Outside of Mamy Restaurant, a bald middle-aged man agitatedly said to Sith, “Boss, let’s send a letter of challenge to Mamy Restaurant and challenge them formally. Our restaurant’s business has been doubling, and our new customers are all singing our praises. The top spot of the Soup Rankings should be ours.”


  “It’s almost operation hours soon. Sending them the letter of challenge now isn’t very nice……” The boss of Sith Restaurant, who was wearing a black chef’s suit, held a letter of challenge tightly. There was some hesitation on his face.

  The bald middle-aged man shook his head, and said, “No. There are so many customers here who could be our witness, and we are going to tell everyone that our Sith Restaurant’s freshwater seafood soup is the real champion of the Soup Rankings. So, the Food Association will rearrange the rankings again.

  “There are so many customers here who are still misled by the wrong rankings on the Delicious Cuisine Rankings. The top spot is ours by right, and these customers should be lining up outside of Sith Restaurant. Boss, shouldn’t we speak up for what is rightfully ours?”


  Sith was silent after looking at the hundreds of people lining up outside Mamy Restaurant. Although Sith Restaurant’s business was also very brisk now, it still wasn’t comparable to Mamy Restaurant’s. If Sith Restaurant ever achieved such standards, he would reach the pinnacle of his life too.

  “Alright. Let’s go and give our letter of challenge now. We will have a fair and square duel to decide who’s the number one on the Soup Rankings.” Sith’s gaze became determined, and he strode to Mamy Restaurant’s entrance decisively. The bald man quickly caught up with him.

  “Who are they? Line cutters?”


  The customers in the extremely long line were looking at the two people walking toward the door with curiosity.

  “Hmm? If I remember correctly, isn’t that the boss of Sith Restaurant? What’s he doing here?”


  “The freshwater seafood soup at Sith Restaurant is quite good.”


  “Yes. They use freshly caught freshwater seafood. Their ingredients are good and the portion is great too. If we are just about soup, that is one of Chaos City’s rare delicacies.”


  Very soon, people in the line began to recognize Sith, and started a discussion.

  Sith was about to knock on the restaurant’s door, but the bells on the door jingled, and the door opened from the inside.

  Mag, who opened the door, saw a middle-aged man in a black chef’s uniform holding his hand up. Perplexed, he asked, “Excuse me, can I help you?”


  “Hello, Mr. Mag. I am the boss-cum-head chef of the Sith Restaurant.” Sith extended his hand to Mag.

  “Hello, Boss Sith.” Mag shook his hand. He recalled that the freshwater seafood soup from Sith Restaurant had come in second on the Soup Rankings. This Boss Sith came here in a rush, and definitely didn’t look like he was here to have his meal.

  Sith retrieved his hand and got to the point with Mag. “First of all, I want to congratulate you on your restaurant taking all the top spots in the current Delicious Cuisine Rankings. I have come today to challenge you for the top spot of the Soup Rankings. Your braised chicken and rice is indeed very outstanding, but I believe my freshwater seafood soup isn’t second to any other soup. Hence, I would like to have a duel with you to decide the real number one on the Soup Rankings.”


  Mag got his point. Ever since he gained his reputation after winning against the chef of Ducas Restaurant, he had not been challenged for quite some time. He didn’t expect anybody to come and challenge him after he conquered all the six rankings. He was really rather surprised.

  “Yes. This is the letter of challenge, Mr. Mag. Please accept it.” Sith passed the letter of challenge in his hands over.

  Mag took the letter of challenge after a moment of hesitation.

  He had a quite neutral impression of this Boss Sith. People with exceptional skills could be a little prideful. The first and the second were natural enemies. A duel was inevitable if one of them wasn’t convinced.

  He glanced through the letter of challenge. It was similar to what Sith had said. The theme of the duel was soup. Famous culinary critics and the president of the Food Association would be invited as their judges to conduct a professional duel.

  And the wager was the number one spot on the Soup Rankings.

  Frankly speaking, Mag wasn’t fond of such meaningless challenges.

  But if he rejected it, he would damage his reputation, so he couldn’t help but think about it.

  “Wow. He actually came to challenge Boss Mag! This Boss Sith is a little crazy?”


  “The duel between number one and number two on the Soup Rankings should be a very exciting one.”


  “After the release of ‘Buddha jumps over the wall’, no other soups would taste better, right? This would most likely be a crushing defeat?”


  The customers began to discuss among themselves after they heard Sith’s words.

  The bald middle-aged man who was following Sith sarcastically said to Mag, “Don’t tell me you are afraid? If you won’t accept the challenge, then tell the Food Association and let them change the ranking of the Soup Rankings. Let Sith Restaurant’s freshwater seafood soup have the top spot. Then, we won’t force you to do anything.”


  Sith looked at that bald man with displeasure, but this concerned the future of Sith Restaurant, so he didn’t comment at all. He simply looked at Mag and waited for his answer.

  Mag looked at that bald guy with a smirk, and accepted the letter of challenge. He smiled at Sith. “Since Boss Sith invited me so graciously, I will accept this letter of challenge. However, since you set up the challenge and set the rules, I will decide on the time and location. Is that alright with you?”


  Sith was taken aback by Mag’s decisiveness. After a brief consideration, he nodded.

  “Let’s set the challenge at 4.30 pm this evening at Mamy Restaurant’s entrance. My restaurant will start its dinner service at 5 pm sharp, so please get your cooking preparation ready earlier, Boss Sith.

  “Oh, yes. There’s something I want to inform you about beforehand. I have already categorized the braised chicken and rice from the soup category as a main dish. I have just introduced a new soup item called ‘Buddha jumps over the wall’ yesterday. Because this soup takes one whole day to cook, I won’t be cooking on the spot. Instead, I will be presenting a completed item straightaway,” Mag continued.

  “A new soup item?” Sith was even more surprised. The braised chicken soup was already acknowledged by the Food Association. He didn’t expect Mag to skip that and use a newly introduced soup item to duel with him.

  “Oh, regarding the wager. Apart from the top spot on the Soup Rankings, I want to add something,” Mag said.

  Sith warily asked Mag, “What do you want to add?”


  “The loser will have to pay the other party 10,000 copper coins,” Mag said smilingly.