This psychological trauma was not due to the curse of the God Tongue, but rather the pain of long-term exposure to unfamiliar environments and the inability to express accumulated grievances while alone.
As time passed, this emotion, this mindset, did not necessarily diminish.
If she could find a dish that could conquer the God Tongue, perhaps her mental stress would gradually improve, and her guilt towards her family would also lessen.
However, after so many years of effort, she only now truly found a dish that could satisfy the God Tongue, so there were many things she couldn't let go of even more!
"Presumably, when you made that choice back then, you had already anticipated this day, right?"
Seeing Nakiri Mana like this, Sosuke merely asked calmly.
"Mm."
"It's all fate!"
Nakiri Mana's voice was a little ethereal.
Her thoughts drifted back to the past, to the scenes of her time with her daughter Erina.
The curse of the God Tongue had caused her various sufferings. To prevent Erina from following in her footsteps, and to free herself from the sea of bitterness, she ultimately made that resolute choice!
But in the end, it also burdened her with a heavy load.
"Mana, I think you need to learn to let go of the burdens of the past, otherwise you will fall into an even deeper abyss."
"As for how to let go, I cannot give better advice."
"But what I want to say is, I fear most that you are in darkness, yet still insist on blindly moving forward. The result of doing so is often more terrifying than standing still!"
Upon hearing this, Nakiri Mana couldn't help but look up and meet Sosuke's calm gaze.
"So young, yet acting like a profound senior. I don't need you to lecture me!"
Nakiri Mana said, feigning a cold tone.
Originally, she just wanted to taste Sosuke's cooking again today.
But unexpectedly, Sosuke intentionally tried to stir up her memories of some past events, and even hoped she would proactively go to Totsuki to reunite with her father and daughter.
...
"Do you believe in fate?"
After thinking for a moment, Mana, who had calmed down, suddenly asked.
"Let me put it this way, ever since I started running this Izakaya, I've stopped believing in any fate."
"It might exist, but fate is ultimately too ethereal and too mysterious. Maybe one day I'll have an accident and transmigrate to another world?"
"Therefore, it's more practical to believe in yourself."
Sosuke shrugged and smiled.
"Believe it or not."
"I just want to know if a person's strength alone can fight against fate?"
Nakiri Mana seemed to be talking to herself, and yet also to Sosuke.
Sosuke felt a little enlightened in his heart, then he thought for a moment and said seriously: "Yes, and no!"
"For example, in this world, no chef or dish you know can conquer the God Tongue, yet only my cooking can break this curse!"
Upon hearing this, Nakiri Mana finally couldn't hold back.
She stared blankly at Sosuke, a faint sadness in her eyebrows.
This expression, besides the one time she had steeled herself to leave the Nakiri, had never been seen again.
"You miss them, don't you?"
Seeing this, Sosuke couldn't help but ask softly.
"Mm!"
"Very, very much."
"But... can I still go back?" Nakiri Mana murmured, somewhat lost.
"Of course you can go back."
Sosuke's gaze suddenly deepened, and he nodded in response.
...
At the same time.
At Totsuki Academy, on the site of another Shokugeki match.
Intense white light illuminated the entire competition venue as bright as day, making every detail clearly visible.
Suddenly, a beam of white light shone on a participating student named Seishi Kōdabayashi, instantly making him the most dazzling figure in the entire competition!
He was the captain of the Sumo Hot Pot Cuisine Research Association and also a second-year student in the high school division.
His own strength was considered top-tier within Totsuki, even stronger than some third-year students!
However, at this moment, his face was pale, and his large, obese body lay on the ground like a puddle of mud. As for the large screen hanging in mid-air, it already displayed the result of this Shokugeki match:
5:0
"So terrifying!"
"Is this the strength of an Elite Ten?"
"I remember Senior Seishi Kōdabayashi's strength was far superior to Hakuren Shirogane from this morning."
"Yeah, his strength is evident to everyone in our entire academy, but I didn't expect him to be completely defeated!"
"Who would have thought."
"Lady Erina, who possesses the God Tongue, would have such terrifying strength!"
"It's over. It's only the first day of school, and two research associations have already been shut down."
"If this continues, the struggle between various factions will only intensify. I... how can a small fry like me protect myself?"
"Good luck to us. Anyway, with these two extraordinarily strong Nakiri young ladies, we're probably going to have a very tough time in the coming days."
...
At this time, there was a collective sigh from the audience.
This Shokugeki match tonight garnered high attention because of Erina, an Elite Ten.
As expected, Erina's displayed strength indeed lived up to the Elite Ten title, and she was indeed stronger than Alice!
"Impossible."
"My Ishikari Nabe Hot Pot dish used over 30 kinds of high-grade ingredients."
"How could it lose to your dish?"
"I'm not convinced, I'm not convinced!"
Seishi Kōdabayashi, for a moment, found it difficult to accept such a crushing defeat.
Erina, across from him, knowing he was still unconvinced, took light steps and approached his dish.
After a moment of hesitation, she scooped a spoonful of the rich broth and took a small sip.
Then, she opened her eyes, her expression very calm, and said faintly to Seishi Kōdabayashi: "Senior! Your hot pot dish has 18 major errors, 34 minor mistakes, and 57 flaws that are not considered mistakes!"
"For example, you were too rushed in boiling the pork bones, which prevented the bone flavor from fully integrating into the soup, making it a bit bland."
"Also, the amount of sauce is wrong; you added too little."
"And the salt, not enough either."
"You repeatedly said that this dish used over 30 kinds of high-grade ingredients, but I found that two types of Hokkaido specialty ingredients were missing."
"As for the control of heat, the handling of various ingredients, the seasoning of the broth, and so on, all have more or less problems..."
...
By the end of her speech, Seishi Kōdabayashi looked at Erina in shock.
Only then did he fully understand how terrifying this young girl with the God Tongue truly was.
She could analyze every single error in an entire dish just by tasting one bite!
"Senior, the outcome of this match has been decided."
"There is no longer a Sumo Hot Pot Cuisine Research Association at Totsuki Academy, only the 7th Culinary Building of the Elite Ten's Tenth Seat!"
With that, Erina walked directly past Seishi Kōdabayashi and approached Hisako, saying, "Contact the demolition team on site and tell them they can demolish the entire building!"
"Yes, Lady Erina."
Hisako nodded and then made a phone call.
"What? You... you're going to demolish the entire building of the Sumo Hot Pot Cuisine Research Association?"
Seishi Kōdabayashi completely panicked.
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