Even though it took some annoying explaining, it's clear that the "loves little girls" label is now stuck on Hikigaya, and nothing will change that.
However, that doesn't mean Hachiman will give up the fight completely. He just needs to find another time to prove that he doesn't only like young girls.
The arrival of Isshiki Iroha and Hikigaya Komachi, on top of it being everyone's first day back at school, and even Yukinoshita Yukino officially moving into the Polar Star Dorm—these three things together mean everyone has to have a big welcome party tonight.
Of course, it's called a "welcome party," but since Isshiki Kei isn't here, it'll just be a normal get-together to chat and catch up.
Sitting together again, Komachi is still a bit shocked as she watches her brother chatting away with everyone. Just a year ago, her brother was someone who couldn't talk to people at all. But now... his eyes clearly have a goal, a personal source of strength that belongs only to him.
Anyway, Komachi is really happy to see her brother, who she's been with since they were little, change like this.
And so...
"Even though my brother used to shout things like 'May all the popular people explode,' he's become one of them now."
Hachiman: "Don't say weird things. I'm not some awful popular person!"
Komachi seems not to hear Hachiman at all. She just keeps talking under everyone's expectant gazes:
"I remember my brother used to mutter about finding a rich woman to live off of as a house husband. It's so funny to think about now."
"Hey, that was my great dream, but I don't accept charity!"
Komachi makes a 'that's how it is' face, and says softly:
"Yeah, my brother is just that kind of troublesome guy."
But, hearing the words "rich woman," some people clearly have a physical reaction.
Iroha: "But speaking of that, Hikigaya senior, Totsuki Academy isn't as strict as I thought. Like, the headmaster who gave us the new student speech today, he was saying things like, 'You are not failures of this age, just follow my steps, and you can all graduate from this school!'."
Ryoko: "Well, you guys are transfer students. That might have been the headmaster's encouragement before you came to the school."
Komachi: "Huh? Is that right? That young man was the headmaster? But based on the way the other students looked at him, something felt wrong."
Yoshino seems to be enjoying the welcome party, and is just saying whatever comes to mind:
"Komachi, you're just like your brother, always watching people for no reason. But... Headmaster, huh... young?"
"Isn't he an old guy?"
Iroha and Komachi look at each other, a bit confused.
"Old guy?"
"Isn't he pretty young..."
Hachiman: "Wait, are you guys even on the same page?"
Yukino: "I feel like something's off... Hikigaya, do you remember when we first came? I've never heard of the headmaster encouraging people. This is a really competitive school..."
Tadokoro Megumi: "Maybe we're thinking too much about it. Or maybe Komachi, you didn't see the headmaster... maybe it was a senior student or something..."
Marui: "I have a bad feeling..."
Hachiman: "It's been too peaceful lately... so peaceful that I didn't think I was at Totsuki."
Just as everyone is starting to come back to reality, they hear light steps outside the door.
Komachi: "Is that Aunt Fumio? Are we being too loud?"
Ibusaki: "No... Grandma Fumio never interrupts us at this hour, so..."
"Creak..."
As Marui's room door is opened, senior Isshiki walks in with a faint smile, wearing a formal suit:
"It's been a while since we've had a welcome party together, everyone!"
Everyone: "Welcome back."
Iroha: "Big brother..."
Hachiman: "Senior Isshiki, are you hiding something from us..."
Senior Isshiki shakes his head, sits down on the floor, grabs a paper cup, fills it with juice, and empties it in one gulp.
"Ah, that's refreshing!"
"..."
Now, even the others notice that senior Isshiki's usual smile has disappeared...
Yoshino: "Senior Isshiki, what happened!"
Isshiki Kei: "I thought this would all blow over quickly, but... things are more complicated than I thought. Starting tomorrow... this school is going to have a new change, and I... am no longer the Seventh Seat that I used to be."
Everyone: "Huh?"
Before anyone can react, Isshiki Kei says with a smile:
"Well, you guys don't need to worry about it, because I left the seat willingly. And for the past two months, I've set up some backup plans for you all."
Hachiman: "I knew there was something going on; you've looked tired recently."
Tadokoro Megumi: "Senior Isshiki, can you explain everything in greater detail..."
Isshiki Kei: "This situation is a bit complex, but basically... it was caused by Yukinoshita's older sister, Haruno, and Nakiri Erina's father, Nakiri Azami, working together."
"The specific situation is..."
...
The next day, because it's the start of a new term, they have a school-wide assembly as usual. But today is a bit different.
The white-haired old man Senzaemon isn't here; instead, the new headmaster Nakiri Azami appears. Even more surprising, there are a lot of reporters and chefs from all over the country at this assembly, which is usually only for students.
Nakiri Azami, wearing a black coat, walks step by step toward the center of the stage as all the students watch.
Nakiri Azami: "Everyone here, thank you for gathering. I am Nakiri Azami, the new headmaster elected through the overall opinions of the Totsuki Elite Ten."
"The previous headmaster, Senzaemon, made great contributions to the school. As his successor, what I need to do is continue to promote Totsuki's good traditions and provide the world with more top-quality chefs."
"Therefore, the school's rules are wrong. Not only can it only provide the world with so few chefs each year, but most of the other great chefs are buried in the past. Cooking shouldn't be like this. During my time as headmaster, I will be a cooking revolutionary and put an end to all these mistakes."
"What I want to create is a world with only correct cooking!"
Listening to Nakiri Azami's words, Yoshino grumbles under her breath:
"Tch, he's just saying a bunch of nonsense without getting to the point. He's just being vague."
Tadokoro Megumi: "If it's really like senior Isshiki said yesterday... then..."
Tadokoro Megumi looks worriedly at Hikigaya. After all, he just won first place in the Autumn Elections and even got the right to open his own business.
But, Hachiman isn't worried about any of that. As his senior, Hachiman trusts Isshiki Kei a lot. He doesn't know why, but that guy's sense of security is really comforting. It's actually Yukino beside him... and Erina, who's been missing the whole time...
'Okay, let's sort things out...'
'Nakiri Azami wants to create a school with only correct cooking and really expand that idea to the world. From now on, this so-called cooking school won't just have students; as long as your basic skills are good, even a sixty-year-old man can stay here and develop.'
'However, the cooking they teach is not new at all, just like senior Shinomiya back then. You can only follow the recipe or the teacher's instructions to simply cook. Overall, it reduces any real differences.'
'Although it increases the number of cooks somewhat... this is wrong. My dad has told me that cooking isn't about the taste on the surface; it's about the feelings inside, and all of this is just like cold machines.'
'If it were just Nakiri Azami alone, he couldn't cause such a big mess. All of this is because Yukinoshita Haruno is behind him. I really don't understand... what does that person want...'
'Is she trying to force Yukino to make a choice?'
Hachiman looks at Yukinoshita with a deep meaning, then continues to think.
'What I know now is that she used to just copy Haruno's cooking. Haruno doesn't want her little sister to go down her path, but she's still forcing her down a new path in this way... she's totally a sister complex, though I'm not really anyone to say that...'
'More importantly, Nakiri Azami would then just be a tool... Even if you overturned everything he did, as long as Haruno didn't reach her goal, there wouldn't be any progress. And what does she want? To see Yukino grow firsthand?'
'Let's put that aside for now. At this point, we can only take things one step at a time. The third-year students who should have graduated can now continue their Elite Ten seats... and senior Isshiki has given up his Seventh Seat. It's obvious that the people left in the Elite Ten have mostly become Nakiri Azami's puppets... this is going to be really troublesome.'
'And Erina, even though she's a pain, even if she's being taken advantage of, it should end here...'
Summarizing the information from senior Isshiki and Nakiri Azami, Hachiman can only take a deep breath. Even he didn't think that Totsuki Academy would change this much after Komachi enrolled.
He doesn't know when, but Yukinoshita Yukino has gently grabbed the edge of Hachiman's shirt and lowered her head. He doesn't know what she's thinking about right now.
But... she wants to change so badly, so she shouldn't be wrong.
Along with Nakiri Azami's rambling words, the school assembly ends perfectly, like a press conference.
Even though this guy wants to start a change, life can't stop. Just like Hachiman thinks, at this point, they can only take things one step at a time.
Tadokoro Megumi: "Hikigaya, we have to go to class..."
Hachiman: "Wait..."
Ryoko: "What's wrong?"
Hachiman: "I almost forgot to say: The Hikigaya Restaurant is now open. Remember to come and try it after class, and Komachi, remember to come and help."
Komachi looks surprised but can't help but complain: "The Hikigaya Restaurant!? No brother calls his sister to do hard labor so soon after school starts."
Hachiman: "Well, as the second-in-command of the Hikigaya Restaurant, you can be the number one when Dad isn't around!"
Komachi: "That makes sense."
Hachiman: "Of course, Hayama, Shiomi, Kurokiba, and the Takumi brothers, remember to come too."
...
In class, Hachiman and Yukino are still students in class A, because it's mostly top students. However, after hearing Nakiri Azami's words, clearly they haven't adjusted yet. Amid the discussions, a teacher they've never seen slowly appears before everyone.
"Alright, today's recipe is mutton tripe soup. The recipe is here. Just follow it, and there won't be any problems."
"Also, my name is Takechi. There shouldn't be any talking in class, and there shouldn't be any cooperation. Remember... cooking is your own. From today on, there won't be any group work."
Everyone is very unhappy but still does as they are told.
But...
"You with the dead fish eyes, yes, you!"
Takechi somehow appears in front of Hachiman and says stiffly:
"Who told you to add green onions at this step? Can't you read the recipe?"
Hachiman: "Though the heat at this time..."
Takechi: "You don't need to have any opinions, just follow the instructions. This is the correct cooking that Headmaster Nakiri Azami created. Correct cooking doesn't have any mistakes, got it?"
Hachiman: "I see. I really learned a lot."
Takechi: "Good. Don't let it happen again."
After this example of punishing the leader, many students have already given up and are just cooking as the recipe shows.
The last step is judging. Because all the flavors are the same, you can be considered failing, if you make any slight mistakes, and if you fail more than five times, you'll be expelled.
After class, Yukinoshita and Hachiman walk toward the 'Hikigaya Restaurant'. She clearly still doesn't understand.
"Though what you said makes more sense, why didn't you keep arguing with him?"
Hachiman shakes his head calmly:
"He's just a teacher. Even if I won, I'd just be marked as a target, and what holds us back is this so-called correct cooking. There's no point unless we overturn it."
Yukino: "What do you mean?"
Hachiman: "Remember when Marui told me that in Totsuki Academy, the power of the Elite Ten together is always greater than the headmaster's? Plus, this time they suddenly changed the headmaster. I guess it was through a vote by the Elite Ten. As long as more than half vote for it, it's done."
Yukino: "You... do you want to join the Elite Ten?! No... wait, you want to control it."
Hachiman nods: "Only this way do we have a chance to overturn everything. Actually, I've been thinking a lot. At least from the beginning, I didn't think Nakiri Azami was wrong, because the weak need to live in this world too. But... after taking one class, I finally realized that this wasn't designed for the weak to live, because as time goes on, everything will be replaced by machines. If we just blindly imitate, we'll be like you and me in the past. You understand that too, right?"
Yukino lowers her head and says softly, "Yeah," then says:
"But... it's almost impossible to control the Elite Ten... right now we have to fight all the chefs in the world. Even if you can do it... I... and in the end, there's my sister..."
Hachiman: "Well, I hate sayings like 'If you try hard enough, you'll succeed', but... I don't want results that way, so I can only work harder."
'Of course, there's another troublesome question: Right now, I have no idea what's going on with Erina... even though he's her dad.'
'Even if I can't find Erina, I can't even find her assistants or Alice... This is really a headache.'
"Anyway, let's go back to the restaurant and then discuss it."
Meanwhile, far away in Australia, Dojima Gin and Joichiro are sitting in a restaurant. Even though they haven't seen each other in years, they are still good friends. Even Dojima Gin doesn't have his usual serious look.
Dojima Gin: "So, Hikigaya Hachiman is your son!"
Joichiro: "He's interesting, right..."
Dojima Gin: "He is. Especially since he always makes weird dishes. He's just like you!"
"No, wait... the food you make is weird and dark, but he's different. I feel like every time he's about to fail, he always surprises people even more."
Joichiro: "Hahahaha, he is more careful. So, it's useful for him to have received cooking training since he was little."
Dojima Gin: "You realized his talent from the start, didn't you... it's not at all less than 'God Tongue'."
Joichiro: "But, even so, all of this now is something he has achieved it on his own."
Dojima Gin: "By the way, have you heard? That Nakamura kid seems to have gone back and built some kind of correct cooking thing, and Totsuki is a mess."
Joichiro gently raises his glass and shows a calm smile: "Don't worry, my son isn't so bad that he can't solve those little problems. Plus... I forgot to tell you, my daughter has gone there too, and though she's not as talented, she's been holding a frying pan since she was six."
Dojima Gin: "You're really something..."
...
Inside the Hikigaya Restaurant, Komachi has clearly arrived early. Like in the past, Hachiman always sees Komachi making food when he comes back from school, as the second-in-command of the kitchen.
Komachi: "Big brother, you're too slow..."
Yoshino: "Yeah, you're the one who told us to come."
Takumi: "I'm really jealous of you; you even have a small restaurant like this."
Kurokiba: "Well, Miss has a lot too."
Takumi: "It's different! It's totally different!"
Hayama Akira: "Let's not waste any time and get straight to the point. Hikigaya, what did you want to talk about?"
Hachiman: "Well, don't be in a hurry. Let's try Komachi's cooking first. It's been a long time since I've eaten it."
Shiomi Jun: "Yeah, Akira is always so impatient!"
Marui: "Wow... how is this so good!"
Komachi puts her hands on her hips and shows a proud look, with only a sharp tooth showing.
Hachiman: "Komachi, take off your apron first..."
"Everyone, you all took today's class. What did you think? Can you tell me about it?"
Tadokoro Megumi: "Although we in class B were a bit unhappy when we first heard about correct cooking, a lot of people ended up agreeing."
Ryoko: "I heard that there are even more in classes C and D. Perhaps because they're not good students, they naturally have new hope after hearing that the cooking is being united."
Kurokiba: "Well, that old woman was pointing at me, so I got angry and ignored her, and she suspended me from class for a month."
Marui: "Yeah, that's very like you, Kurokiba."
Hayama Akira: "To be honest, same here."
Shiomi Jun: "Huh? I've never heard about that!"
Isami: "Um, big brother... I was suspended from class too..."
Tadokoro Megumi: "Huh? Even gentle Isami was suspended..."
Takumi: "It's okay, Isami. What my brother does, I take responsibility for. I'll be with you."
Ibusaki: "This is clearly open resistance..."
Yukino: "How much of a headache are you guys giving everyone..."
Hachiman: "As I thought... this is where the problem with correct cooking lies..."
Isshiki Kei somehow appears and says a soft smile:
"Stealing a cook's creativity is like stealing the wings of an eagle. That's clearly not good. Hikigaya, what do you want to do?"
Hachiman: "I want to start a change like he did."
---
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