Everyday Life Starting with Food Wars

"But in the end, I still chose to cast my vote for Soma Yukihira. The resilience you showed in your cooking deserves my vote."

Soma Yukihira is leading 2-1.

But the next second.

"drop--"

Blue, Chen Yuxing!

Kojiro Shinomiya adjusted his glasses, leaned back in his chair, and made his choice.

"Don't get too excited, Soma Yukihira. Your cooking certainly shows your drive, but it still needs some polishing."

He then turned to Chen Yuxing and said, "Using scallions, ginger, garlic, and white wine to process shellfish avoids the risk of the shellfish ruining the aroma of saffron."

"But there's still a problem with your cooking."

"Adding scallions will react with saffron to produce a bitter taste. You added a bit too many scallions, so there is a slight astringent taste in the aftertaste of the soup."

"But I'll still vote for you because the perfection of this improved bouillabaisse makes this minor flaw negligible,"

Two to two! It's a tie!

"My God, these two are really something! It's a tie!"

"It all depends on what the commander-in-chief chooses..."

All eyes turned to the last judge in the very center.

The Supreme Commander of Totsuki Academy, Senzaemon Nakiri.

Senzaemon Nakiri, dressed in a new black kimono, sat there with his arms crossed and eyes closed, seemingly savoring the two dishes.

"Gudong."

A clear sound of swallowing could be heard from the stands.

Senzaemon Nakiri slowly opened his eyes and raised his hand, hovering over two buttons.

"drop--"

When the button is pressed, the center of the large screen is filled with blue.

And the commander-in-chief picked up a brush and wrote down Chen Yuxing's name.

"The final result is!!!"

Kawashima Rei almost strained her voice as she loudly announced the final result into the microphone.

"After a difficult decision by the five judges, the team that ultimately won this semi-final by a single vote was—"

"Chen Yuxing, the contestant!!!"

"Let's congratulate him on successfully advancing to the finals of the Autumn Selection Tournament!"

A series of sounds swept across the entire moonlit sky.

The Polaris Dormitory members in the audience also jumped up.

On the field, Soma Yukihira looked at the final score on the big screen, lowered his head, and his shoulders began to tremble.

Just when everyone thought he was sad because of his failure, the guy suddenly raised his head and let out a hearty laugh.

"Oh dear! What a pity! We were just one vote short!"

Soma Yukihira strode towards Chen Yuxing and raised his fist.

There was no sign of discouragement in his eyes; instead, they burned with an even more intense flame than before.

"Ah Xing! You won this time."

"But I won't give up now. Next time, I'll definitely make an even better dish than you and win back!"

Chen Yuxing looked at the red-haired boy in front of him who would never give up, smiled and shook his head, then reached out and bumped hands heavily with Soma.

"I'll be waiting for you."

Chen Yuxing stretched and returned to the kitchen counter to tidy up everything.

"Let's go, it's time to go off the field and rest. The next game is the last one."

The two walked together toward the players' tunnel.

On the judging panel, Senzaemon Nakiri watched the two boys walking together, nodded slightly, and muttered to himself, "The Primal Stones are constantly evolving through collisions... The future of Totsuki is getting more and more interesting..."

"Ladies and gentlemen, the first semi-final was a fierce battle, but the excitement is far from over."

"Everyone can go back and rest for a bit. The second match of the semifinals will begin this afternoon!"

Kawashima Rei's voice came through the radio.

During this brief rest period, Chen Yuxing and Yukihira Soma walked back to the viewing area where the Polar Star Dormitory members were.

"Ah Xing!!! Well done!"

Yoshino Yuuki was the first to pounce on him and hang around Chen Yuxing's neck.

"Yuuki! Come down quickly, A-Xing must be very tired after the competition!" Tadokoro Megumi followed behind her and quickly pulled Yoshino Yuuki down.

“Soma is amazing too. The two of them are just one vote away from winning,” Marui Zenji said from the side.

Yukihira Soma chuckled upon hearing Marui's words: "Of course! After all, Hoshino and I have been tasting dishes every day, and I was just a little bit away from winning! I'll definitely win next time!"

"Soma-kun is already amazing!" Mito Ikumi quickly went to Soma's side, handed him a bottle of water, and took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat: "Have a drink of water and rest for a bit."

"Alright, alright, the match later is going to be very interesting." Chen Yuxing found an empty seat, sat down, and gulped down a bottle of water.

"What will become of Hayama Akira and Kurokiba Ryo?"

“Yes.” Hojo Miyoko crossed her arms. “Hayama Akira’s spices are still too terrifying. And Kurokiba Ryo is no pushover either, judging from the last few matches.”

The break time passed quickly.

As the music played in the venue, all the students who had gone out to buy water and eat returned.

"The next match will be the second game of the semifinals of the Autumn Selection Tournament!"

Kawashima Rei, holding the microphone, announced loudly: "The winner will compete against Chen Yuxing for the championship of this year's Autumn Selection Tournament!"

"The two sides facing off are—"

Two names appeared on the big screen.

"From the Spice Research Society, the contestant known as 'God's Sense of Smell'—Ryo Hayama!"

From the left-hand passage, Hayama Akira, dressed in a dark gray chef's uniform, walked out with one hand in his pocket.

He looked very relaxed.

"The other one is the player known as 'Rabid Dog'—Ryo Kurokiba!"

From the passage on the right, Kurokiba Ryo slowly walked out, his eyes drooping as if he hadn't woken up yet.

Some audience members on stage looked at Kurokiba Ryo with some disappointment.

However, when Kurokiba Ryo walked to his kitchen counter and reached out to pull out the headscarf with flame patterns, his entire aura instantly changed.

After tying the headscarf around his neck, his previously sleepy eyes suddenly widened, his pupils seeming to burn with fierce fire.

"Hey, white-haired guy." Kurokiba Ryo grinned, revealing his teeth, and looked fiercely at Hayama Akira opposite him. "Show me your full strength, or I'll drown everything you have in my offensive today."

When Ye Shanliang heard his provocation, he merely raised an eyebrow, picked up a small piece of cinnamon from the workbench, smelled it, and then a cold smile appeared on his lips.

"Anyone can talk big, you rabid dog."

Hayama Akira put down the cinnamon, his eyes suddenly sharpening. "I'll show you that your little bit of skill is nothing compared to real spices."

Their gazes clashed fiercely in mid-air, as if sparks were flying.

"The fighting spirit of both players seems to have reached its peak."

Kawashima Rei excitedly shouted on stage, "Then, the theme of this competition remains the same: Western cuisine."

"The match will last two hours!"

"Then, let's begin!"

As Kawashima Rei finished speaking, Kurokiba Ryo grabbed a kitchen knife, turned around, and took out a very thick eel from the freezer.

When it was taken out, the eel was still writhing wildly, trying to make a final struggle.

Some viewers gasped when they saw him tasting the food.

"An eel?! And a live one?!"

"It would take forever just to remove the bones from this thing, and it has a really strong fishy smell..."

Kurokiba Ryo sneered, pressed down on the eel's head with his left hand, and suddenly exerted force on his right wrist.

The chef's knife chopped right through the eel's neck, pinning it firmly to the cutting board.

He then switched to a cleaver and slashed it open from head to tail, instantly spilling blood and internal organs all over the cutting board.

His movements were full of violent aesthetics, without any unnecessary frills.

"This guy is too brutal," Yoshino Yuuki couldn't help but say, covering her eyes.

"Using eel to make Western food?" Daigo Aoki stared wide-eyed at the scene below. "But eel has a strong earthy taste, right? What can it be used for?"

"It might be French red wine eel," Marui Zenji speculated. "It's a fairly traditional French dish, but it's hard to say. Judging from Kurokiba Ryo's expression, it's definitely not that simple."

As expected, Kurokiba Ryo put all the chopped eel into a bowl, poured in a lot of red wine, onions, and black pepper, and mixed it to marinate.

Then he turned around and took out two extra-large Boston lobsters from the freezer.

"Snap! Snap!"

He used the back of a knife to crack the lobster shell, picked out the meat and set it aside, while sweeping all the shell fragments into a hot frying pan.

"Sizzle sizzle—!"

The moment the shrimp shells came into contact with the hot oil, they released a strong, caramelized aroma.

Kurokiba Ryo grabbed a bottle of brandy and poured it into the pot.

"boom!"

A pillar of fire shot up from the pot, illuminating Kurokiba Ryo's arrogant face in a bright red light.

He tossed the wok around while frantically adding tomato puree, garlic, and various broth spices.

He then used lobster shells to simmer the richest seafood broth.

On the other hand, Hayama Akira looked much more elegant.

He took a whole duck breast from the food cabinet next to him.

"Oh? It's duck meat?"

Dojima Gin was also somewhat surprised by Hayama Akira's choice. "Duck meat and eel have the same drawback: they have a special fishy smell. If not handled properly, the flaws can easily be exposed."

However, Hayama Akira seemed confident. He picked up a small kitchen knife and made a cross-shaped cut on the fat layer of the duck meat, so that the oil would be rendered out quickly when it was pan-fried.

Ryo Hayama began his performance.

He walked to the row of densely packed spice jars in front of the kitchen counter and kept taking out spices from them and mixing them together.

"What are those spices? Are they the spices used to make roast duck?" Marui Zenji opened his notebook and flipped through it. "It doesn't seem so. There's also honey and balsamic vinegar in it... What is this for?"

Hayama Akira evenly applied the mixed spices to the duck breast, especially the cut on the breast.

He heated the pan and, without adding oil, placed the duck breast skin-side down directly into the pan.

"Whoo-"

As the temperature rises, the fat in the duck meat begins to melt and slowly turns into duck oil.

The spices applied to the crevices of the knife also released a unique aroma into the shrimp fried in duck fat.

Chapter 90: An Uncertain Victory or Defeat

The aroma wafting from the kitchen counter was indescribable.

The aroma was a blend of the rich, oily fragrance of meat and the intoxicating scent of various spices. It was like an invisible storm that swept across the entire moonlit sky.

"It smells so good!"