"Is that so... Shinomiya?" Fuyumi Mizuhara said, looking at the silent Kojiro Shinomiya.
"Have you stagnated at the summit after all that progress...?" Hitoshi Sekimori murmured.
Kojiro Shinomiya did not respond to any of their comments.
"Senior Shinomiya... no way! You haven't improved at all? Don't tell me... don't tell me I'm actually stronger than you now!"
From the corner, Hinako Inui let out a sudden, mocking giggle.
"Shut it, Hinako." Kojiro Shinomiya stuffed a towel into the mouth of the rattling Hinako Inui to silence her.
"So, Senior Shinomiya..." Lexon said with a smile.
"I also cast a vote for Megumi Tadokoro." Kojiro Shinomiya pulled a coin from his pocket and pressed it onto the porcelain plate in front of Megumi Tadokoro.
"I don't have to leave...?" Megumi Tadokoro murmured.
Kojiro Shinomiya glanced at her without answering her confusion. Instead, he said, "You used allspice as an ingredient to aid our digestion and protect our stomachs after days of constant tasting, didn't you?"
"Yes," Megumi Tadokoro nodded slightly.
"Well done. You aren't expelled," Kojiro Shinomiya said, giving her a rare compliment. "Work hard to stay even one day longer, even if it's in your own slow-paced way..."
Clearly, Kojiro Shinomiya had recognized Megumi Tadokoro's worth.
His mental defenses—built on working in isolation, pursuing self-perfection, and ignoring external opinions—had been shattered by her imperfect but exceptionally warm cooking.
Ignoring the joyfully weeping Megumi Tadokoro, he turned his gaze to Lexon and asked, "Freshman, what is your name?"
"Lexon."
"You can come to my restaurant for your Stagiaire," Kojiro Shinomiya said, turning his back to Lexon.
"I'll consider it, Senior Shinomiya," Lexon replied.
"Don't go to his place. Come to mine," Fuyumi Mizuhara interjected.
"My restaurant is open to you as well. You're very welcome," Hitoshi Sekimori invited.
"Oh! My restaurant would be delighted to have you!" Donato Gotoda added.
"I'll give it serious thought," Lexon smiled.
'If I'm still in this world by then...'
"Tch... you guys..." Shinomiya muttered, annoyed that the others had jumped in after his invitation.
"Alright, that's enough for today... We can discuss the Stagiaire later," Gin Dojima said, clapping his hands to stop the graduates from fighting over the student. However, a moment later, he leaned in and whispered to Lexon, "The Totsuki Resort is actually your best choice."
His attempt at whispering was poor; almost everyone heard him.
"Hey! Mr. Dojima!" the others protested his head start.
The graduates didn't stay long after that, except for Gin Dojima, who remained briefly because Lexon had some minor cooking questions and because he had some business of his own.
After Lexon threw out a few random questions he knew and received simple answers, Gin Dojima asked him, "How long have you been studying culinary arts?"
His tone was serious, and his expression was exceptionally steady.
'How long...?'
'How should I answer that?'
Lexon pondered.
"Lexon has only been studying cooking for about three months!" the outspoken Soma Yukihira answered before Lexon could.
"Three months?" Gin Dojima's brow furrowed.
He was utterly astonished.
He had only asked because of Lexon's delicate hands and certain elements reflected in his cooking.
But he hadn't expected such a response.
'This level of skill in just three months?'
'What kind of monster is he...?'
Even an average freshman at Totsuki Academy had at least five years of experience.
Even prodigies like Soma Yukihira and Erina Nakiri had been learning and practicing for a very long time.
"I had some exposure to it before," Lexon said calmly.
By exposure, he meant touching master chefs to gain a bit of their skill.
Before that, he had barely cooked a few times.
His knife skills were mostly a byproduct of using swords so much in the Demon Slayer world.
"I see... that would at least make it more plausible..."
"Chef Dojima... he really had almost zero contact with cooking before. It truly has only been three months," Erina Nakiri suddenly cut in.
"..."
Gin Dojima looked at Lexon, speechless.
If it was true, it was a bit hard to swallow.
'What a monster. Is he even human?'
'Is he cheating?'
Lexon didn't offer any further explanation. It was the truth, after all.
Letting Dojima realize this would also increase Lexon's weight in the mind of this heavy hitter.
This way, he might be able to keep reaping benefits from the man after the Training Camp ended.
"Why the sudden question?" Lexon asked back.
He was curious why Gin Dojima had brought it up.
"First, your hands don't look like a chef's hands at all," Dojima said.
"True," Lexon agreed.
"Furthermore... it's your cooking..." Dojima looked at the dish Lexon had prepared.
Only then did Lexon notice that Gin Dojima hadn't actually finished the dish Lexon served him.
Even though the other graduates had licked their plates clean...
"Is there a problem?" Lexon asked.
"The imprints of others are far too obvious," Dojima replied in a low voice.
'Did he see through it?'
'His level is indeed high... Gin Dojima...'
"Because of that?" Lexon asked again.
"Yes. Your cooking is composed almost entirely of things belonging to others... It doesn't look like the work of a chef who has practiced for years, which is why I asked."
Gin Dojima stared at Lexon and continued, "In your cooking, I can taste the styles of many different people, but there is no central core... You must have been imitating others' cooking all this time. Still, achieving this much success through imitation in just three months speaks volumes about your talent."
"However."
"If you continue like this, you are destined never to reach the peak."
"I see..." Lexon considered the advice.
The perspective of a top-tier chef wasn't something to ignore.
"The main reason you beat Shinomiya was that he presented his dish first. When the judges compared yours to his immediately after, yours tasted much better on the surface, so the deeper flaws were easily overlooked... But once those deeper elements are scrutinized, it will be fatal for you."
Gin Dojima spoke his mind fully, not just because of the information Lexon had given him earlier, but because he saw Lexon as a culinary genius. Out of respect for that talent, he didn't hold back his guidance.
'In other words...'
'Stuffing a hodgepodge of stolen Chef's Hearts and intents into a dish will still be seen through by top chefs.'
That was how Lexon interpreted Dojima's words.
'Then in the future, I shouldn't just put one person's Chef's Intent into a dish, or I should consider how to blend and balance these elements better.'
"Thank you for the advice, Mr. Dojima. I'll give it a lot of thought," Lexon said with a smile.
"Good," Dojima nodded. He chatted briefly about how Lexon had spotted Shinomiya's flaws—Lexon simply replied that "Megumi's cooking just felt tastier"—before taking his leave.
"Lexon... thank you... for making sure Soma and I didn't get expelled," Megumi Tadokoro said as she approached to express her gratitude.
Lexon nodded slightly, accepting her thanks.
His actions were indeed intended to help her.
It could be considered a move to strengthen their bond.
Perhaps he could use that as a foundation to revive someone later.
"Thanks, Lexon!" Soma Yukihira also thanked him.
Honestly, he had been a bit panicked at the thought of being expelled earlier.
After all, he had talked big about reaching the top together with Lexon. If he had failed to follow through, he would have definitely felt regret.
"You really are something!" Erina Nakiri still couldn't quite accept Lexon's sudden intervention.
Moreover, he had accomplished something she thought was impossible.
'The more I think about it, the more I can't stand it.'
'Does he refuse to Shokugeki with me because he really thinks I'm too weak?'
'Damn it...'
Once that thought took root, Erina Nakiri, who had always prided herself on being a genius, felt a wave of frustration.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]