Chapter 133
Natsume Sendawara set down her spoon.
The Fish Head Curry Pot Pie before her had already been completely emptied.
She looked up at Hayama Akira, her gaze so intense it seemed capable of melting him on the spot.
"Hayama-kun, why don’t you come work for me? Name your salary. One hundred million yen? Two hundred million? Whatever amount you ask for, I’ll pay it!"
Hayama’s talent for curry was simply too extraordinary.
If she could recruit him into HUB Foods, he would undoubtedly help take the company to an entirely new level.
Yet even when faced with such an outrageous offer, Hayama’s expression did not waver.
His eyes remained firm as he answered seriously.
"I’m fighting for Jun. That’s all."
With that, Hayama turned and walked away from the judging table, completely unmoved by Natsume’s generous terms.
"What a wonderful man..."
Natsume watched his retreating back, her eyes growing even more heated.
In the end, the five judges awarded Hayama’s Fish Head Curry Pot Pie scores of twenty, eighteen, twenty, eighteen, and eighteen.
His total came to ninety-four points!
He successfully surpassed Kurokiba Ryo and took first place in Group A.
The cheers throughout the venue had yet to die down when Yukihira Soma carried his own dish to the judging table.
Like Hayama, he had prepared additional tasting portions for Haruto and Hayama, which he placed before them.
Seeing the relaxed confidence in Soma’s smile, Hayama’s expression became serious.
Soma had just tasted his nearly flawless curry, yet he still looked completely unshaken.
Was he bluffing, or did he genuinely believe his dish could compete?
Soma ignored Hayama’s scrutiny and gently lifted the cover from his main plate.
A beautifully presented omelet rice dish rested on the pure white plate. Its golden, tender egg wrapped around the rice beneath it, looking deceptively ordinary despite the mystery it clearly concealed.
"Please enjoy the second shot—my aroma bomb!"
Soma picked up a spoon and sliced through the soft egg.
An overwhelmingly powerful fragrance instantly swept across the venue.
It was entirely different from Hayama’s spice-driven aroma, yet carried the same crushing impact.
Hayama’s pupils contracted, and the way he looked at Soma became intensely serious.
"You came up with the same idea I did."
"So far, it looks that way," Soma replied.
He then tossed a spoon toward Hayama.
"Yukihira-style Curry Risotto Omelet. Careful—it’s hot."
The gesture was a direct return of Hayama’s earlier favor.
There was no reason to do the same to Haruto, so Soma simply handed him a spoon normally.
Haruto accepted it and began tasting the dish.
Once he cut through the egg, the rice underneath gleamed enticingly.
Every grain had absorbed the surrounding broth, and the moment it entered his mouth, an intense aroma struck his palate.
The rice had been simmered in a rich stock prepared over low heat from chicken carcasses and beef bones.
Butter-fried minced beef and sweet onions added further depth, giving it a full, creamy richness.
The curry itself was built around mango chutney and carefully balanced with dozens of spices, creating layers of sourness, sweetness, savoriness, and heat.
The five judges were equally conquered by the dish.
They awarded Soma scores of eighteen, nineteen, eighteen, nineteen, and nineteen, for a total of ninety-three points.
That placed him level with Kurokiba Ryo in second place.
Soma was clearly dissatisfied with the result, and the competitive fire inside him only burned more fiercely.
Several more students presented their dishes after him, but their scores were disappointing.
That changed when Mimasaka Subaru brought forward his curry and earned an impressive ninety-one points.
A wave of quiet exclamations spread through the crowd.
At that point, Hayama Akira held first place with ninety-four points, followed by Yukihira Soma and Kurokiba Ryo with ninety-three, while Mimasaka Subaru sat in fourth with ninety-one.
Those four high scores firmly occupied the top of the rankings.
Almost every student believed Group A’s four qualifying positions had already been decided.
There could be no further changes.
As for Haruto, he was one of only two transfer students accepted into Totsuki that year, but he had remained remarkably low-key since enrolling.
Most of the students did not believe he could produce a curry dish capable of surpassing the current leaders.
None of their opinions affected Haruto in the slightest.
Before long, his turn to face the judges arrived.
After delivering the main servings to the judging table, Haruto also placed one portion each in front of Soma and Hayama.
Both of them looked surprised by what they saw.
Haruto’s dish appeared to be nothing more than a whole melon.
They soon noticed that its top had been neatly cut into a lid. A fresh fruity scent mingled with the faintest trace of curry.
"What is this?" Soma asked curiously.
"Bouncy Soft-Shelled Turtle Curry Soup," Haruto replied. "And mine is served cold, so you don’t have to worry about burning yourselves."
A faint smile appeared on his lips as he lifted the melon’s lid.
A brilliant golden glow, warm as sunlight, seemed to pour from within.
Under the venue’s bright lights, the contents shimmered with a smooth, delicate luster, as though countless tiny specks of light were suspended inside.
A clear, golden soup jelly rested perfectly still within the melon.
The fresh fragrance of the fruit, the deep savoriness of soft-shelled turtle, and the gentle aroma of curry intertwined softly.
Unlike the explosive fragrances of Hayama and Soma’s dishes, Haruto’s creation felt restrained and elegant.
Unfortunately, after enduring two consecutive "aroma bombs," the judges found that restraint somewhat underwhelming.
At most, the use of a melon as the serving vessel was unusual, and the dish certainly looked beautiful.
Veteran gourmet Koda Shigenoshin casually glanced at the golden, gelatinous soup and spoke with little interest.
"It looks like nothing more than a variation of aspic. There’s hardly anything remarkable about it."
Natsume nodded.
She had grown accustomed to bold, aggressive flavors that assaulted the senses directly.
Haruto’s dish, with only its faint fragrance, gave her little reason for anticipation.
Could something with such a delicate aroma even be considered curry?
The other judges appeared equally indifferent, clearly paying little attention to the dish.
Haruto remained completely calm despite their dismissive attitudes.
His creation was not meant to seize attention through aroma.
Its true appeal would only reveal itself after the first bite.
And as judges, they would have no choice but to taste it.
Wanting to finish quickly, Koda picked up his spoon and casually pressed it against the golden soup jelly inside the melon.
He intended to scoop out a mouthful and move on.
The instant the spoon touched the surface, however, an astonishing force of elasticity surged upward from beneath it.
Koda was caught completely off guard.
His fingers loosened, and the spoon shot from his hand, tracing an arc through the air before striking the floor with a metallic clang.
The entire venue fell silent.
"W-what just happened?!"
Koda’s eyes widened as he stared at the golden jelly inside the melon.
Every trace of indifference vanished from his face, replaced by complete astonishment.
That elasticity was absurd.
The other four judges immediately sat straighter, their eyes turning toward the dish in unison.
"So this is why it’s called Bouncy Soft-Shelled Turtle Curry Soup?"
Natsume stared at the dish with renewed interest.
A curry with such unbelievable elasticity was something she had never encountered before.