73 73 "General War, Japanese Cuisine Settled!" (1/2)

”Woah woah woah, it's Keogh! You came to me today instead of running away. Am I right in assuming that you are prepared?

Hey, come on over any time.

And the day of the decisive battle. The final battle of this long but short demon king cooking battle, the general's battle, was coming up.

Now the fifth and final round of the battle, the general's battle, will begin. I expect both sides to cook better. Then--start!

Hel and I start to move at the same time as the gourmet master declares.

Helu lays out countless monsters on the table and throws them into the pot.

I see...so this is a game of pots and pans. This is going to be a fun game.

I also put the demons I've raised on the table, but the judges are slightly surprised when they see it.

It's a good idea to have a similar demon as Helu: ...... No, wait!　What the hell was that all about?

The judges scream in confusion when they see the sea and mountain demons I've spread out on the table.

That's probably right. Because all the demons we've prepared here--

”Those are all unmarketable, substandard monsters!　Aren't they all misshapen and wounded demons?

Yes, I prepared the Devil Carrot, eggplant, killer plant fruit, and colored fish, but all of them are misshapen and some of them are damaged on the outside.

The Devil Carrot was a three-legged misshapen one, the eggplant was overweight and torn, and the color fish was damaged here and there.

Helu, who was watching from the other side of the room, lets out a giggle.

”Huh, what the hell do you think you're doing?　It hurts me that you would try to beat my cooking with such a badly made demon.

”Well. It's not what it looks like. You'll find out soon enough. By the time you stop talking in the kitchen.

I'm not sure if she was annoyed by my response or not, but she blushed and hurriedly countered.

Bu, rude!　This is the venerable dialect of our dark demon tribe!　Don't lump them together with such a rude word as ”chiji”!

Do you know what the word ”kitchen” means? Hmmm, the common sense of this world is becoming more and more mysterious.

Anyway, I also finished processing the ingredients and put something on the table to join the main course.

It's the same one Helu put down earlier.

This is interesting. Is this a one-pot meal for both of us?

Yes, I had also chosen the same Japanese cuisine as Helu, namely nabe.

It was interesting to see which one of us could make the best nabe dishes, but it was also interesting to me, and I didn't even know it, as my fighting spirit was fired up.

Eventually, both sides were ready to finish their nabe dishes, and at about the same time, they made their declarations.

”This is Keogh, the special seafood rice dish is ready!

”Dark Master” Helu, also known as ”Dark Master” Helu, made a tofu dish.

Although the ingredients in both cases were slightly different, the underlying dish was the same, Mizutaki, and the two pots were placed simultaneously in the jury box.

I see. I see. Both of them came up with boiled rice dishes. Very well, let's move on to Helu's tasting first.

With that, the other members, including the judges, grabbed the pot and brought the ingredients to their mouths.

In the next moment, the judges' mouths were filled with the autumn scenery of wild plants. A melody of flavors, which can be called the art of the ingredients, was played.

This is great!　Each one of them intertwines beautifully with the flavor of the dashi while retaining the flavors of the ingredients!

This ponzu is also wonderful. It tastes different from soy sauce. A slight sourness spreads in the mouth, but it enhances the flavor of the meat and wild vegetables. Best of all, when mixed with the broth in this pot, it's a broth of its own!　Drinking it down with the food will give it an irresistible depth of flavor!

It's certainly ...... delicious. The ingredients themselves aren't supposed to be so contrived, but just boiling them down in a pot of water will give them such a rich flavor ......?

Hel's boiled water was so excellent that all the judges were raving about it, but Fitis was right: there is no way that this much flavor can ooze out of mere boiled water, but the gourmet master, who noticed the trick, pointed it out with a smile on his face.

I see, so the secret lies in the water in this pot.

That's right.

That said, Helu was holding a piece of tofu in her right hand.

No, that's not just any tofu!　That's the secret tofu my mom used to beat my dad in the first game!

”So, you're a peanut butter tofu.

Yes, the trick was in the tofu dissolved in water.

There is a thing called a tofu casserole. There is a thing called ”Tofu Nabe. As the name suggests, the tofu is dissolved in a pot and eaten. The water itself has its own special name, the Tofu Water. The tofu dissolves well and mixes with the water to create a flavorful, rich water.