Quirk Cuisine

"What makes you say that?! Your classmate Jilan is a witness, my Quirk Cuisine can greatly enhance one's Quirk!" Alice sneered. "Oh, I see, you don't want to admit your failure, do you? I admit you made the right decisions in the past few years, and without your previous decisions I wouldn't be where I am today, but you can't use that to negate my hard work!"

"... I didn't mean to reject you, it's just that you simply don't listen to me."

Nakiri sighed, stepped forward, picked up the chopsticks that Jilan had used before, brought the wet end to his lips, licked it lightly with his tongue for a second, then quickly let go, blushing.

"Ahem." Nakiri coughed, then immediately looked at Alice with a serious expression, his cherry lips uttering, "Alice, the cabbage, asparagus, and morel mushrooms you used in your stew are common ingredients, but they must all be experimental products from the research institute's greenhouses, vegetables with 'Quirk Factor.' As a researcher, you know very well how difficult it is to select and cultivate such vegetables. It's no exaggeration to say that one vegetable is more expensive than ten Wagyu cattle."

Jilan listened silently to the two sisters' argument, staring blankly at the empty bowl in front of her. Although she wasn't short of money, if what Nakiri said was true, she might have just eaten a house...

"By the way, Jilan, have you ever heard of 'Quirk Factor'?" Nakiri suddenly asked Jilan.

"Quirk Factor... I remember this was a discovery made five years ago by a scientist on I-Island. He won the Nobel Quirk Prize for this discovery and is the most prominent figure in the field of Quirk research since Dr. David."

Jilan recalled what she had seen in an academic journal, "The substances produced by reading DNA gene fragments in cells are called factors, which are mainly used to transmit signals within cells to control heredity and metabolism. That scientist discovered a special factor in the human body. Everyone has this Quirk Factor, which is generally inactive before the age of four. When Quirk is discovered and can be subjectively manipulated, the Quirk Factor in the body will gradually spread throughout the body. The amount of this factor is related to the strength and duration of the Quirk."

Nakiri said with some surprise, "The Quirk Factor Theory is not recognized worldwide, nor is it included in textbooks; it exists only as a hypothesis. I didn't expect you, Jilan, to know so much about it."

"Maybe it's because I read a wide variety of books..." Jilan brushed it off, not wanting to admit that she was actually trying to find a way to overcome her desires through the latest research...

"Not only that... you must have used your Quirk 'Decomposition' to concentrate the essence of several vegetables into this bowl using a molecular gastronomy machine, right?" Erina Nakiri looked at Alice seriously. "You've used so many precious resources to make this stew. Although it can temporarily enhance your Quirk, do you think it's worth the cost? Would anyone buy something like this?"

"None of these things are problems!" Alice retorted, dissatisfied. "If it works, plenty of rich people would want this kind of dish that can enhance Quirk!"

"Phew... You, this sophisticated young lady, really haven't gone out and experienced the lives of ordinary people at all." Erina groaned, rubbing her temples, and suddenly asked Jilan, "Jilan, if this kind of Quirk Cuisine were available, would you choose to buy it?"

"It's not a matter of wanting to buy it or not, it's that we can't afford it..." Jilan shrugged with a wry smile. "Let me be frank, if we go by the price Erina mentioned, the materials alone would be an astronomical sum. Nobody but the nouveau riche would buy something like this. For the Pro Hero fighting on the front lines, these luxuries are completely useless. You might not know, but some Pro Hero can't even afford luxury goods; they live on discounted bento boxes from stores every day, and sometimes they even have to mooch meals from other Pro Hero."

"If I'm not mistaken, the essence of Quirk Cuisine is to increase the number of Quirk Factor to strengthen Quirk. However, the capacity of Quirk Factor varies from person to person. This dish increased my Quirk Factor by half, but for other Pro Hero of varying strengths, such as All Might, it might only increase it by one-tenth. This part is like the Heart Container that Link temporarily increases with the food; once it's consumed, it cannot be replenished and has no effect on pulling out the Master Sword."

Erina Nakiri nodded in agreement with Jilan's statement. "Overall, it's like an expensive consumable. Although it can be helpful to some extent, it's like a useless item for Pro Hero —flashy but impractical. Not many people will buy this kind of thing."

"Is that so...? So all my efforts this year have been in vain again." Alice's tone was somewhat vacant as she looked up at Erina. "Are you happy? I've been convinced by you once again."

Erina Nakiri's tone softened as she patiently explained, "I only said this kind of thing isn't practical, not that it's worthless. If we apply for a patent, I'm sure many researchers on the island would be interested in 'Quirk Vegetables.' If we can reduce the cost and figure out how Quirk Factor are generated, it might even change Quirk society in the future."

Seeing Alice lower her head and remain silent, Erina shook her head helplessly and whispered to Jilan, "Let's go, I'll take you to see Little Red Riding Hood."

Jilan nodded, stood up, and followed Erina as they prepared to open the glass door. Suddenly, Alice spoke up, "Your name is Jilan Jiyu, right? What's your relationship with my sister? She knew I was here today, yet she let an outsider like you into the research institute. This has never happened before..."

"We're just classmates," Jilan replied.

"Hey classmate..." Alice smirked, "I have something to warn you, my sister, Erina Nakiri. She's definitely not as harmless as she seems. Everything she does has a purpose. Be careful not to become her tool."

Jilan already knew that Erina Nakiri's motives were far from pure. However, he was also using her.

Jilan smiled slightly, "Leaving her matter aside, I want to say that your cooking is delicious. If I have the chance, I would like to have a meal of affordable, simple food."

Without waiting for Alice's reply, Jilan opened the door and followed Erina, leaving Alice alone in the empty conference room.

Alice suddenly burst into a hysterical laugh, "Heh... You said you wanted me to cook versatile, common dishes, but you've always hated these things! I've been following in your footsteps, but you suddenly veered off onto a track you've long abandoned... You keep telling me to change, but tell me, how am I supposed to change? Which path should I take to get to your current world?"

"..." After a fit of rage and a series of shouts, Alice regained her composure, stood up while holding onto the table, and looked at the empty bowl sitting there all alone. Suddenly, she ran to the door, flung it open, and shouted angrily toward the laboratory, "At least wash these dishes before you leave!"