Ch.371Chapter 371 – Beach Cooking Competition – 4

Before me lay four trays, each covered with metal lids.

Beneath these covers would be dishes prepared by unknown hands.

My role as the sole judge of this cooking competition was to taste each dish and assign scores.

I would rank them based on their scores, from highest to lowest.

And the creators of the highest-scoring dish would be given an opportunity.

What opportunity? I’m not sure I need to spell it out, but it’s the chance to do “that.”

What is “that,” you ask? It’s what’s commonly referred to as the marital duty between spouses.

Of course, the term “marital duty” doesn’t exactly apply to us.

Anyway, four trays sit before me.

What kind of dishes could be hiding inside?

Strangely, no aroma escaped from any of the covered trays.

“You won’t smell anything. I’ve cast a spell that creates a barrier preventing the air inside the covers from escaping.”

“Ah.”

What others might have to study diligently to learn, for Sister Regina, magic was merely a tool to prevent dishes from being identified by their smell.

Is this what they call a waste of talent for a former Archmage?

“Well then, let’s begin the judging in earnest.”

As I announced the start of the judging, the atmosphere immediately grew tense.

After all, the order of who would spend the night with me would be determined by the scores I gave their dishes.

Everyone wanted their creation to receive a high score, yet I could see the anxiety on their faces.

They had been given two hours, and if the dish they prepared within that time didn’t taste good, they would be pushed back in the order.

While there was no financial loss at stake, the sense of defeat and frustration from losing in a competition isn’t easily overcome.

Still, I had no intention of giving high scores to unappetizing dishes just to spare their feelings.

‘Let’s open them in order, shall we?’

I lifted the cover from the leftmost tray.

“Oh.”

What revealed itself was a soup filled with generous chunks of ingredients.

Actually, with so many solid ingredients, should I call it a stew rather than a soup?

‘How interesting. I’ve rarely seen clear broth in this world.’

Most dishes here use starchy ingredients to make thick, viscous broths, but this one had a clear broth.

‘The ingredients include large chunks of meat, potatoes, carrots, onions, turnips, and such.’

I tasted a spoonful of the broth and found it well-seasoned with a savory umami flavor from the ingredients.

‘It’s decent food, but it doesn’t particularly excite my palate.’

Moreover, the well-cooked meat crumbled in my mouth, and the vegetables were mushy.

‘The broth itself is good from being simmered for a long time, but the ingredients fall apart too easily… like military-style cooking.’

This reminds me of the “hodgepodge stew” we made during military service when the refrigerator suddenly broke down and we couldn’t waste perishable ingredients, so we threw everything into a pot.

‘Since it reminds me of my military days, I’ll give it 3 out of 10.’

Bringing back memories of military service? No matter how tasty, this can’t score high.

Opening the next cover revealed ice cream.

Topped with various dried fruits, it looked quite appetizing, even if not quite at professional standards.

‘Well then…’

I took a large spoonful, recalling a similar dessert I’d eaten at the Academy.

‘Hmm… perfect!’

It tasted exactly like that dessert I’d had at the Academy before.

The crunchy texture of the dried fruits complemented the elegant vanilla flavor beautifully.

The initial taste was vanilla, followed by strawberry, banana, apple, grape, and other fruit flavors.

‘This must be Elena and Mina’s creation.’

No matter how I tasted it, this was clearly their work.

‘Cold dessert in hot summer deserves bonus points. But since I’ve had it before, it’s a bit predictable, so 6 points.’

When I lifted the next cover, steam rose from two plates.

As the steam dissipated, the contents of the dishes became visible.

‘This, this is?’

Fried food coated in a red sauce so visibly spicy it made my eyes water.

And next to it, stir-fried peppers with Chinese buns.

‘Szechuan-style sweet and sour pork with stir-fried peppers?’

I never expected to see Chinese cuisine here. If so, this must be Cheon Hyeryeong’s creation.

‘Can a Heavenly Demon even cook?’

While the Heavenly Demon is said to be the pinnacle of all martial artists, I’d never heard of one cooking.

‘Is this even edible for humans?’

I cautiously picked up a piece of the sweet and sour pork with my chopsticks.

The moment I lifted it, a pungent spicy aroma assaulted my nostrils.

‘Well, let’s try…’

Curious about the taste of this Eastern Continent version of Szechuan-style sweet and sour pork, I took a bite.

Instantly, everything went black, and I lost consciousness.

“Are you alright? Can you hear me?”

“Huh?”

When I opened my eyes, the sky was already dyed red with the setting sun.

Wait a minute. We started judging shortly after lunch, so why was the sun setting?

“Pathos, are you conscious?”

“Sister Regina?”

Sister Regina was looking at me with a worried expression.

I pieced together what I saw upon waking with my previous memories.

‘I took one bite of that fried food in spicy sauce.’

And then everything went blank.

Did I really faint from just one bite?

‘Was that even meant for human consumption?’

“Hmm, what could have been the problem? When I ate it, there was nothing unusual…”

Cheon Hyeryeong was casually eating the same dish that had knocked me unconscious after one bite.

If it was spicy enough to make me—someone who handles spicy food well—pass out, I can’t imagine how spicy it must be.

Yet she was eating it without any issue, truly befitting of a Heavenly Demon.

Even extreme spiciness couldn’t defeat her.

“I still need to judge…”

“Yes, but are you sure you’re alright?”

“I should eat it, if only to honor the effort put into making it.”

I got up and approached the last dish.

Leaving aside Cheon Hyeryeong’s dish, I lifted the final cover.

What appeared was a well-prepared traditional Korean meal.

And among the dishes, something caught my eye.

“This, this is?”

Vegetables pickled and mixed with red pepper powder to create a bright red seasoning.

The very food that Koreans inevitably crave when abroad.

“Kim…chi?”

It was indeed kimchi. And not just any kimchi, but cabbage kimchi, which is reportedly quite difficult to obtain in the Western Continent.

Sister Regina looked extremely pleased when she saw my surprise at the kimchi.

The others didn’t seem to understand why I was so surprised.

“Isn’t it just vegetables pickled in spicy seasoning?”

“It doesn’t look different from the fresh kimchi you made for us before…”

“This is food from Pathos’s homeland.”

“Ah…”

Everyone sighed in understanding at Sister Regina’s words.

Recreating food from someone’s homeland is essentially a strategy to evoke nostalgia in the judge and earn extra points.

‘But if you make it poorly, it can actually cause your score to plummet.’

However, the person who made this dish was the one who had been with me the longest in this world.

I picked up a piece of the kimchi Sister Regina had made and brought it to my mouth.

It had the authentic taste of freshly made kimchi—slightly spicy with the distinctive aroma of cabbage blending perfectly.

“Delicious.”

Having proper kimchi after so long, I couldn’t help but voice my appreciation.

Besides the kimchi, Sister Regina had prepared a full traditional Korean meal with various vegetable side dishes.

This competition was clearly Sister Regina’s victory without question.

After judging all the dishes, I finally announced the rankings.

“First, I’ll announce the dish with the lowest score.”

As I mentioned the lowest score, they all swallowed nervously.

“The fried food with spicy sauce. This gets the lowest score. You should at least make food that humans can eat.”

If it was spicy enough to make me faint after one bite, it could potentially kill others.

So I gave the lowest score to what appeared to be Cheon Hyeryeong and Aisen’s creation.

“Next is the meat soup. A typical field cooking style.”

When I announced the meat soup, Karen and Eterna breathed sighs of relief.

They must have feared coming in last place.

“Second place goes to the ice cream. I appreciated the variety of fruit flavors in the ice cream during this hot summer.”

As I announced second place, Elena and Mina’s faces lit up.

As expected, they were the ones who made the ice cream.

“Finally, first place goes to those who prepared food from my homeland after such a long time.”

To be honest, Regina and Emelda’s team had the highest quality dish.

This cooking competition wasn’t about what they thought was delicious, but what suited “my taste.”

Sister Regina and Emelda had targeted that aspect precisely.

“Well then, it seems you’ll be spending tonight with us?”

Sister Regina and Emelda, who won the cooking competition, approached me.

‘You can look forward to tonight. We’ll give you a rather… different experience~♥’

It seems tonight is going to be exceptionally hot, in more ways than one.