Toriko: Gourmet Chat Group

Mount Melk was located in a remote, uninhabited region deep within the mountains.

The Melk Workshop was situated at the very peak, with a path of stairs leading to the summit. Each step was of a ridiculously exaggerated height.

"Atashino, have you ever been here before?" Kenji asked.

"No, I haven't. There's nothing wrong with my current knife, so I never needed to have it re-forged," Atashino said, shaking her head. "I would only see Melk at Biotope 0, and it's been several years since then."

For a chef, as long as their knife isn't broken, there's no need to change it often. They form an emotional bond with their blades, so how could they be abandoned so easily?

"Have you ever heard of 'Melk the Second'?" Kenji asked with a smile. The one currently taking commissions wasn't Melk the First, but his adopted daughter and disciple, Melk the Second. For the past six years, the original had been focused on forging the legendary Dragon-Slaying Knife needed to cook AIR.

"There's a Second?" Atashino asked in surprise. Melk had never mentioned such a thing to her.

"She's Melk's adopted daughter, the inheritor of his techniques. She's a grinding genius who achieved a skill level comparable to Melk's when she was only fifteen years old. That was six years ago."

"Incredible," Atashino couldn't help but marvel. She was well aware of Melk's skill level. For Melk the Second to reach that standard in her teens was a sign of extraordinary, innate talent. She was born for this craft.

"We're here to forge a better knife for you, my partner. A craftsman must first sharpen his tools."

Kenji took the fang of the Battle Wolf King Guinness from his personal inventory. The King's intimidating pressure instantly filled the air, causing all the beasts lurking near the staircase to scatter and flee. In that moment, they could have sworn they saw the spirits of their ancestors calling them to the great beyond.

"Lady Setsuno gave this to me," he explained. "I have a goal in mind: to fuse this fang with your current knife. I imagine it can become one of the top kitchen knives on Earth."

The Battle Wolf's bite force was astonishing, so the hardness of its fang was beyond question.

The pair ran and leaped up the staircase. They summited the 4,000-meter peak before noon even arrived. A solitary stone house stood at the top, with smoke curling gently from its chimney.

"Anyone home?" Kenji called out, knocking. "Open up, IGO! Community outreach!"

Atashino's eye twitched. The IGO was a respectable organization, you know.

"People from the IGO?"

The door opened, and a dashing "young man" with a headband and a cross-shaped scar under their right eye emerged.

Atashino paused. As a doctor, she could tell at a glance that this "young man" was a woman. Doesn't that chest binder get stuffy? she wondered.

"I am the grinder, Melk. What business do you have here?"

Even in this remote location, it was impossible not to have heard of the IGO's fame.

"Miss Melk the Second, this is a colleague of your master," Kenji said, gesturing toward Atashino.

"What?!" Melk the Second looked at Atashino in shock. She knew President Ichiryu was an old friend of her master's, but she never imagined he had other colleagues, let alone one who knew her gender.

"Then... do you know my master's current situation? He's so taciturn... he just left six years ago without a word," Melk the Second asked, her voice filled with emotion.

"Well... Melk the First isn't exactly taciturn. It's just that his voice is incredibly quiet," Atashino explained with a helpless smile. Everyone in Biotope 0 knew that Melk's voice was so soft it was nearly impossible to hear. Only those with exceptionally sharp hearing, like Zebra, could make out what he was saying.

"?"

"So... that's how it was?"

Melk the Second's expression became complicated. She suddenly recalled the day Melk had left six years ago. His lips had moved... so he had said something. He was probably explaining what he was going to do.

Did that mean her six years of worry were all because of a simple misunderstanding caused by his quiet voice?

"What Master Melk has been doing all these years is forging a knife commissioned by President Ichiryu," Atashino explained.

"Thank you for telling me all this. Please, come inside," Melk the Second said gratefully. She led them into the workshop, her heart finally feeling sunny and bright now that she knew what her master was up to. Her attitude towards them became much friendlier, her initial distance and wariness gone.

The walls of the workshop were adorned with all kinds of sharp kitchen knives. The cold light glinting off their edges told of blades so sharp they could slice a falling hair or cut through iron like clay. Each one was priceless. The crisscrossing network of smooth cuts on the floor and walls were marks left by these very blades.

"Are you here to see my master?" Melk the Second asked as she poured them tea.

"We're here to have a knife forged and ground," Kenji stated.

"I see. My master isn't here right now, and my skills are inferior to his. You might be disappointed," Melk the Second said. She had always believed her skills couldn't compare to Melk the First's, completely unaware that in her master's eyes, she had already matched him six years ago.

"Atashino, in the last six years, has the number of Melk knives on the market decreased?" Kenji asked with a smile.

"No, they've remained as rare and sought-after as ever," Atashino shook her head. She understood now. Melk the Second lacked confidence, likely because she had never received—or rather, heard—her master's acknowledgment.

"Second," Kenji continued, "have the commissions you've received over the years decreased? A famous name can attract customers, but true skill is what makes them stay."

"I..." Melk the Second thought back. It was true, the requests hadn't decreased. But she had never considered it that way, always attributing it to the power of the brand name.

"I'm sure Melk has already acknowledged you. He probably even told you himself, but you just didn't hear him."

Hearing this, Melk the Second wore a wry, bittersweet expression. If that was true, then what was all her long-held self-doubt for?

"Since Master Melk felt comfortable enough to entrust the workshop to you, it means he recognizes your skill," Atashino encouraged. Confidence was important.

"I understand. Thank you," Melk the Second said, a new light of confidence shining in her eyes. "Since you trust me, then I will grind this knife for you."

"I have materials here, but did you bring your own, or will you be using mine?" she asked.

"We brought our own."

Kenji presented the fang of the Battle Wolf King Guinness. A wild, untamed aura washed over them. Melk the Second could tell with a single glance that this was an unbelievably precious material.

"Is this a fang from some kind of creature?"

"It's the fang of one of the Gourmet World's Eight Kings, the Battle Wolf King Guinness."

"This is..." Melk the Second gently touched the fang's surface, a troubled look on her face. "I'm very sorry, but my current whetstones are not capable of processing this fang."

The hardness of the fang was simply too high. Even with her superb technique, she was helpless without the right tools.

"If I had Melk Stardust, I could probably grind it," Melk the Second mused.

"Great!" Kenji declared. "Then let's go mining together, and after that, I'll take you to see Melk the First."

"Really?" her eyes lit up.

"Of course."

~~~

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