Chapter 388

While Razen was desperately trying to heal King Edmaris, Haruto had already put a considerable distance between himself and the royal capital of Falmuth.

He eventually found a secluded stretch of forest deep in the mountains. After confirming that there were no humans or monsters anywhere nearby, he opened the entrance to the Gourmet Restaurant and stepped inside.

Kagura was playing with her wind fan when he returned, while Kanna sat quietly beside the window, leafing through a cookbook.

Both looked up at the sound of his arrival.

"Haruto, what took you so long?" Kagura asked curiously.

"Ran into a few unexpected complications."

Haruto shrugged and briefly explained what had happened with the summoning circle, King Edmaris, and Razen at the royal palace.

Once he’d finished recounting his experience, he closed his eyes and turned his attention inward.

The Voice of the World had granted him quite a few skills during the summoning, and he hadn’t yet had an opportunity to examine them properly.

First was Temperature Control.

This skill was even more useful than he’d initially imagined. Its applications went far beyond simply raising or lowering temperatures, allowing him to manipulate heat with an extraordinary degree of precision.

For example, when he had severed Edmaris’s arm and leg earlier, Haruto had used carefully controlled heat to kill the cells at the severed areas without causing any visible changes to the surrounding tissue.

The cells were completely dead, even though the affected areas still appeared normal.

That was precisely why Razen hadn’t been able to reattach the limbs, regardless of how much healing magic he used.

Next came High-Speed Regeneration.

This skill had significantly strengthened Haruto’s existing recovery abilities. Now, even if he lost an entire limb, he could rapidly regenerate it by consuming a sufficient amount of energy.

As for Physical Attack Resistance and Elemental Attack Resistance, their effects were fairly straightforward.

They were essentially passive abilities that reduced the damage he received.

Ordinary sword attacks and elemental magic would now have an extremely difficult time injuring him.

There was another particularly convenient change.

All the magic, Nen abilities, and spells Haruto had previously mastered had been converted into corresponding skills.

He could now activate them directly with a thought, without needing to perform the same procedures as before.

That alone made using his abilities considerably more convenient.

Then there was Energy Conversion.

This skill was essentially an enhanced version of an ability he already possessed.

Haruto could now freely convert his own energy into any form of energy he had previously encountered.

Whether it was Nen from the world of Hunter × Hunter, the various elemental energies used by Pokémon, or the demonic energy found in the world of Inuyasha, he could switch between them seamlessly.

That flexibility would undoubtedly prove useful.

However, the skill that interested him most was the additional Unique Skill granted by the Voice of the World.

Gourmet.

Unlike the other abilities he’d received, Gourmet had been generated specifically in response to his own nature as a Gourmet Lifeform.

It contained several distinct abilities:

Appraisal, Culinary Simulation, Ability Acquisition, Super Digestion, and New Sense of Taste.

Haruto began examining them individually.

First was Appraisal.

Its function was similar to the ingredient-deconstruction ability he had previously developed through the Gourmet Restaurant, but it was considerably easier to use.

With this skill, merely looking at an ingredient was enough for him to understand its characteristics, nutritional value, and other relevant properties.

There was no need for a lengthy examination.

Whether he encountered an unfamiliar plant, a strange fruit, or some entirely new monster ingredient, he could obtain useful information almost immediately.

Next came Culinary Simulation.

This ability allowed him to mentally work out recipes and cooking methods based on the characteristics of his ingredients.

From controlling cooking temperatures to determining seasoning proportions, he could simulate the various steps required to prepare a dish and evaluate potential combinations before actually cooking them.

For someone who enjoyed experimenting with unfamiliar ingredients, that was an exceptionally valuable ability.

Then came Ability Acquisition.

This was undoubtedly one of the most interesting components of Gourmet.

Its function bore a certain resemblance to Rimuru’s Predator.

By eating dishes prepared from different ingredients, Haruto would have a chance to acquire the skills and special abilities those ingredients possessed.

In simple terms, Rimuru could obtain abilities by consuming his targets directly, whereas Haruto needed to cook the ingredients into a dish and eat the finished product.

There was another important distinction.

The quality of the dish would affect both the probability of acquiring an ability and the strength of the ability obtained.

The better the cooking, the greater the potential reward.

Admittedly, this was somewhat less direct than Predator.

Nevertheless, Haruto considered it much more appropriate for his circumstances.

After all, eating monsters raw just to steal their abilities was a little too bizarre for his tastes.

He was a chef.

If he was going to eat something, he would much rather turn it into a delicious meal first.

The fourth ability was Super Digestion.

As its name suggested, it had dramatically strengthened his digestive capabilities.

Haruto could now digest and absorb substances that ordinary living creatures would find completely inedible, including iron, stone, and soil.

In other words, he could literally survive by eating dirt if he wanted to.

Of course, that raised a rather unpleasant question about what such a diet would taste like.

Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—the final ability addressed that problem.

New Sense of Taste allowed Haruto to perceive flavors in substances that would ordinarily offer little or no culinary enjoyment.

Even if he decided to eat a handful of soil, he would still be able to distinguish its unique flavor.

Haruto opened his eyes, wearing a somewhat complicated expression.

"Well, what can I say? It’s a pretty decent skill."

Overall, Gourmet was certainly useful.

Between its ingredient analysis, recipe simulation, and ability-acquisition functions, it offered considerable potential for improving both his cooking and his personal strength.

The fact that it would also let him survive on a diet of rocks and dirt was... an interesting bonus, he supposed.

Having finished examining his new skills, Haruto turned back toward Kagura and Kanna.

He explained what he knew about the world of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, including its magicules, monsters, and the peculiar rules governing skills and evolution.

Then he took both of them outside the Gourmet Restaurant.

Once they were standing in the forest again, Haruto looked at the two sisters.

"So, did either of you hear the Voice of the World just now?"

Kagura and Kanna were also visitors from other worlds.

According to the rules of this world, Otherworlders could receive special abilities through the Voice of the World, so Haruto was curious whether the same thing would happen to them.

Unfortunately, Kagura shook her head in disappointment.

"Nope. Didn’t hear anything."

"Neither did I," Kanna answered softly.

"Just as I thought."

Haruto rubbed his chin, unsurprised by the result.

Unlike him, Kagura and Kanna hadn’t been summoned through this world’s magic.

Nor had they crossed into it independently.

They had entered through the Gourmet Restaurant under his protection.

In a sense, they were like unregistered residents who had slipped into the world without going through its usual procedures.

Haruto had already suspected that the Voice of the World might not recognize their presence.

Fortunately, he had prepared an alternative.

"Don’t worry. There’s another way."

He smiled at the two sisters.

"If the world doesn’t recognize you, we’ll just have to make it recognize you."

Kagura’s eyes immediately brightened.

She stepped forward and stood expectantly in front of him.

Haruto’s expression became serious.

He looked directly at her and spoke clearly.

"I bestow upon you the name Kagura."

The instant the words left his mouth, Haruto felt a portion of the energy within his body being extracted automatically.

That energy flowed directly into Kagura.

Her body trembled slightly.

Then an astonished expression appeared on her face.

A voice had suddenly sounded inside her mind.

It was the Voice of the World.

Kagura looked toward Haruto and nodded vigorously.

Seeing her reaction, Haruto smiled.

"Looks like naming really does work."

Bestowing names was one of the fundamental rules governing this world.

Previously, Kagura had effectively been an unregistered outsider.

By bestowing a name upon her, Haruto had established a connection between her existence and the Voice of the World.

It was almost like officially registering her as a named monster recognized by the world’s system.

And since Kagura was already a supernatural being rather than an ordinary human, there was nothing particularly surprising about her being able to receive the Voice of the World’s recognition once that connection had been established.

Haruto then turned toward Kanna.

He looked at her with the same solemn expression.

"I bestow upon you the name Kanna."

Another portion of his energy was immediately drawn out and transferred into her body.

A moment later, Kanna raised her head.

Having heard the Voice of the World inside her mind, she gave Haruto a small nod.

Both naming attempts had succeeded.

With that settled, Haruto began preparing to leave the area.

There was no doubt that the Kingdom of Falmuth would launch an extensive search for him after what he’d done to King Edmaris.

He wasn’t particularly afraid of being pursued, but dealing with endless groups of soldiers and mages would be irritating.

More importantly, Falmuth wasn’t exactly known for its abundance of monsters.

There was little reason for him to remain in the kingdom when far more interesting ingredients could be found elsewhere.

However, before they could set off, something unexpected happened.

At first, Kagura and Kanna didn’t seem to notice anything particularly unusual after receiving their names.

But only a few minutes later, both began feeling increasingly drowsy.

Their eyelids grew heavy, and the strength seemed to drain from their bodies.

An overwhelming wave of fatigue washed over them, leaving them with an almost irresistible desire to lie down and sleep.

Fortunately, Haruto understood what was happening.

This was a normal reaction to receiving a name.

Under this world’s rules, naming could trigger an evolutionary transformation, and the recipient would enter a deep sleep while that evolution took place.

Haruto considered returning Kagura and Kanna to the Gourmet Restaurant so they could rest comfortably.

After a moment’s thought, however, he decided against it.

The Gourmet Restaurant existed within an independent space.

He wasn’t certain whether that separation would interfere with the Voice of the World’s influence or disrupt their evolution.

This wasn’t something he wanted to gamble on.

With a thought, an elegant carriage appeared in the forest clearing.

A Rapidash stood quietly in front of it, snorting softly as it waited.

Haruto supported Kagura and Kanna, who were already having difficulty remaining on their feet, and carefully helped them into the carriage.

He settled them inside the passenger compartment, covered them with blankets, and made sure they were comfortable.

"Get some rest. I’ll take care of everything until you wake up."

Neither sister had enough energy left to argue.

Before long, they had both fallen into a deep sleep.

After ensuring that they were resting peacefully, Haruto climbed onto the driver’s seat at the front of the carriage.

He snapped his fingers lightly.

Rapidash immediately began walking, pulling the carriage toward the edge of the forest.

As they traveled, Haruto found himself watching the Pokémon with growing interest.

An idea had occurred to him.

’Come to think of it, what would happen if I bestowed a name on Rapidash?’

He was genuinely curious.

Pokémon already possessed their own evolution systems, but naming in this world worked according to entirely different rules.

What kind of transformation would occur if those two systems interacted?

Would Rapidash become a more powerful version of itself? Would its appearance change completely?

The possibilities were intriguing.

For a moment, Haruto was seriously tempted to try it immediately.

Fortunately, he remembered one rather important practical problem.

After receiving a name, Rapidash would probably fall asleep to undergo its evolution, just like Kagura and Kanna.

And if Rapidash fell asleep, who was going to pull the carriage?

’I’m not dragging this thing through the forest myself!’

Haruto quickly abandoned the idea.

Rapidash would have to wait.

However, just because he couldn’t name Rapidash right now didn’t mean he had to postpone experimenting with his other Pokémon.

With that thought, Haruto opened the entrance to the Gourmet Restaurant.

A moment later, Gardevoir and Alolan Ninetales appeared aboard the carriage.

Like Kagura and Kanna, both Pokémon had entered this world through Haruto’s independent space rather than through its ordinary summoning procedures.

That effectively made them unregistered outsiders as well.

And since bestowing names could trigger evolution, there was no reason to exclude them from the opportunity.

Haruto looked toward Gardevoir first.

"I bestow upon you the name Gardevoir."

Then he turned to Alolan Ninetales.

"I bestow upon you the name Ice Ninetales."

Two more small portions of energy were immediately drawn from Haruto’s body and flowed into the Pokémon.

Soft light enveloped Gardevoir and Alolan Ninetales simultaneously.

A moment later, their expressions became noticeably tired.

Just like Kagura and Kanna, the two Pokémon gradually closed their eyes and entered the deep sleep that accompanied their evolution.

Haruto examined them carefully.

The energy within their bodies remained stable, showing no signs of anything going wrong.

Only after confirming that both were fine did he relax.

To be honest, the Pokémon he most wanted to name was actually Charizard.

After all, Charizard was currently the strongest Pokémon in his possession.

If naming triggered another evolution and increased its strength, the improvement could be enormous.

And if its flying speed increased as well, traveling across this world would become much more convenient.

Unfortunately, Charizard was simply too large.

This wasn’t a particularly suitable place to summon it and initiate an evolution that would leave it unconscious for an unknown amount of time.

"Forget it. Charizard can wait until we’ve found somewhere to settle down."

Haruto muttered to himself before leaning back against the driver’s seat.

Rapidash continued pulling the carriage along the forest path, its hooves carrying them steadily forward as the trees passed by on either side.

Haruto watched the scenery drift past, occasionally checking on the sleeping Kagura, Kanna, Gardevoir, and Alolan Ninetales.

For now, all he needed to do was continue the journey and wait for their evolutions to finish.