“Why me?” Meru asked.

“You cook with your mom, right?” Sasshi said. “I often see your blog of the dishes you make with her.”

“Plus, you’re really good at baking cookies and sweets.” Miichan added.

“At our school, she would always be in charge of school bake sales,” Mio said. “They’re really good, too.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah!”

“Don’t worry. You two will definitely be able to win. I trust you.”

Meru nodded. “When do we start, then?”

“About a week from today.”

“The two of you will choose a dish to make, and practice until the live performance next Saturday.”

“Okay.”

…..

Nagato entered the dark room as he saw Isako boiling something in a cauldron.

“You requested me?”

“Yes, Nagato. I understand that even with that… male bravado of yours, you lack the mental strength to resist the charm of that black-hearted mage.”

“Yukirin~” He blushed.

“Nagato!”

“Yes?”

“Are you really that stupid? We can’t let them influence us.” She said, as if she were about to slap him, but resisted. “Now then, I have a new plan to defeat those girls.”

“You have?”

She snapped her fingers and the cauldron showed Nagisa and Meru talking, looking at the poster of the cooking competition.

“A cooking competition?”

“We’re going to infiltrate it and defeat those girls. I found a potion that will poison them in a single bite. And, since Momo and Hayate are both too young, I have to make you my partner.”

“I see…”

“We’re going to insert the poison in one of Japan’s most irresistible delicacies.” Isako said before taking out a fried octopus ball.

“Takoyaki!”

“Just one bite out of this, and they’ll drop like flies.”

……

That night…

“*Goya Champuru?”

“Un. My mom makes it all the time, so I know how to make it.”

“That’s amazing, Meru-chan.”

Meru opened up the cookbook and started laying out the ingredients. “This time, I wanna do something special. I want to make a Champuru no one’s ever done before.”

“Sounds awesome.”

“It’s gonna be more awesome doing it with you. Imma teach you!”

“Really?!”

“Of course!”

“Mm~ but, I’m a pretty bad cook.”

“Don’t worry. Once we’re through, you’ll be a master with a frying pan!” Meru said, holding up the cast iron frying pan.

“Cool! Now I’ll know two ways to use a frying pan!”

“Two?”

“Ever watched Tangled?”

“Oh. Hahaha! That’s funny, Nagi!”

…..

A week later…

“Idol Cooking Competition Special!!!”

The audience roared in applause as the live show started.

Meru and Nagisa looked at each other, seeing their fellow members in the audience applauding.

“You nervous?” Meru asked.

“Nope. I’m sure we can do this. Besides, I’ve got a master chef on my side.” Nagisa said with a wink.

“Our first team is from Akihabara48 productions, Team Ladybug!”

The two waved to the cameras as the audience roared louder.

“Wow, someone’s popular.”

“And our second team is under Darc Productions, Team Kaos!”

“What?”

The two looked over, seeing the two of them. They’ve never heard of Darc Productions, but something was very fishy about the pair.

“Meru-chan, do you think..?”

“Un. Probably.”

“What should we do?”

Meru looked up, meeting Miichan’s gaze. She looked like she knew what was going on, too.

She nodded and looked back.

“Let’s not do anything yet. But, keep your guard up.”

“Roger.”

“Alright, each team has 30 minutes to complete their dish, so let’s begin!”

3…

2…

1!

“Let’s COOK!”

================================

Footnotes

*1. Goya Champuru – An Okinawa stir-fry dish.