Shinomiya Kojiro

"Then, Gin-senpai, please continue soaking at your leisure. I’ll be taking my leave first."

Rising from the pool, Xu Yue waved to Dojima Gin, who had fallen into thought, before heading for the changing room.

Dojima Gin, still in the pool, was still considering what Xu Yue had said earlier.

That brat Nakiri Azami…

He was about to stir something up…

Humming a tune as she changed into her yukata and happily made her way toward the baths, Erina Nakiri wore a relaxed, delighted expression.

The difficulty of Hell Camp posed no challenge whatsoever to her as one of the current Elite Ten.

It would be best if that bothersome Yukihira Soma could be eliminated.

"Lady Erina Nakiri seems to be in quite a good mood. You’re even humming a little tune."

A somewhat familiar voice came from ahead, and Erina Nakiri instantly reined in every expression like a cat with its fur standing on end. No way—someone had actually seen her?

Confident in her own abilities, Erina Nakiri had assumed she would definitely be the first to finish the task and come out. This should have been an empty area, which was why she had relaxed enough to let her emotions show a little.

Yet who would have thought that she would be overheard after only humming a couple of lines?

What a blunder. She had never expected anyone else to be here, so she had let her guard down!

Looking up, she saw Xu Yue walking toward her, also dressed in a yukata and carrying that refreshing air of someone who had just bathed.

It was him…

The guy who had defeated Mito. There had also been rumors that he possessed the "God Tongue."

Ever since that Food Wars! match, Erina Nakiri had planned to investigate him. But the more she looked into him, the more incomprehensible he became. Less than ten days before enrolling, he had definitely been nothing more than a wastrel young master who only knew how to squander money and could do nothing else.

Then, all of a sudden, he had enrolled after displaying astonishing culinary talent and skill. His real estate company had also begun moving into the food service industry, acquiring several chain stores.

She simply could not make sense of it.

If someone claimed that he had only formally started learning cooking less than ten days before enrolling, Erina Nakiri would never believe it. She was more inclined to think he was a young gourmet heir who knew how to enjoy life.

He wanted to cook suitable dishes for himself, while conveniently branching into the food service industry.

"Hey, milady, what are you staring at? You look completely spellbound."

Xu Yue’s words successfully pulled Erina Nakiri back from her inner thoughts. Only then did she realize that while spacing out, she had been staring blankly at the lower half of his yukata.

Her face instantly reddened. Then her true nature took over again, and she began repeatedly slapping the wall beside her as she said,

"What? Do you have some objection?"

Her entire figure had turned chibi.

"Not at all. Milady is quite cute, so of course I have no complaints."

Xu Yue smiled casually, then pointed at the glimpse of scenery exposed by the loosely tied middle of her yukata. Erina Nakiri hurriedly covered herself, blushing.

She had originally wanted to call him a pervert, but then sadly realized that she had been the one staring at him first. It was hard to say who the real pervert was.

With an angry huff, she walked around Xu Yue and prepared to go soak in the hot spring. She had been in such a good mood, and she had not held much of a grudge against this transfer student, but now she realized that every transfer student really was this awful!

"Hey, Lady Erina Nakiri, if there’s a chance, could you teach me some techniques for using the God Tongue?"

With his back to the indignantly departing Erina Nakiri, Xu Yue called out one final question.

"No!"

Erina Nakiri refused without the slightest hesitation.

"That’s quite troubling. Looks like I’ll have to settle this with a Food Wars! match next time."

Xu Yue seemed to sigh helplessly, then started walking toward the rooms as well, heading in the opposite direction.

"Hmph, wait until you—"

Erina Nakiri did not even turn her head as she began to say something, only to suddenly realize that something was off.

She abruptly turned around, but Xu Yue had already passed the corner ahead and vanished from sight.

That direction led to the rooms!

Had he just returned from soaking in the hot spring?

She had only just finished her task! Yet he had not only completed his task, but had even finished bathing already?

How was that possible?!

This transfer student…

That evening, everyone from Polar Star Dormitory gathered in Marui’s room to PARTY again.

After all, that Glasses guy Marui was the one who kept his room the cleanest.

They discussed what they had learned that day, then cooked together and ate and drank to their hearts’ content.

Xu Yue also took the opportunity to absorb and learn more. For him, every moment was an improvement…

The next day, in another cooking classroom.

A handsome man with pink hair and glasses stood at the podium.

Shinomiya Kojiro!

He had once held the first seat among the Elite Ten, the culinary king of Totsuki Academy in his era!

He was also the one who, on the first day of camp, had killed a chicken to scare the monkeys by expelling a student simply because of hair gel.

"This is really bad. It’s Chef Shinomiya."

"Yesterday, as many as thirty people were expelled from the group he was in charge of!"

"God, how could our luck be this terrible?"

"…"

As the students below watched Shinomiya Kojiro begin his introduction at the podium, their faces all fell.

This assessment determined whether they could continue studying here, so naturally many people had inquired about each instructor’s preferences yesterday.

Without a doubt, Shinomiya Kojiro was the hardest type to deal with.

For example, although Inui Hinako had been rather devious and enjoyed teasing people yesterday, not many groups had failed to pass after multiple attempts.

But Shinomiya Kojiro had expelled over thirty people from a group of forty or fifty. That was a little excessive.

Yesterday had only been the first day of camp!

"Hello, everyone. It seems you all already know who I am. Don’t worry, my assessment is actually not difficult. It’s just a dish I designate, and the method for preparing it is written in the recipe book in your hands."

As the students hurriedly opened their recipe books, they found the name "Nine Vegetable French Jelly" written inside. It was a dish created by Shinomiya Kojiro himself.

Nine vegetables had to be blended together, achieving a balance of flavors without erasing the characteristics of any one vegetable or allowing any particular one to stand out too much.

There was no question that this was quite difficult even for Totsuki students.

"This is already one of my simplest recipes. If anyone wants something more difficult, you may speak to me."

Shinomiya Kojiro wore a handsome, charming smile, but his words made people want to punch him.

"Xu Yue, we’ll have to rely on you again this time."

"We have no idea how to make this last-minute dish."

Glasses and Blondie hurriedly sought out Xu Yue, trying to cling to his thigh.

"No problem. Trust in my abilities. Follow me, and I guarantee you’ll pass."

Xu Yue readily agreed, moving the two Reincarnators deeply. This guy was absolutely one of the easiest natives to get along with. He was their benefactor!

However, Shinomiya Kojiro’s next words instantly sent the two of them crashing into the abyss.

"Today, there will be no groups. Every person must present a dish."

Shinomiya Kojiro’s divine assist let Xu Yue hear the sound of two hearts breaking.

Then C-Rank Plot Points ×2 landed in his hands.

It had to be said that this was indeed a difficult dish if its recipe required Plot Points to learn. What Shinomiya Kojiro had brought out this time was no easy task.

Xu Yue now had a better understanding of how the Space priced its recipes.

The Plot Point cost was mainly determined by the recipe’s inherent difficulty and the magnitude of the bonus gained from the finished dish, not its flavor alone.

For example, the recipes those two had learned yesterday at the cost of B-Rank missions had the effect of increasing mental ability recovery speed.

If it were merely treated as a single-state skill, then it naturally would not be worth the price of several B-Rank missions. But this was a buff that did not overlap with any other status effects, and it could also be used on other people!

Making a whole table of dishes for the team’s Magic-users before a group battle would provide benefits far exceeding a B-Rank enhancement ability. It could also be used to farm favorability with story characters, so the price was not actually expensive.

Unfortunately, while the price had reached that level, whether the flavor could satisfy the instructor’s standards was another matter. Hopefully Shinomiya Kojiro-senpai would give me a few more assists…

"Talking to exchange information or giving guidance is forbidden during this cooking session. Choose your ingredients from the ones at the back yourselves. There aren’t many available, so if you’re slow, you’ll only get the worst ones."

At the end, Shinomiya Kojiro announced these competitive rules, filled with the feeling of survival of the fittest…

Two updates complete!

The dish bonuses had actually been mentioned back when Yukihira Soma made Imitation Crispy Roast Meat in the first storyline of this arc. The bonus effects were not particularly large, but they were entirely separate.