The Perfect Grade Gundam kits gleamed under the spotlights: Strike Freedom, Justice, Astray, and more. Akira's eyes widened.
Perfect Grades.
The holy grail of Gundam fans. Rare, expensive, and absurdly detailed, each one demanded time, patience, and precision to assemble. Now, right before him, was a full Gundam SEED set offered as a prize.
In his previous life, building Gunpla model sets had been one of Akira's favorite hobbies.
One time, he even tried to create his own Gundam, but the government rejected his proposal, deeming it too impractical.
But that didn't stop him from dreaming, he always dreamed that one day he would make his own Gundam.
But that dream never came to pass in his previous life, he died before that happened.
In this life, he found magic, which took all of his attention, and he slowly lost interest in mecha.
But now, looking at these PG Gundam kits, his love for mecha reignited, and he wanted to reach out to it, without waiting, so he made a decision.
"Mother," he said suddenly, turning to Yuki. "Let me enter the competition."
"What?" said both Yuki and Erika at the same time, staring at him in surprise.
"What do you mean you're going to enter? This is a cooking competition, not a magic competition. Why do you even want to compete here?" Yuki asked him in confusion. She never expected this development at all.
"Exactly what I said, mother, and there is only one reason I am going to compete in this competition, one of the first prize, the Perfect Grade Gundam model kits. I have always wanted one", Akira replied to Yuki, with a serious expression.
"If you wanted one, can't we just buy it for you? Why go through all this? You've never cooked anything before. How are you even planning to win this?" she asked with a confused expression, because she knew her son well, he had never cooked anything in his life, and she couldn't understand why couldn't they just buy a toy if he wanted one.
Even Erika's expression twisted in shock. "Wait… you don't know how to cook?"
She had assumed he had some culinary skill when he suddenly insisted on competing. Now she had no idea what he was thinking.
"I know, Mother. I know we could just buy one," Akira said, his tone unusually solemn. "But… for some reason, I feel like I have to join this competition. It's like the Force is calling me."
He wasn't even sure why Gundam model kits were being offered as prizes in a cooking contest of all things, but somehow, it felt like destiny.
But his mother only stared at him in a deadpan expression, silently telling him to tell her his true intention.
Akira sighed. "Okay, okay. I just thought it would be fun, alright? I've never done anything like this before. Can I at least try?"
And with that… he unleashed it.
The dreaded secret technique: 'Puppy-Eyes Persuasion'.
An ultimate charm art that has been passed down among children since ancient times. Taught to him by his father as a last-resort technique.
With his cute angelic face and shimmering purple eyes, Akira executed the technique flawlessly. He looked up at his mother with a pure, innocent gaze that could pierce steel.
It was super effective.
Even Erika, who wasn't the target, took a crit straight to the heart and instantly looked away in a fluster.
Yuki faltered. "…Fine. I'll talk to your father and get you registered."
"Yay! Thanks, Mother! You are the best," Akira grinned and hugged her on the spot.
"But," Yuki added, regaining composure, "you still don't know how to cook. And just so you know, magic is prohibited. If you're serious about this… you'll have to win with your own skill."
"Don't worry, Mother, I won't cheat. Besides, I watched plenty of cooking shows with you. If I can just copy what they did, I can cook, right?" Akira replied with a confident smile.
It was true, Akira had never cooked a meal in either of his lives. In his past life, there were always others to handle things like food. Still, for fun, he had watched countless YouTube cooking channels. He might not have practiced, but he understood the theory. To him, cooking was nothing more than another science experiment, follow the steps, get the result. Simple.
"By the way, what's the theme? And how long until it starts?" he asked.
Yuki thought for a bit, then answered, "Hmm... I think the theme is fast foods, and it starts in thirty minutes. What are you going to do?"
"Fast foods and thirty minutes? That's easy. I just need to learn how to cook fast foods in thirty minutes," Akira replied with an absolutely serious expression.
"What!? That's impossible!" Erika nearly shouted. "How can anyone learn to cook and win a competition in just thirty minutes?!"
Yuki didn't say anything at first. She knew better. Akira's ability to learn was nothing short of supernatural. She had watched him master things in hours that took others years. If he said he could do it, she believed him.
"Well, if you say so," she said finally. "I'll talk to your father. You just focus on learning how to cook."
"Thank you, Mother!" Akira beamed, already pulling out his phone to search for cooking tutorials.
He remembered so many techniques from his past life. But this was Tōtsuki, the most elite culinary school in the world. Even a kids' competition here wouldn't be easy, and he wasn't going to underestimate his opponents.
Sure, he could've just asked his parents to buy the Gundam kit for him. But that wasn't the point. In his last life, he never got to try things like this. Now that he had a second chance, he wanted to experience everything, big or small. This competition wasn't just about winning a prize. It was about having fun.
"Yuki-san... do you really think Akira can learn how to cook in thirty minutes?" Erika whispered, still doubtful.
"Don't worry, Erika-chan," Yuki said with a small smile. "For him, it's not impossible."
She turned back to her phone and made a call to Akira's father, feeling a strange warmth in her chest. For the first time, her son was focused on something entirely mundane, and she was proud.
"Let's see how it goes," she thought, watching him scroll through recipe videos like he was planning world domination.