Food Wars: Tavern

The tasting continues.

After finishing the entire beef burger in one go, Erina purses her lips, feeling dissatisfied. She then picks up a serving of butterfish fries and continues to nibble on them.

As she slowly chews the fries, the sound and feeling are so crisp and sweet, like a slow and relaxing music, immersing her completely.

At this moment, she awakens completely from the shock of the previous beef burger.

This handsome Chef Zane is undoubtedly the best chef she has ever met in her life!

Fragrant.

Crisp.

Sweet.

Fresh.

The butterfish fries blend these complex flavors perfectly, yet she still can't taste the original flavor of the tofu dregs.

The fries have a unique texture, the crispy fries paired with tender butterfish instantly win her over.

Especially the delicious freshness of the butterfish combined with the crispy texture of the fries makes her feel the beauty of the fusion of the ocean and the land!

In addition, a hint of scallions.

Combined with salt and pepper seasoning.

This unassuming Western fast food snack becomes even more delicious!

Because the butterfish fries are much thicker than regular fries, they are difficult to fry completely. However, this in turn brings out their unique deliciousness, with a crispy outside and a soft inside.

Paired with the fresh and tender aroma of the butterfish, the texture is rich and delightful.

A wave of irresistibly delicious and sweet flavors flows between her mouth and nose!

Gradually, Erina's mind became blank.

It's as if, in this world, she only feels the presence of these butterfish fries.

"This flavor."

"How should I describe it?"

"It's like... um, soldiers in golden armor, bravely crossing the unknown ocean, venturing, exploring, conquering!"

As Erina starts to think about which words to use to describe the taste of the butterfish fries, she suddenly finds her taste buds surrounded by the crispy texture and fragrant aroma of the fries.

Each fry seems to be showing her their story, telling her about their journey to become the bravest soldiers.

As a result, she seems to feel the courage and perseverance of these tiny soldiers, who just now, in the oil pan, have used their lives to embody what deliciousness is!

"Oh!"

"This is strange."

"Why am I starting to cry?"

Inadvertently, a tear falls from the corner of Erina's eye, trickling down her exquisite cheeks to the ground.

In her mind, she suddenly recalls a blurry figure, her mother, Mana Nakiri, who had suffered torment because she couldn't escape the curse of the God Tongue.

She quietly chose to leave home and travel the world.

This incident completely changed Azami Nakiri, who decided to change everything in her own way.

Under the "cage-like" education, Erina's God Tongue ability was developed to the extreme, but it also caused severe psychological trauma!

Therefore, over the years, her feelings towards her mother, Mana Nakiri, have been very complex, with both hatred and longing.

Now, after eating the beef burger and butterfish fries, Erina once again thinks of her mother, Mana Nakiri!

A special flavor.

Naturally, Erina would carefully analyze it using the God Tongue.

However, for the deep-seated memories in her mind, she cannot use any power to forget or eliminate them!

In her youth, she was quite interested in these mediocre dishes.

But her father, Azami Nakiri, wanted to fully unleash the potential of the God Tongue.

He forcibly instilled the extreme educational concept that "mediocre dishes are garbage and cannot lead to a new era of cuisine."

It eventually led Erina to pursue higher-grade ingredients in her cooking.

She even came to completely deny common cuisine in favor of upscale food and fixed recipes!

But at this moment, Zane once again overturns Erina's understanding of common cuisine by making three Western fast foods using cheap to almost free ingredients like toast, tofu dregs, and rice bran.

His dishes are like a beacon, beginning to light the way ahead.

They allow Erina, who is deeply entrenched in darkness, to gradually find her direction in life!

"Although."

"I... I really don't want to admit it."

"But your dishes really do satisfy me."

"Whether it's the beef burger just now or these crispy butterfish fries. Whether it's toast and tofu dregs, or beef patty and fries..."

"These flavors amaze me, and I will remember them for life!"

After wiping her tears and calming her emotions, Erina blushes and speaks softly.

At this moment, she is thinking if she, too, could use simple ingredients to make simple dishes like Zane.

But can these simple dishes satisfy all patrons, or even satisfy her God Tongue?

After much thought, she comes to her own answer:

Impossible!

She absolutely cannot make such dishes!

"People!"

"There may be differences in value for people, but not in cooking."

"Although affordable ingredients are often the most common, you can easily buy them at any supermarket or market."

"But if you analyze them in terms of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and other beneficial components for the body, it seems that rare ingredients are not much different from affordable ones!"

"In the end."

"Whether mediocre or noble!"

"It's all just subjective consciousness, playing tricks all along."

"As a chef, all you need to do is create dishes that make customers satisfied, and that's enough."

Is there any issue with this statement?

If you think about it carefully, you'll realize that what Zane said is a bit ambiguous, but there's no problem at all.

And indeed, he is proving this with his actions.

However, regardless of how, this argument deeply affects Erina!

Yet, she can't find a reason to refute it.

Helplessly, Erina can only raise her head and carefully observe Zane.

It seems like she really wants to peek into all the secrets of the tavern owner in front of her.

She especially wants to engrave his handsome appearance and tall figure in her mind, so she'll never forget them for the rest of her life!