All five judges had finally appeared, so the competition should've been starting soon.
The host raised the microphone to his mouth again.
"Thank you all for the enthusiastic applause. Now, we'll have our three guest judges share their thoughts on the Food King Tournament and offer some encouraging words to inspire our contestants. First, please welcome Viscount Nicolaj Edelfield."
So it still wasn't starting yet.
But more importantly... how should I put this? The host was a commoner, right? Was it really okay for him to speak to nobles so casually? He was even pointing at them. Sure, he was using all five fingers politely, but pointing at nobles at all should've been improper.
Still, he'd probably been doing this job for years and was obviously alive and well. The people of this country were friendly enough already, but even the nobles were approachable. This really was the perfect country to immigrate to.
Back to the main topic.
The young viscount picked up a microphone and stood up.
Wait, what? Did I miss something?!
Where did the microphone even come from?
I leaned forward and looked carefully, only to realize there was a microphone placed in front of every judge's seat.
I see.
Then the viscount began speaking.
"Greetings, everyone. I am Nicolaj Edelfield. It is an honor to have been invited as a judge for the Food King Tournament and to be given the precious opportunity to speak alongside Her Majesty the Queen, General Arakaya, and the Duke and Duchess Blair. Of course, I haven't forgotten my role as a judge today. I greatly look forward to tasting the drinks prepared by all the contestants. To further motivate everyone, I have decided to award the winner five jars of mayonnaise. That is all. Thank you."
The viscount sat back down after finishing.
His tone was so gentle and sincere. It really felt like he was genuinely encouraging the contestants.
And once the prize of mayonnaise was announced, the contestants immediately stirred with excitement, applauding enthusiastically. I clapped too, though mine was more out of admiration for the viscount himself.
Then the host continued.
"Thank you very much to Viscount Edelfield for the encouraging words and wonderful prize! It seems the mention of delicious mayonnaise has greatly increased everyone's fighting spirit! Next, Duke Eddie Blair and Duchess Eugenia Blair—who would like to speak first?"
As soon as the host finished, the duke stood up and brought the microphone to his mouth.
"I am Eddie Blair. My wife and I are deeply grateful that the organizers traveled all the way to Blair Territory to invite us to serve as judges. Becoming judges for the Food King Tournament has long been my wife's dream, so I accepted immediately and prepared for the journey to the capital with her. I sincerely hope all contestants will do their best and strive for victory. As for my prize, I have decided to offer the winner a five-day travel voucher for five people within Blair Territory, with all expenses covered by the ducal house. Now then, my wife will continue."
The duke was seriously rich.
Wasn't he worried the winner might bring along several bottomless eaters and bankrupt his estate?
Then again, maybe a few gluttons wouldn't even make a dent in a duke's fortune.
After the duke sat down, the duchess stood.
"Hello, everyone. I am Eugenia Blair. I share the same feelings as my husband—serving as a judge for the Food King Tournament truly has been my dream. This is my first time acting as a judge, so I am admittedly a little nervous. Thankfully, I have the duke by my side. As for the prize he mentioned earlier, I guarantee in the name of the Duchess of Blair that our territory is filled with beautiful scenery and relaxing attractions. I assure you, it will not disappoint. Thank you."
Honestly, I couldn't sense even a little nervousness from her.
As expected of nobles raised with excellent education—they could face huge crowds without panic and even casually show off their loving relationship.
And the duchess sounded incredibly confident about Blair Territory.
Alright, I'm officially adding western Blair to my future travel destinations.
The duke and duchess both spoke so kindly too. None of the arrogance nobles usually had. What was with the nobles in this country? They were way too approachable.
I really liked this place.
Once the duchess sat down, the host cheerfully spoke again.
"Thank you very much to the duke and duchess for the encouraging words and wonderful prize! I can already see the contestants eyeing it eagerly. Though honestly, the affection between the two of you is so enviable that it makes me want to run home and cling to my wife."
Wow.
This host was bold.
You couldn't make jokes like that unless you were genuinely familiar with them, right? Yet the duke and duchess simply smiled, not offended in the slightest.
The audience laughed too, amused by the host's shameless flirting. He really knew how to keep the atmosphere lively.
"Hahaha, thank you for indulging me. Now then, back to the main topic. Does Her Majesty the Queen or General Arakeya have anything they'd like to say to the contestants?"
The queen and general apparently weren't required to give speeches since they were regular judges who appeared every month. They'd probably end up repeating themselves otherwise.
But what was with the contestants around me?
Some were already grabbing cooking utensils, while others were cracking their knuckles.
Was the competition about to start?
Both Queen Ainaser and the general simply shook their heads silently, so the host concluded things.
"It seems neither of them has anything to add. Then let us proceed to the main event of the Food King Tournament! The theme for February is beverages, and I trust all contestants already know the rules. I hereby declare the competition has begun!"
"Huh?"
It started way too suddenly.
There wasn't even any buildup. I looked around in surprise as contestants immediately sprang into action while I was still tying my apron.
(Forget it. Don't let other people's pace affect. I just need to finish before time runs out.)
That was what I told myself, but honestly, I wasn't very good at ignoring other people and focusing entirely on my own work. I kept glancing around to see what everyone else was doing.
Still, there was plenty of time. It was only 11:24 a.m.
Time to make bubble tea.
First came the ice.
I filled two ice molds with water almost to overflowing, placed them into the magical refrigerator, and infused it with magic to activate it. I lowered the temperature extra far to speed up the freezing process.
Next came the most labor-intensive part—the pearls.
I poured the measured water and brown sugar into the first large pot, placed it on the stove, and heated it over low flame while constantly stirring with a ladle until the brown sugar completely dissolved into syrup.
While waiting, I kept stirring while secretly checking what the other contestants were making.
The person in front of me was slicing lemons.
The contestant on my left was grinding coffee beans.
The one on my right was...
What was he doing?
Why did he open the oven?
Did he misunderstand the theme?
But then he closed it again without putting anything inside. What a weird guy.
As for the red-haired man with glasses, he was plucking red flower petals.
Was he making flower tea?
Then I looked toward the judges to see what they were doing while waiting—
Only to find a mountain-like feast blocking them from view.
The amount of food there was three or four times larger than what I normally cooked. Could they seriously finish all that?
And maids kept pushing in new food carts beside them.
What kind of monstrous appetites did these judges have? This was absurd.
I turned my attention back to the pot.
The brown sugar had fully dissolved, so I turned off the heat and evenly added tapioca starch into the syrup while stirring quickly.
Timing was crucial here.
I rapidly mixed and kneaded the dough with chopsticks while it was still hot until it became elastic, stretchy, and no longer sticky.
Then came shaping the pearls.
The dough for five servings was too big to handle at once, so I divided it into five portions. The remaining four portions went into separate bowls, each covered with a plate to prevent the surface from drying out.
I placed one serving onto the cutting board, rolled it into a long strip, cut it into three sections, rolled each section into thinner strands, then sliced them into one-centimeter pearl pieces.
"And here we have our very first challenger approaching the judges!"
That fast?!