About ten minutes earlier, Erina and Hisako were still in Senzaemon's office, silently watching him and waiting for his response. To be honest, Erina wanted to decline the request.
Erina possesses the God Tongue.
The God Tongue is a sensory ability that gives Erina an absurdly precise and sharp sense of taste. She can detect even the slightest details in flavors, ingredients, techniques, and the balance of a dish. Her palate is so refined that she can identify low-quality ingredients, excessive seasoning, off cooking times, and even poorly executed techniques—even subtle details that other chefs would miss.
Her culinary verdict is practically a final sentence. If Erina says a dish is bad, no one questions it. If she approves it, it's a consecration for the chef.
However, because of the God Tongue, Erina has been under pressure since childhood to uphold impossibly high standards, which has made her extremely strict and demanding.
This ability is considered a divine gift among the culinary elite, and it's one of the reasons she rose to a prestigious position at such a young age.
Erina really didn't want to have to taste dishes made by students—their culinary skills weren't even remotely impressive to her.
Even though she's not yet a Tōtsuki student, Erina's cooking level already surpasses that of some second-year students.
"Many alumni, including former members of the Elite Ten Council, have been invited to this year's Tōtsuki Friendship and Rapport Training Camp," Senzaemon said calmly.
"I understand, but then what? Am I supposed to taste the students' dishes? Isn't that the examiners' job?" Erina asked, confused.
"Just like in previous years, on the third night, the students must choose or create a breakfast recipe to cook the next morning at 6 a.m."
"A theme will be chosen as the basis for the dish they must create. The students have the whole night to decide on a dish, and that almost guarantees they won't sleep."
"The next morning, the students serve their dishes buffet-style to the resort's guests, who are mostly the resort's ingredient suppliers and their families."
"The students must cook and serve at least 200 dishes in two hours; however, it only counts if the guest approves the dish."
"This is the second-to-last event of the Tōtsuki Friendship and Rapport Training Camp—the breakfast challenge."
"What I need you to do is simply pretend to be one of the guests. On the day of the breakfast challenge, I want you to pick the stand that catches your interest, taste the food, and give your evaluation. Just remember not to tell anyone about it," Senzaemon explained.
"I think I get it. You want me to act as a judge and select the best of the best during this event, right?" Erina said.
"Exactly. I hope you'll tell me everything you think about it."
"Alright, as long as I get to choose the right dishes. Besides, I'll also get to see the best students of the 91st generation," Erina replied.
"One of the students you're interested in challenging is among the first-years, isn't he?" Senzaemon asked suddenly.
"You mean Damian Gray-senpai, Grandpa?"
"Yes. I guess you don't know this, but his reputation as the top student of his generation is quite widespread. Some are even calling him the Lightning Chef because of the speed and precision in his cooking."
"If you really plan to challenge him to a Shokugeki in the future, I'm sure it would be a valuable experience to taste his food."
Erina stayed silent for a few moments.
"Alright, I agree to do it. I'm really curious to see just how good he really is," she said in a serious tone.
"Very well. As I said, the breakfast challenge is the second-to-last event, but it could be moved earlier depending on how many students remain."
"With that settled, you may go now." After explaining a few more points, Senzaemon gave Erina and Hisako permission to leave.
"Good luck, Damian, and come back in one piece!"
"Good luck, Damian."
"I told you, don't worry so much."
Rindō was standing at the door, wearing a sleep cap and pajamas.
"Don't you two have to head to the office soon? Since it's almost time, I'm heading out. Breakfast is ready. Since you're up, go eat. If you're not hungry, go back to sleep and eat later."
Rindō's eyes sparkled. "What did you make?"
"A bunch of stuff. Cornettos, bread with jam, yogurt with cereal and honey, and latte macchiato."
"Oh! That sounds amazing! Alright, let's eat first!"
"Rindō, you should at least wash your face first… Okay, I'm off. Call me if anything serious happens."
"OK!"
At that moment, Damian was dressed in a perfectly fitted black vest, tailored to enhance his elegant posture; a white Egyptian cotton dress shirt underneath, neatly pressed and buttoned up to the collar, with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows; a black silk tie with a flawless knot; equally black tailored slacks; and polished leather shoes that subtly reflected the ambient light. On his left wrist, a classic watch completed the look.
Just as he was about to leave, he saw Rindō leaning against the door with a grin.
"Hey… Damian, you'll be away from the dorm for a while… What about cleaning your room? And ventilation? You need to pay attention to those things… right…"
Damian thought for a moment and said, "Alright, you two can take care of it."
The moment he handed over the key, Rindō laughed like a mischievous little cat, waved her hand, and said, "Bye, and good luck!"
Damian patted his own head with a smile and left without another word.
He could already imagine her plan—or rather, their plan: hers and Momo's.
Rindō and Momo were quiet for a while after Damian left. When his footsteps could no longer be heard, Rindō silently clutched the key in her hand…
"Momo, we finally get to see what Damian's room looks like…"
"I don't think we should be doing this…" Momo said, swallowing nervously.
"We're not going to mess anything up. We're just going to take a peek."
"Erm…"
"Momo, aren't you curious about what Damian's room looks like?"
"Of course I'm curious…"
"Let's eat first! Damian will be gone for almost a week… All of a sudden, the dorm feels really empty…"
Momo nodded, but both of them still ate the breakfast Damian had prepared with smiles on their faces.
"Yo! Damian, I'm really curious about how the Tōtsuki Friendship and Rapport Training Camp is going to be."
"I'm curious too," Damian nodded.
"So… what do you think about playing cards tonight?" Isshiki asked.
"Cards? Just the two of us?"
"Well…"
Damian followed Isshiki's gaze and saw Nene, who was focused on reading a book.
Isshiki sighed and said, "She probably won't come."
"Let me try. Maybe she'll change her mind," Damian said.
While Nene was reading, she noticed someone walking toward her from the corner of her eye. She looked up, saw a familiar face, and was stunned for a moment.
Isshiki watched Nene speaking with Damian not far away. Just as he thought there was no hope, he saw Nene nod.
"This guy is unbelievable… How did he manage to convince Nene?"
(End of chapter)
Give me some power stones there you go~😉
Author's Note:
I want to apologize for not posting anything yesterday—something unexpected came up, and I had to drop everything to deal with it. I won't go into detail, but to put it simply, last week my company opened some job positions, and I was the supervisor in charge of the interviews.
Anyone who's ever gone through a job interview knows how many questions the examiner asks. Anyway, I conducted six interviews that day. As expected, two people got the job. However, yesterday morning, something bizarre happened.
Someone showed up asking why they hadn't received a call confirming they got the job (during the interview, we said we'd call the selected candidates within two days—and six had already passed).
I calmly explained it was because they weren't selected...
My God… you have no idea the chaos that followed.
The person left—and returned minutes later with four other people.
For some reason, they claimed that I, as the interviewer, and the company were homophobic and racist—throwing wild accusations at us for not hiring that person. Long story short, they and their companions are now facing a lawsuit for defamation and false accusations.
My God, it's like I attract this kind of nonsense. This is the fourth time something like this has happened since last year…
Sigh.