Walking to my workstation, I started by enveloping everything in illusion so that some of my actions couldn't be seen. I plan to prepare a dish not to satisfy the judges but to overturn their understanding of both cuisine and perfection. To do this, I needed some ingredients that were not available in this world.
Using my continuously growing power, I created plants that would have both the taste and properties I needed by combining the Authority of Reason, Path of Abundance, and Element of Wood.
The dish I planned to create was a variation of the bibimbap, which, rather than white rice, used specially prepared Chinese sticky rice. The first step was to prepare the rice.
Rice itself was special, as I created what was called a Spiritual Rice that was popular in Meng's world. It contained a large amount of spiritual power used by Cultivators, and thus, it was able to strengthen the body.
After using herbs and some of the plants I created, I created the broth in which the rice will cook. Setting it aside, I started to work on the remaining ingredients.
Bibimbap, aside from rice, consists of vegetables and meat, so I get to work on those. The first step when I did was to erase any imperfections in the ingredients, getting rid of from grains of sand to even the most minuscule bacteria. After that was done, I processed everything in a way that would later give the finished meal a flowery appearance.
The last part was the sauce that would finish the meal, and it also was the most special part of this meal, as the core of this sauce was the fruit of my Tree. Adding remaining herbs to give it a taste that would combine well with the rest of the dish, I set it aside for the time being.
When the rice was ready, I started to arrange everything together, but I still kept the sauce separate, quickly creating a colorful garden on five plates. Using some of the knowledge I learned from Ling and Griseo, I tried my best to create a work of art that even Eden would envy. Soon, everything was ready, so I looked at the judges who were in the process of tasting the Asahi dish.
-"Impressive. If I were unaware that you cooked it, I would have thought it was a joint creation of a group of great chefs."-Judged Old Man.
-"Indeed worth being called Speciality Dish."-Added Azami.
-"You improved yet again, but it still falls short. Sigh."-Commented Mana.
-"I'm sure that I'll achieve perfection one day."-Asahi looked at me as if assured of my defeat.
-"You are also finished, Yue?"
~"Yes."~I approached them and served the judges.~"Erina."
-"Hmm? What's the matter?"
~"Sit here. I have a plate for you."~I placed a fourth plate for her and turned to Asahi.~"There is one for you too, come."
-"Why would I eat it?"
~"Sot that the family is whole once again."
-"..."-Asahi looked at me for a while before taking the seat I prepared for him.
As the five Nakiris sat down, their eyes were on my dish. After admiring its appearance, they started to taste it one by one, and when all of them had the first bite, they just continued to sit in silence. This stillness continued for a solid minute before Old Man put the chopsticks down and spoke.
-"Yue, did you just feed us Ambrosia?"
~"Never had an occasion to taste the Ambrosia, so I doubt that."
-"This is the best dish I have ever tasted. This is all I can say."
Old Man then looked at Azami, who also put his chopsticks down.
-"I can't find any fault."-He looked at the plate with bewilderment.-"But..."
-"There is something missing in this dish."-Interrupted Mana, who looked at me with an intensity unseen before in her eyes.-"Even this unfinished dish already defeated Asahi, but you purposely left something out, right?"
~"Indeed."
-"This... I can't recognize the ingredients."-Erina looked at me surprised.-"I never ate some of those ingredients. Even if I don't know some herbs you created in a lab, how come I don't recognize those vegetables?"
Erina's words stupified everyone here, but I quickly used my power to make sure no one aside from those around this table heard them.
~"This is a secret I'll explain to you later."
-"Sigh, you won."-Asahi conceded defeat, looking at the plate before him as if it were an insurmountable mountain.
-"So what do you want to prove to us, Yue?"
~"Before, how would you describe this dish?"
-"Perfect."-They all answered synchronously.
~"And yet, it's lacking."~I pushed the boat with the sauce to them.~"Here."
One by one, they poured the sauce on the dish and tried it again. They showed the same reaction as before: silence and shock.
~"It's perfect, yet still there is something missing, right?"
-"Tell me, why are you doing it?"-Azami looked at me, visibly displeased by my toying with them.
~"To prove you wrong. This dish achieved the perfection that you two pursue, so why are you dissatisfied?"
Being questioned, both Azami and Mana thought about this for a moment before they answered.
-"This dish is like a mirage."-Spoke Azami.
-"A good comparison. Despite its perfect status, it can't satisfy me."
~"Then how about you try this?"~I placed another plate before Mana. This one looked like a normal breakfast.
-"Huh? Are you sure?"
~"You already tried one of my dishes, so why not try this one?"
-"Whatever."-She picked up her chopsticks and took a bite from the new dish.-"This one is much worse, but I feel that it has the thing the first one lacked. It's not bad."
~"I'm happy to hear that. Old Man, you can release Erina now."~I looked at Erina, who was being held back by her grandpa. He prevented her from speaking up since I took the second dish out.
-"Mother..."
-"Hmm? Erina, what the matter?"
-"This dish..."
~"It's Erina's."
-"What?"-Mana was shocked by that revelation and continued to stare at the plates before her.
~"How about we finish this Shokugeki and sit down in a quieter place?"
This comment reminded them that they were still in the arena, so as the verdict was already partly announced, they quickly wrapped everything up, and we all moved to a more private venue.
Deciding that my dorm would be the best place to sit and talk, so we gathered there.
-"Now, can you start your explanation?"-Asked Azami.
~"Well, your wife probably already has an idea of what's going on, right?"
-"I have some idea, but it's a little outlandish. Before everything else, let me confirm something. You cured the God's Tongue, right?"
~"Cured is too much. I simply regressed it to its nascent form."
-"So it will return. Sigh."
~"Not necessarily. It depends on how you will take care of it. I already worked with Erina on a way to control that ability. It's not perfect, but at least it prevented Erina's God Tongue from developing more."
-"Is it true?"
-"Yes. Thanks to Yue, I can somewhat control my Tongue."
-"..."
-"Mother?"
-"So I was mistaken all along."
~"Indeed."
-"How did you know?"-Mana looked at me strangely.-"You don't give me a feeling of a young man, but rather someone experienced like my father."
~"It's because you are mistaken about perfection. Azami is also the same. You can neither find nor achieve perfection. You can only pursue it. That was the reason for you losing your way."
-"Our purpose was wrong from the beginning, huh."-Azami shook his head, also understanding what I was alluding to.-"So what now?"
~"Now it's time for you to rectify your mistakes."
-"Wait."-Spoke Erina.-"I think you are jumping some sharks. How did you arrive at such a conclusion?"
-"Sigh. Child, when you ate Yue's meal, what did you think?"
-"It was empty but perfect. It was strange, as despite being the best dish he ever made, I didn't like it."
-"And that was his purpose."-Azami took over the explanation.-"At first, he showed the pinnacle of my True Gourmet. Dish with no mistake, perfectly prepared."
-"But that perfection was false, shattered when Yue brought out the sauce. He created an even more perfect dish, but it still couldn't satisfy me. It's that missing part that I always lacked, and by bringing your dish, he made me understand that I was mistaken in my pursuit."
-"Both of us were. Old Man, will you give us another chance?"
-"It's not my decision."
-"Right. Erina."
-"Father."
-"I apologize."-Azami bowed his head deeply.-"It might be too little too late, but I'm truly sorry."
-"I also want to apologize. We made you suffer, Erina."-Mana joined her husband.
Erina was shocked by this situation and looked at me for assistance.
~"Just do what you wish."
-"..."
Erina sat in silence for a few minutes before looking at two of them and speaking.
-"Father, Mother. I already found my new family."
-"I see."-Two of them were visibly saddened by that answer.
-"But I also want to have my old family back."-Erina continued.-"My place is by Yue's side, but I want to also have a place here. With you."
Erina approached her mother and hugged her, finally being able to have her back. While there still was awkwardness in their interactions, after all, such deep wounds will heal slowly, the first step was taken.
As this was happening, I felt that this world had finally fallen into my hands. This proved that I was right about the Plot of this world. It was the story of the Nakiri family, not Sōma. Thinking about the complicated circumstances of those bearing the Nakiri surname, I remembered another person who needed a little push.
~"You should also step forward, Asahi."
-"Huh?"
~"Here."~I passed a few documents I had prepared beforehand to him.~"This has answers you want."
He took the papers and read them, quickly becoming stupified by the revelation.
-"Is this true?"
~"100%"
Asahi continued to stare at the papers in silence. Noticing something was wrong, Old Man approached me, and I passed him another copy. He was surprised and a little angry about what he read, but he didn't say anything, only gave the documents to Azami, who also read them quickly.
-"What?!"-Azami rose from his seat.-"How..? How can this be?"
Deciding that this was enough of my meddling, I signaled to others to leave the Nakiris alone so that they could talk freely. We all left for the garden to give them some space.
-"So you all of this for Erina? I feel quite jealous."-Commented Hinako.
~"To be honest, this was somewhat coincidental."
-"So, can you finally share your secret with us?"
~"Wait for Erina."
-"Sure. Hmm, now that I look around, where is Rindō?"
-"Momo saw her coming to the dorm with us, but he left in the middle of the conversation before."
-"Do you think something happened to her, Sir Yue?"-Asked Hisako.
~"No, I just wanted her to be present for our talk."
-"I tried to call her, but her phone was turned off."-Alice waved her phone.
-"No other choice but to look for her."-Fuyumi stood up.
We started looking around, but we couldn't find Rindō anywhere. Around five minutes later, Momo called me franticly.
-"Yue! Come here quickly!"
Moving quickly, I soon entered one of the side corridors where Momo was sitting next to the lying Rindō. Instantly recognizing that she was unconscious, I used my perception to check what was going on.
~"Not good."
-"Should I call the ambulance?"
~"No, just get everyone to calm down."
-"What about Rindō?"
~"Leave her to me."
Momo quickly moved to the living room, where now everyone gathered as they heard her scream. Picking Rindō up, I also took her to the living room.
-"What's going on, Yue?"-Asked Erina.
~"Rindō had a sudden outbratk of AACI."~I showed crystals on Rindō's collarbone that were covered by her turtleneck.
-"What!"-Everyone looked distressed after hearing those news.
-"How? Shouldn't an outbreak only occur when one enters the advanced stage? Rindō was not infected."
~"Sigh, she most likely was infested long ago but kept this hidden. This would explain her sudden change to wearing turtlenecks and her becoming more and more dazed lately."
-"Right, who would forget their favorite meal."-Momo also put everything in her mind.
-"Yue, what are you going to do?"-Asked Old Man.
~"You all wanted to know my secret, right?"
Everyone present nodded.
~"Then don't disclose anything you are going to see or hear from this point on."
Aside from Rindō and five Nakiris, only Momo, Hisako, Alice, Hinako, and Fuyumi were present, and they quickly agreed to my requirements. Most of my power had already returned, and while using a greater amount of it would break the seal, I had no need for it anymore, so I didn't even hesitate, reconnecting myself back to Hold.
Due to my full power returning, my tails and Al'maiesh appeared, and the illusion covering my appearance disappeared entirely. If this was not eye-catching enough, both Ningguang and Astraea appeared nearby, together with Yae and Jingliu.
-"Oh, my. I hope we didn't interrupt you with anything."-Yae looked at the people present and smiled slightly.
~"Give me a second, Yae."
As Rindō's situation was a most pressing matter, I quickly used the Authority of Sentience to eliminate the AACI while carefully healing her spirit. Not even a minute later, Rindō opened her eyes once again, and the crystals that appeared on her neck also disappeared.
-"This... Yue?"
~"How do you feel?"
-"Like I just woke from a long dream."
~"Take it slowly."~I turned to the four new arrivals.~"Good to see you again."
-"This will never stop weirding me out."-Ningguang commented while approaching me.-"I just finished eating breakfast with you, yet for you, over ten years passed."
~"After a few more times, you will get used to it."
-"To be honest, I would rather you don't do it often."
~"For now, we don't have an alternative method. Let's not talk about this now. Are you going to take care of the things from this point on?"
-"Yes, leave it to us."-Spoke Astraea.-"You should first finish current matters before having some rest."
~"I feel like I was resting for a long time, but I indeed still have some things to do."
-"Then don't mind us. We will get everything from Yukong, Xuanyuan, and Rin."
~"Sure."
Ningguang, Astraea, and Yae left while Jingliu remained next to me. Feeling the eyes of everyone on me, I sat on the sofa and started explaining what could be shared, supplementing some details by showing my memories.
Everyone here took the truth rather calmly, aside from Alice who started asking a string of questions before Old Man made her stay quiet. Most of the girls mostly focused on my identity, thinking about their future, while Old Man, Azami, and Mana concentrated on the reason why I came to this world.
-"Join five worlds like ours to create an economy for your world? And here I thought your cooking was ridiculous."-Mana commented while holding her head.
-"So what do you want from us?"
~"Cooperation. I would like to invite you to Hold in the future."
-"We won't be able to help you much."
~"Not everything must exist for some greater purpose. I like cooking, so I want to share that with others. Cuisine exclusive to Hold is nonexistent, so I would like for someone to start creating it."
-"I see."-Old Man smiled.-"Interesting, I would like to do it."
~"Then I welcome you, Old Man, no, Senzaemon."
-"Haha, Take care of me."
Mana and Azami also decided to join this initiative, bringing Wgo and Tōtsuki together. When that subject was resolved I looked at the girls with whom I became close during my journey in this world.
Noticing my gaze they looked at me before Fuyumi started speaking.
-"Will you leave us?"
~"No. I would like you to stay with me."
-"Then we will."-None of them had any plan of leaving.
~"I will take you to Hold to help you get used to the changes, but if you want to do something in your world, you will be able to freely travel between here and Hold."
We talked more about everyone's plans and decided that aside from spending time together, they would remain here until I connect five worlds in the future. Some of them wanted to help, while others wanted to finish Tōtsuki first.
Looking at everyone who not only didn't hate me for hiding such a thing from them but even decided to stay with me, instantly wanting to do what they could to help, warmed my heart. Before returning to Hold, I left a puppet here, so it could continue my life in this world.
While girls were slightly disturbed by the idea of me here being a wooden puppet, after learning that I was literally a tree, they somewhat accepted it. With everything somewhat wrapped up, I returned to Hold.