Even if this man covering his head and face wasn't Law, Menchi still felt she absolutely needed to know his identity and even his appearance.
Because she was convinced this man was a highly skilled Gourmet Hunter.
Menchi was sitting on the sofa, so she was looking up. Law was standing in front of her, so he was looking down.
After the question was thrown out, Law didn't answer immediately, but Menchi just stared intently at him, patiently waiting for an answer.
Buhara and Netero both knew the truth, but they were focused on eating the sushi Law had made.
After a moment, Law broke the silence. Pointing at the sushi in front of Menchi, his tone carrying a hint of teasing, he said in a low voice, "Future greatest Gourmet Hunter, aren't you going to conduct the test?"
His deep voice gradually shifted mid-sentence into a very distinct, clear, and bright tone, then changed back to deep before the last word fell.
Regardless of the voice change, this sentence, which sounded like a jest, contained a piece of Menchi's embarrassing past that she didn't like to recall… the most profound sentence in the depths of her memory.
Hearing this, Menchi instantly reached a conclusion.
That's right. The man before her was that Law.
A hidden, private scene from her heart suddenly surfaced before her eyes.
It was a small mast boat that had just left the port not long ago. The man was leaning on the boat's edge, responding to her thanks in a lazy tone.
"Is it... is it r-really you?" Menchi suddenly became nervous, even stammering.
Seeing the usually sharp-tongued Menchi so nervous she was stammering, Buhara's eyes instantly showed shock.
Netero narrowed his eyes, subtly glancing at Menchi's chest, which was beginning to rise and fall more noticeably, thinking that the young lady also had a cute side.
Law looked at Menchi and nodded slightly, admitting his identity. Then he reminded her, "The test isn't over yet."
Seeing Law admit it, Menchi didn't process the reminder at all. Holding her chopsticks suspended in mid-air, numerous thoughts instantly flooded her mind.
'Great! Law is also an amazing Gourmet Hunter. That satisfies one of my criteria for a partner.'
'I wonder what his blood type is. I hope it's not B. I've never gotten along well with people with B blood type.'
'Wait, when I first met Law, he was already a young man. So now he must be around uncle age, right?'
'Although I'm not usually into the uncle type, if it's Law, I can accept it.'
'No, if Law is older, could he already be married? If that's the case, what should I do?'
'Hmph, never mind! Even if he's married, I'll take him for myself!'
The deeper Menchi thought, the lower her head sank, and she couldn't help but let out a low, somewhat creepy chuckle.
Hearing this laugh, Buhara froze, the sushi clamped in his chopsticks falling towards the plate. Beside him, Netero's gaze suddenly sharpened… he intercepted the sushi mid-air and then stuffed it into his mouth at lightning speed.
Seeing this, Law had no choice but to knock on the table and remind her again, "Examiner, please taste the sushi."
"Hmm?" Menchi came back to her senses, as if her mind had just reconnected. The nervousness had unknowingly been suppressed. She suddenly stood up and said seriously, "Are you free? I want to invite you to a meal."
The venue instantly fell silent.
Over at the cooking stations, Hanzo, Kurapika, and the others were dumbfounded, their expressions frozen.
"What did you say?" Law thought he had misheard.
Menchi's face flushed slightly. She took a deep breath and said, word by word, "I want to invite you to a meal. The kind you can't refuse."
"..." Law felt he had vastly underestimated Menchi's willfulness, 'We were in the middle of a test, you know…"
"Cough, cough."
Netero pretended to cough, intending to remind Menchi that the second phase test was still in progress.
However, Menchi showed no reaction.
Seeing this, Netero coughed violently several more times, until he almost coughed up a lung, before Menchi finally reacted.
"I almost forgot the test is still going on."
Menchi patted her head, noticed the examinees at the cooking stations staring dumbly in this direction, glared, and shouted at them, "What are you looking at? Don't you know the test isn't over yet? Hurry up and make sushi!"
'You finally realized!'
For a moment, everyone present shared the same thought.
Kurapika and the others averted their gazes and started making sushi.
Menchi snorted coldly, then looked at Law and said seriously, "Anyway, you can't refuse."
Law was speechless.
Menchi then sat down heavily, picked up her chopsticks, and started eating the sushi, quickly finishing all ten pieces.
The same taste, so of course, he passed.
Thus, Law became the second examinee to pass the test.
Law turned and walked towards the corner, then suddenly stopped, looked back at Menchi, and said, "If it's a meal made by you, I don't think I would refuse."
"Of course." Hearing this, Menchi smiled happily.
Law smiled and returned to his original spot, sitting on the floor.
'Future greatest Gourmet Hunter' had always been Menchi's goal. Although Law had teased her about it before, he truly believed Menchi had the potential.
Whether in attitude or aptitude, Menchi could be said to be like Linne in her youth, perhaps with an even higher ceiling than Linne.
In short, as a food lover, Law couldn't miss out on a meal personally prepared by an outstanding Gourmet Hunter.
Although she had accidentally acted a bit infatuated, Menchi quickly adjusted and focused on fulfilling her duties as the test examiner.
Seeing that Menchi wasn't affected, Netero finally felt relieved.
The test continued.
With Law's precedent, Gon's group of four made sushi that looked barely passable in appearance, but the taste didn't meet the standard, failing in the first round.
While they were preparing their second attempt at sushi, the examinees had almost all returned to the venue. After several observations, every examinee presented their own sushi.
"Tastes awful."
"Idiot, can't you tell salt and sugar apart?"
"Haven't you eaten? Can't even shape the rice properly?"
"Disgusting, disgusting!"
"Such a big fish bone, didn't you see it?"
"Completely unacceptable!"
"Yuck! Did you pour a whole bowl of salt in here?"
Although every examinee's sushi looked somewhat presentable, it was only surface-level. In all aspects, they couldn't meet the passing standard set by Menchi.
If judged by the original theme of this test phase, at least eighty of the 150 examinees present should have passed.
However, Menchi was inherently very picky about taste. Moreover, having tasted Law's sushi first, her tongue was in an excited and stimulated state, which naturally made the subsequent examinees suffer for it.
Buhara, seeing Menchi becoming increasingly harsh, wanted to remind her but was afraid of getting hit. He could only look at Netero.
At this moment, Netero also had a headache, momentarily unsure how to handle this.
"I'm full. The test is over."
After rejecting another examinee, Menchi picked up a napkin, wiped her mouth, looked calmly at the examinees, and said flatly, "Two pass. 148 fail. So..."
Menchi showed a regretful smile and said, "Please try again next year."
Seeing Menchi announce the result so lightly, the expressions of the examinees all changed. The atmosphere became tense.
In the corner, Law thought ending it like this might not be so bad, though he felt a bit sorry for Gon and Kurapika.
"Cough, cough."
The familiar coughing sound rang out at that moment. It was Netero.
'If this continues, I might really develop a lung condition,' Netero thought.
Menchi ignored the dissatisfied looks of the examinees and turned her head to look at Netero.
"I almost forgot Chairman Netero is here again."