"Delicious! Such a refreshing oceanic aroma; it's as if the fresh, tender salmon has been resurrected in my mind! The school of fish is guiding me through the currents of the vast sea! Ah! What a masterpiece! I feel my spirit is transcending!" The middle-aged bald judge cried out with a flushed face, seemingly entirely lost in the mental world evoked by the dish.
"Exactly! It's indescribably good! How on earth did this layering of flavors on the tongue come to be? Ahhh!" The young woman let out a high-pitched moan that could make anyone blush.
"Choosing the belly of the salmon, the most suitable part for sashimi, and hiding various spices within the flesh... a perfect pairing. And this seaweed... the flavor is so distinct. Did you add a hint of pungent ginger juice and lemon? It's an unimaginably bold move; even a slight error in the ratio would have collapsed the entire flavor profile. Well done, Erina! Delicious! Truly delicious!"
The moment Senzaemon Nakiri gave his final assessment, his upper garments suddenly exploded!
Clothes Bursting!
This was the Nakiri family's special skill, a physical manifestation of a connoisseur's genuine reaction to gourmet food.
The total destruction of his shirt signified that Erina's dish was a definitive Elite Ten killing move! An absolutely peerless delicacy!
The reactions and explanation from the three judges caused a flush of pride to color Erina Nakiri's face.
She crossed her arms and threw a sharp glance toward Lexon.
'Hmph... I don't believe I'll lose like this...'
Yet, alongside her confidence, a sudden thought struck her.
'Wait? If I don't lose, doesn't that mean I have to... with my own cousin...'
'No! Absolutely not!'
As she contemplated the consequences of her potential victory, Erina's face gradually turned a shade of crimson.
"I suppose it's my turn now." Compared to his usual self, Lexon's cooking speed had been much slower today. He ignored everything else and simply brought his dish forward.
Three plates, each covered with a lid.
Sushi under a lid?
Erina Nakiri frowned as she stared at the three covers.
"Sushi with lids? Is there some kind of secret? I'm quite curious... won't you tell me?" The young female judge seemed very enthusiastic and proactive, likely due to Lexon's striking appearance.
"You'll find out when you open them," Lexon replied gently.
"Oh?" the woman chimed in.
Then, as if in perfect sync, the three judges placed their hands on the lids and lifted them.
At the exact moment the lids were removed, a blinding golden light suddenly erupted from the plates.
"What's going on?" the young female judge cried out in surprise.
"How can food glow?" the middle-aged bald judge stammered, his voice filled with disbelief.
Glowing cuisine?
Watching from the side, Erina couldn't help but be moved.
"What is that?"
"Lexon's dish is glowing!"
The Polar Star Dorm crew in the stands were equally astonished.
"Look closer!" Senzaemon Nakiri commanded in a low voice.
Prompted by the Totsuki Director, the others focused their gaze.
They realized then that the so-called golden light was merely a burst of steam...
Once the steam dissipated...
What lay on the plates... was a golden sushi!
Both the rice and the egg block resting on top shimmered with a golden hue!
"Please enjoy, 'Tamagoyaki Nigiri Sushi'," Lexon announced with a wave of his hand.
The golden light had certainly been impressive, but the sushi now revealed seemed almost too ordinary.
This thought simultaneously occurred to the two judges besides Senzaemon.
Before they could think further, Senzaemon had already picked up the sushi with his chopsticks and placed it in his mouth.
BOOM!
In the next heartbeat, a startling sound echoed through the hall.
What happened?
Everyone in the Moon Heaven Hall was overcome with confusion.
They all looked toward the source of the noise at once.
There, they saw it!
Senzaemon Nakiri was left wearing nothing but a single pair of briefs!
Director!!!
Most screamed in their heads.
Is that sushi really that good?
The crowd in the stands... the remaining two judges... and Erina, watching from the side, all swallowed hard at the same time.
'I want to eat it so badly...'
The other two judges, with the food right in front of them, wasted no more time. They didn't even use chopsticks, reaching out to grab the sushi and stuffing it into their mouths.
They chewed!
How is it? How is it?
The audience and Erina waited for the judges to give their critiques.
'If I can't eat it, just hearing the description to imagine it is fine...'
Such pathetic thoughts filled their minds.
But no matter how long they waited...
The three judges on the panel sat like statues, their heads bowed, motionless and silent.
"Grandfather... how is it?" Erina finally couldn't take it anymore and asked.
"Erina..." Senzaemon murmured, his head still lowered.
"Do you have no feedback? Grandfather..." Seeing that Senzaemon hadn't answered her question, Erina pressed him further.
"Let's vote," Senzaemon said in a muffled voice, still not looking up at his granddaughter.
The other two judges, also with their heads bowed, pressed their voting buttons at the same time as Senzaemon.
3-0.
The massive screen in the Moon Heaven Hall displayed the result.
[HIDDEN WORLD MISSION: DEFEAT THE ELITE TEN (5/10)]
The Main God's cold, mechanical voice echoed in Lexon's ears.
'Halfway there.'
Lexon thought to himself.
"Erina, you'll understand once you taste it for yourself. With your tongue, you should grasp the result more deeply than I can explain," Senzaemon replied in response to Erina's persistent questioning.
"Taste it myself..." Erina looked at Lexon.
"It's on my station," Lexon said nonchalantly.
The moment the words left his mouth, Erina headed toward the area where Lexon had just been cooking.
"Lexon, is there any left? I want some too!" Yuki Yoshino shouted from the front row, drooling.
"Me too, Lexon!" Soma Yukihira added.
"I'd like a taste as well, Lexon," Satoshi Isshiki and Megumi Tadokoro spoke up simultaneously.
The rest of the Polar Star crew who came to watch also chimed in one after another; even Erina's little secretary, Hisako Arato, couldn't help herself from speaking up.
"I happened to make plenty of extras. One serving per person should be fine," Lexon replied calmly.
This was part of the reason why his cooking speed had been so much slower than Erina's.
"Really?!" Yuki Yoshino exclaimed in delight.
"You're a real pal, Lexon," Soma Yukihira said, quite pleased with Lexon's gesture.
Then, the crowd rushed onto the stage.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]