Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 535 - 534: The Heroic Battle with the Demon

Chapter 535: Chapter 534: The Heroic Battle with the Demon

"Trash—"

"Garbage—"

"Dump it all! Dump them all for me!"

Huff, huff.

Startled from a nightmare, Tiqie Helinai’s unfocused pupils took more than ten seconds to gradually come together and spark with a hint of liveliness.

She threw back the covers, glanced at the alarm clock by her bed, and bolted upright, remembering that today was the day the finals began. The main Food Duel of Section A was supposed to start promptly at 11 in the morning, yet it was already nine o’clock.

She hurriedly changed her clothes and dashed out, but as she reached the staircase, the faint sound of conversation from the first-floor diner relaxed her tense nerves. The girl patted her chest to catch her breath and straightened her slightly curled blonde hair, then descended the stairs with a more composed pace.

"Oh, Eriina, you’re awake!"

Tanaka Hikari, Sen Tian Makoto, and the Yuchuan Sisters were all preparing in the living room, each decked out in standard cheering gear, their cheeks adorned with ’victory’ water decals, and white headbands tied around their foreheads, emblazoned with the bold black Chinese characters for ’certain victory,’ giving off an impressive aura.

Sen Tian Makoto was about to invite Tiqie Helinai to change into the cheering outfit too, but before she could speak, she realized and said with a chuckling smile, "No need for you, Eriina. You’re like the sixth player on the Food Battle Stage, a presence even more special than the judges."

While she spoke, the girl’s face showed a subtle expression. It wasn’t very apparent, but at that moment, those still in the villa were all thoughtful female chefs, each with various reactions.

The Yuchuan Sisters blinked, looking at each other with a hint of schadenfreude in their eyes.

Tanaka Hikari just hung her head like an ostrich uninvolved with the matter, pretending not to hear.

Hearing this, Tiqie Helinai stiffened slightly.

"Makki..." She wanted to run away, but after a moment, she mustered her courage, looked up into another pair of deep, dark eyes and said, "I’m sorry, but I have no intention of giving up!"

"I want to take the stage!"

Eriina added, which to others, sounded somewhat like trying to hide her eagerness behind modesty.

Sen Tian Makoto had already managed her emotions well, and upon hearing this, she replied with a beaming smile, "Of course, you should go up there. That’s your place. I’ll be cheering for all of you down here!"

"Makki, you..."

Eriina’s eyes widened, observing the girl’s face, which wore a sincere smile without a trace of deception. The more genuine it was, the guiltier she felt.

At the same time, deep within Eriina’s heart, there was a faint sigh. What a formidable opponent she was. It had been a long, long time since she’d felt such an overwhelming sense of helplessness. She was never the self-deprecating ugly duckling, but under her opponent’s radiant smile, Eriina realized she was actually feeling timid.

Suddenly, she clenched her small fists.

"I’m going to wash up! Wait for me!" she exclaimed, then hurried upstairs.

Sen Tian Makoto watched her disappear up the stairwell, and her previously bright eyes flickered, dimming ever so slightly.

What was once exclusively hers now carried the warmth of another.

For a moment, the girl’s heart was filled with indescribable complexity.

...

Section A’s competition arena.

The surrounding area had been closed off to traffic, with vehicles carrying distinguished guests converging in the parking lot.

"Mommy!"

As soon as the car stopped, Ishino Ai jumped out and called into the car, her sweet voice urging, "Hurry up, it’s about to start. I want to see that brave big brother!"

Ishino Harumis stepped out of the car with a smile, taking her daughter’s soft hand. Notables they encountered along the way greeted the duo with friendly salutations.

When celebrities and dignitaries collided, the conversation revolved around the Food Duel.

Ishino Harumi crossed paths with the family of the vice governor. Their son, around ten years old, was also holding onto the hand of the middle-aged man, incessantly asking, "Daddy, Daddy, the brave big brother will beat the Demon, right?"

"Yes, yes, the brave one will certainly defeat the Demon," the vice governor of Hokkaido agreed with an amused chuckle.

He hadn’t expected the young special chef to become a hero figure in the eyes of the children. Tiqie Ji was not bad-looking by any means; quite handsome, in fact, though his aura was somewhat bewitching. But being a Demon or anything of that sort was completely unrelated.

Exchanging an unspoken glance with the vice governor, Ishino Harumi wondered, what kind of narrative had the media been spinning?

As the two took their seats in the arena, the deputy governor whispered while the kids played beside them, "Lord Ishino, what was Far Moon Team thinking with this Food Duel? Isn’t staking the division championship as the wager just digging their own grave?"

Anyone could see that Far Moon’s elite team was bound to win over the ’Gourmet Association Research Institute’ team.

Not to mention the vanguard, whose consecutive victories showed an unstoppable momentum.

Just consider Dojima Yin and Saito Chiyokuro, the twin stars; they were an insurmountable mountain.

Moreover, as upper-echelon officials in Japan, both governors were aware of the past deeds of Dojima Yin, Nakamura Ayame, and Saito Chiyokuro. Back then, Dojima Yin was the Ten Outstanding Chief, Saito Chiyokuro was the vice-chief, and the third seat was Nakamura Ayame.

"Digging their own grave?" Ishino Harumi neither confirmed nor denied, "We are merely spectators, let’s just watch!"

Similar discussions filled the competition venue.

The arena, capable of accommodating tens of thousands of spectators, gradually filled up over the next period.

Outside.

Several TV station reporters came to the scene to conduct interviews.

"Hello, what do you think about the championship battle in Division A?"

"Do you even need to think about it? It’s a clash of titans, and if it’s a team battle, Far Moon is sure to win. But to stake the championship on a single Food Duel, and that too against the strongest member of the opposing team in a duel with the young man, the chances of winning are less than fifty percent! Although I am a Far Moon supporter, but..."

The middle-aged man being interviewed sighed.

"And you? Who do you support?"

"I support Chef Xia!"

A high school girl from Hokkaido faced the camera, her big eyes sparkling with admiration. Clutching a fruit-branded tablet tightly in her hands, the screen was dominated by the bright pink characters for ’Certain Victory’. After a while, the characters vanished, and a screen full of dynamic heart shapes bounced out.

"Go for it! Don’t bow your head even if you lose, the crown may fall off!" she shouted excitedly.

Back in Tokyo at the White Seagull Academy.

It wasn’t the weekend, and it certainly was class time, yet the whole school had come to a halt, with multimedia equipment turned on in every classroom to receive the live broadcast signal from the IGO official, watching the live broadcast of the event.

Class 1-2.

Seeing the interviewed high school girl on-site, a wave of envy resonated throughout the class.

"I really want to be at the scene!" exclaimed Nishimura Eiki from the back row, garnering unanimous agreement from the class. "Just watching the live broadcast and feeling that intense atmosphere is enough to make one’s heart stop! I don’t know how Xia Yu withstands such pressure!"

At Yuan Yue Academy.

Similar to a school-wide halt, teachers and students gathered in the auditorium.

In the first row, all of the current Ten Outsiders, except for Tiqie Helinai, took their seats.

Kobayakawa Ryodan, the second seat, also stopped eating snacks, his hands twisted together, sweating profusely.

At the Tiqie Mansion, the Far Moon General and the heads of that lineage waited in the tearoom in silence.

Meanwhile.

Across the ocean in the Chinese Continent, in an anonymous restaurant in Shu, an old man as usual closed up shop and sat down on a stool. At the White Jade Tower in the Imperial Palace of Beijing, the leader of the Chinese Cuisine World made another visit.

Jintan Shun and Tulip managed to get tickets to the VIP seats by their own means and sat together.

"Huff—"

An anxious sigh was heard.

The live camera, finally moving from outside, switched to the interior of the arena.

Two female hosts stood side by side in front of the camera.

"Everyone—"

"Ladies and gentlemen—"

Chiyoda Aichi and Dubian Yuuki spoke in turn.

"Welcome to the live scene of the Food Duel for the championship of Division A at the Sapporo Legendary Kitchenware Battle!"