"Goodbye, Sir!" The Chefs and the rest of the Cooks bowed as Sebastian left the restaurant alongside Isaac.
"Your taste buds must be sensitive to notice the lack of salt." While roaming around the streets with Isaac, Sebastian said, "It isn't easy to notice while eating delicious food."
Isaac shrugged and had his response ready, "I just felt like it needed salt."
Sebastian's mouth curved into a smile. He didn't say anything else.
They continued strolling in the streets, appreciating the fragrance of food wafting over from nearby food stalls.
"Hmm, what is happening over there?" Isaac pointed toward the commotion. A crowd of people had gathered around a small open space.
'Food battle…' Sebastian was familiar with how Layer of Feasting operated. Usually, if there was a large crowd gathering, it can only mean one thing.
Food Battle!
They joined the crowd and managed to see the reason for the commotion.
Two figures with a significant height difference were gathered around two stoves and tables.
On top of the tables, cooking equipment was stacked up.
Below the tables, food was placed in cooling bags, which kept the food secure.
"Hmph!" A man in his 40s arrogantly raised his chin and puffed his chest. His short brown hair was barely obstructing the view of his face, which was rather handsome but also aggravating to look at.
Everyone could tell that he thought of himself as a person above commonfolk from the face alone.
On the opposite side, a little girl with chubby cheeks, blue eyes, and black hair styled in pigtails crossed her arms, trying to act tough.
However, to the onlookers, it only appeared very cute.
"Oh." Sebastian looked amused, "Interesting."
"Eh, food battle?" Isaac was baffled, "Isn't this unfair?"
"What is?" Sebastian asked.
"That man is so much older," Isaac said while moving to a better position to clearly see the food battle. Sebastian followed after him.
Soon, they found a spot that gave them an unobstructed view.
"And?" Sebastian looked at Isaac.
"That little girl will obviously lose." Isaac said with certitude, "That man has thirty years more experience."
Sebastian smiled and didn't say anything.
Tap Tap
A man with a white double-breasted jacket, pants, and apron arrived next to the stoves. He lifted his arm and said, "Food Battle between Alyssa and Cole shall begin!"
He lowered his arm. That was the cue for the food battle to begin.
Cole grinned, seized all the cooking equipments he needed, threw them to the stoves, and turned them on.
Splash
He poured water down till the cooking pots were half full. Once he had done that, he started cutting up the vegetables.
In the eyes of the onlookers, the vegetables were sliced apart and piled on top of a cutting board. They couldn't even see Cole using the knife.
"Heh." Cole moved the vegetables to the nearby cooking pot and submerged them in the water.
After the first part of his cooking was done, he glanced at his opponent. The little girl was slowly cutting the vegetables. Her hand was rather unsteady.
Cole almost laughed. However, soon noticed that he had yet to do the second part of his recipe.
The crowd whispered with each other.
"Cole is indeed amazing. Did you see how swiftly he cut those vegetables?"
"Yeah, he is indeed a man worthy of being second-in-line."
"Yeah, at this rate, he will be a leading Chef of C-Rank Restaurant, Seventh Song!"
Isaac's perked up ears lowered as he heard everything he needed. But he wondered what the C-Rank was.
"Sebastian, what did he mean by C-Rank?"
"All restaurants in Layer of Feasting are ranked rather simply. From F to S."
"Oh." Isaac nodded with understanding, "Is it any good?"
Sebastian's eyebrow twitched after seeing Cole's way of filleting a fish.
"C-Rank would be Top Restaurant in any other City."
Isaac was surprised, "Wait… How come there are 3 ranks higher?"
"Because C-Rank is merely average in Layer of Feasting." Sebastian couldn't look at Cole anymore and switched his gaze to the little girl.
His eyes showed undeniable shock before quickly fading away.
"I see." Isaac felt like Brightstar was even more awesome than he thought, "What about the restaurant we visited?"
"A-Rank," Sebastian said and kept a close eye on the little girl, who finished cutting the vegetables and pushed them to the cooking pots. Her movements seemed clumsy, but Sebastian was still speechless.
"Wow." Isaac was amazed and wished he could have dined there.
"However, when I was still there, it was S-Rank." Sebastian rubbed his neck. It was partially his fault that the restaurant lost its rank, and many blamed him.
That Restaurant was at the top of Brightstar, loved by everyone, but then Sebastian decided to retire.
After an hour, Isaac was already becoming bored, but soon, two plates filled with food were placed on a nearby table.
Cole's plate was beautifully decorated. The fish was still steaming in the middle of the plate, and a delicious aroma was wafting through the air.
The vegetables highlighted the fish, increasing the appeal of the food.
The little girl's decoration, however, was somewhat laughable. The fish was cut into tiny pieces, while the vegetables were placed on another side of the plate.
"Alright!" The Referee looked around the crowd and shouted, "One from the crowd will have the pleasure of being the food taster!"
The crowd became loud, everyone wanting to be the one. However, Isaac suddenly felt a hand touching his back and pushing him forward.
His eyes widened in shock. As he looked behind him, he saw Sebastian smiling with a mischievous look.
Isaac brushed past the crowd of people.
The referee pointed at him and said, "You!"
"Me?" Isaac pointed at himself and saw the referee nodding. The large crowd looked with envy at the white-haired youth.
He walked to the referee, who took a cooking book from the table and placed his hand on it.
"Touch the book." He said.
Isaac placed his hand next to the referee's hand.
"Do you swear that you will decide the winner based on the taste and nothing else?"
"Uh, I do." Isaac nodded and watched as the referee placed the book back in his backpack.
The referee nodded at Isaac, telling him to taste the food.