"What kind of cuisine is this, exactly?"
Without time to think, her body reacted first. The silver fork in Nakiri Erina's hand descended upon the most dazzling component of the tri-colored platter: the celtuce shreds.
As a shredded dish rarely seen in Western cuisine, the celtuce in the platter was not as difficult to pick up as imagined. With a faint piercing sound, the silver fork skewered a full portion of the shreds.
Set off by the gleaming silver fork, the celtuce on the tines appeared as translucent as top-tier jade, looking increasingly verdant and magnificent.
The unique aroma of the celtuce, rich but not overpowering, filled her nasal cavity. The foul mood caused by being stuck in traffic all morning and seeing Mo Bai gradually settled.
"The taste... what is the taste like?" Nakiri Erina's delicate body trembled slightly, her bright violet eyes filled with intoxication.
Her moist, red lips, delicate as a blooming rose, parted slightly, and her pearly white teeth opened and closed.
The crisp celtuce shreds snapped, and an incomparably pure savory fragrance of celtuce erupted! The young girl's grip-worthy slender waist suddenly arched backward, revealing full curves inconsistent with her age that invited infinite reverie.
"How? How can it be so warm?" Her violet eyes, now veiled in a hazy mist, were stunningly beautiful. On her sensitive tongue, this warmth seeped into her soul; the arrogant queen shed her serious shell, instantly transforming into a bright and charming princess.
The scene of the young man tossing the glistening celtuce shreds into the oil pan surfaced before her eyes.
"So this is a hot dish!" Nakiri Erina was startled to realize she had been deceived by the celtuce's verdant appearance.
How could it retain such a green color after entering the oil pan? Why was the taste of the celtuce so rich? And what was that warm current transmitted from the tip of her tongue to her heart?
Questions lingered and wandered incessantly in her mind. "How on earth was this achieved?"
Clearly, this dish contained nothing but olive oil, salt, and celtuce shreds, yet why could it reach such a level?
Nakiri Erina even spawned a notion that she herself felt was somewhat absurd: this plate of ordinary celtuce shreds was the most delicious vegetable dish she had ever tasted.
"Miss Nakiri, are you not going to eat?" A conversational attempt accompanied by the sound of swallowing saliva interrupted Nakiri Erina's contemplation.
Nakiri Erina looked up, only to be startled by the scene of the four beautiful judges staring straight at her plate with beautiful eyes emitting a terrifying green glow.
"Uh, excuse me, I zoned out for a moment." Nakiri Erina swept her gaze over the four's dining plates, which were as clean as washed white porcelain, without even a drop of soup remaining.
"..." Nakiri Erina hurriedly continued with her fork.
The white asparagus resembled jasper, seemingly still bearing crystal-clear dewdrops on top.
The unique tender texture of the asparagus was conveyed between her lips and teeth. The fresh breath of the white asparagus exploded, causing Nakiri Erina's legs beneath the judges' table and her delicate body to tremble slightly.
"It's like this again!"
Warmth, purity!
Olive oil, salt, white asparagus!
It was the same simple formula, yet it achieved an effect Nakiri Erina could not understand. Moreover, after tasting the Stir-fried Celtuce Shreds and Stir-fried White Asparagus from the tri-colored platter, something was stirring, ready to break out of its shell from within her heart!
Nakiri Erina eagerly switched to a spoon, aiming straight for the tender yellow egg granules.
Every single egg granule was of a surprisingly uniform size.
However, Nakiri Erina was in no mood to marvel at this; she impatiently, perhaps even somewhat violently, shoved the spoon into her mouth.
The flavor bomb sealed beneath the soft egg granules detonated!
"It's Chinese Toon!"
"This aroma—it's too violent!"
"Ahhh!!!"
With a delicate cry like a cuckoo weeping blood, Nakiri Erina shuddered all over.
She returned to that beautiful forest that seemed straight out of a fairy tale. Amidst the wildly growing green grass, nameless flowers bloomed. Inside the flowers, small elves with wings on their backs stretched as they awakened.
The cute little creatures dancing in the sky presented her with a flower crown woven from tender tree shoots, a jasper scepter representing the ruler of the forest, and an exquisite bracelet of jade.
She waved the scepter, and warm sunlight instantly poured down.
Revealing a satisfied and happy smile, Nakiri Erina woke from the gourmet illusion, looking at her unconsciously emptied plate with immense shock in her heart.
The instinct to find flaws that made her God's Tongue so detestable had actually failed to activate; this was one of the few dining experiences she had enjoyed since undergoing that dark period.
On the other side of the judges' bench, Auxis also looked at his empty plate, unable to calm his heart for a long time.
"My philosophy was indeed correct!"
"There is no distinction between high and low in cuisine! Even ordinary dishes are no inferior to court cuisine!"
"The gap lies with the chef, not the cuisine!"
For a moment, Auxis felt a surge of emotion.
"Pure, harmonious." Nakiri Senzaemon narrowed his eyes and, after a long while, whispered two words.
Only after another long pause did he offer a complete evaluation.
"Two Culinary Hearts perfectly stacked."
In the eyes of the Qilin-level Nakiri Senzaemon, if not for possessing a Culinary Heart that purifies flavors, even he would be fundamentally unable to replicate this dish. And the subsequent gourmet illusion was clearly the result of another Culinary Heart that blended the artistic conception of the three ingredients together.
"This dish may not be perfect, but it has reached the height of harmony!"
Watching Mo Bai, who was busy at the cooking station while releasing a faint golden light, Nakiri Senzaemon was secretly alarmed.
What does a mature Culinary Heart represent?
Invincible under Special-Grade!
And with two mature Culinary Hearts, one could even wrestle with a true Special-Grade chef.
One must realize that the age shown on this young man's profile is eighteen!
"Terror so great!" Nakiri Senzaemon was appalled.
Zhang Yu and Chapelle were already in a daze; they, too, had tasted the two Culinary Hearts.
But...
They had also tasted Mo Bai's seasoning-type Culinary Heart during the entrance assessment!
Three mature Culinary Hearts?
What kind of god am I teaching/supposed to teach?!
Seeing that the students in the entire venue were silent, wanting to hear the critique, Nakiri Senzaemon cleared his throat.
"This dish gave this old man the feeling of bathing in the warmth of spring sunlight."
"Its Chinese name: The Gone Valentine's Day..."
"Valentine's Day falls in early spring when the ice and snow have not yet melted. Chef Mo Bai is likely using a metaphor for the warmth of lovers snuggling together, and he has indeed achieved this in the dish."
"Warmth from the body all the way to the soul," Nakiri Senzaemon said in a deep voice.
"So that's it!" The students who had been completely confused by the Chinese language suddenly realized. "The Director is awesome! Chef Mo Bai is awesome!"
"Pfft!"
Seeing this scene, Bai Zishu laughed out loud unkindly.
"Did this old man say something wrong?" Faced with Bai Zishu's sudden laughter, Nakiri Senzaemon appeared somewhat adorably dazed.
"Director, old sir, I give your reading comprehension full marks." Bai Zishu, having managed her expression pack once more, offered an affirmative smile and gave a stiff thumbs-up.
"..." Zhang Yu, who had just barely escaped the shadow of his junior, was instantly covered in black lines.
He hadn't expected his little niece, whom he hadn't seen for so many years, to be this mischievous. Furthermore—
"Little Mo, if you keep naming dishes like this, you'll be beaten to death sooner or later."
Mo Bai, standing before the cooking station, felt his heart fluctuate wildly and had to go to the Mental Time Chamber to vent his emotions.
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