Chapter 33: A Crash Course In Cooking & A Huge Serving Of Competition (Part 2)
"Let's see here. Since Polt was the first one here, it's only fair to start with her plate. Any objections to that?" I ask.
"None here," Draco answers.
"Fine by me. Not like I can argue when I'm not even done just yet," Lilith replies, flipping pancakes and the like while standing on her knees in her chair beside me.
"Then with that settled, here's my handiwork!" Polt presents her plate, placing it on the table in front of me.
Alright, time to judge!
"Very amazing presentation here. Pancakes are stacked evenly with just a generous enough amount of syrup, all of the food has excellent spacing between each other, and a very pleasant aroma that's to be expected. Kinda difficult to make breakfast not smell like breakfast," I comment as I observe.
"I only took notes from the very best," she says proudly.
"Don't get ahead of yourself just yet. What really matters is how it tastes," Draco says.
"Right you are, Draco. Only one way to find out," I agree, grabbing my fork.
"No need for me to fear. I'm certain you'll enjoy it," Polt assures.
Taking my time, I sample a little bit of everything. It's… like a perfect replica of my cooking! So damn good… but it lacks an important thing I was looking for. Something I didn't tell them about on purpose. After swallowing, I drink some nice cold water to prepare my taste buds for Draco's dish.
"You actually cleared the hurdle I set for you. Very impressive, Polt. It's almost like I made this," I compliment.
"Why thank you, Sweethea—," she starts to say.
"However…," I interrupt, Draco and Lilith trying their hardest to not grin.
"H-However?!" She exclaims, shocked.
"Where's the originality? Where's your own spin on it?" I ask.
"Y-You didn't say anything about doing that!" She stammers.
"Purposely so. You were too focused on the challenge at hand to even consider that aspect yourself," I say.
"Unfortunately, you're right. How did it not cross my mind?" She sighs.
Unable to contain themselves any longer, Draco and Lilith snicker.
"Funnily enough, it did cross mine!" Draco chuckles.
"As it did mine too even before Ryuta allowed me to cook! Looks like we have a clear candidate for third place!" Lilith teases.
"I'd like to see the both of you try cooking everything at once! It's way harder than you think!" Polt says.
"Regardless of the fact that you completely failed in one area of my grading criteria, you still made a rock solid replication of my typical breakfast that I believe only few can tell the difference even with the obstacle I gave you. For that, you still successfully pass!" I ultimately decide.
"Ha! I knew it! No way could I fail! Thank you so much!" She comes around the table and hugs me, giving me a kiss on the lips.
"No problem," I chuckle.
"Alright! Let's not waste any time! Here's my dish," Draco says, pushing her plate in front of me.
"Let's see what you got here," I say, picking my fork back up. "By the way, you have until I finish judging Draco to complete your dish, Lilith. If you don't meet that deadline, understand that you automatically fail."
"A-Automatic failure?! Why didn't you say something sooner?!" Lilith exclaims, moving noticeably faster.
"To make you pick up the pace a great deal faster. Also, I'm rather curious what a rush job from the one who doesn't cook in the slightest is like if I'm honest," I answer, a teasing smirk on my face.
"So that's how it is? Fine by me! You'll be even more impressed that I could throw something delicious together super quickly and that's how I'll take first place with ease!" she giggles, exuding confidence. We'll see where it gets her.
"Anyway, back to the matter at hand," I focus back on Draco's plate. Taking in the smell, I detect an immediate difference. There's definitely a lot more to this one.
"You threw in some spices and seasonings, didn't you?" I ask.
"Indeed I did. Glad you noticed," Draco replies proudly.
"Very nice. Off to an amazing start," I comment as I cut off a piece of pancake to try it. …H-Holy shit! That hit a lot harder than I anticipated! She spiced the syrup rather than the pancakes themselves. Cinnamon is definitely dominating out of the myriad of spices she added into the syrup. On top of that, the pancakes got a little bit of a meaty taste that blends so well with the syrup. She must've let them soak up a little bit of the grease from the sausage. This is exactly the kinda stuff I was looking for!
"Really damn good, isn't it? Your face says it all," she says with a cocky grin.
"Color me impressed! I certainly didn't expect this!" I praise.
"And it all just came to me naturally when I started cooking! That's the Dragonewt intuition for ya!" She brags. "Now if you think that's amazing, I'm sure you'll have a blast with my sausage and eggs."
Cutting off a piece of sausage and skewering some scrambled eggs, I stuff it in my mouth. This surprisingly sweet taste from her sausage is something else! Did she lightly glaze it with syrup? And these eggs! Dare I say they outclass mine?! She even made them slightly runnier which is how I make my soft scrambled eggs for myself! Did she actually pay attention to that unspoken detail during that demonstration?!
"G-Goddamn, Draco! How did you manage this?!" I question, completely baffled.
"What else can I say that I already haven't? I'm just awesome like that!" She boasts.
"Needless to say, this is truly a superb dish and you pass with flying colors," I say.
"As I knew I would. Might as well call it now for I clearly have won this," she says.
"Not so fast! Ryuta might be impressed but I'm skeptical so I'll try it too!" Polt snatches the fork out of my hand.
"Polt, your jealousy is showing," I chuckle.
"J-Jealous?! I-I'm not jealous! I was always gonna sample what they made. T-That's all!" Polt stammers.
"Sure you're not," Draco and Lilith tease Polt.
"So go ahead and be my guest! It'll blow you away just like it did to Ryuta!" Draco encourages.
"We'll see about that!" Polt starts cutting off a piece of everything on Draco's plate and impaling it with the fork.
It's rather funny but also a bit sad watching Polt try this hard. She's really only making Lilith's prediction hold more water. Polt swiftly stuffs the food in her mouth and thoroughly chews, desperate to prove Draco's dish is a clever facade. Suddenly, her ears perk up and she looks visibly stunned by it all, only further validating Draco's skills.
"Well?" Draco asks with a cheeky grin, holding her chin.
"I can't believe this! How?!" Polt asks. "Y-You used magic or something! You had to!"
"Nope. Raw intuition and instinctual skill, baby!" Draco refutes.
"N-No matter. Just because you beat me at breakfast doesn't mean the same will happen for lunch and dinner!" Polt proclaims.
"I'll hold you to that so you'll be more upset when I do!" Draco says.
"Are you two done now? Good because we need to make way for the real star of the show! Here's what I got for you, Ryuta!" Lilith boldly declares, moving Draco's plate aside to place hers in front of me. Watching those two go back and forth almost about made me forget Lilith was even cooking.
"I highly doubt it but you can try to be," Draco says.
"And even if you somehow pull a miracle like Draco, you still have to whip up something to that level for lunch and dinner to snatch first place overall," Polt adds.
"Kihihi! You heard them, Ryuta. Taste your lovely Lesser Devil's breakfast and prove I'm the victor of this first round!" Lilith giggles.
"If you're gonna talk a big game, don't be mad at me should my critique be harsh," I warn.
"I don't think I'll have to worry about that," she says.
"Let's hope those aren't your famous last words," I say as Polt hands the fork back to me.
"Actually, just one more thing before you start. Here you go," she comes around the table and places a tall glass of milk beside the plate.
"Something to drink? That's a first. How thoughtful, Lilith," I say, patting her head.
"Can't be good wife or mother material without being that. You're welcome, Sweetheart," she smiles warmly with her hands behind her back. At the corner of my left eye, I become aware of the death stares targeted at me from Polt and Draco.
"W-What's with the freaky looks you're giving me, you two?" I chuckle anxiously.
"If you say offering a beverage is something you were also looking for despite being perfectly content with your water and that Lilith wins just due to that factor…," Draco starts.
"There will be hell to pay, Ryuta," Polt finishes, both of them cracking their knuckles. Maaaybe it's time to dial the competitiveness back a bit if they're gonna start tossing out more than shit talk at my expense.
"L-Luckily, it wasn't in any of my hidden criteria so I assure you that won't play a factor in how I judge Lilith," I clarify.
"Good," Polt and Draco say.
"Oh, c'mon! You're really gonna let them dictate how you judge?!" Lilith whines, getting all hugged up on me. "If that's not gonna seal my victory, then how about we pick up where we left off and I'll give you some special under the table service while you enjoy your breakfast?" She says seductively, biting her lip with her hand moving from my chest down to my crotch.
"Hey now! That's a straight up illegal move!" Draco angrily yells.
"Draco's right! It can't be allowed!" Polt agrees.
"All's fair in love and war! What do you say, Ryuta?" Lilith asks. Unfortunately for her, I can't be easily swayed under these circumstances especially with the mindset I'm using while judging.
"In a normal circumstance, I would oblige. On the other hand with what we're doing now, you're in serious danger of disqualifying yourself even if your breakfast wound up beating theirs," I advise.
"H-Huh?! Why?!" Lilith questions, completely taken aback.
"You can't do that kinda stuff in front of our kids at the table, Lilith," I mutter albeit audibly enough for Polt and Draco to hear and understand what I'm trying to convey.
"Wait… we don't have kids yet. What are you talking abou—Are you grading our behavior as if our kids were here right now?!" Her confusion turns into realization.
"Indeed I am. I knew Polt and Draco would easily pass that as it's more so explicitly aimed at you," I answer.
"I had an inkling there was something like that set up to catch one of us," Polt says.
"Makes sense seeing as we're not doing this strictly to help Ryuta out in the meantime but to also prepare for the future when we have our little troublemakers running amok. Might not be happening anytime soon but never such a thing as starting too early on building upon ourselves," Draco adds. Is… that the most insightful thing Draco's ever said before?
"E-Even then, in what way is that hidden rule fair?!" Lilith asks.
"All you had to do was have restraint and let your food do the talking. Plenty fair since I gave a warning instead of just immediately following through on failing you for it in my opinion," I reply.
"F-Fine! I'll yield and do exactly as you said!" she pulls herself off of me.
"However, I'm still gonna mark some points off because your stunt has wasted time and as a result, your dish has gone cold. You will need to reheat it before I judge it," I say.
"Yeah yeah. Still gonna knock your socks off despite it all," she claims, taking her plate to the microwave.
"You say that but at this point, I'm sure you'll get yourself so many points removed that it won't matter," Draco snickers.
"Nice opinion but I don't recall asking for it," Lilith remarks.
"More of a fact that you didn't ask for really," Draco clarifies. Okay, now I can tell for sure Draco's deploying a tactic.
"Draco, come here," I beckon her with my finger.
"H-Huh? What for?" She questions, surprised.
"You know very well what for," I answer.
"B-But I didn't do anything wrong! Right, Polt?!" She asks.
Polt chooses to disengage from the situation and mind her own business opting instead to whistle to herself while looking off to elsewhere in the kitchen.
"S-Seriously, Polt?! I get no backup on this one?!" She shouts, completely shocked.
"Sounds like someone's in trouble," Lilith giggles.
"S-Shut up!" Draco stammers as she comes around the table to me. I immediately grab the tip of her tail causing her to yelp my name and kneel.
"Are you trying to sabotage Lilith, Draco?" I ask, whispering in her ear.
"I-I don't know what you mea—aah!" She covers her mouth with her right hand after I squeeze her tail.
"If you make a sound loud enough, I'll retract your passing grade. With that said, you're trying to irritate her on purpose so she'll be bound to make more mistakes, aren't you? No beating around the bush or else," I say.
"Y-Yes, Sweetheart!" She answers swiftly.
"No more of that. If I catch you up to another underhanded tactic, you fail automatically. Here I thought, you wouldn't dare taint the superior status you claim to have. Now what do you say?" I question.
"I-I'm sorry, Sweetheart!" She apologizes.
"You are forgiven," I let her tail go.
"Really?! You're too kind, Ryuta!" As she stands back up, her hands grab my shoulders and her lips briefly meet with mine.
"You were dying to get that kiss in somehow, weren't you?" I tease, calling her out.
"C-C'mon, man. D-Don't bring so much attention to it," she stammers, blushing.
"Where's the fun in that if it doesn't yield these awkwardly adorable reactions from you? Consider it payback for putting me in that position earlier," I chuckle before moving close to her right ear. "I love you, Draco," I mutter seductively, watching her body subtly shiver from her head to her feet.
"W-We already had that exchange earlier too. You'll make it stale if you overuse it," she says.
"Still made your body quiver when I said it in your ear, didn't it? I don't see it ever getting old no matter how much I say it," I refute, poking more fun at her expense.
"Y-You're imagining things! I did not!" She replies, getting flustered.
"Did too, my precious Dragonewt," I say, gently grabbing her chin. Polt suddenly flicks me and Draco on the cheek with a finger. "Ow! What was that for?!" We ask, both of us rubbing our own cheek.
"That's too much sappy stuff to be doing in front of the kids. You do remember the kids, don't you?" Polt questions with her hands on her hips and a judgy look on her face.
"O-Of course!" We exclaim.
"Mhmm. I bet," Polt narrows her eyes at us. The microwave starts beeping, loudly announcing to everyone that the timer has gone off.
"Alright, the show is back on!" Lilith says as she retrieves her dish from said microwave. She quickly scurries her way back to us. "Here it is! Prepare to be shocked to your core with what your bewitching Lesser Devil has achieved!" She boldly claims, placing her plate in front of me.
"You've made me wait long enough for it. Time to finally see where your handiwork stands," I say, picking up the fork. As I'm about to sample her dish, it comes to my attention that everything has a weird ever so slightly red coloring in appearance. Is it some kind of spice like what Draco did? I guess Lilith wanted to make her food stand out not just with whatever special flavoring she had in mind but visually too and I can say she certainly succeeded at that. Biting off a piece of pancake, a spicy flavor completely detonates all over my tastebuds.
"O-Oh fuck!" I abruptly exclaim, my tongue feeling like it's on fire.
"Language, Ryuta," Polt says. Oh, so now I'm being graded on my behavior at the literal worst moment?!
"S-Sorry but dear fu—frick!" I manage to censor myself as the intense heat in my mouth doesn't let up. My eyes shed tears despite how much I was fighting it back. That's why Lilith offered me milk! The milk feels like a setup for something else though. I mustn't drink it.
"Uh, Polt? I don't think that matters right now! Do you not see Ryuta's tears?!" Draco questions.
"W-Wait! Ryuta, do you need help?!" Polt suddenly realizes.
"Nope! Don't help him. Everything is within what I expected to happen right now," Lilith says, the biggest devilish smile I've seen to date on her face.
"Lilith, what did you put in your food?!" Draco asks.
"Simple… just a little bit of ghost pepper powder I found sprinkled here and there," Lilith answers casually.
"Why would you use something like that on breakfast?" Polt inquires.
"How could I not? That blistering spiciness is not expected to be present in a breakfast meal which makes it a great surprise. I gave him milk for a reason. He can end his suffering whenever he wants… but knowing Ryuta, he probably won't. Isn't that right, Sweetheart?" Lilith explains, her eyes focusing on me. Goddamn it! She's exploiting one of my weaknesses! I didn't think anyone would connect the dots!
"I… I don't know what you… are talking about," I look off to the side while finding it difficult to talk.
"If that's the case, then go ahead and try the eggs and sausage. That shouldn't be a problem," she taunts me.
"I… I will," I mutter. As soon as the eggs and sausage enter my mouth, more tears stream down my cheeks while the scorching of my mouth increases tenfold. It's so good but fuck! I don't think I can keep it together much longer. Y'know what? Screw this! I'm opting out even if there's a catch to drinking the damn milk! The second I reach for the glass, Polt snatches it away. "Please, Polt!" The desperation in my voice comes out in full force as I stand up and weakly try to take it back to no success.
"I get it now. You like spicy food a lot but on a completely different level than most. Am I on the money?" Polt questions, a sly smirk growing on her face.
"D-Don't entertain Lilith's game!" I shout. Draco moves the chair out of the way and pulls me off of Polt, hugging me from behind.
"Polt asked you a question so answer it," Draco says.
"I-I enjoy spicy food the same way as everyone else does," I blatantly lie.
"If that were true, then why is it so hard down there?" Her hand rubs my crotch.
"Y-You're making that up! I-I'm not hard at all!" I try to deny it.
"That big tent Draco's touching begs to differ," Polt licks her lips with a hand holding her chin.
"Guys, we're in the middle of a competition and this behavior is unacceptable in front of our kids!" I remind them.
"Good thing our kids have already gone to school then," Lilith says, making an excuse that will most assuredly be wielded in the future. The ghost pepper powder's flames are starting to die down. I think I can make it out of this unscath—
"F-Fuck!" I groan amorously, my flaming tastebuds reigniting and spiking through the roof far worse than before. Draco restrains my wrists to prevent me from covering my mouth. As the heat shows no signs of stopping, I pant heavily with my tongue out. The girls' pleased faces enjoy my spicy torment. Before I can even formulate a coping method to stay in check, I'm hit with an exhilarating braingasm, making a borderline ahegao face with my body quaking all over. My underwear is becoming more and more sticky as precum aggressively leaks from my hardened dick. As the dopamine overload finally subsides, my body becomes slack, laying against Draco for support.
"Welp, I think his brain is fried," Draco says.
"Good. You can let him go now," Lilith says. With Draco freeing me from her grasp, I crumple to the floor, barely supporting my own weight on my hands and knees. Still… so hot. Feeling like… I'm gonna pass out. Milk. I… need… that milk. I start to slowly crawl towards Polt.
"I had an inkling that since Ryuta enjoys his pain and us being the dom sometimes that maybe his taste buds are wired in the same way and clearly I hit the nail on the head. Kihihi! What better spice for the job than ghost pepper powder?!" She giggles.
"I guess it does take one to know one since that's really more you two's special dynamic than either me or Draco. Luckily, you didn't use Carolina Reaper powder or I would consider that overkill," Polt says.
"The only reason I didn't was because I couldn't find any here. Ryuta would probably jizz himself instantly if it was that instead. I'll make a mental note to test that out in the future," Lilith elaborates, deviously grinning.
"I'm not sure if I should be impressed or scared with anything you just said, especially with that twisted expression on your face," Draco says, slightly worried.
"Definitely both!" Lilith snickers.
"So what are we doin' with Ryuta now that you exposed him and made your point? It's fine to let him have the milk now, right?" Polt asks, slowly lowering the glass to the floor for me to get as I reach her feet.
"He can have it…," Lilith answers, walking over to Polt. "After I have just a little more fun first. It won't take any longer than a minute." She snatches the milk before I can grab it. Fuckin' hell! I think I've had enough now even if it will be over that soon! "Look at you. You've been silent but you're still basking in that pleasure with that aroused face you got. Want me to give you your sweet relief?" She questions, putting on the sadist tone while she lovingly rubs my left cheek. Saliva dripping tongue still hanging out, I nod yes. "Use your words, Sweetheart." I could totally take that milk from her if I wanted to be a jackass.
"Y-Yes… my lovely Lesser Devil!" I plead. Seemingly satisfied, Lilith pours some milk into her mouth and beckons me with a finger.
"So that's your end result with this," Polt and Draco comment, unimpressed. Finally, I can be free. Standing up on my knees, I kiss Lilith, letting her pour the milk into my mouth from her own.
"Ah! I'm finally free!" I exclaim with great relief, feeling my mouth cool down.
"So did my cooking knock those socks off or what?" Lilith asks, probably thinking she has automatically won this round.
"You really weren't lying. It was shockingly super good!" I answer, standing back up on my feet.
"See? I told you so!" She says happily as she lets me take the milk from her hand to completely quell what's left of the capsaicin.
"Wait, are you saying Lilith's food actually has more going for it than just the spicy twist?!" Draco shouts, probably also thinking that she had nothing to fear until now.
"Ah! Indeed I am. Despite the super spicy kick at the forefront, other spices and such were clearly present but with those taking the backseat compared to the pepper powder, you get a spectacular aftertaste that really pops off after the initial spiciness. It reminded me greatly of the Fall season. I think it was mostly pumpkin amongst that mix of spices in the pancakes specifically?" I reply.
"Correct! I used mostly pumpkin spice and just a little dash of cinnamon and nutmeg in those pancakes. The eggs and sausage had a little smoked paprika underneath that ghost pepper powder touch. Not so bad for my first time legitimately cooking a meal, huh?" Lilith boasts while also fishing for more praise.
"Mhmm. Very stellar performance and on a nice track for proving you're mama material," I pat her head, feeding her said praise she craves.
"Oooh. I could certainly get used to you calling me mama," she flirts while hugging up on me, drenched in overconfidence.
"Guess I know how this will go. That's just how the cookie crumbles I suppose," Polt shrugs.
"Damn it. I'm not gonna believe it until Ryuta says it. Who won this round?" Draco begrudgingly questions, holding onto whatever little hope she has left. Everyone's eyes focus on me. This is it! The deciding moment! I clear my throat.
"… Coming in third place is… Polt!" I announce.
"I knew it and it still hurts!" Polt comments.
"Were you really holding out that you would magically not be in last place?" Lilith asks.
"Juusst a tiiiny bit," Polt responds sheepishly.
"In second place is Lilith," I say swiftly.
"Ha! Suck it! I knew I—W-Wait! Huh?! What do you mean?!" Lilith asks, extremely confused.
"Premature victory much? You got slapped with second place," Draco chuckles.
"Wasn't expecting that honestly," Polt says.
"You're telling me! What the hell, Sweetheart?!" Lilith yells.
"Well, you got points off because you derailed the competition for a minute just to expose my fetish for spicy food which is sexual by the way so more points off even though it's still based on food. I also wouldn't let you serve any of that to the kids all super spiced up with the pepper powder like that," I explain.
"I wouldn't dare do that to them! That stuff is really only meant for you," she says.
"Either way, you were doomed to not take first place due to the other stuff," I say.
"And here I thought that I had completely taken home the gold. At least I could show I'm just as capable of yummy cooking," she says.
"Wait… so if Lilith is second then that makes me…," Draco slowly pieces it together.
"First place of course!" I finish for her.
"Congratulations, Draco!" We applaud.
"Even though it should've been me," Lilith quickly mutters to herself.
"S-Seriously?! I actually came out on top after all?!" Draco questions, surprised to her core.
"That's correct! You really aced it," I affirm.
"Then hell yeah! Thanks, Sweetheart! It really means a lot to me," she pulls me into a big hug.
"No problem," I give Draco a quick kiss.
"Now don't forget that we still have two more rounds so we're just getting started," Polt reminds us.
"Which means still two more chances to become the overall victor so don't let one win under your belt go to your head," Lilith adds.
"I-I know that! If anything, it means I've gotta be more cautious and try even harder," Draco says.
"With breakfast outta the way, we'll reconvene here in a few hours. In the meantime, you three best be brainstorming 'cause lunch is the next big challenge on the list and you'll be figuring out what to make yourself," I advise.
"Huh?!" Lilith and Draco exclaim.
"You mean to tell us we have to come up with everything ourselves now?!" Draco asks.
"Precisely," I answer.
"Doesn't that only give Polt even more advantage?" Lilith questions.
"Technically, yes but that doesn't necessarily mean anything as long as the two of you apply what you did for breakfast in the same way. You two should be fine seeing as you took second and first place," I say.
"They should be afraid because I certainly won't hold back. I don't mind them forfeiting if they aren't up to it," Polt goads. Big talk for someone who couldn't handle Draco's breakfast being so good.
"No way!" Draco says.
"In your dreams!" Lilith says.
"Good to hear. I look forward to seeing what you two crank out for lunch then," Polt says. I think Polt is seriously having too much fun motivating them in this way.