Kyandi: Hey, hey, everyone!
Ariadne: Please tell me you aren't going to make a chapter a day a thing.
Kyandi: For as long as I can maintain it!
Ariadne: You're going to exhaust yourself.
Kyandi: What are you talking about? Writing you interacting with the Elite Ten sustains me!
Ariadne: Is that why you were up all last night trying out a new recipe?
Kyandi: I had to try it before I had you make it. I'm not just going to throw out some random idea.
Ariadne: You have a point. You've been trying more recipes recently.
Kyandi: Because you're about to start cooking more. Anyway, sorry, this chapter is a little shorter, but that's just because I'm excited to jump to the next one.
Ariadne: She made me out to be an air head.
Kyandi: Only slightly! Also, someone asked in my reviews what Ariadne's type was, well…you'll get the answer in this chapter.
Ariadne: It's a little strange, but it's me.
Kyandi: Right, so, everyone, enjoy and review.
Ariadne: Kyandi-sama does not own Shokugeki no Souma.
Chapter 19 Chinese Spice
A few days later, Ariadne was heading downstairs in the dorm to grab something from the kitchen, when she ran into Souma heading up to his bedroom. Seeing the boy lost in thought and not looking where he was going, Ariadne couldn't help but feel curious as to what had him so lost in his mind.
"Hey, Souma," Souma looked up when he heard Ariadne, snapping out of his thoughts when he saw her coming down the stairs towards him. "What's up? You look pretty lost to the void there."
Souma chuckled, understanding that she was basically calling his head a void. All in a joking way, of course. "Yeah, I guess so. I'm trying to figure out what to do about my booth for the festival."
"Your booth? Oh, so you're opening your own instead of working with the others in the dorm booth?"
"Yeah." Souma caught on to Ariadne's wording, one eyebrow rising. "You aren't working with the others?"
"I had no plans to. I don't know, I'm just…looking for something more exciting than working under the guidance of a member of the Ten, you know?" Ariadne heaved a sigh, as if she was disappointed with her results thus far. "Anyway, would you like to come up to my room and you can tell me what you have planned? Maybe I can help you work it out."
Souma accepted the offer with a smile. He soon found himself sitting at the table in Ariadne's room, the girl serving him a cup of one of her homemade tea brews and a plate of what looked like a cinnamon roll in cookie form. When he picked up one to take a bite out of it, he found not a cinnamon roll, but a swirl of white macadamia nut cookie dough and a fluffy brownie mix. Throughout the whole thing he could taste just a hint of cinnamon. "These are really good."
"Thank you. My little sister calls them Brookie Rolls. I used to make them for her all the time back home." Ariadne replied with a fond smile on her face. "So, tell me, what's in your head?"
Souma walked Ariadne through his whole idea of using the festival as a way to challenge Kuga so he could get the older boy to accept his Food War challenge. He went on to explain all about the three areas he could set up his booth in and all of his ideas thus far. Ariadne listened through the whole thing, elbows propped on her tabletop, her chin resting against her linked hands. As soon as Souma mentioned going up against Kuga, he saw something light up in her eyes, a spark of excitement that she couldn't quite hide despite the fact that the rest of her expression didn't change. When Souma finished, he looked her in the eye. "So, what do you think?"
"I think it should be obvious what you should do." Ariadne picked up her teacup to take a drink before she continued. "If you're going to face him, challenge, then do it at every level. Chinese cooking against Chinese cooking, booth against booth. Find out where he's going to build his booth and set up across from it. Make the challenge obvious to all. I'm sure you're bold enough to pull that off, right?"
A grin curled Souma's lips in agreement with her statement. "You're right."
"And if you need staff…well, this is definitely more exciting than working the dorm booth. I'd be happy to help. It's not much, but it's better than taking on our dear senpai all by yourself."
Souma was happy to accept her help. Ariadne was only glad he hadn't caught on to her real reason behind helping him. "Thanks, Ari. That'll help a lot."
"Of course. What are friends for? Besides…I kind of want to be of help with messing with him." A gleeful grin curled Ariadne's lips. "I have an itch unlike any I've ever experienced before."
"You certainly are a weird one!" Souma said with a chuckle.
Ariadne shrugged her shoulders in reply, not the least bit offended. "We all have our quirks, right? Just be glad I haven't turned it against you."
"Yeah, why is that?" Souma asked, genuinely curious.
"Oh, Souma," Ariadne heaved a sigh that was more playful pretending than anything. "I might seem like an indiscriminate flirt, but even I have a type you know. Most of my flirting is just to watch others writhe or fume. It's amusing. People like Takumi and Eizan-senpai are just fun to mess with. There's really no further motive to it. I love all, truly, with the exception of people like Eizan-senpai, but my type is a little more selective. People with confidence and indifference like you, aren't it."
"I don't get it. So, what is your type." Souma asked, leaning back as he tried to wrap his head around it.
"That's easy. Personality wise, I like someone fun, entertaining. In guys, I like someone with confidence, but not a false confidence. I like a guy that can admit he's wrong and can be a little easy to tease. As for girls…I like the bold type. A girl who stands up for herself and isn't afraid to be who she is. Overall, if I have fun with the person, then I'm happy. As for appearance wise, that's even easier…I love a size difference."
Souma blinked at her for a moment, his mind absorbing her words before he spoke. "So…Kuga-senpai?"
"Yes!" Ariadne practically wiggled on the spot, a wide grin on her face. "He's so short, I just love it! I wanted to jump him and hug him the moment I laid eyes on him. I mean, bigger guys are great too, but shorter guys are just the right height for me to hug! And his personality seems like it could be a lot of fun, too."
"I don't really get it, but whatever makes you happy. So…you're really bi?"
Ariadne looked up at Souma before raising a finger to her lips. "This doesn't leave this room, but no, I'm not. It's a little more than that. I'm pansexual. It doesn't matter to me what a person is, or what they identify as. If I like them, I like them. End of story. Everything else, just doesn't matter to me." Ariadne gave a shrug of her shoulders. "That's me in a nutshell…and has us horribly off topic. Just let me know what you decide on, and we'll get this booth running."
"Thanks, Ari."
Ariadne waved him off, smile on her face. "Don't worry about it. I kind of have ulterior motives here, so you don't have to thank me."
Souma still thanked her and promised to let her know as soon as he had fully decided on what to do. It wasn't until the last day they could register their booth that Souma shot her a text. The two took their form to the sign-up booth together, finding Erina there to turn hers in as well.
"Yukihira-kun…and Ari?"
Ariadne smiled and waved at Erina when she greeted them. "Hey, Erina. Turning in your booth registration?"
"Yes. Are you working together with Yukihira?" Erina asked as Souma handed over their sheet.
"I am. Should be fun."
The sly grin on Ariadne's face had Erina curious, but she got her answer soon when the man Souma handed their sheet to, gasped. "Eh!? A-are you sure you want that spot!? It's just in front of the Chinese Cuisine Research Society, you know!?"
"Trust us, we're sure." Ariadne remarked, draping an arm over Souma's shoulder. "Is it open still?"
"Y-yes…The Chinese R.S. is a tough competitor, after all…no one wants to set their booth nearby, so it's still open." the man told them.
"I see! I'm glad, really!" Souma said with relief. "Ah, and our cooking genre is…Chinese."
"Wha…!?" Erina gasped, shocked.
"Remember that 200 breakfast assignment during the hellish training camp? Back then, I just barely cleared it, and the fact that I could draw over some of the customers that were lining up for your table was a big factor in that." Souma told her. "Come to think of it, in a way, I survived that training camp thanks to you. So, thanks, Nakiri."
It wasn't a thanks Erina really seemed to want. "Don't look down on me. What was that "thanks" about? I won't forgive such an insult towards me."
Souma didn't pay attention to her, pulling out his phone when he got a call from his newspaper club friend, Mitsuru. "Ah, Mitsuru?"
"Hey! Why are you just answering your phone?" Mitsuru asked.
"How's the guidebook thing I asked you about earlier?" Souma asked instead of answering, Ariadne giggling when thought about what Souma had set up with Mitsuru.
"Great! I got a good page for you and Sinclair-chan-"
"I heard that, Mitsuru!" Ariadne pulled Souma's phone to her ear. "I told you to call me Ari!"
"Uh, right….sorry! Anyway, the guidebooks will be distributed around the academy today!"
When Ariadne picked up a guidebook later that day, she opened it to find hers and Souma's booth listed on the page just opposite of Kuga's. Of course, she had to laugh at the spacey smile on Souma in his picture. It was a complete opposition to her flirty smile and blown kiss next to him and the winking smile of Kuga opposite of them. With that entry into the guidebook, Souma's declaration against Kuga, and Ariadne's support of that declaration, was made public. Souma had taken Ariadne's advice and had really ran with it. It made Ariadne, who was laying in her bed as she looked through the guidebook, wiggle and squirm in anticipation. She couldn't wait for the festival just so she could start messing with people.
"Ah, this is going to be so fun! And I can't wait to see the look on his face." Ariadne said to herself as she giggled.
It didn't matter one bit to her that she would be expelled if their booth ended up with a deficit.
Curling up on her side, Ariadne bit down on one nail, trying to contain her excitement and laugher. "I'm coming for you, Kuga Terunori. Better brace yourself, hehe!"
The Blue Devil was coming through.
-0-0-0-0-
"You're expelled if you end with a deficit? That's true." The day found Ariadne sitting in a chair in the Don Bowl Research Society, Souma standing next to her as Kanichi confirmed what Erina had told Souma, Mito watching with her arms crossed. "But actually, almost no booths end up with a deficit. And that's because in the middle school division, each practical class sets a booth, and the academy's lecturers supervise and guide those efforts. They calculate the cost of ingredients and seasonings, the various equipment, and heating and lighting, and plan things so that, after considering the expected number of customers and subtracting the cost prices, there's a proper net income. The students gain experience and knowledge at every year's Moon Banquet Festival…and eventually try to set up booths either on their own or with a research society. So, as long as you don't try to do some impossible business, you won't end with a deficit….for example, putting up a booth just in front of a really strong competitor."
"As usual, I have no idea what the hell was on your mind, you big idioooot!" Mito yelled. "Forget about challenging the Elite Ten, you might get expelled! And you're taking Ari with you!"
"Actually, I was the one that gave him the idea of challenging, Kuga-senpai like this." Ariadne replied, blowing on the nails she had been working at filing for a while now.
"Wh-what!?"
"We'll manage somehow." Souma told Mito, trying to calm the girl when she rounded on Ariadne. "I'm a special-of-the-day restaurant's heir…I was born in a house that does business, after all. And I got Ari to back me up."
"You're zero percent convincing. I know how haphazard you are, after all, and when you add Ari and her whims to it…" Mito couldn't even finish that sentence, it was such a bad combination.
"Well…anyway, the Don R.S. sure became a big family now." Souma remarked, looking around the room.
"Yeah…we got a flood of underclassmen wanting to join." Mito agreed before being called away by said underclassmen.
"That Nikumi…she's gotten more charismatic since her stagiaire." Kanichi remarked. "She won the Food War against Sadatsuka Nao easily, too!"
"She was always charismatic in her own way." Ariadne told him. "You just didn't see it like I did."
Before Kanichi could make a comment, Mito turned back to them. "Hey, Yukihira, Ari…If possible, I would've wanted to help with your booth, but I have to look after these guys, so…"
"Don't mention it, Nikumi. I was the one who told you to do your best at the Don R.S." Souma told her.
"Don't sweat it, Ikumi. Do your best here and we'll figure out what we need to do." Ariadne added.
A smile graced Mito's face. "Yeah, but you can rely on me if you reach a dead end. "
"It's just like Nikumi said! I mean, you two and Tadokoro are the Don R.S.' honorary members!" Kanichi told them.
While Souma and Ariadne shared a questioning look over the honorary members part, they both thanks Kanichi. With that, the two left the clubroom, Ariadne heaving a sigh. "I guess I'll head to the store and meet you back at the dorm. We'll get to work on the menu."
"Yeah. We'll start making the menu today." Souma agreed.
Ariadne headed to the store with a list of ingredients for dishes Souma wanted to try. When she finished and headed home, she found Souma in the kitchen with Erina and Hisako. "Oh! Hey, Erina, Hisako. Did Souma rope you two into taste testing?"
"You make it sound like I dragged them here." Souma remarked as Ariadne handed over the bags in her hands.
"Eh, something along those lines." Ariadne grinned at Souma in playfulness. Souma grinned back before the two got to work, Ariadne acting as sous-chef for Souma. Erina and Hisako watched as the two moved about the kitchen, never really speaking, but still working as a good team, Ariadne having the ingredients ready right when Souma needed them. It only showed how entuned to each other the two had become during their week at Shino's Tokyo. When done, Souma presented Erina and Hisako with what they had put together.
"Here, sorry for the wait! It's the Yukihira-style mapo doufu meal." Souma laid the dishes out in front of the two girls.
"From the looks of it, it's a typical dish from a restaurant for the masses, Erina-sama." Hisako remarked.
Erina agreed as she scooped up a bite of the dish. She let the flavor settle on her tongue for a moment before she spoke. "Hmm…I see. You will never defeat Kuga-senpai with this dish. And that's because you dish is overwhelmingly low in both "ma" and "la"."
"Mandla? What's that, Nakiri?" Souma asked, clueless.
"You should be ashamed of your ignorance!" Erina snapped, Ariadne heaving a sigh.
"It's pillars in Chinese cooking, Souma." Ariadne told him.
"Listen well! The spiciness in Chinese cooking has two pillars! The spiciness originating from chili peppers which makes the tongue sting…"La wei"! And the numbing spiciness originating from huajiao, "Ma wei"! To being with, even if we talk about Chinese cuisine as a whole, it's culture is vast." Erina told him.
"Understandable considering how vast their country is." Ariadne remarked.
"In China, many different cuisines developed around the country with roots in each area's climate and customs. Among them…Kuga-senpai uses "Sichuan cuisine", which specializes in spiciness and-" Erina cut herself off, realizing that she had accidentally given Souma useful information.
"Wow, that was really easy to understand." Souma remarked. "Sorry, I had you explain everything to me."
"F-forget about it! Forget all you heard here! Ari could have told you the same thing!" Erina exclaimed.
Ariadne grinned to herself, only looking up when Hisako spoke. "Come to think of it, Kuga-senpai once said this: "When people eat my dishes, they aaaall begin sweating a lot and their faces get, like, super red, right? But even then, they get addicted to it and keep eating. I just love seeing that. Having people pant after eating my dishes is just so fun that I can't get enough of it."."
"I kind of understand how Kuga-senpai feels…" Souma remarked. "Sometimes, I have more fun cooking when someone faints in agony after they say it's bad, rather than when I see someone smile after saying my dish is good."
"Well, that's because you're a sadist." Ariadne retorted.
Souma, of course, ignored her. As did Erina. "Anyway…it's a delicious flavor brought by spiciness that resembles a light strike! Kuga-senpai fully knows that such flavor makes it possible to rule over people! That's how he made it to the Elite Ten. Sichuan cuisine's strong spiciness and the complex deliciousness that lies past it! As long as you don't have a way of countering that, you'll never be able to win!"
Erina and Hisako left them with that, Souma and Ariadne hanging out in the kitchen while Ariadne waited for Souma, as the head chef of their booth, to figure out what he was going to do. Megumi found them there. "Souma-kun, Ari…you were here." Souma and Ariadne looked up as Megumi entered the kitchen.
"Oh, Tadokoro." Souma greeted. When Megumi expressed concern, Souma told her what Erina had said to them earlier that day.
"I see…Nakiri-san said that." Megumi remarked when he was done.
"Exactly. My current dish can't defect Sichuan cuisine's strength. It's a similar problem to when I had that beef stew battle against Mimasaka." Souma commented.
"Hmmm…it's a difficult question. The best thing would be if you could use your best techniques." Megumi mused.
"But we can't draw away Kuga-senpai's customers like that." Ariadne piped in.
"You see! I thought it might help, so I brought a Chinese recipe book." Megumi exclaimed, turning to her bag to dig through it.
"Hm? Tadokoro…you aren't setting up a booth with the other Polar Start dorm members? Didn't Isshiki-senpai ask you?" Souma asked.
"Ah…yes, the Local cuisine research society is setting up a booth too, but I refused them both." Megumi replied sheepishly.
"Eh? Why?" Souma asked, even though Ariadne already picked up on the reason why.
"Souma, you idiot." Souma glanced at Ariadne who was smiling from the other side of the counter. "She wants to help us."
When Souma only stared at Megumi, the girl went red in the face and jumped to her feet. "Ah! U…umm umm, right! I might get in your way…right!? Sorry, that I just planned to help like it's the most natural thing in the world! B-but, my home's a small Ryokan and I helped serve customers sometimes, and I studied a bit during the stagiaire period…so I thought I might just be of some help. So…ermmm…Souma-kun, Ari, if you're okay with it…I can help with your booth…."
Megumi trailed off, red in face. Souma only started at Megumi at first, but then Ariadne was grabbing Megumi around the neck to hug her. "Oh, Megumi! You're so unbearably sweet!"
"Tadokoro, you're a lifesaver!" Souma added, giving her a thumbs up. "I mean, I would have been able to manage with just Ari, we work well together, but it's great to have another pair of hands."
"O-okay!" Megumi agreed, happy to have the agreement of Souma and Ariadne.
"Alright! Let's do this! Let's make something good, Tadokoro, Ari!" Souma exclaimed.
Ariadne already had a fairly good idea on how she was going to contribute to the cause.
-0-0-0-0-
"Wow…everyone's begun preparing."
A few days later saw Ariadne walking through school grounds with Souma and Megumi after school. Already, so many groups among the students were hard at work trying to put their booths together in preparation for the festival.
"Things will be like this every day after school from now on. It's a bit exciting!" Megumi agreed with Souma.
Something caught Ariadne's attention then, the girl grinning in an overly happy way. "I see something else that makes me excited."
Turning, Souma was confronted with the image of Kuga, riding crop in hand, constructing members of his research society as they carried a large pillar over their shoulders. "Hey, hey, walk, walk, walk!"
"Kuga-senpai~!"
Souma and Megumi watched as, after purring the second year's name, Ariadne practically skipped over to him, Kuga looking up at her. "Hiya, Sinclair-chin."
A pout fell on Ariadne's face. "Aw, Kuga-senpai! Don't call me that. If you're going to use my name, I'd much rather hear my given name from your mouth. Please?" Ariadne leaned forward to look up at Kuga's face, her pleading, puppy-eyed expression on her face as she batted her long eyelashes at him. Not sure what Ariadne was up to, and taken back by her blatant over-familiarization, Kuga agreed, further surprised when an overly pleased and giddy expression took over Ariadne's face. "Merci, Kuga-senpai!"
Souma and Megumi choose then to approach, making Kuga turn to him while Ariadne basked in her joy. "Hiya, Yukihira-chin! We're just bringing some materials in for our booth, you know."
"Well, it looks kinda nasty at first glance." Souma remarked.
"No! we're having fun doing it!" one of the society members insisted.
"Huh…to each their own, I suppose." Ariadne remarked, finally tuning into the conversation.
"Yukihira-chin, Ariadne," Hearing her name out of Kuga's mouth, a stupid grin curled Ariadne's lips once more. "How's the progress on building your booth?"
"Well…we need to finish testing some dishes first." Souma replied.
"The booth's appearance is a really important factor, too! You'll get expelled if you end in the red, you know? Having a young talent like Yukihira-chin leave the academy…is something I can't bear!" Kuga said in an obviously fake display of concern. Kuga was suddenly made to look up at few inches when a single finger caught his chin and tilted it back. Kuga's eyes came up to meet the icy depths of Ariadne's.
"Oh, don't worry about that, Kuga-senpai. I have appearances all covered. Just watch…I'll pick something just for you." Ariadne gave him a wink before she turned to walk away, leaving a stunned Kuga staring after her. As Souma and Megumi followed her, Kuga couldn't help but wonder one thing.
Was she…flirting with me?
Unsure what to say to Ariadne, who walked away with a spring in her step, Souma and Megumi just followed her back to the kitchen where they would be trying dishes for their booth. Souma and Ariadne shed their school jackets, Souma pulling his sleeves back.
"Alright…let's do some tests, then! Tadokoro, I had you eat the Yukihira-style Mapo Doufu yesterday, right?" Souma asked.
"Yes! It was great." Megumi replied.
"But that isn't enough…I felt it after actually eating Kuga-senpai's dish, and Nakiri told me that, too. First, I'll take the Yukihira-style mapo doufu and try adding the ma la wei Nakiri told me about. The ma was Huajiao's spiciness and la was chili peppers' spiciness, right?" Souma picked up a jar of spices, giving it a sniff. "Oh…! This huajiao, huh. This really has a Chinese feeling, I've smelled this before."
"Cook now, reminisce later." Ariadne told him before turning to get started on preparing the ingredients. Ariadne quickly minced some pork, handing it off to Souma. As soon as that was handed off, the two begun flying around the kitchen, Megumi watching in awe at how well the two worked together. Souma mixed the spices, giving a little to Ariadne to try as well.
"How is it?" Megumi asked.
"Not quite there yet." Ariadne replied, a disappointed sigh leaving her as she frowned. She had been hoping for a little more kick the first try, but, at that point, anywhere was a good starting point.
"She's right. The spiciness of the Chinese R.S.' dish wasn't like this." Souma added more spice to the mix, tasting it again. When he flinched at the sheer heat to it, Ariadne turned down the offer to try it again. Determined not to lose to the spiciness of Kuga's dish, Souma continued to add more spice until he got to something he was halfway satisfied with. By the time he served up a dish of it for Megumi to taste test, his lips were swollen. "Please taste it." Ariadne took a step back as Megumi tried a bite, the girl almost spitting fire from out hot and spicy it was. "It's incredibly spicy, right?"
"Souma, let's not torture her." Ariadne told him, handing Megumi a cup of milk to help with the burning in her mouth.
"Well then, next, I'm trying it with other Chinese dishes I've prepared before." Souma said, ignoring Ariadne's words. The next two dishes Ariadne and Souma placed before Megumi were twice-cooked pork and pepper steak. Both were pretty red in color and made Ariadne flinch just from smelling them, the spice was so overwhelming. "Ah…sorry, Tadokoro…you can rest a bit more, if you want."
"No…! I must…taste it…!" Megumi insisted. A moment later, the girl was crying tears from just how spicy the food was, but she ate it. Feeling proud of herself, she turned to Souma. "I ate it…! I was able to eat it, Souma-kun!"
"Well…I knew it already…I mean, it's just spicy, but this is no good at all." Ariadne patted Megumi's shoulder as Souma ignored her and handed her another cup of milk. "The Chinese R.S.' mapo doufu had this complex refined flavor beyond all that spiciness!"
"Ermm…Souma-kun, I heard this from Houjou-san: It seems that in China…they have these proverbs, they represent the people from Sichuan…and the regions near it, Hunan and Guizhou. 'People from Sichuan don't fear spiciness', 'People from Hunan don't fear it, even if it's spicy' and 'People from Guizhou fear it's not spicy'."
"Hahaha…that's incredible, just how spicy do the people from those regions want their food to be before they are satisfied?" Souma asked.
"Far spicier than my palette can ever take, that's for sure. If Kuga-senpai is spiciness, then I'm sweetness. I can only take so much spice before its beyond me." Ariadne remarked. "Oh! Sugar and spice! Hehe! That's funny!" Ariadne giggled to herself over that little pun.
"And…the doubanjiang, sweet bean sauce, black beans, oyster sauce…all the seasonings which are needed to make mapo doufu. It seems the ones Kuga-senpai is using for the academy festival are special ones he made! That's exactly why such a flavor lies behind the spiciness." Megumi added.
"I see…" Souma trailed off in thought.
"It certainly is a dish that can be classified as Kuga-senpai's specialty, that's for sure." Ariadne remarked with a sigh. "Sadly, that's going to make this more difficult. We'll have to be more creative if we're to stand a chance against Kuga-senpai."
Yells reached their ears then, making the three of them turn towards the door. "I wonder why it's so noisy outside." Megumi remarked.
Souma moved to the door, opening it. "These voices are…" Souma trailed off, Ariadne peeking out around him to find Erina and Alice in the hall, yelling at each other.
"Really, just what are you thinking, Alice!?" Erina was yelling.
"What is it!? Erina, you're in no place to get angry at me, okay!?" Alice retorted.
"Just like I thought." Souma chuckled.
"The Moon Banquet Festival's guidebook has already been published! And yet…now you say you want to participate!? That's too selfish!" Erina yelled as Souma, Ariadne and Megumi slipped into the hall.
"Then you can order a reprint with my pocket money!" Alice snapped back.
"Just how much money does she carry in her pockets?" Ariadne asked lowly, genuinely curious.
"Besides, I could have stolen someone's booth with a Food War, you know?" Alice was arguing.
"Just what happened to you this year? You're all motivated. You were the one who skipped out on the event last year because it was bothersome." Erina remarked.
Deciding to break up the fight before it could get any louder, Souma approached the two. "Hey there, Nakiris."
"Oh, Yukihira-kun!" Alice greeted happily while Erina puffed up.
"Who are you calling, "Nakiris"!?"
Ariadne wadding in then, cooling the two girls' tempers and inviting them to join them in the kitchen they were using for their booth. Alice agreed quickly, Erina only agreeing because Ariadne had asked so nicely. The two joined them back in the kitchen, the subject, once more, revolving around the upcoming festival and Souma's reckless challenge against Kuga and his booth.
"Certainly…the Chinese R.S. has many repeat customers who visit them every day of the event. For the customers to get so addicted and visit so many times…there's another reason I can think of." Alice remarked.
"Reason?" Souma prompted.
"Is this that whole thing that spiciness isn't considered a part of taste?" Ariadne asked.
"Exactly! It's considered part of the sense of pain. Physiology defines five basic tastes; sweetness, sourness, bitterness, saltiness, and umami…However, spiciness isn't felt with taste receptors, but with vanilloid receptors. Moreover, a strong spicy flavor makes the body secrete neurotransmitters like adrenalins and beta-endorphin. That is what is said to cause people to get addicted. A phenomenon that occurs precisely because spiciness is felt as pain." Alice explained.
"I see…spiciness…the kanji for spicy is similar to the kanji for Yukihira's "yuki"…"
"Souma, down boy." Ariadne scolded when Souma began to go off in his own head. Souma heaved a sigh when she gave him a pointed look.
"To think there's cooking that's probed so deeply into spiciness, Chinese food is amazing." Souma remarked.
"Spiciness is certainly Sichuan cuisine's characteristic trait. However," Souma turned to look at Erina when she spoke. "Chinese cuisine isn't all about that. Didn't I tell you? China has many different cuisines throughout it! Sichuan cuisine is just one of China's eight regional cuisines. Each of those eight has their own variety of cooking techniques and an ancient history. Do you understand now? Chinese cuisine isn't something half-hearted enough for you to be able to handle."
"Chinese cuisine…China…come to think of it…Pops said something, one. What he said then was…" Souma trailed off as a thought came to mind. "Tadokoro, I want you to taste one more dish. Ari, come help me."
Megumi and Ariadne shared a look before, nervous, Megumi turned back to Souma. "I-is it another ultra-spicy dish?"
"No…there's something I want to try doing!"
Ariadne wasn't sure what Souma had planned, but if he had an idea, then she was sure that it would all be alright. It was Souma after all, and he always managed to come through when he needed to.
Besides…Ariadne had a few ideas of her own.
END
Kyandi: Oh, I can't wait for them to see one of the ideas you have.
Ariadne: And I can't wait for Kuga-senpai to see it!
Kyandi: You barely know him and you're already drooling.
Ariadne: He's so tiny!
Kyandi: Don't ever say that to him.
Ariadne: Oh, God, no!
Kyandi: As long as you know that.
Ariadne: Then again…if I teased him about it, I could see that angry look on his face!
Kyandi: …Perhaps I made you a little too weird.
Ariadne: Too late to change it~!
Kyandi: Yeah, it is. That aside, everyone, enjoy and review.
Ariadne: We just might be back tomorrow.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!