Although the requirement for bonus chapter have not been reached, but here a bonus chapter for you all.
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Chapter 68: Gensokyo Cooking King Championship (Part 2).
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Yukari put down her chopsticks. A flash of admiration appeared in her violet eyes as she marveled at the divine sake used to pickle the cucumbers. "The cucumber itself is ordinary, but this sake ranks in the top five among all the wines I've ever tasted.
Unfortunately, the dish itself lacks much technique. If I had to give it a score out of 10… I'll give it a 6."
"Judge number one gives 6 points! The youkai of boundaries is truly strict! Then what about you, Judge Remilia? How many points do you give?"
"Honestly, I'm not very fond of the spicy kick from strong liquor. Red wine and grape wine suit my delicate tongue much better. But considering the rich wine aroma… I'll also give it 6 points."
"Another 6 points! Then what about you, Judge Yuyuko? How many points do you give Contestant Suika's Wine-Fragrant Smashed Cucumber?"
"Hmm… The portion is too small, but the wine is excellent. 9 points."
Shameimaru Aya dramatically raised her voice and shouted with exaggerated expression, "Contestant Suika has actually received a high score of 9 points from Judge Yuyuko! Total score: 21 points! We'll have to wait and see whether the remaining contestants can score high marks from our strict judges!"
Shinjou Akane watched Kaguya lounging on a deck chair in front of her station, casually playing on her phone, and frowned in dissatisfaction. "Did we pick the wrong person? I feel like letting Six Flowers compete would have been better."
"But if I competed and Kihara thought I was deliberately sabotaging him and got angry with me, what then? I don't want him to dislike me. Letting Kaguya do it is definitely the best choice."
"That's true…"
The other girls also agreed. None of them wanted to do anything that might lower Kihara's favorability. Since Kaguya was willing to take on this potentially offending task, it was for the best.
As long as she completed the task, everyone could reap the benefits later. Even if Kaguya took a slightly larger share, no one would complain.
After sending Ibuki Suika out of the competition area, Shameimaru Aya returned to the stations and scanned the contestants. She immediately excluded Marisa, who was standing around with nothing to do, and Kaguya, who was playing on her phone.
She had no idea what these two were even here for… They weren't generating any topics or heat at all…
Silently complaining in her heart, she locked her gaze on Konpaku Youmu, who was silently cooking with teardrops rolling down her face. Her reporter instincts told her that approaching her would definitely yield some big news.
"Um… Contestant Youmu, do you have time for an interview?"
"P-Please wait a moment…" Konpaku Youmu blinked hard and sniffled, forcing the tears out of her eyes before nodding at Shameimaru Aya with red-rimmed eyes.
"Okay now."
She shoved the microphone toward her. "Why are you crying?"
"B-Because… Lady Yuyuko forced me to participate in this competition. If I didn't come, she said she would eat everything in sight and rack up a huge debt for Hakugyokurou…"
"Ah, this…"
The microphone acted like the key that opened Pandora's box. The aggrieved Konpaku Youmu poured out everything that had happened to her over the past few days.
Three days ago, Yuyuko had dragged her out of bed, spouted a long lecture full of grand principles, then stole her half-phantom and emphasized that she absolutely had to participate in the Cooking King Championship.
"Wait!" Shameimaru Aya interrupted her endless grievances and looked her up and down. "The thing that usually follows you around isn't a mochi, but your half-phantom?"
"How does it look like a mochi at all!"
Konpaku Youmu almost couldn't stop herself from stabbing this paparazzi with her sword. She stopped chopping and explained seriously, "That's something like half of my body. If I had to describe it, it's like a third hand."
"I see. Then… if you win the championship, what wish would you ask Judge Yukari to grant?"
"Of course I'd ask her to provide Lady Yuyuko with unlimited delicious food, freeing me from cooking duties and letting me return to being the gardener of Hakugyokurou!"
The moment she finished speaking, she felt something wet dripping onto the top of her half-phantom.
Strange… Lady Yuyuko should be carrying it with her as a body pillow. Why is there water dripping on it?
With that doubt, Konpaku Youmu looked toward the judges' platform. She saw Yuyuko staring straight at her half-phantom and drooling, apparently because Shameimaru Aya's casual use of the word "mochi" had triggered her appetite.
"Wait, Lady Yuyuko! That thing isn't edible!!!"
"Ahh~"
"It hurts!!!"
No matter how hard Yuyuko tried to tear into the soft "mochi" with her teeth, she couldn't pull it off, and it had no sweet taste in her mouth — it felt more like chewing a flavorless boiled chicken breast.
Helpless, she spat out the half-phantom. The moment she let go, the trembling half-phantom floated back to Konpaku Youmu, who was foaming at the mouth and had already fainted on the ground.
Shameimaru Aya smiled bitterly and raised her hand. "Um… Contestant Youmu has been disqualified due to an outside attack from her mistress and has lost consciousness. Please have Judge Yukari send her out of the arena to rest."
"Ara, I accidentally affected Youmu. I'll apologize properly when she wakes up. How about offering to let her return to being the gardener as compensation? What do you think, Yukari?"
"I think she'll be so happy she'll cry."
Remilia, who had been listening, rolled her eyes. These two ancient youkai with unfathomable ages were both black-hearted. It was clearly Yuyuko who had forced Youmu to participate, yet with just a few words it had turned into a situation where Youmu should be grateful with tears.
"No wonder they say bosses have black hearts… Good thing I'm a very conscientious young mistress. Otherwise Sakuya wouldn't be so devoted to me."
On the stage, after sending Konpaku Youmu away, Shameimaru Aya turned her attention to the red-and-white shrine maiden who was solemnly pouring boiling water into a bowl with a serious expression. She walked over.
"Um… Contestant Reimu."
"Shh— Don't talk, don't talk! This part is critical!"
Reimu's tightly furrowed brows actually managed to intimidate Shameimaru Aya. She held her breath and watched as Reimu poured amber-colored tea until it was about one centimeter above the rice.
"Phew— Done. Hakurei Shrine's signature Divine Tea-Poured Rice!"
"Wait!" Shameimaru Aya was full of question marks. She stared at the sweating Reimu with an incredulous look and pointed at the dish named "Divine Tea-Poured Rice." "Isn't this just tea over rice!? You just changed the name and think you can fool everyone?"
"Tch! I didn't expect this paparazzi to even know what tea over rice is. Isn't this my secret survival technique for when I'm too poor to buy vegetables… I mean, ordinary tea over rice?" "What did you say?"
"Nothing!" Reimu switched to her business-like fake smile and explained her "signature" dish in a soft, gentle voice. "Both the tea leaves and the water used to brew it come from the Hakurei Shrine. The leaves are hand-rolled shrine maiden tea from a small jar, and the water is from the shrine's sacred spring. The ingredients are extremely precious. How can it be compared to ordinary… I mean, regular tea over rice?"
"I feel like every word you say is full of holes… Never mind. Since Contestant Reimu has completed her signature dish, please have the judges taste it and give their scores!"
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Thank you for reading.