Ryunosuke coaxed and wooed with all his might, until finally, he succeeded in softening the heart of Suzune, who had been sitting with her arms crossed and sulking in the corner of the room.
Suzune declared that she wanted to learn how to cook from him, and only after Ryunosuke agreed did she calm down. Suzune actually had no ill intentions; she simply wanted to provide the best food for her own man...
Fuka tasted the dish and clicked her tongue in amazement.
"Your cooking level is truly insane. What kind of monster are you, really? It's a real shame you didn't enter the Tootsuki Academy."
Ryunosuke, who had returned to his normal self, could only roll his eyes.
"Just eat your food quietly, don't talk so much."
Nazuna also took a bite, then said in a slightly lethargic tone.
"Really, being defeated by a man when it comes to cooking feels a bit frustrating."
Ryunosuke had not discarded the fish's head, tail, or bones. He boiled them into a soup. He added kombu, soy sauce, and a little cooking sake to enhance the flavor, add freshness, and remove the fishy odor. In essence, not a single part of the fish went to waste.
He even sorted the fish innards to be turned into motsunabe (offal stew). Because the aroma of fish innards was very pungent, he added plenty of spicy seasoning to mask it. Chili, pepper, and various spices that stimulate the senses were used solely to cover the original scent of the ingredients. If not for that, it wouldn't be edible...
Ryunosuke was a competent chef; he would not waste a single part of his ingredients.
Like the character Sanji, Ryunosuke stared at the scenery outside the window, lit a toy cigarette (candy), and said with full confidence:
"As a competent chef, one should be able to bring a smile to everyone. That is the essence of a chef."
Unfortunately, no one listened to Ryunosuke's babbling. Everyone was busy fighting over his cooking; there was no time to entertain him. They were all scrambling for the tuna sashimi, as if they would suffer a great loss if they ate even one bite less. Ryunosuke's cooking was indeed that good; it was capable of making them discard their pride and eat ravenously like starving people.
Seeing that no one was paying him any attention, Ryunosuke felt somewhat resigned. He was still in chuunibyou mode, and the effects wouldn't wear off in a short time...
Not long after, all the dishes were wiped clean. They were even licking the residual flavors off their fingers with looks of pure intoxication. For children from wealthy families like them, besides cooking from the Tootsuki Ten Elites, they had never tasted anything this delicious.
Ryunosuke stopped the small talk and began giving orders to his subordinates. 30 people would guard the night shift, and 30 people would guard the day shift. Patrols were to rotate 24 hours a day; don't let even a single fly enter.
Simultaneously, he tasked Megumi with infiltrating the first-year territory to steal their crystals. Why not steal from the second years? Uh, because his lovers were in every second-year class, so... It was impossible for him to attack Honami's, Arisu's, or Hiyori's class, right? If he did that, the trouble would be endless after the exam ended...
Megumi declared she understood. Ryunosuke also spent quite a lot of points to buy Megumi many stun guns as self-defense tools, complete with spare batteries. After all, Megumi's attack method could only rely on external tools like that; fundamentally, she remained a gentle girl...
Even though this "gentle girl" had the ability to wipe out an entire class of students single-handedly...
After arranging everything, Ryunosuke stuck to his habit: preparing to go out alone to take action. However, he was stopped by Fuka.
Fuka stated that she also wanted to join the action. As a senior, she felt uncomfortable constantly receiving protection from a junior; occasionally, she wanted to contribute. The main reason, however, was that she felt going out to play with Ryunosuke would be very fun.
Ryunosuke was forced to agree. After all, his senior had ability; fighting over a dozen people was no problem for her. So, the two of them set off together.
However, the moment they stepped outside, they bumped into Yagami and Ichika, who had clearly been lurking outside for a long time. From the start, both of these people's targets were Ryunosuke's class. More precisely, one was aiming for Ryunosuke, and the other was aiming for Ayanokouji.
Ryunosuke massaged his head, which was starting to ache.
"You two are truly... I'm at a loss for words. Do you really need to be that obsessed with me and Ayanokouji? To the point of ignoring your own class's exam."
These two people were the leaders of Class 1-A and 1-B, respectively.
Ichika walked forward coyly, waving to greet Ryunosuke, and said with a sweet smile.
"Hello, Akasaka-senpai~ Didn't I tell you already? I want to get you expelled from school~"
Ichika smirked with a strange curve to her lips, exactly like a yandere.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Fuka, who was beside him, couldn't help but click her tongue in wonder.
"Is this a new junior? She's very obsessed with you, oh 'Saint of Love'." She said it in a half-joking tone.
Ryunosuke's face instantly darkened. "Could you not call me by that title? That's very embarrassing, you know!"
But Fuka laughed casually. "Are you saying the things you've done shouldn't be talked about? I estimate the number of women rumored to be with you has already reached double digits. Almost on par with Nagumo back then. But the difference between you and him is that those girls all seem to be doing it willingly..."
Fuka stroked her chin while starting to think. Because out of all those rumors, not a single girl had come out to provide a clarification. In short, they let the rumors persist, and that was what felt strange... If Nagumo used coercion or manipulation, then Ryunosuke made those girls willing to be with him without any objection.
He was truly an expert in romance... Saying he was the "Saint of Love," a.k.a. a "Wild Beast," really wasn't an exaggeration.
Seeing herself misunderstood as one of Ryunosuke's women, Ichika didn't offer a denial, which made Fuka admire this junior even more. Even though this first-year student had only joined a month ago, she was already able to approach the leaders of their year. How impressive.
Ryunosuke & Ichika: (We are enemies, please don't get any wrong ideas!)
Yagami didn't want to beat around the bush anymore. He stepped forward and asked in a loud voice.
"Where is Ayanokouji-senpai?! Call him out; I want to duel him."
He clenched his fists tightly.
Ryunosuke didn't want to waste many words on him. The last time, he had been beaten quite badly by the enemy side; this time, he had to get even. He turned toward Fuka.
"Kiryuin-senpai, can you help me hold back that girl named Amasawa? I'll handle this guy named Yagami."
"Okay, no problem." Fuka stepped forward and assumed a fighting stance. Since they were all wearing the standard red gym uniforms, she didn't have to worry about clothing issues.
Ichika stroked her soft pink hair and said in a resigned tone to the senior.
"Please don't interfere in other people's business, Senpai. What does this have to do with you?"
Fuka answered casually. "We are currently in an alliance. So sorry, Junior, stay still and let me hold you back. I'll go easy on you..."
Ichika: "I don't think that's necessary."