Toriko: Gourmet Chat Group - Chapter 258 - 257: The Two "Dopeys" Meet, the Victor is Decided

I found myself reincarnated into a game where you raise pretty girls to prevent the world’s destruction.But wait, what are the guys doing while the girls are busy saving the world?As it turns out, it’s a world where women are strong and men are weak.In a world that disregards men, I have to survive as a ‘man who wields a sword.’But… I’m incredibly strong, you know?

Hutson, a man reborn into a ruthless and dangerous world, now inhabits the body of a young hunter in a small barony. With no connections and nothing to his name, he must rely on his sharp mind and cunning to rise through a medieval-like society. As he climbs the social ladder, he uncovers a terrifying truth: wizards, beings far more powerful than any knight or noble, rule over the world. Driven by this discovery, Hutson throws himself into the pursuit of wizardry—a path darker and more brutal than he could ever have imagined. In a world where betrayal lurks around every corner, Hutson seeks what all others desire: immortality. With his intellect and ruthlessness, he will stop at nothing to claim it for himself.

BOOK TWO OF THE HAMILTON SERIESWARNING: A Regency Era novel. Adult content with detailed smut…Read at you own risk⚠️⛔️Genre: Historical Romance / Smut / Enemies-to-Lovers / Mystery / Comedy[Book Two of the Hamilton Series. Can be read as a standalone, but better enjoyed after Lady Ines’ Scandalous Hobby.]To the world, Duke Rowan Hamilton is the perfect gentleman. But in the bedroom, he is a man possessed.Rowan Hamilton has it all: a Ducal title, the face of a fallen angel, and a smile that makes debutantes faint. He is the “Golden Duke”—charming, responsible, and utterly adored by society.But it’s all a lie.Beneath the coats and polite manners, Rowan is a man haunted by a ghost. For three years, he has remained faithful to the memory of a masked woman who stole a kiss, bested him at a game of chance, and vanished into the night. He doesn't want any one as his wife; he wants her.When his domineering aunt tires of his bachelorhood, she hires London’s most notorious underground matchmaker to force the issue.Enter Miss Delaney Kingsley.She is sharp-tongued, infuriatingly competent, and entirely unimpressed by his title. Her mission? To drag Rowan to the altar with the season’s “Diamond,” Lady Celine, within three months to collect the juicy payment Rowan’s aunt had to offer.Rowan intends to fire the meddlesome woman. But when Delaney looks at him with those hazel, intelligent eyes and orders him around like a young lad, he feels the first spark of life he’s felt in years.He decides to play her game. He will let her “coach” him on how to woo a lady. He will let her teach him how to dance, how to flirt, and how to seduce.But he has no intention of using those lessons on Lady Celine.“You were hired to find me a Duchess, Miss Kingsley. But the only person I want in my duchy and in my bed... is you.”As the lessons turn into forbidden nights and the bickering turns into scorching passion, Rowan begins to suspect that his matchmaker is hiding a secret of her own.She moves like a shadow, handles a rifle like a soldier, and tastes exactly like the ghost he’s been hunting for three years.What to Expect:* The Golden Retriever Duke: Who turns into a possessive Alpha behind closed doors.* The Matchmaker Trope: She’s trying to marry him off; he’s trying to take her clothes off.* High Heat: Slow burn that explodes into intense smut.* Competence Kink: He falls harder every time she bosses him around.* Cameos: Featuring the chaotic domestic life of Duchess Ines and Duke Carcel (and their baby Harry!).Excerpt:“Your Grace, please focus,” Delaney snapped, adjusting his cravat with efficient, gloved hands. “Lady Celine is waiting in the ballroom. You must look at her as if she is the only woman in the world.”Rowan caught her wrist, stopping her movements. He stepped into her space, backing her against the heavy oak door of the study, his “Golden Boy” mask slipping to reveal the hunger beneath.“And how, exactly, does one do that, Miss Kingsley?” he whispered, his voice rough. “Show me.”“I—I cannot show you, I am merely the coach—”“Then teach me,” he growled, lowering his head until his lips brushed the sensitive skin of her neck. “Teach me how to pretend I am not burning alive every time you walk into a room.”

For the ten years she was the adopted daughter of the Lockwood Family, Isla Prescott had always been well-behaved.The only time she stepped out of line was to have a secret relationship with Silas Lockwood, whom she'd had a crush on for years.Because of their vast difference in status, the relationship came to a messy end.After Isla Prescott and Silas Lockwood broke up, she was pursued by Silas Lockwood's good friend, Shane Sterling.“He doesn't know how to cherish you. Why not consider me instead?”In Isla Prescott's eyes, Shane Sterlingwas mischievous, cunning, and full of nonsense, yet he was an even more unattainable figure than Silas Lockwood.Isla Prescott was sure she had never provoked him, but he cornered her by the bedside when he was drunk,caressing her red lips again and again, pleading with her over and over, “Isla Prescott, won't you give me a kiss?”What she didn't know was that, in places she couldn't see, he had been waiting with deep affection for a very, very long time.