"Senior Isshiki... Lexon..." Yuki Yoshino and Megumi Tadokoro were still in a state of shock. How had the two of them been perfectly fine just a moment ago, only for things to suddenly escalate into a heavy Shokugeki match?
"When do we start?" Satoshi Isshiki asked.
"Right now. These two can serve as the judges," Lexon said, pointing toward Yuki Yoshino and Megumi Tadokoro.
"A private Shokugeki? That works for me. I've never been one for excessive formalities anyway..." Satoshi Isshiki agreed to the unofficial arrangement. After all, it wasn't much different from the culinary exchange he had proposed earlier, just with actual conditions attached.
"But having only two judges won't be enough, will it?" Satoshi Isshiki added.
Evaluations generally required an odd number of judges to ensure a clear winner and prevent a deadlock.
"Two is plenty," Lexon responded with a calm, confident smile.
His meaning was unmistakable: even with only two people, the outcome would match his expectations.
"..."
To be honest, Satoshi Isshiki was starting to feel a bit miffed.
He hadn't realized before that Lexon had such a knack for getting under people's skin.
"Overconfidence can be a dangerous thing..." Satoshi Isshiki remarked.
"It can't be helped. Climbing the ranks of the Elite Ten the traditional way takes too long and is quite a hassle. Besides, I wasn't even sure if you would agree to this, Senior Isshiki..." Lexon's voice held a trace of helplessness.
It was indeed a tedious process to join the Elite Ten Council at Totsuki Academy.
If one issued a formal challenge, they had to offer collateral equal in value to the seat they were targeting. Otherwise, they had to wait for a seat to become vacant and then fight for it in a general competition.
Lexon didn't want to wait that long.
Using a provocation to force Satoshi Isshiki into a match out of a mix of personal connection and a desire to school a junior was, by far, the easiest route.
Actually, if Erina had been present, Lexon would have likely used the same tactic on her.
That proud young lady definitely would have taken the bait.
But for now, having Satoshi Isshiki agree was enough.
Next... it was down to a pure contest of culinary skill.
...
Inside the Polar Star Dormitory kitchen, Yuki Yoshino and Megumi Tadokoro sat uneasily in their chairs, watching the two figures working at the cooking stations.
"How on earth did it come to this!?" Yuki hissed frantically to Megumi.
Her voice was vibrating with anxiety.
"If this keeps going, Lexon might actually be expelled..." Megumi whispered, her worry deepening.
While Megumi had seen Lexon's Shokugeki and knew his skills were far superior to her own, she still couldn't imagine him defeating Satoshi Isshiki.
After all... Satoshi Isshiki was one of the ten people who stood at the absolute pinnacle of Totsuki Academy.
"Senior Isshiki wouldn't go that far... He's probably just trying to teach Lexon a lesson," Yuki reasoned.
"Sigh... I really don't know why Lexon is doing this..." Megumi murmured.
She couldn't begin to fathom his endgame.
"Megumi... look! Why are their cooking steps so similar?" Suddenly, Yuki, who had shifted her focus to the cooking stations, spoke up in confusion.
Hearing this, Megumi also turned her gaze toward Lexon and Satoshi Isshiki.
The theme for this match was ramen.
And both Lexon and Satoshi Isshiki seemed to have chosen an identical approach to making it.
From the selection of ingredients to the ratio of water, and even the technique and rhythm of kneading the dough...
Everything was exactly the same.
While the sequence looked slightly different at a glance, the core process was virtually identical.
The only difference was the speed...
Wait... is Lexon actually faster? Megumi wondered.
It looked as if Senior Isshiki was trailing behind Lexon, following his lead.
"What's going on?" Megumi was just as puzzled.
The performance unfolding before them was truly bewildering.
Clearly, both of them were focusing intently on their own dishes...
Working independently...
"Megumi... it changed! Lexon is mixing something..." Just as Satoshi Isshiki was nearing the completion of a step Lexon had already finished, Yuki noticed Lexon doing something new.
"Huh?" Megumi watched with fascination as Lexon sprinkled something over his ramen and instantly covered the bowl with a lid.
Then, at almost the exact same moment, Satoshi Isshiki and Lexon both brought their dishes to the table in front of Yuki and Megumi.
"Lexon... it seems you've done something rather interesting..." Satoshi Isshiki said with a smile.
From the corner of his eye, he had naturally observed Lexon's movements.
A cooking process that mirrored his own so closely.
It reminded him of Subaru Mimasaka, the first-year who specialized in stalking and mimicking his opponents to produce identical but superior versions of their dishes during a Shokugeki.
However, there was a difference.
'Lexon isn't mimicking me at all,' Satoshi Isshiki thought.
"You first, or me?" Lexon asked Satoshi.
"Your choice," Satoshi replied.
Since he left it up to him, Lexon presented his dish first.
Compared to Satoshi's open ramen bowl, Lexon's had a lid firmly placed over it.
"Please, taste it," Lexon said.
"Okay." This was the first time Yuki and Megumi would taste Lexon's cooking, though Megumi was much more expectant than Yuki.
After all, she had witnessed Lexon's Shokugeki against Ikumi Mito.
The way he had completely dominated the three judges... that absolute, crushing presence...
Just thinking about it made Megumi salivate.
Both girls reached out and lifted the lid at the same time.
Instantly, a storm-like fragrance erupted from the ramen bowl.
Heat and aroma swirled together, causing Yuki and Megumi's faces to flush red simultaneously.
"This scent..." Even Satoshi Isshiki, standing to the side, was visibly moved.
Compared to his own honest and unpretentious ramen, Lexon's dish smelled vastly more fragrant.
'However, the correct approach is to lock the flavor within the noodles and broth... this excess aroma might actually cloud the judges' judgment,' the thought flashed through Satoshi's mind.
Yuki and Megumi used their chopsticks to lift the noodles, their faces glowing as they brought the food to their lips...
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
For a moment, the kitchen was filled with the girls' unintelligible, ecstatic cries.
It seemed to be a law of the universe: anyone eating truly divine food letting out such a sound was the most natural thing in the world.
Beyond that, in their mental worlds, the two girls were already drifting, drowning in a torrent of ramen, completely unable to save themselves.
If an outsider had heard those sounds coming from the kitchen, they would have thought something exciting... or rather, something utterly scandalous was taking place inside.
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