Two weeks passed, and the Moon Banquet Festival had begun. It was already the fourth day of the festival. As I was getting busier and busier, I didn't open my own stand and decided to go for a short walk before my Shokugeki later today.
Yukong was accompanying me today as the unprecedented Shokugeki involving Elite Ten became the centerpiece of this year's festival, attracting guests from all over the world, so she also decided to take advantage of the occasion and spend some time with me.
-"How are your vacations?"
~"Not bad, but I miss the Hold."
-"Me also. I'm happy for the chance to become close to you, but I miss what has become my new home."
~"Don't worry, in a year, we will be able to return."
-"True. Though returning as part of your family makes me a little nervous."
~"Why?"
-"Sigh, you might not see that, but many girls around you fight for your attention. This fighting is not malicious, of course, but few people can truly let go of jealousy."
~"True, but we have quite literally unlimited time. Don't worry, just move at your peace and do what you are comfortable with."
-"Sure. If I were to back out now, I would never enter into such a relationship with you."
~"I'll cherish you so that you won't regret that."
-"I'm sure of that. So, how is your plan going?"
~"To be honest, I'm quite sure that I could forcibly overtake this world already without causing too much harm, but It would be hard to convince people like that."
-"Sigh, I never was one to advertise force solutions, but it would make the job much easier."
~"It would be too shortsighted. IPC is an example of that. Despite their dominion over the universe, their heavy-handed methods resulted in resentment building up in countless worlds. I don't plan for the Hold to last long. I want it to be eternal."
-"Ambitious, but I like it. Let's achieve that together."
~"Of course, I don't wish for that eternity to be lonely."
-"Right. Any recommendation for food around here?"
~"How about Polar Dorm Stand? Sakura opened it with her dormmates."
-"Why not. I would like to talk with her some more."
We headed to the Central Area, where their stand was located. Their location was popular as two upcoming Elite Ten were present there. Luckily, we didn't have to wait in the queue as Megumi noticed us approaching and called us forward.
-"Yue! We have a table reserved for friends, so come here."
~"Thank you, Megumi."
-"This is?"
-"I'm Yukong. You can consider me Yue's work partner and lover."
-"Lo...Lover?!"
-"My, is it that surprising?"
~"Well, don't forget that most fifteen-year-olds in Japan are not exactly love experts."
-"True, if you like someone, then better be direct, young lady. Life is fleeting, and one day, you might not notice that the one you love is already gone."
-"This..."
~"It's good advice, but most young people won't think like that."
-"That's why this advice is so important."
~"True. Can you give us recommended dishes?"
-"Ye...Yes!"-After answering, Megumi ran to the kitchen.
~"You spooked her."
-"I can see that she likes you. If, in one year, she didn't admit her feelings, her chances to see you again would be minuscule at best."
~"And here I thought you don't want more people to divide my attention."
-"I would never done so if I was your sole love, but I was also accepted as a latecomer, so I won't be a hypocrite."
~"I sometimes worry about becoming loved by so many people."
-"You are head of a religion. Countless people love you."
~"It's a belief or respect, not love."
-"Isn't belief just another form of love?"
~"Who knows, I never was good with feelings."
-"Oh, looks like our relationship became known to others in the kitchen."-Yukong smiled at the bunch of heads that popped from the gap in the kitchen doors.
~"Who wouldn't gossip about such a subject, especially as they are friends of Sakura? I already feel pain from their stares."
-"Please, with your thick skin, you will be fine."
~"Just don't make them hate me. I'm quite enjoying living in this place."
-"Don't worry, I won't do anything over the top."
We talked for another ten minutes before the food arrived. Sakura, Rin, and Tomoe brought it to us, joining us at the table.
-"Long time no see, miss Yukong."
-"No need for the miss, Sakura. We could already be considered sisters."
-"Sure, Yukong. You came here today to watch Yue's Shokugeki?"
-"Yes. Yue's fights are always a pleasure to spectate."
~"Calling it a fight is a bit inappropriate."
-"But Yukong is right. I also love to see your fights with my sister. Despite not being able to see all the slashes, it never fails to amaze me."
-"I have to agree with Rin. Even if I was never the battle-junky type, Yue's style of combat could be called art. I think only the blade dance of Irelia attracts me like his."
~"Why? I never thought my fights were pretty, yet you here praise them as an art."
-"I can only say that it's because of the image of nature fighting against someone. The way worlds suddenly move to overwhelm your opponent is mystical."-Explained Tomoe.
-"All the colors blending and mixing together create a fascinating elemental kaleidoscope. Especially as you add yourself in the middle, pure, unblemished white among the chaos of colors."-Added Rin.
-"Lord never uses any flashy moves nor tries to add some artistic elements, but as Lord transcended, Lord's way of fighting also became sublimed and now possesses beauty like storms and cyclones."
-"Sakura described it aptly. Every time I see your spars with Nobu's Generals or Champions of Hope and Duty, I'm reminded of that feeling of a mortal standing before a great storm."
~"I must say that I never looked at combat like that. Though I still won't be fighting today, only cooking."
-"Right, right. First, let's eat. We have around an hour before you have to head to the arena, so let's not waste the food."
And so we continued our family time until I had to report to the arena for the Shokugeki.
The arena where the Shokugeki will happen was crowded to the point of bursting. What's more, it was decided that this Shokugeki would be televised, so there were many cameras present, and who knows how many people watched this Shokugeki from their homes.
On the stage, there were eleven workstations, ten of them around the one much bigger in the middle. Each station had ingredients on it and was fully prepared for the event.
-"You ready?"
~"Of course it would be you, Old Man. I hope that I will receive a percent of the revenue from this event."
-"Heh, like this amount of change matters to you."
~"It's a matter of principle."
-"For now, focus on cooking. We can talk about other matters later."
~"Sure. I can start when you want."
-"Then I'll give the signal for the announcer to start."
Soon, the same voice that commented during the Autumn Election started speaking through the speakers.
-"Ladies and gentelmen..."
The announcer gave quite the usual welcome speech, introducing every contestant and the rules of the competition that can be summed as this: Ten simultaneous duels, Elite Ten vs me, same cuisine style for the dish, no limit on ingredients.
Counting the styles of cooking of the current Elite Ten, I had to prepare two Western-style dishes, two French, two Japanese, one Chinese, one Middle-Eastern, one pastry, and one exotic. The most troublesome was defining exotic cuisine, but we settled upon using ingredients or a preparation method not common to other styles of cooking.
So, after everyone was aware of the rules and the participants, the next step was to introduce guest commentators and special judges.
The outcome of this duel will be decided by other Elite Tens, but for the purpose of the commentary, two more people will taste the dishes to give their opinion on them. The first one will be Old Man Nakiri, but the other is a special guest who will show himself after disappearing years ago, Tōtsuki Asura.
The sudden emergence of one renowned as the best cook of the golden generation caused another sensation, but when asked why he decided to return to the world of cooking, he just responded that he was too late to buy tickets, so this was the only way to get his family to spectate live.
Jōichirō explained some of my and his history, from our meeting to occasional cooking together while the cooking was in the process, resulting in more expectations being placed on my shoulders.
On the subject of cooking, while the total time for this Shokugeki was three hours, it was still not enough to cook the dishes back to back, so I would have to work on at least three dishes at any moment. Without access to time manipulation, this was challenging, especially as the only way I could win against the Elite Ten was to use my full strength, meaning I had to use my medicinal cooking.
This required much more precise time and temperature control to achieve good results, so for most of those three hours, I was focused to the point of filtering out any unnecessary stimulus, feeling limited by possessing only a mortal mind in this world, and not being connected to my [Yggdrasil].
The process must have looked interesting to the spectators as I would constantly multitask, moving in a circle as my workstation was in the shape of a ring with me inside it. I was able to avoid making any mistakes during my cooking, and while it was not perfect, it was satisfactory for the given circumstances.
I finished my final dish a few minutes before the deadline, finally being able to have a sigh of relief. Noticing that I was done, the staff entered the area to prepare for the testing part of the Shokugeki.
-"Yue, finally done?"
~"You could have helped Rindō."
-"Nah, watching you was nice."
-"Momo agrees."
-"Ugh, having so many spectators is nerve-wracking."-Spoke Eishi Tsukasa.
~"Imagin so many people praying to you."
-"Do you want me to have nightmares, Yue?"
-"Why praying?"-Rindō looked at me strangely.
~"Just a random thought."
-"Nice work there, boy."-Jōichirō spoke while approaching us.
~"To think you would appear here."
-"Old Man told me that the only free spots are for the second commentator, and Tamako wanted to support you, so it just happened."
~"You truly are henpecked husband."
-"You have no right to speak like that until you are married."
~"I have every right to tell you that."
-"Ehem, stop it, you two."-Old Man Nakiri interrupted us.-"You can catch up later. Now, we have testing to do. Let's not waste the dishes."
Everyone agreed, so we began with Western food. I prepared Salisbury steak with mushrooms and apricot-glazed chicken, while my opponents were one unnamed member of the 89th generation and Sonoka Kikuchi, with whom I had a friendly relationship. While Western cuisine was not my strong point, I picked dishes where I could utilize my expertise with herbs, so I was able to emerge victorious.
The next two dishes were French cuisine, and this was the hardest challenge as Erina and Eishi were my opponents. Both matches were close ones, ending in 5-4 and 6-3 scores in my favor respectively, but in the end, my ratatouille and Toulouse-style cassoulet were able to win.
The local Japanese cuisine was next, and as my opponents were masters of Sushi and Ramen, Sōmei Saitō and Tōsuke Megishima, I decided not to challenge them in those fields, picking Japanese curry and miso soup instead. This allowed me to level out the playing field and ultimately emerge victorious.
Next, we move to Chinese cuisine. Deciding to make xiaolongbao, the Chinese steamed buns, I dominated this duel, receiving a perfect 9-0 score, as this was the style closest to what I learned from Jiaoqiu.
For Middle-Eastern cuisine, I prepared the spicy harissa chicken, once again focusing on the herbs to have better chances at victory. As my opponent was the current first seat, I had to try my best not to be defeated.
In the last two duels, I will face my good dormmates, and as the Rindō's food had a shorter lifespan, we compared our exotic dish first. I prepared a dish that most people would never try despite it being a delicacy in Korea. Raw dishes were always a little controversial outside of where they originated, but San-nakji is easily king among those.
Living and still squirming octopus, successfully scared, if not even disgusted, countless tourists. It definitely counted as an exotic dish in my eyes, and as there was no objection from anyone else, they began tasting. Once again, I was able to achieve close victory, but even Rindō conceded her defeat.
The last dishes were both pastries and after so many different main meal dishes, it was a perfect time for the dessert. I prepared an apple strudel that matched the taste of the women present, allowing me to emerge victorious for a final time.
When the score was announced, the spectators started to cheer, as they were well entertained by both the visual side of our cooking and the commentary of two masters. Just as I was about to step off the stage, the announcer asked me to speak a few words, so I decided to leave one short sentence.
~"I hope that next year, there will be someone who will dare to undertake the same challenge."
Outside the arena, all my friends were waiting for me. I was greeted by Rindō and Momo, who demanded an explanation about my relationship with Yukong.
~"She is indeed right. A lover is an apt description for our situation as I might be unable to give her any official title in a short time."
-"I don't mind that. It's the feelings that matter. We have a long life to worry about things like marriages."
-"Stop! How come you never told us that you had a lover?"
~"Is it important?"
-"Well, there is a reason for that."-Yukong smiled mysteriously.
-"Can you tell us, Miss Yukong?"
-"You will know at the moment, but can you stop looking at me with such hostility? If you like Yue, just tell it to him."
The reactions to Yukong's words were mixed but mostly included red faces and furrowed brows.
Seeing that the atmosphere was not great, I wanted to find a better place to sit down, but before I could even propose that, another person walked here. She was dressed in military uniform and had black hair bound into an elegant bun with gold ornament.
-"Finally found you. Thank you for the directions, Yukong."
-"No problem, Xuanyuan."
-"Suprise, Yue."
~"I certainly wasn't expecting you to come, Xuanyuan."
-"Well, it might not mean much to you, but as today is your birthday, I decided to come."
-"Today is your birthday?!"-Rindō looked shocked.
~"It seems so. Even I forgot about it."
-"Ugh, you are sometimes..."-Rindō shook her head before looking at Xuanyuan.-"Excuse me, you are?"
-"I'm Ji Xuanyuan. Nice to meet you all."
-"You forgot something important in your introduction."
-"What that would be, Yukong?"
-"The fact that you are Yue's fiance."
And with that bomb dropped, the room erupted in surprised screams.