Listen, thank you

The manor's kitchen had turned into a smoke-filled battlefield.

The examinees scrambled about, at a complete loss over the enormous Great Stamps in front of them.

Most chose the most primitive method-putting the whole pig over the fire to roast.

The result was a thick smell of burning that filled the kitchen, accompanied by screams from every direction.

"Ah! My pig! It's on fire!"

"Someone help me turn this thing over! It's too heavy!"

"Water! Get some water!"

The scene descended into utter chaos, like the set of a big-budget disaster movie.

Amid all that chaos, the four cooking stations belonging to the main cast were particularly "colorful."

Leorio fumbled frantically. The fattest pig he had picked was now dripping grease, making the flames crackle and pop. The whole pig looked as though it had just been hauled out of a deep fryer, gleaming black.

Kurapika, meanwhile, looked as though he were conducting a precise chemistry experiment.

He cut the pork into exact portions with a small knife, measured the thickness of every piece, and even took out an hourglass to time the roasting.

Things looked much more normal over at Gon and Killua's station.

Working together, they methodically turned the pig and brushed on a sauce they had found somewhere. The roasting pork sizzled, giving off an enticing aroma.

As for Luo Ye's cooking station...

"Bizarre" was the only word for it.

Unlike everyone else, he had not put his pig over the fire.

He had thrown the entire scrawny little pig into the burning coals, letting the flames swallow it.

He had not even prepared it at all or properly removed its hair.

He simply crouched beside it, propping his chin on one hand and holding a twig in the other, occasionally poking the fire as though admiring a magnificent fireworks display.

"Luo Ye... what are you doing?"

Gon stole a moment to glance over and was completely dumbfounded.

"Are you cremating that pig?"

"Shh."

Luo Ye raised a finger to his lips, his expression solemn.

"Do not disturb the birth of art."

Killua leaned over for a look, and the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

The poor little pig had been burned beyond recognition, reduced to a lump of charcoal.

"Are you... sure that's edible?"

"Edible?"

Luo Ye reacted as though he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

"How shallow."

"My work must be experienced with the soul."

As he spoke, he casually grabbed a handful of soil from the nearby flower bed and scattered it evenly over the lump of charcoal.

Then he plucked a few leaves that looked bitter enough on sight and arranged them on top.

His work was complete.

He gazed at his "masterpiece" with satisfaction and gave a gratified smile.

Soon, it was time for judging.

The first examiner was the mountain of a man, Buhara.

He was not picky in the slightest.

Or rather, as long as something was cooked and edible, he welcomed it.

Like a bottomless pit, he swallowed one roast pig after another, then declared each a "pass."

Most of the examinees sailed through the first round.

But when they reached the second examiner, Menchi, everything changed.

"You call this roast pork? It's obviously one giant lump of charcoal!"

"Too fatty! It's disgustingly greasy!"

"It's undercooked! The inside is still raw!"

"Get lost! Get lost! All of you, get lost!"

Like an enraged lioness, Menchi threw dish after dish onto the floor. Not a single examinee could satisfy her.

Her expression grew uglier and uglier.

At last, it was the main cast's turn.

Leorio's plate of gleaming black roast pork was the first to receive a death sentence.

Kurapika's seemingly perfect dish was judged to have "technique, but no soul."

Gon and Killua's joint effort earned a slight improvement in Menchi's expression for its decent creativity, but it still received a "fail."

Finally, it was Luo Ye's turn.

Under everyone's horrified gazes, he carried a plate over to Menchi with solemn ceremony.

On the plate sat a charred, unrecognizable... thing, complete with soil and leaves.

Menchi froze.

In all her years in the profession, she had never seen such an outrageous dish.

"What... is this?"

Her voice trembled, half with anger and half with shock.

Luo Ye did not answer.

He slowly began to speak in a lilting, aria-like tone.

"Listen, thank you."

"Because of you, all four seasons are warm." (An ancient meme from the Qing dynasty-who even remembers what year it was from?)

Menchi: "???"

"I have named this dish 'Proof of Existence.'"

Luo Ye's eyes were filled with an artist's melancholy and depth.

"Its charred exterior symbolizes the unbearable suffering of life."

"Its raw interior represents those pure dreams that have yet to be fulfilled."

"And the soil and fallen leaves atop it signify our ultimate fate: ashes to ashes, dust to dust."

"Therefore, this dish is not meant to be eaten."

"It is meant to..."

"Shut up!"

Menchi finally exploded.

She kicked the table over, pointed at every examinee present, and let out a thunderous roar.

"You worthless lot! This is an insult to cooking!"

"The second phase!"

"Everyone fails!"

Her voice echoed over the entire manor.

The examinees erupted in an uproar.

Only Luo Ye watched the chaos he had caused, the corners of his mouth curling into an everything-went-according-to-plan smile.

And just like that, the fun had arrived.