I admit it. The last month has been really tough on my life and has prevented me from writing more than I wanted to. This chapter should have been finished three weeks ago! But alas, circumstances happen in life!

So here's the overdue Razz and Tamato pasta salad dress in Grepa vinegar for DaX0315, darkwolf0909, StRAngE ToASt, TrueLightHikari, and Phsycres Wolf-Brother (no vinegar for you). Hope it's still fresh! (Along with the story too, I hope)

Chapter sixty-one: Salad Standoff II

After Cynthia had been thanked and stepped down, Steven came up to present his dish before the judges. He didn't show much emotion as he stepped up, as if he was either neutral about this or if just didn't care. Siebold, Chili, and Chef Bordeaux each received a serving before them.

This salad looked more conventional, with deep green lettuce dressed in spicy Pinap berry vinaigrette decorated with cherry tomatoes, Bleu de Sud-Est, oranges, Iapapa berries, and Pinap berry skins, alongside croutons. Plus, there was scrambled egg.

"Looking at this, it's like a clumsy mess of flavours," Siebold remarked. "Let's see how it tastes."

"I hope that your tongues aren't still burning from her dish," Steven said. Clearly, this was an informal jab at Cynthia's cooking, but one that Cynthia frowned on. Unfortunately, Steven spoke quietly enough that no one else could catch on, apart from the judges.

Chili looked partly unsure as to what he was doing up with the judges, and only to be reminded that he was temporarily replacing Cilan. He picked up his fork and began to eat, just as Siebold and Chef Bordeaux were already halfway through eating.

It was fortunate that they had gotten their mouths settled and cooled before eating this salad, as Steven mentioned. Had they eaten Steven's egg-and-Pinap-Iapapa salad immediately, the spice from Cynthia's salad would have ruined the flavour.

"Oh. I see what you did there," Siebold remarked. He poked one of the Iapapa berries which made it burst and let out a flow of juice inside it. "This salad plays to have a spicy flavour, which pairs nicely with the egg, but it can be a bit much on its own. With juice from the Iapapa berry's pulp, the spiciness has a reduced punch, for lack of better word."

The cherry tomatoes certainly stood out, in contrast to Cynthia's sundried version.

Chili's nose was starting to feel runny as he ate. All in all, the salad was a spicy one, and the saving grace came from the Iapapa berry which did its best to cool down the tongue. Without it, the salad would have felt like lava in the judges' mouths.

Now, it only felt like hot coals cooled down in water.

Even though Chili's nose was feeling runny, he managed to eat the entire salad. While it may have appeared that he was in for a free meal, he genuinely looked like he was trying to critique the salad as he ate.

That surprised Cress, who watched from the reserved seats.

"He would normally rush into this without care," he remarked. "But I suppose he has a higher standard of care on him."

"He's a Gym Leader like yourself," Diantha said. "You all have to have some measure of discipline, right? He's managing well, and judging from his name and personality, he seems like the only one fit for the job. Seems Wallace had a point after all, for once."

After the judges had eaten, the plates were taken away and so they could give further remarks.

Chili scratched his head. "Um… right. There are a lot of spicy flavours here. First, the vinaigrette made from Pinap berries is delicious – it's very spicy, but mix that up with the Iapapa berry, and things are leveled. It's a good thing you've added savoury stuff like the croutons and Bleu de Sud-Est cheese to amplify the spiciness' presence."

"You would think the spiciness would be overpowering," Chef Bordeaux said. "Although, I am puzzled by how you came to pair Iapapa berry and oranges with egg. On the whole, I understand it would have been difficult to eat the salad as a whole without it. It's a subtle balance you have achieved."

Siebold made an extra remark. "And where is that secret? It must be in the Pinap berry, correct?"

Steven nodded. "The properties of the Pinap berry are, as you've pointed out, what binds the salad together. Few berries in the known world have both sour and spicy flavours only, which is how making this salad is possible."

He went on. "Pinap berry peel is sour, so it makes a good addition to counter the spicy flavour of the salad; in spite of the other savoury stuff. Nevertheless, what you have is a salad tasting as fresh as it can be."

"I will give you that," Siebold said. "It tastes delicious."

"I agree. Using the Pinap berry, you have amplified this salad," Chef Bordeaux added.

Afterwards, the judges had their plates taken away. Now came the time to vote and decide who would be the eventual winner.

"Thank you, chefs Cynthia and Steven. You have fought well, but there can only be one winner between you," Siebold said. "Please allow us time to deliberate."

With that, Siebold switched off his mic and began discussing with Chef Bordeaux and Chili about the salads. Deciding between the salads was not easy. Both Steven and Cynthia had opted to take two different approaches on an otherwise identical strategy. Spicy and sour flavours of two kinds were locked in battle against each other. While Cynthia's was overwhelmingly spicy with a little sourness to remedy hers, Steven's had a sweet and savoury edge to back him up.

Chili wasn't one for lots of discussion, but he supposed he had to be on his best behaviour as he talked. He was literally in the midst of two world-class chefs: now was not the time to embarrass himself!

"To be brutally honest, it's a tough call," Chili said. "Both showed excellent mastery of spicy flavours – such that my brother couldn't handle it!"

"So it'll have to come to the details," Chef Bordeaux replied.

It was like watching two samurai engaged in a duel. The moonlight was the only thing that made the surroundings visible in this dark night. Amongst the swaying grass, cherry blossoms fell around them.

In this case, Steven and Cynthia were the samurai, so to speak.

They both had their katana drawn out, and they held them similarly. While Steven held his blade with two hands gripping in front of him, Cynthia gripped hers close to her head.

The tension was high. They only kept their eyes on each other in anticipation to see who would make the first, daring, move. As they stared at each other, it felt like their grips on their katana only grew tighter. As the cherry blossoms fell, they kept staring.

Eventually, Steven attacked first. That made sense, though, since Cynthia's positioning was defensive. Their swords clashed, and it felt like the air around them had vibrated. There was ringing in the air as they kept at each other.

Cynthia leapt a short distance back to giver herself some space. The duel had barely made progress. Would the cherry blossoms ever stop falling? They were a little distracting.

Their positions had reset, and they were ready to strike at each other again. Maintaining their previous stances, they stared each other down in anticipation of who would move next. The blossoms still fell, which added to the suspense.

This time, Cynthia added another series of relentless blows. Like an overwhelming power, just like how Razz berries and Tamato berries packed a spicy punch, Cynthia looked like she was out for blood when she attacked. It was so much that Steven nearly collapsed from the repetition and was forced into the defensive.

However, unlike Cynthia's tactics, Steven was surprisingly calm and resilient. In keeping his balance as he defended, he was able to find an exposed weakness in Cynthia's timing. A fraction of a second was all that he needed before he sent a kick to her side.

That caused her to stumble and fall on the grass, and nearly letting go of her katana as she did. But before Steven could move in for the final blow, Cynthia dodged the attack and gripped her katana tight. Soon, she was back on her feet and then turned to bring her blade to Steven's nose.

But Steven's blade had also stopped short of her neck as her blade pointed at Steven's face. Now both swords were still as it appeared either of them could deal the killing blow. Clearly, there was no chance of that happening, neither was there a clear indication of a winner.

"Looks like we have a standoff," Steven said.

"You think?" Cynthia shouted.

2-1, in favour of Steven.

"It was a tight battle, and without a doubt, they're evenly matched. Neither dish had flaws," Siebold explained. "It came down to which one had the flavour advantage."

"Indeed. While Cynthia's salad was delicious, with an overwhelming punch so to speak, Steven's managed to pack a punch while achieving a balance of flavours. The Pinap berry, in particular, made the difference." Chef Bordeaux remarked. "Of course, your use of Grepa berries as a vinegar was well-executed to make up for the Razz and Tamato berries present in your salad. We also commend you for making a very spicy pasta salad – which qualifies our criteria for a salad – while still cold."

Chili nodded. "Sure! Your salad was good enough to knock out, literally, one of the judges, but you know, we're not being biased here. You specialised in a spicy and sour dish – which is a focused and narrow scope – while Steven did that and added savoury and sweet flavours too. Steven's would have come out messy if it wasn't for the Pinap berry!"

"You would also think Steven's egg-and-Iapapa-Pinap salad would have been… unappetising," Siebold said. "It may have been sweet, thanks to the oranges, but the complexity of flavours within the salad as a whole really made up for it. A sweet flavour from the oranges really cleaned off the spiciness in the Pinap vinaigrette, and is helped by the sour Iapapa juice. To Cynthia's credit, her dish was very appetising as it was to eat, which gave her the edge."

Siebold went on, but stood up this time. "But there can only be one winner. For this round, the winner is Steven!"

Lots of applause followed as well as flashing from cameras. As the cheering went on, Steven waved to the crowd politely.

"Okay. Now that this is over, we will now break for half an hour until the next round. So, if you need to grab a snack, lunch, or use the washroom, now would be the time!" Siebold announced. At that, some polite applause followed before half of the audience started to leave the battleground.

Meanwhile, Steven and Cynthia opted to clean up their stations before they could get a break too.

For Martine Grenadine, watching the chefs make food for the past hour certainly had worked up an appetite of her own. So she did exactly that: she left Prism Tower to see if she could get something quick. While she wanted to have Lisia come along, there was no chance of that happening: Lisia had insisted she follow Wallace to oversee things from the back.

So Martine was left outside on her own for a moment, until she bumped into Sophie and Laurent.

"Salut," she said.

"Salut," Sophie greeted back.

They were waiting outside a local bakery, and Martine suspected her co-workers were just as hungry as she was. She and the receptionists weren't the only ones: a mass of people had also crowded around the bakery for a bite to eat. That being said, almost every eating place and grocery store in the Prism Tower area was busy serving food. This was in no small part due to the cook-off, probably.

"Remember that galette Steven made the other day? It's a shame they wouldn't make his exact style here," Laurent said. "Still, they are a Lumiose specialty here, so we should try it out."

"Why not? I'm down for anything at this point," Sophie said.

They edged closer to the counter step by step.

"Seriously… I wonder how this will turn out. Steven has the upper hand, for now, but it makes me wonder if this is worthwhile," Sophie went on. "At least we're being paid for this!"

"But don't you think it's cute?" Martine smiled a little. "It might give Steven a chance to, you know, express his feelings towards Cynthia. He's just living in flat-out denial, if you ask me, even if there is a Richissime star up for grabs."

Laurent shook his head. "But that's not how it works. Granted, Hotel Richissime might have their secret reviewers watching this, and then they might review the restaurant after. Ah who am I kidding? Everyone knows about this cook-off."

"Exactly!" Martine nodded. "So they shouldn't worry about it. They should worry about their love!"

Sophie and Laurent looked at each other. Even though it had been a month since Cynthia had set up shop across the street, Martine was still persistent. But they could hardly blame her; even they suspected Steven had some sort of affection for Cynthia at least!

"But last week, we saw Steven walking together with a girl who looked no older than you. For once, we saw him genuinely smile!" Laurent said, as if worried.

Martine's smile faded. She knew who he was talking about. "Platinum blonde? Wearing nothing but purple?" When Laurent nodded, Martine scratched her head. "Um… yeah… that's Astrid. She is his student, and as it happens, he agreed to be her mentor! You would think Steven had given up on battling, but no… he still has it in him."

Now they were finally ordering their food, amid their grumbling stomachs. Laurent had a baguette with LaBrie cheese, Sophie ordered a Lumiose Galette, and Martine got a croissant. Soon enough after paying, the three of them were standing outside a vending machine, where they each enjoyed a bottle of lemonade.

They were too hungry to talk and had no sooner eaten all of their food. Afterwards, they were left to their drinks.

"You can hardly blame him for wanting to battle again," Martine said. "Still, he can't flee from his romantic life! It will come back to haunt him!" She continued drinking her lemonade.

"It makes me wonder what will happen when this is over. You know, it's like a storybook that is reaching its turning point." Sophie nodded.

"Ooh. Don't tell me, do you write fanfiction, Sophie? That sounds like a great idea. Steven and Cynthia are basically celebrities." Laurent joked. In response, Sophie gently punched his arm. "That aside: good question."

Martine frowned. "It makes you wonder if they will have any progress! It feels almost like… Steven really doesn't care her, even though he obviously likes her." She drank more of her lemonade, and only realised just how thirsty she was.

"Would it be possible that Steven might have something going on with Astrid?" Laurent piped.

Martine almost choked, but she managed to swallow before responding.

"What?" she said. "I hope not! It doesn't look like that, either."

"I don't know, Martine. It does seem like that Astrid and Steven look close. You've seen how he has smiled, and have you ever heard about those relationships you see in manga?"

Manga.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about!" Martine was flustered.

"You know, stuff like mentors and protégés working so close together, that they forge a bond that cannot be broken. Stuff like that," Laurent said. "You're not the only one who reads romance manga, you know…"

Now Sophie couldn't help but smile at this. For once, Martine was on the receiving end of being very flustered. Because Martine hadn't been in any relationships yet, she couldn't be easily teased (Sophie hadn't forgotten how Wallace and Martine had tortured herself), but it seemed like threatening her fantasy was enough.

Besides, Laurent was in a mood to tell jokes. He even knew Martine liked to read romance manga? Now that, Sophie found strange. Laurent never read romance manga, only Sophie herself would.

That was when Sophie had a sudden realisation in her eyes. If Laurent didn't read manga, then how could he have known that she read manga too, and not just Martine?

"Laurent! That's not fair! It's not polite to peek into my manga, you know!" Sophie cried.

"Look, you were reading one when we were at the Battle Chateau! That's not my fault!" Laurent said. "Why else were we there in the first place?"

Martine gave a small sigh of relief. Now she didn't have to keep up her embarrassing demeanor as the two receptionists argued against each other. It was short-lived, because Laurent went back on topic.

"I even recall reading a manga where the student gets all cozy with his mentor," Laurent said. "You know, love works in mysterious ways… Steven might be no exception."

"Stop that, Laurent! You'll crush Steven's hopes talking like that!" Sophie nudged Laurent's arm. "Besides, Martine, wasn't this competition your fault? You dragged them into this after all. Weren't you hoping their relationship would grow…?"

Martine remembered the conversation well. Laurent and Sophie were there, and so was Diantha.

"One can only hope." Martine giggled. "Let's hope it doesn't backfire."

Pinap berries. And Pinap berry peels, of all things? Couldn't Steven have picked something else, or was he intentionally doing this out of spite?

Pacing back and forth in the waiting room, Cynthia tried to gather her thoughts. Either way, Cynthia wondered whether Steven was being serious in the competition. On the surface, he looked like he wanted to defend his restaurant and grab that Richissime star. Although to be fair, Cynthia wanted it as much as he did.

But Pinap berry peel was where it had started in the first place! She wouldn't forget what kind of emotional pain he had inflicted on her. The tears she shed. Her wrists she felt convulse. Her screams into her pillow at night counted too. Just how far would Steven take things?

Endlessly, it felt like.

Cynthia took a deep breath as she gazed at the street outside. What could she do, now that it was very likely that he seemed to be a way better cook than her?

And yet, he decided to ask Cindy out. That was an indication he had some sort of affection for her, right? Did that mean there was nothing between him and Astrid? He did smile a lot when she was around, along with her cool, but also bubbly, demeanor.

At the same time, he had basically sworn hatred towards Cynthia.

She peered into her bag of ingredients to take her mind off things. With Steven having won two rounds and she had won one, it felt like reaching him was a long shot. Still, the circumstances dictating an outright winner weren't clear. It wasn't like a best-of series.

Gosh. What had she dug herself into? For better or worse, it might be her own grave.

As darkwolf0909 mentioned in a review that Cynthia's head was a warzone up there, it also seems like a minefield too. So, Steven won this round! That's two to one in his favour! Now, we shall jump to the next round right away...

Review, and you can have Steven's egg-and-Pinap-Iapapa salad, dressed in Pinap berry vinaigrette and Iapapa berry pulp.

And fear not! That date with Cindy will come soon enough!