"Yuki-chan, what are you preparing?"
Quietly arriving behind Yukino and gently wrapping his arms around her waist, Ryuya's sudden appearance didn't startle the girl in the slightest.
Because the automatic 'Ryuya Detector Radar' had already sensed the man's presence.
Leaning back slightly to settle more comfortably into Ryuya's embrace, she said softly, "I originally thought of making something like omurice, but Kaguya-nee and Souji-nee's cooking skills are much better than I imagined. We decided to make a traditional Chinese delicacy, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall."
Yukino's cooking skills were, how to put it... passable, better than some, worse than others. She could cook, but the flavors she could achieve had their limits.
However, with the help of Kaguya and Souji, the dish created by combining their efforts reached an ultimate limit.
"I've had some culinary training, at least. Preparing the ingredients isn't a problem."
Unlike the chopping, washing, and mincing most people envision, Kaguya handled dry goods, seafood, and other ingredients requiring significant skill and experience.
She processed the ingredients perfectly. If compared to a company, she was the investor.
"I'm responsible for adding the ingredients in order, and the seasoning."
Placing the prepared ingredients into the pot, Yukono handled the management, like HR and finance, the middle manager.
"Ryuya-nii, I also need to thank you for your magical energy. Otherwise, I couldn't have accelerated the cooking process like this."
Authentic Buddha Jumps Over the Wall requires long cooking times for the ingredients to become delicious, but there clearly wasn't enough time today.
Using the magical energy on her body to achieve a 'heat boost' effect, Souji was the company's promoter, the final guarantee.
Combining the power of three people, the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall they created had a rich aroma that even reached the other contestants nearby.
"Tsk tsk... impressive."
Giving a thumbs-up to Yukino and the others, Ryuya didn't doubt the reasons for Kaguya and Souji's participation.
The former had her archived memories restored and was good friends with Haruno, so helping a friend's younger sister was normal, right?
As for the latter, Ryuya had noticed Souji's attitude towards him.
'It seemed the little Chiyo from back then had grown up.'
He was deeply moved by Souji waiting for him all these years. Ryuya has already considered Majin Souji his lover, and all they lacked was the right moment.
"Everyone, time is almost up. The final bell will ring soon. Please hurry."
A while later, following Haruno's announcement signaling the end, the first round of the Hubby Contest concluded.
"Now, I declare the tasting session begins! Contestants, please present your dishes!"
As Haruno spoke, the various teams brought forth their finished products.
Morgan and Artoria with their few exquisite side dishes.
Merlin and Irisviel with their dark cuisine.
Enkidu and Ishtar with their fruit salad.
Yukino, Kaguya, and Souji with their luxurious Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.
And...
"Boring. Consider this round your win."
After struggling for so long and only managing a single potato, Gilgamesh glared unhappily at everyone present.
She was finally experiencing the saying, 'What goes around comes around.'
"Let me see... Morgan's cooking has improved."
During the tasting, Ryuya couldn't be the only judge. Including everyone else to taste together would be more convincing.
The first tasting was the Pendragon Sisters' side dishes. Ryuya remarked that Morgan's skills had improved significantly since the Camelot days.
"Not bad, I suppose. I haven't had much time to practice over the years. I can only say the result is acceptable."
Confidently sweeping her hair over her shoulder, Morgan was the type who didn't act often, but when she did, it was astounding.
Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Artoria, radiating an air of high-level nonchalance, they were the brightest stars at the moment!
"Next... Hmm, what in the world is this?"
Following Morgan, the next entry was from the unreliable team of Irisviel and Merlin.
Looking at the hot pot containing an assortment of items like chicken strips, croquette, fried chicken, ice cream, etc., a masterpiece of dark cuisine. Haruno didn't even feel like trying it.
"Heh, as expected of Merlin. Well done."
Praising the British hikikomori, Morgan shook her head after her encouraging words.
Frowning slightly, Enkidu's intuition told her that eating that stuff could be fatal.
She took two steps back, hiding behind Artoria.
"Hey, you from Britain... are you sure this is edible?"
As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold, while the timid starve. If asked who among the girls present were the most tsundere and most willing to try anything, Female Gil and Ishtar would definitely be on the list.
Standing on either side of Merlin and Irisviel's creation, the oldest King and the Venus Goddess exchanged a glance.
Driven by curiosity and a death wish, they each took a bite.
And then...
Thud. Thud.
They fell in perfect sync. Even the Goddess and the King of Heroes couldn't withstand it.
Seeing both Gilgamesh and Ishtar succumb, the remaining girls quickly backed away.
They were curious, but they didn't want to die.
"Master."
"Is."
Blinking their eyes and looking at Ryuya, Irisviel and Merlin gazed expectantly at their lover.
Clearly, these two life-inept individuals still didn't understand why their creation looked so strange, even though they had put their hearts into it.
They added all the foods they liked, so shouldn't the result be 1+1 > 2?
Unable to comprehend why their product failed, Merlin and Irisviel fell into deep confusion and frustration.
"Fine, failure is failure. Nothing wrong with admitting it."
Sighing, Irisviel and Merlin also realized their dish was no good. They sighed again, and just as they were about to give up...
"Wait a moment."
Stopping the homunculus maid from disposing of the dark cuisine, Ryuya walked over.
Under everyone's stunned gazes, he picked up chopsticks and began to taste.
"Mmm, this is chicken."
"This is a chocolate bean, right? It's melted, but the flavor is still there."
"This croquette is completely unrecognizable, only the skin remains."
"The broth flavor is too complex… it's a bit of a shame."
He was truly serious, very seriously eating the food made by Merlin and Irisviel.
He didn't even use his Beast of the Apocalypse's class skill, Devourer of Heaven and Earth (SSS).
He simply ate the food Merlin and Irisviel sincerely made, sensing the love these two girls had for him through it.
In the past, as a lover, he was inadequate. Now, he wanted to do everything a lover should do.
This was Ryuya, his journey from a person, to a King, to a lover.