Chapter 104.
"Megumi! Long time no see!"
Yoshino Yuki squealed, launching herself at the blue-haired girl and trapping her in a massive, suffocating hug.
"Did you all have a productive summer vacation?"
Megumi asked with a sweet, slightly nervous smile once she was released.
"Obviously! I spent the whole time going through some seriously intense training!"
Yukihira Soma declared, leaning back with his hands shoved in his pockets and a cocky, unshakeable grin plastered on his face.
At the word "training." Megumi violently shuddered. Her mind instantly flashed back to the three days of absolute, inhumane culinary torture she had endured.
"Megumi, what's wrong? You look a little pale. Are you okay?"
Sakaki Ryoko asked, immediately noticing the trauma flashing across her friend's face.
"I-I'm fine! I'm just a little nervous for the preliminaries."
Megumi lied smoothly. She was far too embarrassed to admit that the mere concept of 'training' had given her culinary PTSD.
The chatter died down as the Director of Totsuki Academy, Nakiri Senzaemon, stepped up to the massive podium to deliver the opening address.
Truthfully, this was the first time Shijun was actually seeing Erina's grandfather in person. He had skipped the entrance ceremony entirely, and he hadn't bothered to visit the administration building since.
Watching the legendary 'Food Demon' approach the microphone, Shijun finally understood why the old man was close friends with his own grandfather. They both loved to put on a terrifyingly theatrical, domineering facade—and they were both equally prone to embarrassing themselves.
Case in point: Senzaemon strode out looking like a mythological warlord. He stood before the microphone, crossing his massive arms, and took a deep, dramatic breath to command the room.
And then—
He choked on his own saliva.
A loud, aggressive coughing fit violently echoed through the stadium speakers, perfectly audible to thousands of tense students and judges.
Shijun practically bit his own tongue to stop himself from laughing out loud. If Erina hadn't been walking toward him right at that moment, he definitely would have cracked. Since their relationship had improved significantly over the summer, he decided to save her the embarrassment of laughing at her grandfather.
Erina, however, looked completely mortified, shooting the coughing old man a deeply resentful glare.
"Good morning, Erina. I heard you're overseeing the judging panel for Block A today?"
Shijun greeted her with an easy smile.
"Yes." Erina nodded, recovering her composure. "Eizan Etsuya is overseeing Block B today. You need to be careful."
While she looked at Shijun, the second half of her sentence was clearly aimed at Megumi and Miyoko, who were both assigned to Block B. As members of Shijun's Research Society, she knew they would be in Eizan's crosshairs. Erina was well aware that Shijun and the 9th Seat were politically at war. It was a rare, genuine warning from the normally haughty heiress.
Megumi and Miyoko nodded solemnly, understanding the political gravity of the situation.
"Ah~ If megane-kun wants to deliberately look for trouble, I have absolutely no problem teaching him a lesson."
Shijun shrugged indifferently. Eizan was a minor nuisance. At best, the 'Alchemist' could only provide a brief spark of entertainment in Shijun's otherwise boring school life.
"Just make sure you know what you're doing. I need to head to Block A."
Erina sighed. She wasn't particularly worried; as a scion of the Nakiri family, she understood the terrifying, monolithic power of Shijun's family better than anyone. Eizan posing a genuine threat to him was mathematically impossible. Still slightly flustered from their close encounter in his bedroom a few days prior, she quickly turned and left.
After finally clearing his throat, Senzaemon delivered an impassioned, roaring speech that set the stadium ablaze with competitive fire.
The Autumn Election preliminaries had officially begun.
Shijun escorted Megumi and Miyoko to their cooking stations in Block B, with his devoted maid, Maria, trailing respectfully behind him. Her presence alone showcased the sheer, terrifying influence of the Xie family—bringing private staff onto the floor of a strictly regulated Totsuki tournament was a privilege reserved for the absolute elite.
"Alright. It's time for you two to show them what you're made of."
Shijun encouraged them.
"Don't worry, President! I won't disappoint you!"
Megumi and Miyoko answered in unison.
Megumi's cheeks were flushed with a mix of anxiety and determination, while Miyoko's eyes burned with the fierce, unyielding aura of a warrior burning her boats. After surviving Shijun's draconian training, both girls were armed to the teeth.
Satisfied, Shijun and Maria took their seats in the VIP section closest to the arena floor.
Mito Ikumi had been assigned to Block A, out of his immediate line of sight.
Down on the floor, Eizan Etsuya, sporting his signature slicked-back hair and a smug grin, was schmoozing with the five elite judges of Block B.
Shijun squinted at the judge sitting dead center. She looked incredibly familiar, but her styling and aura were completely different from the woman he remembered.
"Young Master, that is Sendawara Orie. She is the twin sister of Sendawara Natsume."
Maria provided softly, instantly sensing his confusion. Aware that her Young Master categorically ignored corporate trivia, she had spent the last few days aggressively memorizing the profiles of every major player in the Japanese culinary industry.
"Ah, that makes sense. No wonder her aura is completely inverted."
Shijun nodded. Natsume possessed a domineering, aggressive, queen-like presence. Orie, by contrast, radiated a soft, serene tranquility.
Down at the judging table, Orie leaned over to Eizan.
"Is that your new 8th Seat?" she asked, her eyes locked onto Shijun in the stands.
Eizan's smile tightened, but he nodded respectfully. Facing the Chief Operating Officer of HOB Foods, the arrogant 9th Seat didn't dare show any disrespect.
Orie nodded thoughtfully, settling back into her chair, but her gaze continuously drifted back to Shijun. Eizan noticed, his brow furrowing as he tried to calculate what the powerful executive wanted with his rival.
Shijun noticed the stares but ignored them entirely. His focus was locked onto Tadokoro Megumi.
As the secretary of his Research Society, she was his primary investment. Down on the floor, Megumi seemed to have successfully purged her anxiety, standing perfectly still, waiting for the signal. Given the hell she had survived over the last three days, Shijun knew that as long as she cooked at her normal baseline, passing the preliminaries was a statistical certainty.
"Everyone! The Autumn Election preliminaries officially begin now! You have three hours! The theme is... Curry!"
Kawashima Urara's voice boomed through the stadium.
Instantly, the sixty elite first-years erupted into motion. Knives flashed, pans hissed, and within seconds, a massive, complex cloud of exotic spices exploded into the air, filling the massive dome with an intoxicating, heavy aroma.
Maria watched the frantic, passionate battlefield below, a faint flush of color rising in her cheeks. She had dropped out of school at a very young age due to poverty, spending her entire life serving the wealthy. Through sheer luck and competence, she had climbed the ladder until she was handpicked by the Xie patriarch to serve his grandson. Having never experienced the fiery passion of youth, she couldn't help but feel a pang of envy watching these students fight so desperately for their dreams.
Of course, if any of the struggling chefs down there knew that this quiet maid's baseline annual salary was over ten million yen, they would likely vomit blood in sheer frustration.
"Young Master, Megumi has started." Maria noted, her curiosity piqued. "But... what is she planning to do by stringing up a fish that massive?"
Despite memorizing corporate profiles, Maria's actual culinary knowledge was limited.
"Tsurushi-giri." Shijun smiled. "She's using the traditional hanging method to dismantle an monkfish."
Monkfish—often called the 'foie gras of the sea'—dwelled at depths of 500 meters and were globally recognized as a supreme delicacy, rivaling the famous fugu of western Japan. Because their skin was covered in a highly slippery, gelatinous mucus, attempting to butcher them on a flat cutting board was practically impossible. The traditional, highly technical solution was to hang the massive fish from a hook and butcher it mid-air.
After Shijun's brief explanation, Maria understood the concept, but watching the petite, soft-spoken Megumi hoist a terrifyingly ugly sea monster into the air made her incredibly anxious. Butchering a slippery, suspended target with a razor-sharp knife required immense physical strength and flawless precision.
"Relax, Maria. Megumi is perfectly fine." Shijun said, his eyes tracking Megumi's flawless, steady knife work. "As long as she doesn't panic, her foundational skills eclipse the vast majority of the students in this room."
Since his arrival at Totsuki, Shijun had evaluated the entire first-year roster. He knew exactly what kind of terrifying, dormant potential rested inside the seemingly fragile girl. As long as she channeled everything she had learned and applied her unique, deeply empathetic understanding of ingredients, she was going to shock the entire culinary world.
In Shijun's absolute, professional opinion, Tadokoro Megumi was the student in Totsuki with the highest potential to truly comprehend the profound, philosophical 'Mood' of cooking.