Inside Erina Residence—
After entering the kitchen, Erina Nakiri quickly recovered, and the aura of the God's Tongue returned once more as she changed into her chef uniform.
Akanegakubo Momo glanced at her, noticing her changed aura and immediately began preparing her dessert.
Akira Fujimiya was watching them silently from the side, not wanting to disturb them.
The two girls seriously demonstrated their superb skills of a professional chefs. If Megumi Tadokoro were here, she would probably be trembling with fear.
"So this is the strength of the Ten Elites Council of Totsuki?" Akira's eyes followed their every movement, as he memories it.
.....
After an hour, both the desserts were finished at the same time.
Erina Nakiri's dessert looked very high-end and sophisticated.
Akanegakubo Momo's dessert was cute and elegant.
Akira stood up and walked towards Akanegakubo Momo's dessert first, cutting a small piece and putting it in his mouth. After a simple tasting, he did not say a word and moved to Erina Nakiri's dessert, cutting a small piece there as well.
The two girls watched him intently—waiting for his evaluation.
"Akanegakubo Momo's dessert uses the sweetness of the fruit very well, giving a natural and refreshing taste. Whereas, Miss Nakiri's dessert is layered and complex; after tasting it, one feels a sense of surprise and delight," Akira said calmly.
The two girls were stunned for a second — They hadn't expected Akira to know so much about desserts.
"Next, it's my turn," Akira suddenly said. "Thank you both for teaching me how to make these two desserts."
Akanegakubo Momo and Erina Nakiri were both momentarily stunned.
Akira washed his hands and stood in front of the kitchen counter. He stayed silent as he recalled the steps they had taken and began preparing two desserts at the same time, his movement precise, memorized.
In terms of timing, it was indeed a bit rushed, but with careful allocation, it was possible.
Akanegakubo Momo opened her eyes wide as she watched Akira's movements, her hold against her stuffed doll tighten. It's said that the person knew the techniques of the one who wielded them best. And his way of cutting the fruit mirrored hers exactly!
Erina Nakiri too watched him process her ingredients, and as he followed her method perfectly.
The more they watched, the more horrified they became — Every step Akira took perfectly imitated their movements, no error, ditto same!
They know about Subaru Mimasaka's ability — "Perfect Profiling", but even that had limit! He needs extensive stalking and data (like habits, stats) to fully profile and copy someone, it is a very time-consuming process. While fast ("Flash"), his power isn't about instantaneously gaining skills from a single touch, but rather methodical absorption and adaptation. And he definitely can't master it like Akira who was able to copy it after just seeing it ONE time!
.....
An hour later, Akira had hardly paused as he passed the two desserts towards them.
The two girls only regained their composure when the two new desserts were served as they stared at him in disbelief.
"Try it," Akira said, looking at them calmly, expectantly.
Akanegakubo Momo took a piece of the dessert that Akira had imitated from hers and tasted it. In the next second, her face filled with disbelief.
The flavor was almost identical!
The same happened with Erina Nakiri.
However, her God's Tongue could still detect subtle differences—Akira's imitation was precise, but it lacked a few elements unique to her own creation—it was like her shadow, not the original.
It was as if Akira — himself had absorb all the movement and make it his, yet every subtle detail reflected her methods.
"There is a student at Totsuki Academy skilled at imitating other people's cooking. Normally, he would need to observe in advance and transform himself to match them perfectly. But I don't need all that. I can imitate just by watching you cook," Akira said slowly.
"Is that similar to the God Tongue?" Akanegakubo Momo asked, intrigued.
"Almost. So, Akanegakubo Momo, if you join me, I can give you the chance to taste the God Tongue and gain access to master chef dessert recipes. With my ability to imitate, you could make rapid progress. Becoming a special chef or even a master chef wouldn't be difficult," Akira said seriously.
Akanegakubo Momo was stunned for a few seconds.
Erina Nakiri stared at Akira blankly.
She had thought he just want to take the shares...and yet he had just invited Akanegkubo Momo to join his side.
In an instant, Erina understood.
Akira was planning to win over the Ten Elites one by one. Once he had five people—including himself—on his side, he would effectively wield the power of the Elites Ten Council of Totsuki!
"So, Akanegakubo Momo, what's your answer?" Akira asked, reaching out and holding her hand.
"I…I'll join," Akanegakubo Momo said, slightly uncomfortable with how close he was behaving, wanting to retreat.
Akira lightly kissed the back of her hand.
"Welcome, Akanegakubo Momo-san."
'Now I have two chess pieces…' He added in his head.
Before he could pulled back, his phone started to rang. He release Momo's hand, who quickly distance herself from him. He didn't say anything as he glanced at the message, and a smile spread across his face.
"Now, I have four chess pieces." He thought out loud.
Erina and Momo both stared at him but didn't say anything.
.....
Inside Erina Nakiri's kitchen, she glanced at Akanegakubo Momo, who was preparing a new dessert, though her mind wasn't fully on her.
Of the four chess pieces Akira had mentioned, besides herself and Momo, who were the remaining two?
If he could gain the support of three more people and then secure the backing of two more, wouldn't he be able to control the Totsuki Ten Elites Council?
Erina looked at Akira.
"Who are the other two?" she asked,
"Other two?" Akira repeated, feigning innocence.
"Apart from me and Senior Akanegaubo Momo, who are your remaining two chess pieces?" Erina pressed, knowing he was just playing dumb.
"Why do you want to be included?" Akira countered.
Erina froze, then her expression shifted slightly.
Could it be that the four chess pieces didn't include her?
"I don't count the Nakiri family as part of my strength. The four chess pieces I mentioned are mine to control, not ours," Akira clarified.
"What… what do you want to do?" Erina asked, unable to stop herself from asking.
"My goal is to control the chessboard myself, starting with the Elites Ten Council of Totsuki. If I include you, I can only control half the council. With one more person, I can shift the balance completely," Akira said, smiling.
"You want to push out the Nakiri family?" Erina clenched her fists.
"Why would I push out the Nakiri family?" Akira asked calmly.
"Then why not include the Nakiri family in your camp?" she pressed.
Hearing this, Akira reached out his hand. Erina hesitated, then offered her hand, which he held gently.
"That's why," he said with a smile.
"!!" Erina paused as she stared at him with disbelief, realizing the truth.
"What I mean is simple, Miss Nakiri needs me, so I don't need to worry about your opinions. I won't push out the Nakiri family or occupy Totsuki Academy unnecessarily. I don't count you as a chess piece because I worry that one day, Miss Nakiri may no longer need me. So, besides you, I aim to control six chess pieces," Akira explained slowly.
"...Are you doing this for the Yukinoshita family?" Erina's expression was complicated.
Akira didn't deny it.
He looked at Akanegakubo Momo who was preparing her dessert, not carrying about what they were talking about. He was indeed doing it for the Yukinoshita family — The message had come from Mrs. Yukinoshita, who had two chess pieces in her hands. Along with Akanegaubo Momo and Satoshi Isshiki, that made it four in total.
Mrs. Yukinoshita had already set her pieces in motion.
On the other side, because Satoshi Isshiki was Iroha's brother, Akira did not need to treat him as an outsider. One of Mrs. Yukinoshita's chess pieces was predictable, but the other one surprised him.
After sampling Akanegakubo Momo's new dessert, Erina offered many suggestions.
Momo diligently wrote them down. The opinions of someone with God's Tongue were invaluable, but while they could prevent mistakes, they could not directly increase her strength.
Even if Erina didn't require Akira's help, Akanegakubo Momo would remain on his side.
"Miss Erina, thank you for your advice. I'll now go back and redo it," Akane said, excited, as she putting away her notes.
"I'm looking forward to tasting Akanegakubo Momo-senpai dessert again," Erina said softly.
Momo nodded, glancing at Akira.
"The dessert recipes of master chefs aren't easily obtained. But if Akanegakubo Momo-san kisses me on the cheek, I'll be able to acquire a recipe after summer vacation," Akira said with a teasing smile.
Momo blushed slightly as she glared at him in resentment but approached him anyway. Akira squatted so that she could easily kiss his cheek.
Erina watched from the side, her hands slowly clenching. Her feelings were complicated.
As she cursed this shameless guy!
Akane gently kissed his cheeks and quickly stepped back, her own cheeks flushed.
"Akanegakubo Momo-san, do you want to make a pinky promise?" Akira asked with a mischievous smile.
"You… do you think I'm a child?" Akane's face turned bright red.
"Sorry, but you're just too cute," Akira said, standing up.
"I'm cute anyway, bye," Akane said, turning around and preparing to leave.
"Akanegakubo Momo-san, your reaction just now was really cute," Akira called after her.
"I… I understand, thank you," she replied, pausing briefly before leaving the kitchen, her ears warming up.
...
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Bonus Chapter:-
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Word Count — 1,663