Chapter 330

After swallowing the last mouthful of juice from the Waterfall Tree Fruit, Kagura stared at the shriveled fruit in disbelief.

"That was way too much water!"

"How can something this small hold that much? That’s amazing!"

Haruto looked at her slightly bedraggled appearance and struggled to suppress a laugh.

"It was definitely more than I expected."

As he spoke, he took the deflated Waterfall Tree Fruit from her hand and examined it.

"The flesh looks edible too."

He drew Myriad Worlds, peeled away the skin, and removed the gelatinous flesh inside.

It was translucent and crystal-clear, carrying a faint sweetness.

Haruto cut the flesh into evenly sized strips, picked up a few, and placed them in his mouth.

The gelatinous flesh was remarkably crisp despite its springy texture. A mild sweetness spread across his tongue, neither too strong nor too faint, accompanied by a pleasantly cool finish.

"Not bad at all."

Haruto nodded in satisfaction.

"It’s crisp, refreshing, and lightly sweet."

He held out the sliced strips toward Kagura and Kanna.

"You two try some."

Kagura eagerly grabbed several pieces and popped them into her mouth.

Her eyes immediately brightened.

"You’re right. This is really good."

Kanna tried some as well. As she slowly savored the flavor, her eyes curved slightly and a faint smile appeared on her face.

Once they had finished the flesh, Haruto looked around the canopy.

There were still roughly twenty or thirty Waterfall Tree Fruits left.

"Let’s collect all of them."

"The juice is excellent, and the flesh is good too."

"The liquid should also be useful for cooking. I bet it could make some incredible dishes."

Kagura and Kanna naturally had no objections.

The three of them quickly harvested every remaining Waterfall Tree Fruit from the branches.

After finishing, Haruto searched the canopy for a while longer but found nothing else particularly unusual.

The three descended from the tree and left the area beneath its crown.

Once they landed, Haruto glanced back at the Waterfall Tree and could not help feeling impressed.

The Gourmet World truly was full of surprises.

"All right. Let’s keep moving."

"There are plenty more unknown ingredients waiting for us ahead."

Haruto’s voice carried obvious anticipation.

They had barely begun exploring the Gourmet World, yet their harvest had already been tremendous.

He could not help wondering what other ingredients they might find.

Kagura and Kanna nodded and followed him deeper into the forest.

Time passed quickly.

Two days went by.

During that time, Haruto led Kagura and Kanna eastward through Angla Forest.

They encountered all kinds of bizarre plants and animals and managed to capture quite a few delicious ingredients along the way: Rainbow Deer with incredibly flavorful meat, Golden Chickens whose bodies looked as though they had been cast from solid gold, and Elephant-Trunk Pigs with long flexible snouts.

One morning, the three passed through a rocky area.

Kagura seemed to notice something and hurried off to one side. A short while later, she returned carrying several strange-looking shells.

"Haruto, I found some Ham Shells."

Haruto looked at what she was holding.

The shells were reddish brown and shaped almost exactly like small hams.

They really were Ham Shells.

"I didn’t expect to find these here."

Haruto sounded pleasantly surprised.

Ham Shells also existed in the Human World, and the three of them had happened across some before.

They tasted quite good, which was why Kagura recognized them immediately.

But compared with Ham Shells from the Gourmet World, the Human World variety could hardly be mentioned in the same breath.

"Since we found something good, we might as well taste them now."

Haruto started a fire and placed several Ham Shells over the flames.

Before long, a rich meaty fragrance began spreading through the air.

Once they were cooked, Haruto picked one up and used a bamboo skewer to pull the meat from inside.

The flesh was pink, with clearly defined grain. Fat and lean meat intertwined perfectly, glistening temptingly beneath the light.

Haruto put it into his mouth.

The saltiness was just right, accompanied by an intense savory flavor and a faint hint of smokiness.

The fat melted on his tongue, leaving behind a rich aroma without the slightest greasiness.

"Delicious!"

Haruto could not help praising it.

"The meat is incredibly tender, and the more you chew, the better it gets. It’s easily ten times better than the Ham Shells from the Human World."

Kagura and Kanna each tried one as well, satisfied smiles appearing on their faces.

"This really is way better than the Human World version!"

Kagura spoke excitedly.

"It’s so fragrant and tender."

Kanna nodded in agreement while continuing to eat.

After finishing the roasted Ham Shells, the three gathered some more before finally leaving the rocky area.

They had not gone far when Haruto suddenly stopped.

"What is it?"

Kagura asked curiously.

"Do you two feel like the temperature has gone up?"

Haruto looked around.

Kagura and Kanna paid closer attention.

"Now that you mention it, yeah. It definitely feels hotter."

Kagura nodded before looking back at Haruto.

After spending two days in the Gourmet World, she had already learned how dangerous seemingly minor changes in the environment could be.

An unexplained rise in temperature was almost certainly not normal.

Whatever they did next would depend on Haruto’s judgment.

Kanna turned toward him as well.

Once Haruto confirmed that both of them had noticed the same thing, he slowly surveyed the surroundings.

Then an idea flashed through his mind.

"Could it be a Mars Ball?"

Haruto murmured.

If his guess was right, they were about to obtain another rare ingredient.

"Mars Ball?"

Kagura looked intrigued.

"What’s that? Another ingredient?"

The name certainly sounded strange.

"That’s right."

Haruto nodded.

"A Mars Ball is an ingredient found in Angla Forest. It’s the fruit of a gigantic cactus."

"The fruit is extremely unusual. It releases tremendous amounts of heat, almost like a miniature sun."

"It also produces a powerful gravitational field, so the gravity around a Mars Ball becomes much closer to what we’re used to in the Human World."

Haruto had always been curious about the ingredient.

More importantly, he had a strong intuition that a Mars Ball would suit him extremely well.

"That impressive?"

Kagura’s eyes widened.

"Then does it taste good?"

Haruto smiled.

"If it’s anything like I’ve heard, it should be excellent."

Expectation gleamed in his eyes.

"Come on. Let’s find it."

Haruto sensed the surrounding temperatures and began walking toward the hottest area.

The farther they went, the hotter it became.

The forest around them gradually changed.

Tall, dense broadleaf trees gave way to shorter shrubs and drought-resistant grasses.

The air grew increasingly dry, and the heat continued rising until even breathing felt like drawing hot air directly into their lungs.

Before long, an enormous cactus field appeared ahead.

The cacti towered dozens of meters into the air like skyscrapers, their surfaces covered in viciously sharp spines.

And floating above the center of the cactus forest was an enormous fruit.

It looked like a miniature sun, radiating blinding light and intense heat.

The surrounding air visibly warped around it.

Looking more closely, Haruto could see tube-like structures connecting the many cacti below to the floating fruit.

"Found it."

A smile appeared on Haruto’s face.

"The Mars Ball."

The three entered the cactus field.

The moment they crossed into it, horrifying heat washed over them.

The air twisted beneath the temperature, making distant scenery shimmer as though the entire area had become a gigantic furnace.

The ground itself was scorching.

Each step produced faint sizzling sounds beneath Haruto’s feet, and he could clearly feel his body temperature rising rapidly.

Strangely enough, however, he found the environment rather comfortable.

The special adaptations granted by his Gourmet Cells prevented the heat from harming him at all.

Instead, warmth spread pleasantly throughout his body, leaving him almost invigorated.

Kagura and Kanna were having a very different experience.

The intense heat rapidly drew moisture from their bodies.

Kagura instinctively fanned herself, only to blow even hotter air across her face. Her normally healthy lips quickly began to dry and crack.

Kanna remained expressionless as usual, but the slight furrow in her brow revealed how uncomfortable she was.

Their bodies simply could not adapt to an environment this extreme.

Every second they stayed here was becoming increasingly painful.

"We should probably wait somewhere else."

Kagura finally spoke, her voice carrying a faint hoarseness.

"This heat is too much for us. If we stay, we’ll only slow you down."

Haruto stopped.

He looked back at Kagura and Kanna, then raised his eyes toward the blazing Mars Ball suspended above the cactus forest.

She was right.

This environment was far too dangerous for them.

Forcing them to continue would only get them hurt.

"You two should go back into the Gourmet Restaurant for now."

Haruto raised one hand and opened the passage into his pocket realm.

The cactus region was enormous, and the Gourmet World concealed countless unknown dangers.

Leaving Kagura and Kanna waiting outside the cactus field would be risky. If anything unexpected happened, Haruto might not be able to reach them in time.

The Gourmet Restaurant was the obvious solution.

It would protect them from the extreme heat and guarantee their safety.

Neither Kagura nor Kanna objected.

They entered the Gourmet Restaurant, leaving Haruto alone beneath the blazing light of the Mars Ball.