WebNovels

Chapter 21 - Chapter 21: Worse Than Pig Slop

Soon, the dishes were served. Their presentation was indeed stunning. The Golden Baked Snails were literally covered in a layer of edible gold leaf, glittering under the lights. The caviar was garnished with a few diamond chips smaller than grains of rice. The Seven-Colored Glazed Soup was served in a crystal bowl, its contents shimmering with a dreamlike rainbow hue. It was all very beautiful.

Gatz impatiently scooped a spoonful of soup into his mouth. His expression instantly froze. He chewed twice, then spat it all out. "What is this crap! It's just water with seven different vegetable dyes in it! There's no flavor at all!"

He then forked a golden snail and stuffed it into his mouth, only to make another pained expression. "The meat is old and tough, like chewing on a rubber band! All I can taste is gold!"

Silver and Dolum also took a bite of their respective dishes and frowned. These dishes were nothing but expensive and pretty. They were utterly worthless.

Ren hadn't touched his utensils from the start. He gave the dishes a single glance and delivered his verdict. "The ingredients are far from fresh, the heat control is a mess, and the seasoning is random. The chef only pursued visual splendor and completely ignored the taste of the food itself. This is an insult to cuisine."

Just then, a commotion arose in the restaurant. A tall man with slicked-back hair, dressed in a pure white, gold-trimmed chef's uniform, entered, surrounded by an entourage. He wore an incredibly arrogant expression, and a solid gold chef's badge was pinned to his chest.

"It's the Golden Chef, Lord Baccarat!"

"Oh my god, Lord Baccarat is actually gracing a commoner's restaurant like this!"

"I heard he's the most valued personal chef of Saint Jalmack!"

The surrounding diners all stood up, bowing and scraping before the man named Baccarat, fawning over him. Baccarat ignored their compliments. He walked straight to the restaurant manager, flicked a speck of dust off the table with a white-gloved finger, and said arrogantly, "Saint Jalmack is hosting a grand feast of delicacies tomorrow and needs some kitchen hands. Pick a few of your most nimble workers and have them report to the villa on the mountaintop."

"Yes! Yes! This is our highest honor!" The restaurant manager was so excited his face turned red, and he bowed so low his back nearly broke.

Baccarat nodded in satisfaction. As he was about to leave, his gaze inadvertently fell on Rocks's table. He saw the nearly untouched "masterpieces" created by his former disciple and the undisguised disgust on Gatz's face. Baccarat's brow furrowed instantly.

"Do you have a problem with my cuisine?" Baccarat's voice was cold, laced with the anger of being offended. On this island, no one had ever dared to question his culinary skills.

The air in the restaurant instantly froze. Everyone looked at Rocks's group as if they were dead men.

Gatz was about to erupt, but Rocks raised a hand to stop him with a smile. Rocks stood up, a warm grin on his face. "Master Chef, you misunderstand. We are not dissatisfied with your cuisine." He paused, his smile turning playful. "We just feel that something that's worse than pig slop can hardly be called 'cuisine'."

His words were like a ladle of cold water thrown into a pot of boiling oil. The entire restaurant exploded.

"What did you say?!" The Golden Chef Baccarat's face turned the color of liver. His arrogant expression shattered like broken porcelain. He stared at Rocks, his eyes burning with a murderous rage. On the Island of Splendor, he was the emperor of the culinary world, a favorite of the Celestial Dragons. When had he ever suffered such a humiliation! To be told to his face that his cooking was worse than pig slop?

"Insolence! Who are you to insult Lord Baccarat!"

"You ignorant country bumpkins! Get on your knees and apologize to Lord Baccarat!"

The surrounding noble diners also began to shout, seeing this as a perfect opportunity to show their loyalty to the Golden Chef. The restaurant guards drew their swords and surrounded Rocks's table. The atmosphere was electric.

Gatz grinned, showing his white teeth, and cracked his massive knuckles. Dolum and Silver also stood up silently, their eyes turning cold. A brawl seemed imminent.

"Wait." A cool, young voice cut through the clamor.

Ren stood up from his seat. He walked to the table, looked at the gaudy but tasteless dishes, then raised his head and looked directly at the enraged Baccarat. "He's right."

Ren's voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears. "Using gold leaf to cover up the staleness of the snail meat, using the sparkle of diamonds to distract from the fishiness of the caviar, using dyes and lighting to create a fake soup color..."

"You're not cooking. You're deceiving the palates of your customers, and it's a blasphemy against the ingredients themselves."

Every word Ren spoke was like a precise scalpel, cutting through Baccarat's glamorous facade and exposing the bloody, ugly secrets of his culinary skills. Baccarat's body trembled violently, half from anger, half from shock. He couldn't believe that this child, who looked no older than seven or eight, could see through all his proudest techniques and secrets at a single glance.

"You... you're talking nonsense!" Baccarat roared, his voice betraying his fear. "What does a little brat who hasn't even grown all his hair know about high-class cuisine!"

"High-class cuisine is about letting the ingredients themselves shine, not plating them with gold and diamonds," Ren's tone was still calm, but it carried an unquestionable authority. "Since you disagree, let's settle this the way chefs do."

He extended a small finger and pointed at Baccarat. "I challenge you to a Shokugeki."

A Shokugeki!

The word silenced the entire restaurant once again. Everyone stared at Ren as if he were a madman. An unknown child wanted to challenge the personal chef of a Celestial Dragon, the Golden Chef Baccarat? This was the biggest joke in the world!

Baccarat was stunned for a moment, then burst into hysterical laughter. "Hahahaha! A Shokugeki? You? Fine! Fine! I accept your challenge! You brought this on yourself!" He had been looking for a reason to humiliate these arrogant fools, and now they had served themselves up on a silver platter. Baccarat would crush this little brat's dignity in front of all the nobles on the island!

"Since it's a Shokugeki, there must be a wager," Rocks said casually from the side, a look of amusement on his face. "If we win, the head chef of tomorrow's delicacy feast will be my Head Chef."

"And if you lose?" Baccarat asked venomously.

"If we lose..." Rocks's smile turned dangerous. "You can have all of our heads."

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