Twenty minutes had passed since the start time announced by Lecturer Maki.
Erina and Shiraki had handed over their group's work to the podium, and Lecturer Maki was now observing the dishes presented by the group with some anticipation.
In the small steamer, four steaming buns lay quietly at this moment.
The skin of each bun was crystal clear, allowing the different colors of the filling inside to be clearly visible. They looked like delicate works of art, as if carefully crafted. Water droplets from the steaming process flowed down the buns, revealing emerald-like green particles or ruby-like red particles. Just by looking at them, it was clear the taste would be excellent, especially considering this was a dish created by the top ten masters.
Shiraki activated his Scout's Eye at the right moment, analyzing the dish.
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Crystal Buns
Palate: S-grade
Taste: A-grade
Results: None
Special Effects: None
Overall rating: S-grade
Evaluation: A dish that looks good and tastes great.
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The system didn't seem to be very impressed by this S-rank dish, but Shiraki was used to it by now. Back at the Totsuki Resort, he'd often used the Scout's Eye to evaluate various dishes. Unless the dish reached SS level, he rarely took the system's opinions seriously.
"It's so beautiful. But this dough... it's made by mixing clear noodles and cornstarch in a certain proportion, right?"
Lecturer Maki picked up a bun with chopsticks, admired its appearance for a moment, and then slowly took a bite.
The thin dough broke easily with a single bite. Despite how thin the dough was, it was surprisingly chewy, and just as the bite was taken, the elasticity of the meat filling burst forth. The jade-like filling exploded with flavor in her mouth. This filling was so Q-bomb?
After tasting the bun, Lecturer Maki slowly opened her eyes. "I see. When kneading the dough, salt was added to increase the gluten, and boiling water and noodles were used. The filling was also kneaded repeatedly using the technique we saw earlier. This is truly impressive... Nakiri and Shiraki's group, A grade!"
In just twenty minutes, the first group to receive an A evaluation had emerged. Though Erina's group receiving an A didn't surprise anyone, the students below couldn't help but feel an urge to rush up and beat Shiraki. How could this arrogant transfer student have such a good relationship with Erina-sama?
"Huh… is it really A—wait?" Just as Erina and Shiraki were about to leave the podium, a beautiful female voice rang out behind them. As the two turned around instinctively, they saw a silver-haired girl standing directly behind them, looking at them with curiosity. Behind her stood a young man with dark hair exuding a black aura—Nakiri Alice and Kurokiba Ryo.
Seeing the two turn, Alice leaned in toward Erina and whispered something.
"W-What are you saying?"
Clearly, what Alice had just whispered had made Erina flustered, and she immediately refuted it. But before Erina could say more, Alice, standing behind her, reached out and separated the two.
"Alright, let's have Lecturer Maki judge our group's cooking. Ryo-kun, hurry up and bring the dish."
As soon as Alice spoke, Ryo Kurokiba stepped forward and brought up a steaming bowl of ramen.
"Huh? Ramen?"
Lecturer Maki seemed surprised. While noodles and ramen could be classified as a type of pastry, no other group in the room had chosen ramen. Moreover, only twenty minutes had passed—was it possible to make a bowl of ramen in that short time?
The bowl of ramen Kurokiba brought out didn't have the thick soup base he was known for, as it would have taken much longer to prepare. This ramen looked relatively light at first glance, but Shiraki didn't believe that Kurokiba would make a simple dish just for show.
"So, let's try the ramen from Kurokiba and Alice's group."
Lecturer Maki was surprised for only a moment before quickly recovering. She took a sip of the ramen soup, and the moment the soup entered her mouth, an expression of astonishment crossed her face.
"This rich flavor... is this... barbecue beef?"
Despite the ramen's light appearance, it was packed with a strong, savory flavor. The noodles had absorbed the soup perfectly, and yet the dish had been made in only twenty minutes—a feat that seemed impossible!
"I extracted it," Alice winked mischievously, and Lecturer Maki instantly understood. The dish hadn't been prepared solely by Kurokiba. While Alice hadn't appeared to be helping much, her molecular gastronomy techniques likely made the rapid preparation possible.
"Very good. Kurokiba and Alice's team, also A grade!"
Lecturer Maki placed an A grade on their report cards as well.
"Thank you, Lecturer Maki!" Alice took her report card with a satisfied smile. But when she turned to look at Erina and Shiraki, her gaze was filled with curiosity and a touch of provocation.
"It seems there's no clear winner this time, Erina~."
She whispered in a voice only the three of them could hear, then suddenly added, "But that day will come sooner or later."
After saying this, Alice waved to Ryo Kurokiba as if everything was fine. "Let's go, Ryo-kun."
Kurokiba, who had been exuding an evil aura earlier, now appeared lethargic, following Alice with a defeated look.
"Your cousin really has a lot of personality," Shiraki remarked, glancing at Erina, who had returned to her usual dignified self. He teased her, "You sure you're not jealous of her?"
"Hmph. If you have time to worry about that, why don't you eat the rest of the buns?" Erina crossed her arms and slowly walked back to their cooking table. In addition to the batch of buns they had just presented to Lecturer Maki, two more cages were left on the steamer. Though it wasn't explicitly stated, Shiraki could tell who those were intended for.
"Haha, just kidding. Why don't we eat together?" Shiraki scratched his head and quickly caught up with her. The ongoing banter between the two was being closely observed by the other students. If anyone else dared to speak to Erina this way, they'd surely face dire consequences. But Shiraki kept pushing the line, and so far, Erina's reactions had been unusually calm—almost happy.
M****f*r, are you here to take classes or to show affection?!
The same thought ran through everyone's minds.
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