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At this moment, Senzaemon Nakiri had temporarily blocked two contacts on his phone. These two people were precisely the two old friends who had served as judges with him before.
After the two of them came to their senses, they found that Senzaemon had actually run off with the food.
This had enraged them for a while.
That dish was something Yuuki brought out for the judges to taste.
But Senzaemon had actually run off with it to eat it all by himself...
They bombarded Senzaemon with a series of calls.
However, Senzaemon was also very clever. He knew their intentions, so he blocked these two!
This was Tōtsuki; they couldn't find him here.
....
"You're here. Come, sit down! The temperature now is just right; it won't scald you!"
Seeing Erina and Hisako Arato, Senzaemon Nakiri welcomed them to sit down.
There was no need to mention Erina—she was his granddaughter. As for Hisako Arato, he knew very well what she was like after being by Erina's side for so many years. So, he also let Hisako taste it.
"Grandpa, shouldn't you call Alice too?" Erina Nakiri asked after sitting down.
"No need to worry about Alice. The delicious things she's eaten at Polar Star are far more than what we've had here—" Senzaemon said with a smile.
He learned from Alice that, although she hadn't completely won over Yuuki yet, there had been significant progress between her and Yuuki.
Mainly, Alice was the one pursuing him, and quite brazenly at that, so the progress wouldn't be slow.
"That's true!" Erina nodded.
Indeed, Alice, at Polar Star, had constant contact with Yuuki. She had also heard from Alice that Yuuki treated his friends very well.
Polar Star's outstanding performance this time was entirely thanks to Yuuki carrying them.
....
Afterwards, the three of them tasted this dish once again.
Hisako Arato initially declined—after all, she was a secretary. But under Senzaemon's insistence, she also tasted it.
"No wonder the smell alone made my God's Tongue react! This dish—there are NO flaws whatsoever! My God's Tongue is completely satisfied!"
After a bite, Erina looked at the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall with astonishment.
If the previous Mapo Tofu had been Yuuki transforming flaws into advantages, which was why the God's Tongue had overlooked them, this time, there were no flaws at all.
Anyway, with her God's Tongue, she couldn't detect any issues whatsoever.
"Your God's Tongue's development level isn't very high yet, so it's normal you can't taste any flaws. Never mind you; I even doubt your mother could find any problems with this dish! This dish is simply flawless!" Senzaemon said.
This dish, to him, felt completely perfect.
Although he didn't have the God's Tongue, he was very old and had tasted countless exceptional dishes.
He had even tried dishes made by many Special Class Chefs, but this dish felt very unique to him.
It was unfortunate he couldn't send this dish to Mana.
They were too far apart.
If this dish was rushed over, it would be cold by the time it arrived. Once cold, whether eaten directly or reheated, the taste would be affected, and then, it definitely wouldn't pass his daughter's God's Tongue.
As for having Mana come back, that was even more impossible. Mana's current body couldn't handle such a journey, even with good transportation—her body was too frail.
Although her life was preserved with nutrient solutions, that was just bare survival. After so many years without eating proper food, her body had long since been weakened.
Furthermore, even if she were brought back, and they asked Yuuki to make this dish, what if it still couldn't satisfy her God's Tongue? So, Senzaemon Nakiri could only give up on having his daughter taste this dish.
There was no need to rush.
Mana could still endure for a long time.
Yuuki's growth rate had already far exceeded their expectations, so what they needed to do now was wait, wait for Yuuki to fully mature.
Hearing her grandfather's words, Erina Nakiri didn't inquire further. She knew very well that, as a father, if Senzaemon Nakiri had any way to solve the God's Tongue's problems, he would give it his all.
So, there was no need for her to ask him about his next actions or plans—she just needed to trust her grandfather.
And work hard herself.
Since quite a bit of the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall was left, the three of them ate until they were stuffed before finishing it all.
At this moment, the three felt incredibly satisfied.
....
As for Polar Star, Yuuki made another batch for them. However, since there was no rush this time, it wasn't such a big production.
After tasting Yuuki's Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, everyone was stunned.
"To think Yuuki could make such a dish when going all out. Truly incredible! Unfortunately, our skills aren't good enough to judge exactly what level this dish has reached—" Ryōko Sakaki sighed with emotion after finishing it.
"Never mind you young people. Even I hasn't tasted such a dish before!" Fumio Daimidō shook her head after hearing that.
Her experience wasn't shallow, but even she hadn't eaten such a dish before and couldn't judge its true level.
At this point, everyone started to anticipate the next rounds of the competition. After all, Yuuki would still participate in two more matches.
There would be two more dishes from him, both cooked with all his effort. They were very curious about what kind of dishes they would be.
....
The next day, everyone received a call from the Elite Ten, asking them to come draw lots. It should have been done yesterday, but because the scene was too chaotic yesterday—
—and the Elite Ten also needed to handle subsequent work, so they had temporarily put aside the matter of drawing lots. Now they called for everyone to come.
The final result of the draw: Yuuki versus Soma Yukihira, Megumi Tadokoro versus Alice Nakiri.
"YES! I'm up against Yuuki!"
"...."
Soma Yukihira's excitement made the Elite Ten members a bit baffled. Everyone else avoided Yuuki like the plague; this guy was overjoyed by drawing Yuuki as his opponent.
It made them a little dumbfounded...
"Yukihira-kun, aren't you a bit too happy about this? Drawing Yuuki-kun as your opponent, shouldn't you be, like, incredibly depressed? Your Autumn Elections journey ends here—" Rindō Kobayashi said.
"I know I'll definitely lose to Yuuki, but this is a chance to challenge him! Losing doesn't matter compared to such an opportunity!"
Soma Yukihira, being a cooking fanatic, naturally didn't care about winning or losing. There were no real stakes anyway. Just the opportunity to have a match with Yuuki was good enough, even if he knew he was bound to lose.
"Yukihira-kun is really something, huh? Not caring about losing at all. Kuga, you were quite similar back then, weren't you!" Eishi Tsukasa said, somewhat amused.
The current Soma Yukihira reminded him of Terunori Kuga in the past. Kuga back then had also been obsessed with challenging Eishi.
Even after suffering crushing defeats, he would still plot his next challenge. Kuga was also the type who didn't really care about victory or defeat, as long as he didn't have to pay too steep a price.
"This guy is just plain arrogant—"
Actually, internally, Kuga recognized Soma Yukihira. However, due to saving face, he didn't want to admit he was the same as Soma.
"Then it's time to draw the theme—"
After speaking, they drew the theme.
The theme Megumi and Alice Nakiri drew was "Vegetables." Seeing this theme, Yuuki knew the result already.
Originally, Alice Nakiri was already somewhat inferior to Megumi Tadokoro. Now that they drew Megumi's specialty, Alice's elimination was practically a certainty.
Upon seeing this theme, Alice Nakiri also knew she was doomed.
She was very clear about the difference between her and Megumi. She had originally hoped for a better theme, so perhaps she would have a chance to win.
But the moment this theme came out, she knew it was impossible.
Of course, Alice wouldn't go down without a fight. She would still prepare properly and give it her all.
As for Yuuki and Soma, Yuuki always let his opponent do the draw. And this time, the theme Soma drew also stunned Yuuki.
"Dough"
....
The subsequent match between Alice Nakiri and Megumi Tadokoro could be considered a battle between love rivals. Unfortunately, Megumi held all the advantages, so Alice Nakiri was ultimately defeated.
Alice Nakiri was somewhat depressed at the time. Although she had mentally prepared herself, losing still affected her.
Losing to others would have been fine, but losing to Megumi—the impact was much greater, as she considered Megumi her love rival.
Although this loss wasn't a loss in love, she still cared about it.
....
A day after their match, it was finally Yuuki's and Soma Yukihira's turn.
"The theme this time is Dough! I can't wait to see what these two will make!"
After seeing the theme, the audience started to discuss. Not just the students; even the instructors were very interested now.
After all, this was Yuuki's match. Every one of Yuuki's matches was incredibly exciting; the previous one was still fresh in their minds.
Besides the audience, there were many more security guards present now. The reason they were here was because the Elite Ten had learned their lesson.
To prevent another chaotic scene like last time, they had employed more security personnel.
Honestly, that nothing had gotten out of hand last time was incredibly fortunate. They wouldn't dare bet that next time would be the same.
....
Undoubtedly, Senzaemon Nakiri once again appeared at the judge's table.
This time, he came alone...
He had also learned his lesson from last time—If he hadn't brought those two geezers along, he would have been able to eat two more bowls—
So, this time, he just came alone. After all, as long as the final result had no issues, it was fine.
One person also satisfied the odd number requirement.
....
Both competitors had brought out their ingredients.
The dish Soma Yukihira planned to make, Yuuki had already known about it. After all, Soma hadn't concealed his experiments during his preparations.
As Soma had put it, "Since I'm losing anyway, there's no need to hide anything." If there had been a chance of winning, perhaps he would have held back.
What Soma was making was simple: Ramen.
According to him, he was making this ramen because it was a popular dish at his family's restaurant.
His specialty also happened to be making such noodles. Since he was cramming, he chose what he was best at. Plus, Jōichirō's Ramen from their previous match had inspired him quite a bit.
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