A Spirit, biologically speaking, could easily be considered the absolute apex predator of the food chain.
Yutsuki thought this silently as she stared at the creature thrashing on the ground in front of her. It was roughly six ters long, weighed at least three thousand pounds, and sported a dense row of razor-sharp, serrated teeth. It was a fish that could easily be called the overlord of the sea.
A Great White Shark. Also known as the man eater or white death. A massive, aggressive shark found in tropical and temperate oceans worldwide, typically living in open waters but occasionally entering inland waters.
Since she had to go all the way to the ocean to catch a fish, I guess that's why Yuzuru took a bit longer than Kaguya, Yutsuki conclude.
Despite being known as the world's largest predatory fish, at this very mont, this six-ter monstrosity could only lie helplessly on the dirt, occasionally flapping its crescent-shaped tail. From here on out, its only destiny was to wait silently to be roasted into seafood.
Co to think of it, even though this was a different world, both the Siberian Tiger and the Great White Shark were critically endangered and highly protected species. If they weren't Spirits, the Yamai sisters would have probably been sentenced to prison ages ago.
Though, having just hunted and roasted a brown bear herself, Yutsuki figured she didn't exactly have the moral high ground to point fingers.
"Dissatisfaction. Please do not ignore Yuzuru."
Feeling a shake on her shoulder, Yutsuki's wandering thoughts finally snapped back to reality. She noticed Yamai Yuzuru pouting slightly, her eyes revealing a hint of displeasure.
"Ah... Ahem! Sorry, sorry. I zoned out thinking about sothing," Yutsuki coughed awkwardly, realizing her lapse in manners. "By the way, Yuzuru, are you planning to make roast fish?"
"Affirmation. Shark at is tender, highly nutritious, and retains a satisfyingly chewy texture when cooked. It is the absolute best ingredient for a roast!"
"I-Is that so?"
The corner of Yutsuki's mouth twitched. Looking into Yuzuru's incredibly serious eyes, she wisely chose not to argue the point.
Yuzuru cautiously scanned their surroundings before speaking in a hushed voice, "Question. Has Kaguya arrived yet?"
"Hm? Kaguya got here a while ago. She's probably cooking by now. That pillar of smoke over there should be her."
Yutsuki pointed toward a spot about three hundred ters away, where a thick column of smoke was currently billowing into the sky. It was pretty obvious that was where Kaguya had set up shop.
Is she trying to smoke the at or sothing? Why is there so much smoke? Yutsuki felt a strong sense of worriness.
"Is that so..." Yuzuru muttered quietly. Seeming to have made up her mind, she stared at Yutsuki with an incredibly serious gaze. "Request. For the outco of this cooking match, please declare Kaguya the winner."
Hearing a similar plea from two completely different people gave Yutsuki a bizarre feeling, but she kept a straight face and asked, "Why?"
A rare, smug expression appeared on Yuzuru's usually listless face, as if she were showing off. "Explanation. Kaguya is far superior to Yuzuru. Putting aside other things, her culinary skills are sothing Yuzuru could never hope to match."
"I see..." Looking at the increasingly thick, black smoke in the distance, Yutsuki found it hard to believe her own words.
Sensing that her explanation wasn't very convincing, Yuzuru quickly added, "Addition. Kaguya is also extrely cute. Although she is a bit competitive, she is remarkably pure and very good at taking care of others. The bliss of embracing her fragile, seemingly breakable body is a pleasure that not even Heaven could compare to. If you choose Kaguya, you will definitely enjoy many wonderful experiences..."
"I already told Kaguya, that has absolutely nothing to do with cooking! What kind of person do you sisters take for?! Just go cook already!"
A swift, forceful karate chop to the head from Yutsuki successfully silenced Yuzuru's sales pitch.
Yuzuru rubbed her head without complaining and began dragging the Great White Shark by its tail in the opposite direction of Kaguya's camp.
Halfway there, she turned her head and said, "Reminder. Please declare Kaguya the victor. Otherwise, even if you flee to the ends of the earth, Yuzuru will relentlessly pursue you."
As expected of sisters. Even their threats are basically identical. Yutsuki didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Do they both genuinely want the other to win?
To be honest, Yutsuki was already regretting agreeing to be the judge of this cooking competition. Judging by their attitudes, she vaguely sensed that this contest was probably not as simple as a re culinary showdown.
"What a pain!" Sighing in frustration, Yutsuki sat on a tree trunk. She wasn't in the mood to take out her tablet and browse the internet. She just stared blankly at the sky, lost in her own thoughts.
-----------------cooking complete divider line-----------------------
"So? Yutsuki, have you been completely entranced by my supre cuisine? You should already know who the true victor is, right?!"
"Rebuttal. Yutsuki definitely believes Yuzuru's cooking is more delicious."
By the ti Kaguya and Yuzuru reunited, they had completely reverted to their usual, fire and water dynamic. If Yutsuki hadn't experienced it firsthand, no one would have believed that these two hyper-competitive girls had just been secretly begging the judge to let the other win.
"Hmph... Your stubborn, thick skull is truly unreasonable. At a ti like this, we must rely on the judge to hand down the most sagacious verdict!"
"Affirmation. Yutsuki, please deliver a fair and just judgnt."
Yutsuki was speechless. You two clearly have 'If you don't pick Yuzuru/Kaguya, you're dead at' written all over your faces. How do you have the nerve to say the words 'fair and square' so righteously?
But indeed, regarding the outco of this match, Yutsuki already had her answer.
Choose Kaguya? Or choose Yuzuru? Why limit herself to these two narrow options?
As a true protagonist, this was the mont to step outside the box, broaden her horizons, open her mind, and find a new possibility amidst the dense fog.
And so, taking a deep breath, Ryougi Yutsuki shouted at the top of her lungs:
"YOU BOTH FAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Hearing Yutsuki's answer, the twins froze for a second before flaring up in anger.
"What is the aning of this?! Yutsuki, how dare you make a mockery of my sacred war!"
"Protest. There is no answer more outrageous than that."
Facing the protests of the two Spirits, Yutsuki stood her ground without a hint of fear. She pointed at the two plates containing unidentifiable, blackened, charred lumps and roared: "You have the nerve to talk about winning or losing with this level of skill?! Look at this! What is this?! Charcoal?! Black rocks?! Mystery matter?! Are you looking down on , looking down on cooking, or looking down on roast at?!"
Faced with Yutsuki's fierce interrogation, Kaguya and Yuzuru seed to realize they were in the wrong. They coughed awkwardly and shifted their gazes away.
"U-Umm... My comrade! The myriad phenona of the universe are full of deceit! One must not be fooled by re appearances! Beneath the murky darkness often lies a truth beyond imagination!"
"Quotation. Do not judge a book by its cover."
"Ho~ Is that so?" Yutsuki sneered. Using a twig, she skewered a small chunk from each of the two plates of charcoal and, with lightning speed, shoved them directly into the Yamai sisters' mouths.
"Then....as the chef, before serving the dish to the judge, one must taste it first. That is common sense~"
The next second, the pretty faces of Kaguya and Yuzuru went from pink to white, from white to green, from green to purple, and finally from purple to pitch black. If an Opera perforr saw their face-changing technique, they would undoubtedly invite them to join the troupe on the spot.
"One hundred and fifty ters to the southwest, there is a clear river. When you're done dealing with that, wash the dirt and fish stench off yourselves. I'll keep watch for you... I won't peek," Yutsuki pointed in a direction, her expression completely deadpan.
Kaguya and Yuzuru exchanged a glance before transforming into gales of wind and flying off without a second's hesitation.
Honestly, Yutsuki should have realized it sooner. Preparing a Siberian Tiger or a Great White Shark required professional knowledge. Even experienced cooks wouldn't necessarily know how to handle such exotic, high-end ingredients, let alone Spirits who never even needed to eat.
Even when Yutsuki cooked the bear paw, she had to constantly check reference materials online to get it right.
Furthermore... these two never actually intended to win the competition in the first place.
A short while later, Kaguya and Yuzuru flew back, their faces still pale. They looked at Yutsuki with expressions filled with terror.
"Careless. To think you could do sothing so terrifying without batting an eye."
"Tremble. You are simply the incarnation of a demon."
"Did you guys forget that those two lumps of unidentified charred matter were your masterpieces?"
Yutsuki sighed helplessly and rolled up her sleeves. "Looks like I'll have to handle lunch myself. But looking at the sky, it's basically dinner ti now. Thankfully, there are leftover ingredients. We should still be able to manage so roast at and shark fin."
Looking at the two Children of the Typhoon lying motionless on the ground, Yutsuki felt a surge of annoyance and rcilessly shot a bolt of lightning at them.
"You two! Hurry up and help !"
...
After a fair bit of struggling, night had long since fallen, and Yutsuki's "lunch" had officially turned into dinner.
"Wow~! This is delicious! I had no idea roasted tiger at could taste this amazing."
Sitting by the campfire, Kaguya happily devoured the al made from her own hunt, letting out a sigh of pure bliss.
"Gluttony. The shark fin is surprisingly tasty."
Sitting next to Kaguya, Yuzuru used chopsticks whittled from twigs to continuously shovel the remaining shark fin from the wooden board into her mouth.
"Ah, that's not fair! Share so of the shark fin with !"
"Refusal. Kaguya should be the one sharing the roast at!"
"Can you guys... please not argue while eating?"
Sitting across from them, savoring the long-awaited bear paw at, Yutsuki let out a weary sigh.
Hearing Yutsuki's plea, Kaguya and Yuzuru imdiately looked embarrassed.
"Sorry, Yutsuki. In the end, it turned into you treating us to a al."
"Sha. To think we are eating here without providing any compensation."
"It's fine. This isn't so bad anyway. It feels kind of like we're camping out."
Truth to be told, since arriving in this world, this was the first ti Yutsuki had had company for a al. She was actually quite happy about it.
Given the rare opportunity, Yutsuki couldn't resist chatting casually with the Yamai sisters.
During their conversation, Yutsuki was sowhat surprised to discover that Kaguya and Yuzuru's relationship was actually incredibly close. Even though they bickered constantly, their affection for one another was obvious. If Kaguya got grease on her mouth, Yuzuru would thoughtfully wipe it away. If Yuzuru wanted to eat sothing, Kaguya would imdiately understand and pass her the food.
Forget being rivals...with how close they were, if soone told Yutsuki they were a Yuri couple, she would have believed it.
"Say, ever since the beginning, you guys have been talking about 'who is worthy of the na 'Yamai.' What does that an? And that bizarre cooking contest too. The whole thing felt really strange."
When Yutsuki brought up the question, the atmosphere fell into a temporary silence. Finally, the Yamai sisters spoke up:
"True. We dragged you into this, Yutsuki. Keeping it a secret any longer would only show my selfishness."
"Agreent. Yutsuki has the right to know the truth."
Through Kaguya and Yuzuru's explanation, Yutsuki finally understood the full story.
Kaguya and Yuzuru were not actually sisters. Originally, there was only one Spirit nad Yamai. Due to an accident during her manifestation in the real world, the Spirit split into two separate individuals.
From the mont they were born, Kaguya and Yuzuru understood one thing: eventually, the two Spirits would rge back together into a single entity, restoring the original Yamai.
Since the original Yamai's personality had already vanished, when they rged, one of them would beco the dominant personality of the new Yamai. So, before that ti ca, they sought to determine through duels who would beco the core personality.
And the loser, undoubtedly... would cease to exist.
"Why didn't you explain sothing this important from the very beginning, you idiots!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Yutsuki, her face contorted in anger, aggressively pinched and pulled at Kaguya and Yuzuru's cheeks as she scolded them.
"Owww, it hurts! I bas bong! I wnow I bas wong!" (I was wrong. I know I was wrong!)
"Apwowogy! Yu-tswuki, Yu-zuru wnows she bas wong, pwease calm dwown!" (Apology! Yutsuki, Yuzuru knows she was wrong, please calm down!)
"Seriously... Did you guys even consider how I would feel?!"
Thank god both of their dishes had been complete disasters, leading Yutsuki to reject both of them. Otherwise, regardless of who she picked, if her choice directly caused one of them to disappear, Yutsuki would have spent the rest of her life drowning in guilt.
Kaguya and Yuzuru also realized their mistake and hung their heads in sha, remaining silent.
Yutsuki had every reason to be furious, but when she rembered how the two of them had even resorted to threatening her just to make the other person win, her anger miraculously dissipated.
"...I'll forgive you this ti. Let's call this match a draw. I don't mind if you want to find soone to act as a judge, but you absolutely have to explain the situation clearly first, understand?"
"Ugh... I understand."
"Acknowledgnt. Your warning has been deeply etched into my heart."
With the mood having reached rock bottom, Yutsuki completely lost her appetite. She leaped nimbly onto a tree branch, lay down on the trunk, and closed her eyes to sleep.
Honestly, Yutsuki had never wanted to return to that place more quickly than she did right now.
As for the Yamai twins, after exchanging a glance, they also found their own spots to sleep.
---------------the day arrive divider line---------------------------
"Oh~! Yutsuki, I am deeply grateful for your service yesterday. The next ti we et, I shall entertain you properly."
"Farewell. Thank you for your hospitality yesterday."
"Are you guys leaving already?" Yutsuki asked, feeling a bit reluctant to part.
After a night's sleep, the three of them were in much better spirits, and everyone tactfully avoided bringing up the awkwardness from the night before.
But still...
"Can't we just keep things the way they are?"
Hearing Yutsuki's question, the Yamai twins smiled—a smile that was both helpless and happy.
"I appreciate your concern, my dear friend. But the unification of 'Yamai' is an inescapable destiny. A victor must be decided between and Yuzuru."
"Affirmation. Please do not bring this up again."
"...I understand. But please, grant one request."
Yutsuki knew she was being selfish, but she couldn't bear to just watch them walk toward such a tragic fate. After hesitating for a mont, she finally spoke.
"Oh, my good friend. Ask whatever you desire! I will make sure you feel fortunate to be called a friend of Yamai."
"Seconded. Yuzuru will also do her best to satisfy Yutsuki's request."
Looking at the very first pair of friends she had made since arriving in this world, Yutsuki said sincerely, "Aside from competing to decide a winner, I hope the two of you can get along well as good friends."
"Huh? What are you talking about? I already told you, the Holy War between Yuzuru and is unavoidable..."
"But there's no rule that says you can't be friends and rivals at the sa ti, right?"
Yutsuki winked playfully. Seeing their stunned expressions, she couldn't help but smile.
"Speechless. That is sheer sophistry," Yuzuru sighed. "Answer. Since it is the request of a good friend, Yuzuru will reluctantly agree."
"What do you an 'reluctantly'?!" Kaguya bristled for a second before catching herself. She cleared her throat and reverted to her exaggerated tone, "If that is truly your wish... I suppose attempting it would not be out of the question."
"Mhm. Got it. Well then, have a safe trip."
"Of course! Rember, I am the Children of Typhoon who commands the wind!"
"Correction. Yutsuki was simply using a standard farewell greeting."
"S-Shut up! Do you think I didn't know sothing as trivial as that?!"
The Spirits of the Wind arrived as suddenly as a gale and left just as fast.
After watching them leave, Yutsuki suddenly spun around and threw a fierce punch at a large tree.
CRASH! The ancient tree, which looked like it had stood there for decades, collapsed instantly under the overwhelming physical power of a Spirit.
"Ah~ I feel so much better now!"
Yutsuki dusted off her hands, sat on the fallen trunk, and stared blankly at the sky. A bitter smile crept onto her face.
"Cherish the present... This is the only thing I can do."
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