The fat man took his place, cleared his throat, and braced both hands on the counter.
The crowd below chattered like a pot at full boil.
His belly jiggled, making him look rather comical.
"Ladies and gentlemen, contestants, welcome to this year's competition venue."
"I'm honored you all came. It's a pleasure to have you here!"
"Now, the rules: whoever wins the competition gets to take the elephant carp home!"
"It's a treasure of the sea and a miraculous ingredient!"
"Whoever claims it will be the number one chef. So whose hands will it end up in?"
Arrogant laughter rose all around. Each contestant looked more smug than the last, their confidence written all over their faces.
That only made the laughter below the stage louder.
"Heh, what's there to guess? I'll take first place. Is there any doubt?"
"Who else but me deserves the top spot?"
"Of everyone here, I'm probably the only one qualified. The rest of you can forget it."
"Sanji, you didn't run off. Smart choice."
"If you had, even I would've looked down on you. I wouldn't have bothered hiding it."
"I love a good contest. If you'd run away, this one would've been no fun at all."
"This time, I'm going to show everyone exactly what I can do."
Before Carmen could finish, Sanji rushed up to her and dropped to one knee.
"Wow, Miss Carmen! Running into you here again is wonderful. I'm so lucky."
"Heh, seeing you again has me burning up. My heart's about to leap out of my chest."
"Then you can crush them completely. They'll see how formidable you are and won't dare underestimate you—or even come near you."
Whack.
A frying pan smacked across his face. The person holding it had fury in her eyes, and her hand