Chapter 450: The Dangerous Fifth Stage
Pablo didn't care at all about Masked X's suspicions; or rather, he wouldn't be worried about anyone's suspicions. The survival of the fittest is a natural law, so he felt no guilt in his heart. A person who is indecisive can never accomplish great things.
This time, he would obtain the opportunity to dominate the entire culinary world, and the benefits he could gain were something he wouldn't even have dared to imagine before. There were the legendary kitchen utensils from China that had been proven to possess all sorts of miraculous powers, and the rumor that if one collected all eight of them, one could create dishes that grant eternal life. There was also the Holy Pot in this tournament, which was said to possess the miraculous power to grant a person's wishes.
For these things, even starting a war would be worth it; a mere life or two truly didn't count for anything.
He was clear about the capabilities of the woman he had commissioned—her elusive methods were such that, let alone human eyes, even omnidirectional infrared monitors could not detect her tracks.
This woman had once bypassed all his guards, entered his heavily fortified villa, and appeared before him, saying she wanted to do business. He had been so frightened at the time that he had emptied two entire magazines at her.
Of course, they were now close partners with shared interests, provided he could continue to provide enough benefits to this insatiable woman.
With the help of Koyanskaya, Pablo also realized that weapons and such tools of violence were truly beneath his stature, and he rarely relied on them anymore. He had mastered a more powerful force. Compared to the barrel of a gun, soft, fine powder was better at conquering human hearts. Relying on these special spices, combined with his already impressive culinary skills, he had gradually become the emperor of the dark culinary world in Paris, France, and even across all of Europe.
Seeing that he couldn't get any information out of Pablo, Shirou hurried to Elder Nakiri's lounge.
"Erina!" Shirou knocked on the door and called out.
"Master Shirou... please, come in." The person who opened the door was the secretary, Hisako. Having originally been handling academy management for Erina, she had rushed over immediately upon hearing the news.
Shirou nodded and walked in.
"Shirou!" The blonde woman rushed up to him. The moment she saw her beloved, the strength she had been forcing herself to maintain instantly dissolved. She threw herself into Shirou's embrace, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.
"It's okay, Erina," Shirou said, holding the blonde woman and comforting her.
"But... but... no matter how we check, we can't figure out what kind of poison Grandpa was given!" Erina said, her voice choked with sobs.
"Then let this old man take a look," Elder Liu approached them.
"Teacher Liu!" Erina said in surprise.
"Thank you!" Shirou removed his mask and bowed to Elder Liu.
"Oh, young man, no longer wearing your mask?" Elder Liu said with a smile.
"I never had any intention of hiding from you, sir. How could I dare to hide my face from someone who has shown me such kindness?" Shirou clasped his hands together again, performing a traditional Chinese literary bow.
"Heh heh, are you so sure this old man has a way to treat Mr. Nakiri?" Elder Liu looked at Shirou with curiosity.
"It's... ... right?" Shirou smiled and said in a voice only those nearby could hear.
Elder Liu looked at Shirou with appreciation and nodded with a smile.
After that, everyone arrived at the location for the fifth stage.
"The highly anticipated fifth stage is about to begin. However, for this round, the judges have decided that there will be no gatekeeper; instead, we are changing the judging rules!"
"Beni-enma-chan, why didn't you arrange someone to supervise?"
"The selection of candidates is a bit difficult, de-chu." Beni-enma frowned, her small face showing a very troubled expression.
She had originally wanted to entrust a suitable candidate to act as a gatekeeper, but after looking at the disciples who had followed her, she sighed, realizing that not a single one was truly reliable.
Tamamo Cat, Kiyohime, Tomoe Gozen, Osakabehime...
"Are they really that bad?" Consort Yu asked, confused. She actually had quite a good impression of the non-human female Servants.
Beni-enma covered her face and said, "I don't know if she's a cat or a dog, but this Tamamo—although her culinary level can be considered quite skilled, her personality is just too unrestrained. To put it nicely, she's too casual; to put it bluntly, she's reckless. You never know what strange ingredients she might suddenly decide to put into a dish one day."
"Ah, that child does have a somewhat surreal feeling," Consort Yu said.
"Unfortunately, the shrine maiden version of Tamamo isn't here. Aside from Mash in Chaldea, she is the only other student who has persevered in my culinary classroom for the past hundreds of years. Otherwise, her culinary skills and taste are actually quite good, de-chu."
Having said this, Beni-enma pondered for a moment, then shook her head and continued:
"But Tamamo's personality also has a fatal flaw—one that is probably forever incurable, chu. She only cooks for the person she loves. Although it's said that adding love is an important seasoning for a chef, in her dishes, this seasoning is added in severely excessive amounts.
She is oblivious to everything else, wanting only to make her lover eat more delicious food. If that continues, in less than a month, the lover will become malnourished—well, obese. As a great yokai, raising the human she serves until they are plump and delicious-looking—what exactly is she trying to do, chu?"
Consort Yu nodded and said, "Ah, I understand, I understand. This is the type that excessively dotes on their lover, indulging all their whims, no matter how unreasonable, racking their brains only to figure out how to please the other person, indulging them, turning them into scum, and eventually becoming scum themselves."
"And Kiyohime's cooking is very bold. As long as there is enough heat and a large amount of oil, many things will taste good, chu. But cooking isn't just about using oil. She's very lopsided. Plus, that personality is simply terrible; there was no way she could have become a gatekeeper from the start."
"As for Osakabehime..." Beni-enma paused for a long time when mentioning that princess who holed up in Himeji Castle. She wore a helpless expression, like a head teacher remembering an utterly hopeless problem child who has completely given up. "If one wanted to teach her how to cook, the fastest method would truly be to kill her and let her be reincarnated to start over, de-chu."
"Ahahaha..." Consort Yu could only offer a dry laugh in response.
"As for Tomoe, she's a child with plenty of common sense in how she carries herself, but as a cook, she's a disaster. The only dishes she can make right now are probably washing potatoes in water and serving them raw, or washing carrots and serving them raw—that's the extent of it, she doesn't even need to peel them! That silly girl."
"However, she seems to have changed this time. It's as if she were possessed by some talented chef, having personally experienced thousands or even tens of thousands of times the preparation of complex Western cuisine. Although it's just for show, the taste is still a disaster."
"Eh?!" Consort Yu looked at Tomoe Gozen, who was the most reliable-looking one.
The female samurai in the plain-colored kimono seemed to sense the gaze and happened to open her red eyes to look in that direction. She revealed a proper smile, nodded slightly, and
bowed to Consort Yu, her long silver hair fluttering behind her—as beautiful and elegant as a painting.
Consort Yu exclaimed, "Tomoe? Tomoe Gozen? For real? Isn't that just a deceptive, high-level young wife?"
"So, it really is best to let the chefs decide for themselves, de-chu," the red-haired little girl said, her gaze showing she had come to terms with everything.
Back when she held trials for apprentices in her culinary classroom, aside from Tamamo and Mash who had persevered, everyone else over the years had failed. Eventually, she just gave up.
"Next, we enter a new phase: let the chefs taste each other's food and assign scores!!" the host, Cleopatra, announced.
Hearing this news, Pablo lowered his head and revealed a ferocious smile. Finally... finally he had waited for his opportunity! He secretly took out that small pink bottle.
"Madam! I have something to say!" Pablo raised his hand and shouted loudly.
"Mr. Pablo, the contestant from France, please speak," Cleopatra said.
"This current scoring mechanism is slightly unreasonable," Pablo said.
"There are three people now; there is no issue of a tie. Do you think there is still a problem somewhere?" Cleopatra asked.
"Well, the rules themselves are indeed fine, but there is some conflict between myself and Masked X, and we have argued before. Under such circumstances, it becomes favorable for the old Chinese Chef God. Of course, I have no intention of offending the old Chef God, but in this situation, the competition rules have lost their fairness. I hope everyone understands," Pablo explained, looking at the Red Mask and then at the elder of the Liu family on the other side.
"So that's how it is. Please wait a moment; I will consult the five judges on their thoughts," Cleopatra said, turning to face the judge's table.
Through electronic equipment, the judges on the roof had already heard the conversation on the floor below.
"Teacher Beni, if we change the competition rules, do you have any objections?" Caesar asked, looking at the red-haired little girl.
Beni-enma shook her head helplessly and said, "It really can't be helped. To argue in a sacred kitchen—the cooks in this world are also unqualified, de-chu. It is necessary to put them in my culinary classroom to receive an education in temperament, de-chu."
"Then let us hear his thoughts," Caesar said.
Cleopatra received the news, turned back, and looked at the famous French chef, asking, "Mr. Pablo, may I ask what proposal you have?"
Pablo smiled, spread his arms, performed a gentleman's bow toward the camera, and said loudly, "Since we are to taste each other's food, I propose that everyone be included—whether it is the five judges, the previous gatekeepers, or everyone present. I would also like to hear your suggestions."
"What do you think? Iskandar?" Caesar looked at the strong man sitting on the side of the seats.
"Oh, Caesar, don't you think this is a very interesting proposal?" the King of Conquerors answered with a laugh.
"Does anyone else have any problems?" Caesar looked at the others and asked.
"Since Beni-enma has no objections, I think it's fine. Yu-chan, you can do it too, right?" Boudica looked at the beauty sitting beside her with a chuckle.
Consort Yu couldn't do anything about Boudica and could only cross her arms and say poutingly, "Hmph! If I don't think it tastes good, then I'll just disqualify everyone!"
Thus, Caesar gave a 'thumbs up' to the Egyptian beauty below and said, "It's settled, my Cleopatra~!"
"Yes~! As expected of Master Caesar~! Leave the rest to me~!" Cleopatra acted like a maiden in love, tilting her body, clasping her hands together, and lifting one foot, answering in a delicate voice. However, when she turned back around, she returned to the cool, strong woman she was before and began, "Ahem, the judges have all agreed. So, Elder Liu, Contestant X Mask, do you have any issues?"
"I have no issues," the elder of the Liu family answered with a smile.
Shirou looked at Pablo and answered firmly, "I agree. As long as I am on the cooking stage, I will let my cooking do the talking. That food fight we agreed upon earlier still hasn't had the opportunity to begin."
"Hehehehe... young man, you still know nothing about the reality of this world," Pablo looked at Shirou's mask and laughed mockingly. His hand pressed against the small bottle in his pocket, and he thought to himself: 'Yes! Soon... I will be able to let all of you know my power.'
"Then the competition theme remains unchanged, it is 'Rice'! But the evaluators will be changed to everyone present. The competition begins!" Cleopatra held her hand high and swept it down.
The remaining three chefs took their places and began their cooking.
The elder of the Liu family wore a breezy smile, Shirou clenched his fists, and Pablo's ferocious gaze was filled with ambition.
Several dozen minutes later!
The elder of the Liu family carried his completed dish on a tray as large as a tabletop, his steps steady as he walked toward the judges' seats.
"The fifty-six ethnic groups of China have derived hundreds of cuisines and tens of thousands of dishes. The magnificent Manchu-Han Imperial Feast has similarities, yet different culinary concepts—stir-frying, boiling, roasting, steaming, deep-frying, pan-frying, stewing, braising, poaching, simmering, baking, marinating, curing... each has its own requirements. Sweet, spicy, bitter, pungent, salty, numbing, sour, and astringent—people in different regions have their own preferences. But ultimately, tracing back to the source, the thing that tests a person the most is a single bowl of fried rice."
"This is my dish: Golden Fried Rice!"
The elder of the Liu family lifted the lid, and suddenly, golden light bloomed from within. In an instant, it seemed as if everyone simultaneously experienced a fantasy: a golden flying dragon emerged from the dish and soared into the sky.