68 – Magical Cooking Tournament (2)

First up was a magical girl with a sturdy build.

“My magical theme is cost-effectiveness and the power of rice.”

“Is that so?”

The judging magical girl, having received the dish, gave a curt nod. As if daring her to speak.

“I implore you to take a look at this.”

Despite the rather imposing tone, the magical girl pushed her dish forward, unfazed.

Her dish was rice, each grain coated in a light brown hue.

“With this special rice, I’ve captured both cost-effectiveness and the power of rice – two magical rabbits with one dish.”

“Is that so?”

Though her words were nonchalant, the judging magical girl seemed intrigued. Before anyone could say anything, she took a bite of the magical girl’s creation.

“Oh, how curious. What kind of rice is this?”

“Sawdust.”

It certainly captured both cost-effectiveness and the power of rice.

“…You call this rice?”

“Indeed. Saw-‘dust’ rice.”

“Disqualified! Get out!”

But perhaps two elements weren’t enough to satisfy her. The magical girl was now on the cusp of capturing a third.

Not merely the ambiguous concepts of cost-effectiveness and rice power. This was something far more visceral.

“I protest! This is rice made with the finest magical lumber!”

Yes.

She clamped her hand over the judging magical girl’s mouth.

“If you try more, you’ll surely acknowledge it!”

Then, forcing her jaw open, she began to pour the dish down her throat.

“Mmph! Mmph-mmph!”

Perhaps half of the sawdust… cuisine? …had disappeared.

This time, two magical girls were disqualified simultaneously.

One, the magical girl who had directly force-fed the dish.

The other, the judging magical girl.

The former for magical insubordination, the latter for magical indigestion.

Though, the latter was frankly surprising.

How could a magical girl be brought so low by merely eating a little sawdust?

What an exaggeration.

“If you’re a magical girl, you can eat sawdust, I suppose.”

Anyway.

In that moment, a rather slender magical girl swiftly presented her dish.

“What I’ve prepared is Magical Shojin Ryori.”

An unfamiliar term.

But its meaning was quickly understood.

Thanks to the octopus, who erupted in a fit of pique.

“Nay, didn’t the lass tell ye! Magical temple cuisine is a sure crowd-pleaser, I say!”

“Ah, so that’s temple cuisine?”

“Well, it’s a bit different in the details, it is. That’s Japanese-style magical temple cuisine, it is.”

Though it was called temple cuisine, in truth, it bore little resemblance to it.

Just then, one of the judging magical girls accurately pointed out what I was thinking.

“It looks like Unagi Donburi, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s right. A magical Unagi Donburi created with only vegetarian ingredients. You could call it the ultimate in Magical Shojin Ryori.”

At that moment, one of the Master Sergeant-ranked judging magical girls narrowed her eyes sharply.

“Hmph? Vegetarian? Are you certain?”

“Of course.”

“Is that so?”

As expected of a Master Sergeant, her appearance was youthful, like any other magical girl, but her gaze held a seasoned wisdom that belied her looks.

“I have a Magical Allergy to all non-vegetarian food. Can you assure me, here and now, that this is something I can eat without issue?”

A seasoned eye gleamed ominously.

The magical girl who received that gaze nodded firmly.

“I am confident. Please, try it.”

“Good.”

Only then did the other judging magical girls turn pale, hastily trying to dissuade her.

“No, Magical Master Sergeant! Please, just endure it this once. You could really die if something goes wrong, this time.”

“A Magical Allergy is not something to be taken lightly. Please, reconsider.”

“We’ll prepare something separately for you later.”

However, the magical girl who had volunteered to judge waved her hand, indicating her refusal.

“No, that won’t be necessary. A young person is overflowing with confidence, an old one cannot back down now.”

And then, the magic girl took a hearty bite of the eel donburi, made entirely of vegetarian ingredients.

Thus began an evaluation hanging on the precipice of life and death.

Under everyone’s tense gaze, the magic girl, still chewing, slowly opened her mouth.

“Oh. Remarkable.”

The words were pure admiration.

“You’ve recreated the eel’s flesh with tofu, and the skin with seaweed. The shape, of course, but the texture is perfect too.”

“Precisely. Thank you for the high praise.”

The judging magic girl put another mouthful into her mouth, then tilted her head.

“But how did you achieve the eel flavor? It’s practically impossible to replicate with vegetarian ingredients.”

“Yes, well, I transcended the limitations of vegetarianism.”

“Oh, I see! Would you care to elaborate!”

“Of course!”

The magic girl who submitted the dish puffed out her chest and explained confidently.

“I ground up eel and simmered it for a long time to make the sauce. That is the secret to the eel flavor.”

The judging magic girl finished the second spoonful of eel donburi, then quietly licked her lips.

“Didn’t you clearly state that this dish was vegetarian…?”

“Ah.”

After that, two magic girls were eliminated.

One was dragged away under the charge of attempted magical manslaughter.

The other was the judging magic girl, who was hastily carried away in an ambulance.

Well, she certainly surpassed the limitations of vegetarianism.

Just not in the way anyone expected.

I glanced at the magic girl, whose throat was swelling alarmingly, then turned my gaze to Snowball.

“Don’t you ever go vegetarian. All those who embraced vegetarianism met such miserable ends.”

Didn’t some leader from Germany commit suicide after embracing vegetarianism? Vegetarianism is so dangerous.

“Don’t worry. I am not a magical vegan or anything.”

“No, you imbecile, this issue isn’t derived from vegetarian ingredients, or anything of the kind!”

In any case, it was a good opportunity to once again be reminded of the dangers of allergies.

Some might question. A magic girl’s body, and she can’t overcome a mere allergy?

But allergies are on a different level altogether.

A mouse, even, bites twice, it can fell a lion.

Likewise, a magical allergy bites twice, it can defeat a magic girl.

Truly, a magical anaphylactic shock.

Anyway.

It hadn’t even been long since the start, and I hadn’t expected so many to be eliminated. Even two judges were out.

Was it because it had ‘magical’ in the name?

This cooking competition looked like it wouldn’t be easy.

As if proving my expectations correct, magic girls presenting their dishes began to be sunk one by one.

There were many reasons.

Useless decorations.

A strange smell coming from the food.

The plating wasn’t done properly.

“This meat isn’t cooked evenly by my standards. You’re out.”

“But, this is Magical Sashimi!”

“There are no exceptions.”

The degree of roasting wasn’t appropriate, and so on.

It was definitely a cooking competition.

The judges’ standards were generally high.

As a result, all the mediocre magic girls were eliminated, and the competition gradually fell into chaos.

However.

Didn’t they say a hero appears in turbulent times?

Similarly, even amidst the chaos, there was a magic girl who emerged like a hero.

“The magical theme of my dish is harmony.”

The magic girl who had just come out was of that sort.

“There’s still a lot of debate about whether to put sugar or salt in magical bean soup, isn’t there?”

Words full of composure, but not shaken in the slightest.

Proof that she had confidence in her cooking.

“So, through my own magical bean soup dish, I have presented a perfect solution that is neither sugar nor salt.”

Just then, two judge magic girls who had been bickering with each other simultaneously turned their gaze.

“What do you think, Magical Salt Faction?”

“Well now. This does pique my interest somewhat.”

Their eyes glimmered, half with intrigue, half with suspicion.

“Magical Sugar-Pine, I demand an answer I can accept. Can harmony truly be achieved, as you say?”

“Magical Bean-Noodle Soup with neither salt nor sugar… what *did* you add, pray tell?”

The magical girl beamed, offering her reply.

“I stirred in rice.”

“We ought to string this one up.”

“Upside down. Upside down we must hang her.”

Assuredly, the magical theme of harmony was upheld.

With a single dish, she had unified the two squabbling judge magical girls.

“P-Please, spare me!”

Alas, it seemed preserving her own life was a challenge.

Still, perhaps because the middling magical girls had been weeded out, worthwhile dishes started to emerge.

Two, in particular, left a striking impression.

“A magical Korean dish built upon a foundation of fruit. It sheds the tired skin of conventional Korean cuisine.”

“…The flavor is utterly lost, however?”

“That, dear evaluator, is your responsibility.”

One, a new genre of Korean cuisine, born from the union of fruit and tradition.

“Beef-flavored Magical Rice… certainly memorable, though I personally would enjoy tasting the rice itself just a touch more…”

“Knowing that, I have prepared rice-flavored Magical Beef as well.”

“Oh, perfection!”

The other, a foodstuff that pushed flavor to its very limits through an idiosyncratic combination of ingredients.

“Barring unforeseen circumstances, the victor is as good as decided, wouldn’t you say?”

Especially the latter, was a formidable contender for the crown.

The combination of beef-flavored Magical Rice and rice-flavored Magical Beef achieved an untouchable balance, after all.

In that instant, perhaps subtly irritated by the pronouncement of a frontrunner, a magical girl swiftly presented a dish to the very same judge magical girl.

At first glance, a perfectly ordinary curry.

But within the ordinary, extraordinary things resided.

“Wow, this Magical Curry is simply divine!”

The judge magical girl extolled.

Though it was naught but a raw, unvarnished compliment, it was, precisely for that reason, a praise of the highest order.

“This might be terribly forward of me, but could you possibly share a smidgen of your Magical Recipe?”

So impressed was she, the judging magical girl had lowered herself to ask for instruction.

It was the instant the frontrunner title changed hands.

“Of course,”

The magical girl nodded agreeably, swiftly launching into the recipe.

A recipe with an unsettling air.

“Beef tenderloin, lightly sautéed in butter. Potatoes, onions, carrots, cut into appropriate sizes. Milk, and a touch of coffee grounds and pepper to tame the gamey scent. Lastly, a single chicken bouillon cube for that umami─”

“H-hold on! I’m writing this down!”

The judging magical girl hurriedly produced a pen and notebook.

“─and then, I slept on it.”

“What in God’s name are you saying, you little shit!”

And promptly flung it at the magical girl.

Only then did I vaguely grasp the source of the disquiet I’d felt when the magical girl had first spoken.

“Sora, that’s clearly a curry recipe, but there isn’t any curry powder in the ingredients─”

“Senpai, don’t say another word, or I swear I’ll slaughter everyone.”

Meanwhile, the judging magical girl who’d tasted the dish retched and vacated her seat, prompting the magical girl beside her to spit out sharp words.

“Who in their right mind submits something like this as food in a Magical Cooking Competition! I’m filing a lawsuit, I swear!”

“Oh, you can taste it even without trying?”

Well, she didn’t say anything further.

She simply pulled out her magic wand with haste.

– Pew!

With an adorable sound, the magical girl who had submitted the dish collapsed to the floor.

And so, another powerful contender for the win was eliminated in a matter of minutes.

Even so, the competition for victory was fierce.

Who would have thought someone would present such an adorable curry?

Afterwards, a few more dishes appeared, but none could topple the formidable fortress of beef-flavored rice and rice-flavored beef.

At that moment, the residents of the dormitory shot to their feet.

“Sora, should we head out now?”

“Yeah. Just in time, since we’re done cooking.”

“It’s all thanks to the young lady’s appropriate magical help, you know.”

“Huh, what? You’re already done?”

This was truly unexpected.

I knew vaguely that they were doing something, but I never imagined they’d finish cooking this quickly.

“What kind of dish did you make?”

“A surprising magical dish, Senior.”

Sora flashed a subtle eye smile before heading to the judging panel with everyone.

And then.

“Submitting our Magical Dish!”

She confidently presented the dish.