"Mito Ikumi? I remember she works under Erina Nakiri, right?"
Alice Nakiri finally recalled who Mito Ikumi was. She'd always kept an eye on Erina, so of course she knew the stronger students backing her cousin.
Mito Ikumi was one of Erina's most reliable subordinates. Erina only personally handled the tougher research societies. The smaller ones, those without any strong students, she just left to her subordinates.
"You know that tsundere princess too? Oh, right—you're related to her. Makes sense."
Soma Yukihira made sure to throw in a jab while talking about Erina. Alice didn't even deny it—Erina really was a tsundere princess.
"I heard she only shut down research societies with bad reputations. Why is she going after normal ones now?"
Everyone found the situation strange. The Donburi Research Society wasn't big, but they genuinely focused on donburi dishes.
"Isn't it obvious? She's mixing personal bias into it. Everyone knows how most of the school thinks. Erina looks down on 'commoner cooking'. Of course she'd pull something like this."
Kael spoke bluntly. Terunori Kuga had mentioned it to him a while ago. Erina Nakiri had crossed the line—this time it was clearly personal.
Just because a research society wasn't large didn't mean the students were slacking. Their hobbies were just niche.
That arrogant disdain toward commoner cuisine annoyed Kael more than anything. Erina had simply never been hungry a day in her life. If she had, she wouldn't think this way.
Compared to her, Alice Nakiri was much better. She had her pride, sure, but she didn't look down on commoner cooking. She and Erina couldn't be more different in that regard.
"Forget it. Let's stop talking about her. Her mindset has always been childish."
Alice didn't argue. She knew Erina's mindset was an issue, but what could she realistically do? Even Joichiro Saiba, her grandfather's star student, couldn't change her.
"Yeah. All that matters is winning the Shokugeki."
Everyone nodded. They had a guest today, someone who might end up living in the Polar Star Dormitory. No point ruining the mood by talking about someone everyone disliked.
Thanks to all the ingredients Alice brought, cooking was much easier. Many of the items were rare and expensive, things they rarely got to handle. Naturally, everyone's hands started itching to cook.
Watching the Polar Star crowd dive into cooking, Alice found herself loving the atmosphere and joined in immediately.
After dinner, Alice came to a decision. Instead of staying alone in a giant villa, she'd rather move into Polar Star.
But there were a few things she found inconvenient, so she brought up a suggestion.
"Expand the bathhouse? And the kitchen?!"
Everyone froze when they heard her. Yes—Alice wanted to renovate the entire dorm.
"Exactly. There's only one bathhouse right now. Even with split time slots, it's still inconvenient. I'm thinking we build another one right beside it, then break through the wall. That way we'll have enough space."
Alice nodded seriously. It was the first thing she thought of after seeing the bathhouse.
"The bathhouse expansion makes sense. But why the kitchen? It's big enough for us already."
No one understood that part. Even when everyone cooked together, the kitchen wasn't cramped at all.
"It's enough for you guys. But I have a lot of equipment—and it takes up space. If I move mine here, the kitchen won't be usable anymore."
The moment Alice said that, Kael instantly remembered her literal wall of equipment.
Alice specialized in Molecular Gastronomy, and many of her techniques required machines of all sizes. Whenever she seriously competed, she traveled with half a laboratory.
Polar Star's kitchen didn't stand a chance. If she moved her gear in now, there wouldn't even be room to stand.
After hearing her explanation, everyone finally understood—and was stunned at just how much equipment Molecular Gastronomy required.
In the end, everyone agreed to expand both the bathhouse and kitchen. It benefitted all of them anyway, and Alice said she would cover all the expenses.
For someone from the Nakiri family, the renovation cost was pocket change.
Since everyone had already tasted Alice's cooking, her entry assessment was skipped entirely.
Just like that, Alice Nakiri officially moved into Polar Star Dormitory.
The next morning was the weekend, so everyone went about their own plans.
Alice arrived early, moving her personal belongings over. Her Molecular Gastronomy machines were still at the Nakiri residence, since the kitchen expansion wasn't done yet. Once it was finished, she'd bring them in.
Besides moving, Alice also brought Kael a suitcase.
"Your custom knife is finished. Honestly, I still don't know how you expect to use something like this."
Inside the suitcase was the Hundred-Hole Knife.
When Alice received it, she had tried it herself—and completely failed. She could already imagine how horrifying the ingredients would look if she attempted to cook with it.
Sure, she specialized in Molecular Gastronomy, and her traditional knife skills were weaker—but her fundamentals weren't bad.
Yet even she couldn't handle the Hundred-Hole Knife at all. That alone proved how absurdly difficult it was to use properly.
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