Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 259 - 258: Unintentional Taboo (Please Subscribe)

Chapter 259: Chapter 258: Unintentional Taboo (Please Subscribe)

"Incredible..."

Dojima Yin was still immersed in the fantastical vision, unable to extricate himself.

"Clang!"

The spoon struck the porcelain bowl, producing a pleasant sound.

Eriina looked down at the empty bowl, her hand holding the spoon frozen in mid-air.

"Clang!"

Another similar sound of a bowl being struck came from behind, Sena Hikari’s face numb as he mechanically tapped with the spoon, the rhythm oddly compelling.

"That’s enough, stop tapping!"

Aoki Motota’s muffled roar echoed throughout the small restaurant.

Sena Hikari awoke startled, his expression one of astonishment, completely unaware of what he had done.

The eerie atmosphere in the restaurant dissipated with the shout.

Shinohara Shigetaro and Liangzi Lina also had odd expressions. After the initial shock came a deep sense of spine-chilling danger.

To think that such a dish could make top chefs unknowingly immerse themselves to the extent of being controlled by it...

Such a thought was utterly horrifying.

"That’s not right!"

Aoki Motota furrowed his brows and said, "The spices are chili powder, saffron, rosemary, bay leaves... and artichoke. These are all standard spices, nothing forbidden has been used, no taboos violated!"

"In the internationally recognized ’Culinary Eight Laws’, one rule explicitly states that chefs must not use fantasy materials listed as prohibited," Shinohara Shigetaro said slowly, his face puzzled.

"But if it’s not the intensely hallucinogenic fantasy spices, then how did this charcoal-grilled seafood rice ’control’ us?"

He stressed the word "control" intentionally.

As they tasted the dish, the scene of the song of ice and fire played vividly before them. Even for top chefs with strong minds and spirits, there was no resistance at all.

Imagine, if ordinary people ate this dish, wouldn’t they be like puppet dolls, controlled at will?

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?"

Xia Yu said, annoyed.

"It sounds a bit like the methods of the Dark Cuisine World," Shinohara Shigetaro said, staring at him.

Xia Yu’s heart skipped a beat, and he waved his hands, saying, "I was just trying to improve President Dojima’s recipe. The ingredients were all standard, and you all watched the entire process of me cooking, right? Did I add anything strange..."

In fact, he felt a bit guilty.

After all, both ’Bursting Flame’ and ’Spices Inequality’ were supreme techniques of the Dark Cuisine World’s top Lin Chefs a century ago.

Moreover, when he was reconstructing the seafood rice spice formula, he deliberately used a mysterious formula etched in his memory. Importantly, he only partially understood that formula but thought it highly suitable and simply applied it. Therein might lie the problem.

No one had previously helped him taste and test this dish; this time, he served it directly to several top special chefs, and it unexpectedly caused trouble.

"That’s why I haven’t rushed to arrest you."

Shinohara Shigetaro said with a slight smile.

"Hey, if it’s that mysterious continent’s Dark Cuisine, it’s far more severe than any ’Culinary Society,’" Aoki Motota joked, but his eyes clearly expressed seriousness, "Decades ago, a major disaster in the Neon domestic culinary world was linked to the Dark Cuisine World, specifically referring to that group of chefs from the mysterious continent."

"’Culinary Society’ is known for using taboo fantasy ingredients to make forbidden delicacies, but the real Dark Cuisine World individuals, using ordinary and common ingredients, can easily manipulate minds and control lives..."

"Then..." Xia Yu pursed his lips.

"Relax!"

Shinohara Shigetaro smiled and said, "You are a descendant of the Xia Family, and your grandfather, your parents, have all fought against the darkness all their lives, so we won’t wrongly suspect you of anything. That would be a desecration of the chefs of light!"

Xia Yu sighed with relief.

"Forget it, let’s not talk about this."

Shinohara Shigetaro deliberately changed the subject to avoid an awkward atmosphere.

"How did you achieve the perfect heat for ’Jet Black Rice’?" His voice trembled slightly with curiosity.

Overturning!

What Shinohara Shigetaro had just experienced in the charcoal-grilled seafood rice was not semi-cooked "underdone rice", but perfectly cooked, thoroughly soft rice that was more suitable for East Asians.

Speaking of the key point, Dojima Yin also said in a low tone, "Yes! The heat! The perfect heat!"

"Getting the ’Jet Black Rice’ to a full ten degrees of done-ness..."

"How should I put it..."

Xia Yu scratched his face. He couldn’t exactly say that he had learnt from previous losses and this time had focused on using ’Bursting Flame’ to capture the changes in heat inside the foil bag, although it was tough, he had persevered and made a breakthrough.

"Eh, it was actually just charcoal grilling. There’s not much more I can explain," Xia Yu shrugged and pointed to his head, "It’s about mastering the essence of heat... I guess it can be called a talent!"

Talent can explain a lot.

Upon hearing this, Dojima Yin appeared stunned, sighing regretfully after a moment.

"I just knew it!"

"From the ’Heart of Flame’ to your sensitivity with fire control, you, my boy, were born to master flames!" Dojima Yin chuckled, his eyebrows relaxing, no longer dwelling on it, "I think ’The Magician of Flames’ from Far Moon suits you perfectly, the way you handle fire, it can only be described as magic!"

In fact, Dojima Yin was internally grumbling.

Damn it.

Even charcoal grilling has been turned into a form of acrobatics. How on earth did he do that?

He watched the entire process as Xia Yu used ordinary charcoal, a standard stove, ordinary tin foil, etc., all of which were incredibly mundane tools, yet he performed magic-like ’Fire Control’, which left Dojima Yin quite frustrated—

It was impossible to replicate or learn!

At this moment, Tiqie Eriina interjected, "President Dojima, this charcoal-grilled dish can no longer be considered Spanish seafood rice, can it?"

"Of course!"

Dojima Yin nodded, "This isn’t my cuisine, nor is it my recipe."

He emphasized, staring intently at Xia Yu, "You’ve taken the recipe and transformed it into something of your own!"

"So, you should give it a new name!"

Xia Yu was momentarily at a loss for words.

Uh.

The ultimate taste of flames intertwined with the chilly flavor of jet-black rice, what should it be called?

"A Song of Ice and Fire!"

A faint voice suggested.

Liangzi Lina spoke up, images vividly flashing in her mind, where she was wearing a white elf gown and sitting in front of a grand harp, her slender fingers moving along with the melody, plucking the strings.

Ding-dong, ding-dong...

Sounds echoed around her, strangely lingering and inescapable.

This sound was much more intense than the ’Shuangjiang Magical Mapo Tofu’.

"Let’s go with that one!"

Tiqie Eriina’s eyes sparkled, she was the first to raise her hand in agreement.

The lyric reciting at the Grand Fantasy Theater suited her aesthetic perfectly; what a wonderful experience it was, recalling her movements accompanied by the magic violin and her adoration for the true god of flames... those embarrassing doctrinal lines made her cheeks flush with warmth.

"Well, alright then."

Xia Yu shrugged; both women had spoken, and the name was quite good.

"President Dojima, does my modification count as a success?"

"What do you think?"

Dojima Yin said, amused, "You’ve taken the recipe and completely revamped it. If it hadn’t barely touched upon the taboo, almost crossing the line, I think it would’ve been perfectly fine to rate it as a ’Special Grade Two Stars’ recipe! What a pity!"

He shook his head in regret.

Ding.

Right as he finished speaking, Xia Yu received a notification that the mission was complete.

"System: [Sublimation of Special Grade Recipe]completed."

"Acquired new recipe ’A Song of Ice and Fire.’"

"’Jet-black Rice’ has been unlocked."

"[Seven Star Blade·Wenqu]has been added to your backpack."

Just as Xia Yu was tallying his gains, he received another task related to the recipe.

"[Great Magic Panda Tofu]."

"Instruction: Create a ’Great Magic Panda Tofu’ with 100% completion."

"Reward: 2 Talent Points, recipe ’Tofu Trilogy’ (purple)."

Hmm.

Having completed a significant task, Xia Yu noticed that his culinary level had increased from lv29 to lv30.

Thus, 1 additional unused Talent Point was added to his storage, jumping the ’available Talent Points’ to ’18’.

"Only 2 more Talent Points to advance my culinary heart to a higher level."

"A higher-level culinary heart combined with evolved ’Bursting Flame’ and ’Spice Inequality’ might carelessly produce actual Dark Cuisine..."

Following this event, Xia Yu planned to lay low for a while.

The Neon Food World clearly couldn’t accommodate Dark Chefs. If he became too conspicuous and was labeled as a Dark Chef, he would have truly backed himself into a corner.