Moonlight, like a cold silver sword, refracted light and shadows through the windows into the tavern. A chilling cold seemed to emerge from every corner, filling the walls, floor, ceiling, and even the dining tables with an icy feeling that made everyone shiver involuntarily.
"It's so cold!"
"The temperature in the tavern has suddenly dropped a lot..."
Standing behind Mana, Anne, despite maintaining a certain distance from Zane, couldn't help but hug her arms and tremble as she spoke.
Carefully observing, Zane held the Heavenly North Star Wolf Blade in his hand. The blade was slender and slightly curved, with a handle made of bone, beautifully engraved with a dragon pattern, an artistic sight to behold!
At the same time, Mana felt puzzled; such a blade didn't seem like a real chef's knife. Could it handle the ingredients properly?
...
"Is it frozen?"
As Zane attempted to unsheathe the blade, he found the sheath stuck as if glued by super glue, unable to pull it out no matter how hard he tried. Left with no choice, he lifted the Heavenly North Star Wolf Blade and smashed it hard on the ground!
Bang! After the sound echoed,
Cracks slowly appeared on the sheath.
Eventually, it shattered at a visible speed, revealing the entire blade of the Heavenly North Star Wolf Blade. The fine and sharp ice blade, smooth as a mirror, radiated cold light, especially dazzling under the light, making it hard to look directly at!
"Ice?"
"This... is this knife made of ice?"
As the glare subsided, Mana slowly opened her eyes.
When she saw the true form of the Heavenly North Star Wolf Blade, she was almost shocked enough to dislocate her jaw!
Zane's cooking shouldn't be analyzed from a scientific perspective, she knew this well. But facing a kitchen knife made of ice, her mind still couldn't quite grasp it.
However, as the atmosphere turned deathly still,
A bone-chilling, terrifying cold swiftly swept through!
"So it's an ice blade, no wonder the environment in the tavern has become so cold."
"Ah...achoo... I can't take it, I'm shivering from the cold."
Anne, trembling non-stop, felt colder than ice.
"Hey?"
"There's smoke."
Megumi, also shivering, covered her mouth in surprise.
"To be precise, that's not smoke but frost forming on the ice blade, emitting cold air as the blade gradually melts!"
Satoshi, squinting slightly, spoke seriously.
"Strange, what can this knife do?"
Soma, teeth chattering from the cold, wore a puzzled expression on his face.
With modern technology, the material, types, purposes, and functions of kitchen knives have changed. Although a chef's knife today can be made of various materials and one multipurpose knife can do many tasks—like robust meat cleavers or small paring knives—
But as they say, a good knife makes the hero. For professional chefs, having a good kitchen knife is essential for survival!
In the end, usability is what matters.
But who would say that an ice-made kitchen knife is suitable for food preparation?
...
"Zane, what is this knife called?"
Rubbing her hands, Mana, after staring at the knife for a while, couldn't help but blink curiously and ask.
"Heavenly North Star Wolf Blade."
Zane, holding the ice knife, replied flatly.
"Heavenly North Star Wolf Blade?"
"The name of this knife, like the Frozen Sea Bream Iceberg, is quite imposing!"
Mana was taken aback and murmured to herself.
Beside her, Anne perked up her ears upon hearing such a commanding name and quickly recalled the "THE·BOOK" culinary bible, realizing there was no information on this ice blade in the book!
Thus, she contemplated whether to record this knife's information.
After all, she fully believed that if this knife were included, it would undoubtedly cause a sensation in the culinary world!
"Do you intend to use this ice knife to prepare the snapper?"
Mana thought for a moment and continued to ask.
"Yes!"
Zane nodded. "As I told you last time, the Frozen Sea Bream Iceberg dish requires this knife."
...
With that, Zane's gaze sharpened.
He took a deep breath to stabilize his emotions.
Then he focused intently on the snapper on the cutting board, his aura suddenly intensifying, and declared dominantly, "Then, let's start my most spectacular performance!"
He swung the knife without hesitation.
The mirror-like ice blade traced a long arc in the air, whistling due to its swift speed.
Then, like a swordsman in a
poem, each of his swings was like a scene from poetry, his figure swift as the wind, his blade like lightning, embodying a regal spirit in this dish.
And each rapid strike conveyed an intense pressure to everyone present.
"This... was the slicing method just now not his real strength?"
Soma, watching, was momentarily stunned.
If the mandarin fish dish made him regard Zane's level as on par with his father, Joichiro Yukihira,
Then this Frozen Sea Bream Iceberg made him doubt himself.
Perhaps, as senior Satoshi said, Zane indeed should not be viewed ordinarily.
Finally, under everyone's watchful eyes, every thin slice of snapper was attached to the ice mountain, and the dish of Frozen Sea Bream Iceberg was completed.
...
When the dim light shone on the little ice mountain,
The crystal-clear ice surface reflected dazzling rays of light, delivering an overwhelmingly stunning visual!
"Oh my!"
"This dish is just too beautiful."
Megumi, seeing the Frozen Sea Bream Iceberg for the first time, was the first to exclaim in shock.
She noticed that the slices of snapper she had just seen seemed to disappear once attached to the ice mountain.
Curious, she moved closer and peered intently, only to be astonished to find that each slice of snapper was cut extremely thin, almost like transparent sheets of paper!
"Amazing."
"I'm afraid I could practice a lifetime and still not learn this knife skill."
She couldn't help but sigh deeply.
...
Clang clang~
Suddenly, another sound emerged in the air.
The Heavenly North Star Wolf Blade in Zane's hand began to show cracks, eventually shattering completely into numerous small ice cubes that fell to the floor.
Seeing this, Zane frowned slightly but did not show much emotion.
He turned back to get some seasonings and quickly made a special sesame oil, then with a special flicking technique, splashed the sesame oil over the fish slices covering the ice mountain.
"All done."
"This is an even better version of the Frozen Sea Bream Iceberg than last time."
The dish, truly completed at that moment.
A bone-chilling breeze once again swept through, causing all the diners in the tavern to shiver once more.
This dish was probably the coldest and thinnest dish they had ever experienced in their lives.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Looking at the Frozen Sea Bream Iceberg before her,
Mana's heart raced, as if a little rabbit were thumping inside her chest.
This dish was what she had been desperately seeking all her life, the very thing she had been longing for these past few days!
"That..."
"Is the ice knife only used for decoration?"
"Couldn't a regular chef's knife handle the snapper just as well?"
Beside her, Megumi, pulling back her astonished gaze, asked Zane.
"It's not just for decoration."
"As you can see, the essence of the Frozen Sea Bream Iceberg is fundamentally a sashimi dish."
"The texture and flavor of the raw fish slices before they hit your mouth should be properly chilled to taste good, so using an ice knife to prepare the snapper does enhance the effect!"
Zane turned to look at Megumi and smiled.
"Alright!"
"Mana, go ahead and eat."
"This version of the Frozen Sea Bream Iceberg will surely please you even more than before."
"Mmm!"
"Then I won't be polite."
Such a delicacy, if not savored properly, would be an affront to her divine tongue!
Thus, Mana, unable to wait any longer, picked up her chopsticks and took a small piece of snapper sashimi, slowly savoring it.
...
Afterward, time seemed to stop at that moment!
The instant she tasted it, Mana froze completely, as still as a statue.
The flavor and texture of the raw fish gave her a deep-sea experience.
The sea breeze and low temperature had solidified the protein's flavor, making the fish flesh springy and tender, filled with the juice of the sea, offering a resilient bite.
Besides the texture, the flavor upon careful tasting was also very smooth, especially the fatty belly of the fish, where a single bite left a lingering fragrance.
Sigh!
Sigh!
Sigh!
Gradually.
A gentle breeze started to blow around her.
Caressing each diner, lifting the curtains, and even the flower pots on the windowsill swayed gently in the wind.
As time passed, the wind gradually strengthened.
It began to swirl inside the tavern, swirling around everything, and eventually, the wind's power peaked!
All the curtains, utensils, and items fluttered in the wind, as if participating in a grand carnival.
"What's going on? Is Mana's reaction really that powerful?"
Anne, blown about so much she couldn't open her eyes, had never seen Mana trigger such a powerful reaction from a dish before.
...
Gurgle!
Finally, Mana swallowed hard.
And at that moment, the intense wind slowly dissipated.
Slowly opening her eyes, Mana's eyes were bloodshot, staring ravenously at the plate of Frozen Sea Bream Iceberg.
Why couldn't she control herself when faced with Zane's cooking?
Her complexion turned rosy, the divine tongue still signaling deliciousness.
It seemed she had not anticipated, nor understood, how just changing the knife could make such a vast difference in the same dish!
And what surprised her most this time was feeling as if her divine tongue had reached some sort of limit.
This limit was something she couldn't even articulate; perhaps even if her divine tongue evolved further, it could not discern any flaws in this dish.
Finally, unable to hold back, she let out a loud scream that pierced the sky, and then completely lost her sanity.
Then, under the astonished gazes of everyone, she frantically devoured the snapper sashimi!
Soon, she had finished the entire plate of Frozen Sea Bream Iceberg.
Unsatisfied, she looked helplessly at Zane, her eyes filled with unprecedented longing.
"Not enough, huh?" Zane, seeing her devouring manner and then noticing some residue at the corner of her mouth, handed her a clean tissue.
"Mmm!"
"I... I want more!"
Mana, taking the tissue, slumped weakly and stammered.
"Alright, just wait a bit."
"But the Heavenly North Star Wolf Blade is broken, so it might not be as delicious this time!"
"It's okay, as long as it's your cooking, I like it all." Mana whispered so softly that even she could hardly hear herself.
Hearing this, Zane did not respond further but maintained a faint smile on his face.
Then he took a deep breath, turned back to the cooking station, and prepared to continue making the Frozen Sea Bream Iceberg.
...
"Dad, I kind of understand now."
"By forcing me to enroll at Totsuki, you wanted me to change!"
Watching the busy Zane and then seeing Mana's joyful expression from the dish, Soma finally understood something.
As Joichiro's son, he certainly had his own life choices and thoughts.
Did he want to inherit Restaurant Yukihira and lead a mundane life?
Or, like now, study at Totsuki Academy for three years and then travel the world; or perhaps like Gin Dojima, go directly to work at resorts and famous restaurants?
These choices, from the current perspective, were unpredictable.
But one thing was certain, if Soma had stayed at Restaurant Yukihira, he would never have had such a spectacular life!
In the end, after Mana, with Anne's astonished gaze, had eaten five plates of Frozen Sea Bream Iceberg.
"Burp~"
"I'm so full, I've really eaten a lot this time!"
"Indeed, only Zane's cooking can repeatedly conquer the divine tongue!"
Mana, touching her belly which seemed several months pregnant, finally squinted her eyes contentedly.
In her mind, she couldn't help but recall the slices of fish handled with the Heavenly North Star Wolf Blade, that magical and delicious taste and texture.
Involuntarily, she fell into intoxication again.