29 Tasting Time!

Jake rushed back to his station, hoping he would still qualify despite disappearing all of a sudden. He hopped over multiple bushes, barely keeping his dish intact while also trying not to spill anything else.

Somehow none of the guards had noticed him. Or perhaps they didn't care. It didn't matter whether it was; he had completed his masterpiece, and it was ready to be judged.

All the other contestants stood at the stations, waiting anxiously as the port once again opened. But this time, Gilbert was accompanied by the princess.

Even from this distance, he noticed her silky white hair flowing in waves behind her head like a mane of light shining upon her neckline. Her beautiful skin seemed to glow with life and youth itself, causing every eye in the room to fall directly onto her.

He felt himself blushing instantly, and without knowing why, his hands began to shake uncontrollably. "Whoa... whoa..."

Was it her blue eyes? They were piercingly clear as she looked through each person standing there at that moment as if inspecting their soul. He was sure that any one of them would melt under that gaze alone.

But it wasn't just her beauty that made him feel so nervous. After all, he had never been around royalty before, especially one as pretty as her.

Besides, her clothing was an odd choice for a princess; her skirt barely covered the panties, which you could probably see if standing below, and her belly was completely exposed. Despite this, she appeared as if she wanted to rip all of it off for some reason, almost like she only felt comfortable being buck naked.

Then, she cleared her throat and spoke. "Uh, um... Hello chefs. It's my honor to meet such great talent here."

Everyone greeted back with pleasantries. Some even gave a quick bow to show respect.

"It is our pleasure having you here," she continued. "I uh... think it's best to start with the warm dishes. Umm, before they cold. Could everyone form a line? And briefly explain your dish."

It was clear from her speech that she was a complete beginner. She was supposed to be a princess, yet her vocabulary was extremely limited when it came to presenting the contest. Somehow, she was worse than Mr. overly concise Gibert.

Her eyes wandered across the different groups as each chef explained what they had cooked. The first chef brought savory pie of some sort, while another had steamed vegetables in broth. A few others had other variations of stews and soups, as well as various pieces of bread and plates of pasta. One or two had meats prepared in creative ways using spices and herbs.

She puked upon tasting some, still trying her best to remain calm and polite. The contestant's reaction to seeing her barf started as negative, as if they had messed up big time, but it eventually turned into an expression of triumph; her body simply refused to put certain foods near her mouth.

"Weird, isn't it? People are happy to see her vomit their dishes out because it meant she'd at least try it," said the red-haired contestant. "Oh, right, I haven't told you my name yet. I'm Josiah. Remember it well when I win."

"Uh, okay, sure. I'm Jake, I guess."

He peeked at his dish, wondering what if he was an all-cock-no-balls-type who was all about bluffing. Apparently, he had made breadsticks and a red spicy cheese dip, and a few cut fruits on the side. They were barely well made, and he was almost certain the princess wouldn't touch them, but at the very least, they looked somewhat edible.

It was almost as if he made half of the dish, then decided to add the fruits to meet certain nutritional values later on.

"Uh... Good luck to you, I guess," he added. Maybe the princess has a thing for breadsticks?

The contestants took turns presenting their dishes to her while she sat there on her throne, watching everyone's progress. When it finally came around again to Josiah, he stepped up, all confident, and kissed her hand, even sniffing it slightly. "Pleasure to meet them, princess Gwen."

"Eeuuhh, what the hell is he doing?" Jake mumbled, somewhat disgusted.

"That's not good," whispered one of the chefs to another, and small talk began to occur around him: people whispering or just looking in his direction as if trying to get a read of how things would turn out. If anyone dared say anything, they knew he had already lost. Some contestants covered their eyes in anticipation that the princess would slap him or kick him away.

"Woooow! Did you make my favorite breadsticks? And a spicy cheese dip? I'm digging in!" she said with enthusiasm, completely oblivious to what she was eating. She started picking at it without hesitation, and only after a couple of seconds did she realize she hadn't chewed before she started chowing down. Her face lit up like lights when she tasted it. "This is amazing. But the vegetables... I don't like them, sorry. I had also hoped you'd make something else, but we should've mentioned that I already eat breadsticks."

The contestants went silent, dumbfounded by the princess' response. It seemed as if her expectations were low yet infinitely high at the same time.

"Next one, please."

Once again, the cycle of rejection began. Most of their fancy dishes were all unsuited for her tastebuds. Only two managed to hit their marks, but she was barely able to swallow it.

Josiah came back to the line, approaching Jake. "Now you see what I'm talking about, right? I'm winning this competition."

"Impressive," he responded, not wanting to deal with Josiah much longer. It was almost his turn now to present his dish, and Josiah's laugh was beginning to get on his nerves. Eventually, he left to rest on a tree, awaiting his official victory.

"Ne-next one, urhghg," she gagged, barely managing to swallow the previous chef's dish. "Could you tell me about what you've made?"

Jake stepped up the stairs, placing the plate before her. "Absolutely. This is sushi made with five different fish formed as nigiri, uramaki, and..." he bit his lip in anticipation, noticing how curious she appeared as she looked down at his masterpiece. She picked up each piece with care while gently taking a bite out of the first one.

"Uuurrghh, blech..." she barfed out; it wasn't pretty, but it didn't hurt or anything. The pieces of food that spilled out of her mouth were thrown into the bin.

I turned around to see Josiah, his eyes already burning with lust for what to do after he married her. There was no way he could let him win.

"Please taste this one," he said, pointing at the semen-covered kraken-meat. "You may like this."

"O-okay," she said slowly, completely lost as to why he would give her something so disgusting yet appetizing. She took it from his hands, holding it tightly between both of hers as she nibbled on it without hesitation, all traces of disgust now gone from her face as she simply enjoyed its flavor. "What... What is this!?" she explained, standing up and turning towards Jake once more. "This is delicious!"

The other contestants gasped in unison. Their jaws dropped open slightly when they saw the princess stuffing handfuls of their best work inside her own body.

Josiah had a look of pure shock on his face, too. He was hoping to be the only winner, but clearly, he was mistaken as if there was nothing he could do about it anyways, as he was about to lose everything. His expression changed to one of sheer defeat as he fell to his knees.

She took another piece but only licked the sauce of it, leaving the kraken-meat alone. "Woah! This... this is perfect!"

"The sauce? But what about the meat?" Jake asked, wondering what she was thinking.

"I don't like the meat, but I've never tasted something as great as this sauce! The consistency spreading across my tongue, the rich flavor exploding in my mouth! What a divine dish!"