Just as the Galar Gator steaks reached their aromatic peak, Shuu's attention turned to the dreamlike Iridescent Fruit.
His expression grew even more focused—almost devout.
At his side, Shun and Miyoko understood: Shuu-sensei was about to work the Iridescent Fruit.
What kind of dish will he make from it…? Shun couldn't help wondering.
Shuu brought over a pure white jade mortar. With a jade paring blade, he traced an exquisitely gentle cut across the crown of the fruit.
In that instant, it was as if a shrunken rainbow poured into the bowl.
The juice was no single hue, but seven clear bands—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, violet—distinct yet harmoniously entwined, like molten gemstones. Its layered bouquet hit like a spell, ten times richer than the aroma from the whole fruit alone.
In a heartbeat, even the air in the courtyard seemed to turn sweet.
A top ingredient like this needed almost nothing added. Shuu fetched a pinch of Morning Dew Gel—a rare, colorless, tasteless jelly collected from the dew on the Food Temple's thousand-year tea leaves. It firms at cool temperatures and is prized for elite jellies.
He dusted the fine gel powder into the juice, then stirred with a slim crystal rod—clockwise, unhurried, perfectly even.
The motion was tender, like tending a newborn; not a single bubble formed. With each turn, the perfume grew deeper.
Both Shun and Miyoko, as chefs, had already guessed his intent.
"These seven colors are born of nature's balance—you don't batter them with force," Shuu said while working. "Let the gel distribute gently; borrow its setting power to lock this fleeting brilliance in place."
When the mixing was done, he decanted the jeweled liquid into shallow glass cups and set them atop a flat bluestone beside the courtyard's natural cold spring.
The stone's faint chill and the spring's moist breath created the gentlest setting chamber nature could provide.
— time flows —
Bit by bit, under Shun and Miyoko's gaze, the dishes were complete.
First Course — "Char-Seared Three-Hundred-Year Galar Gator Steak."
The steak was sliced into thin, bite-ready sheets and aligned over a warmed stone slab. The surface was a seductive golden brown; the crackling crust was speckled with emerald-fine Lükui herb. Fat still whispered on the heat, releasing a complex aroma of pine-smoke, browned meat, and fresh herb.
A cut through revealed a perfect blush-pink heart; juices welled to meet the blade.
In the mouth, the outer crust shattered in pure, toasty crispness before yielding to astonishing tenderness and surging juices within. The flavor wasn't merely "meaty" but deep, mellow, wild—balanced by a dusting of rock salt and the Lükui's lift. A soft, contained energy in the flesh unfurled on the chew, leaving a subtle, resonant afterfeel.
It was Shun's second time tasting Galar Gator—but the flavor today was wholly new.
As expected of a master—change the method, change the soul of the taste. He marveled inwardly.
Then his eyes slid to the second dish—"Prismatic Aurora Jelly."
This one was even more exquisite—no, it outshone art itself.
Perfectly set, the jelly gleamed like seven precisely-cut gems in their cups. Sunlight caught and scattered through them in dreamy halos; they were glass-clear, luminous.
Using the dainty glass spoon, Shun lifted a corner.
It quivered delicately—silken-smooth—offering almost no resistance to the spoon, yet holding a flawless shape.
As it neared his lips, the layered perfume bloomed again, cooler and purer.
He slipped it onto his tongue.
There was no chew as expected; the jelly seemed to melt the instant it met the tongue—becoming a cool, limpid nectar.
And yet the flavors were not a muddle; they unfurled in sequence, distinct and seamless:
First a sun-hot sweetness (red), then a lively sparkle of acidity (orange), a warm honeyed echo (yellow), a turn into clean, leaf-green freshness (green), a deep, cooling calm (cyan), a drift of oceanic mineral savor (blue), and finally the faintest elegant bitterness (violet) that beckoned another taste.
Seven tastes, seven passages—like a cycle of nature performed upon the palate. Not chaotic, but dovetailed and flowing, each note setting the next more beautifully until all fused into a single, ineffable, harmonious whole.
Swallowed, it perfumed his lips and teeth; a sweet return rose in his throat; his whole being felt rinsed by a rainbow, clear from core to skin.
Shun lingered in that round, complete experience of the Seven—when he felt it:
The gentle energy didn't fade with the flavor. Guided and composed, it threaded into his limbs and bones, pooling at his core—
—and then surged.
Vaster than the wave from the steak, purer, smoother—and irresistible.
Every cell in his body lit up.
"Urgh—!"
A low growl escaped him as his body arched back of its own accord. He felt muscle fibers being torn, rewoven, strengthened by unseen hands. Each cell gulped the rainbow energy, thrumming with jubilant hums.
Crack—pop!
His upper garments split as his musculature swelled in a heartbeat, strips of cloth falling across a frame now broader, more herculean.
His Gourmet Cells had evolved again.
A force several times stronger than before leaked from him without intent. Cups and stoneware on the table gave a light, answering tremor.
Miyoko stared, eyes wide with shock. She'd seen Gourmet Cells evolve—but never this immediate, this intense, and from something as gentle as a dessert.
In only a few months, Shun's Gourmet Cells had undergone multiple evolutions. Even Shuu's gaze flickered with honest surprise—this defied easy understanding.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 500 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]