Chapter 222:  Aerial Battle

While I was thinking about various things, Helena seemed to have finished her dish.
Even though an “aerial battle” of monster-based cooking was taking place around us, Helena brought out a simple meal.

Bread, soup, and bacon and eggs.
It’s the same breakfast she always makes, but considering Helena used to be terrible at cooking, this could now be called a dish on par with what Sheila makes.

“Master, please enjoy.”
“I’ll dig in right away.”

I ate the bread and bacon and eggs, washing them down with the soup.
It wasn’t astonishingly delicious, but it was consistently good.

I had grown used to it, but tasting it again made me realize just how high-quality it really was.
Preparing ingredients from this world in a way that makes them taste normal is actually a very difficult task.

After Helena’s straightforwardly high-rated dish, I was curious about what Lua and Milagros would produce.
Half scared, half excited, I waited—and Lua was the first to bring her dish.

Both of them finished at nearly the same time, and Lua had only a slight head start.
So, I tried Lua’s Octoparl dish first.

Lua’s dish was octopus rice—Octoparl cooked together with a grain similar to rice.
The jiggly Octoparl added a good flavor, and as someone used to eating octopus, it looked delicious to me.

While Norman and Jacob hesitated, I took the first bite.
…Hmm. Personally, it was a “so close” kind of dish.

The characteristic springy texture of octopus was missing, and maybe because of the short time limit, the flavor hadn’t soaked in well.
Overall, it wasn’t bad, but because Helena’s dish had been so polished, the roughness stood out.

Apparently Norman shared my thoughts—he looked surprised that it tasted better than expected.
But Jacob couldn’t handle the Octoparl at all and spat it out, the first instance of that happening.
Lua looked visibly saddened by that.

It was a dish that would split opinions, but personally, I thought it was good.
Still, compared to Octoparl, what scared me more was the Wild Boar, and right when I finished the octopus rice, Milagros brought her dish.

It looked like braised pork belly—very appetizing.
The question was the smell… but from this distance, nothing unpleasant reached my nose.

“…A stew that’s a specialty of my hometown.”

After that short explanation, I tried the Wild Boar stew.
I tasted it cautiously, but the smell was weaker than I expected.

There was still a faint odor, but nothing like the overpowering smell of the jerky we had earlier—she had clearly put effort into removing it.
However, perhaps as a trade-off, it tasted a bit like toothpaste.

The seasoning also felt weak, making it hard to judge.
With that, I finished the dishes of the three contestants in the second group.

Now it was time for scoring, but since all three dishes appealed differently, the results were unpredictable.

“Now for the scores. Helena: 87 points. Lua: 91 points. Milagros: 60 points.”
“Helena: 88 points. Lua: 80 points. Milagros: 65 points.”
“Helena: 91 points. Lua: 5 points. Milagros: 35 points! Sorry, Lua-san!”

As expected, the scores varied wildly.
Helena was the only one with consistently high scores, but she still fell just short of Sheila.

Since Jacob was weak against monster cuisine, he gave low scores to the other two, dragging down their totals.
They were tasty, but this tournament demanded dishes that appealed to everyone, so low scores were understandable.

Lua in particular looked frustrated—hopefully she’ll use this experience to improve for the second round.
And finally, it was time for the last group.

The remaining three were Velvet, Rose, and Yato.
No one knew how skilled they were, and all three held “princess-like” positions—a true princess showdown.

They didn’t look like the type who cooked, but Velvet and Rose were dexterous.
Pure talent alone could allow them to make delicious dishes, so I looked forward to seeing what they’d produce.

“At last, it’s my turn! I’ll make something unbelievably delicious, so look forward to it!”
“…I won’t lose to Yato. …I don’t want to lose.”
“That’s my line! I’ve lost to Rose in everything so far! I’ll defeat you in this big match!”
“You two sure are fired up. Are Yato and Rose close?”
“Indeed! We go way back!”
“…One of my few friends.”
“Wow, sounds fun. But while you two are getting all fired up, I’ll be the one winning.”

Even before they started, sparks were flying among the three.
Each one unique, and their dishes would surely reflect that.
Delicious or not, I couldn’t wait to taste all three.