"It's a pity, young man." Mr. Asumoto on the side sighed, looking very regretful, "Whether it is in terms of technique or time, the quality of your Jinping sugar is the best choice." If you dry it two weeks in advance, the finished product you make now will definitely be able to compete with the old man. However, if it is only a semi-finished product, it is not qualified......"

"You're right, old man, it's only a half-finished product. I'll show you the last process. I smiled and whispered to the blonde girl standing beside me, "Artoria, take some water." ”

"Understood." The girl nodded, walked to the side, took the half-filled water from the scoop, and handed it to me steadily, "Shirou, here you go." ”

"Hmm."

I took the scoop from the girl's hand, and under Mr. Yasumoto's involuntarily wide-eyed gaze, I swirled all the water into the steaming pot, which was still steaming slightly.

"You...... What does this do? Mr. Abermoto's trembling words carried a slight stuckness, which was absolutely inadmissible for a diplomat, and it was enough to prove the incomparable surprise in his heart at this moment, "Even if you fail because of poor preparation, you can't spoil food so badly!" ”

"Mr. Abermoto, I'm not spoiling food. I have my own ideas. I shook my head and said.

"What do you think?" Mr. Aberdeen was stunned for a moment, and the wrinkles on his thin face were also a little deeper, "Could it be...... You can't bear the blow of defeat, so you don't want to share the rare delicacy with everyone? ”

“…… Where did you think of it? Am I such a withdrawn and dark person in your eyes? I couldn't stop laughing, "From the very beginning, I didn't plan to make traditional konpeito, but my own improved konpeito soup." ”

"Jinping Sugar Soup?" Mr. Asumoto's expression looked as if he had discovered a new continent.

At this time, there was a "gurgling" sound in the rotary pot behind him, indicating that the water that had been poured into it had boiled.

Turning around and picking up the spatula, I reached into it and stirred a few times, making sure that the gold flat was swimming freely in the water, and I extinguished the flames.

In the rotary pot, the boiling sugar water exudes steaming heat, and the sweet honey fragrance fills the entire kitchen.

The konpeito, which has fully absorbed the water, not only looks more full because of its much larger size, but also turns the honey wrapped in the surface into a beautiful gold edge in the rolling, which looks as luxurious as a layer of gold.

Lifting the pot, I poured the konpeito sugar mixed with the sugar water into a few deep bowls that Artoria had already taken.

"Altoria, bring it to the kids!" After pouring the konpeito soup in the pot completely, I smiled at the girl next to me.

"That...... Could Shirou please not omit the necessary modifiers...... For example, the children of the Aberdeen couple ......" The girl lowered her head in some confusion.

"Uh...... Good. I will definitely pay attention in the future. I scratched my head and said.

As soon as the girl reminded me, I realized that the words I subconsciously came out of my mouth seemed to be really inappropriate......

"Hmm...... I...... That's not what it means! It's just that...... Too sudden...... There are still some ...... now" Hearing me say this, the girl waved her hands again and again in a bit of a panic, and said incoherently.

"Too suddenly? Artoria, could it be that you have always ......," I looked at her with some surprise.

"I didn't ...... No! I didn't think about anything, not even children or anything! The girl's pretty face suddenly turned red, and she stomped her foot twice in shame, "Forget it, even if I say Shirou, I won't understand this kind of thing!" I'm going to give ...... Mr. and Mrs. Abermoto's children have given Kin Ping sugar soup! ”

Completely talking to herself, the girl moved briskly, and brought the deep bowl to the children in several times.

"Be careful, eat slowly, don't get burned."

Putting the spoon in the hands of several children, the girl did not forget to tell her seriously, and looked like a responsible big sister who loved her younger siblings very much.

Next, under her supervision, several children curiously scooped up a few pieces of gold flat candy from the bowl, and then put them into their mouths with the sugar water.

"It's delicious!" Slightly closed his eyes and chewing on the soaked Konpeito, the youngest Taro first screamed indistinctly.

"It's amazing, Brother Wei Gong is too strong!"

"Grandpa has never made this kind of food before!"

After Taro, the remaining children also raised their arms one after another, looking as if they had met the best food since birth, and they were extremely excited.

"—Mr. Emiya, could you allow the old man to taste a bite of your Jinping soup with sugar?" After a moment of silence, Mr. Aberdeen pursed his lips and pleaded with me.

"Ah...... Of course. If you want to eat it, I'll make another pot for you now! I nodded quickly, took two bags of sugar and honey and added them to the carousel.

However, Mr. Aberdeen shook his head at me slightly, waved his hand, and said:

"There is no need to be so troublesome, the old man and his grandson can taste it together."

After saying that, Mr. Yasumoto walked straight to Kotaro's side, bent down and asked him with a pleasant face:

"Taro, can you give grandpa a bite of Konpei soup?"

"Of course, grandpa, Taro feeds you!"

With an innocent smile on his face, Kotaro scooped a spoonful of konpeito mixed with sugar water from the bowl and poured it into Mr. Yasumoto's open mouth.

“——！”

At the entrance of Jinping Sugar Soup, Mr. Asumoto's eyes suddenly widened, and the whole person was like being struck by lightning.

"Mr. Aberdeen...... What do you think it tastes like? I asked, a little apprehensively.

"In this round of competition, I lost ......" After taking two deep breaths, Mr. Aberdeen finally reluctantly admitted, stepped forward and patted me on the shoulder twice, "Young man, congratulations on your victory." ”

"No...... No, you can ...... so easily" I was amazed.

In the final analysis, my Konpei soup is just a slight improvement on the original Kuppeito, and Mr. Yasumoto's snowball cake is a manifestation of his superb cooking skills over the years. I originally thought that according to the stubborn character of the other party, he would hold on to this point and argue with me.

"Alas...... If conditions permit, the old man will definitely not take the initiative to admit defeat, and may ask for a rematch with a dead face. Mr. Yasumoto shrugged his shoulders very frankly, "However, although the old man has been practicing cooking for many years, he is only blindly imitating the existing methods, thinking about how to get closest to the existing perfect dishes. Including the snowball cake, it was also three years ago that a cake chef friend of the old man put forward the relevant idea, and the old man succeeded after many attempts. ”

"But you're different, you can build on your existing recipes, not be limited by conventions, be bold and innovative, and you can achieve great results. From this point of view alone, the gap between the old man and you is qualitative, and the only way to bow down is to bow down. ”