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It is quite an eventful day in Fontaine, and more so that something big is going down at Hotel Debord that has a lot of people to see.
That day is actually a cook off between Aether and Escoffier, who the two wanted to see how they compete against each other to see who can bring the best dish.
The judges turn out to be a special case with Emilie, Furina and even Neuvillette. Those in the stands are all of Aether's Fontaine friends like Navia, Lyney, Lynette, Freminet, Charlotte, Clorinde, Chevreuse, Wriothesley, Sigewinne and Chiori, plus Paimon, as everyone dropped their current work schedule or put it on hold to see this.
The trio immediately saw Escoffier’s special dish known as her Gateau Debord: Magnifique, and each took one bite.
That one bite turned their entire world of taste upside down; they felt like ascending to heaven. There were no flaws in her cooking! Perfect down to the last detail!
“Impressive as ever, Escoffier! Perfection indeed!” Furina commented.
“Yes. The aroma of your dish was quite spectacular.” Emilie commented.
“As expected of the former head of Hotel Debrod.” Neuvillette commented.
The crowd went wild from seeing the happy reaction of the judges.
“Man, Escoffier didn’t waste any time with her work.” Navia commented.
“It’s so tasty~!” Paimon hollered, drooling and dazed at the sight.
“Let’s see what the Traveler has in store for this.” Charlotte said.
Aether soon presented his dish, which appears to be Premium Desert Course comprised of Rainbow Macarons, La Lettre a Focalors and Bulle Souffle.
“A full-course desert display?” Escoffier asked, out of curiosity.
“It’s not much. But why don’t we taste each other’s to see who the real winner is after this.” Aether answered.
“Hmph! Challenge accepted!” Escoffier hollered.
Aether presented his dish to the three judges and each took a bite. Once bitten, Furina, Neuvillette and Emilie were totally taken aback by the sweet flavor of the dishes.
They felt like being transported to a world full of sweets and were enjoying themselves to the fullest.
“Well, Traveler. You surprised me.” Escoffier commented.
“Why thank you, mademoiselle.” Aether said, making Escoffier blush a little.
“Now it's time to truly decide the winner by tasting each other's dishes and see who's is the best.” Aether explained.
“Challenge accepted.” Escoffier said.
Everyone in the room began to watch with bated breath to see who will truly win the competition this day.
Both Aether and Escoffier tasted their opposing dishes and with one bite, both were totally flown in two different worlds of sweet flavor!
They both admired each other’s skill in the kitchen, but neither they nor anyone could ever imagine their growth in the culinary arts to new heights.
Soon enough, they were back in reality after having gone to “food heaven” and await their vote.
XXX
Several minutes later, Aether was walking down the hallway slowly, currently thinking to himself on improvement.
He did in fact lose to Escoffier after conceding defeat, but really enjoyed seeing what it was like to face her in the kitchen. And knowing how much more skilled she is, he does have a few things to worry about that he can’t seem to find.
“Hey, Traveler.” Escoffier called out.
Aether turned to see Escoffier running up to join him.
“Hey. That was a fun match.” Aether commented.
“It was. I hope you didn’t throw that on purpose.” Escoffier joked.
“Of course not! It’s just that…” Aether wanted to say, but the master chef put her fingers on his lips, cutting him off.
“Well, you only accepted defeat because I have no flaws in my cooking.” Escoffier said.
“But if I were to rate your dish… it was 9.5 out of 10.” Escoffier added.
“9.5 out of 10? I’m guessing there was one or two errors in my full-course desert meal.” Aether explained.
“When I tasted it, you added a little too much sugar in all of them, and you may have spent most of your time on one dish out of the three.” Escoffier explained.
Aether chuckled.
“Nothing gets by your sense of taste.” Aether commented.
Escoffier smirked and noticed something on Aether’s right cheek. So she leaned in and used her lips to taste what appears to be leftover cream, along with giving Aether a kiss on the cheek, to his shock.
The master chef pulled back and smiled.
“You had something on your face.” Escoffier said.
“ Two can play that game. ” Aether thought, feeling challenged.
“You have something on your face too.” Aether said.
“Huh? There’s nothing on my-“ Escoffier tried to act cool, but Aether was swifter and landed a kiss on her lips, closing the distance between the two.
Escoffier was completely caught off guard and her face blushed red. But she gave in and deepened the kiss, igniting her own love for the Traveler.
The kiss lasted for a few more minutes before releasing for oxygen. The two were blushing hard, but gave into their embracing hug.
“Hey, Traveler.” Escoffier said.
“Yeah?” Aether asked.
“There’s something I later learned that being a great chef is to pour all your heart and soul to cook for someone very important and make them happy.” Escoffier explained.
“And that person happens to be me?” Aether joked.
Escoffier sighed.
“Yeah, yeah.” Escoffier said.
“And I do say your dish was really delicious.” Aether commented, making Escoffier smile again.
The two soon enough gave in for another kiss to share their love for one another, unaware they’re being watched from a good distance by a smirking Paimon, Furina, Navia, Lynette and Chiori.