98 The Result of the Food War

Granny had an extremely amused look on her face.

『Ohoho. I won't allow any of my grandchildren to date unless they satisfy my conditions, little Freyana, dearie.』[Granny]

Freyana began to pout and even get a little angry, stomping her feet.

『Then.. Watch this!』[Freyana]

She lifted the cloche covers over all of them with a show of magic.

『...How does she even do that?』

『Her mana control is so good!』

『How long has she been training for?!』

This time, Nova actually agreed with the people in the audience.

『Actually, I want to know too, now that they mention it...』[Nova]

After she lifted the cloche covers off, the entire room was flooded in noise.

『WOOOOOOOAH!』

『What is that?!』

Nova's eyes were overwhelmed by a myriad of colors.

『So… pretty.』[Nova]

『Nigiri sushi! Takoyaki! Tarts, a quiche, rice balls!』[Freyana]

Both Granny and Nova were impressed, but….

『...Why don't I get any utensils?』[Nova]

He looked over at Granny's plate and saw that she had a full set of utensils.

『Oho?』[Granny]

While he was looking away, a cascade of screams and shouting erupted from next to him.

When he turned back to Freyana, he saw a mass of rice sitting in front of him.

『Huh?』[Nova]

Freyana was red all the way up to her ears and even down to her neck.

『...Just open your mouth.』[Freyana]

The people that Nova had just grilled began to curse him in a quiet, but not quite quiet enough voice.

『...Bastard.』

『...Lucky son of a bitch...』

『...Haah.』

Nova found it hard to concentrate on Freyana and the stares he was getting at the same time, so he just opened his mouth.

Once it was open, Freyana put a small bite-sized rice ball into his mouth.

It tasted of rice and a rich, salty creamy savoriness that caused his eyes to shoot open.

『...It's good! What is this?』[Nova]

Freyana sighed in relief before returning to her normal smile.

『I was hoping you'd like it… It's a mentaiko rice ball. Mentaiko is a Tsukikaze style spicy salted fish roe.』[Freyana]

Granny chuckled from the side.

『That's grand and all, dearies, but remember. The objective of the contest is to pass my criteria, no?』[Granny]

She wrapped her utensils up and put them away.

『...Will you feed me too, Freyana dearie?』[Granny]

Freyana was taken aback.

『Huh?! Err…? ..Uhh?』[Freyana]

Suddenly, the entire room was filled in a loud laughter.

When Nova turned to see who it was, he saw Saeyeon holding a rice ball.

『Hahaha! I'll do it, Granny!』[Saeyeon]

『Ohoho. Thank you, Saeyeon, dear.』[Granny]

Saeyeon fed Granny, much to the dismay of someone, somewhere.

『...I wish that was me...』

Nova inwardly sighed, knowing that the owner of that voice was Hanzo.

They kept eating until all of the food was done, causing Freyana to feel relieved.

When Nova looked at the food that was split between him and Freyana versus all of the food Granny ate on her own, he was shocked.

『...Granny. You ate more than I did!』[Nova]

All of the plates that were in front of her were wiped clean.

Saeyeon looked disappointed.

『...I didn't even get to eat any...』[Saeyeon]

『Ohoho. I cannot waste effort.』[Granny]

『So? Who wins, Granny?』[Nova]

『We're not done yet. There is one more, ohoho.』[Granny]

Nova realized before he looked at the kitchen and saw someone walking out.

Anastasia came out with a covered dish.

『...I tried my best.』[Anastasia]

She took the cover off and revealed…

Two cup noodles.

『...Are these… cup noodles?』[Nova]

Anastasia took the cover and nodded her head from behind it.

『...?』[Nova]

Upon further inspection, the noodles weren't done cooking and the water messily spilled onto the plate.

『...I'm not in the cooking club.』[Anastasia]

Hazel looked very disappointed.

『...Does this really count as cooking?』[Hazel]

Nova wasn't even sure if that was a valid excuse for failing to cook instant noodles…

『...Okay, I'll give it a try.』[Nova]

Granny nodded with a lighthearted smile on her face.

Nova and Granny took some nearby chopsticks and sipped at the instant noodles.

『...It's… crunchy?』[Nova]

Al dente wouldn't be the right words to describe it at all.

It tasted like the seasoning packet was completely exempt from the water, which was cold, by the way- and the noodles hadn't been left in there long enough.

『...Err?』[Nova]

He wanted to say all of the flaws, but he knew that it wouldn't have been a good idea.

Thankfully, Granny chimed in for him.

『Hmm… You should join the cooking club, dearie!』[Granny]

『...Is that good or bad?』[Sophia]

Suddenly, the people in the crowd began to riot.

『Freyana wins! Hands down!』

『Anastasia tried her best! Let her have it!』

『Hazel clearly did amazingly!』

And a very distant voice shouted too.

『Saeyeon! Sae-WON! SAEYEON WINS!』

Granny chuckled at the chaotic cafeteria before she said something scary.

『...Begone.』[Granny]

『...Huh?』[Nova]

A giant magical circle appeared throughout the entire cafeteria, causing everyone to stare at the glowing white on the floor.

『...Granny?』[Nova]

She spoke in a quiet tone of voice, but it seemed loud and clear to everyone nearby.

『...No fighting.』[Granny]

The familiar white flash of light enveloped all of them.