"I'll first apologise for the rest who could not have the rest of my dishes, however, perhaps we can have some kind of gathering where all of us can have a meal together."
If possible, I just wanted to organise an event where all the students can have what they want and experience any kind of emotion or feelings that they want to.
"For my main course, I've prepared what I'd like to call (Confinement). A plate of natural ingredients that come together to create a unique combination of flavours and emotions."
When they lifted the round plate covering the dish, a strange scenery was revealed to them.
"The hell?" And as I knew already, Cradle cursed as soon as she saw this scenery.
"This is one of the most unique presentations I've seen in my lifetime, vice captain."
On the yellowish brown dish, a half destroyed tree lay on one side of the plate, with the other fallen part being present on the ground on the other side.
Between the two parts of the tree was a flame— an actual fire that was lit on an uneven mountain or hill.
The dish was a unique creation, and if one looked even closely, they would find more than one story in the form of the tiny decorations present on the fallen tree, on the base of the tree still on the ground, on the plate that was used itself, and even on the hill on top of which the fire was burning.
"Every single element you see before you is edible." I informed them before any of them started eating.
Most of them were still just observing the attractive art before them, so no one had started the eating part, but just in case, they had to know it.
"All of this is edible? You mean, the tree and the sauces aren't the only edible thing here? Even that fire, that soil like mountain, this plate as well, perhaps?"
Miss Cleo knew instantly what I meant by 'everything' that one sees before them.
And Cradle was still surprised even after hearing it directly from her.
"Will you tell us what you used for these things, then? The story behind it?"
"Umm, Miss Cleo, it would be better if you just try it all first.
Everything I've used should be distinguishable with your special senses, and since the story behind it is of little importance, experiencing it should be much better."
Rein and Zoe already know what this scene represented.
I didn't want to tell them about one of my most dreadful nights, anyway.
And no one needed to know how a young boy experienced a night inside a broken tree's hole.
The presentation was only there to tell the story as it looked. Every element of it was symbolic and one can relate to all these things with their own experiences.
'The broken tree, the still standing base trunk, the invisible roots it had, the scattered branches, the absence of leaves or any 'green' in this entire presentation made without using any meat or eggs was more about the theme of sorrow than my life.
'But it was still something I've experienced. So, there's a chance the occasional strong taste might result in powerful emotions of fear.'
But, it wouldn't be too powerful since I used the right kind of proportions in certain areas.
I wanted to know what they would experience after having this one as well.
So, I watched in anticipation as they started digging into the first things… which were quite different, of course.
'Miss Cleo started with the soil of the mountain that held the flame, Rein directly picked the part with the flame and placed it in her mouth, while though surprised by her actions, Cradle proceeded to cut out a piece of the trunk that was still attached to the plate, or the soil.'
She was looking forward to taste what I had prepared and, from the look she had earlier when eating that marble, it seemed like she was looking forward to this one more than before.
'The emotions that she might have been the reason she got even more interested in this but, the surprise she had after taking out a piece of the trunk surprised her, as well as the others who were watching her.'
As soon as she cut a piece out of the trunk, what came out of the tree was a multicoloured inside that, much like the inside of the cake that Lady Cleo had made for us, was a complete contradiction to its outer looks.
It was filled with colors, it was sparkling, it was glowing, but soon after she cut it out, the color started to quickly fade away.
The color was fading so quickly that she didn't understand what was happening and since it was turning darker; she got anxious and placed the thing in her mouth out of urgency.
She didn't know what else to do, and placing the whole thing back into that mix certainly was no good idea. So she just ate it, and it was good that she did that.
"The trunk is made in a way that when one cuts it out, it starts losing all the taste, color, and texture it possesses.
It starts decomposing quickly, so you will either have to eat it whole, or eat it as soon as it's detached from the base."
It was a unique concept where the food was given a special conditioning.
We don't see it in many things, but there surely are some cultures that have foods like these that are best eaten under certain conditions or they lose the core fun they have about themselves.
'It was also a symbolic representation of the fleeting life and how even the things attached to the strong roots that don't fall by the attacks of a large flaming mountain are destroyed by the flow of time.'
It was fancy, but that just made it even more fun.
Everything on that plate, including that plate, as well had a unique flavour to it that, when combined, created a new explosion of a myriad flavours.
Rein was lost in the flavours from the very first bite. The strong flavour of the fire and the light ones from the soil created a warm favour.
The flavours from the tree trunk were more on the mind sild, but they all contained a lot of individual elements, making them something even more independent.
Those colorful flavours were something that not only were great individually, when combined together, they were also something pretty fun to experience.
"This is indescribable."
The headmasters tried it along with the judges. They shared it since they needed to, but it wasn't like they wanted to share any of it. In their positions, they had no other choice.
The vice headmaster was enjoying her portion quite a lot.
Miss Cleo was enjoying every aspect of this dish. She was even trying to taste some decomposed pieces of the trunk that had lost all their colors and taste to understand the emotions inside them.
'I don't understand how her senses work, but I did make sure to produce something very 'gloomy' in those decomposed parts to include even them into the whole of the dish.'
If the first dish was all about the experience of their past, this one was about their current experiences.
I wanted them to have a good experience while being in the present, so I made sure to make something that they could enjoy, and at the same time long for.
'Even longing has sorrow. The sorrow of not being able to enjoy this dish the same way they were doing right now another time.'
I put a lot of thought into it, and seeing them enjoy this, seeing Rein and Zoe happy like that, was enough reward for me.
[{ "I want to kiss you for making something so amazing." }]
[{ "Well, you'll have to wait for that. And eat properly. You got it all over your face." }]
[{ "Hehe, why don't you come here and lick it all yourself." }]
[{ Ahem! Master is still in the middle of his presentation, sister Elle! He cannot do that! }]
If I could make flowers with special flowers that contained the taste of unique things like my Master was able to, I wanted Celes to taste the things I make as well.
'It's sad how she could only taste lights. And, it's even more sad she cannot actually eat anything at all.'
If it was possible for her to have the same senses as us for even a day, I wanted her to taste something special I make only for her.
Well… I don't see that happening anytime soon. Or at all in the future.
'She was an origin beast that lived on the energy of her origin. And she was not like other creatures either.'
If there were some things that she could do much better than the other creatures, there were also simple things that she could not experience.
Miss Cleo did not say anything throughout the time she was finishing the dish and only after finishing everything, even the plate that was made with edible things, did she look at me with a complex expression on her face.
"I'll wait until the others finish. We shall move onto the dessert right away."
It was clear from the look on her face that she was having some complicated thoughts about that dish, none of which seemed negative from what I can tell, but she still had a lot of things going on in her mind.
She perhaps wanted to have the dessert first and then decide how to respond to this dish, and I was certainly fine with it.
It was better if she gave her comments after having a clear mind anyway, so we waited until everyone was done with the main course… and, moved on to the main element of my course- the dessert- right away.