Gourmet Hunter (HxH Fanfic)

Crying is one of the best ways to vent emotions. After crying for a while, Ellie fell into a deep sleep.

Law and Kenda left the ward and headed to the luxurious onboard bar, then sat by the window.

On the table was a glass of milk and a glass of whiskey. The milk was Law's and the whiskey was Kenda's.

The two sat across from each other. Outside the window was a serene night sky, with a bright full moon hanging high.

The airship was flying at a height higher than the rain clouds, and it was a completely different world from the sky below.

At this time, Law was a quiet listener, and through Kenda's narration, he had a more detailed understanding of Ellie and her family.

Ellie's mother is Kenda's older sister. The two siblings were orphans adopted by Barney's father, who aimed to nurture loyal subordinates. Ironically, Kenda and his sister had lost their parents because of drugs.

After joining the Garfield Family, Kenda was trained as an assassin, while his sister was trained as an intelligence agent. By coincidence, Barney fell in love with Kenda's sister, and they naturally ended up together.

Ellie's birth did change the fate of some people.

During repeated attacks from vengeful enemies, numerous people gave their lives to protect Ellie, including her mother.

Amid the gunfire and bloodshed, Ellie witnessed the death of her loved ones with her own eyes.

After that incident, Kenda, who was good at sniping, no longer engaged in assassinations. He was transferred back to become the butler of the Garfield Family and also Ellie's personal bodyguard.

Tonight, Ellie once again witnessed her loved ones' death, which undoubtedly gave her another severe emotional blow. It was no wonder she had uttered those despairing words.

After learning Kenda's identity and that Ellie was very dependent on Kenda, Law had a rough idea in his mind. He knew he didn't need to stay indefinitely and just had to wait for Kenda's injuries to recover before leaving.

"Even if you give up on the drug trade, those people won't let you go, right?" Law picked up the milk and took a sip. He didn't like drinking alcohol before going to bed.

Kenda shook his head and sighed, "They won't leave any potential threats behind. Even if Ellie is just a ten-year-old child, they won't show mercy. Moreover, in the underworld, the standard method of dealing with enemies is total extermination."

Law took another sip of milk, and his brows slightly furrowed.

According to Kenda, once they returned to Spice City and the local Mafia learned of Barney's death, the worst-case scenario would be a direct assault on Barney's estate.

The profits from drugs are terrifyingly high. Barney had built his empire by controlling both production and distribution in Spice City. His status is only inferior to that of the Ten Dons, though his approach had been somewhat unconventional.

Let's make money together.

This was his execution philosophy when doing business. This approach had certainly earned him loyalty from many underlings, but human greed is bottomless. No matter how fairly the cake is divided, someone will always want a bigger slice.

Over time, despite raking in massive profits, the thought lingered among some: Why do you get the biggest share?

Now that Barney is dead, and he has lost so many of his men during this period, once the local Mafia in the Spice City get wind of this news, they would likely unite to devour the cake left behind by Barney.

Not to mention climbing up to where Barney was, just in that mansion built on the mountain there was wealth that was unimaginable to them.

Cash, jewelry, gold, collectibles... and an enormous stash of drugs, all of which will make these people jealous.

"Have you ever thought about taking Ellie away from Spice City?" Law put down his glass and asked.

Kenda nodded and said, "I have thought about it, but... we can't escape this quagmire."

"Take just enough money to live on, find a place to hide, and live incognito. Are they really that persistent?" Law found it hard to understand.

"I mean no disrespect." Kenda stared at Law and said in a deep voice: "But you are a little too naive."

"…" Law was stunned, not knowing how to refute.

Kenda chuckled bitterly and said, "Even if we give up everything, there will still be some people who only want Ellie's life. This is an irreconcilable hatred."

"So, we're left with two choices: to live in the mire or die in it."

"Even if Ellie doesn't want to bear this burden, she'll have no choice but to face it someday. Otherwise, the outcome will be death."

"I won't let Ellie get hurt, but even though this will be a thorny road, I will force her to walk it."

"She is still young now, but I'll stay by her side until she's strong enough to protect herself."

After listening to Kenda's explanation, Law rubbed his temples and said helplessly: "Is it really that exaggerated?"

"You don't know anything about us." Kenda sighed.

'Well… there's no way I would know.' Law complained in his heart.

"I don't fully understand how you Mafia operate, but are you planning to force Ellie to become another Barney?" Law said solemnly.

"No." Kenda said seriously: "I only want Ellie to live safely."

Law rolled his eyes and said, "Okay, I think I understand your thoughts. When we get to Spice City, I'll ensure your safety."

As long as he absorbed the Nen of those collections and his Aura increased greatly, Law figured that he could simply unleash his Aura, and most Mafia's members would likely surrender without a fight.

Moreover, Law didn't agree with Kenda's approach and was didn't want to argue further. He had his own plans and strategies.

Even though he wasn't sure how many enemies Barney had, it didn't matter. As long as they know that Ellie is in a weak position, they'd undoubtedly come after her. When that happened, Law intended to deal with them all at once.

As for the notion that they couldn't escape the quagmire... Law silently vowed that Ellie would never step into the underworld again, let alone become another drug lord.

"Thank you!" Kenda said with gratitude.

Afterwards, Law confirmed with Kenda the cooperative relationship between the Mafia and Meteor City, and shared his concerns to Kenda.

Kenda knew everything about Law's plan of faking death. When he heard the concerns raised by Law, he immediately understood and reassured Law.

Although the Mafia and Meteor City have a cooperative relationship, it was strictly business, and their channels of communication and information were separate.

The Council of Elders in Meteor City would undoubtedly hear of Barney's death, but they wouldn't receive detailed information. Similarly, the Mafia knew about the Council of Elders and the four elders of Meteor City, but they did not know exactly how strong their background was.

The two parties have a long-term cooperative relationship with a clearly marked price. Each side gets what it needs and it is mutually beneficial.

This is a big structure that is harder than steel. Even if the East District's Elder breaks the rules, Kenda does not have the ability to retaliate. After all, he is not of the same level as the Ten Dons and is incapable of challenging the structure.

"By the way, are there any ingredients like the Spiny Sea Pork Liver on the airship?" Law suddenly remembered this. Since he was now riding Kenda's ship, he thought indulging his appetite was a minor request.

Kenda replied: "There may be some left, but the Gourmet Hunter has already left. With the current level of the chefs on board, it'd be hard to recreate that level of flavor."

"That person is not one of your chefs, but a Gourmet Hunter?" Law exclaimed in surprise.

'Why don't I have any impression of that person's appearance... He seems to be very ordinary and has a weak presence.'

Kenda nodded and said, "Yes, even though Master was wealthy, he could only hire that person at most three times a month, and those rare ingredients are extremely expensive and not something one can eat every day."

"As far as I know, even the top ten wealthiest people in the world can't hire a gourmet hunter as a personal chef."

Hearing this, Law's eyes widened in astonishment, 'Gourmet Hunter, who was rarely mentioned in the original work, was actually so impressive?'

"Some of the world's top billionaires occasionally jointly fund Gourmet Competitions. They set up generous prizes, and invite Gourmet Hunters from all over the world to participate, just to satisfy their taste buds."

"These prizes aren't just monetary, and they also include rare treasures, exquisite jewels, and priceless ingredients. As a result, when such competitions are held, they draw an overwhelming number of participants vying for the rewards."

Kenda seemed to think that it was rare for Law to be so surprised, so he shared everything he knew.

Barney, who had a strong appreciation for material enjoyment, often talked about the extravagant lifestyles of the world's richest individuals. Kenda had heard so much that he knows a bit about it, especially about the Gourmet Competitions. He always how Barney wanted to sit in the tasting seat even once.

After hearing what Kenda said, Law was enlightened, 'Rich people sure knew how to have fun… They actually use such method to try all kinds of delicious food in this world.'