"I should say...as expected from Shinomiya Senpai." Inui says with small satisfaction.

"Yes, no wonder he's called the Legumes Magician. Alright, Yukihira! Tadokoro! It's time for you to serve your dish." Dojima adds.

Megumi takes the plates on the table and she is thinking, "This is a dish that was made using all my effort...to think that having someone evaluate it would be this scary...what will they say? Even though I had the help of Soma-kun, too...Ah...what if they say it's bad?"

Soma pats her shoulder and says, "It's fine, Tadokoro. Don't be scared, I'm with you."

Tadoroko nods and she says, "Here you go, please enjoy the meal."

"Oh? This is a Terrine..." The chefs are surprised, Inui says, "It's the dish which made Shinomiya-senpai fail Megumi-chan!"

"This dish uses seven varieties of Vegetables...it's a "Rainbow Terrine"..." Megumi says.

"Hmm...interesting." Shinomiysa says, "So you want to nitpick at my Recette, the "Nine Vegetable Terrine"?"

Megumi starts panicking and says, "No...Um...I-I-I...I just wanted you to see...how my Recette is..."

Sekimori says, "Hmm...there are seven different pates, each with a different color...just like a Rainbow you made them as stripes."

"Well, let's see what you've got." Gotoda says.

"Yes." Mizuhara adds.

After getting the bite of the food, Megumi is so nervous that she can't open her eyes, the memories of the past failures are flashing into her mind, as well as how people are mocking her.

"It...it's delicious!" The chefs say in unison, causing Megumi to look at the judges with shock.

"You made seven colored layers of pate using potatoes, carrots, zucchini, and other vegetables. And the vegetable of each layer is cooked in a way that their flavor livens! I'm amazed you could do all these in such a small amount of time..." Sekimori says.

"There are two sauces...a bittersweet Sudachi Gelee and a refreshing green herb sauce, which is a paste made from various herbs with Perilla as the main ingredient! Hmmm. to think you'd make us eat Terrine with Sudachi and Perilla, that's an interesting idea." Gotoda adds.

"Mmmm...the combination of the fragrant Saute Zucchini and the herb sauce...is superbly refreshing!" Inui says.

"Sudachi and the somewhat sweet tomatoes also go well." Mizuhara nods.

"I see! By combining the seven layers of Pate and the two different sauces...you can enjoy fourteen different flavors! It's exciting how it makes you want to try different patterns." Gotoda says.

"Yes...to think these bright colorful stripes aren't only pleasing to the eye, but they also have an effect on the taste." Sekimori adds.

"Oh...these cheery tomatoes." Dojima looks at the sight and states, "They're "Dried Tomatoes" right? Tadokoro-kun?"

"Yes! In my hometown, a lot of snow falls in winter. So we make all of the vegetables we harvested in summer into preserved foods so that we can eat them in winter. We dry them under the sun."

Then she starts to remember how she was helping her mother with the dried tomatoes, and she says, "I thought they could become a good accent for the Terrine..."

"Yes, tomatoes contain one of the key substances of deliciousness, Glutamic Acid. By drying them, that deliciousness condensates, and the sweetness you feel with your tongue is increased greatly." Dojima says, "Shinomiya's "Nine Vegetable Terrine" is a dish where you can enjoy the flavors of fresh vegetables, but this Recette has the goodness born of preserved food with time. All while being another "Vegetable Terrine". The good flavor of freshness and deliciousness is born from curing. They are totally opposite approaches towards vegetables."

Shinomiya is now silent, as he is just staring Megumi's dish.

"The taste sinks into your heart, it's as if Megumi-chan's kindness overflows to you." Inui says.

"Ah...if Shinomiya-san is the "Legumes Magician" The Megumi-chan modestly bestows on you the blessings of nature...she's the "Legumes Koro-Pokkuru!"."

"No, that's wrong. Megumi-chan brings me happiness and good luck, she's the "Legumes Zashiki-Warashi!" Inui retorts.

"Or...she could have come from a snowy land to bring us the blessiness of vegetables, she can be a "Legume's Snow child"." Sekimori says.

As the chefs are arguing, Megumi can't believe what she is hearing. "This is like a dream...a dish made by somebody like me who couldn't keep up with the Academy always failed, and had no self-confidence. These people that I admire and are always on books and magazines ate it...and said it's delicious."

She looks at Soma with happy tears in her eyes, and Soma just smiles back.

"Alright, then. It's time for the verdict." Dojima takes out a coin and says, "These coins represent votes. Each judge will be given one. Choose which had better taste between Shinomiya and Tadokoro-kun and cast your vote."

Megumi is now holding her hands together, she has been running away fearing expulsion, but she finally truly started feeling that she wants to stay at the Academy. She wants to cook more with everyone in Polar Star, and even Soma.

But after the votes are done, she opens her eyes in shock to see that all 3 judges vote for Shinomiya.

"Ha, sorry for you. Don't get depressed. This was the expected result." Shinomiya says as he turns around. "Well then, I have to wake up early tomorrow so I'll excuse myself."

Megumi looks at the empty votes with surprise, and Soma sighs, "Sorry, Tadokoro. I couldn't help out much. But you should be proud, you made such a great dish."

Megumi is more depressed than ever, she thinks it's her fault that Soma will have to be expulsed with her. Dojima says, "The difference in ability is evident. I should say, this was Shinomiya's complete victory."

But much to their surprise, Dojima puts a coin on Megumi's plate. Shinomiya turns around and says, "The contest should be over, what are you trying to do?"

"Hm...no, well, I just wanted to acknowledge the value of this dish, so I cast my vote." Dojima says, much to everyone's surprise.

"What are you saying? You weren't even a judge. Moreover, "You acknowledge the value of this dish?" That's beyond my understanding, Dojima san." Shinomiya states.

"You really don't understand?" Dojima throws a coin at Shinomiya, who grabs it with confusion. "The answer lies on the dish Tadokoro-kun made. Shinomiya, are you stagnating?"

Shinomiya starts to sweatdrop at Dojima's words, and he remembers his past. In his graduation, he declared that he would be the first Japanese chef to receive the Pluspol medal, a prestigious medal in French culinary. He faced much hardship and overwhelming discrimination which turned him into a ruthless head chef He reformed and ran his kitchen with the iron-fist and eventually achieved his goal.

"You actually noticed, right?" Dojima continues to ask, "That now that you have the medal, you don't know what you should strive for. That you're standing stock still on the top, and you haven't advanced even one step. Stagnation for a chef means two things, retrogression and staying the same. You didn't make one of your specialties for this match because you didn't want to let us know that your cooking is at a standstill, right?"

"Shut up!" Shinomiya yells at Dojima. "What do you know? What would you, who are just one of Totsuki group's employees, know about me?"

Dojima takes the dish to Shinomiya and says, "Try it. Tadokoro's dish."

"Why should I?" Shinomiya retorts, but Dojima's glare causes him to obey as he takes a bite, he says, "Hah...the heating was too indulgent. The arrangement too, the Pates aren't well-joined, either. Dojima san, haven't you become decre-"

But Shinomiya stops as he slams his palm on the table and thinks, "Even so, why? Why does it pierce my heart so much...it's clumsily done, but everything she came up with...my consideration for the "People who will eat it"...this flavor...is just like..."

He starts to remember his old past when he was just a little child. Tears fell from his eyes as he's reminded of the love and warmth given to him by his mother. He accidentally drops a coin onto the Megumi's plate, and he turns to Megumi, "Hey dunce."

"Yes?" Megumi gasps with shock.

"The spies you prepared for the Pate, was it allspice?" Shinomiya asks.

"Allspice is a tropical plant of Myrtaceae family, a seasoning used in cooking made from drying the leaves and the unripe fruits of the plant. The name comes from its fragrance that is similar to cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and others, all combined.

"A spice useful for taking away the unpleasant smells of some foods...it seems that you used to remove the bad smell of the chicken liver." Mizuhara says.

"Yes...Since yesterday, all of the senpais were constantly eating while judging everyone's cooking...so, um..in addition to removing smells, allspice has a digestive effect, so...even just a bit, I wanted to include something that would make it easier on your stomach."

Inui and Gotoda are touched by how Megumi is thinking, and Shinomiya just keeps silent about it.

"Even if it's clumsy, it leaves an impression on you." Dojima turns to Shinomiya. "That's the type of cooking it is. Even in a contest, she tried to look out for the people who would be eating her food. You're clearing the way to the top and yet, you still consider such important things?"

Shinomiya thinks, "So I was in the palm of Dojima-san's hand the whole time...I see... I've... for a long time now, my customer's faces, my staff's voices, without any regard for them...I've been cooking on my own..."

Inui also puts a coin on Megumi's plate, and she says, "There, now the votes are tied, in other words, it's a draw."

"So it's a tie, which means we should leave Tadokoro-kun as she was before the Shokugeki?" Dojima asks.

Shinomiya sighs and says, "Irregular from beginning to end, what a farce..." He turns to Megumi, who is panicking, "Well, you've been striving to survive all day long. Duces have their own way of doing things, right?"

Megumi is confused as Shinomiya is punishing Inui again. And Dojima turns to Megumi, "That spirit that's like a warm welcome to people who eat your food, it's "Hospitality" That is what is in your cooking. While you're here at Totsuki, please continue to seriously polish that powerful weapon you have. These 3 coins are an investment into both of your futures."

Soma sighs as he takes off his cloak and says, "Looks like we were saved somehow. Aren't you glad? Tadokoro?"

Megumi now bursts into tears as she hugs Soma, something that he isn't expecting.

Sekimori asks Dojima, "Did you anticipate it to turn out like this from the beginning?"

"Hmmm...but of course, if Tadokoro Megumi produced something bad then we would have had to ask her to leave." Dojima replies.

"The reason for Shinomiya's stagnation was caused by his own overly sharp wits." Sekimori comments.

"Yeah. Shinomiya was only looking at the top, determined to pursue his goal with only his own cooking while cutting off anything he thinks is unnecessary. And then he arrived at the top, because of that exceptional wit, he overwhelmingly quickly became an owner-chef before his talent had reached maturity. For the sake of a chef to continue to aim for the top, rather than cutting things off, what's necessary is to greedily absorb from everything around you." Dojima adds.

"With this Shokugeki, both of those chefs were saved at the same time. You really are an educator, Dojima-san." Sekimori laughs.

"Heh, you overestimate me." Dojima sighs.

After leaving the kitchen, it is already nighttime, Megumi rushes back to find the others, while Soma is punching the wall. "I lost...Damn it..."

Dojima walks to the boy and asks, "It's not fair for you, isn't it? As the Phantom, you have never lost a match before, but yet you lost just back then because you couldn't use your full power..."

Soma sighs and says, "You're right. But then again, Tadokoro reminds me a lot of my mother, I was still glad that she manages to continue to stay."

"I have noticed, the two of you really act like two of my best friends." Dojima sighs. "I think you should get rest up if you don't want your efforts to go waste."

Soma sighs as he leaves, leaving Dojima to smile at the leaving boy.

Here is a new chapter, and this is the result of the Shokugeki. I decide to add more of Soma and Megumi moments since why not? I hope you like this chapter and the next chapter will be the third task, which is the Breakfast test.