Prince Of Cooking

People who already read the last chapter can skip until the start of the final if you want. I just write the top part because the previous chapter feels rush and didn't have a good flow to it.

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"That was fun," Love said.

He can now get to what he here in the first place, he then quietly whisper to Alice's ear, "Go along with what I said."

"Ok," she not sure what he has in mind, but she complies nonetheless.

With the student reporters gone, Jun jolt up and finally noticed her surroundings. And when she sees in the black uniform, she quickly got up and run to him excitedly.

"Oh, Lovin-kun. Are you here to learn about spices again, because I got time!" turning to Alice, she got ever happier, "She also here to learn?"

Seeing her behavior, Hayama facepalm with a sigh. Lovin would come here and listen to her talk about spices in long hours, then after he would ask her to take some herb or spices and she would give him happily.

"Not this time"

Lovin answer, letting her hope down but she brightened up with the next sentence.

"We here to pick up some herb but Alice here is not that knowledgeable about spices, so why don't you show her around and explain things to her while I go and search for the things I came here to get?"

"Yes, I would love to hear all about the famous researcher, Profession Shiomi Jun."

With Alice's permission and complement of her, she drags the girl out of the room, leaving just two boys.

"Get what you need and quickly leave" with Jun not around, Hayama didn't hide the annoying in his voice.

Usually, he wouldn't have the heart to say something like this with her around since she believes he and Lovin are friends, and she was so happy the first time she found out.

"Come on, aren't we best buddies?"

"You just come here one day and said you were my friend without my knowledge to get Jun to do what you want." Hayama got up and left for the door.

Lovin shakes his head and head toward the herbs cultivation garden and picks out what he needed, along with spices.

Afterward, he went to get Alice and said goodbye to Jun.

"Say, can you help me look for a knife smith?"

Since Alice's here, Lovin asked for her help. Surely, she wouldn't know someplace and with her statute as a Nakiri, things would go smoothly.

"I can but why?"

"I need a special knife for the final."

***

"Where is Lovin?"

Ikumi thought she would find Lovin here so she answers the red hair request of coming to the Polar Star Dormitory.

She's not the only one who was called, Royko and Ibusaki are here, along with Megumi.

"He and Nakiri Alice-san went to visit Profession Shiomi's lab"

Hearing the timid blue hair girl's answer, Ikumi got irritated thinking of Lovin spending alone time together with that vixen, "So, why did call us here, Yukihira?"

"I call you all here to help me with aging the Pacific saury," Soma replied.

With his lack of knowledge in picking the best Pacific saury in season, he wants to make up the difference in taste and the best way is aging, with the time he got.

***

"So, what can I do for you, Alice-san?"

Sitting across from Lovin and Alice was a middle-aged man with somewhat of a buff build. He is the blacksmith they come to see about forging for Lovin.

"Oh, it not me" the silver hair girl shook her head and motion at the boy beside her, "He came to make a request about a knife."

Sifting his fouse to Lovin, the smither ask, "So, what kind knives do you want me to make."

"An ice knife"

Seeing the confused look on the two people, thinking of what would he need such a knife for. Lovin strengthens his posture and starts to explain the detail of the knife he wants.

"I want you to go to a glacier and take a chunk of it, and forge into a cooking knife. I want to be as sharp as possible and freezing cold but also make it so it wouldn't break after one cut."

The two people in the room listening to the context of his request with their eyes wide open and mouth gasp.

"I want it done in one week, can you do it?"

"Y-yes," the blacksmith replies after coming out his daze, "But, let me ask. What do you need it for, couldn't you handle your task with a regular knife?"

"The dish I going to make in the final requires coldness. I want to be as authentic as possible."

"Very well, the cost of it is steep. Do you have enough money?"

At the forger question, Lovin just points his thumb at the Nakiri girl, "She's paying."

"How rube!-" Alice blows her cheek and folds her arms, "Asking a lady to pay for you."

***

With his business done, Alice and Lovin went their separate way and the black hair continue with his cutting practice.

At the same time, Soma was still searching and experiment with food aging. On the other hand, the two other finalists were already brainstorming their dishes.

In just like that, the 10 days quickly went by and it's the day of the Autumn Election Final, a four-way clash.

***

[Thank you for waiting, everyone! It's the Autumn Election Final!]

The hall of Heave and Moon was full and booming with the excitement of the audience.

[The four candidates will now enter the arena!]

All three participant enters the arena normally with their cooking tool, except for Love. He brought something extra behind him, putting the crowd in wonder.

"What the heck?"

"What he going to do with that?"

Behind him was a huge block of ice that was being pushed by three men and one other carrying two large, thick and soft towels.

Those men make their way to Lovin's cooking station and laid down one of the towels on the flood and transfer the block of ice to it, along with a chainsaw and another electric tool. Afterward, they take their leave, but they left the carrier pusher behind.

"Is he going to carve an ice sculpture in the middle of a match?" Ikumi remark, looking at all the carving tools Lovin brought.

[Allow me to introduce you to our honored judges today.]

After the MC girl finish with her announcement. A fully clothes Isshiki, in Totsuki's uniform took up the mic to continue the speech.

[First, serving as the head judge is Totsuki Academy Director Nakiri Senzaemon-dono. Executive Chef of Totsuki Resort and head of the tourism division, Dojima Gin-senpai. And we have one more:]

As he said that, a very beautiful pale-skinned woman with lower-back length silver hair that has long bangs that are split into both sides with a medium-sized braid on top of the rest of her hair in the back, enter the arena. She wears a knee-length purple sleeveless dress, detached sleeves and pumps.

[Head of Nakiri international, Totsiki's research division, Nakiri Leonora-dono!]

At the sight of her, all the girl in Polar Star was praising her beauty. It suddenly stops when Alice mentions the woman was her, "Oh, my mom."

[Leonora-dono lead Nakiri international, an academic institute that conducts research on gourmet food and molecular gastronomy, using cutting edge technology.]

"Would you be so kind as to say a few words?" Isshiki walks toward her and hands her the mic.

Everyone waited in anticipation as she coughs lightly to clear her throat, but was stun when she spoke in a broken Japanese language.

[G-good day, everyone! I am Nakiri Leonora, yes. I live in Denmark Judging feel hard, but I'll try my best!]

"Mother, you should at least tell me when you're coming to Japan!" suddenly Alice barged into the arena with permission with Erina trying to stop her.

"Oh, Alice, good to see you" Leonora turn around to greet her daughter, then her niece, "Erina-chan, you too. You're super angry as usual"

"That because of your daughter!"

She wasn't paying attention anymore as she moves her sight to the four contestants. More specifically, in the direction of Lovin.

"You're Lovin-kun, who defected my daughter and also her boyfriend. I was surprised, but my husband was super mad when he found out" she said as she took her seat at the judging table, "I'm looking forward to your dish and what that big ice is about."

When she mentions Lovin being her daughter's boyfriend, everyone who saw the first round of the Autumn Election main tournament remembers the silly Shokugeki that took place.

"It's will be a beautiful sight, I will show you all my art and craft."

Everyone who knew him was surprised when Lovin speaks in English and it was fluently one at that.

"You! When did you speak English?!"

The fists to question him was Erina, so was his other friends. Since he was an orphan, they thought he only know Japanese.

"Since always, you never ask."

***

[First, let see each candidate's Pacific saury.]

With all the chatting and greeting done, Isshiki took up the mic again and on his mark. All four contestants display their fish, showing off the high quality and its shine. All but except Soma, his fish was cover in some kind of yellow-looking dirt.

[Honored guest, the time for the Autumn Election Final to begin is almost here! Please look up at the ceiling!]

Just when Hayama and Ryo were over belittle their red hair opponent in his choice of aging to compensate for the difference in ingredient quality, Isshiki directs everyone's attention to above as the root of the building opens up, letting the people see the moon and its light shining down.

[The cooking time in the finals will span approximately two hours. This is the time it takes for the moment the moon appears in full and traverses across the sky, and become hidden once again.]

With everything set for an unforgettable final and between the best of the first-year, Senzaemon stands up and announces the start of the match.

"Let the cooking begin."

Straight away, the four finalists got into the preparation of their dish. Ryo was working on various sea ingredients, while Soma cleaning the yellow sustained off his fish and start to gill them.

"Look, he really is carving the ice!"

On Lovin's side of the station, he was cutting the large block of ice into his d.e.s.i.r.e form with the help of the chainsaw.

"Haha, that boy is a mystery, alway doing something unexpected. First, he speaks English and now, he can carve." Dojima comments as he and the other judges watch Lovin's work.

In a short moment, Leonora speaks up when the block of ice turned into a rough outline of a human figure, "That's fast, he already got the form."

"The other participants are cooking amazing dishes, but ait being overshadowed by his ice carving."

As Totsuki's director said, everyone was quietly watching Lovin fine detailing his female figure ice sculpture as though they observing an old master working on his craft.

In no time at all, there were only 30 minutes left on the clock and Ryo was done with his cooking. When he about to go serve the judges his dish, someone shouts out,

"It's Nakiri Alice!"

Forcing everyone's attention toward Lovin, he was carrying a complete human size, nude ice sculpture that is the perfect image of Alice and for censored purpose, he didn't crave the n.i.p.p.l.e and private part.

"Oh, it looks just like you, Alice," Leonora said and her next comment makes her daughter go red in the face, "I hope I can eat off of your ice sculpture."

"Mother!"

Lovin carefully places the sculpture on top of a folded soft, white towel, which was on the carrier. Afterward, he moves the carrier to stand beside his cutting board.