The strongest anime shop owner

"strangeness···?"

"Were the examiners' reactions a bit lukewarm?"

Upon seeing this, many people clearly noticed this situation. After all, Hisako, as Erina's secretary, couldn't possibly have such limited abilities, which made many people feel strange.

Upon seeing this, Nao Satsuka, standing to the side, revealed a smug smile, thinking to herself, "Hehehe... the aftertaste of my dish hasn't faded yet... such a memorable stench and smell—the impact must be so strong that it makes everyone feel like the rest of the dishes are tasteless! In other words, it's a curse...! This is my curse on you, Shinto...!!"

"...Alright, I'll take a bite first..." Kita Shuji didn't really want to taste it, but having learned from the previous experience, he figured it was best to try it anyway, so he said somewhat reluctantly.

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Chapter 176 Lamb and Four-Ingredient Soup Curry

"This...this is!?" As Kita Shuji was saying this, Anto Shingo had already taken a bite. He seemed to experience some kind of flavor, and involuntarily roared, "Roar..."

"Teacher Anton? What happened to you?" Upon hearing the voice, the other examiners all looked towards Shingo Anton. Kita Osamu asked, but quickly noticed something different about Shingo Anton and said in surprise, "Wh...what? Teacher Anton, who always mumbles and is practically invisible, and whose appearance is like a withered tree...I don't know why he's become like an actor in a martial arts movie, all muscular! What...what...what happened?"

"This unique aroma... this is..." Just as Kita Shuji was shocked by Anto Shingo's change, he noticed the difference after smelling the unique aroma wafting from the casserole.

However, Alice Nakiri, who was standing to the side, offered an explanation, having already removed her gas mask: "Angelica sinensis, Ligusticum chuanxiong, Rehmannia glutinosa, and Paeonia lactiflora! This is a nourishing formula made from these four herbs as the basis of traditional Chinese medicine... [Siwu Tang]!!"

"You...you mentioned Siwu Tang...it's the kind of dish that, according to legend, revives dying travelers who drink it—" Kita Shuji, being well-informed, naturally knew about Siwu Tang. Remembering it, he understood something: "Ah...I see! So back then...she was [brewing] Chinese medicine!"

“That’s right…that’s her specialty. Hisako Shinomiya is an expert in medicinal cuisine!” Alice Nakiri, standing to the side, obviously knew this, after all, she was both Erina Nakiri’s cousin and her rival.

Medicinal cuisine is a type of cuisine based on Eastern medicine, integrating food, medicine, and pharmacology. It is a field that uses boiled raw medicinal herbs or Chinese medicine for systematic dietary therapy.

"Besides those four medicinal herbs, I also added turmeric, star anise, and fennel seeds to create my own unique [Combined Medicinal Spices]." At this moment, Hisako Shinoto explained, "After simmering these spices for about an hour to extract their medicinal components, I added vegetables and mutton to the broth and simmered them slowly until the ingredients became tender. Then I added Shaoxing wine and cilantro to make the aroma of the dish more pronounced."

"Ah-! Now that you mention it, I realize that the medicinal ingredients in medicinal cuisine are extremely similar to those in curry! Turmeric is turmeric! Star anise and fennel seeds are star anise and fennel seeds... These are all essential spices for making curry!" Kita Shuji finally understood after hearing Hisako's explanation.

"She noticed this and combined medicinal cuisine with curry... creating a dish that's uniquely hers...!" Chipyo Orie thought to herself as she ate.

"This is my medicinal curry... [Lamb and Four-Ingredient Soup Curry]!" Hisako Shinoto combined her expertise with the theme to create this dish.

"Really...! It's really surging...! The energy of the medicinal food is surging through my body!" While eating this dish, Kita Shuji felt his body filled with energy, like muscles growing and tearing his clothes apart. That feeling of power and spirit was simply wonderful.

"So delicious... The spices bring out the concentrated flavor of the lamb, while the sweetness of the vegetables infused into the sauce makes the taste even milder...!" That mildness made Chiyo Orie break out in a sweat, and the delicious taste filled her entire being.

"Because of the effects of Siwu Tang (a traditional Chinese medicine formula), the body immediately feels warm after eating the dishes!"

"Yes... medicinal cuisine can warm the kidneys and replenish qi... and... it is also said to dispel evil qi from the body and mind!"

"The way the aroma is brought out and the wonderful pairings... it's an amazing level of completion!! How could a student make a dish like this!?"

"After eating this curry, I couldn't help but feel that the only redeeming quality of the previous dish was its sheer impact!"

The inspectors talked as they ate.

"Waaaaah... No way! The judges should all be captivated by my curry!" Upon seeing this, Nao Satsuka lost her composure. In her mind, the judges should all be captivated by her dishes, but their expressions clearly showed no such feeling, so she couldn't understand it for a moment.

“This is yours. You’ll understand the difference between you and me after just one bite!” Hisako Shinto said as she placed her dish in front of Nao Satsuka.

"The temple, chaos... this is clearly the origin of my dish... umm... but my origin has been baptized, becoming purer and purer." Nao Satsuka took the casserole, examined it, and then picked up a spoon and took a bite. The instant she tasted it, she froze. The surging power was like the power of light, purifying her entire being, making her feel as if her own territory was being invaded: "Ughhhh! Stop... no! Noooooo!"

"Our Niito family has been a lineage of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners since ancient times. And for Miss Erina, who has been handling heavy workloads every day since she was a child, I have transformed all my knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine into dishes. This is my 'Medicinal Cuisine'." After seeing Nao Satsuka's appearance, she already knew the outcome. Niito Hisako continued, "It is said that in the ancient Chinese court, there were food therapy doctors called 'Food Doctors' who served the emperor and provided him with medicinal cuisine. For me, my 'Emperor' is Miss Erina. Nao Satsuka... your dishes only consider yourself. You are not qualified to serve Miss Erina."

Watching Nao Satsuka and Hisako Shinto argue over Erina, Su Shilu couldn't stand it anymore. Seriously, what's so great about Erina? If you take away her God Tongue and her background, she's practically worse than an ordinary person. So, Su Shilu really didn't understand this. He could only say those two women were crazy. If it were him, he probably wouldn't even give them a second glance. He wouldn't like women who thought they were superior, arrogant, and didn't have much ability!

"So, what is Hisako Shinto's score?" The judges had basically finished their evaluations by this point, and then Rei Kawashima's voice came through.

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Chapter 177 The Future of Curry

"You're in my way, get expelled." After saying this, Hisako Shinto didn't even glance at Nao Sadazuka before turning and leaving.

"92 points!!! Woohoo! We've broken the 90-point mark! We easily surpassed Sadatsuka's score! As expected of Erina-san's approval!" Upon seeing this score, Kawashima Rei immediately shouted, as this score was currently in first place.

"Hehe. Hehe...hehehehehe...Hi...Hisako-neechan..." At this moment, Satsuka Nao held her face in her hands, looking completely intoxicated.

Hisako Shinto was speechless at the sight, feeling a sudden chill run down her spine as if something bad was about to happen.

Time passes again.

"Group B's review is also entering its final stage! The remaining chefs are—" At this point, Kawashima Rei was about to call the next person, but before she could finish speaking, a voice came from the reviewer's side: "Here—please enjoy your meal."

"She actually served the food without permission!" Seeing that Alice Nakiri had brought the dishes out before Kawashima Rei could even finish speaking, Kawashima Rei, the host of the ceremony, was furious. This was clearly a blatant disrespect. A huge frown immediately appeared on her forehead. However, seeing Alice's complete disregard only fueled Kawashima Rei's anger, as she gripped the microphone tightly, her hands and face contorted with rage: "Don't ignore my broadcast, you filthy woman!"

"People are getting impatient..." Alice Nakiri, having clearly seen Rei Kawashima's expression, sighed and said nonchalantly.

"What the hell is this?" Kita Shuji looked at the food on the plate, at a loss for words, since this was the first time he had ever seen curry in this form.

"What...what is that...?"

"Is that... really... a futuristic version of curry?"

After seeing this form of curry, many people discussed it extensively, since they had never seen curry dishes like this before.

On the plate, a square block and a flat, round block are stacked together. In the middle or at the bottom, there are green stripes forming concentric circles. The sauce is drizzled around the edges. The whole thing looks very delicate and petite, completely different from what people are used to seeing curry. It seems to be an innovation.

"This is a dish I've put my all into making. Please... take a taste." Nakiri said to Alice after presenting her dishes to the various judges.

"Is that thin, arc-shaped piece... a decoration?"

"And there's absolutely no curry sauce in the plate!"

"Could that green sauce be curry...?"

Many people in the audience couldn't understand this dish, and couldn't even distinguish between decorations and food.

"Seriously, what nonsense are you all talking about? There's no doubt that everything on this plate is curry." Seeing how knowledgeable everyone seemed, Alice Nakiri sighed helplessly and said.

"Hey, hey, hey... what's going on?"

"The examiners, who were talking fluently until just now, are now completely frozen in place!"

"How...how does it taste?"

After the examiners took a bite of the dish, they froze, none of them saying a word. This caused a lot of anxiety, since they had never seen such a dish before, and they were all somewhat looking forward to it.

"This... how should I describe it... something warm and something cold... sigh-" After seeing many people asking questions, Shingo Anto adjusted his glasses. He looked a bit conflicted, which showed that this dish must be very unique, making it difficult for them to give a proper evaluation.

"These seasoned gourmets are speaking haltingly... does that mean the dishes they received were beyond their comprehension...?" Hisako Shinoto thought to herself as she pressed the buttons on the judges' table, who were practically frozen in shock. After all, the judges in the preliminary rounds were only interested in food and worked in food-related professions; they weren't professional chefs, so their understanding of certain things was limited.

"This curry sauce... is made into a foamy shape, and it's even slightly warm... it tastes almost like it's melting... hmm. The tomato mousse... well... this one is chilled..." Faced with something that was beyond Kita Shuji's comprehension, he couldn't quite put his finger on it. But when asked, as a qualified examiner, he stroked his chin, thinking as he spoke, though he still stammered and couldn't explain it clearly at all.

"That's the solidified sodium alginate after adding spices. It's a moss made by mixing frozen and crushed foie gras powder with turmeric. The white thing in the center is mashed potatoes made from six kinds of cheese and potatoes. After the temperature drops in your mouth, please enjoy the crispy pie. This has also been flash-frozen, so it will melt quickly on your tongue. The pie, flavored with spices such as coriander seeds, allows your tongue to rest a little. Thermalsense uses various differences in temperature to create dishes based on molecular gastronomy... This is a dish full of this concept." Just as Kita Shuji was stammering and unable to speak, Nakiri Alice, who was standing to the side, couldn't stand it anymore and held up a finger, explaining to herself, which also made the others understand the dish.

"So...so...? In the end...was this dish...delicious?" After hearing the explanation and hearing the reactions of the various examiners who had tried the dish, even Kawashima Rei couldn't help but ask. After all, such a dish looked rather unusual, and coupled with Nakiri Alice's words, people are always curious about new and unusual things.

“Of course! It’s delicious! But…” Shingo Anton said without hesitation after hearing this, but then paused, as if he was suppressing some painful emotion: “I… cannot express in words how delicious it is…”

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Chapter 178 Su Luo, Underestimated

"A deliciousness that even top writers couldn't describe?"

"I really... really want to try it!"

Hearing even a top writer like Shingo Anton say such things caused a sensation throughout the arena. They simply couldn't imagine what that kind of food would taste like.

"Using spices as the main ingredient, the dish freely reveals a myriad of flavors and temperatures... This is a work that has revolutionized the realm of cuisine!" After looking at such a dish, Chipyo Orie gave this evaluation in her heart.

"95 points! Jumping up to provisional first place!"

"Impossible... all the regular customers gave it a score close to perfect, 19 points..."

After seeing the score, many people exclaimed in surprise. After all, such a score was already extremely high. Some people only scored 19 points in total. Moreover, for such a large-scale project, it is basically impossible to get a perfect score or even 95 points or higher. After all, for the reviewers, this is like a rule.

"Su Luo-kun, it's your turn now! I want to see how you'll be defeated by me. But speaking of which, you seem to be just a child! Sigh! Really, I can't believe I said something like that. I guess it's forgivable, right? Yes, that's it." At this point, it was basically in the final stage, but Alice Nakiri didn't get off. Instead, she grabbed the microphone from Rei Kawashima and spoke to Su Luo.

"Hey! ...You...Don't go too far!!!" Kawashima Rei, who was about to say something into the microphone, suddenly had the microphone snatched away by Nakiri Alice. She was already very dissatisfied with Nakiri Alice, but she endured it because the other party had powerful connections. However, everyone's patience has its limits. After seeing this behavior, she felt that this was tantamount to undermining her and stealing her job. Her forehead and clenched fists were covered with big tic-tac-toe marks, and she shouted at Nakiri Alice in exasperation.

"Who told you to speak so slowly—" However, it would be strange if you thought that Alice Nakiri would admit her mistake. Alice Nakiri simply spread her hands and said casually.

"What kind of action and tone is that? And please, don't act like it's none of your business, you bastard!" Seeing Alice Nakiri acting like she was completely oblivious to everything, he got angry and roared, almost as if his fur had exploded.

"What a stingy woman," Nakiri Airi muttered, watching Kawashima Rei's furious expression.

【well!】

Kawashima Rei clenched her fists, her knuckles bulging, as if she had met her nemesis, and swallowed her anger.

Just then, Su Luo brought up her dishes, and after opening the large lid, the contents were immediately revealed to everyone.

On the plate, there was no decoration whatsoever. The rice, which looked as white as jade, was drizzled with a thick, pale yellow sauce on one side, giving it a beautiful and glossy appearance. Scattered on top of the sauce were bits of carrots that had been fried in a juicer. However, the carrot bits were deep-fried, with a reddish-brown tinge of caramel, and they emitted a sweet aroma. But no matter what, this was simply a curry rice dish, and in terms of appearance, it was only slightly more visually appealing.

"What... what a joke! It's just an ordinary-looking curry rice!?"

"No way! What kind of joke is this?"

Before the judges could react, the discussion on the field seemed to have already become heated. They simply couldn't believe that Su Luo, with her skills, would make such an ordinary dish in such a setting. Was she still performing well in the competition, or had she simply run out of ideas?

"I can't believe it. Even if you wanted to admit defeat, you didn't have to make a dish like this." At this moment, Alice Nakiri, who was standing to the side, stared wide-eyed in disbelief and exclaimed. However, the way she said it made her sound so narcissistic.

"Girl, you've gotten even more shameless." Su Shi really didn't know what to say to Alice Nakiri, who would criticize everyone she met with such a nonchalant attitude, but she still couldn't help but mutter a complaint in her heart.

"Hmm... could it really be curry rice?" The dish made by Su Luo was clearly different from what Chiyo Orie remembered. After all, based on what her sister had said, and looking at the dish in front of her that looked as ordinary as could be, she was a little confused for a moment. She hesitated and said to Su Luo, "You... are you called Su Luo?"

"Otherwise what?" Su Luo naturally had no idea what Chipyo Orie was thinking, so she was speechless at this question. If I weren't Su Luo, would I be a ghost? This question made Su Luo depressed. If it weren't for the fact that she was an examiner and Chipyo Natsume's younger sister, she would have already said to her, "Big sister, are you sick? Your mother is calling you home to take your medicine," and then rolled her eyes.

"Uh...it's nothing." After Su Luo admitted it, Chiyo's heart stirred, and it was unclear what she was thinking.

"You...you're trying to fool us, kid!?" They were already suspicious that a child like Su Luo could make such a dish, especially considering his previous unremarkable performance. However, since he had made it to this competition, he was considered one of the better chefs this year. But Su Luo had actually served up such an ordinary dish, which made them feel like they had been tricked. Even though Su Luo was a child, Kita Shuji's expression was still unpleasant, and he looked like he was about to get angry.

"I think the competition is almost over." Compared to Kita Shuji, Anton Shingo obviously didn't care about arguing with a kid like Su Luo. However, his casual tone revealed his disdain for Su Luo, clearly saying that Su Luo's dishes were just child's play and he didn't care. However, his attitude as he was about to leave showed that he didn't care about the matter at all, or even completely ignored it.

"Could this really be... no, that's not right, that invigorating smell from before... um..." However, Su Luo remained calm in the face of this situation. This behavior puzzled Chiyo Orie. Although she wasn't a planner for the competition, she could still tell how important this competition was to the participants. If such a dish were made on the competition field, wouldn't that be ruining their future?

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Chapter 179 Su Luo's Dishes

So when she saw Su Luo's calm demeanor, Senpyo Orie felt that this seemingly ordinary dish was definitely not as simple as it appeared. After all, some things can only be known after tasting them. At this moment, she suddenly remembered the unique aroma that Su Luo emitted when she was making the dish. That aroma that made beasts' blood boil should have become even stronger after the dish was finished. However, Su Luo's dish did not have that feeling at all; instead, it became so ordinary.

"Miss Senpyo Orie... what are you doing? This is just an ordinary dish, isn't it?"

"No...during the process of making it...that smell...I really don't know how to describe it, it was just very peculiar..."

"Doesn't that mean..."

"Hmm... This seemingly ordinary dish must be something special. There must be something hidden inside. I really want to try it. I wonder what it could be?"

"And another thing... who do you think he is?"

After everyone saw Senpyo Orie's actions, many people immediately remembered something and began to speculate. After all, something that emitted that kind of smell must not be simple. Even if we disregard those factors, given Su Luo's reputation alone, it's impossible for him to make such a dish. Many people have witnessed his strength firsthand, let alone in such an important competition. Unless he really lost his mind.