Chapter 110:
Spice of Life
"You really do have something against bets that involve hair," Sundae glared.
"My place, my rules," Helga glared.
"*Tch* Well, I'll just drag her over to a barbershop once I'm done."
"Um, is it OK for me to be doing all this? I know I came here when you said you wanted to show me your place, but another cook off? I really don't want to wear roller skates again, plus I gotta get back to work," Mimi nervously stated.
"You've intrigued me Mimi. Now I wanna see if you're any good at cooking," Helga smirked.
"I intrigued you? How?"
"By growing back all your hair like that. You also managed to somehow balance yourself while wearing the roller skates. I honestly just want to know how you would have cooked if you weren't hindered by the skates. As such, loser of this cook off will simply have to scrub the toilets here."
"Lame, I was going to book a laser hair removal session for her," Sundae snarled.
"Laser!? What's wrong with you!? That would burn my flesh off!" Mimi cried.
"So? The uglier you get, the better."
"Helga, can I punch her in the face if I beat her?"
"PUNCH!? Are you a violent animal!?"
"No violence. Though if Sundae loses, she gets the bald makeover she booked for Mimi in addition to scrubbing the toilets," Helga stated.
"Um, no. She needs more punishment. How bout she also goes bald, but has to keep it shaved for a year AND get my restaurant's logo tattooed on it? Then I'd agree to such a proposal," Sundae huffed.
"BRING IT!" Mimi roared.
"Heh, idiot," Sundae smirked in her mind.
"IDIOT! Why'd you agree to such a dumb bet? Now you're gonna be bald and be a walking advertisement for her!" Helga groaned.
"But I didn't lose," Mimi pouted.
"Sundae's the best patisserie I know. No way an amateur like you would even beat her."
"Just watch me. I may not be the brightest, but I complete my missions."
...
Sundae laughed aloud as she danced through the kitchen cooking up her dish.
"Oh, I'm going to savor this moment. Time for a 5-0 overkill," Sundae laughed as she took her cake out of the oven.
"Wow, it looks really good," Mimi mused.
"But you won't be looking so cute when you lose. What are you even making?"
"That sundae you made earlier."
"Copying me? Wow, you really are stupid. This isn't ice cream vs ice cream, it's ice cream vs cake. I made sure to craft my cake in a way that it will stuff the judges and sour their mood on future dishes," Sundae giddily thought.
"Alright, are you two almost done?" Helga asked.
"Almost," Sundae sang.
"Just about," Mimi smiled.
"Good. Then you two come with me while I bring out the dishes. Oh, and you are to remain silent until the judges deliver their verdict."
Once they finished, Sundae and Mimi placed their dishes on the cart and followed Helga as she wheeled them out to the judges.
Like before, Helga, Frosting, and Sorbet were judging, however they were now joined by two people from Helga's place. One was a girl with her hair styled like a mushroom named Kyoko, while the other was a guy with red hair and blonde highlights named Akito.
"Now, first we shall try the sundae," Helga stated as she placed said dish before the other judges.
"*Tch* So I won't be able to stuff them full. Well, I'll still win anyway," Sundae thought.
"Mmm! This is delish. Not bad Sundae-sama," Sorbet cooed.
"Tastes better than it did earlier," Frosting mused.
"Sundae-chan's sweets really are the best. Oh, no offense Helga-chan," Kyoko snickered.
"Sundae-chan! Your sundae is divine! I would not mind if you shoveled it down my throat every second of the day for the rest of time!" Akito blushed.
"Huh!? I-"
"No talking till ALL the judging is over or you're DQ'd!" Helga glared as she tried the sundae.
Next it was onto the cake.
"It's delish, but it fills me up WAY too quick. Lame. Bet you were trying to screw over Sundae-sama with this," Sorbet glared at Mimi.
"The cake's good, but it probably would have tasted better before I ate the sundae. The flavors just don't mesh well," Frosting noted.
"*Tch* I think I'm enjoying the cake more. I can't let that girl win though," Kyoko thought.
"Um, girl who's name I don't know, you're cake fills me to the max. Please feed this to me everyday! Also can I have your number?" Akito asked.
Mimi immediately got defensive before Helga slapped Akito.
"Sorry about him. He may be a talented chef, but he's also an insane womanizer. If the others were in, I'd have had one of them judge instead of him," Helga sighed.
Once the judges were finished eating they gave their verdicts.
"Now judges, which dish was the best? I personally thought the sundae was superior to the cake. How about you, Akito?" Helga asked.
"Cake! There was more! Plus I think the blonde girl is cuter so I wanna show her some love," Akito gushed.
"Noted. Frosting?"
"The sundae. The cake stuffed me too much," Frosting stated.
"Kyoko?"
"The sundae," Kyoko lied.
"And Sorbet?"
"Well obviously Sundae-sama's," Sorbet smirked.
"Which was?"
"The sundae you dunce. Seriously, that dumbass rubbing off on you? Well, won't be any longer. With a vote of 4-1, Sundae-sama wins!" Sorbet proclaimed.
"NO! You got it in reverse. Mimi made the sundae and Sundae made the cake, therefore, Mimi wins in a 4-1 upset," Helga declared.
"HUH!?" all the other judges gasped.
"I was gonna vote for the cake! Let me change my vote!" Kyoko stuttered.
"No. No changing votes. The results stand," Helga glared.
"But I voted for the sundae because I thought Sundae-sama made it! You deceived us!" Sorbet fumed.
"My place, my rules. If I say we do a blind taste test for the dishes, we do it."
"You didn't tell ME that!" Sundae fumed.
"Contestants weren't supposed to know. Now go scrub the toilets."
"Like hell I'm going to accept this! You screwed me over! I would have won if you served my cake first!"
"No. Kyoko clearly liked your cake more, but ultimately gave her vote to the sundae. I'm also not a fan of dishes that screw other dishes over. You lost. Heck, even your own staff said Mimi's sundae was better than the one you made."
"Huh A- are you implying she surpassed me at MY specialty!?"
"I recorded everything, so let's hear the replay."
Sundae began to tremble with anger as she watched the replay.
"Was it REALLY better than the one I made earlier?" Sundae glared at Frosting and Sorbet.
"Um Well, we thought you made the sundae so-"
"HONESTLY!"
"I- liked the sundae the challenger made more," Frosting trembled.
"Frosting! Er, I- um I-"
"You liked this one more, didn't you!?" Sundae glared.
"Yes!" Sorbet cried.
"You both are shaving your heads and eyebrows for a year. Now get your assess over to the salon! Oh, and have them wax your heads too. I'm really pissed off," Sundae glared.
"Yes Sundae-sama!" Sorbet and Frosting sobbed as they begrudgingly followed Sundae out.
"And you're also required to go bald and scrub my toilets," Helga glared.
"No. I'm instead going to inform Makihara-sama that YOU are beginning to get tainted. This match was clearly-"
*Splat*
Everyone stared in shock as Sundae's head and face were covered in cake.
"Oops, I'm so clumsy I accidentally sent this cake flying at you when I tripped," Mimi snickered.
"You bitch!" Sundae shouted as she wiped the cake off her before storming away, humiliated.
Sorbet and Frosting reluctantly followed her while Kyoko dragged Akito back to the kitchen, leaving Helga and Mimi alone.
"So you've got some talent after all. Guess you really are worth taking a look at," Helga smiled.
"Heh, Hylda said the exact same thing when I first impressed her. You sure you don't have amnesia?" Mimi asked.
"I'm NOT Hylda. Ugh, and you ruined my good spirits with your mention of Hylda. Just go. You don't want to get fired do you?" Helga huffed.
"Fired? AH! I FORGOT ABOUT WORK!"
Mimi bolted out of the restaurant at breakneck speed as Helga stared at the sundae she made.
"Mimi... You really are something special," Helga mumbled.
...
As Mimi ran into Ryokoma, she bumped into Rika.
"Ah! Ri-chan! I'm sorry I've been skimping on work! I was challenged to a cook off by Sundae, but lost and had to shave my head. Then I grew it all back by drinking milk, but then got challenged again by Sundae and beat her at Helga's place and-"
"Wait what? You were in a cook off? Damn! I would have loved to see it!" Rika lamented.
"Huh? You're not mad I just ran off with them without saying a word?" Mimi asked.
"I mean if you got challenged to a cook-off I'm not gonna complain. Now tell me what happened.
...
Frosting and Sorbet sobbed as they sat down in salon chairs.
"This is for saying that bitch's sundae was better than mine," Sudae glared.
"And what will it be for all you fine ladies?" the stylist asked Sundae.
"For me, a mani-pedi. For those two, I want them both bald and hairless. Cover their entire head and face in shaving cream and shave em to the skin before waxing them. Don't forget the eyebrows either. Actually, pluck their eyelashes out too for good measure and smear some hair removal cream on them after you're done waxing them. I'm really pissed off."
"Y- Yes, Ma'am," the stylist nervously nodded as she and another stylist began caping Frosting and Sundae.
"Please have mercy Sundae-sama!" Sorbet cried.
"That's why you're both going bald, for repentance," Sundae sneered.
"Yes Sundae-sama. I'll accept an eternity of baldness for daring to help your cute rival," Frosting trembled.
"CUTE!? I'M the only cute one around here! You're getting your entire head and face tattooed for that!"
"EEEEK!"
"Well aren't you being a little cruel to your loyal followers?" Rika smirked as she entered.
"What do you want? Oh, here to become bald and ugly?" Sundae sneered.
"Nah, I'm actually here cause I heard you lost a cook off and had to go bald."
"I'm appealing that loss to the Tabemono alumna association. Helga was clearly trying to sabotage me. That and I beat your employee fair and square, yet she didn't shave her head when she lost. Instead she begged Helga to save her and that's what happened."
"Really? I heard Mimi say that she made a better sundae than you. Even if the cook-off punishments are voided, you still would be the ultimate loser. Masaru's got some pretty big sway over the alumna association. Should he vouch that Mimi won the cook-off fair and square, you'd be forced to accept the punishment in addition to the punishment you'll likely be given for your roller skate mandate challenge. If anything, that's the cook-off likely to be voided since it was reported that you tried to bring harm to your opponent."
"And where's your proof?"
"Mimi sent the video footage she got from Helga to me. Wonder how pissed Makihara would be if he found out you lost to a "nobody" without a cooking license at your own craft."
Sundae immediately went pale.
"Heard your cuteness took a hit after you got caught up in the big shit. Wonder how much more your reputation would fall if your loss went public," Rika snickered.
"W- what do you want?" Sundae trembled.
"Shave your head."
"HELL NO!"
"Well since you can't really go anywhere since you're getting your toenails painted, maybe the lovely stylists can shave you instead of your employees."
"Don't try and pity us heathen!!" Sorbet and Frosting shouted in unison.
"Well you're welcome."
"Our apologies ma'am, but we don't shave our customers against their will," a stylist bowed.
"Well, guess your punishment's on hold. Oh, but for now your employees are free to choose if they want to go bald or not."
"*Tch* Alright you two, you're off the hook for now," Sundae fumed.
Sorbet let out a sigh of relief before getting out of the chair.
"Um, ma'am, did you not wish to have your head shaved?" the stylist asked.
"Correct. I don't even want a trim. Guess I'll head back. You coming Frosting?" Sorbet asked.
"I'll accept Sundae-sama's punishment. Please proceed with my shearing," Frosting trembled.
"You really don't know how to say "no" properly do ya?"
"I- I will accept the punishment."
"Well, guess her loyalty is admirable. Well, we'll be in touch," Rika waved as she left.
"*Sigh* Ma'am, do you wish for me to shave and wax all your hair off?" the stylist asked Frosting.
"Y- Yes. Sh- Shave-"
"No, she's good," Sorbet growled as she dragged Frosting out of the chair.
Back in the present...
"After I found out about Sundae's loss, I used it to keep her in check. I ultimately decided against bringing her to the banquet due to the risk of her betraying us for personal grudges. Luckily I found someone else to join me and Helga," Rika stated.
"So those two became close after Mimi beat Sundae? Wow, I never knew," Matcha stated.
"Sucks that Sundae went out the way she did, she really only deserved to go bald instead of getting assimilated and killed. Well at least the cook-off had the positive effect of changing Helga for the better. She may still be a bit elitist, but at least she's now on friendly terms with us," Rika smiled as she watched Mimi and Helga laugh and chat with each other.
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