"You've been busy all morning. You should take a short break."
Jaden looked at Erina, who was still occupied, and spoke.
On his way to the kitchen, he had already seen that the buffet area was being wrapped up. The private rooms had stopped serving dishes. All outstanding orders had been completed.
Erina had been busy since morning.
When Jaden arrived in the kitchen, he saw it clearly.
Fatigue.
And joy.
Both were written on the girl's face.
Then, when she noticed Jaden, Erina-despite having already taken off her chef's hat-picked up her knife anyway.
"I still have some ingredients left. I haven't started cleaning everything up yet."
She paused briefly.
"You probably came straight here without eating lunch, right... Cooking a meal just for you isn't a problem."
Jaden pulled a chair over, straddled it, and leaned against the backrest.
He watched Erina cook.
And then he stopped talking.
He waited like that.
Erina didn't speak either.
But as Jaden watched her, he still noticed something.
Her ears were faintly red.
Even so, it didn't affect her movements.
Not at all.
Before long, Erina placed a plate of Italian pasta in front of him.
High-grade ingredients.
Carefully arranged.
Jaden picked up his fork, twirled the noodles, and took a bite.
Then-
He paused.
This wasn't the first time he had eaten this pasta.
But compared to the last time.
And the time before that.
There were subtle adjustments in the flavor.
"You..."
Jaden looked up at Erina.
She had already sat down across from him, arms crossed, head turned away, clearly avoiding eye contact.
"The first time I cooked for you, you finished this Italian pasta the fastest," Erina said. "The second time, you paired it with something spicy."
She spoke steadily.
"You seem to prefer spicy food, so I adjusted the recipe slightly."
She finished explaining.
Then she glanced back at Jaden.
Her face was a little red.
She spoke awkwardly.
"But don't get the wrong idea! I still owe you a year's worth of meals. If you felt uncomfortable eating my cooking during this year, that would be an insult to my abilities!"
Hearing this, Jaden let out a rare, light laugh.
"But I haven't said anything yet."
"You-Hmph!"
Erina turned her head away again.
Jaden didn't say anything more.
He quietly finished everything on the plate.
After a short silence, Erina slid a glass of water toward him.
"Thank you."
Jaden was a little thirsty.
After taking a sip, he slowly looked at Erina.
"It looks like I'll have to find excuses to have Shokugeki with you often."
He spoke calmly.
"Forget one year. My palate has already been spoiled by you in just these few days."
"Then let's have Shokugeki whenever we have the chance."
Erina replied without thinking.
"It's fine every day, as long as I'm free."
The words left her mouth-
And only then did she realize what she had just said.
That made it sound like she wanted to cook for Jaden every day.
So she immediately corrected herself.
"What I mean is-"
"Even if you're using that strange ability of yours to gain the upper hand now, sooner or later, my cooking will surpass it!"
Erina had more or less adapted to Jaden's ability by now.
She didn't find it particularly strange anymore.
After all, her God's Tongue was one thing.
But her grandfather's Clothing Severance couldn't be explained scientifically either.
Compared to that, Jaden's ability was not impossible to accept.
Hearing her words, Jaden raised an eyebrow.
"Honestly, at first I thought you'd call it a crooked path or something once you learned about my ability."
He looked at her.
"But you accepted it surprisingly quickly."
Erina blinked.
She looked at Jaden with clear confusion.
"Why would you think that!?"
"How could I say something like that? Those are the lines of a defeated dog!"
"If I said that, it would mean I've surrendered!"
Her expression changed.
"I will not surrender."
Her tone was firm.
There was a smile on her lips.
But her eyes burned with fire.
"Whether it's a strange ability, cooking skill refined to a shocking degree, or never-before-seen peculiar ingredients-"
"These things may defeat me temporarily."
"But in the end, I will surpass them with my skill!"
She straightened unconsciously.
"-I am Erina Nakiri!"
Proud.
Confident.
Elegant.
Except when facing her father, who had left deep psychological scars, Erina always maintained this attitude toward cooking.
That was probably why she was strong.
Seeing her like this, even someone as lazy as Jaden felt a faint fire ignite in his chest.
Then-
It went out.
After all, if chronic laziness could be cured just by being influenced by a passionate person, then this stubborn illness would have gone extinct long ago.
"In that case," Jaden said, "do your best."
"I don't need you to cheer me on!"
"...Should I be arrogant instead, then?"
Jaden tilted his head slightly.
"For example-go ahead and work hard, and then feel despair."
"Because even if you manage to snatch one victory from me after a very long time-"
"You might already owe me one hundred years."
"Or even one thousand years of cooking by then."
"Something like that."
"You..."
Erina instinctively wanted to retort.
But to her shock-
She couldn't find a single word to refute him.
That realization made her angry.
And frustrated.
She clenched her teeth and glared at Jaden's half-smiling face.
As expected...
-This guy's personality is awful to a despair-inducing degree.
...
Toyo Electric Headquarters.
Hayami Katsumasa picked up a document, read it once, and casually tossed it onto the coffee table.
His face was already ugly.
Now, with his expression, it became even uglier.
"That incompetent Etsuya Eizan..."
He sneered.
"I thought he could serve his purpose as a dark piece."
"But now, because of his own problems, his future path has basically been cut off."
Originally, Hayami Katsumasa had bought Etsuya Eizan over with promises of profit.
But now-
Ninety percent of Eizan's future income belonged to Jaden.
The benefits Hayami Katsumasa had given and promised were no longer secure.
Moreover-
The Shokugeki Management Bureau was currently investigating and tallying Eizan's assets and influence.
A full investigation would take time.
But if they completed it thoroughly-
There was a chance Totsuki would notice Eizan's connection to him.
Therefore-
Even though it wasn't his original intention, Hayami Katsumasa had no choice.
He needed to use other methods.
Methods that would create trouble for Totsuki.
Methods that would prevent Totsuki's attention from lingering on Etsuya Eizan.
"Directly attacking Totsuki isn't possible yet..."
Hayami Katsumasa tapped his fingers lightly.
"Hmm."
"Send Meguro to Totsuki Resort."
He paused.
"But have Meguro make a move in the name of a Kengan match."
He turned to his subordinate.
"You know how to do that, right?"
The subordinate nodded immediately.
"I understand, President!"
Find Advance chapters
And for More Fan fiction
👇
👇
[Support link: pat reon.com/RioRaRyu]
------------
More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 250 power stones = Bonus Chapter
Give me more Power Stones
------------