DISCLAIMER: Refer to Chapter 1.

Author's Notes: When I was writing this chapter, I realised I had dug myself into a pretty deep hole. I found it hard to continue without sounding like a broken record and repeating myself trying to describe what the food tasted like. Fun fact: For one of the scenes, I used actual props to help me describe what I was talking about. Enjoy the story as it is nearing to an end...


"So, who wants to go first?" Malice finally asked. The five chefs looked at each other and gave no response. "How stupid of me, I'll just pick whoever I want. Cierra, you're up!"

Cierra presented her dishes onto the judge's table. As she placed the serving plates down, she paused in front of Rose. She squinted her eyes as she looked directly at Rose.

"...What?" Rose finally asked.

"Somehow, you look very familiar. I just can't quite put my finger on it..." Cierra replied.

"Of course you can't put your finger on it, anything you touch would instantaneously burst into flames." Malice added.

"Nevermind." Cierra said, ignoring Malice's remark. She thought to herself, "I wonder what Ein did with that magical perfume I gave him..."

Cierra continued setting up the plates before finally starting he started to ladle the casserole into bowls. Once she had placed down the bowls, Rose, Soala and Ledah picked up their spoons.

"Bottoms up..." Soala said to Rose as she put her lips close to the spoon filled with the spicy concoction.

"Cheers..." Rose replied as she mimicked the same movements as Soala.

The three of them closed their eyes and placed the spoon into their mouth. A few moments passed before they opened their eyes.

"Hey, this is quite good." Soala commented.

"Yeah, it is! This is wonderful Cierra. And here I thought the ludicrous amount of chilli you added would...Aah!" Rose suddenly opened her mouth with your tongue hanging out. "Water! Water!"

"Cierra! This is way too hot!" Soala yelled as she followed Rose's chaotic movements.

Soala quickly grabbed a jug of water and attempted to dump its contents down her mouth. The water splashed on her clothes leaving dark patches. Rose was frantic as she tried to find something to ease the burning sensation.

"Oh my, is that too hot?" Cierra asked with a warm smile.

"Yes! Oh god, I need something!" Rose yelled running around the room.

"Drinking milk will ease the spiciness." Cierra said calmly.

"There is no milk." Ledah said, between mouthfuls of casserole. "I used the last carton."

"Hey, wait a minute, why isn't Ledah affected by the chilli?" Serene asked as Rose rummaged through the fridge for anything that would soothe the burning sensation.

"Oh, that's quite easy." Malice interjected, pressing the blue button on her trusty remote. The large screen came down again displaying a picture of Ledah with numerous numbers and graphs. "As you can see here, Ledah's resistance to fire is substantially high."

"Oh. That makes perfect sense actually..." Serene commented.

"Of course it does, it is me after all." Malice said, flicking her hair back with her hand.

Serene was about to yell at Malice when Cierra walked right between the two of them and started to slice the large sirloin. The plates were distributed to Soala and Ledah. Rose finally managed to get a mouthful of yogurt to ease the spicy sensation of the casserole and took her seat. Cierra handed Rose a plate before standing back to watch them eat. Picking up a knife and fork, Rose cut off a little piece and placed it in her mouth. She chewed it slowly for a few seconds before finally swallowing.

"Hmm, no chillis are present in this. I'll be happy just with that." Rose said.

"This has a rather unique texture and flavour as you didn't use your oven. I love it." Soala added.

"Hmm...it's a little dry, the outside was beautiful, but the actual meat inside was bland and dull." Ledah commented.

"He gets straight to the points doesn't he?" Soala asked.

"He certainly does." Rose replied.

After the judges finished the main course, Cierra brought out the chocolate pudding which were in a tiny dessert bowl. Placing the last bowl on the table, they were about to pick up their spoon when Cierra stopped them.

"Before you eat it, I must do something." She said, raising her staff.

"Cierra, don't do it..." Rose said in a low voice.

"I'll show you the power of magic..." Cierra said.

"Cierra! No!" Soala exclaimed.

"Magic Burst!"

Soala, Rose and the other four chefs closed their eyes and tried to cover their face with their hands. A tiny constant stream of flame appeared as she gently brushed her staff over the bowls. The flames heated up the desserts, causing the top to form a very crisp texture, almost burnt. Everyone opened their eyes in amazement, surprised they weren't coughing up soot.

"Now you may dig in!" Cierra said, clapping her hands together and smiling all the while.

Simultaneously, Rose, Soala and Ledah picked up their spoons. They looked at each other, then looked at the concoction Cierra presented them. Rose poked at the hard top with her spoon. She poked at it a few more times before it cracked. A small hole formed as melted chocolate oozed out. Soala followed suit while Ledah just stuck his spoon into the dessert as if it were ice cream. As the chocolate hit their tongues, sounds of satisfaction filled the room.

"This is truly heaven!" Rose said in between mouthfuls.

"It's so sweet and rich. I hope this doesn't go to my thighs..." Soala's voice drifted off.

"Oh, don't worry about that. These things hardly have any calories." Cierra said.

"Really?" Serene questioned.

"Yes. I added a special herb. Quite a remarkable find."

"Do you think we could have some as well Cierra?" Fia asked.

"Sure. There's plenty to go around." Cierra replied. She thought to herself with a wicked grin, "I wish there was such a herb. Ignorance truly is bliss."

"Well, that concludes Cierra's dishes. Now, Serene is up! Move it!" Malice announced, pushing Serene from behind.

"Hey! Stop pushing!" Serene exclaimed, trying to make sure she didn't drop her dishes. From all the pushing and shoving, Serene forcefully bumped into Cierra. The impact had almost thrown Cierra off balance as the little leather bag of goods she carried had burst open, spilling peculiar objects onto the floor. Cierra quickly picked up her things as Serene set down her dishes onto the judge's table. The first dish handed to them was the sushi rolls. As the plates were given, Rose looked at the contents.

"Serene...is it me, or is there more green than white I see in this?" Rose asked.

"That's the wasabi isn't it?" Soala added.

"Yep! Now eat it!" Serene said with enthusiasm.

"I am so going to enjoy this...wait a minute." Malice thought to herself as she looked up at the large screen. "Damnit Ledah, why do your stats have to be like that?"

Rose had already took a large bit out of the sushi, and the strength of the wasabi instantly kicked in as she breathed heavily through her nose and started coughing. Soala was also suffering the effects of the wasabi. Ledah was perfectly calm as he finished his portion with no visible effect. Serene stared at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Isn't that stuff hot for you Ledah?"

"No." Ledah replied before grabbing another piece. "It tastes quite good actually."

"Damnit, Malice was right after all." Serene thought to herself. "Alright, onto the next course!"

Serene opened the lid of the 3 layered steamer and steam filled the air with a lemon aroma. Serene took the plate out. The fish was still left whole with the necessary parts removed such as the scales and gills.

"I can't eat that! It's too cute!" Soala exclaimed.

"...Eh? What do you mean?" Serene asked.

"Just look at it! It's got big eyes and a big grin. I can't possibly eat it. It's just too cute!" Soala said with glee.

"...You've gotta be kidding me." Serene said under her breath.

"Oh yes! I agree! It's really cute!" Cierra said, joining in.

"Hey hey, we should name it, what do you think?" Soala asked.

"That would be a great idea!" Cierra replied. "You should name it!"

"This can't be happening." Serene said to herself. "There is absolutely no way this is happening to me."

"Hey how about Lil' Fishy?" Soala suggested.

"That's a great name! Isn't that right Lil' Fishy?" Cierra smiled, holding up the plate and looking at it. She tilted the plate up and down. "See? He likes the name!"

"That Cierra...she's good. Playing the fool in order to gain any advantage possible to win...she's almost as cunning as me. I better watch out for her." Malice thought.

"I guess I'll move onto the last dish then..." Serene said to herself as she placed the lobster onto the table.

"Ooh! Look at the little lobster! And it's decorated with shellfish!" Soala said.

"...Those are dumplings." Serene corrected Soala.

"Oh. I'm not sure if I can eat this either!" She said.

"Ooh maybe you should..." Cierra started.

"Oh no you don't! You're eating this lobster whether you want to or not!" Serene quickly said in order to stop Cierra from encouraging Soala. Before Serene could serve the lobster she noticed the tail was missing. "What the hell? Where'd the tail go?"

Serene looked around before she heard a loud crunching sound. "...Ledah, do you mind? I'm trying to think here." A few seconds passed before it finally hit her. "God damnit Ledah, at least let me serve the food since I cooked it!"

"I figured that you'd be arguing with Soala for a while so I thought I'd eat it while you were busy. It's actually quite good. It's the simple things that truly stand out." Ledah replied.

"Oh...thanks..." Serene said as her voice trailed off. She ripped off part of the lobster and added a few dumplings before handing it to Rose. After some difficulty, Rose managed to find an opening and release the lobster meat from the encased shell. The juice dribbled out as slowly made a puddle on the plate. Rose opened her mouth and started chewing.

"Mmm...Ledah was right. The flavours are simple, and yet it compliments the dumplings. It's like they're partners...one is not dominating the other." Rose said with approval.

Serene's eyes diverted to Soala who still had not touched the lobster. Tears were welling up in her eyes. She sighed as she decided not to say anything to Soala.

"Poor little lobster...he had no chance..." Soala said in a low tone.

"Right! That's enough of that. Next chef, step forward!" Malice exclaimed. "Lina!"

"Yay!" Lina cried out as she carefully weaved her way to the table to set up her dishes.

"Don't spill anything now squirt." Serene said as she messed up Lina's hair with her hand. Lina replied with a tongue raspberry before facing towards the table. Lina quickly ran off towards her bench.

"Hey! Come back here!" Malice yelled, but Lina paid no attention. As she came back, she was carrying a small stool in both hands. "...Oh, I see what you did there."

Lina placed the stool on the floor before standing on it. "That's better!"

She whipped out the salad bowl and served it as a side dish to the ramen noodles and broth. Lina then gave everyone a pair of chopsticks which had a simple pattern of little symbols and dots. Ledah held the chopsticks in his right hand and begun to eat. Soala and Rose however, were having trouble and looked at the chopsticks with confusion. Rose had a chopstick in each hand whilst Soala had them crossed over, attempting to pick up the noodles. Stopping what he was doing, Ledah sighed as he held up his chopsticks, moving the chopsticks between his fingers. Showing them how they were supposed to hold it, Rose and Soala tried to mimic Ledah. Rose was still having trouble trying to keep her chopsticks steady but Soala had managed to round up some noodles. However, the noodles didn't hold and plopped back into the broth.

"This is how you do it." Ledah said, getting up from his seat and standing between Rose and Soala. Holding Rose's hand, Ledah guided her and after a few tries, she managed to get the noodles to stay on her chopsticks. Ledah turned to Soala and gave her the same lessons.

"Here, you don't have to cross over your chopsticks." Ledah instructed as he guided Soala's hand to grab the noodles.

"Ah, thank you Ledah." Soala said as Ledah went back to his seat.

"Hey! I don't know how to use chopsticks! Could you teach me as well?" Cierra suddenly cried out. Looking at her, Serene also joined in.

"Yeah! Me too! What do ya say?"

"...Very well. Lina, if you could." Ledah said, motioning Lina to serve some more ramen. Ledah got up again and walked towards Serene and Cierra. "Here, you hold it like this."

Ledah gently guided Cierra and Serene's hands to hold the chopsticks before they attempted to pick up the noodles.

"Oh wow...his hands are so soft..." Serene thought to herself.

"Amazing! Ledah has great dexterity with his hands. I wonder if he also plays the piano." Cierra thought to herself.

"Hmm, Serene, you shouldn't grip your chopsticks so tightly. Cierra, you need to work on the position of your fingers. Other than that, you should be able to use the chopsticks now." Ledah said.

"Thanks Ledah!" Serene and Cierra said in unison.

"Just what this world needs, more fangirls to follow Ledah around." Malice thought to herself and shook her head in disgust.

Ledah sat back down and lifted up the bowl of broth. As he tilted his head back a fraction, he put his bowl back down. He placed his index finger into the broth and tasted it. Slowly turning his head, Ledah's eyes met Lina's and stared her down.

"Lina, this broth is filled with salt. What did you put in this exactly?" Ledah questioned.

"Um...nothing much...hehe." Lina replied, putting on a worried smile.

Ledah got up and flapped his wings. Taking a short flight, he elegantly landed where Lina's bench was and looked inside the rubbish bin.

"As I suspected." Ledah announced. "You used the flavouring sachets from the instant variety and used that to flavour the broth. Lina tried to say something, but bowed her head in shame. A dramatic sound played from the speakers.

"Damnit Rose! If you touch that soundboard one more time, I'm going to shove this microphone where the sun don't shine!" Malice yelled.

"I'd like to see you try." Rose retorted.

"Oh that's it! Come here!" Malice exclaimed as she took a step forward, but was stopped by Ledah.

"Malice. I have to do my job, so you go do yours." Ledah said in a low tone.

"...Tch, fine. Wow! What an unexpected turn of events! Lina using the flavouring sachets of instant ramen. Nothing good can come out of this..." Malice announced.

"That's not what I had in mind." Ledah said interrupting her speech before returning back to his chair.

"I guess we should move onto the last course then." Malice said, smiling. "Right after this commercial break."

"Wait, what?" Ein said in confusion.

"Yeah you heard me, a commercial break." Malice replied.

"There were no such things on this show." Fia stated.

"Well, too bad. I run the show now, and I say it's time for a freaking commercial break!" Malice yelled.

"I hate you so much..." Serene said under her breath.

"You'll hate me a lot more when I announced the next commercial break." Malice said.