บท 193: Chapter 193 - Training Commission
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In the house,
Entering the only house that could be found at the peak of Melk Mountain, a spacious place was what greeted Lev, Erza, and Mirajane. Added to the silent ambiance of the place, there were several kitchen knives placed carefully on the walls. Anyone could immediately tell what kind of place they were in because aside from the knives on the wall, several pieces of equipment and materials used in making and sharpening knives could be found in place.
At this moment, Lev and the others were sitting casually while looking at Melk who was in front of them serving them some tea. They were just surprised to see Melk looked very excited upon seeing them.
"You're a woman, right?" Suddenly, Mirajane asked something that cut off the awkward atmosphere as she took a sip of the tea that had been served while making Melk pause for a bit before staring back at her.
"Y-You can tell?" Melk replied with surprise. Despite being a girl, she usually like tends to dress in very manly working clothes to disguise her identity for a reason, but she never thought that she would immediately be busted that early.
"Well, it's still pretty obvious even though you cover those big breasts of yours." Mirajane answered while looking at the chest part of Melk and smiling. She does not know why she was wearing clothes and acting like that as she could also tell that she's a beautiful woman.
"H-Hahaha." Melk scratched her head with a blush on her face upon hearing Mirajane's words. She then also sat on the table and took off the bandana that she was wearing since there was no need to hide it from them.
"Y-You're Chef Lev, right? The person owning the 10-star Infinity Castle Restaurant and the person who replicated the Legendary Century Soup?" Melk suddenly asked as she looked at Lev with sparkling eyes as if she was looking at her idol.
"Yes. I never thought that such news even reaches these barren lands." Lev smiled as he replied while looking at Melk. Just like how the anime described in anime, she really was a beautiful woman despite having that cross-shaped scar on her right cheek.
"No. No. I once visited and ate in your restaurant years ago and it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. Now, are you perhaps coming here to sharpen your knife? I have been waiting for this time as I wanted to know what kind of knife you were using to create such delicious dishes." Melk answered with excitement while looking at Lev. The reason behind her acting strangely to them was in fact because of this reason, she has been sharpening knives of many chefs all around the world but what she wanted the most was to have a chance to see the knife Lev was using.
"H-Hahaha. I'm sorry but I am actually just using an ordinary knife whenever I'm cooking. The deliciousness of my dishes didn't come from my knife but from my skills, however, if you still want to look at it then here it goes." Lev wryly replied as he really didn't use any special kinds of knife while cooking. He then just took out the knife from his inventory, a very ordinary knife that could break at any moment.
Seeing Lev's knife, Melk immediately took it from him and started looking at it carefully however, the longer she stared at it the more disappointed and betrayed she was as she also could tell that the kitchen knife she was holding really was a very ordinary knife that could be bought cheaply in every market.
"N-No way." Melk said as she felt betrayed. The excitement in her eyes was long gone as she looked at Lev disappointedly. She actually felt like today was a special day seeing Lev himself visiting the place only to feel disappointed.
"T-that. Haha." Lev did not know how to react as he could also tell the feeling she had from a sharpener point of view. He then just looked at Erza and Mirajane who were also looking at him helplessly.
"Ahem. Actually, we came here for another reason. We were hoping to find a bladesmith as my companion here needs new swords to be used. I don't know any person that could help us except here. I wonder if you could help us with it?" Lev then changed the topic as he directly explained their purpose of coming.
"T-That. I-I'm sorry but I can't help you. You might have probably known but I-I'm really not Melk. I am actually just an apprentice of Melk himself. I-I'm sorry." Melk, upon hearing Lev, bowed her head down as she told them the truth, and this was the very reason behind him dressing in a manly manner as he wanted to pose as Melk himself.
"Of course, I knew that. And we were here talking to you knowing that but, you see, we were not here for an immediate result. Also, crafting a sword was a completely different matter to crafting a knife." Lev said while looking at Melk who was known as Melk the Second, the adopted daughter and apprentice of Melk the First. He knew the talent she had from the story but her confidence was stopping her from growing and so he wanted to bring it out.
"We will prepare all the necessary materials for you, so you don't have to worry about it. From now on, you need to break free from what you are normally doing and enter a new world of blacksmithing." Lev then declares without hearing out Melk the second about her thoughts on the matter as he is planning on forcing out her growth.
"W-Wha—" Melk the second was too shocked by how fast the events happened. She didn't have the time to react and reply if she accepted the idea since she had a great responsibility in the workshop. Furthermore, she could not just abandon what she was doing until now however, she thought that it was already too late for everything.
"Also, you don't need to do sharpening anymore. Leave that thing to me and focus more on getting ideas together with Erza." Lev assured before he created four clones and ordered them to do the work. Though it was his first time doing a sharpening job, with great practice and continuous training, he might be able to do it and reach the level of Melk the Second in no time.
"Whaaaaaaattttt!!!!!!!!!" After that, Melk the second's scream echoed throughout the peak of the mountain as things really went too fast seeing her being forced to do something. With that, Melk the Second's spurt of growth officially started.
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---Three months later---
Vegetable Sky,
Time goes by and three more months have passed in the blink of an eye. Following their visit to Melk Mountain, Erza and Mirajane chose to stay behind so that they could guide and watch how Melk the Second crafted the weapons that Erza specifically needed. Nothing much has changed for the past three months aside from Lev's new orders to Sia and Megatron who were on a mission to find and acquire materials to be used in the forging.
Meanwhile, in the vegetable sky where Lev's house was built, Lev could be seen sitting on the grass while looking at the two people who had just arrived in the area. He was looking at them with surprise since it still wasn't really the time for them to show up this soon and also the reason behind him leaving Melk Mountain.
"I am quite expecting your visit to this place, but I think it's still too soon for you to come here." Lev said while looking at the none other than Toriko and Komatsu pair. He then also speculated that since Century Soup and BB Corn were available to the public, their supposed adventure in that time arc was nonexistent, thus creating this anomaly.
"Looks like Old Man really was telling the truth. You really were living in this place, Chef Lev." Toriko replied with a smile because before he came in here from the mission his old man, Ichiryu, ordered him to prepare him for coming to the Gourmet World, he told him that he would see Lev in the area and also told him something of great importance about him.
"Hello, Lev-san." Komatsu was also greeted with excitement upon seeing Lev once more after many months. Their encounters were still fresh to him but despite it being a weird encounter, he still believes that Lev was a good person.
"So, Ichiryu told you to come in here. Do you know why you're being ordered to come in here?" Lev then asked before he stood up from sitting on the grass. Truth be told, he actually knew it beforehand that Toriko would be coming in the Vegetable Sky after hearing it from Ichiryu himself who brought back some incredible fruits and edible plants in exchange for asking him to train Toriko for as long as he sees fit.
"The old man gives me this mission to acquire the Ozone Herbs that could only be found in this area. In fact, it took us some time to come in here but fortunately, we succeeded." Toriko answered truthfully since he really came here for such a mission and nothing else. However, he was also wondering if it really was that simple since he thought it was strange for his old man to talk about the special case of Lev to him.
"That's true but your old man quite asked me to train you. For that reason, I won't allow you to eat Ozone Herbs unless you pass my training. Heh. You better give your all or you will stay here forever." Lev said with a smile before he moved his hands the way Toriko did his fighting routine seeing it created sparks as if two metal things created friction.
"Just like I thought. This would be no ordinary but that's also fine by me." Toriko wryly smiled upon seeing his guess was correct but the excitement in his eyes was also overwhelming since he had known from his old man that Lev was so powerful that he defeated Mansam like nothing way back more or less ten years ago.
"Now, let the training begin." Lev said before he moved forward and appeared right in front of Toriko with his hand already forming a fist.
"S-Shit." Toriko couldn't react in time as he saw Lev's smiling face looking at him. He was actually about to block his attack, but it was already too late as he flew backward many times and lost consciousness in the process.
Lev looked at Toriko at the distance and thought that he really was quite weak despite already having his Hors Dveur and Soup early in the story, but it was to be expected since he hadn't gone through quite a dangerous situation from physically going after them.
"Komatsu." Lev then called out.
"Yes!!!" Komatsu's body stiffened as he stood straight before replying. He does not know what is happening, but he seems like he needs to obey every word of Lev seeing Toriko losing in just one punch.
"Toriko isn't the only one who would undergo training in here. From this day onward, you will be assigned to cook every meal, and if you can't satisfy my pallet, then the both of you will stay here forever." Lev followed. Though Komatsu wasn't on the deal, he was also quite interested in training him since he was also a character with a very important role in the story. Following that, Lev then left them alone as he headed back to his house.
Meanwhile, Komatsu breathed in relief upon seeing Lev leaving. It was now only at this moment that he knew that Lev was also quite scary. With that, he then immediately ran towards the place where Toriko flew to help him.
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