As the drums sounded, the third round of the contest had already ended. Cooking on stage for six hours, especially under such intense pressure, was hard to imagine.
Apart from Kurokiba, who still seemed to be in good shape due to his strong passion and desire for cooking, and Yukinoshita, who had mostly been resting, the other three were clearly showing signs of fatigue.
Fortunately, Tadokoro Megumi had a bye, so at least in terms of energy loss, it wasn't as obvious. As for the match between Hikigaya and Yukinoshita, it was questionable whether they could have continued without those two hours to adjust their breathing.
And Ibusaki was clearly nearing his limit.
Now, the draw for the fourth round.
Kurokiba VS Yukinoshita...
Hikigaya VS Tadokoro Megumi...
Ibusaki gets a bye.
Seeing this draw, Ibusaki clearly breathed a sigh of relief. After all, having two hours to rest was enough to prepare for the next match. Although he had already lost two matches, and his chances of advancing were slim, he would give it his all as long as he was still on the stage.
This is the last support in every cook's heart.
At the same time, when the audience saw the draw for the fourth round, some people were already worried about Hikigaya.
"He hasn't had a bye in four rounds. If Yukinoshita hadn't forfeited their match, this would be a complete series of consecutive battles..."
"Yeah, fighting non-stop for 8 hours, and wasting so much energy in the Kurokiba match, it's too much."
"Looking at the current score, if Hikigaya can win this match, he'll probably advance..."
Some people lamented Hikigaya Hachiman's bad luck, while others admired his strength. But no matter what, the score on the screen didn't lie.
Because of the match that Yukinoshita forfeited, Hikigaya's score was already far ahead. With only two spots for advancement, the possibility of a tiebreaker was gone.
Hikigaya Hachiman 2-1
Kurokiba Ryo 2-1
Tadokoro Megumi 1-1
Ibusaki 1-2
Yukinoshita 0-1
Based on the current situation, a tiebreaker is unlikely.
Hisako: "If there were a tiebreaker, the four of them except Kurokiba would probably be pushed to their limits."
Erina: "That won't happen."
Hisako: "Huh? Why?"
Erina: "It's all under Yukinoshita's control. She deliberately lost the match with Hikigaya to avoid a tiebreaker. Although I don't know why these two would do this in such a situation..."
As she said this, Erina's voice became softer and softer. Unknowingly, she had tightly gripped her left hand and gently bit her lip, clearly somewhat unconvinced.
Ryoko: "It's really worrying, these guys..."
Mito: "I wonder how things will develop. With the scores so close... Hikigaya's score isn't that far ahead."
Takumi: "If Yukinoshita had given up in that last match, then the next one, Kurokiba VS Yukinoshita, would probably decide the final outcome."
Alice: "In my opinion, the competition is already over..."
Although they didn't know why Alice would say that, everyone couldn't help but turn their attention to her. Shiomi Jun smiled helplessly and shook her head.
"Someone from the Yukinoshita family..."
"I wonder how that guy is doing?"
In a corner of the venue, a woman wearing sunglasses stared at Yukinoshita with an amused expression, but she would occasionally frown. But...
Although it was a boring competition, it somehow sparked her interest.
Perhaps, there was someone she cared about there too.
As the drums sounded, the four of them started their actions almost at the same time. Even in a Polar Star Dorm internal battle, there was no need to hide any strength. Tadokoro Megumi probably thought the same.
So...
Since she had learned a very impressive dish in the past, she would not hesitate to show it now.
Hikigaya Hachiman had already taken out an extremely fresh saury at some point. Under everyone's gaze, he began to process the saury's internal organs first.
Kawashima urara: "Hikigaya, Hikigaya is actually planning to process the ingredients first? How intriguing! After resting for two hours, what kind of dish will he make?!"
Tadokoro Megumi seemed to be attracted by Hikigaya's actions, and couldn't help but focus her eyes on him, unable to look away.
Yes, they were both people whose talents were not obvious. Even so, after entering Totsuki, they had a very interesting chemical reaction due to some unexpected events. Since when, in everyone's eyes, Hikigaya, who had a low presence, was like a shining sun in Tadokoro Megumi's eyes, illuminating her path forward.
It was as if, as long as she stood behind him, even her own lack of talent would disappear.
Tadokoro Megumi had always been very grateful for Hikigaya's appearance. If it weren't for him, she probably would have been expelled that day. If it weren't for him, even though she couldn't face the contests with confidence, he would still kindly comfort others, repeatedly helping her regain her confidence. She wouldn't have been qualified to stand here without him.
It was his cooking that made her understand that cooking was not just about being delicious, but also about conveying emotions, that sincere warmth that Hikigaya had always given her.
So...
She only hoped to give that warmth back to Hikigaya.
For some reason, Tadokoro Megumi seemed to have completely forgotten that she was on stage. She discovered for the first time that her body could become so light, and felt for the first time that her body was cheerfully excited for this dish, just like the feeling of waiting for someone to open your love letter, making it hard to bear.
The faint smile on her lips seemed to tell the entire audience that she had overcome her last fear. Facing the boy in front of her, she only wanted to show her greatest strength, and only wanted to truly convey her heart.
Mito: "Tadokoro's movements... are so fast... Is this really Tadokoro?"
Ryoko: "As expected, the guy who can beat me is definitely not a bad guy. It seems this is Little Megumi's true strength!"
Yoshino: "This is so amazing... practicing countless times, just for this moment..."
The confidence radiating from Tadokoro Megumi was constantly enveloping the entire venue. It was the feeling of forgetting the endpoint. Now she wasn't just a chef, but also an ice skater, turning this contest into a great feast, just to dedicate everything to the boy in front of her.
Kawashima urara: "Time's up! Let's invite the four contestants to present their dishes!"
"The first one to present is... Kurokiba Ryo!"
Kurokiba: "Then, please taste my seafood saury noodles."
As always, a high score. After four consecutive matches, Kurokiba still maintained enough energy. This was Kurokiba, who had been working in the kitchen since he was a child. He would never produce a substandard work under any circumstances.
But, even so...
Yukinoshita was still as calm as ever. Only after the judges tasted Kurokiba's dish, she gently took out her own dish.
"Saury Portuguese tart, please enjoy."
In the same style as Yukinoshita's previous dishes, she always appeared extremely calm at this time. There had never been a hint of emotion on her face. Even Kurokiba, who was as passionate as fire, would be affected by her coldness, and he was stunned by it.
At the same time, the girl with sunglasses in the corner of the audience also smiled slightly, and said to the older girl next to her:
"Yukino hasn't changed at all. The dish she makes is exactly the same as mine... I thought she would have made some progress... Don't you think so, Shizuka?"
A long time ago, Yukinoshita Haruno began to pay attention to her younger sister. This younger sister, who followed behind her in everything, had developed such morbid habits since some time.
She only blindly followed in her footsteps. When Haruno decided to enter the cooking world, Yukino only researched her older sister's past dishes day after day. Even if she practiced to the extreme, it was still just something from the past.
To be honest, Haruno didn't want her to be like this, but...
Now, is there really a way to change things?
"Don't call me Shizuka. No one treats their teacher like that."
"But I really didn't expect you to come and watch the competition. As far as I know, aren't you living paycheck to paycheck? Or a single lady? Anyway, you're the type who knows nothing about cooking."
"You two sisters have the same sharp tongues. I'm neither living paycheck to paycheck nor a single lady, I just can't find someone to marry! That's all!" As she said this, Hiratsuka Shizuka's face seemed a little ashamed. She had already shifted her gaze to Hikigaya on the stage.
"Back then, failing to rescue him is something I've always felt guilty about. As his middle school teacher, I wasn't qualified, but at least, let me witness him walking down the right path... that would be enough..."
If she had trusted her intuition more back then and brought the strangely behaved and aloof Hikigaya to the Service Club, which had only one member, perhaps Yukinoshita's fate and Hikigaya's fate would have changed. But... she didn't do that.
She only hoped to use her own strength to bring him out of that loneliness, but... the facts proved that Hiratsuka Shizuka couldn't do it.
Although she didn't want to admit it, the facts were in front of her. Everything was pointing to the fact that the former teacher Hiratsuka Shizuka had indeed entered the ranks of 30-year-olds.
The words she taught could only be used as advice to juniors. Without peers, this difficult-to-understand awareness was hard to express.
However, what she didn't know was that in Hikigaya Hachiman's heart, he was really grateful to this teacher. If it weren't for her, perhaps his personality would have been even more aloof to some extent.
At the same time, Yukinoshita on the stage also took out the dish she had made, and simply handed it to Kurokiba.
Kurokiba: "Huh?"
Yukinoshita: "I made yours too."
Kurokiba reached out in disbelief and took it. The moment he put the dish in his mouth, his whole body felt like it had been washed by ice cream. It was clearly a Portuguese tart, but it had a texture like ice cream. Most importantly, the taste of saury didn't clash at all. On the contrary... you could feel an unbearable sense of comfort.
As the stimulation continued to come from his mouth, Kurokiba's face turned red, and he could barely breathe. He was stunned in place, and under the gaze of the entire audience, he unknowingly knelt on the ground.
"Hey, what's going on..."
"How do I know..."
"But that guy provoked Hikigaya. According to the rumors, Yukinoshita should be taking revenge for Hikigaya."
"You can see that Yukinoshita's eyes are still so cold, no... even colder than before."
"Poor Kurokiba..."
At the same time, the judges couldn't say a word after tasting the dish, and their hands uncontrollably raised Yukinoshita's sign.
A sudden instant kill. When he came back to his senses, Kurokiba was panting heavily, his eyes glazed over.
Alice: "This guy, she actually turned Kurokiba in headband mode into this. Yukinoshita Yukino..."
Hisako: "She really just handed out a dish, right?"
Erina: "Terrifying strength... As expected of the younger sister of the person who once dominated Totsuki as the first seat. The Yukinoshita family's strength is getting more and more terrifying."
Hisako: "The Yukinoshita family?"
Erina: "Just a family... no... it's a place that's much more terrifying than a family. The industries they monopolize aren't just cooking."
Hisako: "So amazing? But I've never heard of them..."
Erina: "It's normal that you haven't heard of them. Even I only learned about them recently."
"Starting a hundred years ago, from the moment Yukinoshita's first great-grandmother was born, they had already monopolized three light industries in Japan. Countless men scrambled to marry into the Yukinoshita family. Over the next hundred years, the Yukinoshita family maintained a low profile, ensuring that every son-in-law married into the family while rapidly developing in various industries. In recent years, with the development of the cooking industry, they have also entered here. Among them... is Yukinoshita Haruno, a legendary graduate of Totsuki Academy, and Yukinoshita Yukino is her sister."
Hisako: "So amazing?!"
Erina shook her head, her expression becoming serious:
"The truly amazing thing isn't this, but the fact that the Yukinoshita family has only relied on its bloodline to get to this point. In cooking, they don't have any special abilities, but they have still achieved this kind of outcome. It's simply a miracle."
Hearing Erina say this, Hisako nodded.
That's right, God Tongue is not that common. If the Yukinoshita family could also control it, they could monopolize the entire world of cooking. But... the problem also lies here...
Even without God Tongue, Yukinoshita's strength is approaching Erina's, and this outcome is terrifying.
Erina: "I won't let her surpass me. There's only one genius girl in this generation, and that's me, Nakiri Erina. No matter how the Yukinoshita family develops in other industries, the Nakiri family will always be at the top of the cooking world. I will prove this with my strength."
Hisako: "Yes! Lady Erina will definitely be able to do it!"
"But, I have another question..."
Erina: "Hmm?"
Hisako: "What's the relationship between Hikigaya and her? I always see them walking very closely."
Erina's hand had unknowingly clenched into a fist: "Very... close?!"
Hisako: "Yes, Lady Erina, you don't attend class, so of course you wouldn't know. Yukinoshita and Hikigaya are usually in the same group, and then they'll be there talking about something, like they're being lovey-dovey..."
"Bang!"
Her fist slammed on the window, and Erina's face turned red, and no one knew what happened.
"lovey-dovey lovey-dovey lovey-dovey lovey-dovey lovey-dovey lovey-dovey lovey-dovey lovey-dovey..."
"Lady Erina, are you okay..."
"Hahaha, of course I'm okay, what could be wrong with me... being lovey-dovey!"
"Looks like something's wrong though... after all, your fist is swollen like this."
"Idiot, I said I'm fine!"
...
On the other side, witnessing Yukinoshita's strength, everyone was speechless. If even Kurokiba, who had been constantly yelling, had become so quiet, then the magic contained in this dish was unimaginable.
This was a contest without discussion. As the bell rang, Yukinoshita won.
Yukinoshita: "I'm counting on you next, Hikigaya-kun."
Hikigaya: "Huh?"
Yukinoshita: "You have something I don't. I thought you were the same as me... but the truth is, in the end, I'm no one, and everyone."
When she said this, there was a clear hint of sadness on Yukinoshita's face. Even if Hikigaya's brain was working as fast as it could, he couldn't understand the situation at all, and couldn't understand what Yukinoshita was saying. Some things can't be understood if they're not said, but if they're said, they crave the understanding of others. In the end, it's just the listener's self-righteousness and the speaker's arrogance.
But, Hikigaya clearly understood that hint of sadness in Yukinoshita's eyes wasn't anything strange, it was something he once shared.
Kawashima urara: "Now, let's invite the next group to come on stage!"
"Hikigaya Hachiman, and Tadokoro Megumi!"
Interrupted by Kawashima urara's words, Yukinoshita quickly walked away, leaving behind a confused Hikigaya.
But... no matter what, only by winning the current match could he continue to understand. So...
Hikigaya and Tadokoro Megumi looked at each other almost at the same time, and simply smiled and nodded.
Hikigaya: "Let me go first... This is a new dish that I developed myself, and of course... I can't forget the help from those two. Allow me to thank them here."
As he said this, Hikigaya glanced at Erina, causing Erina, who already had a red face, to hide like a pampered kitten. On the other hand, when Hikigaya looked at Alice, she happily waved at him, not embarrassed at all.
Afterwards, Erina realized, why was she shy at the time...
After seven days of refining, Hikigaya evolved this saury burger into its final form. From the initial fish patty to the final product, it was a completely different product.
"Saury burger."
"Please enjoy."
Handmade buns, rich taste, seasoned peanut butter and caramelized onions.
Hachiman felt something was wrong during the experiment, after all, the impact of ketchup and pineapple juice was too strong, and would directly affect the taste of saury. So... he simply turned the ketchup and pineapple juice into peanut butter and salad dressing, mixed them and put them in the burger. At the same time, pineapple slices and tomato slices would also be put into the burger to neutralize the flavor.
The final effect was good enough.
Erina: "This is... the finished product..."
Alice: "It's completely different from back then..."
Mito: "What's different?"
Alice: "It's nothing, it's just that I don't know why... I also want to taste it, I wonder what Erina is thinking..."
Erina simply swallowed lightly. In fact, after tasting the second saury burger... she had already started looking forward to what would happen next.
And Yukinoshita Yukino, whose eyes were already dim, became even more lifeless at this moment, and she murmured:
"As expected, you and I are different... I'm just a thief who only knows how to learn my sister's cooking, and doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth, but you... always gives me surprises."
"Working together so many times, the time I spent with you was really happy, maybe this is the first time I've felt like I'm out of my sister's control..."
"Please, in the finals, you must win against me too, win against my sister's cooking. That way... I can accept all of this with peace of mind."
Unknowingly, Yukinoshita simply smiled up at the sky, it was clearly a smiling face, but it looked like she was about to cry.
Because everyone's attention was on Hikigaya at this time, no one noticed that on Yukinoshita's beautiful face, a single clear tear slowly rolled down her cheek.
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