Chapter 35: I Don't Care Anymore, I'm Choosing The NTR Route! (Bonus Chapter)
I had also decided the daily timetable for how we would operate during the five days of the Moon Banquet Festival. The paperwork was mostly done. The contractors were handling the physical stall construction, so I could finally focus on the cooking side… Although the dishes I was personally in charge of were already complete, so my main job would be helping Alice and the others perfect theirs.
"We have one week until the Moon Banquet Festival. From today on, everyone focus only on the dishes we'll be serving. I'll handle the remaining minor paperwork. Use every spare second to create dishes packed with as much creativity as you can squeeze out."
"Are you really okay with us making the food…? Wouldn't it be better if you did everything, Shogo-kun…?"
"…Hmph. Yeah, we'd probably just drag you down."
"Hey! I'm not dragging anyone down! Don't lump me in with her!"
"I will perfectly copy Shogo-san's dishes. That's the only way I can be useful to him."
Alice and Mimasaka were motivated, but Ryoko and Miyoko didn't seem as confident. Alice had advanced to the main bracket of the Autumn Elections, and Mimasaka's job was simply to replicate my cooking.
For the two who had been eliminated in the qualifiers, being entrusted with important work by me must have been a huge source of pressure. But that was exactly why I was giving it to them. I never did anything meaningless, and I wasn't stupid enough to assign tasks to people I considered useless.
My unchanging principle was to make every one of my women happy. That was my pride.
During this festival I would raise Ryoko's and Miyoko's self-confidence and deepen their dependence on me. Giving them happiness would proportionally increase their trust. I hadn't been able to give them much attention lately, so I would use this opportunity to sink them even deeper into my swamp.
"It's fine. Have confidence. Every one of you is a chef I chose of my own will. I believe you'll live up to my expectations. …Of course, I'll help too. Just relax and go for it like you're on a luxury cruise."
"…Shogo-kun. …Yes, I understand. I'll do my best!"
"…Whatever. It's not like I have a choice anyway. I'll do it even if you don't ask."
"That's the spirit."
The team's atmosphere wasn't bad. The things we needed to do were clear, and we could make good use of the remaining time. If everything continued smoothly like this, we would enter the Moon Banquet Festival in perfect condition. Then stealing customers from Eizan's stalls, drying up his sales, picking a fight, and taking his Elite Ten seat would be completely achievable.
Well, even if this approach didn't work, I had a Plan B ready as a last resort. I would use the family's power to threaten to crush the outside restaurants Eizan was producing for and force him into a Shokugeki—an unavoidable, completely shameless strike. The method didn't matter. All I cared about was the result.
"Alright, let's move to the cooking classroom. Mimasaka, go get the permission. The rest of us will clean up the room and head over."
"Understood! I'm on it!"
He was huge but surprisingly quick. He really was like a loyal large-breed dog. I had tamed him myself, but the character collapse was on another level.
"I'll handle the chairs. Ryoko and Miyoko, do a quick floor sweep, please."
"Sure. Got it."
"On it."
Ryoko was meticulous as usual, and Miyoko was surprisingly thorough despite her appearance. I could leave it to them without worry.
"Shogo-kuuun! What about me?"
"Let's see. Alice, can you wipe down the desks? Just dust them off is fi—"
"I'd rather clean something else…"
She pressed herself against me and gently touched my crotch. She unzipped my pants and stroked my cock through my underwear.
"Hey… Can I suck it? I want a reward for working so hard."
She said it with a seductive smile. When an S-class beauty with such an erotic expression said something so lewd, I could confidently declare that no male high school student could resist. Mimasaka wouldn't be back for a little while… it should be fine.
"N-no way! Nakiri-san! N-not here! And Shogo-kun, don't take it out!"
"…Just let her, Sakaki Ryoko. The guy's basically a walking ball of lust. Trying to stop him is pointless."
She was being pretty harsh. It stung a little because she wasn't wrong. Miyoko would have to be punished for that cheeky mouth.
"You never learn, do you, Miyoko? —Tonight you're staying at my room. I'll make you cum until you're crying and apologizing, so get ready."
"Wha…! Why does it always end up like this!"
"That's not fair! I want Shogo-kun to love me too! I want to stay over as well!"
"Nakiri-san has a strict family, so that's impossible…"
"What?! Sakaki-chan wants to stay over too! You're trying to leave me out!"
"N-no! I don't… I don't want to stay over or anything…"
It was noisy, but their energy was a good thing. The three of them all knew they were my women. That was why they were having this conversation. If an outsider heard it, though, it would be a problem. Good thing I had borrowed a classroom in a rarely used building.
"Alice, we'll do it at a hotel on your next day off. I'll love you properly, so don't worry. Ryoko, you come stay over too. We can bully Miyoko together and have fun."
"S-sorry…! The back… please forgive me for that…"
The exhilaration of everything going according to plan. I didn't doubt for a second that it would all continue like this.
But I had forgotten one thing.
Life doesn't always go according to plan.
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Two days until the Moon Banquet Festival.
The entire academy was filled with excitement as the event reached its final stretch. Students whose preparations were going well wore smiles, while those who were behind wore desperate expressions. I was, of course, in the former group—or at least I should have been.
It wasn't that a major problem had occurred. Ingredient orders, equipment preparation, and stall construction had all been completed on schedule.
The menu was finalized and test batches were proceeding smoothly. All that remained was to raise the quality to perfection.
There was nothing wrong with my stall. Nothing wrong with my stall.
"So you're Santoku Shogo-kun. This is our first proper meeting since the Momijigari-kai the other day. You certainly chose a very obvious way to provoke me. …Are you looking down on me?"
A girl had suddenly appeared in front of my nearly completed stall.
It was the bespectacled girl with dark blue hair in pigtails—Sixth Seat Kinokuni Nene.
She stood with her arms crossed, openly radiating anger as she glared at me. She had shown up without warning and immediately taken this attitude. I had no memory of doing anything that would make her this furious, so I simply tilted my head in confusion.
"Um… provoke you? I'm not sure what you mean."
"…I see. So you're going to play dumb."
No, I'm the one getting glared at here.
What the hell is with this upperclassman? She looks calm but she's extremely aggressive. She's got this confrontational vibe, like she's on edge.
"I really don't understand. I have no intention of provoking you, Kinokuni-senpai."
"Misunderstanding? After deliberately opening your stall right here, you have the nerve to say that?"
"Right… here…?"
From the way she phrased it, the cause seemed to be the location of my stall. …I understood even less. I had simply chosen a spot that was conveniently close to Eizan's stalls. It wasn't exactly prime real estate that would make anyone jealous.
Seeing my confusion, Kinokuni pulled out a sheet of paper and thrust it at me. When I looked, I saw it was the layout map of all the stalls in the Yamanote Area. Every student participating in the festival had received one, and I couldn't see anything particularly strange about it. What was she so angry about?
"…You really are looking down on me. Fine, I'll spell it out. Opening a stall directly in front of mine is nothing but a provocation, isn't it?"
"…Ahhh, I see. So that's what this is about."
I finally understood why this girl had stormed over. Understood, but… I seriously hadn't noticed. It wasn't even a matter of not caring. I hadn't paid the slightest attention to who was opening a stall directly in front of mine.
My target was Eizan's stall. Everything else was just background noise. I didn't give a damn. This was annoying. This was completely outside my expectations.
"Um… I'm sorry. I wasn't looking down on you, and I didn't choose this spot to provoke you. It was just empty, so—"
"You're saying my stall isn't even worth considering as competition?"
"N-no… that's not what I meant. I just… didn't think it through. This is… my first Moon Banquet Festival, after all."
"You said you chose this spot because it was empty, right?"
"Yes."
"Then why didn't you choose here? There's a large empty space and almost no competition. If you're a beginner, this should have been the obvious choice, shouldn't it?"
Kinokuni pointed at the map with an even sharper glare. The spot she indicated was on the far edge of the Yamanote Area. According to the map, only one stall was there.
It was so far from the center that it made sense no one wanted it. Who the hell would open a stall in a place like that?
I checked the stall name and representative on the map—and my brow furrowed.
Isshiki Satoshi.
The identity of the weirdo was Seventh Seat Isshiki—the Polar Star Dorm's naked-apron senpai.
"…"
"You deliberately avoided opening next to Isshiki and chose the spot right in front of mine instead. If that's not provocation, what is? I expect a convincing explanation."
"…Sigh… Yeah, I get it now."
I had finally figured out why this girl had charged at me. But… this was seriously unexpected. I had been planning everything, giving clear instructions to Soma, but it was all white now. Target changed. Objective changed. Any suspicion of NTR? Screw that. After being spoken to like that, my boiling point wasn't high enough to stay calm.
"…So, shall we check? Whether I really am all talk or not."
"…? What do you mean?"
"Ah, I need to be clearer. I'm saying I'll do exactly what you want."
"—!? …What… are you…?"
Don't get cold feet now. That would ruin the mood.
You're the one who stepped on the landmine and pulled the trigger.
"Let's have a match, Kinokuni Nene. We'll bet your Sixth Seat on the Elite Ten. …Yeah, I know. You don't need to ask if you'll accept. Let's settle it simply during the Moon Banquet Festival. Five days of total sales. If I win—accept a Shokugeki for the Sixth Seat."
"Wha…! Out of nowhere—?! I haven't even—!"
"Running away? I'm properly provoking you this time, aren't I? …Or are you scared of losing to someone who's all talk? It's too embarrassing to even make excuses. —Seventh Seat and below chef."
If I pushed this far, she had no choice but to accept. This time I was the one who had stepped on her landmine.
"…Fine. I accept. I'll teach you the difference in level between you and an Elite Ten member. …It's a match. Santoku Shogo."
After glaring at me fiercely, Kinokuni Nene turned on her heel and walked away.
Regret? That's not your line. It's mine.
Eizan didn't matter anymore. I had made all those plans, given clear instructions to Soma, but it was all scrapped. New target. New objective. Any worry about possible NTR? To hell with it. After being spoken to like that, there was no way I was letting it slide.
I would crush Kinokuni Nene, take her Sixth Seat, and make her my woman to love and use for the rest of her life.
I would teach her—bone-deep—who exactly she had picked a fight with.
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A/n: Here's your bonus chapter for reaching 300 power stones. Next goal: 500 power stones!! Don't forget to vote with your power stones!!
For early access to 10 chapters ahead: p@tre~~.com/Demonic_Fiction (Link is in the synopsis and my profile).