"And also," Aki added, "It's a blind tasting, which means, you have to give your evaluation without knowing who made which dish."
In addition, there was another hidden challenge, which was to see whether Emiya could guess who the creator of each dish was.
Emiya: "So this is a cooking competition?"
"Exactly," Tiona nodded, her eyes full of excitement and anticipation.
"I see. In that case...", Emiya slowly nodded, then his tone suddenly turned unusually serious, "Then I'll have to take this a little seriously."
"Ugh..."
Sensing Emiya's shift in attitude, the girls' expressions became a little tense.
Ais stood off to the side, her heart also somewhat nervous and uneasy. She silently thought, 'Sensei won't scold me if my dish tastes bad, right...'
The Sword Princess was not good at cooking. This time she had worked up her courage to try it, and if she failed, the thought of disappointing Emiya scared her a little.
Emiya looked at the four silver-covered dishes on the table, a flicker of interest in his eyes. He slowly reached out and uncovered the first dish on his left.
The moment the lid was lifted, the aroma of seafood rushed out. It was a sashimi platter made from fresh sea fish, accompanied by pickled raw side dishes of shrimp, crab, shellfish, and snails.
The fish slices, thin as cicada wings, were neatly arranged on a white porcelain plate, paired with small and delicately plated garnishes, making it especially pleasing to the eye.
At the sight of the first dish, Aki revealed a slightly nervous expression, while Ais and the others wore subtly complicated looks.
"Hmm, this sashimi and seafood pickles are very well done," Emiya looked at the dish and nodded, then picked up his chopsticks and slowly savored a few slices of fish.
The tender texture of the sea fish spread in his mouth, and combined with the special sauce, the flavor of the ocean was perfectly preserved and elevated.
The sauce didn't overpower the dish but subtly brought out the deliciousness of the seafood. With the added garnish, the whole sashimi platter had a clear sense of layered taste.
"This sauce is made very well, and the plating is especially exquisite," Emiya gave a positive review, "You can tell the cook is someone with great attention to detail."
Looking at the dish, Emiya thought for a moment, then looked up and said, "I guess... this dish was made by Aki."
Aki's eyes widened, looking both surprised and somewhat incredulous, "Y-You actually guessed it... Shirou-kun, how did you know?"
Emiya thought for a moment and showed a slight smile, "Just intuition. It felt very... Aki-like."
As he said that, his gaze landed on Aki, subtly glancing at the tail behind her that was swaying non-stop.
In truth, the thing that really confirmed for him that Aki had made the dish was the catgirl's tail, which had begun wagging unconsciously as he tasted the food, completely revealing her emotions.
Emiya opened the second dish. Upon seeing its contents, he was a little surprised, it was sashimi again.
Tiona let out a sigh of relief, while Ais and Alicia looked even more uncomfortable.
Emiya tasted a piece of the sashimi, chewed carefully, and gave his review, "The fish belly is of high quality, with well-distributed fat. Although there aren't many side dishes or sauces, the thick cuts highlight the flavor and sweetness of the fish itself quite well."
He looked at Tiona, "This one was made by Tiona, right? Ais and Alicia wouldn't cut it this thick."
Tiona let out a proud "Heh heh" and looked quite pleased,"Yep, you guessed right after all!"
Next, Emiya opened the third dish. Seeing the plating in front of him, he paused for a moment, it was still sashimi.
"This one... must be Alicia's."
He glanced at Alicia with a bit of helplessness, "Your knife skills are very precise. Also, this ice sculpture is way too obvious..."
The sashimi in front of him was laid out atop an ice sculpture shaped like a sword throne, glowing with a crystalline brilliance. The fish slices on the ice had a firmer texture due to the cold temperature.
It looked less like a dish and more like a fine work of art.
Tiona couldn't help but complain, "Alicia, you totally cheated with magic!"
Alicia stuck out her tongue, "Ehehe~"
Emiya opened the final dish. Seeing what was inside, he couldn't help but sigh, still sashimi.
"Ais, these fish slices are cut way too thin. It's hard to properly taste the texture of the fish," Emiya picked up a slice that was thin as a cicada's wing and spoke helplessly.
Ais lowered her head, letting out a frustrated groan, "Guh..."
The girl simply didn't know how to cook, and the only thing she was good at was swordplay, so she tried to take a shortcut. But in the end, it seemed she went overboard.
Tiona blinked a few times and finally couldn't hold back, "So... we all ended up making the same thing?"
Alicia nodded and sighed, "Yeah... looks like we really should've talked it over beforehand."
Tiona also said helplessly, "Ugh... We can't just let Shirou eat sashimi only. Kinda feels like we messed up."
Aki looked at the four plates of sashimi, "So then... who's the winner?"
Just then, Riveria entered with a clay pot, smiling gently as she said, "Shirou, I made you some fish porridge. Come, have a taste."
The elven princess placed the pot on the dining table and opened the lid. A rich aroma spread instantly.
Fish slices rolled in the white porridge, releasing a sweet and fresh fragrance that made everyone's mouths water.
"Eh? What's wrong?", Riveria looked at the four girls staring at her, seemingly confused as to why they were glaring at her with such resentment.
Aki fell to her knees in frustration, "Guh... I lost..."
Alicia perked up, "Now it's obvious. The winner is... Lady Riveria!"
Tiona shouted, "Lady Riveria, that's so unfair! How can you suddenly bring out something so amazing!"
Ais also complained, "Riveria, sneaky!"
Aki nodded, "Yeah, yeah! Too despicable!"
Thunk! ×3
What followed were a few muffled thuds, the sound of a staff ruthlessly knocking on the girls' heads.
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