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"So spicy! This is even spicier than Pipsqueak's dish! But then, the next second, the sweet tofu balances it out. And it keeps cycling..."
"This is incredible! Forget Pipsqueak, even Tsukasa and I can't compare to this!"
Rindō Kobayashi finally knew what level Yuuki was at. Although Yuuki had defeated Kuga before and was constantly praised by Senzaemon Nakiri—
—she still didn't know Yuuki's true level. Now that she had tasted it herself, she finally had a concept.
She now realized that Yuuki's Culinary skill not only surpassed Terunori Kuga's but even hers and Eishi Tsukasa's.
Among the students at Tōtsuki, Eishi Tsukasa was supposed to be the strongest, followed by her. That Yuuki was now more skilled than both of them was hard to accept.
After all, Yuuki was just an Intermediate Chef not too long ago. To surpass both her and Eishi Tsukasa in such a short time—
—Rindō Kobayashi also knew that special abilities could be a great boost to Culinary skills.
Take Eishi Tsukasa, for example, whose ability was "Communicating with Ingredients," and that ability had dramatically improved his skills.
But as far as she knew, even after awakening his ability, Eishi wasn't THIS outrageous.
However, thinking about Yuuki's ability, such outrageous results weren't impossible with such an overpowered ability.
Besides Rindō Kobayashi, Terunori Kuga was also stunned—
The impact of this dish on him was considerable. After all, this dish had defeated him in the field he was best at.
And the key thing was—while this dish focused on spicy and numbing flavors, it wasn't only about spice.
The greatest difference between this dish and his own Mapo Tofu was that, in order to emphasize the spiciness, his own version sacrificed other flavors.
If it weren't for his High Culinary skill, his Mapo Tofu might not even have been considered proper Mapo Tofu, as the spiciness completely overpowered the other six flavors.
In Yuuki's dish, however, all eight flavors could be tasted. Even if their prominence varied, one could still clearly distinguish them.
And the crucial point was that the black tofu was sweet, and this sweetness didn't clash with the numbing and spicy flavors of the dish but instead complemented them.
Terunori Kuga had always believed that spiciness reigned supreme, capable of overpowering all other flavors. Yuuki's dish had taught him a lesson.
....
Of course, among those present, the most affected wasn't Terunori Kuga, but Erina Nakiri.
Because of her God's Tongue, she could naturally taste the flaws in this dish—flaws that were a consequence of the magical presentation.
Actually, Yuuki could have eliminated these flaws this time without the "magic" component, but he chose to keep them.
After all, those slight flaws were like the final stroke of genius in the dish.
"HOW?! My God's Tongue detected the flaws, but it doesn't reject them—it ACCEPTS them!"
Erina Nakiri's eyes widened in disbelief. This dish shattered her understanding of the God's Tongue.
Logically, the God's Tongue would amplify flaws in a dish, making them very distinct, like finding a bad nut in a batch of good ones—an unpleasant experience.
It was precisely because of this that Erina Nakiri had zero tolerance for flawed dishes.
However, although she detected the flaws this time, the flaws actually had a positive effect, so much so that her God's Tongue didn't reject them.
This ability was hers, yet Yuuki, with just a single dish, had shown Erina Nakiri that she didn't really understand her own ability at all.
"Is that even possible?!" Several other Elite Ten members, along with Alice Nakiri and Hisako Arato, gasped.
Although everyone present had some understanding of the God's Tongue, these few understood it even better—
—Because the God's Tongue amplified flaws, Erina Nakiri had always been extremely critical of problematic dishes, not mincing words at all.
This time, even though she detected issues, her God's Tongue didn't react negatively at all, which was greatly surprising.
For Alice Nakiri and Hisako Arato, following the surprise came a wave of relief. This signified a potential breakthrough for the God's Tongue—
—They both knew very well how the God's Tongue could ultimately develop.
Alice Nakiri knew why Mana Nakiri had left; she also knew the eventual outcome of the God's Tongue.
As for Hisako Arato, having been with Erina Nakiri for so many years, and being Erina's most trusted confidante, there were things Erina wouldn't even tell Senzaemon Nakiri but would tell Hisako.
It could be said that Erina Nakiri greatly relied on Hisako Arato and, in the original story, only showed her true self to Hisako.
Having spent so much time together, Hisako naturally knew all about this.
"The God's Tongue can amplify flavors in a dish, but it amplifies unpleasant tastes, not the flaws themselves. The reason your God's Tongue can identify those flaws is because of the knowledge you possess. You make judgments based on your knowledge."
"In other words—whether it's a flaw or not—as long as the resulting effect is positive, the God's Tongue doesn't react negatively. You felt it was flawed, but that was your personal judgment, not your God's Tongue's."
Yuuki explained—the God's Tongue's strength also came from the possessor's own capabilities. If the possessor lacked knowledge, even if their God's Tongue tasted an unpleasant flavor, they wouldn't know why.
In the original story, when Erina Nakiri sought refuge at Polar Star, she tasted everyone's cooking and offered solutions.
But the others proposed completely different solutions—those were the areas where Erina Nakiri lacked knowledge.
She only gave the best solution based on the knowledge she did have.
....
Yuuki's assessment of the God's Tongue made everyone think.
After carefully considering it, they realized he was indeed right.
They had always thought the God's Tongue was incredible on its own, naturally powerful.
Now, it seemed that, while the God's Tongue was indeed a strong ability, its possessor, Erina Nakiri, played the crucial role.
Erina Nakiri's own skills were what made the God's Tongue so effective.
"That may be true, but turning a flaw into a positive like you did, Yuuki—that's not something just anyone can do." Satoshi Isshiki shook his head.
That kind of operation was too difficult—at least, he himself couldn't do it.
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