Though perplexed by the Puffer Whales' freshness, Chef Sumire accepted Zed's haul. "Compressing a six-meter creature into this size… nature's marvel," she mused, inspecting the half-meter specimens.
"Let's cook a batch while they're fresh," she declared, selecting several for Nakaume Gourmet School's students. A single Puffer Whale fetched over 100 million yen on the market—untouched by toxins, its value skyrocketed. Serving such luxuries freely underscored her dedication to nurturing talent.
"You've changed, Erina," Zed noted.
Erina has transformed. The God Tongue holder stood taller, her former haughtiness replaced by grounded resolve.
"Chef Sumire showed me… perspective," Erina explained. In her homeland, she'd dismissed "low-tier" cuisine as unworthy—a dogma instilled by her father. Here, in war-torn regions, such dishes sustained lives.
Chef Sumire had forced her to cook in refugee camps, confronting realities where a stale breadcrumb meant survival. Without her Nakiri lineage's influence, Erina rebuilt her culinary ethos from scratch.
In her original world, Erina Nakiri reigned as the Nakiri Family's heiress—a culinary princess shielded from hardship. Here, stripped of lineage and privilege, she faced raw survival. Without Zed's intervention, she and Hisako Arato would've drowned in a society where chefs wielded Gourmet Cells, not just knives.
The God Tongue, once her crown, held little sway in a world prioritizing Food Honor and combat cuisine. Humbled yet unbroken, Erina rebuilt herself under Chef Sumire's mentorship, shedding elitism for empathy.
Zed watched as Chef Sumire assembled her team—Komatsu's childhood friend, Nakaume among them—to tackle the Puffer Whales. Students buzzed with nervous excitement; few ever handled ingredients this lethal.
"Care to try?" Zed asked Erina and Hisako.
They shook their heads. "We've studied them," Erina admitted. "Each Poison Sac and Venom Gland hides uniquely. Without Food Luck or a Gourmet Hunter's instinct…"
Zed nodded. Even Komatsu, guided by Coco's toxin-sensing and divine fortune, had a 10% success rate. Fewer than ten chefs worldwide could reliably cook Puffer Whales unscathed.
The pair's restraint impressed him—maturity over recklessness.