"Well, after all that, I'd look like an idiot if I still refused. Fine, I'll join—but I'm leaving the other members of the Chinese Cuisine Research Society to you."
Kael agreed easily enough. The benefits were obvious, but he didn't want to get dragged into politics. Sure, it was still school, but they were in the advanced division now—and with a research society that big, the amount of money and power involved had to be enormous.
And where there was power, there was infighting. He had zero interest in that nonsense.
"You don't need to worry about that," Kuga said with a laugh. "Don't forget—you beat me, a member of the Elite Ten. In the Chinese Cuisine Research Society, everything's decided by skill. No one dares to challenge a stronger chef."
"Besides, even if I step down as captain, I'm not leaving the society. As long as I'm around, nobody's going to try anything stupid. And by the time I graduate, you'll probably already be in the Elite Ten yourself. Once that happens, no one would even think of crossing you."
Kuga spoke confidently. He knew exactly what the internal politics were like—he'd gone through the same thing himself when he first joined. But once he'd become an Elite Ten member, all the power struggles stopped at his doorstep.
He'd even warned his subordinates before: they could fight for influence all they wanted, but if they ever disrupted the society's operations, he'd personally deal with them—and not kindly.
Kael nodded in agreement. He couldn't argue with that. When you had both authority and power, no amount of scheming from below could shake you.
"In that case, I'll be counting on you, Kuga-senpai."
Kael smiled faintly. He had to admit, Kuga wasn't a bad guy. His ideas about Chinese cuisine might've gone astray, but he wasn't malicious—just stubborn, desperate to prove that his interpretation was the right one.
Now that Kael was taking over as captain, he could start correcting that misconception from within the society itself. As for Kuga, he'd handle him slowly.
After all, Kuga was hard-headed to the core. Even in the original story, he refused to bow to Azami Nakiri's Central, even after losing his Elite Ten seat. Changing a man like that wouldn't happen overnight.
But once Kuga saw his own members improving under the right philosophy, he'd come around on his own.
Kael didn't think Kuga's approach was entirely wrong—it just wasn't universal. Maybe that path worked for Kuga, but forcing it onto others was where he'd gone wrong.
"No problem. Just drop by the Chinese Cuisine Research Society tomorrow," Kuga said, smiling as he stood. Losing the match still stung, but recruiting a chef like Kael into his ranks softened the blow considerably.
Besides, this way, if he ever wanted a rematch, it'd be easy—no need for an official Shokugeki, just an internal challenge.
He was also dying to taste that Mapo Tofu Kael had made. Too bad the dish had been reserved for the judges earlier. But now that Kael was part of his society, it was only a matter of time before he got the chance.
After making the arrangements, Kuga went off to handle the paperwork, while Kael returned to meet the rest of the Polar Star Dormitory crew.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Moon Banquet Hall, Erina Nakiri and Alice Nakiri were meeting with Senzaemon Nakiri.
On the table before him sat the half-finished plate of Kael's Mapo Tofu. He still hadn't figured out what made it so special, and curiosity was gnawing at him.
He decided to call on his granddaughter's God's Tongue to analyze it.
Of course, even if they did discover the secret, he had no intention of exploiting it. He'd already seen Kael's potential—and he wasn't about to alienate such a promising chef over a single recipe.
"Erina, Alice, you're just in time," Senzaemon said warmly. "Erina, try this dish. See if you can identify what ingredient created this unique flavor. It's truly extraordinary."
"Wait!" Alice suddenly stepped between them, holding out a hand. "Erina, don't taste that yet. Grandpa—you might want to get a medical checkup first."
"…A checkup?" Senzaemon blinked. Erina stared too, confused. "Why on earth would I need to do that?"
"Don't ask—just trust me, okay? I promise I'm not trying to harm you," Alice said quickly, shaking her head.
Her tone was unusually serious.
"…Very well," Senzaemon replied after a pause. "If you insist, I'll get examined first."
He'd known his granddaughter long enough to trust her instincts. If she said something was wrong, there was probably a reason. Erina, still puzzled but curious, decided to tag along.
The three of them took Senzaemon's private car straight to a top-tier hospital. Thanks to his status—and his wealth—they didn't have to wait long for the results.
When the report finally came back, it showed that Senzaemon was in perfect health. Not a trace of abnormality.
Alice let out a heavy sigh of relief.
She liked Kael—he was a friend and teammate now—but they hadn't known each other long. She'd genuinely been afraid that one of his so-called Poison Cuisine experiments might've gone wrong and accidentally hurt her grandfather.
"Alright, Alice," Senzaemon said, folding the report. "Now, would you mind explaining why you were so insistent on this?"
Erina crossed her arms, frowning. "Yes, I'd like to know that too."
"It's because of Kael," Alice said, her voice dropping. "You don't know this yet, but he might've added some kind of poison to that dish…"
Both of them froze.
Then, in a rush, Alice explained everything she'd heard from the Polar Star Dormitory—about Kael's background, his first day at the dorm, and how his specialty was literally Poison Cuisine.
She even went over what that meant—the art of cooking with toxins and transforming them into flavor enhancers and restorative agents.
By the time she finished, Senzaemon and Erina were staring at her, speechless.