My Next Life in Teyvat: I Just Wanted Friends, Not Every Girl's Love!-Chapter 191 - 190: I’m Participating in This Cooking Contest

Chapter 191: Chapter 190: I’m Participating in This Cooking Contest

"Oh~ finally here, it wasn’t easy. I thought I’d have to wait a bit longer."

Hearing the news that Beidou had returned to Liyue Harbor, Lumine was very excited. Although Liyue and Mondstadt were both great, as a Traveler, she couldn’t stay in one place for too long. She was already looking forward to the journey to Inazuma.

(The Indestructible: When you get there, you’ll be crying and screaming to come back.)

"Not that fast. At the very least, we have to finish the Moonchase Festival here, and Beidou is also planning to hold a martial arts tournament. Only those without a Vision can participate, and the winner will receive a reward. If you don’t want the reward, you can exchange it for the qualification to travel to Inazuma."

"Mm! That’s no problem at all. A Vision? I’ve never had one from the very beginning, so I naturally qualify to participate in the competition."

Lumine had never relied on a Vision to use elemental power, so this rule posed no issue for her.

"Although the rule states that only those without a Vision can participate, you also cannot use elemental power, Traveler. Otherwise, it would be too unfair."

Lumine was already formidable without using elemental power; if she were to use it against ordinary people, even Beidou, who organized the competition, probably wouldn’t be able to stand by and watch.

"Don’t worry, I have no interest in bullying ordinary people. Besides, if people knew I used elemental power to bully others, there would be bad rumors."

"Oh? Is that so? Are you worried that this martial arts tournament won’t have a suitable opponent for you to fight?"

Durandal asked, "In that case, how about I also participate in this martial arts tournament? The requirement is for those without a Vision, and I also don’t have a Vision, so theoretically I can participate."

"You... participate in the martial arts tournament?"

Lumine’s expression became incredibly amusing. The martial arts tournament requires only those without a Vision to participate, but even someone with a Gnosis wouldn’t be your match.

"Hmm, you’re showing the exact same expression as Ningguang."

"Of course! No matter how you think about it, this isn’t appropriate. You shouldn’t get involved in this kind of thing."

"But... this competition would be quite easy for you. I just don’t want you to pass too easily; I’m just adding a little difficulty for you."

A little? This is a finger-tip universe, isn’t it? This ’little difficulty’ is an unbridgeable chasm for her. Lumine strongly suspected that even if she regained all her powers, she couldn’t beat Durandal with one hand.

Imagining herself in the martial arts tournament, possibly being pinned to the ground by Durandal and gawked at by onlookers, Lumine activated a girl’s exclusive skill: ’coquetry.’

She clung to Durandal, rubbing against her body, and sweetly said, "I’m only participating in this martial arts tournament to get a chance to go to Inazuma from Big Sister Beidou. This doesn’t affect my growth, so even if you turn into an obstacle and stand in front of me, it won’t have any effect."

"But..."

"Besides, if possible, I hope Durandal doesn’t show her abilities in crowded places. If possible, I hope Durandal maintains this adorable image in everyone else’s eyes. You just be a good divine doctor in front of others."

"But..."

"Alright, alright. Let’s not talk about that now. It’s getting late. How about we go to Wanmin Restaurant today and eat Boiled Black-Back Perch there?"

"...Alright."

Giving Durandal no chance to speak, Lumine and Paimon pulled Durandal and Shenhe to Wanmin Restaurant.

Just then, there weren’t many people dining there. Chef Mao, upon seeing Durandal and her group, greeted them very warmly.

"Isn’t this the Traveler? What are you planning to eat today? I’ll prepare it for you."

"Thank you, Chef Mao. We’d like to have Boiled Black-Back Perch, please."

"Alrighty~ Just a moment, the Boiled Black-Back Perch will be served to you very soon."

Facing his daughter’s good friends, Chef Mao’s attitude was clearly much more enthusiastic, and Durandal and her companions were all adorable girls. After hearing Paimon’s thanks, Chef Mao felt even more motivated.

"Oh? I didn’t expect you to come just when I was thinking of you. You didn’t hear my call, did you?"

Xiangling walked over from the side: "I was just about to finish up and come find you. This saves me a lot of effort."

"It sounds like you have something to tell us, Xiangling."

"Yes, I need your help with something. You’ve seen the decorations on the streets, right? The Moonchase Festival is coming soon, and I plan to participate in this year’s Chef Showdown. I’d like to invite you to be my food consultants and give me some advice from a diner’s perspective."

Durandal, standing behind, heard this and, uncharacteristically, became interested. She stepped forward from behind and asked, "Chef Showdown? Does that mean a competition to see who makes the most delicious food?"

"Yes, every year during the Moonchase Festival, the Seven Stars of Liyue designate a theme. This year’s theme is ’Food and Mountains and Rivers.’ To complement the ’Food’ aspect, the Seven Stars of Liyue specially organized a cooking competition. This is a rare grand event, and I’m very interested, so I couldn’t resist signing up."

"Theme... Does that mean the content of the dishes must be related to the theme?"

"Not exactly. The cooking competition is prepared to complement this year’s theme, not for the dishes to match the theme. If it were truly like that, it would affect the contestants’ performance."

Durandal nodded. She then remembered the martial arts tournament she had just discussed with Lumine. Since Lumine didn’t want her to participate in that tournament, then... participating in this cooking competition should be fine, right?

"What? Are you also interested in this cooking competition? If you participate too, I’ll have one more formidable rival."

Xiangling couldn’t forget the grilled fish Durandal made. The act of condensing one’s feelings into a dish was something she still couldn’t achieve.

If Durandal could still achieve that level this time, then she would most likely be defeated.

However, Xiangling didn’t feel anxious about Durandal’s inclusion. Only by facing stronger opponents could she improve.

If she could learn from failure and further advance her culinary skills, Xiangling would welcome more and stronger contestants to participate in this cooking competition.

"I’m generally not very interested in these things, but to better experience the charm of the festival, the best way is to participate."

Although Durandal didn’t like being watched by too many people, it wasn’t good to always be like that. She wanted to try it, just as a first step towards change.

Lumine didn’t want her to participate in the martial arts tournament, so she would join the cooking competition. Lumine would have no reason to refuse her then, right?

"Durandal is also going to participate? Hooray ヾ(≧▽≦)ノ, it’s going to get lively now."

Ah ah w(゜Д゜)w~ What a pity! If only I could be a judge, their dishes would definitely be delicious, but as a spectator, I won’t be able to taste them.

"Since you want Lumine and her companions as your food consultants, I won’t be joining you from now on. I’m going back to research the dishes I’ll make that day."

"Mm, I won’t bother you. I hope you can give it your all, Durandal! Even if I’m defeated by you, it doesn’t matter; please bring out your full strength."

"Defeated by me? Why would you think that? Your culinary skills are clearly far superior to mine."

Just kidding, Xiangling grew up under Chef Mao’s influence since childhood. Her culinary skills had long surpassed her mentor’s. How could Durandal, a novice who had only been exposed to cooking for less than a year, be her match?

She didn’t know that besides experience, there were other criteria for judging food. As an experienced chef, Xiangling was well aware of this.

Looking at Durandal, who still didn’t realize she possessed a skill every chef dreamed of, Xiangling could only smile helplessly.

"No matter what, please give your full effort in this competition. I will also give my all."

"...No problem."

Although confused, since Xiangling said so, Durandal had no intention of holding back, especially since she never had that intention to begin with.

Durandal left with Shenhe. She wanted Shenhe to help her evaluate her cooking, but was she really suitable for that task?

Given Shenhe’s identity, no matter what Durandal cooked, she would probably find it delicious.

Lumine watched Durandal leave with some regret. She had originally thought they could spend the Moonchase Festival together, but she didn’t expect such a development.

This emotion was quickly replaced by curiosity; Xiangling’s earlier performance left her curious and puzzled.

"You seem to think you can’t compare to Miss Durandal. What’s going on, Xiangling?"

"It’s not that I can’t compare, it’s that I feel there’s a very high chance I’d lose to her. Miss Durandal said she hasn’t been learning to cook for long, but she can infuse her feelings into her dishes, which most chefs can’t do."

"Oh? Are you saying that girl can already infuse her feelings into her cooking, Xiangling?"

Chef Mao, who was cooking, asked with some surprise upon hearing Xiangling’s words.

Seeing Xiangling nod in affirmation, Chef Mao sighed with emotion. Young people nowadays are truly remarkable; that young girl has already mastered this at such a tender age.

The only regret was that she wasn’t pursuing a career as a chef; it was a bit of a shame.

"Infusing feelings into cooking? What does that mean, Xiangling?"

"Simply put, it’s putting emotion into the dish. It sounds mystical, but those who master this ability can make the same dish taste even better."

Listening to Xiangling’s explanation, Lumine and Paimon had expressions of, "I don’t understand, but I’m deeply impressed." Lumine felt a bit defeated; she had now also lost to Miss Durandal in cooking.

But... infusing feelings into a dish? Does that mean Miss Durandal’s usual dishes all have her feelings infused in them?

What kind of feelings does she carry when she cooks for everyone?

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