Chapter 745 - I Can“t Stop!
The braised chicken and rice and black pepper steak had dealt many of the guests present heavy psychological blows. It was already bad enough that they could only see and smell the dishes without being able to taste them, yet their frustrations were only being compounded further by the unreserved praise delivered by all those who had tasted the dishes.
When the king finally finished his steak and put on a content smile, everyone heaved internal sighs of relief, thinking that their ordeal was over.
However, the voice of a demon suddenly sounded outside the palace.
“The chef invited by the second prince will now be offering his third dish to His Majesty!”
The attendant entered the palace once again with the same 10 female servants. On this occasion, the platters they were holding were more than twice as large as those with the previous two dishes.
“There’s more?”
Even the king himself was rather surprised. Having finished the braised chicken and rice and black pepper steak, he had already eaten far more than his average daily intake of food. This was because the dishes offered by this extraordinary chef had completely awakened his appetite, which had lain dormant for many years already.
The fact that a single chef was able to cook two dishes of such an incredible caliber was a sufficient indication of his skills.
However, who would’ve thought that he would offer up a third dish? Even though his stomach was already bulging slightly, the king was still very much looking forward to this third dish.
It had yet to be seen whether he would have sufficient stomach capacity to eat it or not, but he truly was curious what this third dish could be.
In contrast, Sean’s heart sank upon seeing this third dish. Was there no end to this man’s brilliance?
He was regretting not killing Mag the day before now. Even though that would further worsen his relationship with Josh, their relationship was already so bad that it wouldn’t have mattered anyway.
On the contrary, Josh wanted nothing better than to sing for joy. However, he had to control his expression and emotions during the king’s birthday banquet, so he couldn’t express his elation.
“Your Majesty, this dish is known as spicy grilled fish; please enjoy.”
The attendant lifted the lid on the platter, revealing a grilled fish that was covered in red chili peppers. The scorching aroma wafting toward the king from the dish made him furrow his brows involuntarily.
However, what was surprising to him was that the aroma of the dish wasn’t a very sharp nor overwhelming one. Instead, it smelled extremely enticing. There was certainly a hint of spiciness to the aroma, but it was very much at a manageable level. Even though the king was already satiated after eating the previous two dishes, he was struck by the impulse to pick up his chopsticks again.
Beneath the layer of red chili peppers was a whole fish. The skin of the fish was slightly charred, and the criss-crossing knife incisions made on the body of the fish allowed the red juices around it to seep into the flesh of the fish.
Josh was observing the king’s expression this entire time, and a faint smile appeared on his face. He was worried that this dish would be too much for his father to handle, but it was quite clear from the look on his face that he was very much looking forward to eating the dish. During this birthday banquet, the king had eaten virtually nothing aside from the dishes cooked by Mag, so Mag was almost guaranteed to win the best dish of the day award. That was undoubtedly very good news for Josh.
The female servants carefully carried the platters in their hands onto their designated tables before lifting the lids. A rich spicy aroma immediately wafted through the air like an explosion of spiciness.
What the hell is this?!
Sean recoiled reflexively as his eyes watered from the intense spicy aroma that assaulted his senses. He felt as if there were a palpable aura of spiciness in the air, and just inhaling it was making his throat run dry.
Josh sat before his own four times insanely spicy grilled fish, and even though his eyes were also watering, he forced a smile onto his face as he said, “There’s no need to be so alarmed, Brother. This spicy grilled fish is renowned for its intensely spicy flavor, but it’s also extremely delicious, and is truly an incredible dish.”
He had thought that Mag would drop the level of spiciness a little, but after inhaling the scent drifting from the dish, it appeared that it was even spicier than last time.
But what could he do? Mag was a chef who had been invited to Rodu by him, so no matter how much the dish was making his eyes water, he could only force a blissful smile onto his face, and pretend that those were tears of joy swirling within his eyes.
Josh stole a glance at the king, only to find that the latter was still quite composed, and he heaved an internal sigh of relief. At the same time, he praised internally. I didn’t think that Father would be such an avid lover of spicy food. Looks like Mag was spot on with this dish.
This level of spiciness was clearly far too severe for anyone to handle, and Sean was just about to voice his protests when caught sight of the king picking up his chopsticks. As such, he could only swallow his words and sit in silence.
“It smells so spicy, but it also smells so good!”
“The fish look a little small, though. I have no doubt that the dish would be very delicious, but such small fish tend to have a lot of small fishbones, which makes them rather inconvenient to eat.”
All of the representatives of the different races were looking down at their spicy grilled fish dishes with hesitant expressions.
After tasting the first two extraordinary dishes, expectations for Mag had reached an all-time high. However, the strong spicy aroma and the intimidating layer of red chili peppers spread over the dish struck everyone with a sense of wariness.
Is it really that spicy? Why is it that it doesn’t smell all that spicy to me at all? Irina took a deep whiff of her spicy grilled fish before turning to look at everyone else with a confused expression on her face. She then murmured to herself, “I didn’t think that he would’ve even mastered grilling fish. Just what can’t he cook? He’s posing a real threat to my position as the family chef!”
Just as everyone was hesitating whether they should eat the dish or not, the king had already led by example and dug into his grilled fish first.
As soon as the morsel of fish at the end of his chopsticks entered his mouth, a genuine smile appeared on his face. This was a smile that came directly from the bottom of his heart, and it was the best form of praise and approval that he could extend toward this dish.
After swallowing his first mouthful of fish, the king nodded to everyone else, and said, “The fish is very delicious. You should all give it a try.”
“Yes, Father.” Josh immediately heeded the king’s call, picking up a large chunk of fish with his chopsticks. The spicy juices had already stained the fish a bright red, and he had to force down the urge to recoil as he placed the morsel of fish in his mouth.
It only took a split second for Josh’s mouth and tongue to go completely numb. His face immediately turned as red as a cooked lobster, and sweat began pouring down his face.
He had experienced this sensation once the day before yesterday, except it was clearly even fiercer and more pronounced on this occasion. The absurdly spicy flavor made his mind go completely blank, and tears were already threatening to flow down his face, but he had to force back the urge to cry out in pain.
Just a little more! Just a little more and it’ll start to taste good!
Josh offered words of consolation and encouragement to himself as he clenched his fists tightly beneath the table. The blank numbing sensation in his mind persisted for a short while before finally passing. What followed was the extremely delicious flavor of the kirin carp that had been cooked to perfection. In that instant, Josh felt as if he had been propelled straight from the pits of a fiery hell into a blissful heaven.
He knew from past experience that only by continuing to eat without any pause could he keep this spicy flavor at bay. Josh’s face was starting to look like a chunk of charcoal that had been taken directly out of a furnace and sweat was pouring down this face, but he couldn’t stop eating!
Sean took a glance at Josh, who was eating like a madman, and he also mustered up his courage as he took his first bite of fish.
“Ngh…”
Sean’s face turned as red as a beetroot in an instant. His mouth and tongue had gone completely numb, and he almost reflexively spat out the mouthful of fish.
However, Josh was still eating up a storm right across from him, so he could only repress this powerful urge as he clenched his fists beneath the table. This level of spiciness was definitely something a normal person couldn’t handle! However, if he were to do something unbefitting of a prince in such an important setting, all of his prior efforts could go to waste.
Andre wasn’t going to let a disgraceful prince inherit his throne.
As such, even though the spicy flavor wreaking havoc in his mouth made him want to throw his head back and roar to the heavens, he had to force a blissful smile onto his face. This as absolute torture!