-And then came face to face with a fiery young blonde woman, slightly out of breath but completely furious.

n_________

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