The sudden change in the mood around her left Tadokoro a bit lost. She looked at Hikigaya with worry and said,
"Hikigaya, since you were able to pass the entrance exam, that means you're really skilled too. It's just… just that… you don't know much about this school yet."
Hikigaya didn't expect Tadokoro to speak up for him when everyone else was trying to push him down. He was clearly surprised, because he knew human nature too well—even someone called a close friend could turn against you in an instant.
And knowing that, Hikigaya normally couldn't be bothered to argue with anyone. But Tadokoro's action still felt strange to him.
They had only just met, not even classmates in the real sense, let alone friends. He had never done her any favors, and she had no reason to help him at all. Yet even so, she still chose to stand on the side of someone who was basically a stranger.
Another student sneered, "Tadokoro, instead of worrying about someone else, why don't you worry about yourself? If I'm not mistaken, after this exam ends, you'll be packing up and going home, right? Hahahahaha!"
Hearing her classmates' mocking, she grew even more flustered. Her already shaky words caught in her throat, and she looked like she was about to cry.
Hikigaya let out a quiet sigh. Since she had spoken up for him, he couldn't just sit back and do nothing.
He gave a mocking smile of his own. "I don't know where you guys get this confidence from, but your class leader, Hayama Hayato, is also a transfer student, in a way. If you think transfer students should drop out, then Hayama, looks like your time's almost up too."
By shifting the focus, Hachiman smoothly directed all the attention toward Hayama. And with Hayama, he felt no pressure at all.
Hayama, however, kept his calm smile, as if he already understood Hikigaya's personality. He didn't say anything.
The noisy classroom quickly fell silent. After all, if they denied transfer students, that would mean denying Hayama himself. And the truth was, their cooking still wasn't at the level of a transfer student.
Hachiman hadn't stood up for Tadokoro out of any special feeling. The real reason was that he didn't want her to get dragged in further. Once this temporary partnership was over, she would be free of this mess.
So… it was nothing more than a simple partnership.
At least, that's what Hachiman told himself. He didn't realize that Tadokoro's eyes had been fixed on him, unable to look away.
At the same time, Hachiman noticed the two who had stirred up trouble earlier were now staring at them with unfriendly looks. If he wasn't careful, there might be more trouble later.
The classroom sank into a silence it had never felt before. Of course, all thanks to Hachiman. But he didn't think of it as a bad thing. On the contrary, this kind of silence made it easier for him to calmly analyze the situation.
Just then, as the room grew silent, a middle-aged man who looked close to fifty, with a head of golden hair, slowly walked in.
"Good afternoon, young apprentices."
"Good afternoon…" all the students greeted in unison.
His expression was serious as he looked around at everyone. Then, with a heavy tone, he spoke,
"From the moment you step into the kitchen, you take on the responsibility of creating fine dishes. This has nothing to do with your experience or your position. In my class, if your dish doesn't earn an A, it will be given an E."
"Remember this well. That's how my class works."
"Ha?!"
"No way!"
"Impossible... that's an A... I've never even done an A before..."
"They say the ingredients needed to make something worthy of an A are among the best in Totsuki Academy."
"Hahaha, it's fine, getting an E once isn't a big deal. But someone's in trouble now."
Hearing everyone's words, Hachiman asked with some confusion,
"Is getting an A really that hard?"
Maybe it was because she had already made up her mind, or maybe because of the encouragement from Hikigaya earlier, but Megumi Tadokoro didn't look discouraged at all. Facing Hikigaya's question, she tried her best to stay calm as she said,
"At Totsuki Academy, every dish is graded. For a first-year student to get an A, even after all these years, only a handful have managed it. But even so... I won't give up. I've already decided to go all out."
"I see..."
"The teacher's name is Roland Chapelle. His grading is famous for being strict. Last year, there was even a whole class that all got an E, and 18 students ended up dropping out."
"No wonder the graduation rate here is so low..."
"And that's not all. Normally, when people eat delicious food, they can't help but smile happily. But no one has ever seen Chapelle smile. That's why he has a nickname, 'The Chef Who Never Smiles.'" As she said this, Megumi Tadokoro's legs were already trembling uncontrollably. Even though she tried her best not to think about dropping out, she still couldn't overcome the fear in her body.
When she thought about the promise she once made, her parents and grandparents waiting at home with high hopes, her younger siblings who looked up to her... just thinking of all this made Megumi tremble even more.
She didn't want to let them down, and she didn't want to drop out here.
With things looking hopeless, many students gave up fighting. Most of them just wanted to get through the semester as best as they could.
But... this was only the beginning.
Chapelle slowly turned around and wrote the recipe and cooking steps on the blackboard.
"Today's menu is Beef Bourguignon. It's a basic French dish, but I'll write the recipe on the board just in case. The time limit is two hours. Groups that finish can hand it in."
"Well then... let's begin."
With that, the restless students exploded into action.
For those who had tasted this dish before, aiming for an A wasn't impossible. For example, Hayama Hayato only glanced at the recipe once before instantly starting.
His skilled knife work and rapid movements quickly set the pace for the whole class, and many others joined in the cooking frenzy.
Meanwhile, on Hachiman's side...
"What the heck is this?"