"The theme of the exam? That must be cooking, of course." Yukihira Soma said as if it were obvious.
"Yukihira-kun, don't think so simply. From the accommodation training to the practical training later, although they are all related to cooking, what's actually being assessed isn't just cooking, but other related abilities." Erina Nakiri calmly lectured him.
"Is that so? But if the food is delicious, won't guests come? How does that saying go? 'Good wine needs no bush,' right?" Yukihira Soma scratched his head and said with a smile.
"That's certainly true. But the people who come here are tourists, and even repeat customers won't be back until next year. If we operate slowly, it might work, but we only have seven days." Satou said faintly, "There's no way to increase the occupancy rate to over ninety percent."
"I see." Yukihira Soma fell into thought, then suddenly, he slapped his head and said, "That's it! Let's sell ramen! We can set up a big pot at the entrance and cook a pot of fragrant broth. That will definitely attract customers."
"First, this is a hot spring inn. Whether the food offered is delicious or not is an important factor, but not the only one." Erina Nakiri struck him down from the side, "Second, in such cold weather, the aroma cannot spread too far. So that won't work either."
"Tch, as expected, ignorant brats." Eizan Etsuya looked at Yukihira Soma with disdain.
"We won't figure it out just by sitting here. Let's go see how other students are attracting guests, shall we?" Satou suggested.
"Good idea." Everyone nodded, and then the group walked out.
Every day, many guests came to the hot spring street looking for accommodation. Compared to Satou's quiet side, other places were quite popular, and the students participating in the exam had all gone out onto the street, soliciting guests to increase their occupancy rates.
"Welcome to stay at our inn! We offer free cozy breakfast and dinner every day."
"Our inn's hot springs are wonderful! They'll definitely make you want to linger."
Many students were distributing self-made flyers on the street, but the effect didn't seem to be very good.
"Please, you must stay at our inn! Please! This affects whether we can smoothly enter the next semester!" Some students even played the sympathy card, kneeling on the ground, begging guests to stay at their inn.
"Is it testing service quality?" Alice Nakiri mused.
"Actually, it's pretty similar. Because all the inns are built uniformly, the rooms and hot springs are all the same. The service quality is also pretty much the same." Erina Nakiri said faintly.
Just then, Satou's eyes suddenly lit up, as if he vaguely grasped something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
Everyone continued walking for a while, when they suddenly saw that a hotel ahead was doing very well, surrounded by many tourists who came to watch the excitement.
"From the lipstick color you allow. A color lighter than flowers. A pure love that doesn't flee even from a kiss…"
A very sweet-looking girl was singing in front of the inn. She was singing "Fuyu no Iro" by Momoe Yamaguchi.
The surrounding tourists listened and clapped along.
"She sings so well."
"Yes, that girl is really pretty."
"She's full of pure vitality."
The girl singing was Kawashima Rei from the first year. After singing for a while, she suddenly made a victory sign, showing a cute smile, and said, "If everyone stays at our inn, you can enjoy my evening entertainment every night!"
"Really? That's great! I want to stay."
"Me too."
Before long, many guests chose to stay.
"Damn it, that bitch."
"How shameless."
"How vulgar."
Some female students around glared at Kawashima Rei through gritted teeth. If looks could kill, Kawashima Rei would have been torn to shreds.
"So that's how it is!" Satou suddenly realized.
"Huh? Satou, did you think of something?" Eishi Tsukasa asked curiously.
"I think the key point might be in the unique features?" Satou asked.
"Unique features?" Everyone was stunned.
"That's right. Erina just said that the inns are actually identical in all aspects. Since that's the case, the important thing is to highlight our unique features, isn't it?" Satou said, "Aren't there many unique hot spring inns? For example, you can see monkeys while bathing in the hot spring, or they offer unique cultural performances."
Erina Nakiri also suddenly realized, "So, the direction of this exam question isn't from a chef's perspective, but from a manager's perspective. To quickly pinpoint the positioning of one's inn and establish its unique features."
"Exactly. Kawashima may not have realized it herself; she just stumbled upon it by accident." Satou nodded. Kawashima Rei probably hadn't realized the exam question herself; she just happened to get it right by chance.
"In that case, aren't we doomed?" Kuga Terunori suddenly said with a horrified expression.
"What's wrong?" Everyone asked curiously.
"In our group, there's only that old hag Nene Kinokuni, who has nothing to do with words like 'cute' or 'pure.' Making her sing would be worse than a female monkey screaming." Kuga Terunori said with a grim face.
Nene Kinokuni was almost driven mad by him.
"You shorty, are you looking for death?" Eishi Tsukasa, Saito Soumei, and Nagi-no-ki Touko also looked at Kobayashi Rindo in unison.
Kobayashi Rindo's face, for once, showed a blush, and she said coyly, "Why are you looking at me? I can't sing."
At the same time, Hayama Akira, Yukihira Soma, and others also began to examine Erina Nakiri and the others.
"I… I can't sing either." Erina Nakiri's cheeks flushed, and she said very shyly.
"Huh? But don't you sing very well? Much better than her." Satou couldn't help but say. The last time during the accommodation training, he had heard the Tsundere singing in the bathroom, and she indeed sang well.
When she was taking a bath, if she was in a good mood, she would occasionally sing. It wasn't the first time Satou had heard it.
"Th-that… that's you mishearing! Singing? I can't do it at all." Erina Nakiri was so embarrassed that her ears turned red, and she stammered.
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