Wearing the Old Man Down

"Cough, cough—"

"Now that's delicious—"

About three hours later, it was around 5:20 p.m. in central America.

The Speaker of the New York Council sat across from Gavin. He speared a piece of pork intestine with his fork, put it in his mouth, then narrowed his eyes and delivered that verdict.

He had to admit Gavin was not a man to be trifled with. Not only did the man dare eat such filthy pig intestines, but without his recommendation, the Speaker would have missed out on something this delicious!

More importantly, he was nearly seventy.

If he had passed up this chance, he might never have tasted it in his life!

As the Speaker voiced his heartfelt appreciation, Gavin raised his glass across the table and smiled.

"See? It really is delicious, isn't it? Plenty of people can't stand the strong offal flavor of stir-fried pork intestine. But most people's sense of taste fades as they get older, which makes it easier for them to fall in love with bold flavors like this!"

Gavin picked up a piece with his chopsticks and ate it with relish. Then he took a bottle of liquor and poured the Speaker a small glass.

Across from him, the Speaker nodded in agreement and smiled.

"You're right, Gavin. My sense of taste has definitely been fading these past few years. A lot of foods I used to love barely taste of anything now."

"When I first saw this dish on your chef's menu, I was put off. Thoroughly put off!"

"You kept recommending it until table manners left me no choice but to try it. Honestly, I felt as though I were on Bear Nangrisi's wilderness survival show."

"When I put that intestine in my mouth, I won't lie—all I could picture was Bear eating