The Finals Begin

Facility Event: A Dash of Disaster

Episode 4

The Finals Begin

Previous Quest

Why I Can't Lose

Next Quest

Stocking Up for a Turnabout

Summary

Valerio and Picaro face off in a final round where contestants must prepare 1,000 plates— but Valerio must also contend with Picaro's blatant interference. Trying to turn things around at the eleventh hour, Valerio and the gang go on a mad search for ingredients.

Dialogue

The big one is finally here, folks: The Orichalcum Chef's final round! Our contestants are two gargantuans of this galley gauntlet: Picaro and Valerio! I have been waiting for this moment... for there is no brow better suited for the sweet laurel of victory than Picaro's! Whatever you say. Now let us announce the format for the judging of this final challenge. In all previous rounds, our esteemed panel of judges made the decision—but this time, that lofty task falls to those in the AUDIENCE as well! In the final round, our chefs will be asked to prepare one thousand servings of their best and most flavorful dish! A THOUSAND?! The winner will be determined by which dining-hall dynamo is the first to achieve a thousand empty plates! Everyone in the Halidom will partake: guests and kitchen staff, nobles and commoners, from the oldest senior to the youngest mewling babe! Which of our bastions of boiling, baking, and braising will be the first to delight each and every tongue in the house?! At my signal, chefs, unleash culinary hell. On your marks...get set...COOOOOOOK!

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A thousand servings without notice? Impossible! PIYA PIIIIIP! Just hang in there, bub! Looks like things have turned serious in a hurry, Valerio. You're flustered because you don't have any kitchen staff to help out, yeah? Well, we're here to lend a hand and get ya outta this trouble casserole! That would be a huge boon indeed. Might I ask you to go and collect ingredients for me, in that case? Pipple and I will canvas to the east, so perhaps you could handle the rest? I need everything listed on these recipe cards here. Consider it done. Let's go, everyone!

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Whew. I should be able to manage now. I owe the prince and his friends a debt. Glad to hear it. ...That you'll manage, I mean. Mitsuba? What are you doing here? Just passing by. ...Okay, fine. I was actually wondering how it was going. Ah, I appreciate it. ...Hrm? Who are THESE people? Oho ho! Just some associates of mine who have come here to help me slice, dice, and fillet you. More underhanded tricks, is it?! Do you have even a modicum of pride as a chef? I would spit in your vichyssoise a thousand times over if it meant winning the day! THAT is the only pride that matters! You people with your talk of fairness and clean competition... Pah! A clear conscience will not help me achieve that which I strive to protect! And what could you possibly be protecting that you'd resort to so many dirty tricks? The reputation of your brand? What I do, I do for family. For my wife and son. Ridiculous! You're the head of the world's most famous restaurant—surely your wife and son want for nothing! You are as foolish in this matter as you are in the kitchen. Because in truth, my cooking is...disgusting. My guests are deserting me in droves! My sweet wife will not even take a nibble! And if I feed it to my dear boy, he vomits it up with a horrifying wretch! Do you know what it feels like to make your beloved child expel his innards?! ...No. You do not. You COULD not! Yikes. You should be relieved that your son was born with a functioning palate. SILENCE! ...The point is, try as I might, I am unable to make food that sends all who eat it into paroxysms of tasty delight. Yet I have inherited the famed L'Amandier! If she should fail, my family will be tossed aside into the gutter like potato peelings! I will do whatever I must to protect my restaurant AND my family! I will lie! Cheat! Steal! Put pineapple on a pizza! I care not what it takes so long as I can keep the restaurant alive until my son is ready to take the reins. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I almost understand you. And yet, how could you possibly look your son in the eye if this is how you act in his name? Zip your lips before I ice them shut. ...Now, my minions! Surround them! Yes, chef! Hrk! Get down, Mitsuba. Oho ho ho! It matters not how much of a wizard you are in the kitchen if you can't hold your own in a proper scrap! Even a genius chef is but pan drippings on the battlefield. Now cook his goose... and render the skin EXTRA CRISPY! Hraaagh! A genius chef, you say? Ah, but I fear you're mistaken. I AM NO GENIUS CHEF! Uwaah! By my sainted duck press! Such bladework! As I said—and how unfortunate for you— I am no chef. Instead, I am a knight who was once hailed as a prodigy. But I am also a damned fool who believed he could overcome anything so long as he had strength. And in so doing...I failed to protect my beloved princess. If ONLY I was a genius chef! If ONLY that was fate's path for me! Had I cast aside my sword for a sauce pan, I would never have watched her die! I can't taste anything... I want something good... RAAAAAAAGH! Oh, Valerio... You want to protect your family, Picaro? How dare you! At least you HAVE family! You possess something far more amazing than anything I will ever do! Enough! Leave Valerio! He will julienne us into pieces if we continue! Go for his ingredients! Wreck them all! Yes, chef! Tch!

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Well, we manged to drive 'em off, but your ingredients are a sorry mess. I can't make a hundred servings with this, never mind a thousand. I'm sorry, Valerio. The blame lies with Picaro alone. No, I mean, I'm sorry for earlier when I said your dream wasn't important. This has something to do with that blue ribbon, right? I was wondering why someone like you carried around such a high-quality item. It's from your princess. Isn't it? ...Yes. I ran my mouth and said awful things when I didn't really know you at all. It is only natural to look upon the dream of a stranger and find it wanting when placed aside one's own. I seek to serve delicious food to the people of the world. I suspect there are many who might consider that a frivolous hobby. However, some lives can only be saved with food—happiness is unattainable without it. Thus must I win the day, and with all haste. If I can emerge as the Orichalcum Chef and open restaurants around the world, I might be able to erase my tragedies. ...Or so I once believed. I see. Your dream isn't to become famous. It's to have what comes AFTER fame. Yes. But sadly, it has slipped away. I have no choice but to withdraw. No! You can't give up! You can use the ingredients I set aside for if I made it to the finals! You would do this for me? You bet! And then we'll have the folks from the Halidom help track down the rest of whatever you need! PLUS, I'll even help you prep. C'mon, you can't give up now! Thank you. But...why? Honestly? If people think I helped save the Orichalcum Chef's bacon, it's gonna be incredible publicity for our restaurant. Then I suppose we should get busy. Now you're talking!

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You guys, go out there and grab anything edible that isn't covered in mold! Uh, but aren't you gonna end up with, like, four million totally rando things? Leave it to me. I will take any and all ingredients and transform them into the most flavorful dishes imaginable! And with me as your kitchen grunt, you're gonna win this for sure! Right. Let's go, everyone! I swear I will see your ingredients become the road that leads to my victory!