Chapter 347: Senti Turns Cooking Into a Philosophy Problem

???

What the heck was this?!

Erina stared blankly at the three enraptured judges.

She couldn't imagine it. She couldn't comprehend it.

How had the Herrscher of Sentience turned frozen dumplings into something that made the Totsuki graduates praise it endlessly?

Her decade-plus of culinary common sense collapsed in an instant.

"Ohhh—!"

Urara Kawashima's excited voice echoed.

"As expected of the Starsea Empire's chefs—each one a hidden master!"

"A dish that looked utterly ordinary has received unanimous praise from three top chefs!"

"Compared to Erina's Norway lobster dumplings, they seem to prefer the Herrscher of Sentience's fried dumplings?!"

The three judges devoured them ravenously.

In no time at all, the entire plate of slapdash dumplings was gone.

The Herrscher of Sentience preened with pride. Erina was utterly unable to comprehend.

She glanced from Senti to the blissful judges.

Stepping forward—

"Excuse me, may I try your dish?"

"Of course."

Senti scooped a few dumplings from the pot, plopped them onto a plate, tossed on some lettuce, and squeezed a bit of sauce.

It at least resembled a dish.

"..."

Erina extended her tongue, lightly touching the dumpling, and immediately furrowed her brows.

"These dumplings must have been stored in the freezer for a long time. Even if the base quality is high, the flavor's been affected."

"And the oil temperature was off..."

She took a small bite, brows knitting tighter.

"The frying was severely overdone. Parts of the filling and wrapper are burnt."

"The sauce is just soy sauce and vinegar—totally mismatched with these dumplings. Too much soy sauce, and it drowns out the shrimp's flavor..."

With the God's Tongue's hypersensitive palate, she listed the dish's flaws one by one.

Then Senti raised her hand in front of her, repeating her trick.

"The Herrscher of Sentience has modified your consciousness."

"You now believe my cooking is delicious."

"???"

"Oh..."

Erina's expression went hazy.

"Yes... yours is better..."

"Heheh, easy. Another win~"

Senti put her hands on her hips, gloating.

Suddenly—

Clang!!—

Her head got flicked by Setsuna.

Looking back, she saw him and the three shipgirl judges squinting at her.

"Senti..."

"I'll admit your use of authority to control the judges shows imagination—but have you considered that cooking is meant to be eaten?"

"?"

"Mind control? What?"

The Totsuki chefs below heard something outrageous.

It had been one thing when the first two contestants brought out chimeras and krakens—but now the third was using mental manipulation?!

Was this even still a cooking duel?!

"Consciousness is the basis of all things. If your consciousness thinks it's delicious, then it is delicious."

Senti rubbed her head, trying to justify herself.

"Just like I could use my power to make everyone believe Old Fossil has an E-cup."

"..."

"You're right—but your authority doesn't work on me."

"This stuff is not tasty."

Bonk—

Setsuna smacked her again.

"You could drop your defenses and let me modify your consciousness. Then it would taste delicious—better than any dish!"

Senti kept trying to argue.

"???"

"What is this, a philosophy debate?!"

The Totsuki chefs suddenly felt the duel's theme had been raised to a whole new level.

If someone served an unspeakable dish and then used magic to make you believe it was delicious—

Would that count as cuisine?!

"You..."

Richelieu and Yat Sen shook their heads.

"Are we going to have you modify our minds every time we eat with the Commander? Just throw random stuff together and tweak our consciousness?"

"Actually, even if your cooking can't match Erina's, if you used Fu Hua's skills and chose some unique Starsea Empire ingredients, you'd still stand a chance."

"Guh..."

Senti pouted, frustrated that her authority couldn't affect Setsuna or the shipgirls.

Machines weren't under her control either.

"Vote."

Setsuna kept it simple.

He and the three shipgirls voted for Erina. The three Totsuki graduates, still under altered consciousness, voted for Senti.

"Ohh!"

"4 to 3!!! The Starsea Empire judges unanimously favored Erina's dish!!"

"Erina Nakiri narrowly defeats the Herrscher of Sentience!!!"

Urara Kawashima's energetic voice rang across the hall.

"Commander! You betrayed your own!!!"

Senti leapt onto Setsuna, pounding her fists against him.

"This was a fair evaluation of cooking. You only joined for fun anyway, didn't you?"

Setsuna rubbed her head.

"True... but I'm still not happy about it."

"Stupid Old Fossil—it's her fault for not training seriously in cooking."

The Herrscher of Sentience regretted losing, but she wasn't really a chef to begin with.

She was only here for fun—and to mess with the locals.

"Achoo—!"

"?"

Back on Mount Taixuan, Fu Hua, teaching Kanae, Gudako, and others the Taixuan Eminence, suddenly sneezed.

"Ah..."

Erina, dazed for a while, finally snapped back to herself.

She froze when she saw the scoreboard.

This was Totsuki's first victory—and all her points had come from the Starsea Empire judges.

"Th-thank you."

The girl bowed respectfully.

"As I said—we will judge each match fairly."

Setsuna smiled.

He wouldn't show favoritism in a small cooking duel like this.

Delicious was delicious—the tongue doesn't lie.

After their duel—

Ning Hai and Momo Akanegakubo also brought up their dishes.

"Commander, please look—Grand Sorcerer Panda Mapo Tofu!!!"

Ning Hai lifted the mold, pulling out the lotus leaf placed at the base.

Shua—

The black-and-white tofu was cut into neat cubes by fine threads, arcing gracefully through the air.

With crisp sounds, they fell into a sauce-laden plate.

The process replicated a certain legendary chef's moves perfectly.

"Oh, using a mold separator to heat the tofu while infusing lard to enhance texture..."

"What a brilliant idea!!!"

Hinako and Fumio applauded. Even the shipgirls were stunned.

As expected, Eastern shipgirls had an innate gift for cooking.

"So jealous..."

Formidable suddenly wanted to move to the Eastern base.

"Hm?"

A grand BGM swelled in Setsuna's ears—the exact same theme from True Cooking Master Boy.

"???"

He turned.

In the audience, Ping Hai was holding up a radio, thoughtfully setting the mood for her sister.

"Are you cosplaying?!"

Everyone was dumbfounded.

"Strawberry tofu mousse, please enjoy."

The purple-haired little loli presented a refined dessert.

"Ohh..."

Compared to the earlier chaos, Ning Hai and Momo's dishes seemed so normal.

"Ohhhh—!!"

On the judges' table, the Totsuki graduates once again erupted into an exploding-clothes scene.

"Oh, this mapo tofu really is impressive."

Curious, Erina tasted a bite too.

"The seasoning is perfect. The chef's technique is profound, with deep mastery of Eastern cuisine..."

And then—

"Ah~~~"

With a moan unfit for broadcast—

Her JK uniform, skirt, and even black stockings shredded apart, leaving only the bare essentials.

Her stunning figure was laid bare.

"Yah—!"

Erina blushed furiously, hugging herself as she crouched down.

Most present were girls—but there was one exception.

"???"

Setsuna stared, dumbfounded at the Shokugeki world's strange "talent."

"Ning Hai, did you spike it with something?"

"I didn't!!!"

The bun-haired shipgirl argued indignantly.

"Um, Commander."

Yat Sen poked Setsuna.

"I recall the Nakiri family has an ability—'Clothing Burst,' right?"

"When they taste truly exquisite food, their spiritual energy surges and their clothes rip apart. That's what happened with Tohru's dish too."

"Maybe our cooking is just too stimulating for them..."

"..."

Setsuna didn't remember Erina ever bursting clothes before—but Ning Hai's dish must have struck her critical spot.

He suspected that, with the Empire's multiversal ingredients, Erina's sensitive God's Tongue would keep her in a constant state of exploding clothes and... other things.

"Sigh, this ability of yours really is..."

He waved, ordering the Angeloids to fetch some clothes.

"Entertainment gold!!!"

....

"Uh... ah..."

The judges on site found themselves unusually conflicted.

The duel between Ning Hai and Momo Akanegakubo was perhaps the most normal match of the entire competition.

No absurd ingredients.

No mind-control magic.

Just pure cooking skills against each other.

On one side, an Eastern shipgirl specializing in cuisine, presenting a legendary dish from another world.

On the other, the Fourth Seat of the Elite Ten, showing off her strongest dessert specialty.

Naturally, it was also the hardest to judge.

"Ahh, now this feels like a proper shokugeki. The first three matches scared me half to death."

Hinako clapped her hands, seriously pondering.

"Mm... the mapo tofu is delicious, very creative, and the flavor is excellent."

"But in terms of pure technique, I think Momo's a bit higher."

"I really like the mapo tofu though. The way she used spices was ingenious. Some of them I've never even seen before."

Jun Shiomi was utterly captivated by the Starsea Empire's incredible range of seasonings.

As a spice expert and genius professor, for her this was as exciting as discovering a new continent.

"...So hard to choose..."

Everyone debated endlessly, unable to decide.

Meanwhile, on stage, the two contestants strangely found themselves in sync.

"Your dessert is so good, Momo! Will you teach me?"

Ning Hai took a bite of the petite girl's creation, eyes sparkling as she leaned close.

"Your mapo tofu... was amazing too..."

Normally shy and soft-spoken, Momo found herself unable to resist the shipgirl's enthusiasm.

"Eh, I actually learned it from otherworld records... it was made by a super amazing chef."

The shipgirl scratched her head awkwardly.

"If you want, I'll teach you later..."

The little loli hugged her plushie, speaking shyly.

"Really? Perfect, I want to learn some Western desserts too! I can teach you how to make baozi, or steamed buns!"

The two began chatting idly, their rivalry fading into mutual excitement.

Just as Setsuna and the others were pondering how to score this round—

"Darling!!! My dish is ready!!!"

Wearing her maid outfit, the excitable cat-eared maid raised her hand proudly.

"Uh... if I recall correctly, this round was the dark cuisine match?"

Hinako thought aloud.

She still wasn't sure why such a strange event had been included in a shokugeki.

The Starsea Empire had insisted it was one of their 'entertainment projects,' so the Totsuki students had simply gone along with it.

"How do you even judge dark cuisine?"

Fumio looked utterly lost.

"Whoever makes the worst food wins."

Grey put on a pitiful expression, glancing at the judges.

"Standing before you is the culmination of Royal Navy cuisine—the ten-time champion of the Port District's Dark Cuisine Tournament, slayer of Heroic Spirits, destroyer of kitchens, nemesis of salted fish, and all-around prodigy outside of cooking—Royal Heavy Cruiser Cheshire."

"Her specialty is the kind of dish that can leave even the Commander and carrier-class shipgirls fainting... no, swooning."

"Fainting?"

Hinako didn't quite understand.

Plop—

Before each judge was placed a small puff pastry pie.

Seven salted fish heads stuck out neatly from each one, their eyes glinting eerily.

It was as if they were staring past the banquet hall ceiling, gazing straight into the distant stars, dying but unyielding.

In front of Setsuna, however, was an especially large pie—over a dozen salted fish sticking up from it.

"Commander, yours is special~~ Darling~~"

The cat-eared maid threw herself into a warm hug against him.

"This is...?"

The Totsuki chefs' pupils shrank in shock.

Years of culinary training, and they had never witnessed such a brutal dish.

"Royal cuisine—Stargazy Pie."

"You've never heard of it? Doesn't Totsuki teach all the world's cuisines?"

Cheshire puffed her cheeks, annoyed at Fumio's ignorance.

"..."

"British food? No wonder it's not taught..."

Fumio muttered quietly under her breath.

They carefully examined the Stargazy Pie.

From the outside, it looked plain enough.

Just a little odd in presentation, but not exactly what one would call "dark cuisine."

"Commander, can we not eat this? Can't we just declare Cheshire the winner?"

Richelieu whispered softly.

"..."

Setsuna looked at the expectant cat-eared maid. In this situation, it felt wrong to disappoint her good intentions.

The other judges each cut off a piece, pairing it with the strange fish meat and putting it into their mouths.

Then—

Gulp—

Within seconds, Fumio, Hinako, and Jun Shiomi's expressions changed dozens of times.

"The spices... wait, how many kinds did you use..."

Jun Shiomi's delicate features twisted in pain, words squeezed out between breaths.

She had never tasted seasoning so bizarre. Though the pie looked simple, Cheshire had whimsically stuffed it with a wide variety of inexplicable seasonings.

Not only normal spices, but also strange imports from other worlds.

After becoming part of the multiversal Empire, not only had everyone's culinary level improved—the Stargazy Pie's destructive power had increased as well.

"I see stars?"

"No... I see dinosaurs?"

Fumio swayed in her seat, then collapsed face-first onto the table.

"Ohhh!!! One of the judges has fainted from the sheer force of the Stargazy Pie?! Incredible...!!"

Urara Kawashima shouted into her mic, eyes wide.

She had hosted countless shokugeki, but today was truly eye-opening.

"No way, it can't be that bad..."

Alice, having just finished her own dish, curiously took a bite.

"Eh?"

"Why do I see little people dancing in front of me?!"

"—Alice, wake up!! Alice, what's wrong with you?!"

"???"

"No, it looks fine to me. Erina-sama, let me test it for you."

Hisako, curious, stepped forward and cut a slice.

"..."

"Eh? Why are there two... no, four Erina-samas in front of me?!"

"—Hisako, wake up!! What's happening to you?!"

"Um, I'd like to try too... may I have a piece?"

Megumi timidly raised her hand.

Cheshire's eyes lit up with joy, and she handed her a portion.

A minute later—

"—Megumi, wake up!! Are you okay?!"

"—Ikumi, get a hold of yourself!! Doctor! Where's the doctor?!"

...

Ten minutes later.

With reverence in her tone, Urara Kawashima announced the result:

"After tasting the Stargazy Pie, Alice Nakiri suffered physical distress and voluntarily withdrew."

"In the dark cuisine match, Cheshire has achieved an outstanding result—knocking out three judges and six audience members! She is the winner of this round!!!"

...

...

The next day—

The culinary showdown between the two worlds officially came to an end.

The girls from the Food Wars world once again stood before Setsuna.

"Hmm... interesting. You were actually stronger than I expected."

Setsuna smiled at the contestants.

Purely in terms of technique, his chefs couldn't compete with professional culinary students.

They had only won thanks to superior ingredients and the aid of magic—a dimensional crushing.

"We lost."

Erina and Rindo admitted frankly.

"According to shokugeki rules, if you have any conditions, tell us. We'll comply."

Their expressions were tense.

They figured that since they were already part of the Starsea Empire, the demand wouldn't be too harsh.

"I don't really have anything for you to do. That part was just teasing."

Setsuna leaned back in his chair, smiling again.

"Build ships? Conduct research? Manage colonies? You're not suited for any of that."

"This Empire has countless matters that need me. This was just a whim—to play with you. Winning or losing doesn't matter."

"Of course, the proper treatment you deserve within the Empire—I'll have the Angeloids arrange it for you."

"..."

With just a few words, Erina finally understood the vast gulf between them.

For herself and the other Totsuki chefs, cooking was everything.

Their education at the academy had drilled this belief into them—a chef should devote all their passion to cuisine; cooking was the entirety of their life's value.

That was why they treated shokugeki and culinary duels as matters of life and death.

But to the imperial leader before her, it was nothing more than a small pastime, a casual diversion in daily life.

A bit of amusement.

"Thank you very much."

Erina bowed her head.

"It's fine. You may step down now."

Setsuna waved dismissively.

"From now on, you'll be placed in the Empire's logistics department, responsible for cooking and cuisine."

"For now, just familiarize yourselves with the situation. Ning Hai and Ping Hai will teach you how to identify and process Starsea Empire ingredients. If you need anything, contact Richelieu or Yat Sen."

"I look forward to the day you can make dishes that truly satisfy me."

...

On the way back from the administrative center, the chefs from Totsuki finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew, thank goodness. I really thought losing a cooking duel before the Commander would mean beheading..."

Rindo fanned herself lightly.

"No way. Honestly, I don't think the Commander cared much at all..."

Alice sighed gloomily.

"He just wanted to see us cook a few things—have us perform for him like a circus?!"

"Those shipgirls, the Spirits, and that dragon maid—aren't they the ones he truly cares about?"

"..."

Everyone thought about it—and indeed, even in their short time here, it was obvious.

The bond between Setsuna and the shipgirls and other companions was on a completely different level.

Ordinary humans like them couldn't compare.

"Status is something you have to earn yourself."

Erina huffed softly.

After witnessing the prosperity of a multiversal empire, she silently made a vow in her heart.

Someday, she would create cuisine so exquisite that everyone—even the Commander himself—would be astounded.

To conquer the entire multiverse with cooking—that was the highest pursuit of a chef.

"Wooow, little Erina, how admirable!"

Rindo pounced on her, ruffling her hair.

"After all, they say the way to capture a man is—"

"I am NOT!!! I was seriously thinking about cooking!!!"

"Look at you, so tsundere."

"—???"

—

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