Chapter 463: The Executives' Evaluation, Shy and Joyful
Nakiri Mana and the others stared at Lanterby, their expressions a mixture of confusion and impatience. The girl in question simply continued to chew, her cheeks puffed out, her eyes wide as if she'd been struck dumb. She offered no explanation, a silence that was beginning to drive everyone, even the usually placid Kasugano Sora, to the brink of madness.
"Lanterby! You little brat! Just swallow it already!" Mana finally snapped.
Lanterby's response was a series of muffled, questioning hums. "Mmm mmm mmm mmm?"
Nakiri Mana tilted her head, her brow furrowed in concentration as if deciphering a complex code. "You're saying you want to swallow, but you got so lost in thought that you forgot how?"
A collective, exasperated sigh swept through the group. Lucifer pinched the bridge of her nose. "Lanterby, are you an idiot?"
"Mmm mmm mmm!" came the indignant, muffled protest.
"Given the current evidence," Mana shot back dryly, "the answer seems to be yes, doesn't it?"
Kasugano Sora swallowed audibly, her own food suddenly feeling precarious. "I think... compared to Sister Lanterby," she said, her voice a blank monotone, "Sister Mana is even more outrageous."
"Eh?! Why me?!"
Pandemonica offered a soft, amused observation. "I have personally never encountered such a language, let alone understood its meaning. The fact that you can translate it, Mana, is quite impressive."
Courage tilted her head, a thoughtful look on her face. "If I remember correctly, Lady Mana, you also know this... particular dialect, but only Anne can translate for you. So, Anne, did you understand what she was trying to say just now?"
Anne, ever the silent professional, simply nodded. The others gave her a silent, unified thumbs-up of deep respect. Just then, Lanterby finally managed a great gulp, swallowing the food. She took a deep, shuddering breath.
"Phew~ I almost choked to death..."
"If you had actually choked to death because you forgot how to swallow," Decora said irritably, "I would have asked you to please not admit you're an Executive Officer of the WGO. Imagine the headlines: 'Esteemed Food Critic Dies Mid-Chew'..."
"I was just thinking about something!" Lanterby retorted, her voice low and defensive. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have frozen up like that!"
"So what, exactly, were you thinking about that was so important?" Nakiri Mana asked, her curiosity piqued.
Lanterby's expression turned serious. "Lady Mana, do you think... Ren would ever consider coming to the WGO to teach? Or maybe even become an Executive Officer?"
The question hung in the air, instantly silencing the table. Nakiri Mana and the other three WGO inspectors were stunned.
Cerberus was the first to break the silence, tapping a claw against her chin. "Ren probably wouldn't... I remember Old Master Nakiri practically begged him for over two years just to get him to give a single lecture."
Nakiri Mana's hopeful expression faltered. She let out a small sigh. "Still, we should at least ask... Ah, speak of the devil, Ren's coming out... Ren!"
Ren emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray with a pot of black tea. He looked over at Mana, a questioning arch to his brow. "Hm? What's wrong? Is something the matter?"
Mana hesitated, her usual confidence evaporating. "Ren, there's... there's something I'd like to talk to you about. Of course, whether you agree or not is completely up to you."
After setting the tea down in front of Shiina Mashiro, Ren's expression softened. "You can just say it. There's no need to be so formal."
"Um... well... since the WGO has moved its headquarters here, I was wondering... if you, Ren, could spare some time to guide the Executive Officers or the other chefs... It wouldn't be a full-time thing! Just whenever you feel like it." Mana rushed the last part out, terrified he would refuse outright.
Ren considered it for a moment. "So, what kind of subjects do your Executive Officers teach?"
"Quite a few," Decora chimed in, leaning forward eagerly. "Things like gourmet appreciation, evaluating ingredient freshness, the proper temperature of ingredients, the overall aesthetic presentation of a dish, and so on... Each subject has a dedicated specialist teaching it."
Ren mulled it over. "Ingredient freshness? Isn't that something you can just tell by looking?"
Anne gently shook her head. "This particular evaluation refers to judging the freshness of the ingredients before they were cooked, based entirely on the taste, the degree of flavor absorption, and the final condition of the ingredients after they've been prepared."
Ren nodded, a flicker of genuine interest in his eyes. "Eh? That's actually quite impressive."
At the surrounding tables, everyone—from Aoandon and Hiratsuka Shizuka to Shiina Mashiro, who had paused her sketching—gave Ren the exact same silent, indulgent look. It was a look that screamed: 'Well, as long as you're happy.'
Nakiri Mana's heart hammered against her ribs. "Um... Ren... what do you think?"
"If it's just when I feel like it... and I don't have to teach too many subjects..."
"Mhm, mhm!" The five WGO officers nodded in frantic unison.
"I suppose I can go check it out when I have time," Ren conceded. "It gets pretty boring during the day anyway."
"Yay!" The joyous cheer erupted from five voices at once.
Lucifer smiled, a knowing, lazy curve of her lips. "Ren, are you really doing this out of boredom? Or is it because you're feeling a little... protective?"
"Protective?" the five inspectors echoed, blinking in confusion.
Kasugano Sora offered a small, knowing smile of her own. "That's right. If you want Brother Ren to do something, money is useless; it all depends on your relationship with him. Like when Kirari-nee ran into trouble during her competition. Even though Brother Ren had already decided not to participate, he went to help without a second thought."
The implication sank in. A deep blush crept up the necks of the five Executive Officers. So it wasn't just boredom... he was giving them special consideration?
Ren didn't deny it. "There's that reason, of course," he admitted calmly. "But it is still somewhat boring during the day."
"Mhm, mhm!" The five of them nodded again, their faces glowing.
It was a peculiar kind of selective hearing, a talent the five women seemed to share in that moment. They automatically filtered out the latter half of his sentence about being bored, latching onto the first part and cementing it as the absolute truth. He was doing it because he was looking out for them!
The smiles on the faces of Courage and Decora were so wide they threatened to split their faces. The two had been the most active in their pursuit, completely oblivious to the fact that their intentions were an open secret to everyone but themselves. In their minds, their progress bar had just leaped forward by a massive chunk. Victory was practically in sight.
Lucifer lazily swirled the tea in her cup. ", Ren, when do you plan on going over to teach?"
"Whenever I feel like it," he replied with a casual shrug. "Maybe I'll suddenly get the urge to go for a walk and just head over."
Nakiri Mana froze. "But... but, Ren, you'll tell us beforehand, right?" she asked quickly.
Ren nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course."
"That's good..." they all sighed in relief.
"I'll let you know when I arrive at the door."
"Eh?!" The sound of five panicked voices shot through the restaurant.
"But... but we won't have any time to prepare!" Mana stammered, her composure completely shattered.
A faint, mischievous smile touched Ren's lips. "That's what makes it interesting."
A chorus of whispered accusations filled the air. "Scheming..."
Shiina Mashiro looked up from her teacup, tilting her head at Ren before turning to the others. "Scheming?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka let out a long, weary sigh. "I finally understand why your scheming tendencies have gotten worse, Shion," she muttered, shaking her head. "It was because of Mr. Ren, wasn't it?"
"Eh? That's a perfectly logical explanation," Shion's voice replied from another table. "As expected of Senior Shizuka."
[Akarin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/AkarinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/AkarinTL
🔗 All My Links: linktr[.]ee/AkarinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]