Watching trained chefs at work was always a fascinating experience for Jurao. It was beastkin tradition to have open kitchens for guests to see the chefs at work, so his first time witnessing professionals had been in the Bountiful Treeking. Perhaps it was the competitive atmosphere, but it felt even more intriguing to watch now.

Voga started by putting a large pot over the merrily burning brazier - he put some kind of metal net inside, then filled the bottom with water. He then sliced his aubergine into thin rounds, seasoning them with a few powdery spices. He put a skillet over part of his brazier, drizzling oil on it and sprinkling herbs into the mix. As it heated, he took out his metal net to scoop rice from a stone pot of cold water, draining it before placing the rice back into the heated water pot and covering it.

Meanwhile, Yheor chopped her aubergine into thick chunks. She put the chunks into a large bowl, then added her own oil and spices to it. She tossed the aubergine chunks to coat them, then spread the chunks across a cooking tray. She slid it into the clay oven, then went to work chopping leafy greens - tossing them into another bowl. She paused to pull out the aubergine chunks and turn them before adding more to what appeared to be a salad accompaniment - including some kind of nut, a crumbly cheese, and berries.

Voga cooked his aubergine slices in the skillet in thin layers, turning them to brown on both sides before moving them to a waiting plate. In between batches, he flipped the rice in the pot over. When enough time had passed, he filled six bowls with rice in their base, laying the aubergine slices on top before adding a bright-colored sauce and garnishment.

Yheor added her baked aubergine chunks to her salad bowl, mixing the lot before evenly distributing it onto six plates. She, too, had a sauce to drizzle over the top as a finishing touch - something dark and thin. She also sprinkled what looked like some kind of seed over top.

It all smelled wonderful, and Jurao didn’t remember the last time he’d looked so forward to a meal. While he generally preferred the main dish and sides to be separated, he trusted highly skilled chefs to mix things coherently. He did wonder about the extra servings, though.

“Time is up!” Adhi declared - both chefs finishing within moments before the final grains of sand fell, “Please take your dishes to the judges, chefs!”

Voga and Yheor both loaded five of their six servings onto trays and delivered them personally to the judges’ table.

“Please, enjoy yourselves!” Yheor grinned, “This is one of my favorite dishes to make!”

Unusually, Voga made no commentary as he dropped off the meals he’d prepared.

When the chefs walked back to their stations, they gave their final servings to each other, which made a good deal of sense to Jurao. As master chefs, surely they could taste the quality of each other’s meals better than casual diners.

Adhi held out his arms with a distinct purr as he said, “Judges, please, dig in!”

Jurao decided to try Voga’s dish first - sticking a fork through the top layer of aubergine and finding the rice was very sticky. He tried his first bite and hummed in contentment - the slices were soft and savory, and the sticky rice complemented the dish by offsetting what could have been a slimy mouthfeel from the sauteed meal. The finishing sauce had a spicy zing that brought out the savory flavor of the rest - just what one would expect from someone who had earned a masterage.

Setting Voga’s dish aside - and cleansing his palette with the sweet but light fruit wine - Jurao tried Yheor’s salad. The outside of the aubergine chunks were crisp and caramelized - but the insides were soft and juicy, bursting with flavor. The dark leafy greens added a note of richness, while the nuts and seeds offset the soft fruit with crunch. The crumbled cheese added a more savory undertone, while the dark sauce had a bitter quality that balanced the sweetness of the rest.

Normally, he would eat his dishes in order of his least favorite to most - but, as Adhi had predicted, both dishes were equally good. Looking at his fellow judges, they seemed to be in agreement about the quality.

Hujur gave Minaz a bite of each of his dishes, looking almost as happy as he did waxing poetic about file systems. Festi looked upset at Voga’s dish - he suspected they had planned to declare Yheor the winner but were finding it hard to dismiss the Kitchen Head’s skill. Alae seemed to be having trouble maintaining his usually unaffected air, smiling happily as he switched between the two dishes.

“She changed the recipe a little,” Braelin remarked, savoring a bite of the roast aubergine salad, “It’s better with the sauce - though Voga’s is really good too.”

Jurao hummed an agreement, “I’d say they’re equally enjoyable.”

“Have our judges decided?” Adhi asked, “I hear some discussion, did any of you need more time?”

When it was clear they were all ready, Adhi nodded and asked, “Well then, we’ll go down the line - how do you judge?”

“Equal,” Festi sighed.

“Equal,” Hujur hummed happily.

“Equal,” Jurao nodded.

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“Equal,” Braelin agreed.

“Equal,” Alae chuckled.

Adhi nodded again - as he had expected this result - and turned to the chefs, “The judges have decided - and you, chefs?”

Yheor licked some stray rice grins from her muzzle before grinning, “Delicious! I acknowledge Voga’s skill!”

Voga grumbled, then… smiled, “I acknowledge Chef Yhoer’s skill.”

“And there we have it!” Adhi announced, “With the chefs not contesting the ruling of the judges, Chef Yheor Jhaalkar and Chef Voga Unemae accept each other as equals in the castle kitchens!”

There was a good amount of applause at this, which Adhi happily encouraged as he added, “And while the chefs were preparing meals for the judges, the castle cooks prepared the same dishes for all of you according to the recipes of these two masters! They may not be quite the same quality, but they’ll still be a delicious experience!”

Indeed, butlers and maids arrived with trays of the dishes they’d just eaten - and the crowd cheered more enthusiastically for the surprise meal.

“Ah, I missed this,” Voga sighed as the crowd dropped to chattering.

“I’ll bet!” Yheor laughed, “Masterage doesn’t exactly carry the same respect outside of the Beastkin Realm!”

“That it doesn’t,” Voga agreed, approaching his opponent and holding out an arm, “I look forward to working with you, Chef Yheor.”

Yheor clasped his arm, and in beastkin fashion, they both leaned forward to brush cheeks, “Same here, Chef Voga!”

“... is being a chef really that big a deal in the Beastkin Realm…?” Festi sighed, “Is this why he’s always nicer to Jouvi?”

“Probably,” Minaz said, returning with her own plate of food, “I mean, she always had a weird sort of deference to him I didn’t really get until now.”

“We still haven’t actually finalized the new branch,” Hujur snorted, “Though it should be much easier to do so without Voga fighting it every step of the way…”

“They’re still holding hands,” Minaz observed.

Jurao looked over and noticed it was true - the two chefs had leaned back and were discussing their respective journeyman days, but their arms were still clasped together.

Adhi leaned on their table and said lowly, “It’s said a master chef can tell their perfect match from the taste of their food.”

“And demons are known to develop an attraction for worthy opponents,” Festi snorted.

“... why does everyone in my life fall for difficult people…” Braelin sighed.

“Don’t they usually become easier for you to deal with when that happens?” Alae asked with a smile.

Braelin hummed thoughtfully, “I hadn’t thought of it that way…”

“Now that we’ve got a new branch underway,” Hujur added, “I’ll set up a meeting with Jouvi to discuss the logistics of expansion - I believe Kloy had a suggestion as well…”

“We don’t carry many medicinal plants in the gardens,” Braelin nodded, “There’s a room for some of them in medical wards he showed me before - including an aquatic garden.”

“An aquatic garden,” Jurao asked.

“It held trollish undersea plants in glass box full of water so you can see inside,” Braelin explained, eyes shining as he went on, “Kloy said there’s an entire building full of wall-high aquatic gardens in Lajaonar, and it even has sections for different biomes to include aquatic animals with medicinal properties as well.”

“That sounds… difficult to maintain,” Hujur said apologetically.

“Could be a good civil project, though,” Festi suggested, “Build it in the city instead of on castle grounds - Jouvi and I have discussed it with Kloy before, and he said the one in Lajaonar is open to the public, and funded through taxes and the Pharmacy Guild attached to it. His okels is an architect who’s already sent him preliminary designs fae worked on in faer free time, and last generation’s princess is married to the Head Pharmacist, yeah?”

“They looked nice,” Braelin said, “The designs.”

“I’ll add it to the agenda,” Hujur chuckled, pulling out his notebook.

“Kloy never brought the project to Prince Ergirri,” Jurao wondered.

Festi shrugged, “He said they talked about it, but he never had the time or drive to push any solid plans. Especially since it would mean working with the mayor and city council…”

“Ah,” Jurao nodded.

“Well,” Adhi had a dreamy look of his own as he said, “There are a variety of aquatic plants and animals that are very delicious and difficult to come by in the Demon Realm - with the lack of oceans, and all. If local merchants could be accommodated as well, it could add some… positive reinforcement.”

“And if a proper branch of the Pharmacy Guild opened here to operate it,” Festi waved a hand, “That would give the public access to better medicines, too.”

“Well, don’t we all know how to pressure local government officials,” Hujur snorted in good humor.

“Better that than having Jurao force their hand as King,” Minaz said, “Less resentment that way.”

“I would not want to force their hand that way, either,” Jurao sighed, “Though occasionally it is necessary. Still, I’d much rather they agreed on the usefulness of a project themselves.”

“We’ll put together a proposal for the council members to review before Assembly next month,” Hujur nodded, “If Kloy already has architectural designs, it shouldn’t take long to do - Adhi, if I might borrow you to speak with him about which ones might be suitable to accommodate merchant interests?”

“Of course!” Adhi purred, “I would be happy to provide my expertise - though Chef Voga would know more about the flora side! His guild specializes in aquatic plants.”

“Surprises never cease,” Hujur chuckled.

That was when Ayelma - holding a plate of her own - jogged up to the table to ask, “So Yheor took the job?”

“She did,” Braelin chuckled.

“Yes!” his sister grinned, “I’d go congratulate her, but I didn’t want to interrupt whatever that is, ha ha.”

“It’s really weird to see Voga looking… happy,” Festi snorted.

“Why, what’s he usually like?” Meir’ril, not far behind his twin, asked.

“Angry, yelling,” Festi waved a hand, “Difficult.”

“Oh, so like Malson,” Ayelma said.

“Excuse you!” Malson himself said, joining them, “I am very rarely angry!”

“That’s the only part you take issue with…?” Festi scoffed.

Braelin laughed, “It is the only inaccurate part…”

“That’s right!” Malson nodded - then choked, “Hey!”

“It’s the twins!” Yheor declared, interrupting the banter by pulling both Ayelma and Meir’ril into a hug, “Look at you two! You’re up to my shoulders now!”

“Yheor!” Ayelma laughed, returning the hug, “It’s so good to see you!”

Jurao smiled as the chatter continued, wondering what an aquatic garden would look like.