Chapter 10: Bait
Several days had passed since Shogo had creampied Hisako on the very first night of the training camp, and the hellish residential training was finally reaching its climax.
Standing in the test venue, he could feel the end drawing near.
It was currently six in the morning.
Even at this early hour, the test area was already packed with students. Each of them had claimed a kitchen station and was solemnly preparing their tools and ingredients with solemn expressions.
The upcoming test was simple on paper: create a new menu item suitable for the hotel's breakfast buffet.
The challenge had been announced around eight o'clock the previous evening. Most students had stayed up all night working on their menus and were clearly sleep-deprived. Unless you had absolute confidence in your dish, there was no way you could risk a proper night's sleep.
Well, Shogo had gone to bed before ten without even bothering to develop a menu.
"…Yaaawn… What a pain."
He was still technically a participant, so he went through the motions of preparing while half-asleep. The theme was "a surprising hotel breakfast" that could be served in "buffet style."
The key ingredient was "egg."
To pass, a dish had to be recognized for its creativity and had to be completely consumed by a total of two hundred people. Fail to finish within the time limit and you were expelled on the spot. Business as usual for Totsuki.
In short, the dish needed to appeal to men, women, young and old alike—something easy to eat that would still taste excellent even after sitting for a little while.
Soma, coming from a diner background, had struggled with this test in the original story. He had barely scraped by using live-cooking techniques.
Too bad Soma and I are in different venues. I wanted to be next to Erina… Oh well. Can't control the draw.
He had been assigned to Venue E instead of Venue A where Erina and Soma were. He had missed the chance to show off in front of Erina, but that was fine. He would simply use the time for something else.
He would simply lay his hands on another piece of prey.
▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽
"Good morning, Santoku Shogo-kun."
A female student called out to him from across the kitchen counter. The girl wrapped in a pure-white chef's coat was exactly the person he had decided to target during this test. Pale skin, snow-white hair, and crimson eyes that stood out even more beautifully against that flawless canvas.
She had appeared often enough in the original story to be considered a semi-regular character.
A top-tier beauty with a voluptuous figure who had been extremely popular with male readers.
Nakiri Alice stood right in front of him.
"Good morning, Nakiri Alice-san."
"Oh? You already knew who I was? I'm flattered."
"That should be my line. Any cook worth their salt has heard the rumors. Especially when the woman in question is as beautiful as you, Nakiri-san."
"Fufu, how smooth."
To any outsider it would have looked like a friendly chat. In reality it was anything but. What Shogo read in Alice's eyes wasn't goodwill—it was appraisal. She was sizing him up.
She had probably grown curious after hearing he had passed Erina's transfer exam and defeated Hisako in a Shokugeki.
The fact that he was a Santoku family member had likely played a part too.
"Well? Satisfied with what you see?"
"Hmm~ I wonder what you mean? I simply came to greet a classmate who's taking the same test."
"Right. I got all excited because a beauty talked to me first thing in the morning."
"I'm quite happy to be chatting with such a handsome boy myself."
She was an elusive woman. This was how she acted toward anyone she hadn't lowered her guard around. Typical of someone from the Nakiri family.
"Are you done preparing?"
"Already finished. …What are you planning to make?"
Alice tilted her head with genuine curiosity. In moments like this she really was pure.
"You'll find out once it's done. Or would you like me to bring some over to your station later? I'll probably have plenty of time after I finish my two hundred servings."
"…That's quite the confidence. Are you saying you'll reach two hundred before I do?"
"Pretty much. Want to bet on it?"
When he smiled as if the outcome were obvious, Alice's expression soured for just a second. Cute.
"…How bold. I accept that bet. I will absolutely finish first. If I lose, I'll grant you any request you like. —See you later, Santoku Shogo-kun."
This girl was seriously sheltered. Telling a high-school boy overflowing with lust that he could ask for "anything"…
Still, the result was perfect. He had managed to provoke her nicely.
Nakiri family members had such high pride; they were ridiculously easy to bait.
Nakiri Alice was, of course, another one of his prey.
During this test he would make sure Alice became fully aware of the chef—and the man—named Santoku Shogo. Think of it as scattering bait. Preparations for the future.
"…Time to begin."
The announcement signaling the start of the test echoed across the entire venue. At the same moment, a large crowd of hotel guests began pouring in. Scattered among them were staff from the resort itself. Shogo and the other students had to earn the judges' approval and serve a total of two hundred portions that would all be completely eaten.
It was about time to stand out.
If he wanted to claim Erina, a flashy performance was essential.
"Now, time for the grand reveal."
▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽
Thirty minutes after the test began.
Every venue was serving a wide variety of dishes, and plates were steadily piling up in front of the judges.
Naturally, no one had passed yet. In the entire history of the test, no student had ever completed two hundred servings in only thirty minutes.
…Until today.
"What the hell is this flavor?!"
"It's already gone… Can I get seconds?!"
"So good!!"
In Venue E, a single kitchen station was drawing a crowd.
Or rather, it was mobbed.
Plates flew out at top speed and were snatched up by the judges just as quickly. It was practically a scramble. Small children, full-grown adults, even elderly people with bent backs were reaching out desperately. The peaceful breakfast atmosphere had been completely overwritten by raw appetite. Venue E belonged to one kitchen alone.
Then a single announcement rang out across every venue.
'Santoku Shogo—two hundred servings completed!!'
Dojima Gin's deep voice declared Shogo's success. The entire student body—and even Nakiri Erina herself—had been surpassed. Every venue erupted in murmurs.
The single dish Santoku Shogo had created using egg was a rice burger wrapped in paper.
"The perfectly soft-boiled egg nestled inside melts into the rice! The rich umami spreads through your mouth while gently warming it!"
"Besides the egg there's sweet-and-spicy braised beef! Yet the star is unmistakably the egg! The savoriness of the meat only deepens the egg's flavor!"
"Every time you chew the fragrant grilled rice patty, the taste accelerates! It's like your mouth is being completely taken over!"
"This is just like… just like… —an onigiri-style tamago-kake gohan! Turning an ordinary breakfast into something worthy of a luxury hotel! It's so delicious I can't stop eating!!!"
The praise came not from ordinary guests but from Totsuki Resort staff. Yet none of them could fully describe the profound taste; they had all surrendered to the violent deliciousness spreading across their tongues.
Normally the chef would explain their own dish, but unfortunately Shogo was no ordinary chef in any sense of the word. He hadn't actually thought the recipe through. He had simply followed flashes of instinct—what seasoning, what cooking method, what combination would probably taste good—and his body had moved on its own.
That was why his explanation was equally vague.
"I added… oil, I think, to the egg to bring out the flavor. I also used black pepper… probably. Then I threw in some lettuce, and finished it with a soy-based sauce made from ingredients that seemed like they'd go well together. I'm glad everyone enjoyed it."
Shogo spoke with an expression that suggested he himself couldn't believe he was explaining his own cooking. There was no joy at reaching two hundred servings, no relief at passing. His gaze wasn't on the judges writhing in gastronomic ecstasy—it was fixed on the girl he had marked earlier: Nakiri Alice.
Oho, that's a great face.
Alice was puffing her soft-looking cheeks in clear annoyance, glaring straight at him.
For someone as proud as her, being provoked and then beaten to the finish line was more than enough to sting.
To Shogo, that frustrated expression on Alice's face was far more valuable than the pleasure-filled faces of the judges in front of him.
"…Oh, I'm out of ingredients. Sorry, this is the last plate. Thank you very much."
He placed the "closed" sign on the counter and his test was over. He had finished in just an hour and a half from the start.
In the end, four hundred and five plates had been completely consumed. Leaving behind an overwhelming result, Shogo stepped away from the kitchen.
"Sorry, Nakiri-san. I ran out of ingredients so I couldn't bring you any. …Oh, right—you turned me down anyway. I'll be going then. Good luck."
"~~~!! You! How mean!"
After delivering one final perfect jab, Shogo vanished from the test venue.
He had carved his existence deep into Nakiri Alice's mind.
▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽
The residential training—the first major trial for Totsuki Academy's first-year high-school students—had ended. After six days that produced a great number of dropouts (in other words, expulsions), the students were boarding buses to return to the academy.
"Whoa, Shogo! We both survived, huh~ —Man, that two-hundred-serving clear yesterday was seriously fast. Let's have a Shokugeki sometime, yeah?"
True to the original story, Soma had made it through safely.
Of course Shogo already knew that—he had wandered over to Soma's venue after he had time to spare.
"Maybe when I feel like it. By the way… you didn't forget anything, right, Soma?"
"Yeah! You reminded me like ten times yesterday! …Seriously, I didn't expect you to come all the way to my room just to double-check."
Soma looked a little creeped out, but it had been important to Shogo. If Soma forgot something, it would trigger an event flag with Erina. He had to crush every preventable flag. Pure-love conquests relied on careful groundwork.
"I'm on a different bus. See you back at school."
"Yeah, later."
After parting with Soma, Shogo did not board his assigned bus.
If he got on obediently now, all the effort he had put into babysitting Soma would be wasted. To enter the event of riding back to the academy in a car with Erina, he deliberately let the buses leave without him.
"…Oh? Santoku-kun?"
Timing it perfectly, Erina emerged from the hotel exactly as expected.
Thanks to his knowledge of the original story, everything was going exactly according to plan. He was grateful.
"Hey, Nakiri-san. Did you miss your bus too?"
"Y-Yes. I left something in my room."
"What a coincidence—I did the same. All the buses have already left. What should we do?"
"We could ask the hotel staff to arrange transport—"
"Lady Erina~! The car is ready! There was exactly one vehicle available, so please use that one."
A woman in a suit hurried over, cutting off Erina's words. She must have been the hotel staff member Erina had mentioned.
"Is this other student also running late for the bus?"
Having clearly heard the part about there being only one car, Shogo nodded with a smile.
"Sorry, Nakiri-san. Mind if I ride with you?"
"I-I don't mind…"
Sitting side by side with a member of the opposite sex seemed to make Erina slightly tense. Even though they had played cards together in the same room, she still kept a considerable distance from boys.
Still, she would answer if he spoke to her. Among the first-years at Totsuki, he was probably the one with the highest favorability rating with her.
"The training camp is finally over. It was pretty exhausting."
"Yes… You were impressive, by the way. You passed the breakfast challenge before I did."
"Nah, if you count total servings you still came out on top. You had… four hundred and seven plates, right?"
"Y-You had four hundred and five! That's only two plates difference!"
"Haha, a loss is a loss."
Technically I only stopped because I ran out of ingredients.
There was no need to bruise her pride unnecessarily, so he kept quiet.
"Summer break is coming up soon. Time really flies."
For students it was a long summer vacation. For Shogo it was an event packed with things he wanted to do. Naturally all of them were erotic. He had zero intention of spending time cooking.
"…You'll definitely be chosen."
Erina suddenly murmured those words.
She wasn't looking out the window—she was looking straight at him.
"Chosen? For what?"
"—The Autumn Elections. A grand gourmet festival held every year at the start of the second term. Only carefully selected first-year high-school students may participate. The purpose of this training camp wasn't just to weed out students through expulsion. It was also to evaluate candidates for the Autumn Elections."
She kindly explained, but Shogo was only half-listening—his eyes had drifted to Erina's thighs. Don't cross your legs while wearing such a short skirt. That's practically sexual harassment.
"I-I see. Sounds fun."
"First there's a preliminary round, then the main tournament. The preliminary assignment will be announced soon."
"…Those thighs are really something."
"Eh? What? Are you talking about bread?"
Whoops. Erina's legs were so erotic he had accidentally spoken out loud.
He quickly changed the subject.
"Ah, the Autumn Elections! I hope I get picked!"
"Who else would get picked if not you?"
He had received quite the high evaluation.
The car ride back to the academy would take roughly two hours. He couldn't waste a single second of this private time with her. Time to raise her favorability even higher.
"I'm still nowhere near good enough. I can't even catch up to the chef I admire."
"…Admire? You have a chef you look up to?"
He gave a meaningful nod and dropped the name of the one chef guaranteed to pierce Nakiri Erina's heart.
"—Saiba Joichiro. The greatest chef in the world."
Erina's expression changed visibly. Her eyes sparkled with an almost childlike excitement. She leaned forward, stretching her seatbelt, and scooted closer to him.
"S-Saiba-sama?!"
The shared admiration for the same chef—and for Erina, who possessed the God's Tongue, the meaning ran especially deep. There was no better phrase for raising Nakiri Erina's favorability.
Watching her speak with such a happy face, Shogo once again silently thanked his knowledge of the original story.
***
***
***
If u guys love the story, drop 3 nice 5 star reviews and I'll release an extra chapter. Just don't mention the "5 stars for +1 ch" in the review itself. Also, don't forget to drop those power stones!!
For early access to 10 chapters: p@tre~~.com/Demonic_Fiction (Link is in the synopsis and my profile).