Chapter 59: The Sinking Morning Sun
Five days had passed since Azami's scheme led to my temporary expulsion overseas.
Just as I had declared, I restarted the factory in three days. In the remaining day, I dismantled every community that had been moving under Azami's instructions, replaced the upper management, restructured them, and brought them all under the Santoku Group. With this, the American bases owned by our group were now rock-solid.
And today, the fifth day. I had come to crush Saiba Asahi—the biggest reason I had gone along with Azami's scheme.
This man was the so-called "final boss." The greatest enemy I would have to face in the second-year arc.
That was why I wanted to crush him in advance.
If I fought him exactly as in the original story, all sorts of troublesome things would happen. After all, Saiba Asahi's goal was to make Nakiri Erina his wife.
He would actively approach her with bouquets, kidnap her to his base, and I vaguely remembered him declaring in front of Erina's mother that he would take her daughter.
Even accounting for fuzzy memories, he was an evil that could not be overlooked. He was nothing but an obstacle to my ambition, and to put it bluntly, a nuisance. Since he was clearly trying to make her his legally, he was far more troublesome than the protagonist Soma. At this point, my favorability with Erina should be nearly maxed out, but I didn't want to leave any uncertain elements that could be eliminated.
That was why I had been keeping tabs on Saiba Asahi even before enrolling at Totsuki Academy. I had dispatched a dedicated team to America and had them monitor his movements for several years. By pretending to be a "Midnight Chef, Noir," it was easy to get taken in as a subordinate, so the spies I had planted from the Santoku family were able to obtain reliable information.
The only question was when to crush him. Then, out of nowhere, Azami played right into my hands.
By targeting our American base, he gave me the perfect excuse to go after Asahi without raising any suspicion. No one would dream that the person supposedly moving for his family's sake would go ahead and eliminate the final boss early.
Thanks to information from the spies, his hideout was completely exposed, and attacking it was easy. I had surrounded the building with armed mobile units in case he tried to escape, but that turned out to be unnecessary.
After I finished off the underlings who served as warm-ups, Asahi himself finally appeared, so I crushed him the same way. It was a long time since I had been able to use my full-power cheat, and that was a big plus. When the time comes to fight my final boss, there is no option other than going all-out, so I'm grateful to Asahi for serving as a test subject. My body doesn't hurt anywhere, so going full power is no problem.
"…Sa… Santoku… Shogo…?"
While I was doing some light stretches because the hood and mask had been annoyingly stuffy, Asahi, who had collapsed to his knees in front of me, weakly lifted his face. From his confused expression, it seemed he hadn't known my name.
Well, I'm not particularly famous in the culinary world yet, and I'm not under the illusion that my name has spread across the globe. It was only natural that Asahi didn't know me.
"Sorry for crushing you for my own convenience. …But in this world, victory and defeat are everything, so accept it gracefully."
"D-Don't fuck with me! After everything I've been through, how I've lived…!"
"Hey, don't get so down. I'll fulfill your goal for you."
"…? What the hell are you—"
"What you really wanted… was 'family,' right?"
"—!? Wh-What are you… talking about?"
"No need to hide it. I've known from the start."
It was hard to talk with him collapsed on the floor, so I lightly pushed his body and made him sit on his ass. Perhaps because I had hit the wish buried deep in his heart, Asahi's face was filled with bewilderment. Sorry, but I'm about to bewilder you even more. I took out my phone and sent a signal to the subordinate waiting outside the room.
It was time for the execution I had been waiting for.
The subordinate brought in an adult man.
He was wearing a black dress shirt and black pants. His hands were bound with rope and he was blindfolded as he was thrown to the floor.
"Wh-Who is this guy…?"
"Hey, calm down. I'll explain right away. Remove the blindfold and sit him up."
The subordinate followed my instructions, completing the preparations for the execution.
I sat deeply in the chair that had been brought for me, crossed my legs, and spoke to the adult man with a pasted-on smile.
To the root of all evil—the poisonous parent, Nakiri Azami.
"Hello, Azami-san. It's been four… no, five days, hasn't it? I'm glad we could meet again like this."
"…Santoku Shogo. So it really was the Santoku family that abducted me."
"Of course. Did you really think you could conveniently run away just because you lost the Regimental Shokugeki?"
"…!"
I had already known this would happen, but when I received the report that Erina and the others in the "Rebel Alliance" had won just like in the original story, and that Azami and the Central Gastronomy Agency had been defeated, I felt a weight lift from my chest. Since this was the first time I had left a turning point to someone else, a small sliver of anxiety had probably remained in the corner of my mind.
"How did it feel to try to escape while half-naked and acting all cool, only to be caught so easily? If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to hear about it."
"…So that's your true nature. I find it far more likable than that thin smile of yours."
"Is that so? I also think your current vein-popping face is much more attractive than your composed one, Azami-san."
"Say whatever you want…!"
Ah~, that feels good~. I've been holding back for this very moment. I'd like to enjoy it a little more, but I'll let it go here. From now on, I'll make Azami taste even greater humiliation and despair.
"I don't mind you glaring at me so hard, but you should at least notice there's someone next to you. He's been watching you this whole time, Azami-san."
"…Did you capture him too? If so, then he and I are allies. We share a common enemy—you."
"Kuha! In a way, that's true. Don't make me laugh."
What the hell, Azami? You've got quite the sense of humor.
Allies, huh? The way you phrase things is impressive.
"Asahi, you're lucky. Your father is quite an interesting man."
"…Huh? What are you…?"
I tossed the document the subordinate had brought along with Azami in front of the two of them. The paper was filled with English, but the content was extremely simple.
"Wh-What the hell is this?"
"…It looks like a DNA test result report."
Both of them were reading the document they had dropped on the floor. They really were similar—in these trivial ways, you could see the blood connection.
"It's a document proving that Nakiri Azami and Saiba Asahi… in other words, that the two of you are father and son. Irrefutable evidence, you could say."
""—!?!""
Asahi reacted first. He snatched up the document as if flicked by a spring and read the text with intense focus. Azami, still bound, could only watch silently. It was so ridiculous it was funny.
"Th-This is ridiculous…! There's no way… this can be true!"
"Hey, you slept with a woman you didn't even know and had a child with her, so that reaction is a bit much, don't you think? Right, Asahi?"
"…No way. There's no way my father could be… found."
"Unfortunately, it's real. I told you, didn't I? I had spies planted. This is a genuine DNA test using your hair and Azami's. The match rate goes without saying, right? It's written right there. If you want, I have eight more pieces of evidence, but do you want to see them? Or how about showing you a photo of your mother? Even Azami-san won't be able to deny it then."
Azami told me "Stop" in an extremely dark voice, so I decided not to show the photo. That statement itself was basically an admission of his past.
"…This can't be real. This man… Nakiri Azami really is… my father…?"
His brain seemed unable to process it. Asahi stared blankly at Azami. Azami, on the receiving end of that gaze, hung his head with an expression I had never seen on him before. He finally seemed to understand his situation. There was no way I would abduct him and bring him all the way to America for no reason. It was such a hellish scene it was almost pitiful. All I can say is "Serves you right."
"Quite the moving reunion for a father and son who had been separated. I'm truly glad I could help with that, Azami-san."
"…Santoku… Shogo…!"
"—You got too cocky, Azami. You moved to remove me from the Regimental Shokugeki, but it all backfired. You should have obediently fought me in a normal Shokugeki. Because you resorted to cheap tricks, it ended up like this."
"…Kuh."
Well, I've vented enough and had my personal revenge, so I'll stop here. I'm pretty great for not resorting to violence. Peaceful resolution is always best.
"…You don't have the right to refuse anyway. You will obey, Azami-san."
"…Yes. I have been defeated. I will do as you say."
He had become surprisingly docile, perhaps because of the reunion with the son he hadn't even acknowledged. This made him easier to handle, so it was fine as is.
Since I had conquered Azami, I moved on to the next negotiation. I took out my phone and tapped the call button. The person I was contacting was the previous previous headmaster of Totsuki Academy—Nakiri Senzemon-dono.
"Ah, hello? Sorry to bother you. Do you have a moment?"
"Yes, no problem. …It seems things have concluded on your end as well."
"Yes. Everything went according to plan."
I had informed only Senzemon-dono in advance, so he had already approved of me crushing Azami. If I didn't involve the current head of the Nakiri family, negotiations would become difficult.
"I apologize for the trouble. I offer my sincere thanks, Santoku Shogo."
"No thanks are necessary. It was something I wanted to do. …Rather, there is one request I would like to make. May I?"
"A verbal agreement can be uncertain, so let's put it in writing. Does that work for you?
"Thank you, Senzemon-dono."
"I will repeat myself, but the one who should be thanking is me. You saved Erina, saved my foolish son, and saved my 'grandson' who had no choice but to live in darkness. …Thank you. Santoku Shogo."
I couldn't help but smile. He was as stiff as I thought, but even more so than I imagined. Even though it was over the phone, I could picture him bowing his head.
"I will return to the academy tomorrow, so please give my regards to Erina-san. She must be busy as the new headmaster, after all."
"Fuhahaha! How reassuring! …By the way, it seems they intend to give you the 1st Seat of the Council of Ten. Naturally, all members of the Rebel Alliance support it."
"I must decline. I don't mind becoming a member of the Council, but I cannot take the 1st Seat. The top seat should belong to those who fought until the very end. It would undermine its dignity if someone who dropped out midway took it. I recommend Yukihira Soma."
"Understood. I will convey that."
"Thank you. …Then, excuse me."
I ended the call from my side and put the phone back in my pocket.
With this, I had mostly achieved my goals. No problems, everything according to plan.
"…Well then, I'll be returning to Japan. I've left the rest to my subordinates, so please work properly. Both as a chef… and as a father."
I also untied the rope binding Azami, granting him freedom. From now on he would be under the management of the Santoku family, so he wasn't truly free, but he could think of it as punishment for the sins he had committed. I planned to adjust his degree of freedom based on how well he worked.
"Well, take care~"
"W-Wait!"
"Hm? What is it?"
I stood up from the chair and was about to leave the room when Azami stopped me. I thought he might be about to spout some sore-loser nonsense, but his expression was different. Well, I had gone this far, so I might as well let him say what he needed to feel satisfied.
"I have one last thing I want to ask! …How can you face cooking? With that much skill… why can you walk your own path…?"
"Eh? What are you talking about?"
I genuinely didn't understand, so I asked back in my normal tone. Face cooking? Walk your own path? What is this guy saying?
"…Because you pour your passion into cooking! That is why chefs wander the endless wilderness! With talent like yours… it wouldn't be strange for you to become like that person."
"I can guess who you're comparing me to, but that's a foolish question."
"F-Foolish…?"
"Your premise is completely wrong. There isn't even a fragment of passion for cooking inside me."
"Wha—!? That can't be! With cooking that incredible, how can you say you have no passion!"
"Yes, that's right. I've never seen cooking of that level before! …Cooking that made even me despair."
What the hell, you two are already in sync. It looks like father-son reconciliation will happen faster than I thought.
"…If it were you, you could even guide all chefs. You could create a paradise where no one gets hurt and no one loses their way… With your ability, you could even create a dish that would save the God's Tongue—"
"You were denied that and still lost, which is why you're here now, right? Unfortunately, I'm not interested. Isn't it wonderful that everyone can cook freely? In the end, only those who truly want to will survive. As chefs, I mean."
Especially in this world.
"Besides, what Azami-san and I are aiming for are completely different."
"Then what are you aiming for? …World domination or something?"
"Haha, why are you asking with such a straight face? That joke isn't very funny."
Such a simple thing wouldn't have required all this hardship. I want to tell him that the difficulty of conquering his daughter is bugged.
"…Well, I do have a rather difficult ambition. I'll keep working hard, so please take care of me."
"Wait! …Just one more thing. Tell me."
"This really is the last one, okay?"
It was almost time for my flight, so this had better be the final question. Once I answer this, I'm leaving immediately.
"…What… is cooking to you?"
A question loaded with all sorts of meaning came flying at me. Asahi was also waiting for the answer beside him, so this parent-son pair was a pain. What cooking means to me. The answer is simple, but… well, it's fine. There's no need to sugarcoat it. It might be a good opportunity for them to know what kind of person I am.
"To me, cooking is not something I make for others, but for myself. It is an indispensable weapon to realize my ambition, and something very, very precious—"
"—It's nothing more than a tool."
***
A/n: I have an announcement for my readers who like villain stories... I started a new fic called Reborn as Ryan in The Boys. It's about a villain surviving in The Boys universe from scratch with no system just high iq manipulation and pragmatism. You can find the story on my profile or in the recommendation below