Okamoto: "Although there are complex ingredients in here, it's still easy to taste a flavor. Is this... miso?"
Anton: "And Parmesan cheese."
The other judges nodded in agreement: "I must say, using these two ingredients separately on yogurt and soy milk is quite a bold idea."
These ingredients require extremely delicate techniques because both the miso and the Parmesan cheese need to be simmered over low heat. And the most important part of this cooking...
Erina seemed to finally discover something, her eyes beginning to tremble uncontrollably. Her arms, which had been crossed tightly over her chest, had lowered without her noticing. As the owner of the 'God Tongue', she discovered the problem while the others still couldn't understand what was going on.
Hisako: "How... how did he do that?"
Erina: "It's a rice porridge base... He used a mixed soup as a base, and he simply replaced the soup with a rice porridge base to create this dish."
Hisako: "I see, Lady Erina..."
Erina: "But the problem isn't there. Because soup is a very unstable factor, generally simmered from the essence of the ingredients. If you replace it at will, and add other ingredients... the difficulty is immeasurable."
The more she understood the core of Hikigaya's dish, the more she couldn't understand how he made it.
Cooking is, after all, a relatively new industry. Throughout most of human history, economic problems prevented its positive development. But in today's peaceful times, the future of cooking is long and vast. Of course, it will continue to progress with time, which is why so many great chefs have emerged in modern times, driving the development of the entire culinary world.
And when a new kind of dish appears, it means that the culinary world has advanced again today.
Okamoto: "Amazing. The texture of the thick yogurt and the fine rice bran blending together is enough to stimulate the senses. And the amino acids in the soy milk enhance the flavor of this saury porridge. But... that's not the most amazing part..."
Casually scooping out the saury that has been ground into powder, these small pieces of fish mixed with the rice porridge base create a three-way combination of flavors that doesn't clash at all.
Okamoto: "So interesting... This outstanding presence is unforgettable..."
Kawashima Urara: "Now it's time for the judges to choose!"
"Hikigaya Hachiman or Kurokiba Ryo!"
"The final winner is..."
"Hikigaya Hachiman!"
Seeing his dish left unattended and defeated by a dish that didn't seem to have any impact, Kurokiba felt a surge of anger.
He wanted to lash out at everyone, but in the end, he could only approach Hikigaya, trying to grab his sleeve:
"Hey, you! Make that dish you just made for me!"
It wasn't about refusing to admit defeat, but simply not knowing where he had lost. Kurokiba, who valued victory so much, and who had grown up in such a competitive environment, still couldn't accept this loss.
Hachiman was calm, letting the other grab his sleeve: "Even if you say so... making that dish is tiring. And I can't guarantee I can make the same taste again."
Kurokiba: "Stop talking nonsense, just make it!"
Their argument immediately filled the venue, causing everyone to gossip. They were already tired of Kurokiba's unwillingness to admit defeat. After all, redoing a dish in a series of matches would take a lot of energy, and in this situation... to ask him to redo it was a bit too much.
"Hey, this guy is too much. He's totally self-centered!"
"Yeah, he should at least wait until the other person's competition is over..."
"He's just a brute... I don't know how someone like that became a chef."
Alice was also a little scared. The situation was completely leaning towards Hikigaya, and she knew Ryo's personality best. He didn't care about anything else, but when it came to cooking, the only way he could accept defeat was to taste the other's dish himself.
Hisako: "Lady Erina, this doesn't look good. Should we ask to stop the competition?"
Erina looked at Hikigaya with worry, unable to say a word for the moment: "I... I..."
Since she represented the Elite Ten, and the Elite Ten was hosting the Autumn Elections, she would normally have the right to stop the competition, but...
Would it be okay to do that just for her own selfish reasons?
Yukinoshita: "Enough... losing is losing. Kurokiba, this is the competition venue, not a place for you to play around."
Kurokiba had a fierce look on his face. He just turned to stare at Yukinoshita in response to her words:
"Huh?"
But seeing Hachiman being grabbed like that, Yukinoshita couldn't stand by and watch. Facing that terrifying aura, the coldness radiating from Yukinoshita seemed to freeze everything. Hachiman, who was standing between them, clearly felt that when Yukinoshita glared at Kurokiba, his aura weakened.
'But... we're not enemies, and...'
Hikigaya had heard Alice say that he was a very serious person, and it was that seriousness that had led him to stumble his way here. If that was the case, there might be a way to make everyone happy.
Isshiki, with his keen eye, realized that the situation was not good. Even his usual smile disappeared. As he hesitated, Hachiman leaned in and whispered something in Kurokiba's ear. Then... Kurokiba laughed and let him go.
Yukinoshita: "Are... are you okay?"
Hachiman: "What could happen to me? This is a civilized society. And even if we fought, I wouldn't necessarily lose."
Yukinoshita replied with a smile: "Yeah, if it were at night, your dead fish eyes might scare someone to death."
'Tsk... this girl's mouth is still so sharp.'
After they had temporarily distanced themselves, everyone's worried hearts finally calmed down. At this time, Hachiman spoke up:
"The competition will continue. But now we will make both of the dishes, so that everyone is satisfied."
Isshiki: "This guy came up with a good idea."
Erina: "That's good..."
Hisako: "But Lady Erina, that will take a lot energy from both of them. What if there's overtime..."
Erina: "There won't be any overtime."
Erina, who always saw Yukinoshita as a rival, could tell that Yukinoshita was very angry now. When it was her turn next...
Alice: "We really have to thank Hikigaya this time. Otherwise, Ryo's reputation at school would definitely get worse."
...
Almost at the same time, Megumi and Ibusaki's match had already ended. Since it was an in-house battle for the Polar Star Dorm, everyone in the Polar Star Dorm was feeling conflicted. Cheering for one side would be unfair to the other. It was like the back of your hand and the palm, they were all family.
But Grandma Fumio was more open-minded. Having so many in-house battles in the top five of the Autumn Elections was enough to show that the Polar Star Dorm was getting stronger. Maybe one day, it would return to its peak.
And now... all they had to do was enjoy every match.
In the end, Megumi won the match by a narrow margin. For Ibusaki, whose strength was smoking, no matter how the core changed, if all five dishes were based on smoking, the taste would be almost the same. And if he didn't use smoking, he wouldn't be able to use his strength, preventing him from making it to the top five.
So...
It was a natural disadvantage for Ibusaki.
Fortunately, he sincerely wished Hikigaya and Tadokoro Megumi well. As residents of the Polar Star Dorm, he hoped that everyone could show their best, no matter the outcome.
So...
On the other side, Kurokiba, who had already finished his baked dish, was getting impatient. But there was nothing he could do. The amount of work it took to make that saury porridge with the rice porridge base was unimaginable. Doing it twice in a short amount of time, with another match coming up, would take so much energy.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
At some point, his clothes had become soaked with sweat. The large drops of sweat dripped down his face and onto the ground, as he continued to work under everyone's gaze.
Yukinoshita: "This is too careless. How can he do this..."
Ryoko: "I knew it. I was right. Hikigaya's energy can't keep him going through a cooking project of this scale... He's probably reached his limit."
Yoshino: "Huh? What do we do... if he quits now, it would be treated as a forfeit..."
Alice: "Ryo is so annoying, I need to scold him when we get back!"
Hisako: "Lady Erina... Hikigaya looks like he's about to give up."
Erina stared intently at Hikigaya, but she couldn't say a word. She just seemed to be mumbling something:
"Hold on a little longer... just a little longer!"
Mito: "This is too much. How can he do this!"
Marui: "This is Hikigaya's own choice. There's no turning back now..."
Back on the stage, all four of their attention was focused on him. Megumi, Ibusaki, Kurokiba, and Yukinoshita seemed to be waiting for him to finish the last touches.
And at this moment, Hikigaya's brain was calculating eight projects at the same time. Each project had to be precise to the second, and he couldn't stop what his hands were doing. If he couldn't maintain a uniform speed, the seconds in his head would increase. If one went wrong, the other seven would have the same effect on their time. And on such an unstable dish, what he would ultimately serve...
Would be an indescribable dish.
His awareness became hazy. Sweat dripped from his hair into his eyes, blurring his vision. Hikigaya's body also seemed to become heavy.
Everything around him was so slow. It was like he would fall over if he just turned around...
"The last... the last one!"
His deep breaths were like a switch, closing the last valve and using all his strength. At some point, his mind had lost all other thoughts. He was simply a machine, perfectly copying everything with precision.
Okamoto: "That's amazing... After knowing what dish he was going to make, watching his technique showed me why he wasn't as quick as other experienced chefs."
Anton: "In that case, if he could handle seven or eight processes at the same time while being as skilled as the Elite Ten, I can't even imagine..."
Not only the judges, but even the director could not take his eyes away. Everyone in the arena was watching an interesting performance, but in their hearts, they were waiting for Hikigaya Hachiman to finish the final dish.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but he felt the burden in his head gradually decrease. As the mental pressure disappeared, his body froze in place. He just tilted his head back and took a deep breath.
Because they were afraid that he would pass out at any moment, Ibusaki, Tadokoro Megumi, and Yukinoshita, who were closer, seemed to have the same thought and came to his side.
And Kurokiba, he had been stunned.
If he had just glanced over while he was making the dish, he might have thought that he was just making a dish for the public, and that there was nothing outstanding about it. But only after seeing it with his own eyes... the shock from his heart could not be described.
This dimensionality reduction announced that it was not a dish of the same level. Having multiple processes at the same time meant that in the same two hours, the other person's dish was richer than a single-process dish.
Shiomi Jun: "I think I can understand why Hachiman can learn so fast, His brain thinks too fast... It's like a machine."
Hayama Akira: "I already have nothing to say about my loss after witnessing the birth of such a dish."
Alice sighed helplessly: "Yeah, that's why I knew the result from the start... But this time, I unexpectedly saw a weaker side of Hikigaya."
Ryoko: "After all, he still needs to work on his strength..."
...
On the stage, Hikigaya staggered to a chair, managing to not fall backwards at the last moment. And at this time, Kurokiba picked up Hikigaya's dish and began to eat.
The seemingly ordinary ingredients brought a stimulation to the mouth that was not inferior to his baked saury. In some ways, the taste levels of the dish were richer and uninterrupted due to the multi-process work.
Even if it was a dimensionality reduction, it was not exaggerated.
At this point, there was nothing more to say. Hachiman still stood up after a brief rest and tasted the other's baked saury.
"Just as I said, if you add butter and mix it with chopped herbs, there may be new progress. This will maximize the flavor."
The result of the two was self-explanatory. Kurokiba simply placed his hand on his headband, and as he gently pulled it, he became calm.
This huge change caught everyone on the scene a little off guard. Before Hachiman could react, he hugged him, not caring that their sweat-soaked clothes were touching.
"Next time, I want you to witness my growth."
Hachiman: "I hope this time it's real"
...
Although there were some changes, the tournament format itself tested the players' physical condition. So, if they couldn't get a bye, they would have to grit their teeth and continue.
Of course, there was another possibility: to admit that they could not win and choose to admit defeat directly.
Kawashima Urara: "So, who will be the players in the third round?! Let's look at the screen..."
"Yukinoshita VS Hikigaya!"
"Kurokiba VS Ibusaki!"
"Tadokoro Megumi gets a bye!"
Hachiman was speechless. He had rested for a while, but if he wanted to finish such a difficult dish against that crazy Yukinoshita, his teammate, Hikigaya, knew his strength of course. Winning in this state was impossible.
And Tadokoro Megumi was worried after getting a bye. It seemed that Hikigaya wanted a bye in this round, and that he could have two hours to rest, but...
Could he still make it to the end of the tournament this way.
Hisako: "It looks like the situation is going against Hikigaya."
Erina: "No, you're wrong, Hisako..."
Hisako: "Eh?"
On the other side, the members of the Polar Star Dorm were also very nervous. Whether they were ordinary viewers or Hikigaya's roommates, they were all looking forward to this game. But at this time... could he still use his true strength?
Mito: "This is bad..."
Ryoko: "If Hikigaya loses this game, even if he wins against Megumi, there may be a tiebreaker with a score of 3-2..."
Yoshino: "And... if he runs out of energy and loses directly to Megumi... then a score of 2-3 is basically equivalent to direct elimination"
Alice: "Hey, shouldn't you be worried about Tadokoro too? Why are you using others as stepping stones?"
Marui: "We support everyone, but we're not stupid. No matter how you look at it, those three are the real competitors."
Grandma Fumio: "well, the competition is so cruel. No one knows what will happen until the end, so... we can only rely on ourselves."
Alice: "Speaking of which, Hikigaya still has a trick up his sleeve that hes hasn't used yet..."
As the controversy grew louder, the entire venue was concerned about Hikigaya's health and strength. And who else was worried other than the audience?
On the stage, as the drums sounded, Ibusaki and Kurokiba, who had regained their fighting spirit, already began their actions. On the other side, Hikigaya, dragging his heavy body, began to make the saury cake.
Could he still make it at this point? In fact, he didn't know.
He didn't just spend seven days studying this dish. It was such a large-scale endeavor, and without enough practice, he might not be able to match the previous taste in this state.
Just as he was worrying about this, Yukinoshita had come to the front of his judges..
"I forfeit this match."
Without a word of explanation in a neutral tone, even the judges hadn't yet reacted. As the bell rang, Yukinoshita was announced to have forfeited, and Hikigaya finally snapped out of his awkward motions.
Yukinoshita came to Hikigaya again, but the expression on her face changed:
"Rest for a while."
The audience was dumbfounded by Yukinoshita's concern. At the same time, in a corner of the audience, a young girl who looked very similar to Yukinoshita and was very strong was secretly laughing with her mouth covered.
"Interesting."
On the stage, Hikigaya could not easily accept Yukinoshita's forfeit:
"Is this charity?"
"If this is charity, I..."
Before Hikigaya could finish speaking, Yukinoshita sat next to him, and lightly brushed her black hair:
"It's not..."
"As my teammate and my opponent, I don't want you to fight me in this state."
"It would be meaningless for me to win this way."
Hachiman: "Is that so? That's good."
When Hikigaya said this, Yukinoshita was obviously peeking at him. She lowered her head and smiled slightly:
"I complain a lot, but you can be just as annoying."
"Maybe i'm equally as irritating"
"That's okay."
"What...?"
"No... nothing It's Ibusaki by the way. Isn't he your roommate?"
"Well, he's good, but with the current challenge prompt it's difficult."
"Do you care about him?"
"Since we live under the same roof, even if we can't call ourselves friends, he's a good person. I've gotten a lot of help from him, at least."
"I see... but even so, you should understand better than anyone..."
"Yeah, this is reality."
Kurokiba wins!
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