Final Round: Mise en Place

Marron stepped onto the floating prep platform and watched as the Sky Kitchen unfolded around her like a stage fit for an idol. The prep station gleamed with sleek heat-circles, mirrored boards, and cloud-steamers. She saw a whole cabinet dedicated to every single spice known to Savoria, and a fridge marked "Elite Tier (Temp-Stabilized)."

Her cart clicked into place beside the station, glowing softly with interface runes.

I'm going to miss this place…maybe in the future I'll have beautiful knives and equipment too.

Her cart clicked into place beside the station, glowing softly with interface runes.

[Welcome, Marron Louvel. Cart Linked: Comfort & Crunch]

[Chef Rank: Novice II – Status: Competition Mode]

[System Enhancement Online: Live Dish Registry + Judging Projection Enabled]

Above her, a thin gold-tinted pane flickered to life: Dish Not Yet Registered. 

"Huh. I guess they want a closer look at how the dish is made."

Marron swallowed, rolled her shoulders, and let out a breath.

"Let's make something that'll taste like home."

+

Marron selected some long-grain mana rice and made enough for four portions. As she washed the rice, it glowed with faint golden specks. Her hands moved from memory, carefully removing extra starch from the grains. After she'd washed it seven times, the water was much clearer now. 

Instead of grabbing a rice cooker, she chose a copper pot and stirred.

"Even heat...now let's leave her alone to get fluffy and delicious."

To the rice, she added wilted greenleaf, chopped oyster mushrooms, and a chicken broth cube. She used Flavor Pulse to make sure each grain wouldn't get soggy or overcooked.

The mixture glimmered gold around the edges. When she had a spoonful, she knew the flavors were balanced perfectly. 

This...this is what comfort means to me. Warm and filling.

As she set the pot to simmer, the interface pinged:

[Base Component Selected: Long-Grain Mana Rice]

[Flavor Aura: Warm, Steady, Restorative]

[Dish Tag Detected: "Home-style Comfort"]

Current Progress: 8%

She heard Sweet Passion's voice projected from speakers on her station, where everyone was observing her progress from below.

"Oho! Our parfait darling's chosen to start with rice. A beautiful classic that'll shine with the broth she's cooking it in! Is she planning to serve us a risotto? A savory rice pudding perhaps? Who knows!"

Marron smirked despite herself. "Not this time, Passion."

+

She grabbed eight crystal feather chicken thighs and checked the meat. It was beautifully pink with some marbled fat, like earth chickens.

And now to separate the meat from the fat.

Marron carefully sliced around the chicken thighs, leaving only the juicy dark meat for the judges. Afterward, she put them in a metal bowl and set it aside.

I wonder why they're called crystal feather chickens…

Mentally, she checked off her ingredients for the brine: twilight salt, white pepper, and some orange-flavored honey for sweetness.

When she poured the brine into the chicken thighs, the meat absorbed it…and then it looked like a beautiful meat stone!

Marron had to touch the chicken thighs to make sure they were still soft. 

Wow! It looks more like a jewel than food…this will do just fine.

[Primary Protein Selected: Crystalfeather Chicken (Tier II)]

[Flavor Tag Prediction: "Nostalgic Roast"]

[Potential Buff Profile: Vitality, Defense, Charm Boost]

Progress: 22%

From the far gallery, the parchment-skinned judge leaned toward the dwarf and whispered.

"Comfort prep. Intentional…she's not showing off just yet."

"Or she's going to give us quite the performance later," the dwarf replied.

As the chicken marinated, Marron prepared her glaze. "Some brown sugar, sparkling apple vinegar, spice-infused tea, and just a hint of dreambutter..."

When the sauce thickened, Marron tasted it and nodded. "Just right. I don't think they'll take off points fo--lemon!" 

She quickly squeezed it into the sauce for some acidity.

The platform pulsed softly as her dish gained more shape.

[Glaze Detected: Mana-Infused Caramel Reduction]

[Dish Development: 35%]

[Signature Technique Detected: Multi-Stage Build – Potential Tier Increase Pending]

+

Marron pulled the teacups from a low cabinet. Porcelain with a cute hand-painted pattern. There was a chip in one of them, and that made her smile.

"Just like the first time."

She whisked the custard base: goosefolk egg yolks, dreammilk, starlight sugar. Her fingers barely trembled.

"We didn't have ramekins then," she muttered. "and I really wanted pudding. So mom grabbed some teacups…"

"...and coated them with sweet caramel." She poured a thin layer of caramel into the cups and waited for them to harden. 

"Choosing this gold glitter sugar really made a difference..." Marron said, fascinated. It looked like an amber Milky Way with glittering stars. 

This world is truly amazing.

The camera caught Marron with her eyes closed, reliving a beloved memory as she poured the mixture into the cups.

"And then she'd put them into the steamer."

"Metal flan cups are difficult to manage because they conduct heat. If you use porcelain, they come out looking beautiful."

She closed the steamer and murmured softly, "Please be delicious~"

[Secondary Component Selected: Caramel Custard Pudding]

[Uncommon Plating Detected: Porcelain Teacup (Sentimental Modifier Active)]

[Flavor Note: Sweet / Creamy / Subdued Comfort]

Progress: 48%

Sweet Passion gasped from the projection booth. "Wait, is that...teacup pudding? Let's take a closer look." 

In a puff of pink smoke, Sweet Passion appeared next to Marron's station. "It looks so dainty and cute! Definitely a better container than ordinary ramekins."

The audience gasped as the cameras took a closer look at her steamed pudding, safe in cute little cups. 

"What in the whisk is this woman making—breakfast? Lunch? Dessert? All of the above?!"

"Just a recipe I learned from home! Gotta stay true to my roots."

The judges murmured as Sweet Passion walked to the next chef's station. Marron tuned them out.

+

Everything simmered or steamed. For a moment, Marron had nothing left to do but wait.

She looked up.

The other chefs were in motion—casting herbs, folding fire-glazed dumplings, wrapping mana fillets in singing leaf foil.

Her own board looked so… humble.

Chicken. Rice. Pudding.

Simple. Too simple?

[Warning: Confidence Dip Detected. Stat Modifier Reduced Temporarily.]

[Emotional Stability Suggested: External Trigger Incoming...]

+

Every stove burned hot but the final four kept pushing themselves to cook their best dishes.

Marron wanted to finish plating. However, she knew the chicken needed to rest, to seal in all of the juices. While she waited, a figure emerged near her pantry. 

She heard footsteps, turned around--and nearly choked on her tears.

An older woman stood next to her deep fryer. Her silver curls were neatly tied up and her sleeves rolled to the elbow. Even now, Aunt Rayne's idea of paradise was in the kitchen.

"Marron! Still making chicken to fix your feelings?"

Marron dropped her spoon.

"Aunt Rayne?"

She couldn't think. Instead, she embraced her aunt, fully expecting her to disappear. 

Thankfully, she didn't. Aunt Rayne felt like flesh and blood instead of vapor and memory. She smiled, gentle and knowing.

"They let me see you again. I had to know what you were up to."

+

Rayne walked toward the rice pot and smiled as the rice continued to simmer. She rested one palm above it and to Marron, it felt like she was blessing it.

"That Sunday chicken? Your mom made it for me first. She wanted to say, 'I've got you.' She gave me the recipe. Told me to pass it to you. Not to preserve it—" she looked into Marron's eyes— "but to continue it."

Marron bit her lip.

"I thought I failed her. I let the diner close…"

"Marron." Rayne stepped closer, touched her arm. "To every dish, add a dash of love. That's what your mother taught me. That's what you've been doing all along."

The screen above Marron flickered, and the audience gasped.

[Emotional Resonance Achieved – Bonus Tier Unlocked]

[Memory-Linked Cooking: Trait Active]

[Final Buff Adjustment Possible]

+

The rice pot hissed. The steamer chimed.

Rayne turned to the steamer and smiled for the camera. "They told me that was my cue to go. I'll be cheering you on, Marron. You'll always make us proud."

Marron wiped a tear from her eye as she watched her aunt leave her station.

Thank you. That was just what I needed to keep going. I can do this!

She grabbed her carving knife with renewed certainty.

"Okay," she said. "Time to show them who I am."

[Dish Composition 60% – Flavor Tier Rising]

[Working Title Suggested: "Mom's Sunday Comfort"]

[Judging Eyes Engaged – Flavor Net Tracking Public Interest...]