Here we go, with the Sylvarant Semifinal! Will it be Lloyd or Colette who will be joining Presea in the Aselia Cup Final? We'll find out in the next two chapters or so as the two heroes duke it out with mangoes in Kitchen Stadium!


Chapter 7: Mango Confront

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シルヴァラント ジュンケッショウセン

ロイド・アーヴィング VS コレット・ブルーネル

MANGO CONFRONT

==YOU GO, WE GO==

"It's regeneration hero Lloyd Irving against former Sylvarant Chosen Colette Brunel in the second battle of the Aselia Cup Tournament, the Sylvarant Semifinal," Fukui announced. "Two childhood friends compete to strive for peace in this new world through good food, but which one will move on to compete against Presea Combatir in the tournament final? It's bound to be a sweet one today with mango as the theme—we are set, let's get it on!"

"ALLEZ CUISINE!" Kaga shouted. The stadium erupted in cheers as Lloyd and Colette high-fived each other at kitchen level.

"Bang a gong, Lloyd and Colette gettin' it on in the Sylvarant Semifinal of the Aselia Cup Tournament…" Fukui announced. "And—OH! A chef goes down out of the gate…"

As the two chefs sprinted up the stairs, Colette tripped and fell about halfway up to the ingredient stand, eliciting gasps from the audience. Lloyd had reached the top and quickly ran around the table to help her out.

"You OK?"

"I'm fine, Lloyd, I just…tripped."

Lloyd could only shake his head as he ran back to the other end of the ingredient stand, where his tray rested.

"Looks like Miss Brunel's OK, and now the two chefs are getting their hands on the selection of mangoes we have today…just one kind, it appears, but very bright red in color and, I'm sure, very ripe."

"That's right, and I've been told these are actually Iselian mangoes. They started cultivating mangoes there after the unification of the worlds—supposedly they're the sweeter cousins of the more bitter amango found in what was once the Latheon Gorge. But mangoes themselves were actually originally grown near Altamira, so only Tethe'alla had them for quite some time."

"No kidding, that's how the Chairman was able to get them here! And Chef Irving is wasting no time at all, he's already got a mango peeled and in the oven as we speak; there's no doubt about it, the man has his game face on today!"

"Fukui-san!"

"From the floor, Shinichiro Ohta, go!"

"I asked Chef Irving what it's like battling in Kitchen Stadium for the first time in such a high-stakes tournament, and he replied simply, 'I thought regenerating the world was hard! At least there I had my friends to help me out, but here I'm on my own!' And apparently he has a side bet with Chef Brunel—he put fifty gald on the outcome of the battle, so if nothing else he has to win so he doesn't lose money on the deal!"

"OK, well, an obviously nervous Chef Irving on one side of Kitchen Stadium—he seems to know what he's doing, though, so we'll see how this battle plays out for him. Meantime, on the other side, Chef Brunel having recovered from her little spill earlier, has now returned to her station and is breaking down some mangoes there—"

"Fukui-san!"

"Go!"

"I asked Chef Brunel the same question and she answered, 'Winning or losing isn't important to me—I'm just here to show that we regenerated this world and we don't want our efforts to go to waste!'"

"OK, thanks, big fella, and this should be interesting having two childhood friends battle against each other in what could be the biggest battle of their lives. And now, let's introduce our guests for the Mango Battle: first, former Tethe'alla Chosen Zelos Wilder. Pleasure to have you with us, sir."

"Hey, what's up?" he replied, obviously mugging for the camera. Several high-pitched squeals could be heard from the audience as he winked at the camera. Fukui paid them no mind.

"Zelos, you ever have mango much?"

"Oh yeah, I love it," he replied. "I could eat that for the rest of my life. Love the taste, love the texture, everything about it. I just wish they were easier to get where I live."

"OK, well, enjoy what comes out of the kitchen today—I'm sure you will. And next to him is his sister, Seles Wilder."

"Hi, thank you for having me."

"What about you, Seles, do you like mangoes?"

"Well, being locked up in an abbey, I haven't had much access to exotic foods lately. I hear they're quite good, though, so I'm looking forward to the chefs' creations today."

"Really? Well, with the caliber of chefs we get here in Kitchen Stadium, I'm sure you'll enjoy every last bite of the dishes today. Please enjoy."
"Thank you."

"And of course, our commentator, Dr. Yukio Hattori."

"Always a pleasure. And actually, Seles, before the show, I found out what the theme would be, and, uh—how should I say—borrowed some of the mangoes from the stand," Hattori said, procuring a mango and a small knife from underneath the announcer's table. He began cutting open a mango and slicing small cubes for Seles to taste.

"Mmm…it's very soft…melts in your mouth, almost."

"Well, that's what happens when they're really ripe. Some of the less-ripe mangoes have a more leathery, fibrous texture and are a bit more sour," Hattori replied.

"I don't care whether or not they're really ripe, I could eat 'em all day," Zelos said, loudly slurping on a mango skin. Seles rolled her eyes at the gesture, while Fukui ignored him, trying to resume his commentary.

"OK, so back to the action here, and we see Chef Irving has some crabmeat in a bowl here, along with some other sauce, it appears?"

"Fukui-san!"

"Go!"

"This is Dungeness crab that Chef Irving has in this bowl here, which he's lightly boiled before tossing it together with an Iselian tartar sauce that he's created himself—he hasn't told me what went in it, so we can assume it's some kind of secret."

"All right, thanks Ohta, and we've got a very secretive chef battling today, don't we?"

"Yeah, I've gotta say, it's not quite like Lloyd to hide stuff from people…he's usually very up-front about everything, even when he's stressed," Zelos remarked with a frown.

"But even if we knew what went into that tartar sauce, where would the mangoes play into this?" Seles asked, taking another mango cube to taste.

"I…honestly have no idea," Hattori replied, scratching his head.

"So a mystery sauce and a mystery crab dish in the early stages happening on Lloyd Irving's side."

"Fukui-san!"

"Yes, Ohta!"

"I asked Chef Irving what he thinks about today's theme ingredient, mangoes, and he said that he doesn't use them that often in his cooking—they're expensive and he hasn't quite wrapped his head around the whole prospect of cooking fruits. And when I asked him about that mango in the oven, he said, 'Does it look like I have any idea what I'm doing here?'"

"So Lloyd is just lettin' it all ride as he goes—interesting strategy for Kitchen Stadium, I think, but we'll see how it all plays out."

"Now check out what Colette has over here," Hattori said, calling the announcers' attention to the large bowl of leafy greens Colette had assembled. "I think we're going to have a salad come our way."

"Yeah, doesn't surprise me one bit," Zelos said. "Colette was always the most health-conscious of the bunch, and made it a point to include all kinds of fresh vegetables in her meals."

"Well, you can do no dietary wrong with a salad, and a great-looking one at that, with cubes of mango going into that one," Fukui added.

"Fukui-san!"

"Go!"

"In this bowl Chef Brunel has romaine lettuce, arugula, radicchio, carrots, avocado, and mango—we're still trying to figure out what kind of dressing might go over this. And I also asked her what she thinks of the theme ingredient today, and she said that she loves any kind of fruit, but she's never really worked with mangoes that much, so she'll try some things she knows best with other fruits and substitute mangoes instead."

"FIFTEEN MINUTES HAVE ELAPSED," came the time call.

"OK, thanks Ohta, and fifteen minutes are already gone from the Sylvarant Semifinal of the Aselia Cup Tournament, the Mango Battle!"

~料理の鉄シンフォニア~

From his front-row seat, Kratos watched the proceedings of the battle on Lloyd's side of the kitchen with great interest.

When—and where—did Lloyd learn to cook so well? he thought.

His eyes narrowed as he watched Lloyd punch small circle pieces out of a thin mango slice and lay them on top of the crabmeat, which was now resting in a circle mold. He removed the circle mold and topped the dish off with a small spoonful of black caviar.

"OK! Five more, just like that!" he barked to his sous-chefs as he rushed to find more ingredients. After cleaning some rice, he threw some mango cubes in the mix.

I knew he would be a great leader from the moment I fought him… the seraph thought, smirking. He saw Lloyd put the rice bowl, which in addition to the mangoes included tofu, bok choy, and spinach, into the rice cooker. A few minutes later, Kratos began to smell the steam pulsing from the rice cooker.

Oh wow…excellent.

He couldn't help but watch his son in awe at the command he had in the kitchen. Lloyd wasn't as hot-tempered as he usually was during this battle, and the skills he showed in painting a sauce onto the plate with the crab and mango dish brought his more delicate side out for everyone to see. He was so absorbed by his son's finesse that he didn't even notice Ohta approaching him.

"Excuse me, Kratos-san?" Ohta said, microphone at the ready.

"Yes?"

"Could I have a few words from you?"

He frowned. "I don't see why not."

"OK, just a few seconds." He put his hand to his ear, listening for Fukui's signal.

"And Ohta's over in the front row about to get a word with who I believe to be the father of one of the chefs—if you're ready, take it away big fella!"

"OK thank you, I'm here with Mr. Kratos Aurion. You are Lloyd's father, correct?"

"Erm…yes."

"What do you think of the chefs' performance in the battle so far?"

"I'm actually rather surprised. I never thought Lloyd was much of a chef himself, but everything is coming out beautifully on his side. And Colette…well, other than that stumble at the beginning, I thought she would be incredibly clumsy in the kitchen, but I'm surprised she hasn't either fallen or taken out a cameraman yet. And from what I can see, her dishes are coming together quite well."

"Any words of encouragement for them?"

"…Don't lose, Lloyd," Kratos muttered.

"OK thank you, Kratos-san! Back to you, Fukui-san!" Ohta jogged to the other side of Kitchen Stadium, where Colette was hollowing out some mango halves. Kratos eyed the jumbotrons as the cameras caught a glimpse of the mango bowls and, a split second later, some vegetables simmering in a pot.

"What's she planning on doing with those…?" he muttered.

Regal, who had taken the seat next to Kratos after the producers released him following his defeat, heard him and whispered back, "I was wondering the same thing."

"Well, what would you do?" the seraph asked back, a little louder this time.

"I wouldn't use the mangoes as bowls, that's for sure."

~料理の鉄シンフォニア~

"THIRTY MINUTES HAVE ELAPSED," the time call announced. The stadium was soon filled with loud cheers and applause, encouraging both chefs onward in the creation of their dishes. Both sides were working at a feverish pace, knowing that moving too slowly could prove costly in the long run. The whirr of a blender could be heard on Colette's side, catching the commentators' attention.

"What's going on here? It looks like Colette threw some mangoes in the blender?" Fukui asked, a little puzzled.

"It can't be just a plain old mango smoothie, can it?" Zelos inquired in disbelief.

"Fukui-san!"

"You got it?"

"Yes, it is a plain old mango smoothie but at the same time it isn't. Chef Brunel's blender contains—in addition to the mango—crushed ice, mango juice, guava chunks, peach slices and plain yogurt."

"What? Plain yogurt?" Fukui replied.

"Yes, that's right. It appears she'll be serving this as is."

"Well, I suppose it counts as one of her dishes if it'll be by itself…" Hattori added, scratching his head.

"OK, well, in any event, a healthy helping of that going into glasses for the panel—I think it's a little early to be plating that and be done with it, but we'll see what Chef Brunel does with a little less than half the battle left. And look at that huge block of tuna she's got out there!"

This caught the attention of Iron Chef Chen, who was watching at another table some distance from the announcers' booth.

Such young chefs using such sophisticated ingredients… he thought, shaking his head lightly. He squinted at the monitor in front of him, which now showed Colette pan-searing that entire block of fish. The heat treatment gave it a nice, grayish-pink tinge on the surface while still retaining the deep, raw red on the inside—as she cut it open, Chen nodded in approval at the inside.

"They're only kids and they're threatening to take over OUR turf, would you believe that, Michiba-san?"

"Well, you've got to pass the torch along somehow. I, personally, think I'm getting too old for this…now, having said that, the ingredient does not make the chef. Somebody could use the most extravagant ingredients in the world and still fail to impress people. Remember Hattori and the truffle battle?"

Chen nodded, laughing a bit while recalling the legendary smackdown Michiba had laid on the color-commentator several years prior.

"But still, isn't it impressive that they're so young and appear to know the flavors of each so well?"

"Well, I'll give them that much," Michiba replied, leaning back in his chair. "It may look impressive, but how does it taste?"

"Just look at how she's pairing the seared tuna with the salad," Chen pointed out on the monitor. "I would think the sweetness of the mango would pair well with the savory tuna, right?"

"I should hope so as well. But what…what on earth is Lloyd doing? Chen-san, look at this…" the old man asked shockingly, squinting at his monitor which now showed Lloyd removing the lone mango in the oven and stuffing it into a whole duck. Chen leaned over and looked as well, appearing a little confused. "I mean, I've heard of stuffing things into hollow…erm, things, but this…he's gonna ruin the skin if he keeps this up!"

"Relax, Michiba-san," Sakai interjected upon hearing the old man's outburst. "It's not in our place to tell Chef Irving what to do. If he screws up, then the judges will punish him accordingly."

The unmistakable voice of Ohta interrupted the Iron Chefs' thoughts.

"Fukui-san!"

"Whatcha got?"

"This is indeed a duck inside which Chef Irving has stuffed the whole mango that was sitting in the oven since the beginning of the battle, and it appears he plans to pan-fry this and serve it with some vegetables as a garnish."

Ohta's latest report stumped the first Iron Chef Japanese, as the old man in blue slumped back in his chair, wondering if Lloyd actually had something on his hands.

Maybe he's not as dense as everyone writes him off as…

~料理の鉄シンフォニア~

On the kitchen floor, Colette rushed back to her cutting board after throwing some Chinese broccoli, onions, and zucchini into a pot with what appeared to be some kind of a mango stew.

"Oh, Fusako…" she gently called out to one of her assistants, "…would you mind making some crackers to go along with the mango salsa I'm about to make? I think I left that dough by the salamander oven."

"Hai, right away," she called back.

The former Chosen then quickly diced some mangoes, cilantro, and red onions, squeezed a little lemon juice over the mixture, and tossed the bowl.

"And, ah, Bomi, where did you put those mango bowls I hollowed our earlier?" she called out as she ran over to the pot with the vegetables.

"They're on the plating area, Colette. Just whenever you're ready with those vegetables, go ahead and drop 'em in the bowls."

"Thank you!" she called back as she stirred the vegetables around some more. Colette put the lid back on the pot and rushed over to the bowl containing her mango salsa, picked it up and whirled around to rush it over to Fusako, who was flattening the dough in preparation for grilling.

That is, until her foot slipped under something that didn't give easily. "Whoooaaaaaaaa! Oh no!" she shouted as the bowl flew into the air, flinging its contents onto the nearby riverbank. The cameraman had forgotten to wrap the cord as he rushed from one side of Colette's kitchen to another, causing Colette's foot to get caught in a stray loop that he was just about to snatch up. The audience gasped as Colette hit the floor.

"Yikes! What happened there? Chef Brunel goes down yet again…" Fukui lamented as the former Chosen got up and dusted herself off. She dashed for the cupboard as she pulled out yet another bowl and continued as if nothing had happened.

"Fukui-san!"

"Yes, Ohta?"

"Chef Brunel got caught by a cameraman's cord that he forgot to coil as he moved from one side of her kitchen to the other, which means that—although she doesn't seem to be physically hurt—she'll have to do her mango salsa all over again, back to you."

"FIFTEEN MINUTES TO GO," the disembodied voice of the clock called.

"Oh no!" Seles moaned.

"Oh no is right," Fukui replied, "and with about a quarter of the battle left, we'll see if Chef Brunel can pick up the pieces on that one."

"Didn't look like it took her that long to make," Zelos deadpanned.

"Well, you never know around here," Hattori retorted, "because who knows, this could've been a blessing in disguise. She might now be able to redo some things she forgot the first time."

"Indeed, maybe a second chance in disguise for Chef Brunel as she runs back to the ingredient stand to get some more mangoes. Meantime, Chef Irving's pulling his mango rice out of the rice cooker—looks like he'll be serving that as-is, no fancy bowl that Colette's pulling on the other side or anything, right?"

"Well, if he made a bowl, I didn't see it," Zelos remarked. "What I do see, though, is something really good—check out that duck he's got on the pan!"

"Man alive!" Fukui exclaimed. "That is looking so delicious right now, a pan-fried duck with a whole baked mango stuffed inside…pretty clear, judging by his face, that this is one dish he doesn't want either of his assistants touching!"

At this the announcers laughed. "Doesn't want his handiwork ruined, I suppose," Seles added.

"Well, he's gone from having no clue what he's doing to having every clue what he's doing, or at least it only looks that way," Fukui added with a chuckle.

"Now what's his assistant got here?" Zelos asked as he examined his monitor. Lloyd's assistant had stuck some small piecrusts with some mango cubes in it into the oven.

"Hmm, a dessert perhaps?" Seles surmised.

"Fukui-san!"

"Whatcha got?"

"Miss Wilder is exactly right—the word is that these will be baked until about the two-minute mark at which point they will add just plain yogurt on top. Oh, and another thing—the mangoes have actually been lightly dusted with cinnamon before going into the oven."

"Ah, okay," Hattori lit up. "A tart, then."

"But just mangoes and yogurt? Wouldn't that be a little plain?" Fukui countered.

"Ah, it might, although the cinnamon might serve some purpose in averting that. It's a technique I'm not familiar with, though, so I'm not sure."

"We've certainly seen stranger things come out of the kitchen around here, though, so we'll have to wait and see lo these next twelve and a half minutes to see what happens. Now, back to the other side, Chef Brunel looks like she has her mango salsa back in action, and that one's going down on the plates now. And did you notice, the ice cream machine's in action?"

"Mango ice cream! I love it already…" Zelos gushed.

"Really?" Seles wondered. "I didn't even see anything on that side indicating that she would make an ice cream…"

"Well, it's only natural, sis, you've got fruits, why not make an ice cream, right? I mean, c'mon, what's one fruit that HASN'T been made into ice cream?"

"Durian," she curtly replied.

Zelos went wide-eyed as Fukui and Hattori both laughed at him. Fukui removed his glasses and wiped his eyes as he made to address the former Chosen's baffled look.

"Hey, you set her up, she just got you good!"

~料理の鉄シンフォニア~

Why won't this thing cook faster, doggone it? Lloyd thought to himself as he continued to spoon the hot oil over the top of the duck. And I've still got to add a garnish or two to this…aaaaahhhh, what to do?

"FIVE MINUTES TO GO," came the time call.

"Yo, Ron!" Lloyd yelled over the crowd noise.

"Sup?"

"Wilt some green onions and puree some mangoes for me, will ya? Make sure you add the mango juice to the puree first—I'll need both later. Doesn't have to be much, just do it so we have something to go with this bird!"

"You got it!" Lloyd's assistant called back as he dashed off to the pantry.

"And Chris, take those tarts out in three, yeah? Have that yogurt ready."

"Yessir!"

Lloyd wiped some sweat from his brow as he spooned the last of the oil over the duck. Satisfied with the browned surface, he removed the bird from the pan and set it on a deep dish.

"No one touch that duck or you're dead!" he warned.

On the other side, Colette had recovered quite nicely from her earlier spill. The salad, smoothie, salsa (with crackers), and mango bowls with vegetables were all plated with about three and a half minutes left in the battle—all that remained was the ice cream that was close to being done.

"Bomi, Fusako, any ideas on what to add to that sorbet?" Colette asked. "I don't think we'll score very many originality points if we serve it as-is."

"Berries in the bottom of the cup, perhaps?" Fusako suggested.

"Strawberries," Bomi added. "Their sourness complements the mango's sweetness."

"All right then, strawberries it is," Colette said as she dashed off to the pantry to fetch the fruit. "Time call, please?" she asked sweetly.

"About two and a half minutes, Colette," Fusako called, checking the clock. The Chosen gleefully picked out a handful of strawberries and set to splitting them for the ice cream, which Bomi was now taking out of the machine.

Back on the other side, Lloyd was frantically plating away—all of his dishes were down and awaiting finishing touches. The red-clad swordsman-turned-chef was frantically running around his kitchen, often thinking while on the run and becoming visibly frustrated.

"ONE MINUTE TO GO," the clock announced. Audience members were chanting for the side they wanted to win and applause soon flooded the stadium. Fukui noted that he couldn't hear anything in his earpiece or what Seles, Zelos, or Hattori were saying.

Crap! One minute? Lloyd thought. Are we gonna make it?

"Lloyd! The tarts!" Chris called, sliding the baking sheet to the plating area.

"Cool!" Lloyd yelled back. "Ron! The yogurt!" he yelled, and a large bucket of yogurt soon flew through the air and into Lloyd's hands. He hastily grabbed a spoon and smothered each one in white yogurt.

"THIRTY SECONDS TO GO."

Colette, on the other side, was completely finished with time to spare. She poured some leftover mango juice into glasses for her and her assistants, and toasted to the battle.

"FIFTEEN SECONDS TO GO."

"One, two, three, four! Yep! We've got 'em all!" Lloyd shouted triumphantly, scanning the plating area for anything missing.

"TEN SECONDS TO GO." By this point nobody could hear anything over the din of the crowd.

"Onions, mango sauce, down next to the duck…" Lloyd went over in his head. "All right! We're done!"

"FIVE SECONDS."

"The final seconds ticking down…" Fukui narrated as best he could over the crowd.

"THREE."

"TWO."

"ONE."

"And THAT'S IT!" Fukui shouted. "The cooking's done, the Mango Battle is OVAH!"

Lloyd wiped the sweat from his brow, meeting Colette in the center and embracing her. The crowd noise was finally dying down as only applause could be heard.

"Come here…" Lloyd said as he fell into her arms.

"You did great," Colette responded as Lloyd's weight almost knocked her over.

"No, Colette. We did great."


Whew! That's the longest battle I've ever written. Tasting and judgment to come, as we decide who our second finalist will be! Who will fight against Presea for the Aselia Cup? Stick around.

I'm opening the poll now for the winner of the Sylvarant Semifinal, in case you have a favorite character for the final or if you think you already know whose dishes will taste better. In the meantime, stick around! Ryori no Tetsu-Shinfonia kono ato.