"Hisako, hurry up." Before the luxury sedan had even come to a complete stop in front of the Tōtsuki Detached Palace, the rear door was impatiently thrown open from the inside, and two young girls hurriedly stepped out.
"I'm sorry, Ojou-sama. It's all because I didn't choose the route well..." The girl with short, cherry-blossom-pink hair was full of anxiety and deep self-reproach, tears already accumulating in the corners of her eyes.
"Now is not the time for that; we are already late." The girl with long blonde hair grabbed the former's hand, and the two dashed toward the interior of the Tōtsuki Detached Palace.
These two were impressively Nakiri Erina and Arato Hisako, who had made a wasted trip to Mo Bai's Little Shop a week ago.
"Miss..." Hisako, her eyes blurred with tears, looked at Erina pulling her along by the hand, and a wave of emotion surged in her heart.
A citrus-scented atmosphere began to spread.
"Where is the Director?" Without time to think, upon entering the lobby, Hisako unleashed her primordial power to intercept a waiter.
"Fifth floor, Large Shokugeki Cooking Room."
Hastily uttering a word of thanks, the two rushed off again.
They both knew that today was the day Phoenix Academy was visiting the Tōtsuki Detached Palace for an exchange with the Tōtsuki Academy delegation led by the Director.
As the granddaughter of Tōtsuki Director Nakiri Senzaemon, and possessor of the extraordinary talent known as the God's Tongue, she should have been part of the delegation by all rights and reason...
However, plans can never keep up with changes. Nakiri Erina, who had set out early after finishing her food tasting duties for the day, would never have imagined they could encounter two traffic jams on the same road, leaving them stuck from morning all the way until noon.
"Director?"
"Grandfather?!"
At the entrance of the large cooking room, the two were astonished to see Nakiri Senzaemon.
Nakiri Senzaemon stood at the door wearing a black montsuki haori hakama. Beneath his lion-mane-like long beard was a burly physique not inferior to a young man's; even while he stood with eyes closed to rest his mind, one could feel the intense dignity radiating from him.
The number one figure in the Far East culinary world truly lived up to his reputation!
Nakiri Senzaemon opened his eyes. Even as his granddaughter, Erina felt a bit of trembling fear.
However, Nakiri Senzaemon did not say much; he simply nodded to Erina, turned around, and pushed open the heavy doors.
"Has the exchange competition already started?" Passing through the shadows of the passage leading down to the audience seating, Erina was startled to see figures behind the two cooking stations in the center of the arena.
"No, it's just... a few twists and turns occurred," Nakiri Senzaemon said as he led Erina to the judges' bench.
"The number of judges has reached an odd number."
"The list of judges for this shokugeki is as follows: Silver-rank Gourmet Hunter Bai Zishu, Silver-rank Gourmet Hunter Luo Ziyan, former IGO Investigator and Silver-rank Gourmet Hunter Miyamoto Yayako, Yukikawa Shrine's IGO-certified Seven-Star Head Chef Yukikawa Yukie, Phoenix Academy's youngest professor and IGO-certified Special-Grade Five-Star Chef Flandre Auxis, Tōtsuki Resort's Hua nation cuisine restaurant manager and IGO-certified Nine-Star Head Chef Zhang Yu, Tōtsuki Academy's French Cuisine Department Head and Lecturer and IGO-certified Nine-Star Chef Roland Chapelle, and IGO-certified Four-Star Head Chef [God's Tongue] Nakiri Erina."
"And, acting as the Director of Tōtsuki Academy and an IGO-certified Qilin-level Chef, this old man—Nakiri Senzaemon."
"A total of nine people."
Every introduction by Nakiri Senzaemon elicited gasps from the students in the audience.
Gourmet Hunters! IGO Investigators! Shrine Mikos! Plus chefs who were practically all quasi-Special or Special-Grade, as well as a holder of a God-level talent, and even—a Qilin-level Chef!
While marveling at the formidable lineup of judges, they couldn't help but become curious about the two people conducting the shokugeki down on the stage.
Even Nakiri Erina, who was accustomed to grand scenes, could hardly conceal her astonishment. Gourmet Hunters, Investigators, and Shrine Mikos, who rarely appeared in public, had all shown up.
What kind of battle of gods was this?!
Due to the excessive number of judges, the judges' bench was split into two sections. Nakiri Erina naturally walked toward the bench filled with women.
After nodding to greet the four divine female judges who were looking at her with curious eyes, Nakiri Erina took advantage of the time Nakiri Senzaemon was explaining the shokugeki rules to focus her gaze on the two parties of the shokugeki below the judges' stand.
"Mark, ranked No. 3 online at Phoenix Academy? It's actually him!" Nakiri Erina, who had reviewed the Phoenix Academy student profiles before setting out, easily recognized the standout among them.
"Having just advanced to his second year, his IGO-certified star rank had already reached Six-Star the year before last. He's only one step away from being a High-Star Chef."
Recalling Mark's data, Nakiri Erina still felt shocked.
Only after crossing the line of a Low-Star Chef did Nakiri Erina understand just how massive the chasm was at every level; describing the scene after climbing over as a 'new world' would not be an exaggeration.
She wasn't even sure if she could advance to the rank of a High-Star Chef before graduation after rising to the High School Division next year and taking a seat among the Ten Elites.
A formidable enemy!
I'm afraid the strongest person in this academy exchange is this one.
There is a chance to fight, but the greater probability is defeat.
Nakiri Erina, who hadn't been a Four-Star Chef for very long, secretly clenched her fists.
But who is the one having a shokugeki with Mark? Is there such a genius in the Tōtsuki Academy delegation?
With a bit of curiosity, Nakiri Erina turned her gaze to Mo Bai, whose face looked even paler under the lights.
"It's him!" Nakiri Erina's delicate body trembled violently, nearly standing up from her seat.
The curiosity in her violet eyes was entirely replaced by resentment!
Nakiri Erina would not forget; that was the first time she had been curious about a small restaurant, and also the last.
She, whom countless restaurants in the Far East would cry and shout to invite for a tasting while waving banknotes, had actually been given the cold shoulder at a small restaurant less than 50 square meters in size.
It was simply—
"A humiliation!" Raging flames ignited in Nakiri Erina's eyes. "I hope your cooking can satisfy my tongue, otherwise—Hmph!"
Nakiri Senzaemon finished his speech.
"According to the submitted shokugeki application, the theme of this shokugeki is—French Cuisine!"
"It will consist of an appetizer, soup, fish course, main meat course, and dessert, totaling five dishes."
"The total cooking time must not exceed three hours."
"Shokugeki, begin!"
With a command from Nakiri Senzaemon, both sides of the shokugeki sprang into action.
The male judges' bench was eerily quiet.
Those who had close relationships with the parties involved were all incredibly awkward!
The reason was none other than the fact that this shokugeki stemmed from a certain girl on the opposite judges' bench. The conditions following the shokugeki were naturally also related to that girl.
Zhang Yu was awkward; in terms of identity, the girl who triggered the shokugeki was his little niece. Furthermore, he understood the personality of this little niece—who was born into the Dark Cooking Society and held the title of one of the Twelve Lucky Generals—who loved to stir up trouble.
At this moment, he had already guessed that this shokugeki was, nine times out of ten, something provoked by his little niece.
Auxis was awkward; he was here to lead the exchange team, yet Mark, who could be considered his disciple within the team, suddenly clashed with a staff member of the Far East Resort over a girl...
This mood...
He just wanted to give Mark a beating after returning to the academy.
Chapelle was even more awkward; his special identity caught him between both sides.
On one side was the Far East Resort; on the other was his disciple Auxis.
On one side was the young chef he admired and wanted to cultivate; on the other was the academy genius who could be called his grand-student.
"..." Chapelle entered autism mode.
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