Gourmet Hunter (HxH Fanfic)

At this time, Law and Sanbica were already on the airship.

When his phone rang, Law picked it up and saw that the caller ID was not displayed.

He thought it was most likely a call from Machi, so he answered the call.

After a simple 'Hello', Machi's voice came from the phone.

"Where are you?"

'It was indeed Machi.' Law replied honestly, "On an airship."

"Hmm."

Machi responded briefly and didn't ask where he was headed. Instead, she fell silent.

Neither of them spoke for several seconds. Just when Law was about to say something, he suddenly heard Machi say, "Wait for me."

After saying that, she hung up the phone without waiting for Law to speak.

'Was that supposed to be a threat?'

Lowering his phone, Law couldn't help but chuckled as he imagined Machi's expression while saying those words.

'Is she calling me specifically just to say a few words, or is she confirming the number?'

Law looked out the window, thinking about the future of the Troupe...

He knew of their eventual deeds, including the Kurta Clan massacre. However, the newly established Troupe had not done anything harmful to the world, and compared to him, who had hundreds of lives on his hands...

'Let's take it slow...' Law thought to himself.

…

On the street in the city, Machi hung up and stepped out of the phone booth.

She looked up at the darkening sky and could see a few twinkling stars.

'Caring about someone… was that what it meant to like them?'

She stood there for a long time before heading back toward the hotel.

Maybe it was because it was dinner time, there weren't many people on the street.

Two flamboyantly dressed young men with dyed hair noticed Machi walking alone. Their eyes lit up and they looked at each other, clearly seeing each other's obscene expressions.

The two of them suddenly stood in front of Machi, and one of them said jokingly, "Little sister, are you alone?"

Another person looked at her lecherously and asked, "Where are your family members?"

Machi just looked up at the two of them, then attacked without warning, breaking their arms.

The two young men did not see Machi's movements clearly. When they felt severe pain in their arms, they sat down on the ground almost at the same time, covering their arms and screaming miserably.

The commotion drew the attention of nearby pedestrians, who turned to look.

Machi ignored the glances from these people and walked past the two young men towards the hotel.

Meanwhile, aboard the airship, Law didn't know that Machi had broken the arms of two thugs in just a short while. If he knew, he might've pitied them briefly, telling it's their bad luck to mess with Machi.

"Are you planning to keep traveling with me?" Law looked at Sanbica.

The three-month period they had initially agreed upon was nearly up. If Sanbica decided to part ways, they would go their separate paths when the airship landed.

Law really hopes that Sanbica can stay, but he will not force her.

After hearing Law's words, Sanbica hesitated before answering.

Subconsciously, she didn't hate traveling with Law. She found the experiences of the past three months full of intrigue and excitement.

"Come with me to a place." She said after a moment.

Law was startled by the sudden change of topic and asked, "Where?"

"To Mount Noro. There's a village there suffering from an outbreak. I want to see if I can help." Sanbica said softly.

"Alright." Law agreed without hesitation.

His next destination was Verdin's residence, which seemed to have become an ancient tourist city. However, there was no rush. (T/N: For those who forgot, Verdin is the sculptor of the sharp-snouted monkey statue. Law wanted to go there after seeing the Sonata of Darkness's piece in the memory contained in the sharp-snouted monkey statue.)

Since Sanbica had somewhere she wanted to go, he would accompany her first.

Seeing Law agreed decisively, Sanbica pursed her lips. She had made up her mind.

Whenever there is anything related to the virus, she will go there. In a sense, this puts a certain limit on her freedom.

If Law didn't mind accompanying her on such endeavors at all times, she would continue traveling with him.

Law didn't know what Sanbica was thinking. But even if he knew, he wouldn't think it was a big deal.

Originally, the condition for him to add more pages to the book was to save people, and following Sanbica to some areas severely affected by infectious diseases was a perfect fit.

…

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

During this period, every Troupe's member had acquired a cellphone, and then Uvogin and Nobunaga took turns calling to annoy Law. In the end, it was Law who made threatening remarks to stop the two's boring behavior.

Now, with everyone's contact information saved, it will be more convenient to contact each other in the future.

Since arriving in the Hunter x Hunter World, Law has influenced and interacted with many of the original characters. In doing so, he had accelerated the growth of the Troupe's members and Buhara.

Whether it was the Phantom Troupe's members or Buhala, part of the reason why they want to become stronger as quickly as possible comes from Law's influence.

Afterwards, Law accompanied Sambica to the village near Mount Noro. During the long journey, the unsheathed blade of Shin became a constant inconvenience.

The sword's long blade and unpolished appearance made it cumbersome to carry. Moreover, since he does not have a Hunter License, when traveling on a vehicle such as an airship, it had to be checked as cargo.

But despite the hassle, Law could only carry it with him and wrapped the blade with a piece of white cloth as a scabbard.

The plague at Mount Noro was a form of the bubonic plague. The originated from mountain rats that had ventured down and carried a virus harmful to humans, subsequently infecting the villagers.

Though the fatality rate was low, the village's outdated medical resources meant that without intervention, the outbreak could decimate their community.

The arrival of Sanbica and Law brought hope to the villagers.

In order to eliminate the source of the plague, Law and Sanbica ventured into the mountains, where they ultimately discovered a large pile of feces. This mysterious pile of excrement, left by an unknown creature, turned out to be the root cause of the plague.

At that time, when Law saw Sanbica studying a pile of shit seriously, his composure nearly broke. But at the same time, he admired Sanbica's professionalism.

After successfully eradicating the plague, the grateful villagers warmly invited Law and Sanbica to stay for a while.

Unable to refuse their hospitality, Law and Sanbica agreed.

During their stay, Law spent his days accompanying the local hunters into the mountains.

The late winter weather was cold, with light snowfall dusting the landscape and covering the mountainous region with a thin layer of frost.

Though neighboring villages usually closed access to their mountains in winter, the elder hunters of Mount Noro explained that winter was the best time to find rare resources there.

Following the seasoned hunters into the snow-covered wilderness, Law encountered many peculiar plants and animals, most of which served as essential food sources for the villagers.

The hunters' primary target was the 'hibernating hare', a type of rabbit that hibernated during the winter. These rabbits typically nestled in the tree hollows of ancient trees, with most hollows located near the ground and hidden beneath the snow, making them hard to spot.

The saying 'a cunning rabbit has three burrows' didn't apply to these hibernating hares.

As long as they find a tree hole, the hunters can basically get something. Therefore, hibernating hares have always been the villagers' top hunting choice. After all, they are easy to hunt and the chance of catching them is high.

However, hibernating hares can only be captured when they are hibernating, as the speed generated by their agile limbs is beyond the reach of villagers.

Although hibernating hares are not even a graded ingredient, their meat is plump and delicious, and is not inferior to D-level ingredients.

After capturing the prey, Law did not cook it himself, but accepted the villagers' invitation to a banquet.

The villagers, who had lived in harmony with the mountain for generations, know the mountain ingredients better than any outsiders and have their own unique cooking methods.

Their cooking methods were actually simple, with few spices and no precise control over heat or technique. Even so, their food carried a rich, authentic local flavor.

Everything they ate, drank, and used came from the mountain itself.

Law and Sanbica spent nearly ten days in the village, leaving footprints behind and taking precious memories with them.

Often, it's the small, unremarkable places that leave the deepest impressions.

After departing Mount Noro, Buhara called and the first thing he said was to tell Law that he had passed the Hunter Exam.