Waifu Wars: A Food Wars Fanfic

Ch. 81 Regiment de Cuisine: 4th Bout (Continued)

Unlike the chaotic cards of the 2nd bout, in which every chef finished at the same time, the competitors of the 4th bout complete their dishes in an orderly fashion. One by one, card by card. The first two to finish are Momo and Erina.

When Momo wheels out a literal castle of cake that barely fits on the cart, Torrey gasps. He watches, awe-struck, as his baking mentor dismantles her own creation so that she can serve it to the judges.

Each serving is a separate tower from the castle, so the judges each receive an entire roll cake. The cakes are adorned with very cute and very detailed animal prints, which further highlight Momo's skills as a baker. Any amateur can concoct a decent roll cake, but it takes a lot of practice to get the images just right.

This isn't to say that Momo's cake simply looks delicious. The judges happily dig in, and the foodgasms follow shortly after. For a brief moment, Torrey finds himself feeling nervous for Erina.

These nerves pass in the time it takes for Erina to move from her kitchen to the judges table. Torrey watches as she approaches the judges, placing a plate in front of each with confidence and poise, proudly proclaiming her dish "Souffle Leger de Grace".

"Aah! To counter her opponent's roll cake, she chose to make pancakes. That's Miss Erina for you! Brave and courageous, she's not afraid to face her opponent head-on!" says Hisako Arato, from her place in the Resistance cage.

"Her dish is a ridiculously pretty version of those super trendy pancakes..." says Yuki Yoshino, just beside her.

"P-p-pancakes?!" says Torrey, somehow having drifted over to their sideline.

"Torrey-kins! I bet you don't even know about dorayaki!" says Alice.

She's right, of course. After growing up in the West, Torrey's idea of pancakes involves a large stack covered in syrup, filled with blueberries or chocolate chips.

"Megumi's dish in the last bout was a more traditional dorayaki, but it seems that Erina-sama used it as inspiration," adds Ryoko. Megumi is standing off to the side, with traces of tears still in her eyes.

"Man, I really wish I coulda seen the whole match," says Torrey, thinking out loud.

"So...uh, why weren't you able to?" Ikumi asks, tapping her fingers together nervously.

"GRAWWW WOULD YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP ABOUT IT? I DON'T GIVE A FLYING FISH WHY HE MISSED THE LAST ONE, BUT YOU ALL SPENT 30 FRIGGIN MINUTES DEBATING IT EARLIER AND THIS MATCH IS WAY MORE IMPORTANT!" screams Ryo Kurokiba, apparently on edge.

"Ryo! You don't even have any flying fish to give," says Alice, wagging a finger at her assistant. "And it was like, 15 minutes, tops."

"No, no. He's got a point. Best to just let bygones be bygones, you know? Haha," says Torrey awkwardly, remembering Nene and Kuga's reaction to his meeting with Rindo.

"Right! We shouldn't pry," says Ryoko, though she frowns at the thought of this unsolved mystery.

The group turns their attention back to Erina and the judges. Nobody asks why Torrey is suddenly with them again. It just feels right, for some reason.

From the looks of things, the judges are already in the middle of another taste bud trip to heaven. Momo's castle is beginning to crumble, from the steady barrage of brown sugar bliss provided by Erina's spell.