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Mana Nakiri was just about to pick up the crab roe tofu in front of her when she noticed her daughter being fed by someone.

Erina, who had initially shown a face full of disdain, finally sat obediently, slightly opening her lips and gently licking the spoonful of crab roe tofu.

Renz’s movements as he raised the spoon were gentle and slow. If you blindly shove food into someone’s mouth, it’s easy to make the person being fed feel uncomfortable—like a foreign-body discomfort.

In hospitals, nurses sometimes rush through feeding patients because of their busy schedules, often making the patients suffer.

Back when Erina was pregnant, Renz had essentially been a top-tier personal caregiver—even feeding her with a level of proficiency. He knew just the right pace, how to avoid making someone uncomfortable, and how to help them swallow easily.

"The taste is okay, right?" Erina, chewing the tofu—though calling it chewing was an overstatement—barely applied any force; just a light touch of her tongue, and the tofu melted, releasing the rich, savory flavor of the crab roe across her taste buds.

Renz nodded. This dish was excellent. If they wanted to conquer the "God’s Tongue" of his mother-in-law, this should be enough. With so many years of culinary experience, both he and Erina had a good sense of what constituted the most optimal, perfect dish.

Mana Nakiri watched the scene.

For some reason, a strange feeling rose in her chest.

She felt... a little unhappy.

Although she had already heard from the old man (her father) that Erina had a boyfriend, Mana hadn’t paid it much attention. To her, it was perfectly normal for a young girl to have a boyfriend.

The real issue was—was this boy good enough? Was he worthy?

The old man focused on character: if your personality was good, joining the Nakiri family posed no problem. His standards were rather lenient.

But Mana Nakiri was much stricter.

Good character was necessary, yes—but there were additional requirements.

Culinary skills strong enough, and the ability to support the family.

Because the "God’s Tongue" wasn’t something easily solved. Erina also had the God’s Tongue, and sooner or later, she would face the same painful affliction that Mana herself had endured.

If any of these three requirements fell short, Mana Nakiri would use the most decisive means to break them apart—even if it meant Erina would grow more and more resentful toward her.

She took a long, deep look at Erina and Renz.

Then, without a word, she picked up her own spoon.

Mm...

What flavor is this?!

So... so good! Simply delicious!

Mana Nakiri’s throat moved slightly, the crab roe tofu seemingly transforming into a rich broth that slid smoothly down.

Her stomach felt warm and heated.

She hadn’t tasted a dish she could actually swallow for months—the last time had been four months ago. This long vacuum had forced her to rely on nutritional supplements to get by.

And yet, in less than a second, a vivid image unfolded in her mind: Erina preparing the dish.

The God’s Tongue activated its culinary breakdown.

This crab roe was sourced from the Soya hairy crab, a species harvested from the Soya Strait and the Sea of Okhotsk—Japan’s largest and highest-quality hairy crab fishing grounds.

In early spring, the drifting ice from Russia brought with it massive amounts of plankton—the perfect food for Soya hairy crabs. At this time of year, these crabs became exceptionally plump, their roe abundant, and their flavor exquisite.

Among hairy crabs, there was a saying: in all of Japan, Soya’s hairy crabs were the finest, unmatched by any other region—standing in a league of their own.

It’s worth noting that many people believe the king crab is the "king" among crabs, but that’s not quite true. The king crab, also known as the stone crab or rock crab, belongs to the stone crab family—it’s not a true crab. In fact, genetically, it’s more closely related to hermit crabs.

Its legs are more numerous, longer, and thicker than regular crabs, making its best edible part the leg meat—thick and delicious.

Most importantly, king crabs have relatively little crab roe. There’s not much to eat from the head, and the flavor is not as outstanding as other crab species.

Erina’s choice to use Soya hairy crab instead of king crab was, without a doubt, the correct one.

"The control of heat, timing, handling technique, cooking skill, combination of ingredients, and this broth pairing—all of it, mature beyond what a student should have," Mana Nakiri reflected, somewhat shaken.

She suddenly realized that, in this moment, she didn’t quite recognize her own daughter.

In fact, over the years, Mana Nakiri had quietly kept an eye on Erina—she’d watched videos of Erina cooking and seen her on food programs.

Erina was still raw.

Compared to the world’s top-tier chefs, Erina’s culinary skill wasn’t even in the same league. Yet, thanks to media hype and the aura of the God’s Tongue, Erina’s fame had grown larger than that of many world-class chefs.

Within Totsuki Academy, for example, Eishi Tsukasa was already a famously talented chef even before his official debut.

But Erina’s reputation surpassed Tsukasa’s several times over—even though Tsukasa was regarded as a French cuisine prodigy likely to break into the world’s top ten rankings after debut.

Purely in terms of culinary skill, he was superior to Erina.

But under the media’s exaggeration, it seemed like Erina could beat Tsukasa with one hand tied behind her back.

Mana Nakiri had always believed Erina’s culinary prowess had some "inflated water weight"—boosted by the media.

Yet now, with her daughter serving this dish right in front of her, Mana was forced to revise that impression.

Or...

Was it that the dish wasn’t actually that delicious—but her God’s Tongue had failed?

Mana Nakiri gave a faint, self-mocking laugh. If the God’s Tongue really had failed, maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. At least she wouldn’t have to live tormented by it anymore.

She picked up Kobayashi Rindo’s grilled venison.

Gracefully, like a noble, Mana cut into the venison with a fork, producing a perfect slicing line. She took a small bite.

A pungent gamey odor seeped from the meat, something that should have been masked by proper culinary technique and spices. Clearly, the God’s Tongue had not failed—the roughness in the preparation was being fully exposed.

Mana Nakiri frowned. Eating this supposedly well-grilled venison felt like gnawing on raw meat, her throat churning up a sour wave of nausea.

She took a small piece.

And then put the fork down.

That action alone told the story.

Kobayashi Rindo understood she had almost certainly lost to Erina.

"Your grilling of the venison, especially in handling the removal of the gamey flavor, still has many shortcomings," Mana Nakiri gave a brief critique. There were too many flaws to bother listing them all.

If it were just one or two problems, she might have been willing to point them out.

Being willing to offer even a single sentence of commentary was already giving Totsuki Academy some face.

"As for you, Erina—I’m surprised. What have you been through during this time?"

"You’re so much more formidable than you were a year ago."

"Your speed of growth has exceeded my imagination."

"No... it has completely overturned my perception."

Mana Nakiri’s gaze locked firmly onto Renz and Erina.

She wanted to find the answer within them.

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