Illya pouted as she watched her brother and Kuro heading towards the exit of Chaldea in their similar battle attire.
Since their arrival, Emiya had spent time with both of them after overcoming the initial confusion and shock of having two sisters. Since Kuro was far less experienced with using the class card's skills that originated from him, the older brother had offered to help her improve; She gladly accepted. Slowly, her skills became stronger, but with a few twists that set their otherwise identical fighting stances apart. Illya knew Kuro thoroughly enjoyed all the training sessions and looked forward to the spars with her older brother.
The young caster, however, was incredibly jealous at the amount of personal time her adoptive sister got to spend with him.
She fiercely gripped the corner of the hallway and glared as they exited into the snow clouded outdoors. Passing by employees looked towards the small caster with adoring glances, as her ferocious demeanor appeared more like a child's tantrum to them. It didn't help the caster looked particularly cute when she pouted. She didn't care what anyone else thought at the moment though, as her mind wandered to ways of getting her precious brother's attention back. She growled to herself and bega-
"As delightful as it is, you're being obvious. Though I can't blame ya. You're not an assassin or anything."
The caster's eyes widened slightly and she turned around to look at Blackbeard. She quickly noticed they were suddenly alone in the hallway while the rider stood calmly with hands in his jeans. Quietly, the man pulled a hand out of his pocket to scratch his graphic shirt depicting a ninja and pirate fighting, though did nothing suspicious. He merely stared at her curiously and... with some pity?
Illya was concerned about winding up alone with Chaldea's resident pervert while wearing her white schoolgirl uniform. She heard many tales from Drake and the other girls who scorned the man's attempts to nurture his personal hobbies at their expense. The small girl began planning her escape, knowing she could use Ruby to transform her if need be or screaming for Heracles to come and save her; The latter was a more destructive means of help, but she secretly loved how much the big berserker seemed to care for her and Kuro's well be-
The rider sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I guess you're not interested in talking."
"Be careful Illya," Ruby whispered from her backpack.
The Einzebern girl gulped. "What're you doing here?"
Blackbeard looked at her with a cocked eyebrow. "Honestly? I was following your brother to ask a question regarding food, but I found your silent stalking far more interesting."
"S-So you saw that," Illya stammered with a blush on her cheeks as she pushed her two index fingers against each other.
"Mhmm," He stated evenly. "I'm guessing you're jealous of the time your sister spends with him? It's fairly obvious."
Having been caught again, her flush deepened as the man chuckled. She looked up at him with a pout making him raise his hands in surrender. "Easy now, I'm not mocking you. It's cute honestly… your sibling affection."
'Sibling...' She mentally repeated as her blush remained. It was nowhere near as strong as with her real brother considering this Shirou was older and different. That didn't mean she didn't wish to spend quality time with the overprotective, handsome archer. "I guess."
"Hm. I think I know of a way to change your fortunes though… Get you the treasure chest you want," The rider stated while crossing his arms and staring off at the exit doors while rubbing his chin with his thumb and index finger.
"You do?" Illya asked hesitantly, unsure of what the perverted rider may secretly have planned. Her curiosity had barely defeated her hesitation and worry.
"Besides asking him directly, I'd say it's a fair option."
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Fragment 18: Heated Competition
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To Illya's total surprise, Blackbeard's idea was completely genuine.
She had listened intently while he explained Chaldea's first event that was taking place in a few days. The caster admittedly hadn't paid much attention to the announcement and went about her business as usual, mostly at being secretly jealous of Kuro. The gears in her head already began turning as the pirate continued to explain some specifics to her, and she could feel the rustling of Ruby in her backpacking. The mystic code was likely considering smacking her for not paying attention when someone was having a conversation.
The idea was more than enough food for thought as the rider finished talking. "I figure that would be the best way to catch your brother's attention."
"I'll do it!" Illya exclaimed as she held her fists in front of her in excitement, a twinkle of hope in her eyes.
"Thought you'd like it." Blackbeard chuckled calmly with a small smile. He seemed much more genuine than Illya thought with all the rumors and incidents involving him. "Participants need to enter before four in the afternoon today, so you got two hours to get that team together if you wish."
"Right… a team," she mumbled to herself as she quickly thought of the possibilities. She mentally cringed at the thought of a previous cooking team she had with her friends, thankful that at least Tatsuko wasn't around to add random ingredients. "I'm not the best cook so any help I can get would be great…"
Instantly her two closest friends came to mind and she beamed. The rider chuckled upon watching her face light up. "I'm guessing you're all set then."
"I hope they'll help me!" She exclaimed before taking off down the hallway, but not before passing a very happy wave and smile towards the rider. "Thank you, Blackbeard!"
"Sure thing," The rider waved back casually with a small smile before looking towards the exit that led to the training grounds. "May fair winds blow, Illya!"
Ruby freed itself from her backpack as Illya continued on her path towards her friends' shared room. The wand head flew in front of her face as she bolted. "I'm guessing you don't want Kuro involved?"
"Of course not! She'll get more attention! And then there's our last food contest! She just used Miyu and-"
"Aren't you about to do that same thing with Jackie and Ali-"
She grabbed Ruby out of the air and began pulling at the sides, a fire burning in her eyes. "We're going to cook with love and friendship! I have done this before and I will win again!"
"I-I see…"
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"You want to enter the curry competition?" Nursery Rhyme asked from her seat on the gymnasium floor. Her adopted sister and her, both wearing identical black girls shorts and t-shirts, were playing with a large bouncy ball. That was before Illya had practically burst into the gym after being directed there by her parents. Atalanta was nearby on some workout equipment with Tamamo and Leonidas, casually having a conversation with them while occasionally passing glances towards the girls. She waved to Illya upon making eye contact, which she quickly returned.
"Yea! I want to win it!" She said with a glint of determination in her eyes.
"Why?" Jack asked with a slight tilt of her head. "I didn't know you liked to cook, so why?"
Her look of determination faded away quickly as she became slightly bashful in front of her closest friends in Chaldea. She was used to revealing things to dear companions, who she missed, especially Miyu, but it didn't make admitting certain things any easier. She definitely couldn't lie to her newest friends and break their trust. "I… I want Onii-chan to notice me more! He spends more time with Kuro than me..."
Having admitted it outright, she prepared herself for them to make fun of her for such a simple reason. As the giggling broke out, she was about to sigh when she saw the simultaneous nods from her two friends. "Okay!"
Illya stood there dumbfounded. "Okay? Really?"
"Jackie and I cook with your brother and Auntie Tamamo and Auntie Boudica sometimes. It's always fun and tasty," Nursery Rhyme explained with a smile. "So we'll help you cook! But we share the surprise prize, right?"
"Right, Illya?" Jack practically mirrored while she sat on the bouncy ball with an excited smile.
'What if the prize is a kiss,' There was a slight hesitation as she thought, recalling how her little scuffle with Kuro went in their original world. She shook it out of her thought; This was an official competition, not a rivalry of bread between sisters. There's no way a kiss would be the grand prize.
Illya beamed. "Of course! Thank you! Thank you!"
The girls giggled as Jack got off the ball. She put a finger to her mouth in thought. "We'll need to choose a recipe."
"There are cook books in the library," Nursery Rhyme chimed in. Of course she'd know where some library books were.
"Let's go after we sign up then!" Illya exclaimed before quickly dashing towards the exit without further words. Nursery Rhyme and Jack looked to each other and shrugged at their very energetic friend's quick exit. The pair quickly got their slippers back on to begin their pursuit, having played barefoot the entire time.
"I'll tell mommy."
"Meet you at the library!"
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The trio of girls were currently seated on the carpeted floor in the central library shelves. Recipe books rested open and spread out around them as they looked. Their shoes were off while they relaxed on the soft carpet of the aisle, leaving the footwear lined neatly at the base of the bookshelves. Since the sofas were too open and obvious, they chose to hide among the aisles instead. Hans hadn't complained, at least.
Illya and Jack had arrived from signing up and found Nursery Rhyme pulling select books they might possibly use. Illya insisted they refrain from asking any of Chaldea's most famous chefs questions regarding food dishes in case one or all of them wound up judges; The last thing she wanted was to cause bias or ruin their surprise dish. They had spent an hour searching through the books, quietly discussing what might be good options while occasionally looking around in case anyone was eavesdropping on competition.
"Anything in that one, Jackie?" Illya asked as she thumbed through the index of another book.
"More Red Thai Curry," Jack explained in exasperation. She turned several more pages to find more variations of the dish. "Lots more."
"I still think spicy is the wrong way to go, Illya is right," Nursery Rhyme chipped in as she looked at a recipe labelled 'Mapo Tofu.' She cringed slightly as she read the very spicy ingredients to this particular variation. "Who eats this stuff?"
"We haven't seen many sweet curry recipes though," Illya pouted as she considered the options they had found. Hans passed by the aisle pushing a kart full of books and throwing a curious glance at the three white-haired girls before moving on. The Einzbern looked up at the top shelf as Ruby quietly floated around, alleviating its own boredom. She glanced the title of a final recipe book that had gone unnoticed. "There's one more up there!"
"Where?" Nursery Rhyme frowned as she looked up; She likely wasn't happy she missed one book in her search. Illya definitely wasn't imagining the lone article that was placed in the wrong section of the aisle, though still relatively near its intended spot.
Illya got up and walked underneath the offending book, reaching up to grab the item that was very much out of reach and causing her friends to giggle; This was one of the taller aisles in the central area. Before Nursery Rhyme could do anything, Jackie quickly got up and walked over to her friend. As the red eyed caster looked at the assassin, she smiled in silent recognition as Jack knelt down next to her. "Shoulders!"
"Okay," Illya replied as she swung her leg over as gracefully as she could so she was sitting on the assassin's shoulders.
Jack cautiously stood up while holding Illya's shins lightly. She was still out of reach of the book as her fingers barely touched the shelf it rested on. As she kept trying to reach for it while Jack held her secure, the small pair wiggling in their efforts, Nursery Rhyme giggled at their antics. She looked down at Jack's feet before spotting something that had exited from a tiny hole at the base of the bookcase. It was small, and Jack and Illya were too busy to notice.
It was a tiny mouse and Nursery Rhyme blushed in adoration, but failed to warn her sister that it approached her bare feet. The caster only stared in amusement as Jack felt something rubbing against her bare foot. She looked down and saw the mouse, though she didn't freak out like other young girls would; She was Jack the Ripper after all. The problem the mouse caused was very different, as its whiskers and its sniffing began to tickle the young assassin who quickly fell into a giggling fit.
As the mouse stuck its nose under the arch of her foot and sniffed around, she lost her calm and jerked in response while giggling. This caused Illya to yelp and lose balance. The two, even with their beyond normal abilities, fell like rocks to the ground as the mouse zipped back into its hole. The pair landed on their backs with Jack still giggling beside a partially dazed Illya.
"Ow!" Illya groaned as she sat up. "Jackie! What happened?"
"Sorry! Something tickled me," Jack responded, cheeks partially flushed from the giggle fit.
Nursery Rhyme, now recovered from her own laughter at the small incident, pulled the recipe book from the shelf using some telekinetic abilities. She gracefully placed it on the ground with the rest as the other two girls blinked. Illya sighed. "And you didn't do this before?"
"You never asked!" Nursery Rhyme giggled a little too loudly. From a few aisles down, Medusa had stopped Hans from approaching with a small smile, whispering to convince him to just let the girls be. As Nursery Rhyme quieted herself down, likely aware of how loud she had gotten, she looked to Illya and snickered. "You should fix your skirt, Illya."
Illya looked down and saw that her skirt had folded upwards and revealed her underwear. Blushing profusely, she fixed her skirt while making sure no one else had seen. "Hoo… How unladylike."
"You've shown worse," Ruby chimed as it floated beside her, but the wand head quickly shut up when Illya casually dropped a recipe book on top of it.
Jack giggled as she flipped through the new recipe book, revealing page after page of more spicy cu- Her eyes lit up as she found quite a few pages of sweet curry recipes. "There's a lot in this book!"
"Great!" Illya quietly cheered as the two casters crawled over to look over the assassin's shoulders. If her brother was roughly the same from her own timeline, then she knew exactly which one would be closest to his liking. Now that they had the book they needed, all that was left was to choose a recipe and acquire the proper ingredients before the contest in three days.
They could also use the time to help Illya improve her basic cooking skills since her two friends had some experience in the kitchen. Though she was still slightly nervous, Illya felt more confident with the help of her friends that her dish would turn out spectacular. She just hoped the prize at the end would be more than enough compensation for her friends, though she would happily find a way to make it up to them if needed. All she desired was her brother's attention as the grand prize after all.
Still, she couldn't knock away the guilt gnawing at her.
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As one of Chaldea's largest, original rooms, the Auditorium served as a meeting place for the employees to meet should the Director hold a lecture. It was a room Gudao would have been introduced to Olga Marie and the other masters on his first day had the Director not chosen to host the meeting in the Deployment Room instead. The large room was beyond spacious with a high ceiling and proper lighting fit for theater. Dim lights led down three pathways which ended near the stage, separating the seating area into four columns.
Dark wood and plush seating gave it a high-class air, and the near pitch-black walls were angled for acoustics. It lacked any sort of balcony or second floor since its purpose was not for theatrical arts. However, the adjustable lighting and red curtained stage meant it could be used for that purpose should any resident spiritual playwright find themselves bored. The curtain was currently opened, but the spotlights off, to reveal only silhouetted tables and contestants for the event.
Thankfully, it didn't show how nervous and guilt-stricken Illya was as her friends tossed concerned glances from beside her. She didn't stare at them, but merely fiddled with the hem of her apron in a vain attempt to distract herself. The trio donned their own miniature versions of chef outfits, save for Illya who wore her purple Einzbern blouse and skirt with a rainbow apron. She thought she looked cute this morning, but now she only felt guilty and disgraceful.
Illya stood in thought on the dim stage, pondering how Kuro felt about being left in the dark until only moments ago. She never informed her sister until then, and she still recalled the frustrated and betrayed face she made. Even if she merely waved it off and berated her for it, she still saw the glint of pain in her eyes. It gnawed at her, making her feel so much smaller and disgusting for what she was doing. She could hear nothing but her guilty thoughts that drowned out the growing crowd.
To distract herself, she gazed around the Auditorium. Everyone was interested in seeing Chaldea's first community driven event. From what she was told, in the many months Chaldea has been trying to fix the Grand Order anomalies there hasn't been a single community styled event; Humanity's existence takes priority for rhetorical reasons. Consideration for schedules made it challenging, but for the sake of making the community even tighter, it was scheduled before Halloween. The full turnout likely meant the robots were performing the security sweeps.
It certainly didn't help calm her turbulent nerves and guilt; Stage fright was starting to set in.
At a table placed between center stage and the front of the rows of audience seats sat the dim judge's table covered with a golden cloth. The room slowly fell silent as the Roman Empress walked down the aisle that led through the sets to the judge's table. In an attempt to calm her nerves, Illya eyed her toga, complete with a fresh new wreath, swung with the gentle breeze as she walked up to the microphone next to the judges. Her fellow emperors and Altera clapped happily for her entrance, much to the empress' delight.
Sitting on a separate chair near the dim judge's table was Gudao, putting away some paperwork into a briefcase that he was finishing as Nero passed him. With a smile, she turned the microphone on, causing horrendous feedback that made most present flinch besides her. She cleared her throat and gave a very wide grin before grasping the microphone and tearing it off the stand. With a swift jump, she leapt onto the stage where several spotlights shined on her as the others dimmed, far more than what was necessary.
"My dear Roman Citizens!" she proclaimed proudly with a hand on her hip.
"Ladies and Gentlemen…" Gudao said under his breath with an amused eye roll, which Nero obviously didn't even notice, nor cared to.
"Thank you all for coming to witness this day's grand event, Chaldea's First Event and Contest: The Curry Challenge! I, Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, shall be your royal host for this evening, for there is none more suited than I! Umu~!"
There was an applause as Nero threw her hand into the air dramatically with closed eyes and a grin. "As Chaldea's Council has decided, this will be one of many events in the future to provide entertainment! Without further delay, I shall now introduce the judges who have the honor of tasting the competition!"
Separate spotlights flared to life on them, but compared to the one for Nero they were dimmer. Illya believed that secret talk she saw Nero having with an employee had something to do with it. She likely manipulated or demanded the poor guy to give her extra attention. None seemed to care, though most were used to her selfish desires by now; Nero was just being Nero.
She held a hand out towards the judge's table where four individuals sat. The lone man wore black tuxedos while two women wore white, conservative dresses and silvery jewelry. The third woman, whose long purple hair was made into a beautiful updo, wore a black strapless, form fitting dress instead. A name card stood in front of each one, though none of them actually needed an introduction just based on their popularity. Slowly, the lone male at the table's right stood up and fixed his bowtie, making Illya smile warmly.
"The first is one of the servants who had to be included for obvious reasons! No cooking panel would be right without him! The man who has clearly received the blessings of the Goddess Edesia! Chaldea's prestigious Master Chef, Shirou Emiya!"
While the audience clapped for him as he waved politely, Emiya winced unnoticeably and shot a choice gaze at Nero with a coupled mumble, "No need for it to be so long, Nero."
"Too bad!" Nero replied quietly and winked back. He sat back down with a roll of his eyes as the female next to him stood while giggling. "Our next judge is Chaldea's newest master who will be taking Gudao's place this evening, Master Gabrielle Rutherford!"
Gabrielle looked around and waved to the applause with a bright smile before sitting back down so the servant in the black dress next to her could stand. "Our second servant judge is another of Chaldea's first servants and valuable allies, the beautiful Miss Medusa!"
Silently, she gave a tiny smile and nodded lightly towards the audience. Her smile forcibly grew a little larger and she bowed deeper and waved before sitting back down. Illya's quick glance quickly spotted the disapproving stare of two small, identical women that caused the change. She wondered if Kuro was giving her a similar disapproving look right now, but she couldn't bring herself to look.
The final member of the panel stood as Nero pointed her hand towards her. "And last but not least, the Supervisor who helped and guided the Clothing Department to make all these wonderful clothes for the servants to wear, Miss Naomi Stolarz!"
The employee waved and smiled to the audience before quickly taking her seat. "Now that the judges have been formally introduced, I shall proceed to the competition! Roman Citizens, though we have only a few entered teams, they have deemed themselves worthy for competing for the Empress' favor!"
A voice cleared itself from near the judge's table, causing some chuckles to erupt from the audience. "I mean worthy for competing to be the best curry dish and claim the secret grand prize! Umu~! Their dish will be made available as an option to eat every Thursday at lunch for the next month!"
The contestants already stood behind their own separate tables on the stage, side boards attached to prevent the other parties from looking directly at their work. Each team had custom name plates displayed at the front of their tables. The table's fronts were exposed to allow the audience to get a good view of how they were cooking, and to ensure they weren't cheating in some way for the judges. Each table had their own bags and containers of pre-acquired ingredients to use for their curries, and an assortment of kitchen utensils to make the dishes.
The lights flared on for the first table, revealing the team's two individuals. They would be next, but Illya's heartbeat was already sky rocketing. Her nerves were getting to her as Nero walked to the first table. Jack and Nursery Rhyme were gently rubbing Illya's shoudlers to reassure her, but she was quickly regretting doing this. What would earning more affection from her brother mean if she had successfully drove a wall between her and Kuro? The mounting guilt was suffocating.
"Our first competing team is promised to be the hardest competition! Roman Citizens, give a round of applause to the combined efforts of Tamamo and Boudica of Team Kitchen Queens!"
Boudica waved with a bright smile while Tamamo bowed and laughed. The two wore matching blue sun dresses with white aprons that had a smiley face pattern plastered sporadically over the front. Nero came up to the table with a smile as the audience's clapping died down. "Do you two have anything to declare before we start?"
Before Boudica could answer, Tamamo pushed the microphone gently to herself, grinning brightly and winking before stating, "You better have extra spice cause we're the hottest competition you're gonna have!"
The rider partially flushed, flabbergasted at Tamamo's daring statement as Nero laughed and a few choice whistles came from the audience. As Nero moved onto the next team, the British Queen whispered to her friend, "Tamamo, what?"
"What? I thought it was clever," She giggled as Boudica rolled her eyes. "Gabby and Nero helped me come up with it before we started!"
The spotlight came on underneath the next table, revealing Illya, Jack, and Nursery Rhyme. Illya had quickly donned a forced, firm expression to hide her current state. Matching her friends, they looked like they were ready to give it their all when coupled with their determined faces. "Our next team is the cutest entry of all! Help your Empress welcome Illya, Jackie, and Alice of team Sugar Rush!"
The crowd erupted in applause as Tamamo and Boudica tried hard not to overly fawn over the cute expressions. Jack lightly pouted and turned with Illya to face Nursery Rhyme as she voiced her displeasure. "Alice! What kind of name is that?"
She pouted back. "I thought you two were okay with it when they put the name plate on!"
"It sounds like we've had too many sweets before we started or something," Illya commented as Ruby floated just above her head.
"I mean, you girls did have- Oh please I'm sorry!" Ruby panicked. The wand head was quickly grabbed by the three and pulled in various directions.
"Quiet, Ruby!" The girls exclaimed simultaneously before stopping and turning towards the audience. They noticed Nero had held the microphone up to them to say something and was currently trying to hold back her own admiring smile and laughter. The audience was split between laughing and fawning over the adorable exchange as the girls instantly grew flustered, letting Ruby free itself.
"You got this girls!" Irisviel and Atalanta yelled from their seats as they quickly gushed to each other about how adorable their children were. Illya's eyes quickly wandered to Kuro and met her blank but displeased stare; She couldn't look away.
"Umu~! I want to ask why Kuro isn't with you, but that's okay! You're cute as a trio too! So, is there anything else you girls want to say?" Nero asked with closed eyes and a small smirk.
She opened them to look at the two tomato red sisters, but then quickly fell confused upon seeing Illya's expression. The caster didn't even notice Nero staring as her mind fumbled for any form of comfort. Guilt raked her heart as she looked at Kuro, who now stared back in surprise. Even the crowd was beginning to whisper over the slightly crestfallen face of the Einzbern caster.
With the microphone still before them, Illya's lower lip trembled as Emiya's expression turned worried. The guilt was finally piercing her, and she could barely keep her eyes from blurring with threatened tears. "Kuro… I'm sorry! I'm really sorry I didn't tell you! It was stupid of me and I shouldn't ha-"
"Hoy, Illya! Apologize to me if you lose!" Kuro's voice rang out, making her sister gasp in surprise. She quickly rubbed her eyes and stared at Kuro, who merely wore a small, exasperated smile. With a raise of her tanned hand, she merely waved it off as their mother and father stared between them with growing smiles. "I expect half or more of your portion of the reward as compensation! …And if you really want to talk, we'll do it later! Good luck, Illya!"
Using such casual statements, Kuro revitalized her sister. Illya's shoulders felt lighter, and as a small applause grew in the audience, Illya quickly nodded as Nero's eyes began tearing. "Th-Thank you, Kuro! I promise I'll make it up to you!"
"So beautiful! The muses are singing!" Nero exclaimed happily and loudly, making the speakers shriek with feedback that accidentally killed the moment. Even as they held their ears and winced, the two sisters stared at each other with matching smiles; Illya was confident all was well. She just needed to defeat the others now!
Nero, dismissing her mistake casually, moved on to the next table. The spotlight came on to reveal a solo entry wearing a jade green, one strap dress with a slit on the opposing side that revealed the side of her leg. A lighter green apron with a pink heart helped protect her front. Her face partially covered by an oriental fan, the servant smiled as Nero presented her with an outstretched hand. "Our next contestant is looking to fry the competition in her own way! Please bring your hands together for Kiyohime!"
As the audience clapped for the berserker, she closed her fan and waved towards them with an angelic smile. Nero held the microphone to the fellow servant and grinned. "Anything you wish to say to your competitors, Kiyohime?"
"I wish everyone the best of luck," She said happily. With a sudden, vicious smirk, she glanced towards Tamamo, who was already bracing for a choice comment. "Especially you, Tamamo. Heavens be grateful Boudica is strong enough to carry you since you need all the help you can get to win Gudao's love from me."
"Why you dirty, cocky-!" The audience erupted into laughter and egging remarks as Boudica attempted to hold back her dear friend from tearing her love rival apart. Gudao was glad he made the decision to give Gabrielle his seat on the judging panel as he shrank into his own.
Nero was trying to hold back her own laughter fit and failing. Kiyohime smoothly looked away and reopened her fan before giggling triumphantly. Upon recomposing herself, Nero brought the microphone back to her mouth before walking over to the next table. "It seems there will be no shortage of extra pressure between the love rivals this competition! But there are still more competitors willing to fight it out, with some big surprises for the next team! Help your Empress welcome Tyler, Lord El-Melloi II, and Iskandar of Team MLG!"
There was an applause as usual, though some murmurs of confusion too. The audience was confused over the most well-known gaming fanatics in Chaldea being in a cooking competition. The judges, fully aware of who had entered, were still as baffled as most at the trio's apparent entry. Illya, on the other hand, only felt more confident. Their chances of winning grew if their competition was not as strong as she feared beforehand.
Nero stood next to their spotlight-basked table. The three of them were indeed wearing plain white aprons over various attire. El-Melloi had a business suit underneath and had his glasses on, a cigar or cigarette thankfully missing from his mouth. Tyler wore a regular employee uniform under his apron while the King of Conquerors chose a very tight black shirt and thankfully no-where near as tight jeans. Nero held the microphone between them as smiled, "Is there anything you guys would like to say as one of the dark horses of this competition?"
"I mean, I don't think any of us prepared a speech or anything since we're not supposed to be here," Tyler started before getting smacked on the arm by Lord El-Melloi II. "Dude, what!?"
"You weren't supposed to reveal we're in here by mistake!" He chastised as their larger than life friend bellowed in laughter. Many chuckles and further murmurs erupted from the audience.
Nero blinked as she continued to hold the microphone for them. "Oh? So you weren't originally entering to win?"
"My king thought this was a curry tasting competition and signed us up without asking," The caster stated making the audience laugh. He gave an exasperated look to the rider who simply flashed a thumbs up before taking the Microphone from Nero without asking. Nero pouted as she tried to reach the microphone to little avail as Tyler chuckled.
"That's right! It was a mistake but we will charge forward and conquer the prize for our glory! Our competition shall tremble in fear as our curry defeats all who challenge it upon the battlefield! You will understand what it means to face the true flames of war with our mighty curry!"
El-Melloi looked ready to facepalm based on his dumbfounded expression after listening to his king's rallying speech. Tyler, on the other-hand, was already in a chuckling fit as the caster sighed, "I… Never mind… Lead on, my king."
Nero moved on as the audience began to settle down. The final spotlight fired upon the lone entry at the opposite end of the stage from the Kitchen Queens. Team MLG's chorus of confused murmurs was a whisper compared to the outright spectacle of seeing the lone rider underneath the spotlight. He wore tan slacks and a white polo that contrasted his black apron with skull and crossbones, coupled with a small smirk; He seemed unperturbed by the confusion and doubt surrounding him.
As Nero stood next to the lone rider, equally perplexed as most in the room, she cleared her throat and returned to her haughty smile as she presented her hand towards the true dark horse of the competition. "From the seas of the Caribbean comes the last and most unusual entry into the competition! Please give a round of applause to Edward Teach, the famed pirate Blackbeard!"
There was a slightly softer applause as most of the audience, especially the servants, were visibly perplexed at the sight of yet another unusual entry into the first event. Illya was also confused, though something told her he was a threat; He did inform her of the contest, and he seemed confident. It worried her, but her reignited confidence and determination would not be snuffed out that easy. She had to win to earn her brother's respect and share her portion with Kuro as penance!
Without even seeming bothered by the negative attention, Blackbeard flashed a grin and waved to the audience as Nero asked, "Is there anything you wish to say, Blackbeard?"
"Fair seas, everyone," He stated plainly, drawing more curious glances his way especially from his fellow competitors. Iskandar and Tyler, however, threw him matching thumbs up and grins. Nero nodded and grinned before striding proudly towards the center stage as multiple spotlights came on to target her.
Chuckles came from the audience at Nero's obvious delight for taking center stage as she declared with an outstretched hand, "Now that everyone is introduced… Competitors! Get ready to show what you're made of! May the best curry win!"
The audience erupted into cheers as the judges gave their nods of approval. A starting timer began ticking down from the back wall of the stage. Illya stared back towards the wall with a determined look before staring out into the audience.
She could see her mother and father giving her encouraging smiles while Kuro and kid Gilgamesh sat nearby and gave her a thumbs up. Finally, she turned towards her big brother and noticed the warm smile he was giving her, accompanied with a nod. There was no turning back now, but she was glad her stage fright and guilt was now conquered. She mentally kept her heart beat from racing in excitement as she felt a tug on her sleeve.
"Don't worry, Illya, we won't lose!" Jack stated as she lightly grabbed one of Illya's hands with a determined smirk.
"We're gonna win and get the grand prize!" Nursery Rhyme chimed in as she grasped her other hand.
Illya smiled and nodded back. "Right! Thank you! Let's show them what we've got!"
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Nursery Rhyme smirked as she faced her sister. "Ready, Jackie?"
With a swing of two supplied, twin cooking knives, Jack grinned back. "Let's do it, Alice!"
Nursery Rhyme was using her abilities to help throw vegetables into the air at an arc towards a mixing bowl Illya had prepared. The Einzbern girl was currently preparing some potatoes on the table in full view of the audience while the vegetables flew over her head. Just before they were going to land in the bowl, Jack, who stood nearby, was wielding the knives like her own blades to slice them into tiny pieces as they flew. It was coordinated precision at its finest that didn't endanger Illya in the slightest.
For Illya, what was most incredible was how fancy the serial killer was getting. She was spinning her blades in her hands with an excited smile while slicing the pieces into incredibly tiny portions. An entire carrot flung by Nursery Rhyme was practically sliced within a second before it wound up in their bowl, much to the amusement of the audience. Illya would simply fine tune the dicing process later, but currently enjoyed the stares that once made her nervous.
She wondered if this was what anyone was expecting when they thought about the competition. It was intended as an interesting event to give anyone a chance to win a prize while simultaneously providing a television-style live entertainment. They had to have known there was going to be a few quirks depending on who entered, though even she didn't expect the show all of them were putting on; In hindsight, she should have expected their team wouldn't be the only one with fancy tricks.
Based on their expressions, the audience were clearly enjoying the live comedy and spectacle show on the stage; Observing historical figures make curry their own way should have been entertaining enough. Each table was doing their task in various ways with subtle quirks. Even the judges, who were curiously eyeing the different techniques, were laughing and smiling with the audience. To Illya's satisfaction, they were especially enamored with the adorable antics from the cutest competitors, who did it in hopes of winning favor.
Illya could feel a small sparkle of enthusiasm in her eye as she cooked, but didn't see her brother had clearly noticed it too. She wore nearly the same sparkle Kiyohime had next to them, unbeknownst to her. It was a glint that was filled with intent, dedication, and love for someone special in their lives. Though her curiosity would have informed her of his potential acknowledgement, she merely continued to peel the potato skins with a focused heart as he smiled warmly.
However, she would still make glances to gauge her competition carefully in case they needed to step things up.
Next to them, Tamamo and Boudica took a much more refined approach that had the telltale signs of Emiya's own coaching. It was like watching two professionals, but that was close to the truth. There merely went about their routine as expected from the kitchen duo, hiding nothing from the audience or their competitors; Their blockers were discarded with sheer confidence, and it unnerved Illya. Everything was carefully and systematically completed as they went about their work with measured portions and near precise calculations.
What was most concerning for her was that their measurements were done by hand. However, she had no doubt the skilled duo would be spot on as if they used actual utensils; They were truly their biggest threat. As they worked, they would occasionally give glancing smiles to the audience. They also visibly gushed over the girls next to them, which ensured Illya had to remain vigilant now to get caught sizing up her opponents.
Tamamo would also throw a choice glare towards Kiyohime though, which made it a bit easier to conceal as a dumbfounded glance.
On their other side, Kiyohime prepared her dish, making sure to look like a perfect housewife to Gudao. Illya would watch her curiously as she slowly started to flush from silent thoughts. It would make her waver a bit, but she would quickly shake herself out of her stupor to cook diligently again. Still, she'd make a glance or two at Gudao, and the entire process would repeat all over again. Kiyohime was known for cooking well, but Illya was less worried about her since she seemed so… clearly distracted.
Then there was the group next to her, which Illya couldn't spy on. However, the berserker would glance at with a doubtful look which eased any worries, so she left it at that. Tyler never noticed the Japanese servant's looks though. "How many carrots again?
"Three. I said this already."
"Oh. Well I'm at six so it'll be twice as good, right?"
Lord El-Melloi actually threw his palm against his face as Tyler gave a sheepish grin towards his gaming rival who was currently cutting up some garlic carefully. For anyone that could see, none of them had any experience in cooking, but the caster was still taking this seriously; His effort alone wasn't going to be enough. He glanced back towards his king, who was currently chewing through a bag of personally spiced chips as he watched them, and raised an eyebrow as the two met gazes.
"Aren't you going to prepare the meat?"
"Oho. Right, I forgot about my second task," The rider stated before casually, and without washing his hands, grabbed the slab of raw meat and dropping it into the sizzling pan. El-Melloi could only look completely dumbfounded, as did Tyler, at the act just committed.
"You're supposed to slice it up into pieces first!"
"It was a glorious cut of meat, I'm sure it will make a fine steak as is," He proclaimed loudly before continuing to feast on the chips. The audience erupted into more laughter.
"Are you seri- We're making curry!" El-Melloi practically yelled as Tyler added an entire onion into pan, barely containing his laughter at the caster's dumbfounded expression. "Tyler, what. the. bloody. hell!?"
"I mean, it's too late now right? We'll just make some mean-ass Steak Curry!" He declared proudly before grabbing another onion to throw in. He was stopped by the caster. "Oh come on, bro. Don't be like that! If we can't compete against the top tiers cooks, we'll simply aim as bad as possible to be awesome as possible! Like those really bad movies people watc-"
"Cooking and bloody terrible movies breaking negative profit margins are not the same!" The caster groaned. "I swear, you're worse than Flat sometimes."
As the audience continued to fawn at the antics of the adorable girls or enjoy the comedy session provided by the MLG team, there were those that stared just as curiously at Blackbeard. He was too far to see, so she could only go off the audience's reactions. It created a new nervousness she couldn't explain, which would have only grown if she saw the absolute look of collected confident he wore that matched the Kitchen Queens.
"Almost cut a little too much there... That was close," the pirate quietly mumbled.
Wearing a hair net and chopping his vegetables to the near precision of the Kitchen Queens, he quietly hummed to himself a few sea shanties while he sliced a pineapple. The pan next to him was sizzling properly and the meat was already finely diced and prepared the way he wanted. He had a few sacks of ingredients on the table near him that he would occasionally reach into and mix into his diced food. All of this drew further curious glances from the judges.
They would murmur to each other while pointing towards him and his secret ingredients. Blackbeard didn't even notice, and he certainly didn't vocally let them in on anything as he continued to work. He turned up the heat on the stove at his table and began cooking the meat diligently before he-
The rider casually raised an eyebrow and looked at the table next to him as Iskandar pulled a bag of ingredients from his jeans pocket. They looked to be seed shells of some sort, meaning his group had intended to use some sort of spicy curry if it ever made it to that stage to begin with. Shrugging the sight off and evidently not caring, the pirate went back to his work and hummed songs to himself. He quietly mumbled, "I best hurry up if I want to get to my garnishing."
Understandably, most members in the audience were perplexed by Chaldea's resident pervert Blackbeard supposedly having high finesse in the kitchen. It caused a three way split for the observers, who were either laughing at the male trio, staring at Blackbeard, or admiring them. The audience may have been split, but most were still enjoying their little team working instead. However, one trio in the back row had only stared at Blackbeard since the competition began.
From their seats, Drake, Anne, and Mary gawked at their fellow pirate with no disguise to their intrigue. They stared at the pirate as they whispered to each other about the peculiarity of the perverted and somewhat secretive man. It was obvious to any nearby they couldn't believe one of the terrors of the Caribbean actually seemed like he knew his way around the kitchen. They continued to watch him, never once turning to anyone else as Drake's eyes glinted of curiosity and disbelief.
"Everyone looks busy as can be, including Blackbeard! Umu, quite the surprise for the rider!" Nero commentated casually by the judge's table. "Could he be the dark horse of the competition? Should the others be worried about his formal culinary skills?"
Illya felt uneasy and uncertain about Blackbeard's supposed capabilities, but didn't think much of where he actually got it. Maybe he learned it on his ship? The captain didn't have to cook though, right? Oh well, it's not like that mattered. She was just silently glad he introduced this idea to her, because now she was having serious fun with her friends. Next time, she would definitely ensure Kuro helped them too.
While Tamamo and Kiyohime were dueling with their glares, underneath the heated exchange the girls were now dicing the potatoes Illya had carefully prepared. This part needed to be done fairly swiftly so they could get to seasoning. They only had one cutting board and the three were crowding around it as they helped Illya. This earned the trio quite the few adoring glances from the audience as they remained practically huddled in their work.
The sides of their heads rubbed against each other as they slice, though they didn't care. They only smiled as they worked. They were used to being this close, though Kuro was temporarily missing from the group. When they were done as a practically synchronized team, they swiftly but gently lifted the board and let the potato portions slide into the pan along with the vegetables. They giggled at the small applause from the watching members of the audience.
"We should get started on the curry paste," Illya said nervously, knowing full well she had no idea what she was doing here. With the encouraging glances from her two friends, however, she smiled and nodded towards them as Jack grabbed the ginger while Nursery Rhyme pulled the garlic and shallots from the oven after having them cooked.
While it isn't against the rules, it was commonly acknowledged that bringing pre-made curry sauce was a bad idea. Team MLG didn't care as they shamelessly did it anyway. Iskandar pulled out the paste in modern packaging he didn't even bother to hide from the judges. El-Melloi clearly gave up as he helped his teammates pour the contents. The rider then picked up the bag of special ingredients he had pulled from his pockets earlier and began adding the item in question to the mix. He at least showed the judges, and the other competitors, that this was not prepackaged.
The judges were quietly discussing with each other while observing the techniques. All of them had written down the minus points given to the MLG team for pre-prepped and packaged paste. The three women were currently adoring the happy smiles of the Sugar Rush team as they finished making their curry paste. Emiya had stopped admiring the hard effort his little sister was giving to glance once more at Blackbeard as he began the final steps of his dish. By the pirate's expression and careful movements, he was clearly taking this very seriously.
Illya noticed her big brother not paying attention to her and began to pout, drawing the attention of her two friends who giggled upon drawing the connection. The girls simply gave her reassuring pats on the back before returning to the dish.
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"And with that, the cooking has been completed! Umu~! Our competitors gave us quite the incredible show that won't soon be forgotten! With the dishes prepared, it's time for the judging to begin!" Nero declared from the center of the stage as the contestants stood in front of their cooking stations.
There were five tables that held the dishes for the judges to taste. Robots would bring the dishes to the judging table when ready. The Kitchen Queens were on the panel first with four identical meals already placed before the judges. Based on the light steam that came off of each plate and the perfect presentation, it was no wonder the two women were constant cooks for Salon de Marie's dinners with Emiya. Illya looked on from her spot in worry, hoping to some unseen force that they would somehow beat these high-tier chefs.
"The judges decided to forgo the usual point system due to the low number of competing teams. They will simply rank from first to last at the end based on their own criteria. First up are the Kitchen Queens with their dish titled, 'Chaldean Delight.' Let's see what the judges have to say!"
While not in perfect unison, the four judges took small spoonfuls of the dish in front of them. A reddish-brown sauce soaked the star shaped chicken cuts within, mixed with small potatoes cut into balls alongside square cut carrots. Neatly shredded basil and red pepper flakes gave extra color to the already delicious looking dish, coupled with thinly sliced pepper garnish in the shape of roses. The presentation by itself was stunning, and as the faces of the judges lit up upon tasting the dish, Illya suddenly began getting significantly more worried.
"And this is the reason why we're all so glad to have you two helping Emiya and the staff in the kitchen," Naomi declared before taking another eager bite.
"It's not too spicy. I'm also noticing a lot of different flavors in the sauce, but they're not competing. If anything its consistency in mix is spot on. I'm actually unsure how you did it," Emiya admitted while he looked down at the dish in front of him as if it were a lab experiment.
"Have we learned well?" Tamamo asked without disguising her prideful smile.
Emiya chuckled and shook his head. "I never taught you this. This is spectacular. By the books yet with a personal twist that seals the deal."
"I wouldn't mind eating this all day," Naomi chimed in before quickly adding. "For a day though. An all curry diet sounds horrifying to me."
"Tamamo, Boudica. I don't have the expertise of judging food like Emiya does, but this is too tasty," Gabrielle stated which earned an eyeroll from Gudao at how painfully plain her judging comment was. Illya only chuckled at the sight, but it was filled with nervousness that Nursery Rhyme tried to soothe.
"It's beyond wonderful." Even Medusa had a full smile on her face as she took her third bite while simply giving a thumbs up of approval. Tamamo's face lit up even more as she quickly high fived Boudica followed by a friendly hug. Kiyohime looked slightly annoyed and seemed to want to say something but kept her rude remark in check. Illya was understandably panicky at the high approval given by the judges on the first dish; Already a tall bar has been set for them to reach. As the plates were quickly carried off by a set of robots, another group brought their team's plates.
"Sugar Rush will now be judged for their own delicacy, which they have happily called, 'Sweetato'," Nero stated as she looked at her notecard again before looking at the girls in question. "Sweetato?"
"Yes, Sweetato, because sweet potato is too long," Nursery Rhyme chimed in happily, making the empress smile. Illya's pounding, nervous little heart was deafening.
The judge's looked down at the dish in front of them, looking at yellowish curry sauced that was perfectly centered atop the bowl of rice. Potato chunks were neatly cut and soaked in the sauce, with specs of finely flaked, cut vegetables scattered on top for color. In addition to the curry were two plain cookies with curry sauce painted smiley faces. Thinly sliced carrot dots helped to form the eyes and mouths.
Relief was filling Illya as she stared optimistically at their reactions. The judges had amused smiles on their faces, especially Gabrielle who was passing quick glances between the dish and her team. She quickly took a spoonful of the dish and ate it, her eyes lighting up as she giggled with a closed mouth. She swallowed the food as the other judges took their bites and smiled brightly to the group. Illya's hopes were skyrocketing with every bite.
"A sweet tasting curry. How perfect for Chaldea's sweetest girls," Gabrielle mused out loud as she prepared another spoonful. "I was prepared for all spicy foods, but this was a pleasant surprise. And a cute and fitting presentation!"
"If I may ask, whose idea was it to go with sweet curry?" Medusa asked, forcing herself to be a little louder than usual for the audience to hear properly even with the small microphone attached to her dress.
"It was Illya's idea! She wanted it to be extra sweet and thought up the cookies too! We just helped her make it."
Illya was about to complain that they were the ones who practically did the harder work for her… but that was before she spotted the warm and proud smile of her big brother aimed right at her. She was practically melting with delight and relief. "A sweet potato curry with some small differences I can taste. It's a little less sweet than usual with the hint of complimenting flavor I wouldn't have suspected. Were you the one who chose that special ingredient as well, Illya?"
"Yes!" She exclaimed proudly, looking to her two friends beside her who smiled in approval. In all honesty, she was the one who made the special ingredient decision so it wasn't a lie.
Her heart raced faster when Emiya closed his eyes and nodded, the proud smile growing ever slightly as he took another spoonful. "Didn't know you had the makings of such a good cook. The consistency is spot on for what it should be, even with the addition of the secret ingredient which will stay undisclosed so this dish will remain yours."
"I have nothing bad to say about this dish. I love it." "A lovely treat from Chaldea's girls!" "Well done, sis."
With a bright smile, Illya was shaking with enthusiasm. The audience began clapping for the team, but none louder than her family as Kuro and the young Gilgamesh joined them happily. Illya's smile couldn't grow any wider as her control collapsed and she jumped into the air happily. She only calmed down when her two friends grabbed ahold of her while the audience enjoyed the early victory cheer. Soon enough the robots were exchanging the dishes with the next one in a swift and orderly fashion.
"Next up is Kiyohime's dish! But she has an extra one for Master Gudao as well!"
A robot hovered over to Gudao and delivered him a plate which he promptly stared at with a small cringe. The ones the judge's received were rather plain, with a reddish sauce covering half of the circular plate with the rice on the other. No garnishing or special decoration, until one looked at Gudao's plate which had the sauce covering the rice in the shape of a heart. There was relishing placed to spell out "K x G" in the center of the dish with small rose garnishing cut from cherries along the outside. The audience chuckled at the stark differences between the plates as the judges took their first spoonfuls.
"Are you not hungry, Master?" The calm voice of Kiyohime sounded over the silence, instantly making Gudao freeze.
His hand shot up quickly, taking a spoonful and shoving the bite into his mouth and eating. He quickly swallowed and nodded his head in approval, making Kiyohime squeal quietly to herself as she clapped her hands together. As far as the berserker was concerned, she seemed like she already won. Tamamo rolled her eyes in disgust while Emiya and Gabrielle shot sympathetic looks to Gudao.
"It's a little plain, but it's still good," Naomi stated flatly as she took another bite.
Medusa nodded her head quietly next to her. "It's definitely tasty, but I don't think there's much separating it from other curry."
"It's alright. It doesn't stand out, but it would pass as a nice lunch," Emiya added with a shrug. "Basic curry recipe without any extra finesse. Well made, but undeveloped."
Kiyohime didn't even appear phased by the mediocre declarations as she watched Gudao eat a third spoonful. By the looks of it, Gudao's curry seemed to be tasty since there was only a glint of nervousness, though that was only half the reason he kept eating; Kiyohime staring was still likely motivating him too. Anyone could guess she spent most of the time and effort on Gudao's dish rather than the judges since Gabrielle replaced him last minute. As the robots retrieved her dish, it was apparent she was not a threat to any competitors since her sole purpose was pleasing her male master.
"Second to last comes Team MLG with their special dish, the… Three-sixty No Scope?" Nero declared confused as she looked towards the trio perplexed. Some chuckles rose from the audience.
"It was Tyler's idea. I don't know why," Lord El-Melloi II stated. However, Illya could tell he was hiding something reluctantly for his two friends.
The judges looked at the dish in surprise. Besides the chunks of hastily cut meat and the sauce haphazardly poured over the rice, it did resemble a decent dish. It lacked in presentation by all means, but at least it looked edible and actually cooked well. The archer took the first spoonful as Illya passed another nervous glance at Blackbeard's dishes. His presenta-
Illya gasped. Seconds after taking the spoonful into his mouth, Emiya swiftly swallowed and held his throat. He gasped for quick breaths and reaching for the emergency milk placed under the table, filling Illya with concern and worry. His family in the audience was nearly on their feet, as were his nearby best friends as they looked on in growing terror. Raising a hand to signal he'll be alright, he quickly downed the milk bottle to the horror of the other three judges and the amusement of some members of the audience. Lord El-Melloi II gave a sympathetic look to the fellow former master…
…before Tyler began blowing twin air horns much to Iskandar's amusement, as well as other game corner goers in the audience. Cu was barely containing his laughter as Scathach and Fionn stared at him in confusion while Kintoki was laughing heartily from his standing place in the back. Tyler stopped blaring the air horns, much to the relief of Nero and the contestants who had to cover their ears due to proximity. He yelled in victory, "Woooo! NO SCOPED!"
Emiya glared towards the trio as El-Melloi sighed and Iskandar let out one last chuckle. Illya also glared at the large king for doing something so mean to her older brother. The archer merely wiped his mouth with a napkin and scowled. "My, my… how delightfully funny… Was this a prank entry the whole time?"
Iskandar shrugged but shook his head. "We took it as seriously as we could. We're not cooks. But we all like spicy curry, so we decided to go for the conquest and claim spiciest. The coating around the seeds was enough since they are the hottest."
"So you added the Carolina Reaper's bigger, badder, magically-developed counterpart as your secret ingredient," Emiya stated as he gently open and closed his mouth to air his taste buds. At the mention of one of the hottest ranked peppers in the world, many of the audience burst into concerned murmurs or laughter. "I can't believe I just ate a Clocktower Dreadnought. Even if you did manage to win, there's no way we could feasibly make this a dish."
"Was worth a shot," Iskandar shrugged as his retainer sighed to himself. Emiya and the other judges could only stare in partial shock as the rider nonchalantly ate the bag of chips. To her brother's, and her own, surprise and horror, the chips were clearly coated with the same material. Jack and Nursery Rhyme began whispering to each other as Illya contemplated whether his tastebuds were working at all.
"I think I'll pass on the experience," Medusa declared before pushing the plate away slowly as if it were bubonic plague. Naomi swiftly followed her lead while Gabrielle looked like she was contemplating just trying a bite. She looked towards Medusa who was giving her a subdued, incredulous look for clearly considering it. Quickly looking at the heroic spirit archer once more, who was still visibly shaken, she swiftly pushed the plate away as well.
Illya's brother cleared his throat. "Final dish, please… Before my taste buds are affected more than necessary."
Nero cleared her throat. "Now that the surprise entry is over, we move on to the last contestant! Blackbeard, who has not divulged a name his curry, will now have his dish judged!"
The robots quickly brought over the last dish for the judges. As the machines took away the spicy disaster that was MLG's curry, Illya was filled with worry again upon clearly seeing the dish. It barely resembled an ordinary curry, and that's what worried her. To the judges' surprise, and everyone else's for that matter, Blackbeard had a wonderful presentation on the square plate chosen as opposed to the circular ones.
The rice was visible through the unusually blue curry, probably tinted with food coloring, with tiny diced circles of unknown food. The rice that peered through was shaped very carefully on each plate to create patterns that resembled white capped waves on rough seas. In the center of every plate was a garnish designed pirate ship that sailed the curry sea, with toothpicks holding its paper sails to the shaped food. The judge's names were individually written in fairly neat script on the main sail. The dish resembled a small diorama rather than a curry.
"Well, this definitely takes the cake for presentation," Naomi stated outright as she slid her spoon into the dish. She lifted it and looked relieved that there was indeed rice under the curry ocean. The paste's color didn't make it look very edible, though looks could be deceiving.
"I love this garnish pirate ship," Gabrielle stated as she gently lifted the boat to place onto the side of the dish, silently glad it didn't fall apart. "I really don't want to eat any of this. It'll ruin how incredible this dish looks!"
Emiya was the first to take a bite, likely in hopes the Clocktower Dreadnought didn't sway his opinion. The others soon followed and were met with an almost unanimous reaction that made Illya's confidence shatter. The looks of total surprise and delight on their faces, followed by quick seconds to affirm they were not deceived, proved that Blackbeard had truly done something unique. It was practically the same reaction given to the Kitchen Queens earlier but was entirely unexpected from the solo rider's curry.
Illya watched with dismay as her brother pushed through the blue curry lightly in an attempt to analyze the design. He gazed up towards the rider with a curious gaze. The pirate simply looked back with a small smirk and nodded. "I call it, Caribbean Treasure."
"Treasure, huh... I can't argue with that statement," Emiya pondered out loud, not bothering to hide his amazement. "Pineapples, the hint of coconut, and that slight bit of sweetness that lingers at the end. Perfect consistency and design. Tropical style curry with your own twist. You've captured the sea and made it a dish. A dish that even looks unique, yet a fitting design for Edward Teach."
"I only hate it because it makes me want to be at a beach under an umbrella with a warm sun," Gabrielle stated as she gladly took another spoonful. "I wish we had a beach or something…"
Medusa put her spoon down and stared at the dish with a small smile. "You surprised me, Blackbeard. I honestly didn't expect something like this… no offense."
The pirate simply shrugged with a blank expression, not giving any hint to how he really felt.
"I'd say the competition was pretty stiff," Naomi stated before she passed a cautious glance towards the lone offending dish. She took another spoonful of the tropical delight with a delighted glint. "But, I think I've just made up my mind."
"Nero, would you mind if we convened quietly for a minute?" Gabrielle asked with folded hands in front of her as Illya's final hopes wavered under Blackbeard's surprise bombardment.
The Empress smiled back and nodded, "Umu~! The Empress allows it!"
Gabrielle smiled back while some in the audience chuckled, or rolled their eyes, at the proud Empress. "Thank you. We'll be quick about it."
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"Second place…" Illya muttered from her seat on the edge of the stage as Jack and Nursery Rhyme sat beside her, both looking down in slight disappointment.
Blackbeard had soundly defeated the competition through presentation and taste. It turned out his only real competition had been the Sugar Rush team, since the Kitchen Queens were secretly just a fill in to make the competition seem more heated; They couldn't actually win since they were famed as Chaldean cooks almost as much as Emiya. Their dish turned out to be tonight's surprise dinner the staff was preparing in mass anyway.
Kiyohime's plain dish was barely a competitor to their own, and the MLG team's dish was a bad bomb, both in terms of success and to the temporary taste attack to the archer's mouth. The auditorium was now mostly empty of people save for a few loitering groups who hung around to talk before heading to Salon de Marie for dinner that was soon to be served.
"Sorry, Illya," Nursery Rhyme said as she kicked her feet distractedly. "We tried."
"It's okay. We did our best and he noticed," Illya smiled towards her before it faded a bit. "Guess it just wasn't enough for the grand prize, whatever it was. I'm sorry, I wanted you two to win the prize too..."
She thought back days ago to when Blackbeard dropped the information; She never suspected he would be a participant himself. The question he wanted to ask her older brother probably had to do with the competition itself. She still didn't really understand why he would invite her team to only decrease his odds of winning. He never even tried to sabotage her team like a pirate probably would, instead choosing the honorable route of a serious entry with thought put into it. Why wou- "Hoy, Illya. Don't look so glum."
Looking up to see her sister walking up to them, she quickly jumped off the stage and ran to her. While their two friends slowly approached, Illya threw her arms around Kuro, taking her by surprise with the tight embrace. Kuro sighed as she gently hugged her back. "I guess this is a learned lesson?"
More than one, admittedly. She would never leave Kuro out of something again, but she also now realized a deeper truth. She had a small understanding of what it might have been like for Kuro to to see her sister living a life she had been robbed of. Though she wasn't trapped behind Kuro's eyes unable to do anything, it was a little painful just watching her get things she desired and feeling helpless. It gave her renewed and better understanding of what Kuro must have felt when their real mother and father suppressed her.
"I'll find another way to make it up to you! This will never happen again! I promise you!" Illya reassured quickly as she broke the hug. She winced as Kuro merely smacked the top of her head in chastisement. The archer then reached to her cheek and pinched it while Ruby floated overhead chuckling. "Ow! Kuro!"
"This is for leaving me out… It's fine. I'm terrible at cooking anyway…" she replied with a half-hearted glare before releasing her pinch. She winked, "Thank you. I'll hold you to that."
"I see you two made up. Perfect. I'd hate to see you two holding a grudge." The two turned to look at their brother as he approached them casually with a small smile. Illya noticed Blackbeard looked on from far behind him in the aisle. Jack and Nursery Rhyme finally approached as Emiya nodded to the gathered team. "Well done, girls. Second place with a wonderful dish."
"Thank you, Emiya," Jack responded with a small smile. The archer looked towards her and noticed the small frown, making his smile fade a little.
"Blackbeard told me how you entered to impress me, Illya, though I figured there was some jealousy involved since Kuro was absent," Emiya explained as he gently patted the smaller archer's shoulder. "I could honestly tell you were aiming to impress by the way the dish tasted."
She looked up startled as her brother smiled at her and nodded. "They say you can tell which dishes are made with love. It explains why home cooked meals are often touted as better than the finest restaurants."
Illya blushed as he gave a knowing smirk. "It's almost as if your dish was designed for someone in mind."
She looked towards Blackbeard who simply nodded with a small smile, then turned and walked towards the exit of the auditorium casually. She quickly turned back to her brother before looking away again in slight embarrassment, a flush still on her cheeks. There was no doubt he really was their brother since he said something similar. The archer chuckled to himself before patting her on the head, instantly gaining her attention back. "You did well, Illya! You, Jackie, and Alice. You made all of us proud."
Her smile returned full force as the girls next to her giggled. "Thank you!"
But he wasn't done yet. "Come to the kitchen sometime. I can tell Jackie and Alice helped you a lot, so feel free to enter and I'll help you learn… Maybe teach you a dessert or two. Alice, Jackie, and Kuro are allowed to come as well of course."
Illya's eyes couldn't get any brighter… But they were about to. "But speaking of desserts, Blackbeard had one last surprise for us… or more specifically, for all of you girls..."
¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ IX ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨
Illya walked down the hallway with Kuro, trying to quickly find Blackbeard; She had to thank him for such a wonderful gift! She had completely misjudged him before and felt guilty for doing so. He wasn't so bad after all for an infamous pirate or strange pervert. It was clear there was far more to him than his usual actions told. To help her search, Nursey Rhyme and Jack followed along as they scanned every hallway between the auditorium and Salon de-
"I don't get it. What's your plan?" Drake questioned loudly from a nearby hallway. As the girls turned to each other quietly, they slowed down and snuck up to the corner. Quietly, they peered around the corner to eye the two pirates. They didn't even gaze at them, though they were a reasonable distance away.
The male rider sighed and looked towards Drake with a blank stare before eyeing her figure hugging sweat pants and t-shirt. She rolled her eyes at being checked out so blatantly, and growled when she realized he wasn't going to answer. "Well, Teach?"
He shrugged. "We're pirates, Drake. You know very well my answer."
She looked at him in disgust, narrowing her eyes as she pushed off of the wall. Illya and Kuro looked at each other with mounting concern at the potential implication. Maybe he was still as big of a pervert after all. "She's a kid. You're seriously going to-"
"I meant we do what we want, Drake," He stated with some irritation. "Freedom. We choose to do what we want for whatever reason. And you can bury that idea of me looking at Illya and the other girls in that way. I actually enjoy kids in a normal, decent way like any other adult, though I know you don't believe that."
Drake looked slightly taken back, as were the children. All were aware Blackbeard could have serious moments, but it was still a shock to witness since he was usually being a perverted, awkward individual. Drake narrowed her eyes again. "So the prize? You're just going to give up treasure you rightfully won?"
Blackbeard chuckled. "They would enjoy it far more than I would, that's for sure. Keep those adorable smiles on their faces."
"Well? What was it? Do they even know what it is?"
"I'm sure they do now," Blackbeard commented with a grin as he turned to the eavesdropping girls. Drake turned in surprise, clearly being too caught up in the argument to notice them at the far end. Blackbeard merely laughed and waved to them. "I hope you enjoy the treat, girls! Double of whatever deserts you want for a month is more fitting for you than me. I'm not much for sweets, though I'll gladly keep the prize money."
"Thank you, Blackbeard! You're so kind!" Illya quickly replied as she was joined by overlapping gratuitous cheers from Nursery Rhyme and Jack while Kuro waved.
Drake turned back to chuckled and smirked. "So there was prize money after all?"
He grinned back. "I figured there was. Only thing I could really use. It's nice my dish will be available every Thursday for a while, but that part could have been scuttled for all I care. I just got more free money for my next personal raid!"
The pirate hummed to himself happily. While the girls scampered towards them, he began his proud strides down the hallway towards Salon de Marie, leaving a partially disgusted, but also impressed, fellow rider behind. The group of children slowed down as Drake merely leaned against the side of the hallway and shook her head. She chuckled louder before calling out, "I'll judge your curry for myself this Thursday. You better not have paid off the judges!"
His reply was a simple wave and a laugh.