"What a coincidence, Lexon!" Soma Yukihira called out with a grin as he spotted Lexon in the same group.
"It really is," Lexon replied, also somewhat surprised.
"I'm so glad both Lexon-kun and Soma-kun are here!" Megumi Tadokoro said, a smile lighting up her face at the sight of two familiar people.
"Hmph... I didn't expect to be on the same team as you." The most surprising part for Lexon was Erina Nakiri, who was currently playing the tsundere.
"Haha, Lexon, you're even teamed up with your cousin. Talk about a coincidence!" Soma laughed.
Lexon simply waved his hand.
The examiner for this group was a woman named Hinako Inui. She was a graduate of the 80th class, the former Second Seat of the Elite Ten, a junior to Kojiro Shinomiya, and an expert in traditional Japanese cuisine.
She was beautiful and elegant, with a figure that surpassed most women. Her voice was soft and sweet, and she was dressed in traditional Japanese attire.
She appeared incredibly gentle and kind.
However, beneath that appearance lay a rather mischievous personality.
Her requirement was for the students to form pairs based on their regular teammates from the first-semester cooking classes.
Megumi Tadokoro naturally teamed up with Soma Yukihira.
As for Lexon, his partners from class had long since been scared away by the sight of his five-finger imprints crushed into his steel bowl.
He didn't mind, though. He was more than capable of completing the assignments on his own.
Erina Nakiri also usually worked alone due to her personality.
This time, however, they were placed in the same group, and because of Hinako Inui's strict requirement, they were forced to form a pair.
"The theme for this assignment is Japanese cuisine..."
Hinako Inui said gently.
"You'll find your ingredients right here..."
She looked out the window.
"Source them from the wild?" Erina Nakiri mused.
"Yes." After answering, Hinako Inui sat back on a bench, leisurely sipping tea and eating snacks.
"You want to do it, or should I?" Lexon asked, looking at Erina.
"Me, obviously! My cooking is far superior. Just stay out of my way and wait for the passing grade!" Erina declared confidently.
"I'll leave it to you, then," Lexon replied nonchalantly.
Since she wanted to take all the work on herself, he was happy to take it easy.
Besides, with her skills as a member of the Elite Ten, failure was impossible.
And so, Lexon sat down next to Hinako Inui and started helping himself to her snacks.
Hinako Inui: ?
"If you keep this up, I might just have to fail you," Hinako said with a gentle smile, though it was unclear if she was annoyed by his laziness or his snack-snatching.
"Since we're in pairs, it's fine as long as someone finishes, right?" Lexon countered.
"Well, while that's true..."
"Those are the rules you set, Senior. Besides, if I'm actually incompetent, I'll just get filtered out in the later stages of the training camp anyway."
"That is true." Hinako Inui nodded, then moved her snacks to the other side. "So stop eating my snacks!"
"Stingy," Lexon muttered flatly. Then he asked, "By the way, Senior, do you accept Shokugeki challenges?"
"Oh? Why ask that out of the blue?" Hinako looked at him curiously. "Don't tell me you want to challenge me to a Shokugeki?"
"I've considered it," Lexon said.
"Ah... there have been cases of Shokugeki with non-students... but... you don't have anything to offer as a wager... so no," Hinako said, sipping her tea.
"Oh. That's disappointing." Lexon's voice lacked any real emotion.
Regardless, following the plan and signing in to reach the First Seat of Totsuki shouldn't be an issue.
It wasn't as urgent as he had initially anticipated.
If his luck held out, he might reach the culinary level of the First Seat before the Autumn Elections.
The main problem was the wager required for a Shokugeki.
Although he had used a trick to get a chance from Satoshi Isshiki to challenge other Elite Ten members, with Satoshi in the Seventh Seat, Lexon could only challenge lower-ranked members if seats were on the line.
He'd have to climb the ladder eventually... which was a bit of a hassle.
"You don't sound disappointed at all..." Hinako noted with a soft smile.
"A little bit," Lexon replied.
He was used to the days in the Naruto world where he could just use force to capture people to use as breeding stock. Having to use peaceful methods like a Shokugeki to get people to meet him and sign in was a bit of an adjustment.
Even though his physical strength was at the peak of what a normal human could achieve, he couldn't just ignore the laws of this world.
No matter how high your physical stats were... you could still be taken down by a kitchen knife if you weren't careful.
Getting killed by a mob was a small matter; failing the main quest and having the Main God wipe his progress was the real headache.
Actually...
Lexon wasn't that afraid of it...
Even if he were wiped, he still had two resident worlds where he could sign in and reach his peak again.
But it would be a massive pain in the neck.
"So, is there any way I can see you once a day, Senior?" Lexon asked, looking directly at Hinako Inui.
"Oh? Are you interested in me?" Hinako laughed. "You're very handsome... but you're a student... so still no."
"That's not what I meant," Lexon said, speechless at the misunderstanding.
"Ah... is that so..." Hinako thought for a moment before answering. "The Stagiaire."
"Stagiaire..." Lexon murmured.
There was indeed such a plotline.
Graduates could invite students to intern at their restaurants based on their performance during this training camp.
"I almost forgot about that," he whispered.
Even though it happened after the Autumn Elections...
He should probably put on a show now.
Just in case he didn't hit the First Seat level before the elections.
It wouldn't hurt to be prepared.
"Erina." Lexon suddenly looked at Erina Nakiri, who had just returned after working hard to find ingredients.
"Huh? What is it?" Before she could react, Lexon snatched the ingredients from her hand and walked to the cooking station.
...
"You said I was the one cooking! Why did you just grab the ingredients I worked so hard to find without saying a word!?" Erina shouted in the hall, looking quite displeased.
"We passed the exam, didn't we?" Lexon said dismissively.
"Honestly..." Erina felt helpless against her cousin.
Her grandfather had even called her specifically to tell her to get along with him... she couldn't understand why.
"Yo, Lexon!" Soma Yukihira and Megumi Tadokoro, having also finished, came over to join him.
After a while...
The residents of Polar Star Dormitory all gathered together.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]