When they reached the building which was on the outskirts of Los Angeles, near the Sea, Natasha opened her eyes wide at the scene that she was seeing before her.
"You managed to get us a reservation in this place?"
"You know of this place?"
"Are you serious? Are you really asking if I know this place!?"
Her voice became slightly high pitched than usual at the end of her words as if she couldn't believe Adam was asking such a question to her.
"This place is simply legendary among the food connoisseurs of the Supernatural world. My god…"
She looked back at the slightly dilapidated building in the distance. Looking at the exterior of this place, there was no way anyone would even remotely have the thought that this ruined place could be called legendary for anything other than being so abysmal in its maintenance.
However, Natasha knew better. She knew the true worth of this place.
In the world of the Hunters, the hunters would obtain licenses to further their goals.
For many, it was simply for money. They took missions for no other reason and would avoid anything that was too dangerous for them.
This was the case for more than 70% of the hunters out there.
But some hunters were different from the norm, the rest of the 30% if you will. They had different goals in sight while taking up the job of a hunter. Not lofty ones like becoming heroes.
Sometimes it was revenge, born out of pure hatred for monsters. Sometimes it was compassion. Sometimes it was for exploration and sometimes, in extremely minuscule cases— it was for none other than food.
Gourmet hunters, they were called… Hunters who explored different dangerous places not just for money or fame.
But for a desire to obtain the wonder of nature that can never be found in the normal world. Hunting the rarest beings and concocting the rarest food out of said beings for the enjoyment of themselves and others.
"The chef of this place is called Ahmadou Traore. He does not have any code name. A hunter from the UNA decided to explore the world and taste the best food in the world. He created a Mercenary Guild composed of hunters who only cared about food and nothing else. He is an enigma, and for that very same reason, a legend like no other in the culinary world"
One of the reasons Ahmadou didn't hide his identity was because he basically had no enemies in the supernatural world.
He had never hunted any Earthly Supernatural creatures nor took any commissions to hunt fellow hunters.
Like this, without ever attracting any bad aggro toward himself, he silently grew stronger until he became recognized as a lofty Executor.
"The UNA, huh? Seems like a really mysterious place."
The last thing he obtained from UNA was the spirit armor. It seemed to be very efficient from what he had seen.
"It is. In the past Africa was simply a continent with a few alliances here and there. Just a sprinkle of sand among the ocean if you will. But after coalescing and forming the UNA, they became a true behemoth. Anyway, one of the reasons he is so respected is because of the effects of his food. Healing, boosting, buffing, you name it and his food can accomplish it. He is like an alchemist. In the end, nowadays with his influence, connection, and personal power, his place is basically considered a sanctuary from the outside world."
The more she spoke, the more excited she became. She was really a nerd till the end.
"Ah… Sorry. I got a little too excited there."
"Hehe don't worry about it. So do you know why he settled in this place despite how famous he is?"
Adam looked around. The neighborhood definitely wasn't nice and the restaurant itself was kinda decrepit, to say the least.
"Is it some form of enlightenment training? Something like going back to the base or ignoring wealth or anything along those lines?"
"Nah. He simply said that he loved seeing rich people come to crappy places and be uncomfortable just to get his food."
Adam's smile twitched ever so slightly after hearing that remark. It seemed like it was impossible for someone to be talented in a field and not have some weird quirk attached to them in the supernatural world.
Were they talented because they were quirky?
Or were they quirky because they were talented?
An old-age question that would most likely never be answered throughout the history of existence. And Adam didn't really feel like finding an answer to it either so he dropped that thought and focused on his partner instead…
"Then— let's meet him shall we?"
.
.
.
The interior of the restaurant was completely clean and well-arranged despite the shabby exterior. It still wasn't something that could go on par with a fancy high-maintenance restaurant and it definitely gave more of a street food vibe than anything else… but Adam, even with the usage of [The World], could hardly find a speck of dust or dirt in this entire place. This was an achievement in itself…
'At least it's clean.'
Adam sighed, wondering if coming here was the right idea or not. This wasn't exactly the place for a romantic date, even more so with how Natasha was currently clothed. Thankfully, looking at her expression, he could see that nothing but joy and excitement were brimming in her immaculate features.
'Well. I guess if she is happy then everything is alright.'
"Hm… Who are my guests this time?"
Adam looked at the old man standing behind the kitchen wearing entirely immaculate white clothes and looking at them with an indifferent smile on his lips.
'Oh… Finally meeting someone old here.'
While he had met beings as old as the existence of Earth itself and some like Medusa who were more than a few thousand years old, this was the first time he truly met an old hunter outside of Makarov.
'Only 80 years old, huh…'
The man did not have a frail appearance, but the weight of the years was unmistakable in him. His hair was the definition of grey and his face had a few wrinkles that made him look more like he was in his 50s rather than what his true age was. He was not super muscular but a hunch could still be seen in his gait.
Still, the deep aura he emitted was clearly that of someone truly strong. A quiet strength ready to burst forth at any given moment if he so willed.
It was sad to realize how fast human hunters grew old while Aleksandra, who looked like a woman in her 30s at best, was in reality more than 300 years old.
"Hi. I hope we aren't disturbing you…"
He looked around, seeing no clients, and wondered if maybe they were perhaps closed or something of the sort…
"No. Usually, I have a few people mingling around in this place of mine… But today, I decided to reserve the place for my clients."
Walking out of the kitchen, he brought the two to a beautiful seat that gave wide access to the enchanting view of the sea.
"I owe your boss a favor. Never thought she would use it for someone else, however."
Adam smiled once they took their seats and looked around, wondering where the menu was.
"No need to search. There is no Menu in my restaurant."
"Oh. Then how do we make an order?"
"Heh…" He chuckled and started to walk back toward his kitchen,
"Listen young man. In my restaurant— I am the one who chooses what you eat and the only role you have is to say how much you have loved it. Nothing else…"
This was a very bold statement but— looking at all the aliases related to food in this man's information, Adam decided to let the man cook.
After all, he certainly didn't know any better.
'H,m… Or I could buy a skill related to cooking and try my hand or something.'
It was just an afterthought really. He would never waste Karma on such a stupid thing though.
———
(AN: Ahamdou might become a recurring character. I have a plan for his restaurant. Basically, Imagine this place as the continental in John Wick. But I will see. Anyway, the Date arc is coming to an end. I think two or three more chapters. Then, it will be the start of the final arc of this vol. Heh, October will be quite fun.
This is the last chapter of this month. I only posted 27 chapters this month unlike in the past when I posted around 40-50 chapters. But don't worry. I promise at least 10 chapters weekly on October. I hope to see you then.)
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