"So, Kamisaka-kun, what do you think of the Moon Banquet Festival? Has it lived up to your expectations?"
At the moment, Senzaemon and Yuto were sitting together in a private reception room.
The only other people present were those who already knew Yuto personally—Erina and Hisako, along with Tohru, Kanna, and Shouko, who sat obediently beside him.
After the Shokugeki ended, Senzaemon had personally invited Yuto here.
When the surrounding teachers and students saw that the Director clearly knew him, they had immediately understood why Erina had gone directly to Tohru earlier.
So they really had known one another all along.
The Elite Ten had reacted strangely as well.
Almost as if they had secretly come to the same decision without discussing it, every one of them had stood up and started heading in the same direction Senzaemon and Yuto had gone.
Their goal wasn't difficult to guess...
Once everyone had settled inside the reception room, Senzaemon's first question had nothing to do with the Shokugeki.
Instead, he asked what Yuto thought of the festival.
The old man looked at him with a smile, and there was a faint trace of pride in his expression.
Yuto smiled and nodded.
"I'm much more impressed than I expected to be. I've visited plenty of food festivals before, but I've never seen one that compares to this."
He meant it sincerely.
This was the first time Yuto had ever seen a food-centered event of this scale.
"Hahahaha! Then has it finally made you consider coming to Tōtsuki as an instructor?"
"Mr. Nakiri, you must be joking."
Yuto laughed and waved the suggestion away.
Across from him, Erina looked at him with a faintly resentful expression.
"Didn't you promise to call me as soon as you arrived at Tōtsuki?"
She sighed helplessly after speaking.
Yuto gave her an apologetic smile.
Erina didn't bother dwelling on the matter any further.
"By the way, Kamisaka-kun, you haven't tried any of the food in the Hillside Area yet, have you?"
Senzaemon suddenly spoke up.
The Hillside Area was the third section of the Moon Banquet Festival, a place reserved for Tōtsuki's true VIP guests.
It was also where the Elite Ten operated their restaurants.
Yuto shook his head.
Senzaemon's lips curled into a smile. "Then you certainly shouldn't miss it. Why not have Erina show you around? It's almost noon anyway, so the timing is perfect for lunch."
Erina froze slightly when she heard her grandfather volunteer her so casually, while Yuto's eyes brightened with interest.
Tasting good food was practically instinctive for any chef, and he genuinely wanted to experience what the Elite Ten could produce.
Different styles of cooking offered different sensations, and those sensations weren't determined purely by technical skill.
Erina's dishes, for example, still couldn't match his in overall flavor, but her cooking possessed a luxurious elegance that his own food didn't.
Even if the two of them prepared the exact same dish from the same ingredients, what they ultimately conveyed to the diner would still be different.
That was the individual character of a chef.
Improving as a cook wasn't simply a matter of endlessly polishing the same techniques.
It also meant tasting countless other people's dishes, absorbing what they had to offer, and eventually turning all of it into something of your own.
Yuto himself had grown that way—one taste at a time.
"Then... Erina, would you mind?"
He smiled as he turned toward her.
A faint blush touched Erina's face, making her look slightly awkward, but she maintained her composure and nodded.
"Of course."
Senzaemon laughed. "Then there's no reason to waste time. Go on."
He waved one broad hand as though he were outright shooing them from the room.
Erina shot her grandfather an annoyed look before standing and heading for the door.
Yuto followed, with Tohru, Kanna, and Shouko trailing behind him.
Creak—
The moment Erina opened the reception-room door, she stopped.
A group of people had gathered outside.
The Elite Ten.
"Senpai, what are you all...?"
Erina only managed a few words before understanding.
They had come for Yuto.
Sure enough, the moment the door opened, almost every pair of eyes shifted past her and settled on him.
"What's going on?"
Yuto stepped closer to the doorway and narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked over the group.
Kuga was among them, and unlike before, he was remarkably quiet.
That alone gave Yuto a fairly good idea who the others were.
The people capable of making an Elite Ten member behave himself were most likely other members of the Elite Ten.
So this group had to be the famous Tōtsuki Elite Ten.
"Ehh? He looks even more handsome up close." Rindō twirled a strand of red hair around one finger and looked Yuto over without the slightest attempt to hide her interest.
"What a shame a guy like this isn't one of our students."
Her tone sounded regretful, but her eyes remained fixed on him.
At the front of the group, Tsukasa said nothing.
He simply stared at Yuto, curiosity and excitement burning beneath his otherwise restrained expression.
"Senpai, we were planning to head to the Hillside Area. Would any of you like to—"
"Oh? Erina's taking him to the Hillside Area?"
Rindō interrupted before Erina could finish.
Erina wasn't offended. She already knew that was simply Rindō's personality.
"Yes."
"Then does that mean you're going to taste our cooking?"
Rindō smiled as she addressed Yuto directly.
That question confirmed his guess.
They really were the Elite Ten.
"If possible, I'd like to try something from every member."
Yuto answered with a relaxed smile.
The reaction around him varied immediately. Some frowned, some grew visibly excited, and others became more serious. Only Tsukasa remained outwardly calm.
"I'd like to taste your cooking as well."
Tsukasa finally spoke.
There was a slight tremor in his voice, making him sound far less composed than his appearance suggested.
It was almost as though someone with stage fright were forcing himself to sound steady, except the excitement underneath was far too obvious to hide.
"If we're just exchanging ideas through cooking, I'd be happy to. Another Shokugeki, though? I'll pass."
Yuto smiled.
He disliked Shokugeki, but he had never disliked exchanging culinary knowledge.
In fact, he enjoyed it.
Progress and innovation in cooking were often born through exactly this sort of exchange.
An old master had once taught him that if a chef started treating culinary discussion as a matter of status, hierarchy, or superiority, then that chef would never make it very far.
The Elite Ten visibly relaxed after hearing his answer.
So the group headed toward the Hillside Area together.
...
Along the way, Yuto chatted with them and gradually learned more about each person—their names, their seats, and their respective specialties.
Kanna and Shouko, meanwhile, quickly became popular with the female members of the Elite Ten.
They were adorable, after all~
Before long, they reached the Hillside Area.
The staff stationed there looked visibly stunned when they saw the entire group arriving together.
Their first stop was Tsukasa's restaurant.
That was where the tasting would begin.
Yuto and the others sat down while Tsukasa went into the kitchen. When he returned, he carried a freshly prepared dish with him.
"Thanks."
Yuto took a bite and his brows rose slightly.
The flavor and overall experience were noticeably above Erina's cooking.
No wonder Tsukasa held the First Seat.
"Pretty good. Tastes nice."
Yuto gave his evaluation with a cheerful smile.
The Elite Ten around him immediately looked a little strange.
They were accustomed to hearing elaborate praise whenever people tasted their cooking.
Lavish compliments, stunned declarations, exaggerated admiration—that was normal.
Something as simple as "pretty good" and "tastes nice" was genuinely rare.
"All right. My turn."
Yuto stood with a smile and looked toward Tsukasa.
Tsukasa nodded and led him into the kitchen.
The rest of the Elite Ten immediately followed out of curiosity.
Erina and Hisako stayed behind.
They had watched Yuto cook more times than they could count.
Missing this one occasion wasn't exactly a tragedy~
Once inside the kitchen, Yuto prepared a dish of his own.
Tsukasa took a single bite, and his expression immediately changed.
During Yuto's Shokugeki with Kuga, Tsukasa had already sensed something in Yuto's movements that existed beyond his own current level.
Now, after actually tasting the food, that impression became certainty.
There really was something inside Yuto's cooking that Tsukasa himself still lacked—something important enough that it felt almost like a missing piece.
The dish didn't simply overwhelm him with skill.
It pointed him in a direction.
For the first time, Tsukasa vaguely understood what he might need to pursue next.
"Hey, Tsukasa, why'd you go quiet? Let me try."
Rindō, unable to contain herself any longer, reached in with her chopsticks and stole a bite.
She had already been tempted during the Shokugeki, but because it was an official match, she couldn't exactly march onto the floor and demand a taste.
Now she finally had her chance.
The moment the food entered her mouth, she understood why Tsukasa had fallen silent.
This really was the kind of cooking that demanded patience.
Something worth slowing down for.
After that, Yuto went through the Elite Ten one by one and tasted their dishes.
He was genuinely impressed.
They deserved their reputation.
Each of them had something special.
And after tasting Yuto's cooking in return, the Elite Ten were equally convinced by his ability.
The way they looked at him gradually gained the unmistakable respect chefs reserved for someone stronger than themselves.
...
By the time the exchange ended, it was already past one in the afternoon.
Most of the Elite Ten returned to their restaurants to resume business, while Yuto and Erina made their way to a high point overlooking the academy.
From there, most of Tōtsuki spread out beneath them.
The view was magnificent.
Yuto couldn't help pausing to take it in. People naturally became reflective when standing before something grand enough to make them feel small.
Erina smiled lightly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Impressive, isn't it?"
"It is. Very."
Yuto nodded.
"Then would you reconsider teaching at Tōtsuki?" Erina asked. "You'd only need to teach two hours a day, and it wouldn't interfere with the restaurant in the evening."
Yuto laughed and waved the idea away.
"Let's drop that one. I'm not coming. The restaurant already keeps me busy enough, and I really don't have the energy to take on anything else."
Erina didn't look disappointed. She simply exhaled.
"I knew you were going to say that."
"Then why ask?"
"I still had to make sure."
She spread her hands helplessly.
Yuto looked at her and smiled.
"Oh, right. Take me to see Kuga again."
Erina blinked.
"Eh? What else do you want with him?"
"Nothing serious. I just want to tell him a few things."