Chapter 40: A Fine Line between Vegetables and Monsters

「Kyou! 」

As soon as they declared my victory, I heard a familiar voice from the audience.

「Lily, and Mina-chan! 」

Mina-chan came with Lily to the venue.

「I’m sorry. It seems that I didn’t make it in time. 」

「No, you don’t have to worry about that. I won, that’s all that matters. More importantly, Mina-chan, are you okay?」

「Yes, I am. I was brought to a faraway villa where some strangers told me to cook…I tried to get out after I cooked for them, but there was a barrier on the door, so I couldn’t leave…But, please rest assured. They didn’t harm me.」

I see. So, they intended to open the door after the semi-final was over.

「Next time, don’t use too much of your hands. Just use your heart. 」

「What are you talking about? Leave me alone. 」

I saw that the genius hero had watery eyes. It seemed that his defeat was too hard to take.

「Mister Kyou. I’m truly sorry. I was the one who asked you to participate in this Grand Cooking Tournament with me, and yet, I couldn’t do anything at all and Mister Kyou had to do everything on his own…」

「That’s not true. It’s thanks to Mina-chan that I was able to come this far. 」

「Mister Kyou… 」

When Mina-chan and I had an unusually good atmosphere between us, I suddenly heard a voice from behind.

「Ohhh, so you made it to the finals, Kyou. You’ve done well. 」

「It seems that you passed to the finals as well. Father. 」

A man with a beard slowly approached us from behind. My old man always had the habit to appear abruptly on scenes as if he was a detective.

「Yeah. It seems that we’re going to battle against each other in the finals. Anyways, let’s do our best ‘kay son.」

Who would’ve thought that my own father could enter a competition like this and come this far. It was as if I wasn’t looking directly at my father but at my opponent for the finals. Still, I’d better not have unnecessary feelings that could be a hindrance. I’d go up against him fairly even if he was my father. I will fight against him with all my might.

「Ah, yes, before I forget. I’ve wanted to tell you something. It seems that you’ve been winning with monster cultivation and the creation of your own recipes. But, that won’t be enough to win the finals. After all, I know many people in this world that are far ahead of you with knowledge and skills.」

After saying those words, my father threw something at me. I got an expression of astonishment on my face the moment I received his gift.

「What is that green ball? 」

「Is that a monster? But, the shape is a bit weird to be classified as a monster itself…」

「No, you’re wrong. This isn’t a monster. 」

It was the first time that Lily and Mina-chan had seen that green ball. It wasn’t a fruit from a monster neither it was a monster itself. It was an odd-looking plant. Actually, it wasn’t originated from this world. That’s why everyone didn’t know what it was.

「This is a vegetable. 」

That’s correct, a genuine vegetable. It was an unmistakable cabbage.

「You seem to have grown only monsters so far. Even though you’ve managed to raise them properly, that is only a small part of the creation skills. With the full knowledge of the creation skills, you will be able to manipulate the direction of evolution yourself or create new species from it. In other words, you can change a monster into a vegetable if you continue to improve the quality of your creation skills.」

Certainly, that was possible in theory, and I actually wanted to do it somehow. Yet, there was someone who had already done it before. And that someone was my father.

「For a matter of fact, I’m growing only vegetables now. The monsters in this world are specially cultivated due to their ecological nature. That means that these monsters have a specific taste that doesn’t disappear even after they are harvested by people.」

He’s right. That’s why most of the monsters from this world were difficult to reproduce the taste of vegetables found on Planet Earth. For this reason, there were cases where cooking based on vegetables couldn’t be performed successfully. However, if I could grow the same vegetables found in Planet Earth, that would mean that I could bring the cultural cuisine of Earth to this world without trying to reproduce it with alien products.

「The finals are going to be held in a week from now. Kyou. I’m looking forward, to it not only as a father but as a contestant as well, to see what kind of dishes you will produce to compete with me.」

My old man waved his hand at me while he walked away. I didn’t realize it at first glance. But, my father had a dignified aura all over his figure. Perhaps, my father’s cooking was great enough to change the dynamics of this world. In fact, I felt that my own father was far ahead of me.

Without knowing, I pressed my trembling fists. The finals will be held a week later. It will be a match with an unprecedented enemy that shall be undoubtedly unforgettable for me.

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This is were the WN deviates from the manga, hold on to your seats folks 😉