The General habitually stroked his beard, then thought of something.
"I just came from there."
Jōichirō Yukihira also took a sip of apple wine, then exhaled a cloudy breath of alcohol, saying indifferently.
Upon hearing this, the General was stunned. He couldn't help but look at the apple wine in his hand, his thoughts seemingly drifting back to over 20 years ago.
…
Looking back then.
This Joichiro Saiba had too many honors!
He was the pride of the entire Totsuki Culinary Academy, and also the hope of the entire culinary world.
At that time, he was full of vigor and fearless, especially his undefeated record of 50 wins to 1 loss, which still excites the General when he recalls it.
However, such a scene, after all, was just a fleeting dream, after all, ethereal and illusory!
"Caibo, you seem much more restrained now than before."
"When you were at Totsuki, you used to be a troublemaker, and I often found it troublesome."
Finally, Senzaemon Nakiri composed his complex thoughts, turned his gaze to Jōichirō Yukihira, and sighed.
"People change. I've experienced many things over the years, so naturally, I've come to understand a lot."
"Not just me, when you personally visited the Yukihira Diner, your white-haired appearance even startled me!" Jōichirō Yukihira continued to drink, speaking calmly.
"Yes, time can change everything."
"Many things have happened to our Nakiri family over the years, and even I have changed a lot!"
Senzaemon Nakiri agreed profoundly.
Then he thought for a moment and continued, "Tell me, why did you want to see me tonight? I remember when I went to the diner to find you over a month ago, you weren't very welcoming to me."
"You wanted to send my son to Totsuki to study, of course I wasn't welcoming to you."
Jōichirō Yukihira felt a bit resentful when this was brought up.
And the General, looking at his expression, instantly understood something.
…
Undeniably, Joichiro Saiba was a rare genius.
But a genius, after all, is still a person, not an omnipotent immortal.
When facing cooking, he, like many others, needed to constantly explore unknown territories.
When people focused all their attention on him and placed all their hopes on him, that kind of highly anticipated expectation naturally formed a kind of pressure!
Gradually, Jōichirō Yukihira could no longer endure this pressure.
And unable to find an outlet, he eventually resorted to pranks.
But this abnormal behavior still couldn't alleviate the various pressures weighing on him. Everyone around him still didn't understand him and continued to treat him as usual.
It wasn't until just before the main event of The BLUE began that the accumulated pressure finally reached an unmanageable point, completely crushing him!
It was also from that time on that Joichiro Saiba completely lost his passion for cooking, lost the motivation to continue exploring unknown territories, and could only drop out of school in regret and despair.
Looking back at that history, everyone inevitably feels regret for it!
Among them, Gin Dojima, as Jōichirō Yukihira's close friend, after discovering his abnormality, deeply knew that the entire culinary world at that time was already corrupted beyond salvation.
And Nakamura Azami, as a junior and fanboy, attributed Jōichirō Yukihira's loss of self entirely to "the problems of the gourmet world," and began to have the determination to completely overturn the culinary world!
Of course, during this process, there was also an unfortunate person, Jun Shiomi.
As a middle school student at Polar Star Dormitory at the time, she directly became the biggest victim of Jōichirō Yukihira's dark cooking.
Finally, it even caused a psychological shadow that would linger for a lifetime!
…
Now, looking at Jōichirō Yukihira's tragedy.
Although there were personal reasons for him, it was actually indirectly related to Totsuki's "elite-style" education!
And in the end, Jōichirō Yukihira also understood this, and thus, deep down, he was very reluctant for Yukihira Sōma to study at Totsuki, fearing that he would repeat this fate.
"Actually, all these years, I've been searching for your whereabouts."
"Because I always believed that the only person who could break the curse of the God Tongue was you."
"It wasn't until Sosuke appeared that I completely let go of that idea."
"Unfortunately, at that time, I also learned of your whereabouts and couldn't help but recall some past events, so I had to personally come and catch up with you!"
"As for your son, I also have high hopes for him. If he can train at Totsuki Culinary Academy for three years, he might achieve astonishing accomplishments in the culinary world."
In his helplessness, the General could only tell Jōichirō Yukihira all his thoughts.
"Initially, I thought Sōma might be like a frog in a well, destined not to make much progress if he stayed in the diner his whole life."
"So I pondered for a long time before reluctantly agreeing to send him to Totsuki to study."
Jōichirō Yukihira knew all this too, and couldn't help but sigh.
…
"General, my visit to Totsuki Culinary Academy this time is indeed to see my son."
"But more importantly, something that greatly concerns me, and potentially affects the entire culinary world, is quietly unfolding."
Subsequently, Jōichirō Yukihira, whose mood was somewhat complex, did not forget his original intention for returning to Totsuki.
"What is it?"
The General, seeing his unease, immediately became tense.
"This matter only concerns the Midnight Chefs."
Jōichirō Yukihira's gaze sharpened.
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