180: Second generation Melk

Second Generation Melk also cast a glance at Lin Luo as if looking at a pervert. Even Erina, standing beside them, was speechless, covering her forehead and quietly stepping aside, as if to draw a clear line between them.

Feeling somewhat uncomfortable under these collective gazes, Lin Luo rubbed his nose and sensibly found an excuse: "Ahem, you all chat slowly. I... I'll go for a walk outside and look for something to eat." After saying this, he turned and slipped out of the stone house, leaving the space to the three girls.

Once Lin Luo's figure disappeared at the doorway, Akane Kubo Momo immediately poked her head out from behind Erina and whispered: "Erina, who... who exactly is he?"

Erina rubbed her temples with a headache: "He's from the same place as us. Although his personality is a bit... well, eccentric. But what he just said should be true. He really does have a way to take us back."

"Special Affairs Department?" Akane Kubo Momo blinked, reciting an organization name, filled with probing and doubt.

Erina thought for a moment and nodded: "Yes..."

"Wait," Second Generation Melk interrupted, her face full of confusion, "Momo, what are you all talking about? What same place? Go back? Special Affairs Department?"

Clutching her teddy bear, Akane Kubo Momo looked at Second Generation Melk, her tone filled with confusion and helplessness: "Second Generation Melk, didn't I tell you before? I'm not from this world! I come from another place!"

Second Generation Melk was clearly stunned, her eyes widening in surprise: "Huh? I thought... that was all just you suddenly appearing here, too scared or too homesick, and making things up in your head..."

Akane Kubo Momo puffed up her cheeks and said indignantly: "Then what about everything I told you before about Tōtsuki Culinary Academy, the Council of Ten..."

Second Generation Melk awkwardly scratched her cheek: "Uh... I thought you had a rich imagination and were making up adventure stories, which were actually quite interesting..."

Listening to their conversation, Erina finally understood that how they met was probably also an accident. She asked curiously: "Speaking of which, how did you two meet?"

Mentioning this, Second Generation Melk's expression became somewhat subtle. She pointed in a direction far outside the door: "There's a natural hot spring over there. That day, I was soaking in the hot spring to relax, and she..." She looked at Akane Kubo Momo, "suddenly appeared and fell straight into the pool."

Akane Kubo Momo immediately added, her tone filled with lingering fear and accusation: "I was clearly in my own kitchen at home, just preparing to try a new dessert recipe! But in the blink of an eye, everything spun around, and then with a 'splash,' I fell into the water! I even choked on quite a bit of water!"

Second Generation Melk shrugged: "It definitely gave me a scare. A person suddenly appeared in the hot spring, and was wearing... strange clothes."

"I was clearly the one who was scared, alright!" Akane Kubo Momo emphasized.

Hearing this bizarre "first encounter," Erina couldn't help but smile: "Sounds like your luck wasn't too bad, Momo. At least the place you fell... ahem, was safe. If Second Generation had been a boy, it would have been a disaster."

Upon hearing this, Akane Kubo Momo nodded vigorously, then pointed at Second Generation Melk and "snitched" to Erina in a whisper: "Not at all! Back then... she was soaking in the hot spring completely naked! When she suddenly saw me fall, she was only stunned for a moment, and then very calmly asked who I was! She didn't know how to be shy at all!"

Being exposed to her face, a rare, almost invisible blush flew across Second Generation Melk's face. She coughed and turned her face away: "In that situation, of course, figuring out the situation was more important! And besides... isn't that how it is when soaking in a hot spring!"

While they were talking, a loud "boom" suddenly came from outside, followed immediately by a high-pitched, sharp, and threatening bird cry!

A strong wind pressure swept in along with this roar, violently impacting the doors and windows of the stone house, causing a "clattering" vibration. The knives hanging inside the room trembled slightly, emitting a faint metallic ringing.

The wind had just died down when another dull impact sounded outside, followed by a suppressed grunt that sounded like pain, and then an even more furious beast roar.

Akane Kubo Momo tilted her head to listen, saying somewhat uncertainly: "This sound... why does it sound a bit like Pojiko?"

As soon as Second Generation Melk heard the name "Pojiko," her expression changed abruptly: "Oh no!"

Seeing this, Erina hurriedly asked: "Who is Pojiko?"

Holding her plush toy, Akane Kubo Momo explained: "Pojiko is a pet that Second Generation Melk keeps here. It seems to be called... a Vampire Gorilla? Anyway, it's a very ferocious beast that is extremely good at fighting, and it usually helps guard the door and drive away some annoying wild beasts."

After hearing this, Erina helplessly covered her forehead: "... Could it be that it ran into that guy Lin Luo?"

Akane Kubo Momo's eyes lit up, and she laughed, loving the drama: "Then Lin Luo is in for it! Pojiko is very fierce when it loses its temper!"

Erina, however, wasn't so optimistic. She muttered a sentence under her breath, her tone filled with an understanding of that person and worry for the strange beast: "I'm not really worried about him... I'm just afraid, won't Pojiko be... beaten to death by him?"

Before she could finish speaking, another even more shrill and angry beast roar came from outside, mixed with the dull thud of some heavy object hitting rocks, as well as Lin Luo's muffled voice, which seemed to carry a bit of helplessness and teasing: "Hey hey, big guy, let's be reasonable..."

Second Generation Melk couldn't care about talking anymore and immediately turned to run toward the door. Erina and Akane Kubo Momo looked at each other and hurriedly followed.

When they rushed out of the stone house and ran to the open space beside the house, the scene before them made all three of them freeze.

They saw a Vampire Gorilla that looked like a bat, covered in purple fur, with a ferocious appearance and arms as thick as giant trees, angrily beating its chest and growling at the front. One of its forelimbs seemed to hang unnaturally, and there were some bruises on its nose.

As for Lin Luo, he was standing leisurely on a large rock not far away, with a recently deceased, strange-looking bird creature—a Flying Squid—at his feet. He looked completely unharmed, his clothes were not even messy, only his expression was a bit helpless.

Seeing Second Generation Melk and the others come out, Lin Luo kicked the "prey" at his feet and explained: "I had just finished catching a piece of prey, when this guy suddenly flew at me, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws. I just 'defended' myself a little... ahem, I didn't use much force, really."

Upon seeing Second Generation Melk, Pojiko let out a wronged "whimper," pointed at Lin Luo with its intact forelimb, and then pointed at its own injured nose and foreleg, as if complaining.

Second Generation Melk looked at the clearly defeated Pojiko, then at the calm and composed Lin Luo, who hadn't even broken a sweat, her mouth twitched, and for a moment she didn't know what to say.

Erina sighed, as expected... she knew it.

Akane Kubo Momo looked at Lin Luo with curiosity: "I couldn't tell, you're so strong."

Lin Luo smiled slightly: "You didn't see anything, so how did I become strong?"

Akane Kubo Momo pointed at the Vampire Gorilla Pojiko, which was still baring its fangs nearby: "Even Pojiko couldn't beat you. I've been here for so long, and I've never seen Pojiko suffer a defeat on Mount Melk."

Lin Luo rubbed his chin and glanced at Pojiko: "Oh, this guy? It's not much."

Pojiko clearly understood, growling angrily at Lin Luo and making a move to pounce.

Lin Luo raised an eyebrow and clenched his fists: "What, still want a beating?"

Second Generation Melk hurriedly held down the restless Pojiko: "That's enough, Pojiko! Go up!"

Pojiko whimpered aggrievedly, but in the end, it obediently turned around and climbed onto a pillar, squatting majestically on the nest at the top, arms crossed over its chest, striking a guard pose—if one ignored its bruised and swollen face and the fact that one foreleg wasn't working quite right.

"This is our dinner for tonight, how about it?" Lin Luo kicked the corpse of the strange-looking bird at his feet.

Akane Kubo Momo looked disgusted: "It looks too weird, it definitely won't taste good."

Lin Luo curled his lip: "Little girl, you don't understand anything. The taste of Flying Squid is actually excellent. Erina, I'll leave the cooking to you."

Looking at the bizarre creature, Erina felt a bit of scalp numbness: "Then at least deal with it first."

Second Generation Melk stepped forward: "I'll do it." She pulled out the kitchen knife from behind her waist, her movements smooth and agile. In a few moments, she had broken down the "Flying Squid" into neat pieces of meat and edible parts, her technique skillful, clearly something she did often.

Watching her skillful movements, Lin Luo praised: "Second Generation, your technique is very professional."

While processing the ingredients, Second Generation Melk said: "Even after being adopted by Master, most of the time I relied on myself. I'm quite familiar with the edible beasts nearby."

Lin Luo asked casually: "Where is your Master? How could they let you hold down the fort all by yourself?"

Second Generation Melk's hands paused: "Master had business and went out, and has been gone for six years. As for holding down the fort... I'm still far from it, much worse than Master."

Lin Luo raised an eyebrow: "Aren't those menus in the market labeled 'Second Generation Melk' made by you?"

Second Generation Melk felt a bit embarrassed: "They are made by me. But I always feel... they can't compare to Master's craftsmanship."

"Erina," Lin Luo turned to ask, "Has the supply of Second Generation Melk kitchen knives on the market decreased recently?"

Erina thought back and shook her head: "No, they have always been one of the best-selling top-tier kitchen tools, very precious."

Lin Luo smiled and looked at Second Generation Melk: "Second Generation, or have the commissions you've taken over these years been decreasing? While a brand name can attract traffic, skill is the hard truth."

"I..." Second Generation Melk was stunned for a moment. Thinking back, the commissions had indeed not decreased, but she had always attributed this to the reputation left behind by her Master.

Lin Luo looked at her: "Why are you suddenly so lacking in confidence? Could your Master really have just washed their hands of everything? Where did they go? I'll help you find them and ask what they're thinking."

Second Generation Melk smiled bitterly: "Heh, that place is too dangerous; you wouldn't want to go there. Master went there just for a special whetstone and hasn't come back yet."

Lin Luo became interested instead: "Where? Is it far from here?"

Seeing his eager look, Second Generation Melk immediately said seriously: "Thirty kilometers north of Mount Melk, there is a place called the 'Bottomless Abyss.' The magnetic field there is special, the gravity is abnormal, and the deeper you go, the greater the gravity. Many Gourmet Hunters have gone there and never returned."

Upon hearing this, Erina glanced at Lin Luo and immediately interrupted: "Alright, alright, since it's so dangerous, don't mention it. By the way," she changed the subject, "I remember there is a special seasoning called 'melks stardust,' is that what you discovered?"

"Oh," Second Generation Melk explained, "Indeed, when grinding high-hardness Materials with that kind of whetstone, golden powder is produced. I heard that the powder can be used as a food seasoning. What constitutes the powder is a new type of amino acid, containing extremely delicious ingredients that have never been tasted before."

"The first person to discover it was my Master, so that kind of whetstone is called 'melks stardust.'"

"My Master went to the Bottomless Abyss just to search for this legendary whetstone." Speaking of this, Second Generation Melk suddenly realized something, and the look she gave Erina also carried a question—could it be that you are also interested in that kind of thing?

Lin Luo rubbed his chin, his eyes visibly brightening: "Erina, do you want to taste the flavor of that golden powder? It's the legendary ultimate delicacy."

"..."

Lin Luo continued, his tone filled with temptation: "It won't be dangerous. Don't you know my strength yet? That is an ultimate delicacy never experienced before. I wonder what it actually tastes like."

"..."