Chapter 18: King of Flavors, MSG!

"Hmm, not bad. 80!"

"80!? Thank god!"

Dojimo declared as the students in front of him seemed relieved, knowing that he had also scored some others earlier with a 70.

Gulped...

"Please have a taste, Dojima-senpai!"

The other students also nervously presented their cooking to him as he began tasting it and giving scores.

However, his attention was elsewhere the whole time.

"Oh? She's definitely not playing around," Dojimo spotted the way Alice cooked her dish.

It was quite modern, a style he knew was Alice's specialty. He smiled, thinking, "Senzaimon-dono is definitely proud of her."

Since his other granddaughter, Alice Nakiri, was also a competent cook!

To finish it off...

Alice arranged the duck slices on a plate and scattered the gel cubes and balsamic pearls around them.

She drizzled some of the sauce over everything and added some greens.

"Hn. Perfect!"

Nodding in satisfaction, seemingly quite pleased with how she presented the dish, she then brought it forward in front of Dojima.

Alice's eyes were sharp, different from her usual playful demeanor, as she announced, "Nakiri's Special Miso Duck Breast. Please have a taste, Dojima-senpai!"

"Oh?"

Dojima's eyes also gleamed with delight at the dish presented in front of him. He could see it was definitely going to be the best one so far in his class as he smiled.

"The presentation is perfect... Hmm? The crispy edges with the tender breast of duck meat tell me it's perfectly cooked, and the sauce looks perfect... Now, let's see how it tastes."

Dojima spoke slowly as he cut into the duck meat with his knife before taking a piece with his fork and placing it in his mouth.

"Hmm!?"

His eyes widened as soon as he took a bite. It was as if he rode a wave of flavors, surfing through a melody of savory and sweet notes in perfect harmony.

In the blink of an eye, he found himself transported to the front row of a grand symphony orchestra.

"This..."

Dojima couldn't believe it as he closed his eyes to fully savor what he had just tasted.

The duck breast, tender and succulent, made him feel as if he were sinking into a plush massage chair, enveloped in comfort and luxury.

Crunch...

Dojima couldn't help but take another bite, and as he began to drift away on the soothing melody, the crispy edges jolted him back to reality with a satisfying crunch, shocking his senses awake.

"What a delightful bite! Let's try it with the sauce..."

Then, as he savored the silky smoothness of the red wine reduction gel, he suddenly found himself sitting in a vast grass field, watching a breathtaking orchestra performance under the open sky.

The quiet wind whispered around him, bringing a sense of peace and tranquility to the symphony of flavors dancing on his palate.

"Ohhh..."

Dojima let out a satisfied sigh as he briefly closed his eyes, taking in the experience.

He then glanced at Alice, who was smiling as if she had already expected his reaction, and declared, "Nakiri Alice, for giving me the best dish I've tasted so far in this class... I shall give you a score of 95!"

"What? 95!?"

"Did I hear that correctly?"

"Gulped... I-I want to taste it as well..."

Everyone couldn't help but exclaim in disbelief.

The highest score so far had only been 82, and she had surpassed it by such a large margin in an instant.

It was unbelievable!

They all looked at Alice in shock before turning to Dojima, whose expression had softened, a stark contrast to his usual demeanor.

They realized just how exceptional Alice's dish must have been for Dojima to react like that.

Alice turned to look at Tsuna, a smug smile playing on her lips.

"See, Tsunayoshi Ito. This is the difference in our leve---!?"

However, her expression faltered as a massive fire suddenly ignited in the middle of the room, with Tsuna standing right in front of it, a small smile on his face as if the intense heat didn't even faze him.

He was preparing to grill his chicken meat!

As Tsuna threaded the chicken onto skewers and cooked them on the grill, everyone watched in amazement.

Ssss..... ssss....

With a sizzle, Tsuna placed the skewers on the grill, the flames licking hungrily at the tender meat.

"I don't want to admit this, but it does smell really good..."

"...Yeah, but how does it smell so good?"

The aroma of the grilling meat filled the room, making everyone's mouths water.

Once the chicken was cooked through, Tsuna brushed them with a tasty sauce made with soy sauce, mirin, and sake.

Then, he took out a jar of white powder out of nowhere.

"Wait, what is that?"

"Huh? I don't know, that doesn't look like salt..."

Everyone pointed their finger at Tsuna as he smirked and slowly spoke, "This is the miraculous white powder, the King of Flavors..."

"...MSG!"

"H-He's using MSG?"

"...What? Is he a street food vendor or something?"

"No, I don't think street food vendors would use MSG nowadays..."

The students looked at him with doubt.

But Tsuna couldn't care less.

His expression turned stony as he sprinkled a bit of it with style, extending his elbow out.

The white miraculous powder flowed through his fingertips to the end of his elbow, then sprinkled over the skewers.

"..."

The way he sprinkled the skewers with MSG left everyone speechless.

Alice looked at it with an impressed face before she snapped back to reality as she then scoffed, "What a show off..."

Though she couldn't help but notice that her momentum, gained earlier, had thoroughly been crushed the moment Tsuna grabbed everyone's attention with his flashy way of cooking.

"Hmph! Your cooking might be cool to look at, but you're going to lose anyway!"

She pouted dissatisfiedly, crossing her arms over her chest.

The chicken sizzled and charred as it cooked, filling the air with a delicious aroma. Tsuna then placed it on the plate, nodding.

"Good, now for the garnish..."

He quickly grabbed his knife and chopped the green onions as his hands seemed to be blurring, shocking everyone once again with his technique.

"He certainly has an impressive technique!"

Dojima observed Tsuna with a glint in his eye, realizing that, in terms of technique, Tsuna would definitely rank at the top.

The skewers were then garnished with green onions and sesame seeds before Tsuna placed a lid on it as he brought them over in front of Dojima, smiling.

"This is my special, Yaki---"

"Give a taste to mine first!"

However, a loud and rude voice interrupted his words.

Tsuna furrowed his eyebrows as he turned to look at Ryo, who had his bandana over his forehead.

He then turned to look at the dish in the guy's hand as he muttered, "Salmon with a Teriyaki sauce, huh? It's looking pretty good..."

"Of course, who do you think you're talking to!"

Ryo shamelessly praised himself before clicking his tongue in annoyance, a stark contrast to his usual quiet demeanor.

"Do you think such a lousy show would be enough to win this? I won't lose against you, and I..."

He turned to Alice, declaring rudely, "...certainly won't lose against you either, young lady!"

"..."

Dojima almost couldn't hold back his chuckle at the scene where three promising chefs were engaged in a heated competition.