Cooking Showdown (18)

“Let me see. Is this the last one? The Merli branch? The very last branch of Merli? Hmm, how interesting.”

As he said that, Count Belhel was focused on the dish that Ricent was cooking. The smell was so pleasant that it seemed to draw his attention naturally.

“Oh, the smell is good! And this is a dish I’ve never seen before. Did you come up with this?”

He looked at the dish for a moment, then raised his head to look at Ricent, and then turned his gaze toward me.

Count Belhel and I locked eyes.

At that moment, Count Belhel’s behavior became strange. With a very mechanical motion, he tilted his head slightly and then stared at Rurin.

“Chomp chomp?”

Rurin, who was eating jerky, furrowed her brows at the gaze of Count Belhel.

As soon as their eyes met, Count Belhel hurriedly lowered his gaze.

Of course, Count Belhel didn’t know that Rurin was a dragon. He only knew she was a powerful wizard, something most of the high-ranking members of the alliance who participated in the Monster War knew.

Only the Emperor and the Duke knew Rurin’s true identity.

I silently mouthed a message to the Count, who seemed to be about to say something.

It wasn’t anything serious.

Just a simple phrase:
“Don’t act like you know us.”

Fortunately, Count Belhel seemed to understand, and he quickly turned his body around.

With an awkward movement, he began walking toward the seat of honor in the event hall where he had originally been sitting.

KWA-HA-HA-HA-!

He annihilated the monsters with a spell stronger than anyone else’s.

KWA-HA-HA-HA-!

The woman who cast equally powerful magic beside him.

The commander of the Allied Forces and the sorceress beside him.

The Commander was incredibly powerful, but the dark-haired sorceress next to him was far more ruthless, silent, and as strong as the Commander.

It could be firmly said that the reason humanity was able to push the monsters to the northern lands was thanks to the magic of the Commander of the Allied Forces.

He was as hard as steel when facing enemies but gentle with his subordinates. Yet, he was a strict and perfect commander when it came to military law.

The only time his poker face broke was when he was with the dark-haired sorceress.

The dark-haired sorceress only spoke when she was beside him.

Count Belhel still vividly remembered the night when he nearly died trying to speak to the dark-haired sorceress who had been alone.

Though he was praised as a war hero in his domain, Count Belhel was just a low-ranking officer in the actual war.

The Archmage Ellison.

A being who was known to surpass the 7th-class threshold, the standard for a Archmage.

The one who ended the decades-long war with the monsters.

He was the hero who drove the monsters to the north and created the sealing boundaries. Yet, he remained largely unknown to the public, as he rejected any praise and mysteriously vanished the day the Monster War ended.

He had witnessed that very being.

Count Belhel took a deep breath and sat down. His chest still throbbed.

At first, he thought it might be someone who resembled her or a mistake. He had never heard of her appearing after her disappearance.

But when he instinctively turned his head, he found her. The dark-haired sorceress.

The moment he saw her nonchalantly eating something, he was certain.

It was impossible for the two to resemble each other. That was why he was astonished, and for a moment, he almost knelt in shock, in front of so many people.

The fear ingrained in his body was so immense that it almost made him act without thinking.

But Ellison had said,
“Don’t act like you know us.”

If that’s the case, then I shouldn’t act like I do.

That’s the way to avoid drawing attention.

Count Belhel was increasingly baffled the more he thought about it. Why is he cooking over there?

The amusement of one who has achieved everything-?

What is the true meaning behind the “don’t act like you know us” thing?

Questions began to pile up. Count Belhel’s brain started working hard for the first time in a while.

If the wrong action was taken, he could die without anyone noticing.

There was no benefit in offending humanity’s greatest Archmage.

If it were just a rumor he had heard, he would’ve thought it was an exaggerated tale, but Count Belhel was different. He had witnessed war up close, and he had seen that power with his own eyes—multiple times.

Then he had to align himself with that amusement.

He couldn’t offend him.

How could he avoid offending him? Count Belhel’s mind became cluttered with that thought.

He had no petty noble pride as a count.

Not just monsters.

He had heard that his rise to the rank of commander-in-chief was due to his achievement of saving the Empire’s Capital during the Dragon War.

Who would be foolish enough to oppose a man who could kill dragons?

Count Belhel urgently asked the man beside him, Le’a-In Saint, for information.

“Hey, what’s that Merli East Branch over there?”

“Did you go that far? Haha, I have a daughter I brought from outside, and I assigned her to a restaurant to test her abilities. It’s just a family matter. If she doesn’t seem particularly skilled, I’ll kick her out immediately. Why do you ask? Do you perhaps like her?”

It could be a quick way to gain usefulness. In fact, it could be a huge boon.

Le’a-In Saint, curious about the intent of the question, probed further, but Count Belhel wasn’t focused on such things at the moment.

“Your daughter? Then do you know the chef she hired? The man cooking alongside her!”

“No? Now that you mention it, I think I heard she hired a skilled chef, but why do you ask?”

“Never mind. It’s fine.”

Le’a-In Saint clicked his tongue in his mind, and Count Belhel continued to roll his eyes, lost in thought.

It seemed that the representative of Le’a-In Trading Company in front of him had no knowledge of this, implying there was no connection with the company.

So, is he really there just to cook? What is he trying to do?

The more he thought about it, the more confusing it became. For now, he decided to watch and wait.

Hoping that everything would proceed in a way that would avoid drawing attention.

“The dishes are arriving!”

“Oh, finally. Let the judging begin!”

The judge panel, including the Market Association leader, stood up and moved toward the judging table.

They started tasting the arriving dishes and scoring them.

In such a situation, Le’a-In Saint misunderstood Count Belhel’s frown and shouted toward the Association leader.

“Quickly, bring a separate dish for His Excellency!”

“Y-yes, I’ll do that!”

Thanks to that, soon dishes from the competition were being placed in front of Count Belhel.

The judges began tasting the dishes normally. Of course, the rankings were already decided. Le’a-In Deron let out a sly grin from the top seat, while the Association leader, seeing this, began to plot.

“Wait, this…this is incredibly new and delicious!”

One judge holding a skewer spoke with a surprised expression. Soon, other judges began agreeing one by one.

“Whoa, the textures here are…how is this possible!”

The Association leader, of course, scowled. The stall that had presented the skewer had already been slated to come last.

But the judges were already all focused on that dish. To an outsider, it would have looked like a huge scandal.

“It looks like we’re supposed to eat in this order, starting with tender chicken breast, then crispy, chewy, and back to tender—this sequence is amazing.”

“Really, it is!”

The judges, being major merchants and influential city figures (excluding the festival restaurants), were able to discern flavors. They were all captivated by the unique sauces and diverse textures.

“The taste is exceptional. But of course, the best is the traditional Ma’a noodle.”

In this situation, the Association leader cleared his throat and shifted attention. He pointed toward Merli’s main shop’s noodles.

The other judges, having been bribed, nodded along.

“That’s true. Haha. It tastes good, but it doesn’t meet the festival’s regulations, so we could just mark it last with a plausible judging comment.”

They said that, but they were still holding the skewers in their hands. It was quite the comical scene.

“Then, we’ll give first place to Merli’s main branch again this year. No objections, right?”

The Association leader looked at the judges, and they all nodded.

Count Belhel heard this from a distance and was shocked.

Normally, he would never have interfered, but now it was different. He knew they were manipulating the results, and at that moment, it clicked in his mind.

Right, whatever else, he couldn’t allow unfair treatment. Choosing his dish on purpose would be a mistake.

That would be offensive to him. Knowing El’s personality somewhat, Count Belhel shook his head. “Don’t act like you know me” must mean that.

But being from outside, he might not have known the truth of the rigged game.

What if he found out?

That could also become his responsibility.

That could never happen.

How could they involve a former Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, an Archmage, in a rigged festival?

He couldn’t understand why he participated in such a festival, but instinctively, he felt that the word “rigged” should never be revealed to him.

So, Count Belhel quickly put the skewer dish from Merli’s East Branch into his mouth.

“This is delicious.”

It was truly delicious. So he tried a little bit of the other dishes. But they were the same old festival foods with little improvement. The skewer dish was clearly exceptional.

“Association Leader.”

“Yes?”

Although he had heard it faintly, Count Belhel called the Association leader, the head judge, forward to ask more clearly.

“Has the ranking been decided?”

“Yes!”

“Go ahead and list them.”

“So, first place is Merli’s main shop, second place is… Third place is… And last place is Merli’s East Branch.”

“What?”

“Excuse me?”

“Merli’s East Branch came last?”

“Yes, but…”

“Are your mouths just decorations?!”

Count Belhel jumped up. His face was twisted in anger, and everyone sitting at the seats of honor stood up in shock.

And Count Belhel glared at Le’a-In Saint.

“Le’a-In Saint!”

“Y-Your Excellency?”

“How long do you intend to ruin the festival by exchanging bribes? How much has this bastard Association Leader eaten, and how much did he manipulate the rankings? Huh?”

“Your Excellency…that’s…”

“Guards!”

“Yes, Your Excellency!”

The knights rushed forward, and Count Belhel began pointing with his finger.

“Arrest the association leader immediately! I’ll make sure to investigate thoroughly!”

“Y-Your Excellency! What is happening?!”

The Association leader began pleading in panic at the sudden turn of events, but Count Belhel ignored him completely.

“And you, Saint! Do you think my territory is a joke?!”