"Announcement: Due to unforeseen circumstances, the judges for this match have been temporarily replaced-the new judges are: Taira Osaka, Eirai Akagi, and... Azami Nakiri!"
Huh!?
Jaden didn't feel anything when he heard that the judges had been replaced. He hadn't even heard of the first two names, so he didn't care.
But when he heard the last one, he froze.
Azami Nakiri.
Isn't that Erina's father?
Moreover, Erina had always been extremely reluctant to mention her father. She had only talked about him once. Her expression at the time hadn't been good, and she had dropped the subject quickly afterward.
The psychological shadow was obvious.
This guy...
Has he actually come back to this country?
Jaden turned his gaze toward the judges' entrance.
Azami Nakiri emerged from the passage, flanked by two men. As he stepped out, his eyes lifted-and met Jaden's.
The two locked eyes.
Then Azami Nakiri smiled faintly.
After that, he calmly walked to the judges' seats.
Jaden watched for a few seconds, then looked away.
This guy...
After the shokugeki, he should probably inform the old man, Senzaemon, about Azami's return. As for capturing him or anything like that... it was pointless. Senzaemon had only banished him in the first place.
And the key issue wasn't Azami.
It was Erina.
As long as Erina overcame her psychological trauma, this man posed no real threat.
However-
Even though Jaden withdrew his gaze, he still found Azami Nakiri's sudden appearance here strange.
The judges had been changed.
And they had been changed to him.
This wasn't random.
Azami probably volunteered to be the judge for this shokugeki.
Tsk.
Is he really that fond of cursed cuisine?
Then he definitely wouldn't be disappointed.
...
On the surface, Jaden ignored the judge change completely.
Hayama Akira, however, noticed the faint smile on Jaden's lips as he casually opened the packaging of the instant noodles.
That smile made Hayama Akira frown.
The judges were suddenly replaced.
And one of them was a Nakiri.
Jaden was close to the Nakiri family. Everyone knew that.
Does this mean he's not even pretending anymore?
Did he just swap out the judges with his own people?
In an instant, Hayama Akira imagined the previous three judges having a sudden crisis of conscience-only to be forcibly dragged away by Jaden's subordinates.
The thought made him exhale slowly.
It didn't matter.
He had already prepared for underhanded tactics.
From the very beginning.
But-
Hayama Akira swept his arm across his table.
Jars and bottles appeared one after another.
Spices.
So many spices.
There were more than fifty containers in total. The station no longer looked like a kitchen. It looked like a laboratory.
After finishing his preparations, Hayama Akira glanced up.
Jaden's instant noodles were already done.
Already served.
He shook his head slowly.
Jaden.
Your tricks end here.
I told you.
My weapon is not a domain you can touch.
...
At the judges' table, Azami Nakiri had been informed that Jaden was now the World's Number One Chef.
Even though he had arrived in a hurry, he had adjusted himself on the way here.
His sense of smell.
His sense of taste.
His mental state.
All of it.
He hadn't eaten anything else today. No residual flavors. No interference.
He had come prepared to judge the dish of the World's Number One Chef.
And then-
He was stunned.
Three bowls of instant noodles were placed in front of him.
This...
It just smells like ordinary instant noodles.
That was his first thought.
He picked up his chopsticks.
Took a bite.
Yes.
It was ordinary instant noodles.
Not especially good.
Not especially bad.
From the standards he had drilled into Erina-
This was garbage.
He only took one bite.
Then he pushed the bowl aside.
The two judges next to him did the same.
None of the three could understand what was happening.
The World's Number One Chef.
Is this all he has?
Before they could question it, Hayama Akira served his dish.
A plate of sashimi.
Covered with a startling amount of spices.
It looked like a cold dish.
It had features.
But nothing about its appearance screamed extraordinary.
The two judges beside Azami Nakiri were already showing faint disappointment.
Azami Nakiri, however, focused.
His nose twitched.
"A very impressive dish..."
Even before anything happened, he understood.
Just by looking.
Just by smelling.
He had already grasped the core of Hayama Akira's cooking.
A scent bomb.
He leaned closer, intentionally bringing his face nearer to the plate.
Concentrating.
Preparing.
"It will probably smell amazing soon."
The two judges beside him froze.
Hayama Akira lifted a blowtorch, pride visible on his face.
"You can tell."
"That's right."
"This is my dish."
"-Seared Pacific Saury Sashimi!"
Jaden blinked.
The Curse was already applied.
And Hayama Akira's dish carried an extremely powerful buff.
[Scent Bomb: Perfect expression of every scent, each maintaining its individuality while combining to create an incredibly potent, explosive aroma.]
Cooking involved sight.
Smell.
Taste.
The opponents Jaden had faced before were all monsters of taste.
This time, it was finally someone who dominated scent.
Jaden reached under his station.
Took out a chef's mask someone had prepared earlier.
And put it on.
No one noticed.
All eyes were on Hayama Akira.
He raised the blowtorch.
This was the final step.
Searing.
The flame touched the sashimi.
And in that instant, the heat activated every spice layered on the fish.
The moment he pressed the trigger, Hayama Akira's expression was full of confidence.
Bribing the judges is useless.
My weapon doesn't need to be eaten.
The audience can perceive it too.
Can you bribe everyone?
More than fifty spices.
I-
His thoughts stopped.
Because the moment the blowtorch ignited-
The bomb detonated.
He had used over fifty spices.
So why.
Why-
"-Why does it smell so awful!?"
The two judges beside Azami Nakiri covered their noses instantly.
Azami Nakiri, who was closest-
Slumped back into his chair.
The judges turned toward him.
No reaction.
"...Azami-sama?"
Their expressions changed.
"-Oh no! Azami-sama has been knocked out by the smell! Call an ambulance!"
Hayama Akira never heard them.
His sense of smell was far sharper than an ordinary person's.
The moment the stench erupted-
He lost consciousness.
Jaden stepped forward calmly.
The mask still covered his face.
Chaos spread around the judges' table.
He stopped in front of them.
Looked at the two remaining conscious judges.
And smiled.
"By the way."
"Did I win this shokugeki?"
The two judges froze.
They hadn't finished judging.
They hadn't-
Before the thought could settle, Jaden gently pushed Hayama Akira's Seared Pacific Saury Sashimi closer to them.
The smell surged.
Like pickled herring.
Smeared with blue cheese.
Fermented for three hundred sixty-five days.
Buried under black garlic.
The judges recoiled instantly.
Jaden's smile didn't change.
"How about it?"
"You two try it."
"Maybe it's like stinky tofu."
"Smells bad."
"Tastes good."
No.
No no no no no.
Absolutely not.
They shook their heads violently.
They looked at Azami Nakiri lying unconscious.
Then at Hayama Akira.
Then back at the dish.
Without hesitation, they cast their votes.
Both of them.
For Jaden.
At that point, it didn't matter where Azami Nakiri's vote would have gone.
Jaden-
Had already won.
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