Pudding Battle (4)

Chapter 34: Episode 17 - Pudding Battle (4)

3 days had already passed and it was finally time for the pudding battle against Koshiro Miya. The Sweets Princes and Keiko made it over to Salon de Marie where the battle was being hosted and many people gathered for this event to see who was going to win.

Koshiro Miya and Keiko stood at their cooking stations and the Sweets Princes observed from the side along with an array of people.

Chairman Moriyama sat leisurely at a table where he could observe their skills and judge, casually drinking his black coffee. Before them stood the composed Tennouji Mari who would announce this battle.

"Please make 5 servings of custard pudding in 2 hours. The judge will be the chairman. Without further ado, Koshiro Miya and Michiko Keiko's match will begin," Mari announced.

"I anticipate delicious puddings from both of you, hohoho." Chairman Moriyama smiled and laughed, continuing to sip on his coffee.

"BEGIN!"

When they heard that word, both reacted quickly and began working on their puddings.

"I-I'm getting kind of nervous, Maa-chan," Andou said to Kashino who laid his head on top of Kashino's.

"Your nervousness won't solve anything," Kashino said bluntly.

"Michiko looks pale, even though she didn't practice last night. I'm a bit worried that she's pushing herself too far," Hanabusa said with concern, noticing Keiko's pale complexion as she baked.

The sweets princes observed the calm and composed Koshiro Miya who was pouring her caramel sauce into the ramekins.

"As expected, Ojou is used to it, her caramel's done already," Andou noticed. "Even from afar, I can tell it's got a pretty good color. The viscosity is also ideal."

They turned their attention towards Keiko who stared at her boiling pot of caramel. She looked determined as the color of the caramel turned darker and darker.

"Idi-Michiko, you're boiling it too much!" Kashino reacted as he saw.

"Hurry and turn off the heat!" Andou warned but Keiko didn't seem to pay them much attention.

She grabbed a spoon of water and quickly poured it into the caramel sauce to prevent it from splattering too much.

Once she was done with her caramel sauce, she poured it evenly into her ramekins.

"Now she's gone and done it," Andou worried.

"That's going to be too bitter," Kashino muttered.

"I thought she mastered it. Maybe she forgot how to do it after she was done practicing." Chocolat sighed but Fraise's gaze didn't falter.

"No, I don't think so. Keiko is not one who forgets these kinds of things. If anything, there has to be a purpose behind what she's doing," Fraise explained and everybody pondered.

'Victory is mine, Michiko Keiko,' Koshiro Miya thought confidently to herself with a smirk on her face.

As Keiko was putting her puddings into the oven, Miya was putting hers in as well.

'The ovens here are different from the ones in the middle school division. You should be bewildered when it's done,' Miya chuckled to herself.

* * *

"They're done," Koshiro and I said in unison, our puddings shining brilliantly.

"Hoho, this is… both parties' puddings look delicious," Chairman Moriyama complimented, holding both of our puddings in his hands.

"The appearance is an even match…" Kashino muttered quietly.

"I'll start with Koshiro's," the Chairman explained, scooping some of Koshiro's pudding into his mouth.

'It's a brilliant gold color. No matter which eggs I used, it didn't turn out like that... But, I can't lose hope yet. I still haven't lost!'

"Ho… this egg is silky and the milk is jersey milk, I believe, muhm…" the Chairman indulged delightfully. "It has a wondrous depth."

As Koshiro received praise from the chairman, she shot me a smirk as if she'd already won.

"Next is Michiko's," the chairman scooped some of my pudding and put it into his mouth. There was no doubt that my caramel sauce was darker than Koshiro's but I wasn't ready to give up just yet.

When he began to eat my pudding, his green eyes lit up.

"Umu... mm… This is mmm…" he continued to ponder the flavor.

"It's not good~it's too bitter after all," Andou quietly screamed though I could still hear him.

"Shut up, Andou!" Kashino said irritatedly.

"Ssh, the results are in," Hanabusa announced as we saw Tennouji and the chairman talking it out.

"I will announce the results," Tennouji claimed with a clipboard in her hand.

Though I wasn't too worried, I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. Koshiro had an arrogant smile on her face while I tried my best to keep calm.

"The winner of the pudding battle is…" Tennouji began, using a suspenseful pause.

Ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump…

It felt as if my heart was racing at the sound of those words. I couldn't grasp what was going through my head when I was making the pudding, but I also knew that I didn't make any mistakes. This was what I wanted.

"Congratulations, class 2-A's Michiko Keiko," Tennouji announced as my eyes widened in surprise.

'Wait, that's me. I won… I did it… I WON!'