Chapter 7: Preventing the "Accident"!
That said, "hell" only applied to the mob students.
Shogo crushed every assignment without breaking a sweat and was already nearing the end of the first day.
After finishing his tasks, he returned to the hall and looked around. Most students were exhausted. Many could barely stand and had collapsed onto the floor. The number of students had already dropped significantly compared to the morning. Those who failed to reach the passing score had been forcibly sent back and expelled. Tough luck.
The students still here were the ones who had survived Day One. It was now seven in the evening, and many faces showed relief at having made it through. That complacency was immediately met with another trial.
A group of muscular men suddenly appeared and ordered the students to prepare fifty servings of dinner—in one hour. Failure meant immediate expulsion. This school really loved kicking people out.
"…Well, no problem for me."
He finished the fifty set meals in record time, slipped out of the kitchen, and headed straight for the hotel's large bath. Since he had gone all-out, it had taken him less than twenty minutes.
Chaos and panic filled the kitchen. The mob students were too focused on their own survival to notice anything else, so Shogo cleared the task effortlessly without drawing attention.
And now, the real reason he had come to this training camp was approaching.
Cooking didn't matter. His goal had always been—sexual desire.
He quickly grabbed a change of clothes from his room, bathed, and changed.
The only other person in the large bath was Dojima Gin. He seemed completely focused on stretching and didn't notice Shogo, so no conversation started. Lucky—talking to guys wasn't fun anyway.
Not wanting to waste time, he skipped the hot spring and just showered. In about ten minutes he had changed into a yukata.
"…There she is."
Sitting on a chair outside the large bath, he confirmed his target had arrived.
He called out to the girl who had just emerged from the women's bath—Nakiri Erina—carefully keeping his tone gentle so as not to scare her.
"Nakiri-san. Good evening."
"—! S-Santoku-kun… G-Good evening."
She was wary, but she still returned the greeting. It seemed respect for a skilled chef outweighed her usual caution toward men.
Her skin was faintly flushed from the bath. The yukata didn't fully cover her chest, offering a glimpse of her beautiful cleavage. The outfit was practically begging to be noticed.
"I just got out too. You cleared the test pretty fast, Nakiri-san."
"Y-You did the same, didn't you?"
"I wanted to bathe before it got crowded."
Even while flustered, Erina kept the conversation going. He was probably the only guy who could talk to her this smoothly without Hisako around.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself, Nakiri-san. Is it because we're staying overnight?"
"…! Don't say stupid things! There's no way I'd get excited just because it's an overnight trip!"
"Oh, sorry… You just looked like you were having fun, so I assumed."
"Ah, no, I'm not that angry… It's true that a different environment feels refreshing."
"—I see. That's good. You're actually kind, aren't you, Nakiri-san?"
"N-Not really…"
Nakiri Erina was known for being cold and merciless, but at heart she was a gentle girl. Pretending to be a little down made her soften immediately. Perfect.
"Well, break time's probably over. Shall we head back, Nakiri-san?"
"Y-Yes…"
Used to being treated like a queen, Erina was surprisingly weak to assertive invitations. He would gradually get her used to him and eventually win her over romantically. For Erina alone, he planned to take the pure-love route. It was the best way to claim her while still benefiting the Santoku family.
"They call this hell camp, but it doesn't seem so bad so far. You still look like you have plenty of energy, Nakiri-san."
"Of course. This is nothing more than a boring routine for me."
"So that's why you were in such a good mood after the bath?"
"H-Hey! I was not in a good mood!"
Teasing the sheltered young lady who had only ever studied cooking was endlessly entertaining. Her pure reactions were adorable, and simply talking to a beautiful girl like her was healing in itself.
But he hadn't been waiting here just to chat. Every small effort was an investment in eventually claiming the heroine Nakiri Erina.
"Nakiri-san, watch out."
"Eh?"
He stopped her near the corner and, pretending to steady her, lightly touched her shoulder and guided her back a step.
"Fufufufufufufu— Oh, it's Shogo and Nakiri. Sup."
Soma appeared humming cheerfully. In the original story, a happy Erina had collided with him at this exact corner. Since Shogo wanted to minimize any interaction between them, this was a scene he had to erase.
"Soma, watch the corners. You almost ran straight into Nakiri-san."
"Whoops, my bad. …Wait, you already took a bath, Shogo? That was fast. I thought I'd be first."
"I was second. The muscle chef doing maintenance beat me to it."
"…? What's that mean?"
"You'll see when you go in."
While they were talking, another figure came jogging up behind Soma.
It was Hisako, looking flustered. She had rushed through her tasks to catch up with Erina.
"Soma, you'd better hurry before you get scolded."
"Y-Yeah. All right, bath time! See ya later, Shogo, Nakiri."
And just like that, the collision event was safely avoided. No way was he letting anyone push over Erina in a yukata.
"—Lady Erina! I'm so sorry! I got held up a little…!! Santoku… Shogo…!!"
Hisako came running, apologizing loudly. The moment she noticed him, a flash of fear crossed her face and she lowered her eyes. Don't make such a cute expression—you'll only make me want to bully you more.
"…Hisako? What's wrong? You don't look well."
"N-No! I'm perfectly fine!"
"You hurried so you wouldn't keep Nakiri-san waiting, right? Isn't that so, Arato-san?"
"Y-Yes…"
A girl desperately gripping her skirt to hold herself together—adorable.
He wanted to play with her a little more, but with Erina present he gave up. The real show was about to start.
"Well then, Hisako, I'll head back to my room first."
"I'll head back too. …Ah, I should've brought some cards."
"C-Cards? You play games like that too, Santoku-kun?"
Erina's eyes sparkled with curiosity. Feeling a response to her first question, the corner of his mouth lifted.
"Yeah. My family's strict like yours, Nakiri-san. I always wanted to try, but I never really got the chance. …And playing alone isn't much fun."
"…I see."
Using the psychology of shared circumstances, he gently opened her heart. There was no need to rush closeness. Slow and steady would win this.
"…Hisako. Were you able to borrow cards at the front desk?"
"Eh? Yes, I was."
Hisako pulled out a transparent case of cards from her bag. Erina fidgeted, then spoke.
"U-Um… If you'd like, Santoku-kun… would you… care to join us… for cards?"
"E-Erina-sama?! What are you saying?!"
The unexpected invitation nearly made Shogo react the same way as Hisako. He had thought his favorability with Erina was decent compared to Soma, but he never expected her to invite him to play cards. The shared-background tactic had worked better than anticipated.
Still, he couldn't seem too eager. He had to stay in the position of being invited.
"Nah, it's fine. I'm really happy you asked, but… Arato-san probably wouldn't like a guy joining."
"Y-Yeah… Playing cards with a boy… wouldn't be appropriate, right, Hisako?"
Erina looked at Hisako with puppy-dog eyes. Hisako's face turned bright red. Her heart must have been pounding. Such deep loyalty to her mistress.
"W-Well…"
"You shouldn't force her, Nakiri-san. Arato-san looks troubled."
"That's not true! Lady Erina could never trouble me!"
"So it's okay? I can join you for cards?"
He never picked fights he couldn't win—in fact, he preferred to decide the outcome before the fight even began.
Hisako couldn't defy him, and she couldn't strongly refuse Erina either. Caught between coercion and respect, the serious girl had only one choice.
"…Understood…"
"…Thank you, Hisako."
The conversation had gone exactly as he wanted. Cards with two beautiful girls—confirmed.
"Thanks to you too, Arato-san. …And thank you for inviting me, Nakiri-san."
"D-Don't mention it. You've had your own hardships, right? I understand."
His only cheat was cooking talent, so in every other area he had pushed himself through brutal family training. But none of it felt like a burden when it served his ambitions. If it helped him close the distance with Erina, it was actually a blessing.
"…Lady Erina, I'll go take my bath now."
"Yes, take your time and relax."
"I'll be in my room, so when Arato-san gets back, could you let me know, Nakiri-san?"
"Y-Yes… I will."
In the natural flow of conversation, they exchanged numbers. She didn't use social media, so he only got her phone number. How old-fashioned.
"Thanks. I'll be waiting for your message."
"I'll… be going now. I'll return shortly… Excuse me."
"Ah, Hisako… I already told you to take your time."
Turning away from Erina's worried face, Hisako hurried into the women's bath. He couldn't see her expression, but it was surely filled with despair. Exactly the kind of face he loved.
"Other students will probably start showing up soon. Shall we leave before it gets crowded, Nakiri-san?"
"Yes… See you later, then."
"Yeah. See you later."
The first night of training camp was already looking like it would be a lot of fun.
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Added a breakdown of the MC's cooking ability to the aux chapter, go check it out. Also, if you enjoy the story, drop some power stones! It really helps me keep the updates coming fast and regular.
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