I had a lot of fun writing the next chapter; so much that I managed to write at an incredible pace! Two weeks, you know? That's how long it took me to write it! It helps that I'm studying part-time, which gives me more time to write, but I'm currently job-hunting. It's really hard.

A serving of egg-and-Pinap-Iapapa salad for DaX0315 and StRAngE ToASt, s'il vous-plait!

Chapter sixty-two: Biscuit Brawl

What Steven hadn't counted on, before the round started, was bumping into his 16-year old student at the tower. Platinum blonde, dressed in different shades of purple; who else dressed like that? Not Cynthia, that was for sure.

Fortunately, the media were nowhere nearby. After all, this was the Gym's lobby, and Steven hoped that no one would notice him. After all, shouldn't a friendly conversation be innocent enough?

"I thought you were training today?" he said to her.

"I already have!" Astrid pointed to the Mega Stone she wore as an earring. "But of course, I couldn't miss out on my mentor's fantastic duel that has been the talk of Kalos. Come on… You have to give me credit!" She flashed a beaming smile that caused Steven to smile back. For a relatively veteran trainer like Astrid, she still managed to keep bursting with excitement with battling. Steven could understand that, and it touched him that she even bothered to attend a cook-off as ridiculous as this.

"To be fair, you didn't miss much," Steven replied. "Although, if you're itching for a battle, I'm afraid I may be busy afterward. Tomorrow, I may also have plans."

Astrid's smile did not falter. "That's perfectly fine. That just means we can battle on another day, but you should focus on your next battle. It's actually fun to watch."

Fun to watch? I'm fighting for my restaurant's life here! Steven thought. However, he kept the thought to himself and drew a small smile. "Alright. I'll see what I can do for time, and if there's more of it, we can talk after today is over. You never know what stuff could happen afterwards."

"Good point." Astrid nodded eagerly. "If nothing else: good luck, Steven!" Steven smiled, and then to his surprise, Astrid went forward to hug him tightly, which caused him to roll his eyes.

"Okay, you didn't have to," he said.

"Why not? You're my mentor! It's for good luck," Astrid replied. "When you've recovered from this, let's have a battle!"

"That is, if I can keep my head straight…" Steven said.

Afterwards, he waved to Astrid before making his way to the elevator which would take him to the battleground. Meanwhile, Astrid used the public entrance. As they went up, Cynthia emerged from her hiding spot in the lobby, wearing her sunglasses as she did.

No one recognised her, which Cynthia supposed that was a good thing for her. However, what she had just seen did make her breathe hard. What kind of man was Steven? He didn't resist that hug from Astrid, so was it likely that something was going on between them? From the looks of it, it looked convincing.

I'm going to work harder than ever. She thought to herself.

It was possible that Cynthia could be wrong, but judging from what she saw, she weighed which was more likely. There had to be something going on, right? They had feelings for each other, right? Somehow, the questions and thoughts in her head were making her constrict with anger and confusion.

"Madamoiselle? Are you okay?" someone said.

Cynthia looked up; it was just one of the organising staff. Now she felt embarrassed that her breakdown was attracting attention, because it wasn't just one person who was looking at her, but many. She was glad she hadn't been recognised.

"Ce n'est pas grave," she replied.

She said that she was okay, but after that, she discreetly made her way to the private elevator without catching anyone's eyes. That would be the end of her as she knew it if her disguise was broken. Still, what else weighed on her head was Steven. How could he have some kind of affection for Astrid and Cindy?

Only Cynthia herself was missing out.

After Siebold had conducted the usual introductions ("The theme ingredient of this round is… biscuit!" Siebold said. "Commencez!"), the chefs were back to work again at their stations. Simultaneously, they heated up their ovens to start. That was apparent, as a biscuit theme probably involved baking. In that sense, Cynthia probably had the upper hand but it was anyone's game.

A biscuit was pretty generic as a side, so to spice things up, Siebold allowed them to pair their biscuits with whatever they wanted. However, the theme must be respected.

Cynthia opted to take her ingredients, which consisted of various berries, and dropped them into a Poffin-making pot. From the way it seemed, she was going for Poffins as her strategy, but she hadn't gone into action yet. Instead, Cynthia worked on a milk base using other berries. Nomel berries, Magost berries, and Grepa berries were all grinded and minced before being blended with the milk. After blending, Cynthia added cream to increase its thickness, and then attended to her Poffin batter.

Meanwhile, at the station beside Cynthia's, it was hard to tell what Steven was getting at for the time being. He was still working on his batter, but it was clear he wasn't going for a Poffin-based approach like Cynthia. It was something else, and definitely savoury, since the cameras zoomed in him taking out a block of cheese from the fridge. To anyone present who knew their cheeses, they could immediately recognise the white-tinted yellowish cheese known as De Cyllage: the local specialty cheese of Cyllage City.

Nevertheless, despite the fierce cooking and preparation work, Cynthia was doing her best to hold back tears. Cooking Poffins like this put her in exactly the same position as she had a few weeks ago.

The day she and Steven publicly challenged each other to a fight of fondues, Cynthia remembered how Steven's cooking had brushed her off. Left in the dust, Cynthia could only think about her personal loss to him, and then binge-watching an anime while eating ice cream non-stop. That same night, she baked a handful of Poffins of the exact same flavour she was making here and now. No wonder her hands were shaking as she stirred the Poffin batter at the moment.

In fact, the shaking was so bad that Cynthia's stirring became too fast, and a handful of Poffin batter had spilled out of the pot.

"Argh…" she muttered, putting the pot aside so she could wipe off the mess before continuing. Knowing that small mistake had cost time, she decided to work even faster, but this time kept a close eye on the pot so it wouldn't spill. The trick was to stir the batter along the edge of the pot, because that would increase the velocity of the batter and bring the batter to the edge, while she was maintaining minimal effort with her wrist. In other words, it was more efficient. Now it only came down to being consistent as she stirred.

She let the batter automatically reduce in height to let it settle, and it was starting to solidify too. When the time was right, Cynthia could start scooping parts of the batter out so she could add create the cream centres.

It wasn't fair! She had promised herself she would work harder than ever. The mental burden she had carried wasn't going to let her off easy. First, there were these Poffins she was making that were practically the embodiment of her pains, then there was Steven making use of Pinap berries in the previous round that felt like stabbing her heart, and then Astrid had to show up earlier today to wish him good luck.

With that much weight on her head, and her emotions on the warpath, Cynthia briefly thought about why she bothered cooking anyway. It would be easier to just give up and concede to Steven, but if she did that, her restaurant could be crushed, and there was no way that Steven could be aware of her cooking at all. Cynthia wasn't prepared to do that.

Eventually, with plenty of time left on the clock, she got her Poffins soft enough so she could drop different kinds of berry cream in each one. Given the makeup of the Poffins differed depending on the berry used to make it, the berry cream would need to differ for each given Poffin too.

Meanwhile, Steven had peeled somewhat thin slices of De Cyllage away. On top of this, he also took a handful of Bleu de Sud-Est cheese and began mixing it with plenty of butter and rosemary. He also took some garlic cloves, crushed them with the flat end of his knife, sprinkled salt over it (to keep the garlic together), and minced them in seconds before adding them to the butter. When he had finished the mixture, he made a quick trip to the freezer to place the mixture there before focusing back on his work with the De Cyllage.

The batter he had made earlier had plenty of egg whites from Chansey eggs, which were important. Without the egg white, the biscuits Steven was making would fall apart. In addition, he had flavoured it with traces of Spelon berry, which were notoriously spicy (such that even when cut, they could sting the eyes; but Steven knew how to handle them properly).

While he was no expert at dessert pastries or cakes, unlike Cynthia, he had plenty of experience from his culinary education to know how to making baked goods. The Stone Bakery was a testament to that.

For his strategy, timing was crucial. He had to have his biscuits remain hot and shaped nicely so that they could be thin enough and yet encase a slice of De Cyllage within. But if he took too long, the biscuits would cool down before he would have a chance to seal each one. So, there had to be another plan in place.

Winona, Lisia, and Fantina watched with somewhat expressionless faces. Steven had flattened his batter and used square cutters to make sure his batter to cut into even shapes. Now, the baking was well underway between him and Cynthia.

"There is a local biscuit known in the southwest of Kalos. Yet, it's quite popular back in Sinnoh and Kanto," Fantina said, noticing Steven's cooking. "It's called langue de chat. Ever heard of it?"

"That's a saying for cat's tongue, right?" Winona replied. Suddenly, a thought came across her mind, as if realising something. "I've seen some of those on sale in Lilycove City, now that you mention it! They were available in plain biscuit or chocolate variety! Are you suggesting Steven is doing exactly that?"

"Judging from his use of egg whites, and that block of De Cyllage, that is likely," Fantina replied.

"He should have made some of that for his bakery…" Lisia muttered. "It smells nice… There's something in the biscuits he's making. Who knows? He might end up serving it at his bakery after all. Although, I am curious as to what he put in the freezer."

As it happened, Steven looked at his oven to check on the doneness of his biscuits, as if to count them too. Seemingly satisfied, he proceeded to trim his peels of De Cyllage in the same shapes of his biscuits. He worked quickly as he sporadically watched the clock, but judging by his pacing, timing wasn't an issue. What mattered more was minimising any chances of error.

"I suppose he hasn't had this much fun as a chef. After all, has he ever thought about competition ever since he retired from battling?" Winona wondered.

"That's exactly what my uncle said!" Lisia grinned. "But to be fair, Steven didn't ask for this either. Don't forget, this competition wasn't his doing either. It all started with a helpful egging by Martine."

Fantina raised an eyebrow. "Martine…?"

"She is my latest best friend!" Lisia grinned, pointing at the redhead seated right beside her. "She caused this cook-off to happen! And look where that got us now. My uncle was all for the idea, and Steven has been competitive as ever!"

Fantina shook her head. "I don't think your uncle – Wallace, was it? – should be treating Steven like a puppet. This is just as bad as an author who predicts the main character's destiny through fanfiction. Except the author is alive and breathing right in front of me, and thinking of who-knows-what and with all kinds of mayhem. Quel homme."

"Yup, and that's basically it. No wonder his girlfriend keeps punching him in the face…" Lisia grinned widely at Winona, who crossed her arms in response.

Afterwards, when the timer had hit zero, Cynthia and Steven were well-finished and had brilliantly plated their biscuits. Cloches covered their dishes, so it was impossible to tell what the dishes were until they had been uncovered by the judges.

Steven presented his dishes first, of which they were all uncovered simultaneously.

"Doesn't that look appetising?" Chili remarked.

A pile of nearly-flat rectangular biscuits was what was on each plate. They were all baked until golden-brown, which was a surprising considering how thin each biscuit was. However, there was a slice of De Cyllage cheese that made it wider by just enough. If that wasn't enough, a small circle of blue cheese butter, with all its veins showing, accompanied the serving.

Steven cleared his throat. "I would call this dish langues de chat de Cyllage. You know, this is a variant of the langue de chat biscuit that you are familiar with. The biscuits are made with a touch of lemon zest, a slice of De Cyllage, and served with a circle of blue cheese butter, made from garlic, rosemary, and Bleu de Sud-Est."

Siebold and Chef Bordeaux each picked up a biscuit. They looked fragile, as if they were easy to break as toothpicks, but they were just thick enough to be not so. Given their size, they could be eaten in just two bites, and it was a good thing there were plenty of biscuits on the plate to sample. Chef Bordeaux bit half of his biscuit off first, followed by the other judges.

"It's the sort of thing that will make your mouth water every time you eat it," Chili said. "If only you can eat more, you know? I suppose that's why you need a whole plate of them!"

"The flavour is just right and not out of balance," he remarked. "Using a langue de chat recipe was a smart move, since the taste of the biscuit is very light and is gently supported by the de Cyllage." Chef Bordeaux finished off the biscuit and took a second, not eating it but rather had broken it in half to examine the inside. "It's crisp, and the cheese is still solid. It's pretty simple, but I wonder if it may be too simple."

They continued eating, with Siebold the first one adding the blue cheese butter to his biscuit. He ate slowly as if wanting to savour its flavour, but really was puzzled by the flavour itself. However, within seconds, he was eating more.

"This is…" he muttered.

"The garlic is overwhelming," Chili said. "It's really why this butter is driving the biscuit's flavour. It is so intense it could reach the moon!"

A lot of eyes stared at this remark.

"He has a point though." Siebold said. "Of course, not everyone would eat a lot of blue cheese at once, such as this Bleu de Sud-Est. As you mix it into a butter and using garlic still draws out the flavour of the cheese, while still making it acceptable to eat. It also feels like it is injecting flavour into the biscuit itself, even though it's sandwiching a slice of de Cyllage."

He ate another biscuit. "It almost feels like you could make an entire meal out of this, but it also can make an appropriate side. Whether you're eating bread, rice, or potato, these biscuits can pack a punch. With this butter, which elevates the flavour elsewhere, the biscuits are enriched."

However, Siebold took a moment to examine a buttered biscuit and one without butter.

"I just can't lay my finger on it. There's something about the butter that makes the flavour more enticing that it seems. What could it be?" Siebold said.

He looked to Chef Bordeaux, who only nodded and added, "The rosemary in the butter also laces the biscuits with flavour. It's a good complement. That's not entirely all though. I bet our spicy friend, Chili, knows exactly what it is."

With all eyes on Chili again, Chili smirked. "Spelon berry. It's extremely spicy and it's definitely not for everyone. In these biscuits, there is a tiny bit of Spelon laced within each one. It is what makes the flavour of the cheese amazing, by spicing it up!"

"And by adding the butter," Chef Bordeaux said, "you produce a cooling effect. It is like an homage to Cynthia's salad in the previous round."

Steven's face remained neutral, and after he had been thanked, Cynthia went up next. Having made three servings, she placed the covered dishes before each judge, and then stood back a little. As she placed the dishes, each judge washed down their mouths with water.

While she had been successful at driving back her tears, she still showed signs of disbelief. For someone like her to be cool and collected as she was partly known to be, she didn't look entirely confident in what she had made.

Chili uncovered his plate first, followed by Siebold and Chef Bordeaux.

"That's a sight for sore eyes," Siebold remarked.

Before each judge was a plate of blue Poffins of similar sizes. To keep the variety down and to save time, Cynthia had opted to create only one flavour.

"You have Oran berry Poffins before you, with a Nomel, Magost, and Grepa berry cream," Cynthia explained.

In some opinions, blue was not regarded as the most appetising colour. But as every cook had to have had some exposure to Oran berries, the judges knew what they were in for. Oran berries were regarded as having the most balanced flavour in all circumstances, which was why many cooks opted to use it for basically anything.

That was probably why they started eating without any complaints. After all, it boiled down to the taste. Like Steven's langues de chat, the Poffins were small enough that they could be finished in two bites.

"It's very smooth on the inside. The Poffin has a nice, airy, texture to it and it does justice to the cream inside. This is a perfect example of how Oran berries can support almost any kind of flavour." Chef Bordeaux spoke first.

"I recall you made a chocolate fondue from Oran berries, way before this competition started," Siebold said. "You did not disappoint. In the same way your fondue was reportedly to have effect, your use of Oran berry in your Poffins is super effective. Some cream centres have more bite than others, such as creams with more concentration of Nomel than others, and the same goes for the super-sour Grepa berries. Nevertheless, the flavours are balanced out by the Grepa and Oran berries within each Poffin. Given that you have mixed them into a cream, nothing is overpowered. In short, it is very delicious." At that, Siebold ate another Poffin.

"It's a pretty big contrast to the langues de chat Steven had made! This will be a tough one to judge. That, we can promise." Chili grinned. "Two kinds of biscuits, pitting against each other in a head-on duel: who will come out on top?"

Chef Bordeaux nodded. "Please give us time to deliberate."

Cynthia glanced briefly at Steven, who kept his eyes forward, before looking down at the floor.

They were standing on what was a large floating, square, platform in outer space. The platform was coloured in two shades of blue, with a darker blue square decorating the centre. On one end, Steven emerged with his weapons – namely a sword, and a book – while Cynthia emerged with exactly the same items.

He opened his book, read out a few words, and then something like a fireball materialised in the air around Cynthia. Soon enough, the fireball would implode and would take Cynthia down with it. Indeed, it did implode, which burned Cynthia a bit, but she managed to escape partway.

In retaliation, she aimed her sword in Steven's direction and swiped the air in front of her. Steven couldn't where it came from, but from the air behind Cynthia, a lightning bolt shot out of the sky and blasted his chest, if not burning it. Steven got back onto his feet right away, because Cynthia wasn't going to leave him any time to rest. Why not do the same?

He lunged forward to try and strike down Cynthia with his sword, only to be met with the clashing of Cynthia's sword. At the same time, as the blades connected and locked, they both read out from their books to knock each other out. Steven used an electric attack, which caused a thunderbolt to strike down Cynthia from above. Whereas Cynthia used a wind attack, which sent Steven almost flying off the battleground.

Luckily, Steven was able to hang onto the edge before something bad could happen: plummeting to his doom. He dropped his book, though.

Hanging on the edge, he looked upward as if ready to get back onto the battlefield, but Cynthia was already there.

She had her book and sword drawn out, and she was smiling condescendingly at him.

2-1, in favour of Cynthia.

"Cynthia is the winner." Siebold said, and in response to a loud cheering and applause from the audience. After the applause had died down and the media were mindlessly recording everything that was happening before them, Siebold continued. "It was a difficult decision between us, since the level of cooking would be on par with all the dishes from previous round."

"To Steven's credit, the blue cheese butter was super effective," Chef Bordeaux said. "It made the langues de chat delicious to the extreme and would be perfect as an everyday snack, or as a dinner complement. They were, in short, a work of art. Using the Spelon berry was what gave them the edge over Cynthia's Poffins."

"Not to mention very tasty!" Chili added. "Blue cheese and Spelon berry are very strong flavours, and infusing them into a langue de chat was all the more welcoming! In the end, you know that Cynthia's Poffins delivered as promised. Oran berries, you know, make the difference. While Steven did specialise in a certain few flavours, Cynthia went for an all-around flavour that would have been a mess."

"If you must know, I voted in favour of Steven," Chef Bordeaux said. "However, I agree with the majority, that the Oran berries made the difference. A mix of flavours isn't for everyone, but Steven's biscuits had that rich texture that respected the overall biscuit theme, and still made the de Cyllage stand out brilliantly."

Siebold nodded. "And as we have tasted, the Poffins were a perfect mix of tart and sweet, all blended into a crisp shell and a smooth centre. I recommend eating these with your next serving of coffee or tea, in short. The winner is, again, Cynthia."

Applause continued as Cynthia, all smiles, waved to the crowds. Her face was a little teary-eyed, but it looked as if she had gotten over her emotions for now. Steven kept only a neutral face and proceeded to clean up his station.

Half an hour later, Cynthia was at the back, behind the battleground, as she prepared to leave Prism Tower. No doubt would the media would want to get interviews from her and Steven after this, so she thought it best if she left after Steven. As she packed her belongings, she also picked up her phone and, with her heart suddenly racing, dialed Steven's number.

She had to remember not to blow her cover.

"Bonjour?" Steven said.

"B-b-bonsoir," Cynthia said timidly. "You okay, Steven? I hope I'm not in your way."

"Oh, that's no problem at all, Cindy. I've got time. So, what did you think of the match? Did you watch it?"

Cynthia held her breath. "Um, oui. You put up a good fight, and it was close. How are you feeling now?"

"Kind of relieved, now that this is over with. Man, I really felt like I had the edge over Cynthia today! She is just too good." Steven sounded like he was exhausted, but Cynthia could tell he was smiling on the other end. His voice showed it. Was it because he enjoyed talking to her? "Anyway I'm sure that's not why you're calling. You were thinking of tomorrow, eh?"

Cynthia's eyes widened. "Um, yes! How did you know? Are you psychic?" In her bones, though, she was only deceiving herself and she knew that. She had to be careful with her wording.

"You're that excited, huh? I thought so." Steven's voice was lighter than Cynthia had expected – was this because he really enjoyed talking to her? But not her? Before Cynthia could respond, Steven went on. "Alright. I do have time, so is there anything you would like to do? Tea, maybe?"

Cynthia paused. She didn't think this through and should have expected Steven to ask such. Just how flustered was she getting over this? If only she could see herself, and then mock herself for not being prepared when she dialled Steven's number.

"Not a bad idea, but I was thinking of other places too after tea."

So that's... two and two apiece for Steven and Cynthia. Wonder what will happen next? Review, and you can grab a plate of Cynthia's Oran berry Poffins with Nomel, Magost, and Grepa cream.