Investing in My Crippled Wife: Every Return Makes Me Stronger

As he had promised Ethea, Soren investigated the Golden Ladle Tournament and found that there was still a day before the deadline closed and that the tournament would last for three days in total. So, if he were to participate and could reach the finals, they would have to spend five days here in total.

He took a considerable amount of time to consider the decision. Five days was not a small amount of time after all, especially for the two of them. However, Ethea kept insisting, pointing out that he had been pushing himself without rest for the past month and that a short break would not change anything. Teleportation Gates would make up for the lost time anyway.

In the end, he agreed, though he made one thing clear.

’I’ll participate, but just for fun. I’m not aiming for a place.’

’That’s fine.’ Ethea smiled. ’As long as you enjoy yourself.’

They walked toward the registration hall next to the main pavilion. The building was bigger than Soren had anticipated, banners with the Golden Ladle emblem across its entrance. Inside, hopeful contestants stretched in a line toward a row of counters, manned by officials in festival uniforms.

When his turn came, the official looked up. ”Magic Chef certification?”

”Certificate? I’m sorry, but I don’t have one,” Soren admitted.

The official nodded as if he had heard this a hundred times already. ”Then you’ll need to pass a practical test to qualify. Take this number and wait in the testing area. You’re forty-seventh in line, so it may take a while.”

He handed Soren a slip of paper with a number printed on it and gestured toward a set of double doors to the left. Through them, Soren could see a waiting area already filled with other aspiring contestants, some pacing nervously, others sitting with their eyes closed in concentration.

”Is it alright if I take my wife with me?” Soren asked, gesturing toward Ethea.

The official looked at Ethea, noticed the wheelchair, and his expression became warmer with understanding. ”Of course. Go ahead.”

Soren thanked him and guided Ethea through the doors into the waiting area. He located an open spot near the wall, parked her chair beside him, and then sat down.

The test-takers were called in groups of five, and from what Soren observed, each group spent about thirty minutes inside before the next was summoned. He glanced at the number in his hand and counted the people still waiting ahead of them.

’At this rate, we’ll be here for at least one and a half hours.’ He sighed mentally. ’Perhaps we shouldn’t have come after all.’

’No, we can’t back out now, dear. We already paid the entry fee, and you promised me too.’

’Ok, ok, I’ll do it.’

’Good, then let’s check out the official website of the tournament.’ Ethea suggested. ’Perhaps there are some good prizes for participating?’

’Right, we haven’t checked the prizes yet.’ Soren agreed and took out his phone. ’Hmm...’

He quickly opened the website and then held his phone closer to Ethea so she could read too. Together, they browsed the tournament details, the rules, and even the past winners.

They also watched videos of past tournaments and enjoyed them. Soren also got a rough idea of where he stood. Based on what he saw, he could probably reach the semifinals, but the final round would be a stretch unless he got lucky.

More importantly, the prizes were more amazing than they expected.

The first place would receive a grand prize of a hundred million credits, a set of enchanted chef’s tools, and, of course, the Golden Ladle trophy along with the entry ticket to the Grand Magic Chef Tournament qualifiers.

The second and third places would get fifty and twenty-five million credits, respectively, along with the Silver Ladle, the Bronze Ladle, and their own enchanted tools.

All three winners would also receive rare ingredients, which would be revealed at the start of the competition. Soren decided to wait and see if the ingredients would be worth the effort before changing his mind about just participating for fun. If something useful for Ethea, his sister, or Ryan happened to be among them, he might have to take the competition a little more seriously.

Time passed faster than he expected, the videos and conversation with Ethea making the wait feel shorter than it was. When his turn came, he followed the other test-takers inside and wheeled Ethea toward his assigned station.

One of the examiners, a woman with silver-streaked hair, glanced up as they entered and noticed the wheelchair. Her brow furrowed for a moment before understanding settled over her features.

”You can leave her here with me,” she said, gesturing to the space beside the examiners’ table. ”She’ll be out of the way, and you can focus on your test.”

Soren hesitated for a moment, then nodded. He wheeled Ethea over to the indicated spot and leaned down to speak quietly. ”I’ll be right over there. Call me if you need anything.”

Ethea smiled. ”Go. I’ll be fine.”

Soren gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, then turned and headed to his station after putting on a chef’s apron and washing his hands. The silver-haired woman then spoke to the group.

”You each have thirty minutes to prepare a magic meal using only the ingredients provided at your station. You may use your own tools if you have them. Begin.”

Soren looked at his station and scanned everything, even using the appraisal to check the ingredients. It took him a few minutes to figure out what dish to make, and once he decided, he immediately got to work.

Thirty minutes passed in the blink of an eye.

Soren gave the dish a final touch and presented it to the judges along with the other contestants. The first two failed to pass, and the next one succeeded, and it was finally Soren’s turn.

He watched silently as the judges tasted his dish one after another.

Each of them reacted similarly, with their eyes widening after the first bite and whispering to each other, while the last, a little plump one, ignored the others and continued to eat, fork moving back and forth between the plate and his mouth without pause.

Soren glanced at Ethea, who gave him a thumbs up along with a smile hidden behind her mask.

’You did it, dear.’