Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 421 - 420: The Conjectured Match

Chapter 421: Chapter 420: The Conjectured Match

The system popped up a notification.

"[Modify the Curry Recipe]."

"Prompt: Deduce and modify the curry recipe of the contemporary Spice Empress of India."

"Reward: A random fragment of a Chinese One System golden recipe."

Huh?

Stunned, Xia Yu repeatedly checked the system information, his heart giving a silent shudder, "A golden recipe fragment for such a small task?"

This was his first encounter with a task offering a fragment of a golden recipe, though it was only a fragment.

The two complete golden recipes he had were obtained through a spin-the-wheel lottery, with the next opportunity for another draw seemingly ages away. Moreover, Xia Yu always felt that evolving "Spice Inequalities" and obtaining "Super Vision" had depleted his luck; the chances of obtaining something good in the next draw would definitely be infuriatingly low.

So, better not to hope.

Better to quietly collect fragments, Xia Yu thought, as the numerous golden recipes of the Chinese One System floated through his mind, making his heart itch.

Xia Yu and Indira exchanged recipes publicly.

Outsiders had no clue what was happening.

Only to hear Shinohara Shigetaro explain, "Chef Xia utilized a brand new Fantasy Spice successfully in practice and cooked a super-grade dish. That spice was just discovered by Lady Indira at the end of this spring..."

Hiss.

At those words, Aoki Motota couldn’t sit still any longer and jumped up.

Monster!

He stared with wide-eyed attention at the young store manager engrossed in a notepad, ultimately swallowing his exclamation.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Aoki sheepishly sat back down, murmuring, "It’s not so easy to use the newest Fantasy Ingredients in practice."

"Everyone step back—"

Shinohara Shigetaro voluntarily moved aside, and Yuchuan Ayaka, Aoki Motota, Shanben Xiaoshu did the same.

In the teahouse booth, only the young man and the Indian woman remained seated opposite each other.

The scene resembled masters facing off in a match.

Each held a pen.

Xia Yu did not move for a long time, his pen stilled in contemplation.

Conversely, Indira appeared to have everything under control, a faint smile curling on her lips as she continued adding and deleting on the notepad.

"Ha!"

Seeing this, Shanben Xiaoshu almost couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

This type of recipe deduction was all about the chef’s foundation and perspective, in other words, a literary battle.

Of course, one shouldn’t write nonsense in a literary battle.

Otherwise, with Indira’s mastery in the field of spices, she would spot the flaws at a glance.

"Having a culinary battle with Lin Chef, altering recipes mutually, is like seeking one’s own doom!" Shanben Xiaoshu hummed, admitting to himself that he couldn’t defeat Xia Yu; his previous actions were merely impulsive.

He couldn’t, but others might discipline this rising ’youngest Super Chef in Neon’s history’.

Outside.

Not open during the day, a group of similarly free interns gathered upon hearing the news.

Makki, Hizaki, Eriina, Kobayakawa Ryodan.

And the ones summoned by Xia Yu just yesterday, Koga Shoji, Hozoi Midori, and Yuchuan Meisha, forming a grand assembly.

Ichise Hui explained with a wry smile.

"Ah, altering each other’s recipes with Lady Indira?" Makki covered her mouth.

"That Fantasy Spice..."

Niho Fuyuka, Hozoi Midori simultaneously felt a stir, their palms reaching into their pockets where a closely held recipe notepad resided, "It couldn’t be the ’Indra Moon Orange’, could it?"

At that moment, Xia Yu wanted to curse.

Damn it.

It wasn’t that he had nowhere to start, but there were holes everywhere!

Thus, he hesitated for a long while, still unsure where to start.

Unable to resist, Xia Yu looked up and asked, "Lady Indira, what’s going on?"

Xia Yu ultimately swallowed the words "Are you making a fool of me?" and did not say them.

Indira simply shook her head, her gaze profound.

"I can guarantee, in my name, that the recipe I gave you isn’t fabricated," she said.

Xia Yu was resolute.

Damn it!

Staring straight ahead, Xia Yu scratched his head and held his breath in silence.

Since the Female Qilin Chef said so, the recipe must be correct.

It’s my own problem!

"The amount of cloves has a major issue! This spice, being too aromatic, delivers a significant effect with just a little, and if used excessively, it fails to leverage the synergistic effect with other spices! Normally, in curry recipes, the quantity of cloves isn’t the least, but it should be among the least, not over 50 grams!"

"Star Anise, mustard seeds, cardamom too—cutting their amount in half still seems too much!"

"Um?" Xia Yu’s pupils constricted, his gaze fixed on the spices, cinnamon and Angelica dahurica, "This is highly unusual, cinnamon has a gentle taste and blends well with a hint of sweetness, and yet its quantity is only 10 grams... and Angelica dahurica, curry recipes typically don’t include such spice, do they?"

Cold sweat beaded his forehead.

Was the Lin Chef’s curry recipe so mysteriously complex?

Xia Yu asked himself, believing that after promoting his culinary skill "Spice Inequality" to the purple frame, even the Lin Chef’s curry recipes should not puzzle him.

Because, once the "Spice Inequality" reached the gold frame, he would master all the secret teachings of the Spice Empress, Mira. By then, his expertise in spices should be unrivaled, even by Lin Chefs.

Calm down! Calm down!

Xia Yu shifted his gaze away from the sticky notes in his hand, allowing his tense nerves to relax.

It was still because of the system’s reward that his mindset had changed.

Thinking this, unexpectedly he met Yuchuan Ayaka’s probing gaze. The woman was seated just steps away from him, and unexpectedly, Xia Yu saw no mockery or ridicule in her look, but rather a motivating nod, her lips silently forming the words:

"... Keep going."

He couldn’t help but be taken aback.

She doesn’t hold a grudge?

These days after the culinary showdown, Xia Yu occasionally scrolled through forums and watched TV, knowing how the online and offline discussions went about Yuchuan Ayaka.

It could be said that the moment Yuchuan Ayaka lost, it wasn’t just her reputation as a chef that was ruined, but as a woman, her honor was utterly obliterated.

This little detail warmed Xia Yu’s heart.

All his effort in handing over recipes to Yuchuan Ayaka these past few days wasn’t in vain.

Though it’s true that Yuchuan Ayaka also gave something in return...

Nearby, Shanben Xiaoshu was hit hard by the subtle interactions between the two, immediately fantasizing many details.

She has fallen!

Shanben Xiaoshu felt an urge to thump the ground and roar.

The princess of the Yuchuan Family, the female Demon King of Shi Lin Temple, had she really fallen like this!

"I will become the Hero who saves the Demon King!" The rooster-haired youth was incredibly dramatic in his mind, but when his gaze shifted to the youth challenging the Lin Chef, his shoulders slumped.

Ah.

He wasn’t even a Super Chef himself.

"Extrapolation!"

"Imagination beyond the foundation!"

Returning to Lin Chef’s curry recipe, Xia Yu changed his perspective, no longer nitpicking the quantity of individual spices in the recipe, but instead adopting a holistic, global view, looking down from above!

How about Lin Chef’s formula; in the realm of spices, he was qualified to look down!

"Cloves!"

Spreading the sticky note on the tea table, Xia Yu mentally noted, deeply imprinting the image of the spice in his mind, then extended a finger to cover the name.

"Cinnamon, cardamom, fenugreek..."

Lastly, a hand covered the sticky note fully, revealing just a corner.

Xia Yu closed his eyes.

This scene.

Left the onlookers completely confused.

How could he identify mistakes and calculate with his eyes closed?