"AAAAAAAAAAAA—SLOW DOWN—!!!"
The forest blurred past them as the massive white direwolf tore through the trees at terrifying speed.
Wind roared in their ears, and the ground became a streak beneath them.
Nakiri Erina clung desperately to Erika, her fingers digging into her sleeve.
"We're going to die—!! We're actually going to die—!!"
Erika tightened her grip around Akira's neck, pressing herself closer just to stay stable.
"…AKIRA."
Her voice wasn't panicked—
But it wasn't calm either.
"…SLOW DOWN A LITTLE."
Akira's voice echoed in their minds.
"What are you saying? I can't hear you. Louder."
Erika screamed, "THE WIND—!! DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE WIND!"
"…Oh. The wind."
A pulse of energy spread from his body, forming a barrier ahead of them.
The rushing air split and slid around it.
"…Now what is it?"
Before Erika could reply, Erina shouted, "Slow down! Why are you so fast?!"
"I'm not even pushing it," Akira replied casually. "I can go a lot faster, you know. I can easily break the sound barrier, you know."
"DON'T!!" Erina panicked. "What if I fall off?!"
"Don't worry." Akira replied, "I'm keeping both of you in place with my magic. You won't fall off even if you let go."
Erina shouted,
"No, I am not letting go!"
Erika exhaled, trying to steady herself.
"…Akira. Do you know where you're going?"
Akira replied cheerfully,
"Nope. I have no idea where I'm going. I'm just running."
Both Erika and Erina froze for a moment.
"…You WHAT?!" Erina stared at the back of his head in disbelief.
"Well, it's my first time here too," Akira replied, completely unbothered.
Erika pinched the bridge of her nose. "…Then stop for a moment so we can decide where to go."
"…Alright."
He slowed and came to a smooth stop.
And asked,
"So… which side should we go?"
Selena's voice echoed calmly in their minds.
"Don't worry. I already added the map function. Just check it."
Erika blinked.
"…Map?"
She immediately opened her system.
Akira's telepathic voice followed right after.
"Uh, excuse me… Erika, can you show it to me, too? It's hard for me to access the system in this form."
Erika nodded.
"Sure."
She leaned closer, hugging his head slightly as she showed him the screen.
Erina, still clinging to Erika, also leaned in as well without realizing.
Ping.
[New System Alert]
[Map Function Updated]
[New World Detected]
[Map Initialized]
The map expanded.
Erina's eyes widened, looking at the scale of the world.
"How big is this world?"
"…Bigger than ours," Akira replied.
"…Just check the nearby area."
Erika zoomed in.
Akira pointed with his gaze.
"There. That's Toriko Harbor. We can go there. It's near us."
Erika tilted her head.
"…You said this world is called Toriko, right? Who's Toriko?"
Akira explained,
"Well, actually, this world isn't really called the Toriko world. Toriko is the protagonist, so that's what we call it."
He continued,
"As for that harbor, apparently, he made a lot of contributions to the Gourmet Society there or something, so they named it after him. We can talk more on the way. What do you say?"
Erika nodded.
"…Then we go there."
She glanced at the map again.
"…We have to pass through… Mushroom Pudding Forest?"
Akira's voice brightened.
"Yeah. I heard they're really tasty. Let's go then."
He lowered his body slightly—
Then burst forward again.
"AAAAAAAAAAAA—!!!" Erina screamed as the speed returned.
"…Tell me if I go the wrong way," Akira said.
"…I will," Erika replied, gripping tighter.
"…And don't forget—"
Akira added casually.
"…we need to gather as many rare ingredients as possible."
"…Why?" Erika asked.
"…Because in this world—"
A slight grin entered his voice.
"…Ingredients are money. So let's gooo—!"
Akira continued rushing through the forest without slowing down.
After a while, even Nakiri Erina began to calm down slightly—
Though she was still holding on for dear life.
Soon, they started encountering beasts.
"Hold on," Akira warned telepathically. "Another Flyer Duck, incoming."
The girls tightened their grip immediately.
From above, a Flyer Duck dove toward them.
But Akira was faster.
He shifted slightly and dodged it with ease.
Then he opened his mouth—
A magic circle formed in front of it.
An ice spear shot out.
Clean.
Precise.
A direct headshot.
The creature dropped instantly.
"Erika, put it in your inventory," Akira said, "We have to keep moving."
Erika nodded.
"…Got it."
The corpse vanished mid-fall into her inventory.
Akira kept running.
Not long after—
He spotted another ingredient.
A tree filled with pale, glossy fruit.
"Oh. White Apple Tree. We need those."
Erika blinked.
"What—?"
Before she could finish—
Akira dashed forward and struck the trunk with his leg.
The tree shook violently.
White apples rained down.
Erika reacted immediately.
"…Got them."
Every single one disappeared into her inventory before touching the ground.
"…White apples…" Erina murmured.
"…Interesting."
Akira said,
"Alright. On to the next thing."
"Wait!" Erina protested. "At least let me taste one—!"
But Akira kept running.
Soon, a new creature interrupted their path.
A big, round, fluffy yellow rabbit hopped across.
Akira's ears perked up. "Oh. Cheese Rabbit. I heard they taste—"
"No," Erika interrupted immediately.
Akira paused.
"…But—"
Erika repeated,
"No. They're cute."
Akira considered it for a moment.
"…Fair enough."
And kept running.
Along the way, they encountered all kinds of strange beasts.
A huge six-legged Crab Pig with red stripes across its back.
A giant eagle with five tails.
Even something that looked suspiciously like a dragon.
Each one was defeated in a single strike—
Then stored away.
They continued forward like that—
Until Erika suddenly sniffed the air.
"…It smells sweet."
"…Yeah," Akira replied.
"I noticed it earlier. I think we're close to the Mushroom Pudding Forest."
Then, with the incredible sense of smell of a direwolf, he found something new.
Without warning—
He changed direction.
The scent grew richer.
Sweeter.
The trees thinned.
Light spilled through the gaps ahead.
And then—
The forest opened.
Before them lay a land of sweetness.
A paradise of sweets.
Erina stared in pure disbelief.
"What?!"
Erika's eyes sparkled with pure delight.
"Wow…"
Akira straightened proudly.
"Ladies and—huh. Just ladies. You have arrived at your destination. Prepare for landing."
Erina blinked.
"…What?"
"I mean, get off."
He lowered himself to the ground.
Both girls slid down. A moment later, light wrapped around Akira, and he shrank back into human form.
Then all three stood in silence.
Before them stretched a land that made no sense.
The ground was covered in mushroom-shaped puddings of every color, smooth and glossy, gently wobbling in the breeze.
Some shifted suddenly.
Tiny snails crawled across the surface, their shells chocolate-glazed doughnuts.
"…Those are alive?" Erina whispered.
Large boulders sat nearby—
White, round, and fluffy.
Akira walked over and poked one.
His finger sank straight in.
"…Marshmalrock."
"…That's dangerous," Erina said immediately.
"…No," Akira replied.
"…That's delicious."
Beyond them rose trees covered not in leaves, but clouds of pink cotton candy.
Erika's eyes widened.
"…I love this place."
A rustling sound came from the side.
A brown alpaca-like beast froze when it noticed them.
Its body was covered in cookies of every shape and color.
Then it bolted.
"Oh, Cookie Alpaca!" Akira shouted.
He raised a hand.
A burst of wind swept forward—
And dozens of cookies were neatly plucked off its body as it escaped.
Erika caught them instinctively.
Erina stared.
"…Is that sanitary?"
Akira thought for a second.
"Well… probably not, I guess."
Further ahead, a lake sparkled strangely.
Bubbles rose endlessly from its surface.
Beside it, liquid chocolate erupted from the earth like a fountain.
Akira looked around in awe.
"…This is paradise."
Then, naturally, he immediately bent down and picked up a mushroom pudding.
Erika snapped off a cotton candy branch and happily started nibbling.
Erina looked between them in disbelief.
"…What are you two doing?!"
Both turned to her.
Confused.
She pointed wildly around them.
"A mushroom pudding field? Snails with doughnut shells? Trees growing cotton candy?! And that alpaca had cookies growing out of its body! How can creatures like those even exist?!"
Then she pointed at the lake.
"That water is carbonated! How does anything breathe in there?!"
Then she pointed at the chocolate fountain.
"And chocolate is coming out of the ground! Why is there liquid chocolate underground?!"
She took a breath.
"None of this makes sense… what the hell is happening?!"
Erika looked around again.
"…Now that you say it… yeah. This place really doesn't make sense."
Akira swallowed his pudding calmly.
"…It's because of Gourmet Cells."
Both girls turned to him at the same time.
"…Gourmet what?"
Akira dusted off his hands.
"Gourmet Cells. They're basically the foundation of life in this world."
He picked up another mushroom pudding.
"They strengthen living things, accelerate evolution, improve regeneration…"
He pointed at the pudding field.
"…And most importantly, they make everything taste better."
Erina blinked.
"…That's absurd."
Akira shrugged.
"…This whole world is absurd. But they're also absurdly delicious."
Then he added casually—
"And when people eat ingredients with Gourmet Cells, some of those cells gradually integrate into the body too, making them evolve."
Silence.
Both girls froze.
Erika slowly lowered the cotton candy in her hand.
"…What?"
Erina's face changed instantly.
"…WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY THAT FIRST?!"
Akira blinked at their reaction.
"…I didn't think it was an actual problem."
Both girls stared at him.
"…What?"
Akira raised a hand quickly.
"Relax. It's usually a slow process. You're not suddenly going to grow some weird mutation."
Erika frowned slightly.
"…Then check us with your Mystic Eyes."
Akira shook his head.
"I can't. My eyes can see different forms of energy. I can see Appetite Energy… but not Gourmet Cells directly."
Erika tilted her head.
"…What's Appetite Energy?"
Akira answered casually.
"It's basically the fundamental energy of this universe. It represents taste, hunger, desire for food… even life force."
He ate another mushroom pudding and continued,
"It's the source of Gourmet Cells and everything connected to them."
Erika blinked.
"…Can you explain that normally?"
Akira paused.
"…That was the normal explanation."
Erina cut in immediately.
"Forget that. Do we have them or not?"
Akira looked both of them over again.
"…If you do, it's too faint to notice right now. We can do blood tests later. But at the moment, I don't see any unusual Appetite Energy from either of you."
Then he added more gently.
"If anything changes, I'll know and don't worry. I'll handle it."
Erika let out a breath.
"…Fine."
Erina hesitated.
Then looked into his eyes.
For once, his expression was completely serious.
And somehow, that calmed her too.
Akira clapped once.
"Alright. Loot everything."
Both girls blinked.
Then immediately began gathering ingredients.
Erika happily collected cotton candy branches and cookies.
Erina crouched beside the pudding field and carefully picked up a mushroom pudding.
She glanced back at Akira and Erika, still wondering how her life had become this.
"Akira," Erika called out. "There's a cicada eating chocolate here. Is it edible?"
Akira didn't even turn around.
"I'd rather die than eat a bug."
Erina sighed.
Then took a bite of the pudding.
And froze.
Sweet.
Soft.
Silky.
Perfect.
In her mind's eye, she was buried from all sides in endless waves of silky pudding. Making her scream "Noooo" In her mind.
A muffled, deeply embarrassed sound escaped her throat.
Her eyes snapped open.
Immediately, she looked around.
No clothes exploded.
She slowly looked back at the pudding in her hand.
Then quietly began collecting the rest.
Not because she wanted more.
Absolutely not.
Soon, everything valuable nearby had been gathered.
Akira stepped forward.
Light wrapped around him once more—
And he returned to his direwolf form.
The girls climbed onto his back.
Then he leapt forward.
They ran through the final stretch of forest until the trees suddenly ended.
Akira stopped at the edge of a cliff.
Below them—
A vast city by the sea.
Bustling.
Bright.
Alive.
Akira looked ahead and grinned.
"We're finally here… Toriko Harbor."