Professor Shoko Ieiri clapped her hands once.
"Good, now let's see your skills.
To understand your true level, we'll do a test right away."
Everyone sat up straight.
"Challenge theme:
Create the best dish you can. Time: 20 minutes."
Marin: "Huh?! ONLY 20?!"
Kaguya: "That's more than enough. For those who are competent, at least."
Yukino: "I agree."
Alisa sighed with Russian elegance.
Komi... trembled. Literally.
I took a deep breath. 'Fuck, it's the first day damn it and I alredy want to go home...'
[Sub-mission started: Cook
Objective: Cook without the use of the skill 'Cooking Synchronization (Rare)'
Reward: depends on the result.]
'Again??'
Ieiri turned on the stopwatch.
"Go."
The countertops instantly came to life.
Yukino moved as precisely as a metronome.
Kaguya cooked with regal coolness.
Alisa was surprisingly methodical and clean.
Marin… was an explosion of culinary glitter.
Komi trembled, misplacing her grips and pans…
…but she didn't stop.
I launched into a simple yet effective preparation:
a cold-frothed flavored milk, the base for a dessert.
The room smelled of butter, flames, citrus, spices… and panic.
DING!
Ieiri looked up. "Time."
Everyone put down their utensils.
I took a breath.
Then Ieiri scanned the dishes… and stopped, incredulous.
In front of everyone, perfectly presented, was the plate of—
Komi Shouko.
The girl was shaking.
She still held a ladle in her hand as if it were a self-defense weapon.
Her plate was a tiny, perfect onigiri, with an absurdly delicately carved shiso flower on top.
A silent, minimalist plate… like her.
Ieiri smiled faintly. "First place, Komi. Amazing."
The other girls were stunned.
Marin's eyes widened.
Alisa bit back an "impossible."
Yukino acknowledged her superiority with a nod.
Kaguya narrowed her eyes, as if she'd just found an unexpected rival.
Komi… fainted on her feet.
Or almost.
I caught her arm before she fell.
She blushed all over and fled behind a counter like a cat.
But a doubt assailed me.
'Where is the protagonists of each story...?'
Final results (according to Ieiri):
1 Komi
2 Yukino
3 Kaguya
4 Alisa
5 Rin
6 Marin
Marin: "Eeeeeeh!? Last?! Teacher, I put all my heart into it!"
Ieiri: "You can't eat your heart."
"...that's also true."
I took fifth place in silence.
[Sub-mission cleared: Cook
Reward: Your Skill 'Cook(Common) upgraded to Uncommon.
Note: The reward was given to you out of pity.]
'You son of a bitc-'
Then Ieiri granted us twenty minutes of freedom.
I approached the girls one by one.
Yukino, cold but polite "You're competent. But messy."
Kaguya, regal "I expected worse. That's a compliment."
Alisa, with that mez-tsundere tone "For a new guy... you're acceptable."
Marin, cheerful "Riiiiin, your dish was super cute! Can we cook together someday?!"
Komi, who handed me a handwritten note:
"Thanks... thanks for taking me first..."
It warmed my chest.
'System, Why didn't you give me any mission for them?'
[We both know that you would try with or without mission]
'Yes, but a rewards for free is good, you know?'
The system didn't reply.
After the break, Ieiri announced the schedule for the week.
I said goodbye to the girls and got some fresh air outside the building.
I was walking along the campus paths when I heard him.
"Riiiiin!"
Soma burst out of the crowd like a red missile.
"Brother of pans! Where the hell have you been?"
"Experimental class."
"Ah. So you're officially my number three rival."
"Only three?"
"The first is my dad, obviously. And the second myself."
I nodded.
Then he stopped abruptly, crossing his arms behind his head.
"By the way! That's exactly why I was looking for you.
Are you planning on joining any clubs?"
I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Culinary clubs?"
"Yes! There are tons of them! Meat, spices, sweets, foreign cuisine, street food, crazy research, spicy dishes, extreme fermentations… and definitely some illegal stuff too."
"…"
"I'm looking around for now..."
Soma looked at me with a competitive smile.
"And you, Rin? Have you decided where to go? Or do you want to come with me to look?"
Author here: Tell me your waifu/anime/h-stories you like, if I like it I will add them.