Chapter 75

It's long...

As the bell signaling the end of the sweets competition rang, each team placed their confections on the stands in the square. After confirming this, the male host explained the judging method to the gathered audience.

"Alright, all these sweets look delicious. You, the audience, will be the judges! Taste them and give the flower you have to the team that made your favorite sweet. The team that receives the most flowers will be the winner!"

The flowers prepared for this purpose are small pink flowers. Since many people have these flowers, the winning team will likely be covered in a mountain of flowers.

"In the event of a win, as announced, a medal will be awarded as a royal endorsement."

As soon as the host announced this, a cheer erupted from the crowd. A royal endorsement is not something easily obtained. It involves ongoing business and credibility. Even if a business gets off the ground, it must demonstrate the ability to maintain its current status for several years.

"Additionally, there is a special judge's award! This is an award given to one team by Their Majesties, the head chef, the deputy chef, and Lady Liliage. The selected sweet will be served as dessert at a royal banquet!"

Another cheer rose at the mention of the special award. Being chosen for either award is a great honor, and for those in the food industry, it's a prize they would give anything to win. In addition, cash prizes and decorative items are also prepared as secondary awards.

Thus, the tasting and judging began. The judges rushed to the sweets, and the sweets, which were supposed to be plentiful, quickly disappeared. Everyone was saying, "Delicious!" and engaging in lively conversations about which sweets they preferred.

"Creating connections through sweets like this is a good thing."

Tiara Rose watched the judges happily eating the sweets and placing flowers on the teams they liked, and smiled. However, she also looked a bit regretful. The reason was simple: she had participated as a contestant and couldn't join the judges to taste the sweets.

"Maybe I failed," she murmured, placing her hand on her cheek, so that no one could hear.

◇ ◇ ◇

Before King Sotiris and the other special judges, all the sweets were laid out. They all looked delicious and colorful. Suppressing the urge to eat them immediately, they first evaluated the appearance.

"Each one is wonderful, making the judging very difficult. If I had to pick one that stands out, it would be Tiara Rose's team, wouldn't it? Their candy sculpture is truly magnificent."

"Yes, indeed. Not only does she have the education of a princess, but she can also make sweets. Thanks to Tiara Rose, the desserts in this country have become much more diverse."

"That's true."

In addition, a cake adorned with finely grated chocolate and a madeleine shaped like the national flower received high praise. Then, they moved on to tasting.

"Oh, is this a honey cupcake? The natural sweetness is just right, and it's easy for men to eat."

The honey cupcake praised by the head chef was made by the owner of the popular honey cafe, Flower Honey. Honey was a rare and expensive commodity, but thanks to the bees' preference for Tiara Rose's flowers, a lot of honey could be harvested. As a result, it became more accessible to commoners.

As the head chef was lavishly praising the cupcake, he suddenly noticed a burnt cupcake. Perhaps due to the pressure of the competition and the presence of the audience, the baking temperature wasn't adjusted properly. He tilted his head and picked it up. As expected, it was overcooked, hard, and burnt, and not at all appetizing.

"Still, we have to eat it as part of the judging..."

The head chef opened his mouth to eat it, but Liliage, with a "Kyuu!" sound, stopped him.

"Um, Lady Liliage, a friend of Lady Tiara Rose. Is something wrong? I think eating something so burnt might not be good for your health."

The head chef offered Liliage the honey cupcake instead of the burnt one, but she shook her head, insisting that she wanted the burnt cupcake. The head chef, thinking it was a bit much to give it to her, checked which team made the burnt cupcake. The names of Ferus, Keith, and Clayre were listed.

Upon hearing this, Sotiris exclaimed, "I see."

"That's the Forest Elf King, Keith. I didn't expect him to participate in this event."

"Really! Such a thing...!!"

Sotiris had seen Keith at Tiara Rose and Aquasteed's wedding. Therefore, he immediately recognized that the burnt cupcake was made by the Elf King. The head chef looked at the burnt cupcake, trembling, wondering if this was a dessert made by the Elf King.

"Perhaps Lady Liliage wanted it because it was made by the Elf King."

Placing the cupcake in front of Liliage, she smiled happily and took a bite—then instantly grimaced. Despite its appearance, it was burnt and hard, and not at all delicious.

"......I see."

The head chef, seeing Liliage's reaction, also bit into the cupcake for the sake of the judging. Instantly, a bitter taste spread in his mouth. It was indeed terrible. He chewed it as best he could and decided not to eat any more, shaking his head.

However, the head chef suddenly felt a warmth in his body.

"? Could it be..."

"Is something wrong?"

"Your Majesty... Yes. It seems that this cupcake has a slight magical effect."

Despite its taste, the effect was impressive, befitting the Elf King. The head chef, moved by this, ate all the burnt cupcakes.

Next, they tried the macarons made by Hartnights and Sirius. Liliage also enjoyed them, and Sotiris and Lavinia quickly finished them. However, since there was no particularly new innovation, the evaluation was not very high.

"Next is Tiara Rose's cake. She made a large rose out of candy, and it's very beautiful."

Lavinia's voice rose with excitement as she gazed admiringly at Tiara Rose's cake. The shiny candy sculpture, decorated with whipped cream and chocolate ribbons, was a work of art.

"It's a shame to eat it. But if we don't, it will go to waste. I've never felt this way about food before."

She cautiously inserted a fork into the cake and slowly tasted the sponge, whipped cream, and chocolate. The sponge, layered with whipped cream and chocolate, was melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

"......Ha, it's very delicious."

"Yes, it's delicious. It's very meticulous and refined."

Sotiris and the others savored all the sweets. Next, they discussed which team would receive the special award.

◇ ◇ ◇

---Ha, I also want to be a judge.

Tiara Rose watched the judges eating the sweets and placing flowers on the teams they liked. At the same time, she resolved to become a judge next year and enjoy many delicious sweets.

Many flowers were also placed on Tiara Rose's team. She wondered if they might win. As she was thinking this, a bright voice reached her ears.

"Big Sister Tiara Rose."

"Sir Sirius. Thank you for making the sweets. How was it?"

"Brother was clumsy, which was a bit of a problem," Sirius said with a playful smile.

"Well, Lord Hartnights was clumsy, wasn't he?"

Akari giggled at Sirius's words. Beside her, Olivia was taking notes, writing that Hartnights was clumsy and embarrassed. They made macarons together, but Hartnights had crushed most of them.

"Still, it was fun to make something we usually eat without thinking. ...Actually, I wanted Big Sister Tiara Rose to try the macarons I made."

"Sir Sirius's macarons? Thank you, they look very delicious. The shape is beautiful, and it must have been quite challenging to make."

Seeing the beautifully wrapped macarons, Tiara Rose's expression brightened. It's always a joy to receive sweets made for you. While praising Sirius, she also sympathized with the effort he must have put into the unfamiliar task.

"I made a few mistakes at first, but I got used to it."

"Sir Sirius, you are very skilled."

As Tiara Rose marveled at Sirius's words, the host's voice echoed through the square, signaling the end of the judging.

"It's time to announce the results! Please wait a moment while we tally the votes!"

"I think we might win. What do you think?"

Akari compared the flowers they had received with those of other teams and announced that they had a high chance of winning. Watching the staff count, Tiara Rose felt her heart race.

---I wonder if they liked our cake.

She was worried about this, but she was confident that they had received high praise from the judges. Still, the tension of waiting for the results did not diminish. Olivia, influenced by Tiara Rose's restlessness, also seemed uneasy.

"It's almost time to announce the results. ...Sir Sirius, you should go back to your cooking area. Lord Hartnights must be worried."

"It's the results, so I can't help it. I really wanted to stay with Big Sister Tiara Rose a bit longer."

Finding Sirius's slightly sad expression endearing, Tiara Rose thought, "If only I had a brother like him." She sent him off before the results were announced, and Tiara Rose and the others took a break. After Sirius's figure disappeared, Olivia commented, "He's so cute."

"He was a character who hardly appeared in the game, but he's a beautiful young man. It's a shame he wasn't a main character."

"Lady Olivia..."

Olivia sighed wistfully, wishing she could meet him in the game. Realizing he was Akari's stepbrother, she sighed deeply, "I'm so jealous." Seeing Olivia's reaction, Tiara Rose chuckled. As the host announced that the tallying was complete, Akari stood tall, eager for the results.

"Alright, let's get the results announced quickly!"

The top five teams and the special judge's award were announced.

"First, in fifth place! The honey cupcake from Flower Honey! They received 186 flowers!"

The audience applauded, and the owner bowed, saying, "Thank you."

"Flower Honey is the cafe Lady Olivia and I visited the other day. It's very exciting to see a