Time passed slowly, and two months vanished in the blink of an eye.
Before they knew it, the day of the Totsuki Academy entrance exam had arrived.
Over those two months, Lexon had built a solid foundation of friendship with Soma Yukihira. As they interacted daily, Soma's favorability naturally increased.
Every day, Lexon would casually sign in to claim Soma's culinary skills, while Soma would cook various dishes for Lexon to taste and critique. Thus, while Soma improved, Lexon was essentially freeloading off his progress.
"Lexon, wait for me!" Soma Yukihira shouted as he closed the shop door and hurried to catch up with the figure ahead.
"The exam is about to start; don't be late," Lexon replied, his pace never faltering.
"Well, I just came up with a new idea today and wanted to test it on you," Soma laughed sheepishly as he caught up and walked alongside Lexon.
"You really treat me like a lab rat," Lexon remarked.
"Haha, no way, no way." Soma rubbed his head, looking a bit embarrassed, but then he asked, "I wonder why Dad suddenly told me to take this cooking school entrance exam... He said something weird like, 'If you can't stay in this school until graduation, surpassing me is just a joke.' I shouldn't even need to go to a school like this to learn... I've already learned so much at the shop."
"Don't be too arrogant... You might just meet someone with better cooking skills than you..." Lexon replied.
Knowing the plot, he naturally knew that Totsuki Academy was a den of hidden talent, and that powerful chefs were everywhere.
Although Soma's current culinary skill was decent—surpassing most of the students at Totsuki—if they were truly ranked, he would still be outside the top ten.
It was just that Soma, being the protagonist, had immense potential.
"I'm pretty strong..." Soma said confidently.
Having helped at Yukihira Diner for years and received praise from everyone who tasted his food, he naturally possessed that confidence.
"Sure, sure... you're very strong," Lexon replied somewhat dismissively.
"By the way, Lexon, why are you taking the entrance exam for this cooking school too?" Soma asked again, curious.
'Because of the Main God's mission.'
Naturally, he couldn't say that.
"Because I'm interested in cooking."
"But I remember you said..." Soma recalled Lexon mentioning his culinary skills weren't very high.
"I've made some progress over the past two months, so I wanted to give it a shot," Lexon answered.
"Ah... I see. Good luck! With your talent, even if you fail this time, you'll definitely succeed if you keep at it!" Soma encouraged him.
"Thanks for the encouragement, but you should have said, 'You'll definitely succeed this time,'" Lexon corrected.
"Haha, then... you'll definitely succeed this time!"
'As long as you don't mess things up.'
Lexon remembered the original plot where Soma was supposed to pass the Totsuki entrance exam easily, but his words provoked the proud and tsundere Erina Nakiri, leading her to slap a "fail" on his application.
"Thanks for the kind words," Lexon replied, then added, "Actually, being able to take this Totsuki Academy entrance exam is also thanks to your father."
"Thanks to him for what? Isn't it just a cooking school? Can't anyone just sign up?" Soma looked indifferent, clearly unaware of Totsuki's status or his father's weight in the culinary world.
"Totsuki Academy is a fine culinary institution with a very high standing in the industry..."
Chatting like this, the two gradually approached Totsuki Academy.
They entered the campus grounds.
"They all look like rich kids..." Soma marveled as he watched the children of wealthy families arriving in luxury cars.
"Yeah, they're the children of owners of restaurant chains or famous high-end restaurants, groomed to enter the culinary world since they were young," Lexon explained.
"Is that so... That's pretty impressive," Soma remarked again.
"Of course it's impressive; this is Totsuki Academy, after all..." This voice didn't come from Lexon. Instead, it was a blonde-haired rich boy sitting on a bench, leisurely sipping coffee.
With a friendly smile on his face, he explained to Soma, "Those who can attend Totsuki Academy are the elite of the elite, children of the most prestigious families in the culinary world."
"Oh?..." Soma glanced at him, then turned to Lexon. "Seems even more impressive than what you said, Lexon."
Lexon didn't respond.
"I'm Keimei Nikaido. My family runs a French restaurant. What kind of shop does your family have?" Keimei Nikaido seemed eager to socialize, introducing himself while asking about their background.
"You guys chat. See you at the exam," Lexon said. Having spotted someone, he didn't care to talk to this rich kid and left after a brief word.
"Lexon..." Soma was about to follow but figured it wouldn't hurt to make a new friend who knew the ropes. He might even get some intel to share with Lexon later.
After all, he now felt this Totsuki Academy place seemed quite formidable. With Lexon's two months of culinary experience, the entrance exam would likely be difficult. Getting some information might help Lexon out.
So, he stayed behind on the bench to chat with the rich boy named Keimei Nikaido.
...
"Lady Erina... on the review list for this year's entrance exam, there's a..." Erina Nakiri's secretary, a beautiful girl with short pinkish-purple hair, followed behind Erina holding a list. She spoke with some hesitation.
"What is it... Hisako?" Erina asked, puzzled.
"There's a name worth noting... I'm not sure if it has anything to do with you, Lady Erina..." Hisako Arato said.
"What's the name?" Erina asked.
"It's..."
"It's been quite a while, Erina."
Before Hisako Arato could finish her sentence, a voice suddenly chimed in.
Along with the voice, a hand lightly rested on Erina Nakiri's shoulder.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]