The judges' questions made a clear contrast with the crowd. Now everyone's eyes were on Hikigaya, waiting for his answer. Meanwhile, Mito looked like a princess abandoned in the cold palace.
Hachiman slowly pulled out a strange bottle of liquid from a wooden box Grandma Fumio had handed him.
"I added agar to the dish. By sprinkling it evenly over the vegetables and meat, then putting it into the broth, you end up with this jelly-like texture."
Judge 1: "I see! I see!"
Judge 2: "What about the meat then, what kind of meat is this?"
Faced with that question, Hachiman just shook his head a little.
"The meat doesn't matter. What matters is that I mixed chopped greens into the minced meat, like making a veggie steak, which gave it a whole new flavor."
'Can't exactly say I bought it from the supermarket discount bin…'
Judge 3: "That kind of creativity, even in all of Totsuki Academy, would be considered top tier."
"Whoa!" The whole crowd burst out in cheers, while Erina, sitting in the VIP box, only glared unhappily at Hikigaya.
The three judges all spoke at once:
"The three flavors bring out the best in each other. This is the true union of vegetables and meat. It's incredible! Nothing more needs to be said!"
Looking at the judges devouring his dish, it was clear the only person frozen in place was Mito.
She couldn't understand. He hadn't shown any real skill, hadn't used any fancy ingredients, even told the judges the meat wasn't important—
Yet the scales of victory kept tipping his way. She just couldn't accept it.
The three judges, not satisfied, asked eagerly: "Is that it? Any more left? We want more… a dish like this, you could eat it every day and never get tired of it."
In just moments, all of Hachiman's food was gone. Mito's, on the other hand, was only half-eaten. Because the vegetables and beef weren't balanced, the greasy heaviness of the meat came out later. It wasn't inedible, but it had lost the flavor it started with.
Seeing Mito's unwilling expression, Hachiman just spoke calmly:
"I heard from Marui that you use high-grade beef. I can't beat you in terms of ingredients. To balance the flavor of meat, the vegetables need to have their own strength. But the two flavors will always clash, so that's why I made this kind of dish."
"The method itself isn't wrong. But Mito, you never really showed the true role of vegetables. That's why it turned out this way."
Mito's body trembled. To her, Hachiman's words were twisted logic. She couldn't accept them. She couldn't admit it.
But…
Maybe sensing her anger beforehand, Hachiman offered her his own dish—his "Hikigaya-style Vegetable Jelly"—before she could explode.
"A famous chef once said, cooking is about tasting each other's dishes and pointing out each other's flaws. So please try mine too—my cooking story."
"No matter what advice or criticism you have, I'll accept it all!"
When he said this, Hachiman's eyes carried an unshakable resolve. That aura once again shook the entire hall. And for Mito, who was closest to him, her anger instantly disappeared.
Without even realizing it, she reached out, guided by something beyond her will. Without much hesitation, she pushed his dish gently into her mouth.
The hall went silent.
No chatter, no noise. Everyone's attention was locked on the two of them.
Mito's face showed no expression, but her hands gave her away. The spoon in her hand trembled nonstop, and then she couldn't hold back anymore, shoving the meat jelly into her mouth piece by piece.
At some point, her whole body was wrapped in a gentle warmth, and the source of that kindness was none other than the quiet, soft-hearted man in front of her.
As long as you were near him, no matter how cold your body or how hopeless your heart felt, it would always light up again.
...
When Mito Ikumi was little, she was a cute child. But under her family's teachings, she wasn't raised to be a gentle young lady—she was trained to be strong and forceful. Maybe, the sensitive little girl she once was had already died back then.
She didn't know when exactly she grew up, or when she stopped being able to cry. But in this moment, as if years of suppressed feelings burst all at once, tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks.
Hachiman: "If it was only about meat dishes, I'd definitely lose badly. But..."
"No matter how much sugar you add, chili will always be chili. That special, indescribable something—it can't be replaced."
"Just like this dish. Sometimes, you don't need to follow fixed rules when mixing things. After all, no one gets to define what's right for you."
"You are you. No matter what changes, that won't change."
Mito snapped her head up, but the tears kept falling. That's right... why did she have to tie herself down with the ideas of 'lady' and 'strong'?
Being herself—that was already enough.
"Damn..." she gritted her teeth, and more tears fell to the floor. Once again... the entire place went silent.
"Dong!"
"Dong!"
"Dong!"
With the three judges pressing the blue button at the same time, the outcome of the food duel was decided.
Kawashima Urara: "The winner is... Hikigaya Hachiman!"
Hachiman gently took off his apron, then handed Mito a tissue from his pocket. Without a hint of triumph, he simply returned to his station and began cleaning up.
Mito: "Um... um..."
Hachiman: "What is it?"
Mito: "From now on... could we share ideas about cooking too?"
For the first time, a faint smile appeared on Hachiman's face. "Once you join Polar Star Dorm, you'll see that kind of thing happens every single day."
Mito wiped her tears with her hand, pressing the tissue he had given her against her chest, as if holding onto the warmth he left behind.
"Yes!"
"Then, see you next time."
Hikigaya left the stage, but the audience seats were still buzzing with voices.
It was clear the noise wasn't going to stop anytime soon...
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