Chapter 28
" it'll take a little bit until the soup is done" setsuno said " how about I make some Garlic bird Oyakodon?"
"really?! Go right ahead granny setsu!" Toriko said
" Yeah! I don't mind! " Aiko said
As they saw setsuno making the dish at an incredible speed.
" Amazing! She's doing multiple jobs by herself easily" komatsu said " Even so she's doing them all carefully"
' hmm it reminds me the first time I came here' Aiko thought
Flash back
" Aiko this is the place that I promised you we'd go if you were a good girl " a beautiful woman with short dark hair, bright blue eyes around her late thirties said as she smiled at the little brown haired girl around 10 years old.
" yay! I'm really hungry!" The little girl said as she held her mother's hand.
As the two went inside to be greeted by setsuno as the mother and daughter smiled.
" Ah yuri-chan" setsuno said " this must be your daughter"
" yes, Aiko this is setsuno, you can just call her granny setsu" yuri said
" okay! I'm really happy to be here! Can we eat now? I really wanna try your cooking granny setsu!" Aiko said happily as she sat down.
" My yuri-chan your daughter is very enthusiastic " setsuno said
end of flash back
" Aiko? Here have some water" Toriko said as he held out a glass to her. As she snapped out of her thoughts.
" Oh thank you Toriko-Kun" Aiko said accepting the glass.
" delicious! What is this water?" Komatsu ask " it feels like air and it goes down so easily!"
" it's water sprung from Aqua mountain " Toriko said
" it's known as Air Aqua" Aiko said
" that's amazing! serving this kind of high class water as drinking water?" Komatsu said " I should expect nothing less from setsuno dining hall, and the menu is entirely made of high class ingredients "
" yeah... Setsuno's full course is...for the Hors d'Oeuvre Hundred Leaf Clover Crispy Fried Sesame Tofu , For the Soup Magma Consomme Stew, for the Fish Dish King Land Shark Grilled Sushi, for the Meat Dish Ashurasaurus Roast, for the MainDish E.T. Rice Balls, for the Salad Grana Lettuce Caesar Salad, for the Dessert Oasis Melon Sherbert, And for the Drink Doham Spring Sake." Toriko said " they're all foods cooked with knocking master Jirou's full course "
" those are all world class aren't they?" Komatsu said
" Supplying the ingredients for my full course is quite difficult " setsuno said " I don't usually serve it, not unless I request Jirou-chan to get it "
" Paradise rice!" Komatsu said
" oh she's adding seasoned algae!" Aiko said
" And it's a top-class kind!" Komatsu said " look Ai-chan! The egg with ten yolks in it! The ten yellow egg! Isn't it incredible, Toriko-San? Ai-chan?" As he looked over to see Toriko drooling as Aiko held a handkerchief trying to stop Toriko from drooling.
" Toriko-kun! Youre drooling too much!" Aiko said
" I can't help it it looks so good!" Toriko said to her
" here you go, all done" setsuno said serving them " Garlic Bird Oyakodon "
" itadakimasu!" They said
As Komatsu took a bite of it as his eyes glittered " the garlicky taste of the Garlic bird and the sweet flavor of the ten yellow egg mixed with moist paradise Rice, it's an indescribable deliciousness!"
" Ohh it's so good! Granny setsu this is even better than the last time!" Aiko exclaimed as she took another bite.
" Granny setsu! Seconds, please!" Toriko said
" you sure ate it fast" Komatsu said
" Komatsu it's Toriko-kun that were talking about" Aiko said " As usual you make a big mess on your face Toriko-kun" as she leaned over to clean his cheek as he slightly blushed " try savoring it a bit more it's better when you savor the things you eat" as she smiled thinking back when she was a kid.
" Anyhow, this Oyakodon I think I smell a hint of sesame chestnut in it" Komatsu said
" Quite an attention to detail you've got there!" Setsuno said " I added a tiny bit of crushed sesame chestnut in my soup stock"
" I'm learning a whole lot" Komatsu said
As Aiko ate her food ' hmm it kinda reminds me of when I was little' she though
Flash back
" here you are" setsuno said serving the dish to yuri and Aiko as they ate it
" Yum! This is so good! hey granny setsu! Wouldn't a seven flavor herb would go well with this too?" Little Aiko said
" that's an interesting notion" setsuno said " yuri, your little girl has a good palette and she's very observant of these things well I guess she does take after her mother"
" well She's still learning granny setsu " Yuri said happily as she smiled at her daughter.
" your daughter with that special power, together with the qualities of imagination and eroticism" setsuno said
" granny setsu!" Yuri exclaimed " you didn't have to say the last part!"
" mommy what's Eroticism?" Little Aiko said as she tilted her head " what does it mean?"as she ate
" il tell you when your older" yuri said as Little Aiko pouted as she went back to her meal.
End of flash back
" She means you've got talent for Erotic cooking, Right?" Toriko said as Aiko snapped out of her thoughts as she could only listen to most of the conversation.
" What on earth kind of cooking is that?" Komatsu ask
" I don't know Granny setsu said the same thing to me" Aiko said " Erotic cooking? I don't think I can pull that off" as she ate the Oyakodon as Toriko looked at her as he though of what Aiko said as a few thoughts went by his head as he blushed.
' Gah! Why do I keep thinking of that!' Toriko though ' But she looks so cute an innocent like that...ah I gotta control myself!' As he fidget in his seat.
" Toriko-kun are you okay? You seem flustered" Aiko said as she was concern about him.
" I-I'm fine!" Toriko said as he slightly blushed
" okay done My special menu Century Soup!" Setsuno said As she uncovered the lid.
" This is.." Toriko said
" The legendary sou...Eh, huh?" Komatsu said " um...it's empty, setsuno-San"
" Komatsu is it really empty?"Aiko said as she looked " look closely"
" Aiko-chan is right. Is the level of transparency so high that you can't see it?" Setsuno said " you can smell it can't you?"
As Toriko smelled the aroma from the pot as Aiko closed her eyes smelling the aroma.
" uncountable ingredients Suddenly leaped into my head!" Toriko said " all those ingredients are condense into soup stock!?"
As they heard a commotion outside as Aiko opened her eyes still inhaling the aroma as she smiled.
" looks like it's getting rowdy outside" setsuno said "but you can't blame them. They're smelling a legendary soup after all"
" yeah the aroma is intoxicating all of those ingredients in a clear broth" Aiko said as she blushed putting her hands on her cheek.
" now here you are. Bon appetite " setsuno said
" itadakimasu " they said
" I can't take it any longer" Toriko said " what a clear soup"
'Despite being transparent like water. There's a rich taste' she though
" So how's the century soup?" Setsuno ask
"Even though lots of different ingredients are packed into the stock, it's not heavy at all"Toriko said" the feeling of it going down the throat is refreshing, I've never had a soup like this before!"
"How about you Komatsu? Aiko?" He asked the two as they stayed quiet. " what's up Komatsu? Aiko?"
" ah sorry Toriko-kun" Aiko said " I kinda got lost in the soup"
" the taste was so moving that I got immersed in it" Komatsu said
" So what do you think of the soup?" Toriko ask
" it was earth shatteringly delicious!" Komatsu said " thank you so much setsuno-San for such wonderful soup!"
" it's really good granny setsu!" Aiko said
" I'm glad to hear it" setsuno said
"The only ingredient I knew in there was Silk Bird Remnants though, am I right?" Komatsu asked
'What? After a few mouth fulls he got one of the ingredients'Setsuno thought
" hmm in this soup there's Motor Onions in it " Aiko said as she tasted the soup
"And there are Mineral Coconuts in it too, right" Toriko said
"Oh that's it I thought there was some taste I knew there" Komatsu said, "just what'd I expect from Toriko-san, and Ai-chan"
' I expect no less from the girl after all she's Yuri-Chan's daughter but the other two' setsuno though
" Komatsu I'm sure you noticed it too..." Aiko said
" yeah it feels like something is missing" Komatsu said
"You mean with its ingredients" Toriko asked
"I'm not really sure" Komatsu said as he looked at his soup
" it needs something to bring it all together...but what?" Aiko said as she looked at the soup.
Setsuno smiled as she looked at the three
"Komatsu-kun,Aiko-chan, Toriko-kun, please come with me, I'll show you around my preparation kitchen " she asked
"Your kitchen?!" The three yelled
"The kitchens is in a different place?!"Komatsu said
" Yeah! We get to go to her kitchen!" Aiko said " I can't wait to see it again!" As she got up to follow setsuno.
" before that granny setsu!" Toriko said as Aiko and setsuno turn " can we eat the rest of this soup?" Toriko said as he drooled a bit as he held the pot.
" And can we eat other things after?" Komatsu said
" Hurry up" setsuno said as Aiko giggled at the two men as setsuno opened the latch on the follow revealing a staircase. " now then just down here"
" So there's a kitchen downstairs?" Komatsu said
" it's my first time hearing about it too" Toriko said
" then let's get a move on guys!" Aiko exclaimed as she went downstairs.
" the upstairs kitchen is just a place for the finishing touches on the cooking" setsuno said " My Dining hall the setsuno Dining hall is actually mostly space for preparation " as she turned on the lights of her kitchen.
" Amazing!" Komatsu Exclaimed " This is the setsuno Dining halls Kitchen?!"
" who woulda thought there'd be a place like this in the basement!" Toriko said
" granny setsu, this place got a bit bigger the last time I was here" Aiko said " did you remodel the last few years?"As setsuno nod at aiko's question.
" this is where you do all the preparatory cooking?!" Komatsu said
" I think you probably understand, Komatsu-kun" setsuno said " you could say that the quality of cooking mostly depends on the preparation, this kitchen is underground, so customers can't see it but it's the most important place supporting the shop, normally only staff are allowed in, though"
" thanks for letting us see it granny setsu" Aiko said smiling
" thank you so much granny setsu. For showing us such a precious..." Komatsu said as he was interrupted by a giant monkey shouting at the wall scaring Komatsu as he almost fell over the railing as Aiko and Toriko grabbed him pulling him up.
" Come on, man" Toriko said
" Komatsu it's only normal that there's live ingredients here" Aiko said
" But I didn't think there'd be wild beasts here!" Komatsu exclaimed
"the spa monkey it's soaked in hot water with yuzu and preserved at exactly 42 degrees" Toriko said " creating the ultimate refreshing Japanese style soup stock"
" the heat retaining mechanism isn't working right" setsuno said looking the the temperature " and that handles been a little stick lately"as she glanced at Toriko
" out of the way Komatsu, Aiko be careful take a step back" Toriko said as he jumped up " 2 REN KUGI PUNCH!" As the knob moved releasing warm water to the spa monkey.
" Uh, do you Normally adjust that, setsuno-San?!" Komatsu ask " just who are you really? Wait is this for the century soup stock too?"
" not at all" setsuno said
" okay wrong again" Komatsu said as he raised his hands up
" the soup stock isn't this Komatsu it has various ingredients that's probably used in a trial and error until you find the right rich taste of the stock" Aiko said as she walked a bit
" looking closely, all of these are incredible ingredients " Komatsu said as he looked around
" look! Peach potatoes!" Aiko said " I learned that the skin is so slippery that it takes as much time to peel one peach potato as it does one taro potato, they're really hard ingredients to handle if you know the method that is"
" that's Gori scallion!" Komatsu said " their cut ends have an adhesive effect, so if you don't cut hundreds of them, they won't come apart, I see The reason Setsuno-San only comes to the restaurant once a month is because the preparation takes such a large amount of time "
" that's wrong Komatsu-kun " setsuno said as she appeared in front of Komatsu scaring him as Aiko sigh as setsuno took a rope that was attached to the ceiling as she yelled while she swung to the other side of the balcony. " Come over here, hurry!"
" is there any point to crossing like that?!" Komatsu ask as Toriko gave a Tarzan yell making Aiko giggle at his action as he swung to the other side.
" Maybe because it's fun!" Aiko as she held the rope " see you at the other side!" As she swung the rope as she gave a small yell as she made it to the other side safely. As Komatsu swung to the other side but he couldn't reach the balcony floor as Aiko and Toriko held his arm to bring him to the floor as they followed setsuno down to the stair case.
" U-um setsuno-San why is it you only open the shop once a month then?" Komatsu ask
" I told you it's the mood" setsuno said " but when I say mood I don't mean mine"
" what she means Komatsu it's the ingredients moods" Aiko said
" the ingredients mood?" Komatsu said
" Komatsu-kun do you cook thinking that the chef chooses the ingredients?" Setsuno ask surprising Komatsu as Aiko looked at them.
"if you think that you're only half a chef" setsuno said " I remember that you were like that Aiko-chan until you visited my restaurant with yuri-chan"
" yeah that really changed my way of cooking" Aiko said as she smiled
' who's yuri?' Toriko and Komatsu though
" Komatsu it's the other way around"Aiko said
"The ingredients chooses the customers and the chef" setsuno said
" the ingredients do?" Komatsu said
" Day to day I only ask how the ingredients moods are" setsuno said " whether the shop is open or closed all depends on the ingredients "
" Even though you do so much perfect preparation?" Komatsu said
" I think you'll understand someday, Komatsu-kun" setsuno said " okay we're here, this is where the century soup is prepared"as she was looking at Toriko,Aiko and Komatsu . They gasped as they looked at the gigantic pot that was before them that about the size of a large building
" it's huge!" Aiko said
" this is the pot the legendary soup is boiled together in?" Toriko said
"I've never seen such a big pot!" Komatsu said then saw Setsuno jump onto the top of the pot shocking, "Setsuno-san, really, who are you?!"
As Aiko and Toriko ran up to the staircase.
' okay...I think I should let Aiko go first...you have to be polite to girls right?' Toriko though as he glanced at Aiko.
" W-well ladies first" Toriko said as Aiko didn't move " Aiko aren't you going up?"
" Toriko-kun I can't believe you!" Aiko said as she pouted as she turn " did you forget that I'm wearing a dress!" As he blushed
" R-Right I'm sorry!" Toriko said ' gah! I'm such an idiot! Now she'll think I'm a pervert that I tried to look up at her dress! Stupid! Stupid!' He mentally cursed himself as he climbed up first.
"I'm not mad Toriko-kun and thank you for being polite" Aiko said Toriko felt a bit relieved that Aiko wasn't mad at him as she turn to look at Komatsu.
" Komatsu! Come on! " Aiko said " I'm not climbing up until you get here!"
" yes okay!" Komatsu said
As they climb up to the top.
" this is the century soup with the ingredients still in it?!" Komatsu said as his eyes glittered
" I'm surprised, even before being strained it's this transparent?" Toriko said
" it's so amazing it's so clear and it's glittering a bit" Aiko said
" that's because it has the lye boiled out of it continuously for a half year" setsuno said " but to be honest this soup is still incomplete " she said and then saw that the three weren't listening to her.
"It does have the ingredients Silk Bird remnants and Mineral Coconuts in it, like we thought" Komatsu said as he pointed out the ingredients
"There's Motor Onion in here, too just like you said Aiko What a lineup. This is awesome, Granny Setsu!"Toriko exclaimed
" ohh there's some seafood too" Aiko said
"It is isn't it. But to be honest, this soup is still incomplete." she repeated
" that's too bad granny setsu" Aiko said as she listened the second time " I wonder what ingredient. Is missing"
" Now that I look Closely there's German swordfish Bones in there too!" Komatsu said " it's said that the string smell and harsh taste of it doesn't stop for months!"
" but it has no smell at all!" Toriko said " awesome granny setsu!"
" guys it's great and all but didn't you listen! The soup is still incomplete!" Aiko shouted
" Eh?" Toriko and Komatsu said
" you're slow notice this stuff earlier " setsuno said
" What do you mean?"Komatsu asked
"Century Soup is something that originally comes from the natural world." Setsuno said as she stirred the pot
"Really!" Komatsu exclaimed
"That's the first I'm hearing of it" Toriko commented
" a soup made naturally hmm sounds good" Aiko said
"A long time ago, Jirou-chan fetched some for me. Just that one mouthful was so delicious I could never forget it. This is the soup I made trying to imitate that" Setsuno explained
" it's plenty delicious already, though..." Aiko said
" but you're saying it's still incomplete?" Komatsu said
" it's not in me to reproduce it perfectly " setsuno said as she still stirred the pot
" but it's delicious right Toriko-San?" Komatsu asked as he saw Toriko holding a bowl as he drank the soup.
" beyond delicious " Toriko said as he drank the soup from the bowl
" you're drinking too much, Toriko" setsuno scolded as Aiko giggled
" Do you think that the century soup in the natural world is even more delicious than this?"Komatsu asked
" I wonder it's hard to explain that taste" setsuno said " Komatsu-kun when you tasted this soup you said it was missing something, right the real deal needs another something and that taste is something I can't figure out no matter what I do"
" no I just said that impulsively, I mean I've never tasted the real thing or anything" Komatsu said
"Why do you think I brought you three to this kitchen?" Setsuno said getting the trio's attention, "Of any country's presidents, wealthy people and gourmets not one of them has given an opinion on my cooking. I've been charmed by you three's sense of taste and sensitivity. I thought that if it's you three, it might be possible to make this soup complete. I brought you here to show you what the components of the soup stock were in detail"
"But, I...Someone like me can't complete that." Komatsu said making Setsuno gently laugh
"Wouldn't you like to try it? The real Century Soup?" Setsuno said
"I want to try it!" Toriko and Aiko exclaimed
" is that right Toriko? Aiko-chan?" Setsuno said
" how about it komatsu?" Toriko ask " you wanna try the real soup, right?"
" yes! I'd like to taste it!" Komatsu said
" yeah it'll be a great adventure! The century soup!" Aiko said as she smiled
" the time is right the century soup only appears once every hundred years. That's why it's called century soup. Right now there's someone in town who knows about that information in detail. and bishokuya are gathering from all over the world wanting to get their hands on the soup" setsuno said " I'm sure you'd get hired in a heart beat Toriko take Komatsu-kun and Aiko-chan with you and go! Taste the real soup and make a magnificent century soup with those hands!"
" Yeah! I can't wait to try the real thing!" Aiko said as she smiled brightly
there you have it guys! Il be posting another chapter soon please leave a review!
