Erina's exit meant Hachiman's side needed to send out another player. Actually, with Erina's skills, continuing the match wouldn't have been too hard. But with her unstable condition, Hachiman decided to let her rest. She didn't say much, becoming obedient compared to her earlier proud self.
For the next match, Hachiman sent out Takumi. As a chef who had been cooking since childhood, Hachiman trusted him a lot. His opponent was Mimasaka Subaru, known for his imitation skills.
Both sides had prepared information about the other. But making the right decision in a real fight often happens in a split second. Hachiman wondered if the other guy could really imitate perfectly.
Takumi seemed pretty confident. He gave his brother a thumbs-up on the stage, then put his hand on Hachiman's shoulder.
"Leave it to me."
"Good work."
"Don't mention it, really..."
No need for many words. Takumi waved again, accepting the encouragement from his teammates. Now he just needed to focus on the match ahead.
Mimasaka Subaru was already on stage. After Takumi came up, he just gave a slight, mocking laugh.
"Let's draw straws."
Takumi didn't refuse. He just took a slip from the box. It said 'Dessert', without a doubt.
The theme of this match was dessert. The time limit was still two hours. As the drum sounded, Takumi took out the ingredients he had prepared.
But...
Tadokoro Megumi: "Hikigaya, are they preparing the same food?"
Yukinoshita: "Not just that, the ingredients list is the same too."
Hachiman: "Just as the data showed, this guy's cooking is based on his opponent's, but he improves it to make the taste even better."
Erina: "Against an opponent like that... there are probably only two ways to win."
Hachiman: "A dish that can't be criticized or improved, and an improvised dish."
Erina: "Yes... I have to say, he's a tough one."
On stage, Takumi was preparing his lemons. Mimasaka Subaru seemed to expect this, putting his own lemons into the oven at the same time.
Erina: "Parfait Glacé. That's what they're making. It has the coolness of ice cream and the softness of cake."
Hachiman: "Not good. Takumi is making a three-layer parfait with a layer of brittle, a meringue and cream layer, and a sponge cake layer. But... Mimasaka Subaru's actions are exactly the same."
Komachi: "But Brother, that'll just make them tie. It won't decide a winner."
Hachiman shook his head. Mimasaka Subaru wasn't just an imitator. He was a modifier in disguise. He makes different changes to the dishes he sees, and the final taste is different too.
Tadokoro Megumi: "Takumi isn't panicking. He's controlling his movements and the heat well."
Hachiman: "As a real chef, you can't have a panicked heart. But even so... Mimasaka Subaru hasn't changed at all."
Their actions became more skilled and similar. And at that moment, the changes began.
Mimasaka Subaru took out different ingredients from Takumi, putting them into the cream and mixing them with the egg mixture. That simple step made a big difference in taste.
Etsuya: "Mimasaka Subaru thoroughly researches his opponents. He even knows the dishes they practiced. No dish goes on stage without practice, which means unless there's a big skill difference, Mimasaka Subaru is unbeatable."
The differences based on this foundation are what make Mimasaka Subaru's food special. For a chef, a simple step can make a big difference in taste. Changes in many small ways can turn the tables.
What's even more outrageous is that Takumi believed he had a winning item. But... Mimasaka Subaru took the ingredients from the box first. It was sweet wine from Italy.
Seeing this, Takumi, who had been calm, felt nervous and helpless. He felt completely trapped, making his movements slow.
Mimasaka Subaru had researched him completely. But he knew nothing about Mimasaka Subaru. If things kept going like this... he would lose.
Going on like this would only lead to defeat.
Watching the other guy completely control his actions, Takumi knew he was just delaying his loss.
If that's how it was...
Then he would start over!
Time was running out. It was impossible to start completely from scratch. The only thing he could do was to use the remaining ingredients for an improvised dish.
He whipped mascarpone cheese into the cream to make it richer. He had to break out of the traditional way of thinking, or he couldn't win against Mimasaka Subaru.
But...
As if predicting Takumi's actions again, he stepped away from his dish and stared intently at Takumi.
Hachiman: "This guy, he's planning to follow his improvisation..."
Komachi: "Follow his improvisation?!"
For a chef, everyone probably knows how hard it is to improvise a dish. You need a lot of knowledge, and your cooking skills can't have even the slightest mistake. Otherwise, the improvised dish will fall into a hole it can't get out of. But...
Following someone's improvisation means completely keeping up with their thinking, even what they are doing with their eyes. This is almost impossible. To do that, you'd have to merge with the other person.
But Mimasaka Subaru was planning to do it.
Even though he knew how tough the opponent was, Takumi had to give it his all. All he could do was put himself in a state of selflessness to speed up and shake off the follower behind him.
Mix, stir, cool.
Even though he did that, it was still different from the other guy's dish. The parfait glacé had turned into something like a bar of nut brittle. Even so...
Tadokoro Megumi: "The color of Mimasaka Subaru's nut brittle looks a bit darker... Why is that, weren't their actions the same?"
Hachiman: "He replaced most of the wheat flour for the cake with almond flour. That can make the cake richer. Takumi has been completely seen through..."
Tadokoro Megumi: "How could this happen..."
Hachiman: "In this match, Takumi has completely changed. He made impossible changes to his dish in a desperate situation. Even though he couldn't shake off Mimasaka Subaru, we definitely learned something from the information gap."
Erina: "There's no way, no matter who went up, they would be forced to make mistakes by this opponent's close following. Even me..."
Hachiman: "No matter what, the match isn't over."
When Mimasaka Subaru took out his dish, Takumi still hadn't given up his last chance. He didn't have much time or ingredients left, but if he served it like that, he would definitely lose.
If that was true, what was there to be afraid of?
Condensed milk, lemon, eggs, sugar.
Now, he would change again, making a final improvement to the nut brittle.
If the original plan was only three layers, this final gamble would be a fourth layer of improvisation.
Just a little bit. As long as he changed the flavor of the dish, there was still a chance to win.
This was... a lemon milk layer.
"Please enjoy, judges."
As Takumi served his dish, everyone noticed the difference. Even at this point, he still believed in a miracle.
Takumi understood that from the start, he was slightly worse in stirring the egg mixture and making the cake. But those small details didn't mean defeat. They meant he had room to improve. He just needed to use the remaining ingredients well...
And he could make a final comeback.
Hachiman: "Something feels wrong..."
Yukinoshita: "Huh?"
Hachiman: "That guy Mimasaka Subaru's expression, it's like he expected this all along..."
Yukinoshita: "Are you saying he predicted Takumi's prediction, so he improved in advance? That's impossible..."
Hachiman frowned. He didn't want to admit that something so ridiculous could happen, but the facts were there...
The five judges tasted both dishes at the same time. Because they were served at almost the same time and the dishes were the same, they could taste the difference even better. But...
Just as Hachiman predicted, even the judges frowned for a moment.
The rich almond flavor of the powdered sugar and the way the half-frozen cream melted on the ice cream surface, the four different flavors felt like a charming girl scratching your tongue.
The refreshing lemon flavor spread in your mouth. It didn't seem complicated at all, and all the flavors were perfectly combined, sweet and gentle. From any point of view, it was a masterpiece.
But no matter how you looked at it, you couldn't taste anything special about Takumi's dish. That special quality that was completely wrapped inside and couldn't escape had been completely surrounded by Mimasaka Subaru. At this point... the result was clear.
It seemed like everything was Takumi's improvisation, but in fact, it was all part of Mimasaka Subaru's plan. He just let Takumi fall into his plan, then improvised on it and dragged him step by step into his pit, using him as a stepping stone.
Kawashima Urara: "5 to 0, Mimasaka Subaru wins!"
Takumi: "How could it..."
Komachi: "What a scary opponent. If I met an opponent like that, I'd turn around and run..."
Haruno: "Mimasaka Subaru, come down."
Mimasaka Subaru: "Yes."
Hachiman gently patted Takumi's shoulder.
"You don't need to be too discouraged. Mimasaka Subaru clearly researched each of us very well. Anyone would have fallen into his pit. You don't need to blame yourself."
Takumi: "...Hikigaya..."
Hachiman: "What is it?"
Takumi: "You have to win, you have to win it back!"
Hachiman: "Okay, I promise you."
Since the players on both sides left the field again, the next players would be chosen by both teams again.
At this time, Haruno's side still had seven main players after losing Hayama Akira, Rindou, and Saito.
Hikigaya's side was the same. After losing Takumi, Komachi, and Kurokiba, they still had seven players.
Next was a seven-on-seven match.
Kawashima Urara: "Let's invite the next two players, the first seat of the Ten Elites, Tsukasa Eishi, and Nakiri Alice from the rebels."
Everyone seemed uninterested in this match. After all, the opponent was the first seat. Frankly, to the audience outside the arena, Tsukasa Eishi could win against 10 people on his own if he had enough time and rest. Now, they had finally released this trump card.
But for Tsukasa Eishi himself, it wasn't like that.
He knew that his team had someone even more of a freak than him. But she wasn't planning to play yet.
Seeing Tsukasa Eishi come out, Kuga got excited right away and said loudly:
"Let me go next!"
Isshiki: "Idiot, at least have some faith in your teammates."
Kuga: "That's not what I meant. I just want to have a real, true match against Tsukasa."
Hachiman: "Okay..."
Everyone was surprised that Hachiman would agree so easily to Kuga's unreasonable request. Even Kuga himself didn't expect that what he said casually would be taken seriously.
But... what was more important now was the person on the field. After all... the opponent was the first seat. Facing a player like that, what kind of dish would Alice make...
Erina: "Looks like she's not scared at all."
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