Time for dessert

"Why? When it comes to disrespecting food like that, I won't even give Makihara-sama's daughter-"

"As long as it doesn't go to waste, there's no problem," Rika smiled as she kneeled down and began eating the food that fell much to everyone's shock.

"Quite vulgar. This is supposed to be an elite establishment, not the slums of a 3rd world country," Makihara sighed.

"Well, never fear. I shall ensure this rat goes viral for her unsanitary behavior and is exterminated," Takeda sneered as he pulled out his phone.

"Look at her! She smeared food all over herself and is eating off the floor like an animal!" Helga laughed.

"Rika... I'll at least thank you for not letting the meal go to waste," Masaru sighed.

Once Rika was done, she smiled at Itsuki.

"Terrible," Itsuki glared once more, though this time she shed a tear.

"Yeah, I can't blame you for calling me terrible. If I had acted sooner, you'd be here happily working with us and living your life instead of being a robotic slave," Rika sighed.

"Quite slanderous. I will make sure you are sentenced to prison at your trial tomorrow," Takeda sneered.

"Don't forget you lost to Masaru just now too," Helga sneered.

"Really? You two didn't eat the meal as intended, nor did Itsuki finish her meal. Makihara's the only one who properly ate the meal as intended and said himself that I had won the battle. Though if you're so adamant that I lost, how about a 2v1 cook-off. You two can pair up, create complimentary dishes, or go solo. As long as one of you wins, I lose," Rika taunted.

"And why do you think we'd agree to such a proposal?" Takeda glared.

"If I lose, I'll strip naked on the spot."

Masaru went red in the face as many of the male patrons roared with excitement. "Whoops, now Masaru might want me to lose. Don't worry, I won’t force you two to strip if you lose. Wouldn't wanna give our customers nightmares," Rika sneered.

"YOU SAYING I'M UGLY YOU WHORE!?" Helga roared.

Takeda glared in annoyance but pulled out a legal document from his briefcase. "And what shall the exact LEGALLY BINDING TERMS be?" he asked as he set up his mini typewriter.

"How about this. If I lose, I strip naked. If Helga loses, she loses all her hair," Rika smirked.

"THE HELL!?" Helga screamed.

"Don't worry. If I lose, I'll also let you shave me bald on the spot after I strip. As for Takeda, should he lose, he'll have to drop his BS case against me."

"Nonnegotiable on that point," Takeda glared.

"Well screw you, in that case you go bald with Helga if you lose. So, Helga, you in?"

Helga's angry scowl quickly turned to a sadistic smile. "Sure, I've got nothing to lose," she sneered.

Takeda finished typing the document and signed it before presenting it to Helga and Rika. Both signed it without any hesitation.

"You always are reckless,” Masaru sighed.

“One of my charm points,” Rika grinned.

“Very well. I will be a judge for this. Itsuki, I believe you should also judge as repentance for your tantrum," Masaru stated.

"It is fine. You may participate as a judge, Itsuki. I will take part as well to provide a tie breaking vote," Makihara nodded.

"My father commands me to judge. Thus, I shall pass judgement upon the chefs and dishes," Itsuki stated.

Rika then stepped outside. "HEY! We're having a cook-off if I lose, I go nude and bald! The food is also on the house so come on in, we've still got seating!" she hollered.

A crowd quickly began to form as each of the three chefs went to one of the cooking stations in the dining area.

"What rabble. Well, it shall be poetic for a great mass of the rubes to see you fall, heathen," Makihara thought.

"Since we do not have unlimited ingredients, I must first confirm one thing before proceeding. Is the team of two going to be making their own separate dishes?" Masaru asked.

"Correct. Though they may still complement each other, yes?" Takeda asked.

"Correct. However, considering the promise of "free" food, I will be requiring that you make a lower portion meal that can serve a party of 50. With that in mind, I feel it is my discretion as an owner of this establishment to dictate what my ingredients be used to make. Are there any objections?"

" ..........."

"Hearing none, you must bake a dessert of any kind. Your 30 minutes begins now."

As each chef began cooking, Makihara's eyes widened as he stared at Rika. "What is she doing!? Is she really frying vegetable oil? Does she truly intend to serve slop as her dish? Is she trying to make it look like her loss will be due to that poor dish? Yet to create such an atrocity in an establishment under Masaru-kun's management... That heathen disgusts me. Well, I look forward to the repercussions you'll receive for your actions," Makihara thought.

"Wow, what a dumbass. She making French fries? Well, I heard she bungled a simple mille-feuille. I bet my tiramisu will take her out. Though why do I have to make so much just for some snobs?" Helga thought.

"I heard Masaru kicked her out of the kitchen when she tried to make a mille-feuille. I guess I'll twist the knife and best her with my own," Takeda thought.

...

"And time is up. Present your desserts first to the judges, then distribute samples to everyone," Masaru ordered.

"What is that? You poured batter in the oil and created a large hunk of dough, but when you cut it up, it looks like crumbs," Helga scoffed as she looked at Rika's dish.

"You two can go first. Everyone, try the challenger's deserts first!" Rika shouted.

Everyone did as they were told.

"Excellent. both the Tiramisu and mille-feuille were properly made. And they both complement each other well," Makihara stated.

"I concur Makihara-sama," Masaru stated.

"As do I, Father," Itsuki concurred.

The patrons seemed to enjoy the dishes as well. Then it was time for Rika's dish.

"And what exactly is this abomination supposed to be?" Makihara glared.

"A mini fruit funnel cake. They're popular at North American fairs and carnivals," Rika smiled.

"C- Carnival food!? You dare taint an elite gourmet establishment with fried filth from an American fairground!?"

"UMAI!" Masaru blissfully moaned.

Makihara, Helga, and Takeda all turned in horror. Masaru had a look of pure bliss as he consumed the funnel cake. Rika smiled and gave him a larger portion she'd been saving as the patrons tried the cake.

"U- u- UMAI!" one shouted

"This really does taste good," another mused.

"It really stands out compared to the other two dishes," another stated.

"Terrible. I hate you. I'll never be able to eat more of this ever again," Itsuki cried.

"Sure, you will. I saved some for you as well," Rika smiled as she plopped the other large portion, she'd been saving onto Itsuki's plate. Itsuki beamed with joy and gobbled it up immediately.

"NO! YOU ARE TAINTING HER!" Makihara yelled.

"Yes! This is poisoning!" Takeda snarled.

"This shit's fried trash you know!" Helga shouted.

"SHUT UP!" one patron glared.

"My, to think I'd indulge in such a sin," an upper-class patron smiled as he licked the powdered sugar off his fork.

"Try it, you might like it," Rika smirked.

The three begrudgingly took a bite. Helga tearfully glared as she tasted and swallowed the food. "I hate you. I HATE YOU!" she cried as she cleaned her plate.

"Damn you heathen. You played my faction for fools. You made your filth taste drastically different than theirs so it would leave a greater impact. But why!? Why is even Masaru digesting this filth with a smile!?" Makihara demanded as he finished his piece.

"Well, I bet someone like you who does all the cooking and only married to breed a gourmand superhuman wouldn't know; the secret to winning a man's heart is through his stomach. Masaru fell head over heels for this dish when I first made some for him. Now it's his favorite guilty desert," Rika smiled.

Takeda spit his piece into a napkin and grabbed the legal document. "And what say you judges!?" he glared.

"Rika," Masaru replied.

"Rika," Itsuki cried.

"The challengers," Makihara seethed with fury.

Takeda clicked his tongue and ripped the document in half before burning it on the stove much to Rika's anger. "Hey! Don't use our property to destroy flammable material! And that's legally binding so Helga-"

"Need not bother herself. There was no legally binding contract,” Takeda scoffed.

"BULLSHIT! WE SAW YOU WRITE IT!" an angry patron yelled.

"Yeah! She lost; she gets the punishment and so do you!" another chimed.

"BATSU BATSU!" The patrons all began to chant.

Takeda then whipped out his phone in annoyance. "You'll all be tried for unlawful rioting and be tried in a court of law. Oh, and I've sent word to have your travel privileges revoked so you don't try to flee, peons!" he scoffed.

Everyone angrily yelled and tried to attack Takeda, however he simply pepper sprayed them and walked out. "See you tomorrow in court," he snarled at Rika as he left.

"What a rude fellow," an elegant gentleman smiled as he paid his bill and left.

Helga and Makihara then dragged a kicking and screaming Itsuki to the limousine. "NO! I DON'T WANNA GO BACK!" Itsuki cried as she was shoved into the limousine.

"A shame the heathen has such a negative impact on you. You have my condolences, Masaru-kun," Makihara sighed as he got in the limousine.

"See you tomorrow," Helga bowed as the limo drove off and she headed off to her own restaurant a block away.

"Hey Masaru, can you clean up here? I gotta go run an errand," Rika asked as she left the restaurant.

"HUH!? Rika! We're still open for another hour!" Masaru cried.