Chapter 41: VS Father

「Well then. 」

One week until the finals. I went back to my own garden for the first time in a long time. I remembered that I left the front door of my house unrepaired. When I arrived, I noticed that it was on the verge of collapse. So, I had to repair it immediately.

「Master. What kind of ingredients will you use for the finals? 」

「Hmm, about that. Well, as always, I guess I’m going to use the monsters I raised here.」

「All of the monsters raised by Papa are alive and well, so it will be absolutely fine. 」

I spoke with Dora-chan and Rock, who accompanied me in the meantime. Speaking of which, my monsters were indeed lively beings. I had a nice variety of monsters, such as Mash Bamboo, Weed Leaf, and Bahanero, among many others. They grew around the fields, and some of them even walked around. The monsters I grew were relatively gentle and didn’t harm any humans.

「He’s right. Brother, if you came this far, you’d better be honest with your skills as a monster cultivator.」

Oops, I mustn’t forget it. There was also Jack with me, who had evolved into a humanoid pumpkin. Jack O’ Lantern were also one of the species that I grew in large quantities, since I distributed directly to the local grocery stores.

「But, are you going to be okay? I heard that you are competing against your father. 」

「I was curious; therefore, I investigated a little on Lord Kyou’s father. I found out that he won all of the previous matches of this tournament with five votes. So, he managed to get the approval from all of the judges so far.」

Seriously? Was my father that spectacular? Well, since he used fresh vegetables, did that mean that his cooking was elevated so much that he received tremendous praise?

「In any case, if you want to improve your cooking skills until the final, we’ll gladly cooperate with you.」

「But, please, do it moderately. What I’m saying is that you should refrain from training full-time without sleeping for a week.」

I accepted Miss Katherina’s offer obediently. Mina-chan, who also stood next to me, also gave me a firm response.

「An…And, I’m with you on this! I’ll train alongside Mister Kyou! I wasn’t very useful during the semi-finals, so I’ll give you the support you need for the finals!」

「Yeah, I’m always indebted to you Mina-chan. Thank you. 」

My mind was reinvigorated when I saw Mina-chan trying to do her best for my sake. Not only Mina-chan, both Lily and Fitis would do everything they could in order to help me in the finals. I felt embarrassed, but at the same time thankful, that everyone here wanted to support me.

Then, after staying in my place after so long and after spending time training in Mina-chan’s small restaurant, an unexpected guest appeared.

「What a small and old restaurant. I still can’t believe that a contestant like this beat me.」

It was the voice of the Genius Hero Shendo Bird. It seemed that he came here after hearing from the committee where we were staying. I mean, why did he come here in the first place?

「…Hey, here. 」

He brought several bottles with him. They seemed like different types of spices. Ah well, what was the meaning of this?

「These are the spices that I’ve created myself. I’ve adjusted them to match the curry you’ve made during the semi-finals. No need to thank me.」

After saying that, Shendo went away. Yet, he turned around before he disappeared from the restaurant’s doors for good. His face was extremely red.

「I…I’ll tell you this. If you beat me, then you must win the finals no matter what!」

What was this? A new “tsundere” in the making? Actually, I had the “principle you get what you give”, so sorry Shendo. I won’t be doing any curry for the finals…

The long week to the finals passed by. During this time, the Lord came to greet us, and brought with him the old ogres from the village I visited before. The Snow Witch Isu and Dori came to visit us as well, and told us that they would be cheering as spectators in the finals. I never knew that I had met so much people since I’ve came to this world. But, I made such great friends and acquaintances that I shall never forget.

In the end, I couldn’t grow any new monsters or produce real vegetables in a week. Of course, I did not intend to change the monsters that were growing well. I will compete with everything I had now. That was my firm conclusion.

And then, one week later. The final match of the Grand Cooking Tournament. There was an unprecedented audience and enthusiasm from all over the place.

「I apologize for keeping you waiting! At last, the final match of the Grand Cooking Tournament, which are the greatest pinnacle of food at the center of this world, is going to start!」

The venue, which was already full of excitement, further increased their enthusiasm upon hearing the voice of the announcer. Mina-chan and I went quietly to the center stage while wrapped with increased nervousness and heat.

「I shall introduce you the first two names that will compete in the grand finals. I present you a chef and her monster cultivator that appeared in this tournament from an unknown restaurant, and ended up surprising everyone by reaching the finals! Mina and Kyou!」

Many cheers came out from the audience seats after they heard our introduction. Among those cheers, I heard the voices of support from Lily, Fitis, Miss Katherina, Isu-chan, Dora-chan and Rock.

「And then, the other contestant was also completely unexpected! Like Mina and Kyou, we’ve got an unknown contestant that participates for the first time in the Grand Cooking Tournament! I present you the Dark Horse of this competition, the one gained overwhelming victory every time he competed! Contestant Himuro Keiji!」

It was my father, Himuro Keiji. He went up to the center stage with louder cheers from the audience.

「Oh my. How are you, Kyou? Have you taken any proper measures for this match?」

「There’s no way I could create the impossible in one week. But, regardless of that, I will compete against you with the ingredients and skills that I own.」

My father smiled happily upon hearing my response.

「I see. Okay then, just show me everything you’ve got. 」

I heard the voice of the announcer at the same time my father spoke to me.

「All right! The Finals of the Grand Cooking Tournament start…Now!」

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Who will win? This was the question I placed myself when editing this chapter… and was not disappointed by the result 😉