Here it is! The conclusion of the fondue fight! Oh my gosh! I can't believe how long it's taken me to write this chapter. The thing is, my school term has been eating up (no pun intended) a LOT of my time. For if there's one day I finish an assignment, I instantly have to prepare handing in one the following day. It's almost impossible to get a grip on things, and my writing! No wonder it's been about a month since I've updated!
Also, it's been messy with the story when I'm trying to write about the media and all that. I have to get a grip on that...
Anyways, let's have a look at where a serving of Oran berry chocolate fondue will be going to: DaX0315, an honoured Guest, LEGAL-EAGLE53, and skelereaper13. Please enjoy!
Now for addresses to individuals...
DaX0315: hmm... I'll leave it up to your imagination on this one. But for this story, I'm going to say... regular coloured? As for what Steven wears... he actually changes suits in this story once in a while. Mostly, though, he'll be wearing that black chef jacket in his workplace.
LEGAL-EAGLE53: well, we do know that all kinds of cheese are made from milk, and there's MooMoo milk so... Anyway, uh... Viola/Grant or Grant/Korrina... That is probably one of the hardest questions of all-time for me. You got me there.
skelereaper13: I'm glad you're enjoying the story (and its courses). The vivid imagination part is an experiment to see how it would work in the story's context, and I'm glad you enjoyed it! The inspiration comes from Shokugeki no Soma, so credits to them! I requires quite a bit of imagination though, so I'm not sure how much of those I can make!
Chapter thirty-five: An Order of Surprises
Martine Grenadine was concerned enough for her boss that she had asked James to leave the restaurant temporarily to observe where Steven had gone to. By the time she walked outside, the smell of oil and chocolate was so strong that her mouth had already started to water, and so she followed the scent to the square plaza.
By the time she had gotten to the plaza, she could only make out a few heads – namely Steven, Cynthia… and Viola! Wait, so Steven and Cynthia were serious. They were cooking to see who was better! It looked like their love lives were on the line in this respect! But… to their credit, Martine had to admit the dishes looked super good.
Especially Cynthia's.
"Oh… my… gosh," Martine muttered to herself. "I really have to get one of those."
She squished her way through the crowd like a Wurmple digging through soil for food. After a minute or so, she managed to slip closer to the front of the crowd where the commotion was happening.
Of course that went without saying her red hair could not have avoided catching the attention of the many others she had slipped by. As Martine kept slipping through the crowd, she certainly earned enough annoyed looks that equated to working an entire dinner hour at the Stone Bistro. Her red hair, combined with the white dress shirt and black vest she wore, made her stand out in short.
Incidentally, the closer she got, she immediately recognised that unusual head cover which Wallace called a hat. Oh, and Winona was there too. No surprise there! Wanting to give them a greeting, Martine walked over to Wallace to do so.
"Oh… vous deux!" Martine said happily. "Are you two on a date right now? What better than right now? That's amazing, Wallace! I've never seen you on a date with Winona before. Usually, Lisia is around."
But to Martine's mild surprise, Winona's cheeks flushed red and she looked like she was about slap Wallace in the face, in which she almost did – but Wallace stepped back a little to miss the hand.
"But you know…" Martine cooed, "I think this is the first time that I've ever seen you two on a date. That's surprising, Wallace! You have to have more dates, friend! How else are you going to maintain a relationship with your girlfriend? Look, while my boss actually had his share of dates (not that he had many), they were real ones! I've never seen the two of you without Lisia sticking around, so this is a first! You know what, Wallace? If you keep this up, you'll be earning less slapping and punching on your cheek, and more kisses on your lips!"
"Mademoiselle Martine…" Wallace rolled his eyes, and he gently pushed her away. "Now is not the time…"
The fact was that Martine had initiated this conversation without noticing it wasn't just Wallace and Winona who were hearing her. Grant and Korrina took in these words like a Mamoswine had fallen on their heads from the sky. Together, they had to carry the weight slowly just like how they were processing what this redhead had just said.
"Oh… so that's how it is, oui, Wallace?" Korrina snickered. "Oh wait! So this girl is your girlfriend! Well, why didn't you say so earlier? That would have made things so much easier for all of us!"
Korrina then swapped her gaze to Martine, who looked back at first but then switched to look at Grant instead.
"Oh! Êtes-vous Grant?" she asked, but it really wasn't a question, was it? After all, Martine already recognised him and by name, no less. Instead of waiting for a response, Martine shifted her focus to Korrina instead. "Salut, mon amie," Martine greeted happily. "Qui êtes-vous? Êtes-vous la petite amie de Grant?! Incroyable!"
Korrina shook her head in embarrassment but did not blush. Moreover, it seemed like Korrina was taking this as a light joke and laughed instead. "Vous avez tort! Je ne suis pas la petite amie de Grant! Je suis son collègue. Vous ne me connaisez pas? Je suis Korrina: le champion de Shalour City! Grant n'a pas de petite amie!"
But whilst Martine and Korrina were talking away, it appeared that Wallace didn't have the situation under control on his part. He had to stop Martine, whatever she was doing. "Martine," he said. "Who told you that Winona punched me on the cheek?! No one could know that!"
In Korrina's eyes, she questioned just how easily this red-haired girl was flustering Wallace with ease. Wallace, known to be flamboyant and at many times exaggerative, was being tormented by this Martine character. It seemed like Martine herself was enjoying how she was tormenting!
"My friend…" Martine said playfully, as she gave Wallace's shoulder a shake. "I have contacts, you know. Lisia told me all I needed to know, including how many slaps Winona had to give you so that she could bring you back to your senses, or that time when Winona punched you in the face Lisia showed you a box of chocolates and then you got knocked out cold. As Lisia put it love hurts –"
Annoyed, for once, Wallace covered Martine's mouth with his hand to stop her, but the damage was already done. Korrina was all smiles.
"I wouldn't have thought this man to be accident prone, but it comes with being a terrible boyfriend," she said, and then motioned to Grant. "Say, Grant. You and Wallace seem to have many things in common! The two of you love sweets, chocolates, and probably that fondue Viola is trying out right now! But hey, since you have a girlfriend, I'm not complaining. How many kisses have you gotten? You ought to earn more!"
"I've never been on the receiving end of punches to my face, Korrina. Plus, I don't have a girlfriend," Grant scoffed. "But Wallace, let's be honest here. Does love hurt? What am I saying? Of course it hurts! You've only gone on so many dates with her as our red-haired friend has said."
"And Winona!" Korrina added, apparently not done with her stream of words. "How long have you been dating him? Actually, how many times have you broken up with him since there aren't enough dates? It's a wonder how you two are a couple! What were your dates like before?"
Winona blushed red and looked away, unable to speak.
Not even Wallace, with all his flashiness, could keep up with the rants from the two Gym Leaders. He had to find a way out of this madness, and fortunately… he was Wallace. He always found a way through!
"Never mind me!" he said, grinning while keeping a hand on Martine's mouth. "You know, at least I've got things settled by having a girlfriend! But you – Korrina, is that your name? – I'll let you know that I've been dating my girlfriend for a long time. In fact, much longer than Steven over there who is desperate to have one. What about you? Have you found a boyfriend yet?"
Korrina looked away for a moment as if deep in thought, and returned the gaze to shake her head.
"Well, I'll have you know that if you need help finding a boyfriend, you must talk to me!" Wallace insisted. "I have been responsible for forging solid relationships in the past, you know! Martine, can you tell me how Sophie has been doing?"
Martine shook her head and her face darkened as Wallace released his hand. "It's a wonder how you try to get off-topic, mon ami. Anyway, she's doing well… She and Laurent look closer now, but it's a shame, because Laurent got to share a brownie with her. Hey, what does that have to do with anything?"
"I thought Lisia would have told you already? She called you!" Wallace said, whereas Martine had to admit Lisia already told her such. "Well, if you didn't know, I am the reason those two are together! They look like a real couple now! But the case with Steven is a different story. He is a special case. "
'Special', he said.
Korrina found it hard to believe, nevertheless. "And here I wonder how you maintain a so-called solid relationship with your own girlfriend. But you know what, Wallace? You talk too much! I want to watch some cooking!"
Before Wallace knew it, he received a painful slap from Korrina's palm.
Why is it that she not only dresses like but also hits just as hard as Winona? Wallace thought.
Grant laughed. "Okay, Wallace, whatever you say. But it's hard to take words from someone who hasn't had enough dates with his own girlfriend such that she ends up slapping you in the face. That being said, are you hitting on Korrina now that's she's slapped you? That's creepy. Quel homme."
Annoyed, Winona pushed both Grant and Korrina back as if they were irritants. Being on roller skates, Korrina nearly fell back but her fall was saved by Grant's reflexes.
"Stay away, vous deux!" she quietly ordered.
Grant laughed, whilst helping his colleague up. "Now you see, Wallace? That's how you should treat Winona. I may or may not have a girlfriend yet – that's private info – but you should really think things!"
Wallace held his breath and stayed quiet.
Meanwhile, Martine thought that Korrina had a point. After all, everyone was gathered here to watch this fight. Even so, Martine was well worried for Steven that he may be trying too hard. She looked at Wallace and Winona first, and then to Steven and Cynthia. While the former were lightheartedly arguing with each other, with no thanks to Korrina who was pressing more questions for Wallace, the latter looked like they were mortal enemies that had to decimate the other.
Martine refocused her attention. Talking about Wallace's love life could wait, but that tempting aroma of fondue from Cynthia couldn't.
"The Oran berry in that chocolate brings out all the flavours you can wish for with whatever you put into it!" Viola remarked. "But you know, Cynthia, if it's just a fondue you're serving, then why bother with the salad? The salad is good enough as it is."
"Ah, but you misunderstand, Viola," Cynthia replied, in which Steven rolled his eyes. "Here's what you do with the fondue."
To everyone's surprise, Cynthia took a spoonful of the molten fondue and added it to Viola's salad. This was different, wasn't it? Serving chocolate onto a salad just didn't seem to work here – it was counter-intuitive. Who would have ever thought of this?
"You've experienced already what it's like to have a different, unexpected, but perfectly complementary flavour with what you've dipped in the chocolate," she said. "Now, I challenge you to eat this with your salad. Think of it like a dressing!"
Viola's mouth already started to water along with the many others gathered – except for Steven – who saw what Cynthia had just done. She picked up her fork to stir the chocolate around in the salad, whilst taking in the sweet aroma wafting from it. It sure looked like it would taste sweet, but the truth was that Viola had no idea what she was going to taste here.
The flavours of the salad blended well.
What was supposed to be a chocolate dessert became an excellent accompaniment for an entrée.
Initially, with its greens mixed with blueberries, strawberries, and Pamtre berries, the flavours of the salad by themselves were enough. They complemented each other with the slight savoury and dry fragrance of the Pamtre berries acting as something like a catalyst for the blueberries and strawberries. It was like they were increasing their sweetness in a way! The white wine helped too!
Yet the Oran berry laced in the chocolate fondue ensured that each flavour – be it the sweetness or the savouriness – would always come together in some sort of middle ground. Chocolate flavour coated each part of the salad at first, but it would form a delicious aftertaste for each given flavour. The Oran berry, encompassing all natural flavours, supplied what was needed to centre a completely unexpected but pleasant surprise at an unimaginable scale.
Calling this a salad was an understatement. With so many flavours going on, in most part due to the chocolate fondue, Viola couldn't comprehend all the flavours she tasted. Simply put, the Oran berry had allowed the salad to create an incredible mix of complex flavours – such that they were pleasantly surprising to the mind.
Before long, she had swallowed her first mouthful and had to take a second.
Delicious, Viola thought, and then said, "I can… imagine… this will revolutionise desserts and salads everywhere. How did you come up with this –?"
But to Cynthia's surprise, she saw some tears form in Viola's eyes.
"Is there something wrong?" Steven asked.
"No… I'm just…" Viola mumbled.
The surprise Viola felt from eating the salad felt like the time when she had celebrated her 16th birthday. She seldom received gifts at that time, but her sister Alexa still went out of her way to have hers gift-wrapped.
"You didn't have to!" Viola complained, as if she didn't see it necessary.
"It was a bit pricey, but I know you'll love it!" Alexa replied. "Lumiose Press uses them all the time!"
Just mentioning one of the biggest media corporations in Kalos was enough to get Viola excited. Quickly, she tore open the gift to reveal a white box, in which she subsequently opened it.
"A… camera? Oh my gosh! Alexa! You got this version?!" Viola exclaimed. The gift Alexa had purchased was a high-performance camera used mainly by professionals only. Rapid shutter speed, telephoto-equipped, plenty of lighting aids and capable of shooting in impossibly high definition, it was more than Viola could ask for.
A huge surprise, it was. It was a surprise that made Viola shudder, seeing as how she loved shooting photos, and now she was given probably the most practical equipment she would ever get.
"Joyeux anniversaire, Viola," Alexa said.
The tears starting to roll down Viola's cheeks, and she had to embrace her sister with a hug after.
"This is like… receiving a heartwarming gift," Viola muttered. She continued to take more bites of the salad whilst mixing more of the fondue into it. The chocolate stuck to the lettuce leaves like they were destined to be like that. For every bite Viola took, the flavour was always bound to be something unexpected, but it felt like it touched her heartstrings.
Her tears, just like the ones she felt in her flashback, began to roll down her cheeks. She looked away and wiped them off, and wishing that Alexa was here right now. The crowd could not notice this, and neither could Steven. Cynthia, though, had a hunch that that might have been some effect but reserved her words.
Shortly after, she had finished her salad completely whilst adding more chocolate to it. Steven watched nervously, as Viola seemed to be equally enjoying it in the same manner of the oil fondue. Before long, the salad was finished and whatever chocolate fondue was left, Viola dipped in more bite-size foods to finish it off.
To Steven's dismay and Cynthia's satisfaction, Viola smiled. The fire under the pot had gone out, and in time for Viola to completely finish her meal and begin judging. The dishes were taken away by Cynthia herself, as did Steven take away his, and they returned to stand before Viola.
Diantha was not at all surprised that the wonderful scent she smelled at the Pokémon Centre incidentally originated from Vue sur la Lune. But what she was surprised to see was the intense cook-off going on between Cynthia and Steven.
If there were people she could count on telling her what was going on, it would firstly be the local Gym Leader, Grant. But that apparently wasn't possible, as he and Korrina were glued to the front row. Amazed that no one bothered with her presence, Diantha snuck in for a closer look.
Oh, isn't this amazing? she thought. Poor Viola. I can only imagine what could be going in her mind right now.
She could already deduce that Cynthia and Steven were trying to be the best between them and that Viola had been picked as judge. But how could this have happened? Weren't the two of them supposed to be together?
"Diantha!" Oh, speaking of which, Grant finally noticed her.
"Grant, Korrina, mes amis," she greeted. "What's going on here?! How? And why?"
Grant and Korrina exchanged puzzled glances as if they didn't know how to respond, and before either could say something Diantha beat them to it.
"Oh, this is just terrible!" she said. "I thought they were really getting somewhere, and now we're seeing a competition?! To think he gave me a gift earlier seeing if I was alright –"
Steven's words overwhelmed every voice in the plaza.
"NOW! Viola!" Steven demanded. "Which tasted better?!"
"Tell us now!" Cynthia demanded also.
Viola swallowed. It felt like the eyes of two giants were upon her to make one daring decision. She glanced at the two fondues she had just finished. In a way, it looked like the fondues were having a fierce fight with each other. Strengths and weaknesses of different sorts were fighting in such a way that it made the decision even harder!
"Well…" Viola started.
The way I see it, Viola thought, it's an extremely tough decision.
On a solemn night, Viola – dressed in robes that were clearly reminiscent to the days of old in Kalos – walked onto a field outside some unsuspecting castle. The moonlight shone on the castle brilliantly and illuminated its stone walls as if it were a beacon.
In the distance, she could see a figure. As Viola walked closer for a better look, she could see the figure was actually a knight in shining armour. The knight had no helmet, so she could make out… steel-blue hair? Wait, it was Steven!
What is he doing here? Viola thought.
As it happened, she noticed that he could not proceed further because the drawbridge was raised before a moat of molten chocolate. Clearly, it was not at all smart to try to cross the moat. Not if it meant having burning hot chocolate stick to your skin and possible harden like concrete. Even so, Steven needed to think of a way to infiltrate the castle. His rivalling enemy resided there, and if he could take her by surprise…
"Looking for me?" Cynthia voice said.
Both Viola and Steven turned their gaze to where the voice came from. Clearly, Cynthia was there, and she herself was dressed in light clothes – robes, in fact. Behind Cynthia stood an army with chocolate shields – and a lot of catapults.
"Ah yes, I was wondering when you had come out," Steven said. "So this was all part of your plan, eh?! I was wondering where you had gone! My oil with its multiple flavours reinforcing it will clearly be enough to defeat you. They are heroes."
"You really think it'll that easy?" Cynthia taunted. "My army will push you into the moat of chocolate behind you and that will be the end of you. Go! Bombard him! He has nowhere to run!"
It was clear that Cynthia had the upper hand. Catapults launched pieces of cheese and fruit so hot that when they shot into the sky, the looked like fireballs. Even so, the oil his army had could certainly ravage the field. There was oil firing across the field from Steven's army, where it flowed so quickly across the field that Cynthia had to retreat further back as if she was facing a wildfire.
At the same time, Steven's army started firing oil off the backs of Rapidash as if they were skilled archers. The moment an arrow struck one of Cynthia's men, the oil exploded in a terrific splatter. Cynthia couldn't understand it – how could Steven have such a powerful army? She well outnumbered him, but was it possible that she was outclassed?
In Viola's eyes, Steven was leading the charge amongst his smaller army. From a safe distance, Viola saw Cynthia hold up a hand for Steven to stop.
"If we must duel, so be it, but I dare you to show your strength," she said, motioning Steven to come closer. Steven wasn't mounted to begin with, but he stretched out his arm. To Viola's surprise, a blade materialised out of the ashes of the oil in the field and bonded together to become a thin two-handed sword. As Viola switched her gaze to Cynthia, Cynthia was already holding up a rapier – hardened and forged from chocolate – with two hands.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't strike you with my army right now," Steven replied.
"Because," Cynthia started, as she approached him ever closer, "I know you value your army as much as I do."
She watched the two of them run at each other, and the striking of blades could be heard. Just what was Viola watching? A fine duel between two rivalling powers – but somehow, this duel seemed more elegant than the battle that had erupted earlier.
The blades clashed. Their sound was all that could be heard this night.
For every strike one side did, the other side had anticipated it completely and vice versa. Steven brought his blade to the side, whereas Cynthia blocked it at the same time. For every strike that happened, the two of them had to back off a bit before they struck at each other again.
At some point, they ran into each other head on as if to strike a final blow, but at the same time they each prepared to stop their enemy's attack. The moment they tried to strike, their free hand reached out to block the incoming attack, and both Steven and Cynthia had their grip on their opponent's sword hand.
"Let… go…!" Cynthia grunted.
"You… first…!" Steven demanded.
Their grips on their opponents were such that Viola worried that they would break each other's wrists sooner or later. But before that could even happen, each other's grip had taken its toll on their opponent. At once, both their swords had fallen onto the grass and their hands were locked into each other's.
Oh… wow… Viola thought.
Their faces were almost touching and their bodies were really, really, close to each other's. If they hadn't stopped each other, what would have happened? Viola didn't want to think about it, but one thing was for certain, they were both evenly matched.
The way Steven and Cynthia looked into each other's eyes… It was as if there was a realisation between them. They were enemies, true, but in this sense it seemed more like they were… Yes, that was it. There could be no doubt.
Yes, Viola could only dream so much, because Cynthia had picked up Steven's oil whereas Steven picked up Cynthia's chocolate. Their eyes met again, and they exchanged weapons honourably before their swords clashed once more.
They continued exchanging elegant strikes, and at some point, their swords were locked with opposing forces such that their faces came really, really, close to touching. The way Viola saw it, under this moonlight, they needed to come just a little closer and their lips would –
"You two are perfect for each other!" Viola exclaimed with her eyes closed, hands together, and smiles wide.
"What," Steven and Cynthia said together out of emotionless surprise. Their faces fell and darkened at Viola's cheer. This was not the response either of them wanted.
The next moment, the two former champions slowly turned their heads to look into each other's' eyes. Both of them were wearing expressions of shock, but that quickly evaporated into an expression of bitterness – as if they were disappointed one couldn't best the other.
Elsewhere in the crowd, Martine could barely contain her laughter. Of course they were perfect for each other. It was unavoidable! Martine knew it all along! Two rivals who hate each other but there was always a great chance of love on the line!
Even Wallace was beside himself.
"He really should not deny it," he said enthusiastically. "They are perfect! In fact…"
Immediately, Wallace went out of his way and approached Steven from behind. "My friend!" he shouted. "You see? This is how the world works! I do wonder how you haven't seen it yet! In fact, you ought to marry her right now! You're perfect!"
Murmurs of agreement stirred around the crowd.
But Steven, thoroughly annoyed, did not break his gaze away from Cynthia. Before he knew it, he was roughly pushed forward and he collided with her. She fell back and Steven collapsed right on top. It took no time before the plaza fell silent, as Cynthia cried, "WHOA!"
A pile of two former Champions lay on top of one another. In public.
Dang, Wallace thought. I missed. But I was super close!
What Wallace meant was that their faces, Steven and Cynthia, were in close contact. Perhaps too close.
His lips were touching the side of her cheek.
The people were stunned at first, but their state was immediately broken by the sound of screaming. Martine had both hands on her cheeks as she screamed in delight at what she was seeing, and it didn't take long before other girls joined in the squealing.
Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh…! Martine repeatedly thought in her mind.
Viola looked as if she had witnessed a dream come true. What a coincidence it was, that what she had almost envisioned was happening right before her eyes! They were practically kissing! Dreams were becoming reality!
It seemed even more embarrassing that Steven was not registering that he was kissing Cynthia's cheek. The shock in his eyes said too much about what was going in his mind.
Feeling her face flush red, although it was hard to tell if it was either from anger or embarrassment, Cynthia quickly pushed Steven off of her. Before long, the two of them got on their feet at the same time. Their faces were red, and at this point it was really hard to tell whether they were embarrassed or angry.
"L – Let me know what your final decision is by tomorrow!" Cynthia ordered, not wanting to look at Steven or Viola. Within a moment, she had sent out Garchomp to clear a path for her away from the crowd.
"But my dear! You must try his fondue, and he tries yours!" Wallace pleaded.
"Forget it, Wallace," Steven said quickly. "That won't happen. Besides, you won't believe the kind of woman I'm dealing with here. You know, that night Diantha came? Cynthia practically–"
A look of disdain appeared on Cynthia's face, and so she walked away as quickly as she could. Steven merely shook his head in reaction and wanted to continue talking to Wallace, but then Winona came running to Wallace complaining how Wallace was mistreating their date as pointed out by Martine. Now Steven had reason to not be grateful to his 19-year old waitress.
"My friend! How could you!" Wallace complained to Winona. "Steven was going to tell me something important! And did you see it? He kissed her! Maybe he'll say something important!"
Okay, perhaps Steven had good reason to leave right now.
Speaking of which, Martine couldn't help but feel sorry for Viola and so tried to disperse the crowd by claiming she had to take down the grills and tables. Martine wasn't the only one with those feelings, as Grant and Korrina forced their way through to help their colleague. Diantha followed closely behind. In reality, Martine had phoned Laurent to have someone else from the restaurant take down the grills.
"Viola! You alright?" Grant shouted.
"Come on, buddy!" Korrina added. "We'll clear a way for you!"
"I'm okay…" Viola, a little dazed, said. "But seriously. They're perfect for each other, you know? Come to think of it, if only everyone could taste it, they would understand…"
"Then would you mind telling me of your thoughts?" Diantha interrupted, whilst surprising Viola. "What happened today? And why were they?"
"Oh, they were just trying to show off who made better fondues," Viola replied loud enough for her colleagues to hear. "It's pretty funny, though, because Steven told me he and Cynthia only created those fondues just today. It's a wonder how their competition resulted in these."
Now that they were further away from the crowds, and out of sight, Diantha shook her head.
"Huh, and I thought Steven was really the kind and generous type," she said. "Is he really trying to show off how much he loves her by a cook-off?"
"Ooh… Are you jealous?" Korrina giggled.
But Viola only shrugged. "The way their eyes looked… I think they're really not fit for each other, the way I see things. That doesn't make sense, I know, but they're… They're so perfect for each other! Oh, if only Steven actually tried the fondue Cynthia made, he would understand!"
The four of them continued walking down a quieter stretch of road on Cyllage City and away from the plaza, and only then did the Gym Leaders realise that there was an Audino following them the entire time. Immediately, they dragged Diantha back to the Pokémon Centre given she wasn't officially discharged.
"Still hungry, Grant?" Korrina nudged him.
"No," Grant puffed his cheeks.
"Tell you what. The next time I'm here in Cyllage City, I'll get Viola to buy dessert for the three of us!" Korrina said cheerfully. "Your mouth was drooling the whole time you watched Viola eat the chocolate fondue!"
While Grant wished there was a way to stop the chatter from Korrina's mouth, it was too late. Viola had broken down into a series of laughs and Diantha remarked, "Well, then, maybe I'll force Viola to treat you to more sweets sometime."
What I can't believe is that writing the 'Fondue Fight' to here took over 14,000 words! I actually worry if I'm dragging the story for too long... It'll take forever to write this! Argh, what I wouldn't give to write as a teenager again.
Anyway, I hope this chapter was well worth reading! If I have more time, I'll try to make more fast updates, but no promises! In the meantime, please enjoy a hearty serving of Cynthia's salad with Oran chocolate fondue as a dressing, with Pamtre berries amplifying the taste of blueberries and strawberries in the salad!