A crisp sound jolted Nakiri Erina from her thoughts.
Looking down at the bowl in front of her, her brow furrowed imperceptibly, her voice tinged with a hint of uncertainty.
“Scrambled eggs?”
Although the presentation was decent, in the end, it was just a bowl of ordinary scrambled eggs.
“It’s not just ordinary scrambled eggs!”
Yukihira Soma immediately retorted, then turned around to bring a bowl of steaming white rice and placed it before Nakiri Erina.
“It’s Egg Over Rice!”
Nakiri Erina’s gaze fell on the bowl of white rice, and the interest in her eyes instantly faded by half.
Egg Over Rice was nothing more than ordinary commoner food.
How could such a ubiquitous dish possibly catch her eye?
Just as she was about to say something, she saw Yukihira Soma impatiently pouring the scrambled eggs onto the rice.
With a soft “clatter,” grains of golden scrambled eggs, accompanied by dozens of small brown cubes, fell onto the snow-white rice.
The steam from the rice rose up, and upon meeting the heat, those small brown cubes began to melt slowly, oozing a rich sauce that soon stained the rice and eggs an enticing light brown.
A mellow aroma of meat mixed with the scent of eggs and rice suddenly wafted into her nose.
Nakiri Erina’s gaze narrowed slightly.
Looking at the melting brown cubes, she found herself developing a bit of interest in this seemingly ordinary bowl of Egg Over Rice.
Yukihira Soma nimbly sprinkled a pinch of green chopped scallions, then pushed it in front of Erina, his face full of confidence.
“Please enjoy! This is the secret dish of Yukihira Restaurant—Transforming Egg Over Rice!”
…Nakiri Erina looked at the enticing bowl of Egg Over Rice before her, hesitated for a moment, and eventually picked up her chopsticks.
She picked up some rice coated in sauce along with a piece of scrambled egg and slowly brought it to her mouth.
The next second, Nakiri Erina’s eyes lit up.
The silkiness of the eggs collided with the chewiness of the rice between her teeth, and the melted brown sauce carried a rich savory chicken flavor.
The sauce was rich but not greasy, perfectly accentuating the fresh sweetness of the eggs.
It was as if a pair of gentle hands were softly brushing across her taste buds, making her squint her eyes in comfort.
This flavor was a novel sensation she had never tasted before.
She couldn’t help but take another bite, chewing carefully, the surprise in her eyes growing deeper.
“How is it? How is it?”
Yukihira Soma leaned in, his tone full of anticipation.
“Is it delicious or bad? Hurry up and tell me!”
Nakiri Erina put down her chopsticks, her fingertip lightly touching the corner of her lips, and pondered for a moment before giving her evaluation.
Compared to Haruto’s orange flavored custard tart, which was so perfect that no flaws could be found.
This Egg Over Rice was ultimately a step behind in terms of culinary refinement.
But undeniably, the fusion of creativity and flavor had indeed given her a significant surprise.
Moreover, she had a strangely familiar feeling, as if she had tasted a similar flavor a long time ago, making her feel inexplicably at ease.
Hearing this, Yukihira Soma immediately grinned.
In his view, the evaluation of’showing some skill’ already meant that Nakiri Erina had acknowledged his cooking.
Isn’t this just being tsundere!
He knew it well.
He was about to say something, like making Nakiri Erina admit his cooking was indeed delicious.
But then, a golden custard tart suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Haruto had walked over at some point and handed an orange flavored flaky crust custard tart to Yukihira Soma.
“Want a taste?”
…Yukihira Soma’s gaze was instantly drawn to the orange flavored flaky crust custard tart, and what he had been about to say was immediately forgotten.
He grabbed the tart and impatiently took a big bite.
“Crunch—”
The crisp sound of the flaky crust breaking exploded in his mouth, and the rich orange aroma mixed with the sweet scent of egg and milk instantly swept through all his senses.
The warm molten center slid down his throat, sweet but not cloying, and the refreshing orange fragrance perfectly neutralized the richness of the egg and milk.
The taste was even more stunning than he had imagined!
“This is way too delicious!”
Yukihira Soma’s eyes widened, his mouth stuffed with the tart as he praised indistinctly.
It seemed even more delicious than his Transforming Egg Over Rice!
Nakiri Erina watched Yukihira Soma devouring the food like that; her brow furrowed slightly, but she said nothing.
She said decisively.
“Yukihira Soma, you pass as well.”
Although there were still some deficiencies, he had barely reached the passing standard she acknowledged.
“Haha! Great!”
Yukihira Soma swallowed the tart in his mouth, rubbed his hands excitedly, and was just about to say something to Nakiri Erina.
When his shoulder was suddenly slapped hard.
He stumbled, nearly losing his balance, and turned to see Haruto looking at him with a’sincere’ smile.
“Haha, congratulations! We both passed!”
At this moment, Haruto was extremely helpless in his heart.
Since you’ve passed, stop showing off.
Was his orange flavored flaky crust custard tart not delicious enough?
Why couldn’t it shut Yukihira Soma’s mouth?
Although Erina had already announced their passing, she was a tsundere.
If she really got annoyed, who knew if she would change her mind on the spot and turn ‘pass’ into ‘fail’?
…Yukihira Soma didn’t know Haruto’s thoughts and took the orange flavored flaky crust custard tart to eat.
Seeing that Yukihira Soma had stopped talking.
Haruto picked up the tray, turned to walk toward Nakiri Erina and Arato Hisako, and gently placed the plate on the table beside them.
“Would you like to try another one?”
“By the way, the evaluation is over now, so this isn’t considered work time anymore.”
There were quite a few orange flavored flaky crust custard tarts left on the tray, each baked to perfection.
The edges of the tart crust shimmered with a caramel-colored glaze, and one could faintly see the slightly wobbling molten center inside.
The enticing aroma wafted into their noses in wisps, making their tongues itch with desire.
Arato Hisako’s gaze fell on the tarts, a flash of longing in her eyes.
She was incredibly curious about this dish that had made Erina-sama taste a second portion.
The faint orange scent mixed with the aroma of egg and milk was mouth-watering just from the smell alone.
But she quickly turned to look at Nakiri Erina beside her.
As Erina-sama’s secretary, Erina-sama’s will naturally came first.
If Erina-sama didn’t want to eat, she wouldn’t overstep her bounds.
Nakiri Erina’s fingertips unconsciously stroked her chin, a mental battle raging within her.
Reason told her that as the chief examiner, she should maintain her cool and noble persona.
But the lingering orange and milky scent on her tongue seemed to have magic, constantly teasing her taste buds.
Coupled with Arato Hisako’s clearly expectant gaze beside her, the bit of reserve in her heart instantly collapsed.
She cleared her throat and turned her face away, trying to keep her tone haughty, but her slightly reddened earlobes betrayed her true thoughts.
“In that case, I’ll taste another piece then.”
“Hisako, you should try it too. This dish is indeed worth a try.”
“Yes, Erina-sama!”
Arato Hisako’s eyes brightened, a faint smile appeared on her face, and her tone was full of joy.