Theresa received Himeko's message and brought the ingredients to the dormitory. As the academy principal, she was still quite free, after all. Since she had not taken over the position of Overseer of Schicksal, she did not have that many heavy duties.
"Kiana, you only just failed your exam, and now you want to stuff yourself silly? Can you even eat after that?" The moment Theresa saw Kiana, she immediately started lecturing her head-on.
Kiana wore a bitter expression. She would much rather be a pure warrior. She did not want to study.
"Do you still remember the promise you made back then? You said you would definitely become an S-rank Valkyrie."
Of course Kiana had not forgotten.
But the assessment was too hard.
She had no problems at all with practical combat. The written cultural exam, however, was as difficult as climbing to the heavens.
No, wait. For her, climbing to the heavens would probably be easy.
Back then, she had thought that becoming an S-rank Valkyrie only required being strong enough in battle. How could she have imagined there would also be a written exam?
She already failed ordinary exams all the time. She did not even dare imagine whether she could pass the assessment.
"Forget it. Himeko said you're going to compete with someone in appetite. Who is it?" Theresa asked.
"It's me!"
Paimon spoke up.
Theresa instantly looked doubtful. "With that tiny body of yours, you want to compete in appetite against Kiana, this glutton?"
She knew very well how much a Kaslana could eat. Her own body also contained Kaslana genes, and that appetite was far beyond ordinary people's. Very few people could compare.
"What's wrong? Judging people by their looks?"
Paimon said this indignantly.
If someone said her fighting strength was lacking, she would not argue too much. But if someone said she could not eat, then she had a problem with that.
"All right, then. Let the competition begin." Theresa nodded.
She wanted to see whether this little one's claim about being able to eat was just big talk, or whether she really had some skill.
"I'll find a helper for you, Mei."
Koji quickly brought Master Chef Kalpas back.
Although it was their first time meeting him, Theresa and the others could sense an extremely ferocious aura from Kalpas, like that of a wild beast.
Could someone like this really cook?
In their eyes, he looked more like a berserker.
"So Herrschers can gather together now?" Kalpas said calmly.
Although he already knew about it, seeing it in person was a different matter. So many Herrschers gathered together in one place. What an absurd thing.
If this had been in the Previous Era, their first reaction would definitely have been that the sky was falling. A single Herrscher was already capable of destroying heaven and earth, let alone multiple Herrschers gathered together.
But this was also all because of Elysia.
Without Elysia, these Herrschers would never have been able to possess humanity.
"Let me introduce him. A Flame-Chaser hero of the Previous Era, the hero of Decimation, Kalpas. Among the Flame-Chasers, his cooking skills are extremely impressive. Only Baiwei can compare with Kalpas," Koji introduced.
"Oh?"
Mei became interested.
If he could receive such high praise from Koji, then Kalpas's cooking skills had to be quite good. That really did make her competitive spirit rise.
"Herrscher, what do you need?" Kalpas said calmly.
"My name is Raiden Mei. Let's forget that 'Herrscher' way of addressing me." Raiden Mei raised an eyebrow.
What was wrong with this person? He called people without using their names. Although she was indeed a Herrscher.
"If you want me to remember your name, show me your qualifications," Kalpas said.
The people of the Elysian Realm had all come out. Mei was not like she had been in the game, so naturally, she had not passed the heroes' trials. Because of that, Kalpas naturally would not remember her.
"Then let's decide it with cooking," Raiden Mei said seriously.
"Heh. Then let's begin."
Kalpas rolled up his sleeves, put on the apron Koji had prepared, and walked straight into the kitchen.
"Mei, good luck!" Kiana clenched her fist and cheered her on.
Although she loved eating, when it was time to cheer someone on, she still had to cheer properly.
"Mm."
Mei nodded and walked into the kitchen.
Koji and Lumine looked at each other and smiled.
Hopefully, Mei would not be frightened by Kalpas in what came next.
After the two of them picked their respective ingredients, they began cooking.
Although this was supposed to be an appetite contest between Kiana and Paimon, for the two chefs, this was a war.
"Do you feel this blazing fury?"
"Suffer for your own insignificance and stupidity!"
"Regret ever appearing and standing in my way!"
"Hahahahahahaha!"
What Mei had not expected was that everything was fine at first, but once the cooking began, Kalpas seemed to release the seal on his body. An aura even wilder than before erupted from him.
"All right. In that case, I'll use my full strength too."
Infected by Kalpas's momentum, Mei's fighting spirit also ignited. She entered a state even more serious than usual.
Kalpas gave a light snort.
This Herrscher was not bad. Her fighting spirit was something he could acknowledge.
That was how it should be.
If there was no fighting spirit, then it would be meaningless.
The kitchen was the battlefield.
"Are they cooking?"
Outside the kitchen, Kiana and the others could naturally hear the commotion inside. Expressions of incomparable astonishment appeared on their faces.
Although they could not see what was happening inside, they could sense an extremely fiery atmosphere. It could be said that things had really heated up.
"That's normal. The kitchen is a battlefield. For Kalpas, he definitely has to give it his all," Koji said.
The kitchen was a battlefield?
The corners of their mouths twitched.
It sounded surprisingly reasonable. They could not refute it.
"But with emotions that heated, will the food they make really taste good?" Kiana muttered.
Very soon, when the aroma of the dishes drifted out, Kiana stopped talking.
That smell really was beyond criticism. It was truly fragrant, and there was also an unfamiliar aroma mixed in.
That was probably the food made by the person called Kalpas.
It really made her look forward to it.
Normally, she had never seen Mei go all out like this. She wondered just how delicious the food made in this state would be.
"It smells so good! Both of them are so good at cooking!" Paimon floated in midair, stomping her little feet there.
Saliva was already gathering in her mouth. She felt like she was about to lose control.
"Looks like Mei has met an opponent?" Himeko said with a smile.
She had not expected that masked man, who looked like a warrior, to have this level of cooking skill. He truly was a dark horse.
"When Kalpas first learned to cook, it was for the children in the sanatorium, so of course he would take care to make the food taste good," Koji said.
"Interesting."
The corners of Himeko's lips curved slightly upward.
From what Koji had said, she could tell that Kalpas had cooked for children. He was not as fierce inside as he looked on the outside. There was a soft place in his heart.
A tough man with tenderness, perhaps.
Time passed minute by minute.
The aroma in the room grew richer and richer.
There was already nothing else left in Kiana's mind.
Only the words "enjoy delicious food" remained.
(End of Chapter)
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