Chapter 223: Results Announcement

Cooking began, and all three of them had a calm, solid start.

It was rare to see Yato so composed—she moved efficiently, handling each step smoothly.

Among the three, the most unusual was Velvet, who appeared to be making a dessert. Up until now, no one had attempted sweets, making her the first challenger in that category.

Making a dessert in thirty minutes is a tall order, but she must have had some kind of plan.
Rose, meanwhile, was using a plant I’d never seen before to prepare what looked like a sauce.

And the first to finish cooking—unexpectedly—was Yato.

“Yato-san finished first!?”

“Wahahaha! I secretly practiced, you know! Sato, hurry up and taste it!”

She placed in front of us a dish topped with a thick black liquid.

…Could it be—she tried to recreate curry?

“Yato-san, is this curry?”

“Indeed! It doesn’t come close to Sato’s curry, but I worked hard to make it similar!”

It smelled somewhat like curry spices, but seeing the black, gooey sauce made it a little intimidating to eat.
I finally understood how foreign curry must feel to people of this world. Feeling a little guilty, I steeled myself and tasted Yato-style curry.

…Oh? It’s not bad at all.

It had a strong bitterness, but she compensated with a powerful spiciness that gave it a curry-like flavor.

The grain she used in place of rice didn’t taste great, but that couldn’t be helped. If she had been able to recreate Sheila-san’s pie as well, I would have given her an even higher score.

I had imagined something outrageous, so the fact that it turned out delicious was a pleasant surprise.
She also finished first, and knowing she practiced beforehand made it even more endearing.

Once we finished appreciating Yato’s labor-of-love curry, the next dish came—Velvet’s creation.

Desserts normally take longer, but she had made something close to a pancake, so the cooking time was short.

On top of the pancake-like base was whipped cream, fruit, and a generous drizzle of syrup—likely Queen Needle honey.
For someone like me who loves sweets, this was an exciting sight.

I cut everything into bite-size pieces and tasted it.

—Delicious!

The batter was a bit firm, and the cream had a slight animal smell, but overall it was sweet and very tasty.
The Queen Needle honey probably accounted for 80% of the tastiness, but it worked wonderfully.
The dish was high-quality and surprisingly well done.

It had a different appeal from Sheila-san’s dessert, making scoring tricky, but… I had a good feeling about this one.

Never thought Velvet would produce something this delicious.

And finally, Rose presented her dish.

Dessert followed by a main dish was unusual, but this was the order they finished, so it couldn’t be helped.

Rose had prepared a beautifully plated steak topped with the green sauce she’d been making earlier.
Somehow, the sauce that looked suspicious before now appeared elegant over the steak.

It looked like something served at a fine French restaurant, and my expectations rose.

I cut a piece and tasted it.

—This was delicious, too.

I didn’t know what meat it was, but it had very little odor.

The texture was like a chicken breast steak—slightly dry, but overall tasty.
And Rose’s green sauce paired with it wonderfully, with a perfectly balanced acidity that made the whole dish refreshing.

I hadn’t expected much from the “princess group,” but including Yato, their quality was extremely high.
These were all potential top scorers. I was eager to see what Norman and Jacob would rate them.

“Now, here are the scores for the final group.”

Norman:

• Yato: 67
• Velvet: 94
• Rose: 95

Jacob:

• Yato: 77
• Velvet: 98
• Rose: 97

Sato:

• Yato: 80
• Velvet: 100
• Rose: 98

“Now that all scores have been tallied, the winner of the First Cooking Tournament is… Velvet! Congratulations!”

“Eh!? No way—I won? It was such a close battle I couldn’t tell!”

I had quickly done the mental math and announced the results, but Velvet was still stunned.

Sheila: 291 points
Velvet: 292 points
Rose: 290 points

A super tight competition. No wonder Velvet couldn’t believe it at first.
Everyone started counting on their fingers, carefully checking that Velvet really was the winner.

“I did it! I got a high score!”

Yato, who hadn’t been in the winner’s circle, celebrated even harder than the actual champion.
Her score wasn’t close to first place, but her joy was genuine, and it made me smile too.

As I watched Yato cheer, it seemed everyone had finished their calculations.

Sheila and Rose, who narrowly missed victory, looked frustrated, while Velvet—now certain she had won—jumped with a radiant smile.

“This is the first time I’ve won a judging-free competition! I think I’m even happier than I expected!”

Velvet and Yato held hands, celebrating together.
Just seeing this scene made hosting the tournament completely worth it.