Here, the old man was still struggling to keep a straight face, his stern expression paired with the scar on his right eye giving off the intimidating aura of a yakuza boss—especially the kind who, upon discovering his three underlings had messed up, would send them off to Thailand for gender reassignment and turn them into idols upon their return.
Over there, Gin Dojima, who had just decided that the rhythm of Compendium of Materia Medica and Dragon Fist was perfect and was about to download them as background music for Hayashi's training, suddenly whipped his head around to stare at Hayashi with a look of utter disbelief—his expression resembling that of Tokiomi Tohsaka after being kidney-stabbed by Kirei Kotomine.
How could he say that!? How was he the one harming lives!?
"Hayashi, have you forgotten the sweat we shed together in the gym?"
"Hayashi, have you forgotten the moments we exchanged smiles and raced side by side on the treadmills?"
"Hayashi, have you forgotten the memories of us collapsing on the floor, heads pressed together, panting and laughing?"
"Hayashi—"
"Stop!"
Hayashi raised his right hand in front of himself, then frowned at Gin and couldn't help but ask, "Unless my memory's faulty, for the past month, hasn't it always been me collapsing on the floor, unable to get up, while you kept training alone?"
"What's the problem?"
"So where did those scenes of us smiling at each other while sprinting on treadmills, or laughing together after collapsing, come from?"
"From my brain, of course!" Gin grinned and gave Hayashi a thumbs-up, his expression nostalgic, warm, and doting as he declared, "Every time we train together, I create these memories—that's right, we're teacher and student in name, but best friends at heart! My Friends!"
'Are you some kind of Todo now?'
Hayashi instinctively took half a step back, eyeing Gin warily—come to think of it, if he remembered correctly, Gin's voice actor was Takehito Koyasu, right? Considering the kind of characters he'd voiced before—Dio Brando, Sugou Nobuyuki, Kanzaki Kyouya…
'Holy hell, weren't they all heavyweight freaks?' So was the man standing before him now also some kind of hidden menace? Since Gin wasn't a main character in Shokugeki no Soma, there wasn't much detail about him—what if he had some unspeakable hobbies…?
Hayashi's scalp prickled, and his asshole clenched.
'Was that step back really necessary?' Gin froze at Hayashi's reaction—such a small movement, yet it dealt such devastating emotional damage! It left Gin feeling a rare wave of emo—the last time he'd felt this emo was when he caught Hayashi secretly ordering McDonald's delivery!
Excuse me? A world-class chef like him was personally handling Hayashi's three meals a day, and yet this brat was sneaking McDonald's behind his back!? Disgusting, honestly. He was seriously gonna lose it.
"Ahem—" Hayashi looked at Gin's sorrowful expression and suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. Had he accidentally struck a nerve? So he whispered, "Well, actually, training with you has been pretty fun too! Your training really has made me feel my body gradually getting stronger..."
The next moment, Gin flashed him a bright thumbs-up and said, "That's my friend for you! Come on, let's go do ten sets of sit-ups right now!"
"Wait, hold on—" Hayashi tried to say something, but in the end, he was helplessly dragged by Gin into the Tōtsuki family's gym.
"Gin Dojima! May you only ever find pickled vegetable-flavored instant noodles when you shop!!!"
...
...
After the Interdimensional Gate entered its second phase, Hayashi and Gin moved from the Tōtsuki Resort to the Tōtsuki ancestral home because Hayashi needed to bring "takeout" to Erina Nakiri.
'So, why is it that even after moving here, I still can't escape his clutches?' Hayashi sighed helplessly as he walked down the Tōtsuki family's hallway, clutching a bottle of cold milk and muttering under his breath, "The scariest part is that I'm actually starting to get used to this life. Have I been brainwashed or something?"
The old Hayashi would never have been able to wake up at six in the morning for a workout, let alone do fifty push-ups in one go now! It just goes to show how terrifying habits can be.
"Are you insulting my palate!?"
Just then, Hayashi suddenly heard an enraged voice coming from one of the nearby rooms.
"This is the worst steak I've ever eaten! It's not even fit for the trash!"
Oh? Someone's getting chewed out?
Hayashi blinked, then quietly crept over to the room and cautiously peeked inside—only to see a beautiful girl with long golden hair sitting with her arms crossed, her stunning violet eyes filled with impatient disdain! Across the table from her, a middle-aged man old enough to be her father was bowing and apologizing profusely.
'That's Erina, no doubt about it!' Hayashi rubbed his chin and muttered, "Just as fierce as in the story. Terrifying. Unlike me, who only knows how to feel sorry for my bro!"
"Are you scared of Erina?" Gin's voice suddenly came from behind Hayashi. He was mimicking Hayashi's posture, hiding behind the door and sneaking a peek at Erina holding court inside the room.
"Yeah, a little," Hayashi admitted after some thought, looking troubled. "A spoiled young lady with tsundere tendencies—combined, their lethality is practically multiplied tenfold!"
Hayashi wasn't some kind-hearted protagonist who could endure a female character's "tsun" without complaint, waiting for her "dere" side to emerge—the torment of that tsun armor wasn't something just anyone could handle.
"Well..." Seeing Hayashi's "Erina is such a hassle" expression, Gin also looked troubled. The Tōtsuki family was Hayashi's business partner, and Erina was the direct heir of the Tōtsuki family! If any rift or conflict arose between Hayashi and Erina, it would undoubtedly have a negative impact on their collaboration.
'In the short term—at least while the headmaster is in charge of the Tōtsuki family—there shouldn't be any issues. But as Hayashi's abilities grow, the Tōtsuki family's assistance to him will inevitably become less significant, and his reliance on them will gradually diminish...'
Gin crossed his left arm under his right armpit, resting his chin on his right hand as he thoughtfully watched Hayashi's retreating figure.
'If, at this point, the headmaster were to pass away and Erina-sama—whom Hayashi currently resents—were to take over the Tōtsuki family, it's possible that the Tōtsuki family, as the 'dragon's loyal vassals,' might instead be pushed out of the inner circle.'
This was something no one whose interests were tied to the Tōtsuki family would want to see. So Gin had to find a way to ease Hayashi's current "resentment" toward Erina.
"Actually, I think that in terms of status, you, as a collaborator with the Tōtsuki family, should rank just a tiny bit higher than Erina-sama," Gin said with a serious expression. "So there's really no need for you to worry about her getting angry at you or anything like that."
"Hmm, that does make some sense?" Hayashi blinked, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "The chefs in this world fear Erina-sama because of her God's Tongue, right? If she deems their food 'disgusting,' their careers are over."
"Exactly—"
"But I'm not a chef! If anything, her mother is the one waiting for me to deliver her three meals a day!" Hayashi suddenly perked up, his face twisting into a villainous grin. "Heh heh! Erina-sama, you wouldn't want Mana-san to go hungry, would you?"
"???"
Gin was momentarily stunned, watching Hayashi's back with an expression caught between speechlessness and exasperation.
"Wait, no, no! I shouldn't say things like that!" Hayashi shook his head, making Gin sigh in relief—only for him to continue, "It should be more like this—Heh heh! Mana-san, you wouldn't want Erina's God's Tongue to develop to the point where she can't eat anything, just like you, right?—That's the way!"
"..."
Gin fell silent for a few seconds before covering his face with his hand. "If the old man hears you say that, you're definitely in for a world of trouble."
"Ahem, well, that's where you come in, Gin!" Hayashi immediately clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture. "After all the torment you've put me through, don't rat me out to the old man!"
"Even if I don't say anything, you still need to watch your mouth!" Gin shook his head helplessly. "No matter what, joking about Mana like that is a bit... questionable."
"So it's fine if it's about Erina?" Hayashi gasped in mock surprise.
"Well..." Gin stroked his chin, thinking it over. "If you're interested in Erina, that wouldn't be such a bad thing."
Putting everything else aside, based on Gin's month-long observations of Hayashi, if Hayashi were to marry Erina, he would never stand by and let her God's Tongue become a curse that eventually made her unable to eat—meaning that solving the God's Tongue issue would become Hayashi's top priority! And by extension, the Shokugeki no Soma world would become a "home base" Hayashi would deeply value!
Of course, this only applies if Erina and Hayashi hit it off themselves! Neither Senzaemon nor Gin would ever force Erina to marry Hayashi just to bind the Nakiri family to him.
"This..." Hayashi tugged at the corner of his mouth, shaking his head hurriedly. "No way, no way! I can't stand Erina's culinary philosophy!"
Hayashi remembered very clearly that in the early stages, Erina looked down on commoner cuisine with extreme prejudice! And Hayashi? He absolutely loved hot pot, spicy soup, fried chicken, barbecue, and hot dry noodles—all foods that fell under Erina's category of "plebeian fare." If he married her, wouldn't they just argue endlessly?
More importantly, Erina was only fifteen years old, fifteen!! No matter what, Hayashi wouldn't lay a hand on a girl eight years younger than him!
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