Can you handle my Hikigaya's cooking?

He crossed his arms and noticed that something was wrong with Hikigaya, but...

"Run, do you know something?"

Shiomi pushed her glasses up in a mysterious manner:

"Hey, you'll find out later."

Without giving the 34-year-old professor any face, Ye Shanliang just patted her head and said:

"Don't be so mysterious, Run."

Run, who had suffered a severe blow to the head, hugged his head adorably and said in a tearful voice:

"This is the new spice that Hikigaya and I have researched. It will definitely scare the shit out of them!"

On the stage, Alice seemed to have already decided the outcome, so she came directly in front of Hachiman and said:

"Why, do you want to admit defeat?"

"At this point, there's nothing more to say."

Hachiman smiled softly, and before he knew it, he had come in front of the judges and took out five test tubes.

Commander: “What is this?”

One of the judges recognized it instantly. When he tasted Kurokiba's cuisine, he took the cuisine to a new level with a test tube of spices.

And now...

Hachiman: "The game isn't over yet."

Under Hachiman's operation, tens of thousands of people watched as the spices in the test tubes slowly flowed into his big pot of stew.

In an instant, all the ingredients were suddenly weakened, and only the aroma of the constantly gushing soup enveloped the entire venue.

Ye Shanliang: "What on earth is going on?"

Run: "However, this research has just been successful and Hachiman dared to use it. He is really a bold guy."

Yukinoshita looked at the scene in front of her, but said nothing. She laughed at herself in her heart, "It seems that it is too early to draw conclusions."

Erina: "What did that guy do? If I remember correctly... it should be the same trick that Hayama Ryo used back then."

Hisako: "This guy, it's impossible that he has learned the combination of spices in such a short time..."

As we all know, every ingredient has a specific aroma, and if this aroma is extracted, there will be fixed spices. Under normal circumstances, the combination of more than a dozen spices is already the limit. After all, too many spices will affect each other, and the final effect will not be good.

But... ingredients are not spices. Although they have a specific aroma, they are made of different spices. The spices made by combining so many ingredients have exceeded a hundred...

It's simply incalculable.

Ye Shanliang's brain completely froze at this moment, and Alice, who was full of confidence just now, was also completely dumbfounded at this moment.

Marui: "I can't think of any words to describe this guy. If I have to say... it's just a pervert, a monster."

Ibusaki: "After all, Hikigaya is our friend. I will tell Hikigaya exactly what you said later, Marui."

Marui: "It's too scary that not a single word has changed. Ibuzaki, I'm praising him, but I just can't find the words to praise him..."

Ryoko: "Marui, you are so nasty."

Tadokoro Megumi: “Yeah!”

Mito: "But if I do this... maybe I can beat Alice."

Yoshino: "There's no turning back now."

As everyone watched, the judges simply drank the entire dish.

Like some kind of heaven-sent panacea, all the troubles in my ears have disappeared, and what I got was like returning to that midsummer night when I was 17 years old, with a voice ringing softly in my ears:

"Senior, please accept my lunch box!"

That alone is enough.

Chapter 89: Killing Ye Shanliang in seconds, the true meaning of bento

If Alice's cooking is the most perfect dish made from beginning to end using knowledge and modern machines, then what Hachiman delivers is just an ordinary bento.

However, precisely because it cannot be calculated, it has infinite potential. The emotions conveyed in the bento cannot be replaced by any machine.

At this point, Hachiman didn't have much to say. After all, he never thought of himself as a very enthusiastic guy, and everything he did only affected things around him.

But even so, even such a rational person like him still took a very important step forward.

Even if it's just for myself, I still pass it on.

Compared to cold-blooded machines, cooking requires more than just taste, but the emotion that comes from being made with heart. Both his father and former teacher taught Hachiman this, and although he realized this a little late,...

But it still arrived.

The recognition from the five judges who had truly tasted Hachiman's cooking was like an unbreakable wall that blocked Alice's path to victory.

Those complex aromas, through the effect of spices, ultimately result in an irresistible feeling.

That is warmth.

The warmth can only be experienced if you have truly tasted it, and it is also the warmth that can only be unforgettable if you have truly felt it.

Tadokoro Megumi: "Look, the judges' faces all changed..."

Ryoko: "Yeah, compared to just now, the judges now seem to be...just enjoying something."

Takumi: "Is this, that she was influenced by Hikigaya's cooking? How did she do that..."

Yukinoshita: "It's this familiar feeling again, it's really like this..."

It seemed that the entire audience had fallen silent since some time had passed, and Alice, who had just been mocking Hikigaya, was completely speechless. It was just that...it could be seen that both the audience and Alice had a hint of doubt and reluctance.

If she was rejected here, wouldn't it be equivalent to denying the time and effort she had put in over the past few decades? If she was eliminated here, then what was the difference between her and herself who was eliminated by Erina in the past?

Thinking of this, Alice simply took out her food and lowered her head to come in front of Hikigaya.

It’s not that she cannot accept failure, but before accepting failure, she must figure out what her efforts over the past decade were all for, and what that seemingly cold goal was for.

Hikigaya understood what Alice meant. While looking at her, he also realized that perhaps her inner feelings at this moment could not be expressed simply through words.

so...

He gently picked up Alice's sushi, put it into his mouth, and tasted it carefully:

“Whether it’s vegetables or seafood, each sushi has its own outstanding flavor, which complements each other without overshadowing the flavors of other sushi. It’s simply perfect.”

Alice: "Hehe, are you mocking me?"

Hachiman simply shook his head: "If that's all, then there's no point."

Perhaps not long ago, he and Alice had similarities. Although he did not have the passion for cooking, he had also lost all emotions and simply made dishes that he had improved upon. However...

If he had not lost to his father, Shiroichiro, at that time, if his father really would not have come to Totsuki, then perhaps he would not understand it until now.

It was precisely because of the changes that happened on that day that he was able to stand here forever. Although in the eyes of most people, Hikigaya was just continuing to write his miracles, and even after defeating Shinomiya, the former number one, he continued to move towards the autumn selection. But in fact, only those who knew him understood how much conflict and thinking he had gone through in his heart during this period.

Therefore, he was standing here not for anyone, nor for some illusory thing like a cold goal. He was standing here just for himself, nothing more.

If your expression is interpreted by others, if your words are misunderstood by others, then... the only thing that can be truly conveyed is this dish.

Taking out the lunch box prepared for Alice Nakiri in advance, all words lost their meaning at this moment. You only need to taste it yourself to feel its true meaning.

"Try it."

Alice took the lunch box with some doubt. Compared with the one in the preliminaries, this lunch box had made great improvement at least in appearance.

Alice: "What? As expected, it has come to this, but..."

It seemed that no verbal explanation was needed, Alice just picked up the chopsticks and started tasting it.

If there is something deeper to deliciousness, what is it? Alice in the past may never have understood this.

However, if you could feel that warmth yourself, perhaps all your past doubts would have disappeared at this moment.

The function of bento is not just to satisfy people's appetite, but more importantly, to bring them the emotion and relief they feel when they receive the bento.

The deliciousness that only bento can convey is the driving force behind the continuous improvement of the current bento culture. If there is no meaning in it, then the so-called bento culture is worthless.

Memories of the past came flooding back to her mind, and that past that was hidden deep inside was revealed so nakedly. Like Erina, Alice was also a lady of noble birth. Perhaps the only difference... was that when she was born, Alice did not show any talent. Therefore, those who approached her essentially did so to get close to Erina.

It seems that as long as Erina still exists in the world, Alice is just a puppet, a doll that always lives in the shadow, so...

Only at that time would she go to Northern Europe and stay away from the world of cuisine.

But even so, after leaving Totsuki, she never forgot this humiliation. Even though decades had passed, she had only devoted these ten years completely to cooking.

Maybe she really has no talent, and even her study has been very difficult to get to this point, but even so, she is just an ordinary person, and it was only through decades of hard work that she finally returned to the world of cooking.

If the world's sharpest, most advanced, and newest weapons that are not inferior to Erina's are perhaps only those machines and equipment that are constantly updated and iterated, and in order to use an ordinary person's body to fight against these darlings who have been cared for by God since childhood, she can only do this.

But, during this time, she had forgotten.

Even cooking is full of emotion.

As the memories of the past reappeared before my eyes, only the tears that could not help but slowly flowed down at this moment.

I had clearly decided that I would not lose to anyone until I lost to Erina.

We have clearly come this far towards this goal.

But...if you feel this warmth, you will still stagnate.

Alice's cry was choked with sobs and she just sobbed quietly.

As a chef, the last taut string in her heart broke gently at this moment, and in the end, she just became the child she once was.

But now, perhaps she has gained something.

In that cold winter, she was used as a stepping stone and just cried in the snow as usual, crying about her unwillingness, and at this time...

Behind her, a warm lunch box had already been handed to her.

The five judges all nodded in unison at this moment. Since it was not a scoring system, a final vote was required, and the final result of this cooking competition was completely unexpected.

Commander: "Well, the final result has been revealed!"

"After five judges' votes, the final winner is..."

"Hikigaya Hachiman!!!"

At this moment, there was no more discussion in the entire venue. Perhaps, the applause in the venue had already put a perfect end to this wonderful cooking showdown.

"As expected of Hikigaya, that guy won again..."

"Even the number one in Group B won, so who else can beat him next?"

"Although this guy is very perverted, it's not an overwhelming victory. At least in my opinion, Yukinoshita has a chance to beat him."

"Idiot, when you compare him to Yukinoshita, he already wins."

Yuigahama: "Yumiko, did you hear that? The people next door are praising Xiaoqi and Xiaoxue!"

Miura: "Please, I'm not deaf, I can still hear more or less."

Hayato Hayama: "That's good too. I'll go get ready next."

Miura: “Yeah, come on!”

Yuigahama: "Hayato-kun, try your best too!"

Hayato smiled faintly and left quickly.

However, it would be too simplistic to think that the game ended so quickly. Although she had already admitted defeat, Alice just collapsed to the ground like a child and kept making a fuss.

Hachiman: "What the hell, this is totally like a child."

Alice: “Wow wow wow wow wow….”

Hachiman: "Idiot, everyone is watching us, stand up now."

Without any unnecessary words, he just walked up to Alice and stretched out his hand.

Alice, whose eyes were completely red from crying, didn't seem to want to stop so soon, and just continued to roll around.