"Excuse me, is this Polaris Dormitory?"
On the wide, straight road, a girl with orange-yellow hair tied in buns placed her hand on the shoulder of a scarlet-haired girl who was standing at the entrance of Polaris Dormitory, constantly comparing her map to the location.
"Mm…"
"If I'm not mistaken, this should be the right place. Are you a new student moving in?"
Straightening her suitcase, Ryoko Sakaki turned to look upon hearing the question and let out a quiet sigh of relief after seeing the other girl's cute face.
It couldn't be helped. Polaris Dormitory's surroundings were truly remote. Not only was it encircled by mountains, but there were no other buildings besides this dormitory, making it feel eerily intimidating.
"That's right! Don't tell me you are too?"
Yuki Yoshino's voice rose a few pitches, filled with the excitement of meeting a peer. As she spoke, she grabbed Ryoko Sakaki's hand, gazing at her with an intense look.
"Yes, my name is Ryoko Sakaki. Please take care of me for the next six years."
"Yuki Yoshino! My name is Yuki Yoshino!"
Looking at the energetic Yuki Yoshino, a smile also appeared on Ryoko Sakaki's face as she briefly introduced herself.
While marveling at how easygoing this roommate seemed, she couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation for her other Polaris Dormitory housemates, hoping they would be similar.
It was impossible not to feel anxious, leaving home for the first time to come to this place.
However, seeing the energetic and chattering Yuki Yoshino in front of her, most of that anxiety melted away, replaced by a faint sense of anticipation.
Anticipation for the dorm life to come.
"Let's go in together."
"Okay."
Hearing Ryoko Sakaki's words, Yuki Yoshino nodded emphatically. The two then pulled their respective suitcases and strode towards Polaris Dormitory.
Before long, they arrived at the door.
"Um, excuse me, is anyone here…?"
Ryoko Sakaki pushed the door open and called out tentatively, but received no response.
"Is no one here? Hey!"
Seeing this, Yuki Yoshino couldn't help but step forward, but considering they hadn't officially moved in yet, she didn't dare go too far in for fear of offending someone.
"You two are…"
Seeing Ryoko Sakaki in the front hall and Yuki Yoshino hesitating at the entrance, Megumi Tadokoro's voice sounded from the kitchen doorway.
"Could you be the new roommates?"
She quickly recalled what Fumio Daimidō had said at the dinner table yesterday. Seeing that they had luggage and ingredients, she immediately deduced they were newly arrived students.
"That's right, are you one too?!"
Hearing Megumi Tadokoro's words, Ryoko Sakaki instantly understood the underlying meaning of her words.
"Yes, I'm a new student as well."
"Since you just arrived, you probably don't know the situation. I'll go get Auntie Fumio for you."
As she spoke, Megumi Tadokoro returned to the kitchen, only to run into Fumio Daimidō coming out. The latter gave her a slight nod and then headed towards the front hall.
"Are you two the new students preparing to move in today?"
Standing on the stairs and looking down at the two newcomers before her, Fumio Daimidō's voice was calm, her gaze scrutinizing them.
"Yes. I read on the dorm notice that we need to pass a skill trial to move in, so I spent a day preparing. I'm ready now. Where will the assessment take place?"
Feeling Fumio Daimidō's gaze, Ryoko Sakaki couldn't help but feel a surge of nervousness. She then stepped forward to meet her gaze.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the room underwent a subtle change.
"Is anyone here? It seems like there are quite a few people. Are they all new students…?"
"What's going on here?"
At almost the same moment, the main door of Polaris Dormitory was pushed open again.
Two male voices, accompanied by the sound of rolling suitcases, broke the tense atmosphere inside.
Yuki Yoshino, Ryoko Sakaki, and Fumio Daimidō looked over at the sound and saw Shun Ibusaki and Zenji Marui walking in, each pulling a suitcase.
Behind them were Okabe and Momo Akanegakubo, who silently quickened their pace upon seeing the situation.
"Oh my, it seems everyone has arrived."
Looking at Shun Ibusaki and Zenji Marui, who had stopped at the entrance and were curiously sizing up the interior of Polaris Dormitory, as well as Okabe and Momo Akanegakubo who came in after them, Fumio Daimidō crossed her arms.
"My name is Fumio Daimidō. You can call me Auntie Fumio."
"Listen up, all of you. I'm only saying the rules once."
"You must use the ingredients you brought to make a dish that satisfies my palate to pass the skill trial. I hope you're all prepared, otherwise you'll be sleeping outside tonight."
Looking at the bewildered group gathered in the front hall, Fumio Daimidō's voice rang out.
"Now, follow me to the kitchen."
With that, she gave them no more time to prepare and turned to stride towards the kitchen.
"You can leave your luggage here. I'll watch it for you."
Seeing that the group hadn't immediately followed, but were looking at their suitcases with conflicted expressions, Megumi Tadokoro took two steps forward and volunteered for guard duty.
"Really? Thank you!"
"You're such a good person!"
Hearing Megumi Tadokoro's words, Ryoko Sakaki's face instantly showed a look of relief, and Yuki Yoshino even stepped forward to grasp her hand, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"It's nothing. You should hurry to the assessment. Auntie Fumio will get impatient."
Feeling the enthusiastic way Yuki Yoshino was shaking her hand, Megumi Tadokoro wore a faint smile and gently urged them to go.
"Then we'll take you up on that offer. Thank you so much."
"Thank you."
Shun Ibusaki and Zenji Marui also came forward. They didn't shake Megumi Tadokoro's hand like Yuki Yoshino but gave her a deep bow to express their gratitude.
With that, the two of them carried the ingredients they had prepared and headed for the kitchen.
"Yuki, let's go too."
"Okay."
Yuki Yoshino nodded solemnly, then went to the kitchen with Ryoko Sakaki.
"I'm going too."
Momo Akanegakubo handed her luggage to Okabe, said this, and trotted after them.
Soon, only Okabe and Megumi Tadokoro were left in the hall.
"Okabe-kun, do you think they can pass the assessment?"
Watching Ryoko Sakaki and the others enter the kitchen, Megumi Tadokoro came to Okabe's side and asked hesitantly.
"I don't know. How did things go for you today?"
Okabe shook his head slightly and sat down on Momo Akanegakubo's suitcase.
"I passed smoothly, thanks to your help, Okabe-kun."
Speaking of herself, a smile appeared on Megumi Tadokoro's face, and she looked at Okabe sincerely.
"I only provided some help where I could. The one who truly got you through the assessment was your own spirit of culinary research."
Although adding potatoes to the tomato beef brisket stew was a minor innovation, its impact on the dish's overall flavor was enormous.
"No… I'm not that amazing…"
Hearing Okabe's undisguised praise, Megumi Tadokoro couldn't help but blush with embarrassment.
After all, she was the only one who failed on the first day. Even if she passed on the second day, she had only caught up to where the others were on day one. There was nothing to be proud of.
"Yes, you are. Megumi is super amazing."
"With just a few pointers from me, you were able to come up with such a great idea as adding potatoes to the tomato beef brisket stew. That in itself is a sign of talent. You just lack experience right now."
Okabe said with a teasing smile.
He knew very well that what Megumi Tadokoro lacked was confidence, and encouragement was what she needed most at the moment.
"Thank you, Okabe-kun."
Looking at Okabe, who was always encouraging her, Megumi Tadokoro spoke from the bottom of her heart.
"I've heard too many thanks lately. You've been thanking me constantly these past few days, but I don't really need so many. You can just graciously accept my kindness to you."
"How could I do that? Okabe-kun has done so much for someone like me…"
"Someone like you is what kind of person?
We're all ordinary people. Helping each other is the norm. Don't overthink it, or life will be very tiring. If you really want to repay me, it won't be too late for you to help me when I need you."
Looking at Megumi Tadokoro, who had her head lowered in a conflicted manner, Okabe said what he had been planning to say for a long time.
"I will! As long as Okabe-kun needs anything, I'll go through fire and water to get it done!"
Hearing that Okabe might need her help in the future, Megumi Tadokoro lifted her head, her expression exceptionally serious.
Seeing her expression, Okabe knew his goal was achieved, and an almost imperceptible arc formed on his lips. "You watch the luggage. I'm all sweaty from class, so I'm going to take a shower first."
"Okay."
"Thanks for your hard work, Ikaros. I brought you some cream puffs from pastry class."
After returning to his room and seeing that Ikaros had assembled the bunk bed and cleaned the room meticulously, Okabe offered a few simple words of comfort and handed her the cream puffs he had made in his evening pastry class.
"Cream puffs? Thank you, Master."
Taking the cream puffs from Okabe, Ikaros sat on the bed and began to eat.
Tōtsuki Academy's curriculum was similar to a Chinese university's, divided into compulsory and elective courses. The only difference was that class times were not fixed and required a day's notice from the teacher.
The students for compulsory courses were fixed, with classes concentrated in the morning, mainly focusing on theoretical knowledge. For elective courses, students were not fixed, and everyone had to choose at least three electives, with no upper limit.
It was worth noting that for both compulsory and elective courses, receiving too many evaluations below a D-grade carried the risk of expulsion. At Momo Akanegakubo's request, Okabe had chosen a dessert class as an elective.
"Eat the cream puff with the side where it's filled facing your mouth. That way, you won't make a mess."
Taking out the change of clothes that Ikaros had neatly packed, Okabe smiled and wiped the cream from the corner of her mouth with his finger, then put it in his own mouth.
"I'm going to take a shower. If you're bored, just watch some TV."
Worried that Ikaros would be bored alone in the room, Okabe had brought the projector he bought back at Ryōzanpaku for her to entertain herself with when she had nothing to do.
"Okay."
Watching Okabe's departing back, Ikaros nodded.
The corner of her lips, where Okabe's finger had just wiped, still held a hint of warmth.
When Okabe came back to the room after his shower, Ikaros was hugging a pillow, intently watching a documentary on the projection screen.
It was about bird migration. She was so engrossed that she had forgotten to eat her cream puff.
"What are you watching?" Okabe asked, drying his hair as he approached.
"Birds… they fly very far."
Ikaros said softly, her gaze still fixed on the screen where flocks of migratory birds swept across the sky. She remarked from the bottom of her heart, "The world is so vast, they can go anywhere. They look so free."
"You are also free, Ikaros. Is there somewhere you want to go?"
Okabe sat down beside her, smelling her faint, clean scent, like cotton cloth dried in the sun, and immediately felt it was a bit cruel to keep her cooped up in a small room.
"No, I only want to be by Master's side. Master is my freedom."
Ikaros turned her head to look at him, and a very faint ripple appeared in her always calm eyes.
The simple, direct words warmed Okabe's heart.
He opened his mouth, about to say something.
A commotion came from downstairs, mixed with Yuki Yoshino's excited cheers.
"Looks like someone passed the assessment."
Okabe got up and walked to the balcony, looking down.
Yuki Yoshino was joyfully pulling Ryoko Sakaki's hand, spinning in circles in the courtyard, both of their faces beaming with relieved smiles. Shun Ibusaki and Zenji Marui were also standing to the side. Although they appeared much more reserved, their tense shoulders
had clearly relaxed.
"Auntie Fumio's palate is really something… I almost thought I was going to be judged as unqualified."
Stopping her spinning, Ryoko Sakaki clutched her chest, still feeling a lingering fear.
"Ryoko's natto and auntie's idea was great! Even Auntie Fumio nodded!"
Yuki Yoshino chirped, "My chicken and vegetable rice was praised too! Oh, right, right, Ibusaki-kun's smoked dish was super stylish! And Marui-kun's book collection and knowledge are amazing!"
"I-I just happened to have read the relevant books…"
Suddenly being mentioned, Zenji Marui pushed up his glasses, a little embarrassed.
Shun Ibusaki just nodded silently in response.
Okabe looked at the group of newcomers downstairs, as if seeing the future bustling scene of Polaris Dormitory.
"Master, a lot of new people have come here."
Ikaros had come to the window at some point, standing by his side and following his gaze.
"Yes, it's going to get more and more lively here. Let's go down too, to welcome our new roommates."
Okabe turned to the side and said to Ikaros with a smile.
"Everyone seems to be getting along quite well."
A cheerful and somewhat sly female voice came from the entrance of the Polaris Dormitory courtyard.
Everyone looked over at the sound and saw a tall girl with long red hair tied in a side ponytail, leaning against
the doorframe of the outer courtyard gate.
She was carrying a briefcase-sized mini cooler.
"Kobayashi-senpai."
Megumi Tadokoro called out her name.
The others looked confused, not knowing who had just arrived.
"Judging by the cheerful atmosphere, did you all pass Auntie Fumio's test? This year's newcomers are quite impressive."
"Perfect timing! I brought back some su~~~~per awesome meat!"
The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, and as her voice fell, she yanked open the lid of the cooler.
A blast of cold air, along with the unique, almost greasy fragrance of top-grade meat, spread out.
"This… the quality of this meat…" Ryoko Sakaki moved closer to look, then exclaimed in amazement, "Is this A5-grade
Wagyu? And Iberian pork ribs…"
"You've got a good eye!" Seeing someone recognize the meat she brought, Rindo Kobayashi put her hands on her hips proudly. "I
I specially asked a distributor I know to get it. There's also farmed crocodile and venison in here! To celebrate the new members moving in, let's have a barbecue welcome party tonight!"
"A barbecue party!"
"Awesome! Long live Kobayashi-senpai!"
Yuki Yoshino was the first to jump up in response, her eyes glued to the top-grade meats in the cooler, almost drooling.
Beside her, Zenji Marui started flipping through his notebook. "For a barbecue, we'll need charcoal, a grill, sauces…"
"According to Chapter Three of the 'Outdoor Barbecue Flavor Maximization Manual'…"
"Stop reading, kid, and come with me to the warehouse to get the barbecue grill and skewers!"
Seeing Zenji Marui begin his incantation with his notebook in hand, Rindo Kobayashi snatched it from him.
"Come on, everyone, get moving! Megumi, help clean up the courtyard!
You two girls over there, you're in charge of preparing vegetables and side dishes! As for the remaining guy, I'll leave starting the fire to you, no problem, right? You have a faint smoky smell on your hands. How about using your smoking technique to create some special charcoal fire? Akanegakubo, I'll leave the after-meal dessert to you."
"Kobayashi-senpai, you're back. Assign some tasks to me and Ikaros too."
Just as Rindo Kobayashi was assigning tasks, Okabe and Ikaros came downstairs from the second floor and saw the scene.
"Okabe-kun, you're pretty skilled. You can be one of the main grill masters tonight with us.
Ikaros worked hard cleaning Polaris Dormitory today, so she should rest well tonight and eat lots of barbecue after it's cooked!"
Looking at Okabe downstairs, Rindo Kobayashi's eyes lit up as she spoke.
"And us, Kobayashi-senpai."
Erina Nakiri and Hisako Arato also walked out from inside Polaris Dormitory.
Taki Kakizaki and Sonoka Kikuchi followed behind them. Seeing the numerous newcomers in the courtyard, their expressions were a bit subtle.
Before this, the number of residents in Polaris Dormitory had never exceeded ten; it was a period of decline.
Last year, when it was time to move up a grade, all the upperclassmen in Taki Kakizaki's year were expelled due to failing their advancement exams, leaving only
Taki Kakizaki behind.
"Everyone, please feel free to do your best. Just bring out the dish you're best at."
"Leave it to us! We'll definitely bring out the best dish of the night!"
Soma Yukihira, who had just arrived, happened to hear Rindo Kobayashi's words. He untied the bandage on his hand, tied it around his head, and ran towards
the kitchen, ready to properly showcase the deliciousness of Yukihira-style cuisine to everyone.
"Oh! Quite the spirit."
Rindo Kobayashi praised him upon seeing this, then took Zenji Marui to the warehouse to get the grill.
"I'll help too."
"That would be a great help."
"Grill, charcoal, skewers… I need you two guys to carry the grill. I'll take care of the rest."
Seeing Okabe volunteer to follow, a smile appeared on Rindo Kobayashi's face.
The courtyard was soon filled with a busy and cheerful atmosphere.
As Okabe and the others brought over the grill and the charcoal was lit, the orange-red flames danced in the darkening sky, emitting a comforting warmth.
Shun Ibusaki crouched by the grill, adjusting the charcoal pile, occasionally adding some special fruitwood chips.
Instantly, wisps of light smoke with a sweet fruity aroma rose gently.
"This aroma… it's so unique."
Ryoko Sakaki sniffed the air and remarked with admiration.
She was currently processing the high-grade meat from the cooler, cutting it into different sizes based on their different maturation speeds. After processing, she placed them in separate basins for Yuki Yoshino, who was next to her, to skewer.
"It's a mix of applewood and cherrywood," Shun Ibusaki explained briefly, his voice a bit muffled behind the smoke. "The smoke flavor from this combination isn't too strong, and it can bring out the sweetness of the meat."
"So there's a technique to it. No wonder some barbecues don't have a smoky taste. I've learned something."
It was just as lively in the kitchen.
Soma Yukihira, with his headband tied on, skillfully wielded his knife, cutting chunks of meat into evenly thick slices.
After being 'released' by Rindo Kobayashi, Zenji Marui immediately ran to find his notebook.
He muttered to himself, "According to the 'Golden Ratio of Spices and Meat Pairings', Wagyu ribeye is suitable for simple seasoning with rock salt and
freshly ground black pepper, while Iberian pork ribs can be tried with a sauce made from honey, soy sauce, and a small amount of minced garlic…"
"The theory-obsessed are so troublesome."
Rindo Kobayashi had wandered back at some point, strolling around the kitchen. While talking, she came to Soma Yukihira's
cutting board and pinched a piece of thinly sliced Wagyu.
"But, what he said makes a lot of sense."
"Yukihira, you cut this beef pretty well, so thin while it's still fresh."
"This is knife skill I honed while helping out at the diner."
Hearing the praise, Soma Yukihira grinned, revealing his signature confident expression.
On another stove, Erina Nakiri was preparing a seafood sauce, while Hisako Arato was getting scallops and oysters ready for grilling.
Taki Kakizaki and Sonoka Kikuchi, one was deftly handling a whole fresh fish to make Spanish-style paper-wrapped fish, while the other was gently preparing salads and appetizers.
Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.
"Ah, the feeling of waiting for a barbecue while enjoying the evening breeze is really great!"
Lying contentedly on a reclining chair, looking up at the starry sky and smelling the rich aroma of roasted meat in the air,
a look of long-awaited comfort appeared on Okabe's face.
"Don't just wait, come and help!"
Looking down at the lazy Okabe, Rindo Kobayashi stood with her hands on her hips.
"You grill first. Let me have a few bites before I say anything. How can I work on an empty stomach?"
Looking at the girl's delicate face, Okabe began to slack off, a complete change from his earlier proactive self.
"A soft and comfortable reclining chair really corrupts the human soul."
Looking at Okabe, who was acting completely different from before, Rindo Kobayashi couldn't help but shake her head and sigh.
"Because it's really comfortable…"
Megumi Tadokoro also collapsed onto a comfortable reclining chair.
She was utterly exhausted today. She had classes all morning, perfected her dish with Okabe's help in the afternoon, and then underwent Auntie Fumio's assessment in the evening.
She could finally rest and relax properly.
Long live reclining chairs! Long live rest!
____
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