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J Y U
I C H I
(P A R T T H R E E)
The Quiet Don, The Eloquent Don
(The Food War Part Two)
(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡🍖ミ＼(≧ﾛ≦＼)
"Let us proceed!" Urara declared once more, making all heads snap back at her. "Contestants head to your stations! Everything is at stake at this battle of the palates! Let the Shokugeki — BEGIN!"
With that, the cook-off was on!
"Transfer student! I'll show you an ingredient that trash like you won't be able to touch for the rest of your sorry life!" Ikumi yelled from the right side of the stage before she revealed the meat she's gonna use. "Behold, the ultimate meat!"
"I knew she'd go for that!" Konishi shrieked with Megumi shaking in nervousness just beside him. "The A5 beef!"
Ikumi smirked and pulled her cleaver from her holster. Once she was set, she began to butcher the meat with such expertise. Her skills showed how excellent she was at what she's doing, and lived up to her title as the Meat Master.
Ikki's eyes widened a bit when Ikumi finished in a short time with cutting all the tendons, and finally got a piece of the meat to work with. "I have seen top chefs butcher meat in front of me, but her precision, her strength, her speed, and the marbling of that meat — I gotta say, it's nearly perfect."
Megumi gasped at his statement. "No way!"
Ikumi leaned towards the chunk of meat, closed her eyes, and got a good sniff before she smiled to herself in satisfaction. 'That's a good boy...' she thought, caressing it. 'There's that faint sweetness in you that tickles the nose. As meat ages, the quantity of umami factors like glutamic acid increases, resulting in the sweet smell. I'm going to prepare this finest meat with my finest skills!'
As Ikumi proceeded to cook her dish, it's an undeniable fact that its aroma was enough to trigger the appetite of anyone spectating the match.
"The smell of the butter is spreading through the arena!" Urara exclaimed, her grip on the microphone tightening as her cheeks flushed.
'She built a wall around the meat using the butter to trap the juices inside the meat...' Ikki thought, smirking as he placed his hands inside his pockets. "She's smart..."
After the preparations, Ikumi placed the meat inside the oven before looking over to where Soma was cooking. "Now, how's that second-rate transfer student doing?"
However, Soma doesn't seem to pay her any mind as he was simply focused on getting his own dish done on time.
"As for Yukihira, it seems he just finished mincing a lot of onions. I wonder what he's planning to do with those?" Urara stated, eyeing Soma's every move. "Oh, look! He's finally taking out his meat! Though, would it even stand a chance against Mito Ikumi-san's A5 grade beef?!"
