"Mr. Dojima, you aren't a judge right now... you don't have the right to vote. And as for the freshman, this is none of your business," he continued.
"I simply happen to prefer this dish more..." Gin Dojima explained.
"Are you kidd—"
"Lexon, do you have something to say too?"
Dojima cut Shinomiya off before he could finish.
He asked Lexon with a hint of curiosity.
He hadn't expected this student to act so suddenly.
"Ah... I just feel like..." Lexon's voice trailed off as he looked at Kojiro Shinomiya with a calm gaze and a smile. "I might be able to make this exact same dish better than you, Senior Shinomiya."
"You brat, what did you just say!?" Kojiro Shinomiya couldn't believe a student would say something so arrogant. His face twitched as he stepped closer to Lexon, staring him down.
'Make the same dish better than me?'
'Does this kid have any idea how long I've fought for my place in the Parisian culinary world?'
'To say something so brazen! He's basically saying my cooking is inferior.'
'This kid...'
Erina Nakiri was stunned. She reflexively tugged on Lexon's sleeve, signaling him to watch his words.
'Lexon...' Megumi Tadokoro felt he was standing up for her. She was touched but worried. She had already dragged Soma into this mess; if she dragged Lexon down too, she would never forgive herself...
She wanted to speak up and stop him.
But before she could, Gin Dojima spoke.
"Lexon, you shouldn't throw around words like that..." Clearly, even Dojima felt Lexon's statement was a bit much.
However, he was curious about why Lexon was so confident.
'He's clearly tasted Shinomiya's cooking, yet he still made such a claim...'
The other Totsuki alumni watched the arrogant student with curiosity, waiting for him to continue.
"I really can do it," Lexon replied with a smile. "Just bear with me while I give a little performance."
He walked past the crowd and headed toward the cooking station.
No one stopped him, as they all wanted to see if his skills matched his bravado.
The techniques he had obtained from Kojiro Shinomiya included the method for this very dish...
Along with the sensory data from 'God's Tongue' and 'God's Nose' after tasting the original...
Plus the high-level 'Taste Upgrade' skill he had obtained from Gin Dojima...
And everything else he had accumulated through his sign-ins...
Even if it was the cooking of a former First Seat...
Lexon was confident he could outdo it.
As for why he was doing this...
It wasn't primarily to help Megumi, but to increase his value in the eyes of these alumni, especially Gin Dojima.
Actually, that wasn't quite it either... he just felt like wiping that look off Kojiro Shinomiya's face.
"Please, have a taste."
Once finished, Lexon brought out several portions of a dish nearly identical to Shinomiya's and placed them on the table.
"This presentation... it's almost exactly like Shinomiya's..." Fuyumi Mizuhara looked at the cabbage rolls on the plate, surprised.
And... the aroma...
There was an incredibly rich, fresh scent...
She couldn't help but notice the fragrance wafting into her nose.
It was different from Shinomiya's...
The appearance and smell passed the test...
But what about the taste?
Neither Fuyumi Mizuhara, Gin Dojima, nor the other alumni refused to taste Lexon's dish.
They were all curious to see if this student could truly surpass Kojiro Shinomiya using the same recipe.
They picked up their cutlery, cut a piece, and put it in their mouths.
"This flavor!" Gin Dojima's eyes widened. He stared at the plate, his voice betraying a shock that broke his usual composure.
"It really is more delicious than Shinomiya's!" Fuyumi Mizuhara added.
"Oh~ Is this really a dish a student can make?" Donato Gotoda praised in his peculiar tone.
"Incredibly delicate technique, flavors melting and overlapping... like waves, one layer after another..." Hitoshi Sekimori couldn't help but close his eyes, savoring the profound mysteries of the food.
"Let me try, let me try!" Seeing their reactions, Hinako Inui rushed forward and used her fork to snag a piece of the dish from in front of Mizuhara.
"It really is delicious!" Hinako Inui's face flushed. She looked at Lexon in shock. "Your cooking before wasn't like this..."
She remembered the dish she had tasted from him yesterday.
While it was incredibly tasty, it wasn't on the same level as this.
"Senior Shinomiya... you should try it too... a student's cooking is actually better than yours!" Hinako Inui called out to the grim-faced Kojiro Shinomiya.
"Hmph." Shinomiya snorted coldly, picked up fresh cutlery, and unceremoniously took a piece from Dojima's plate.
He chewed slowly.
A fresh fragrance mingled with various rich scents. Every ingredient seemed to come alive, painting a pink filter over his consciousness as they danced joyfully.
"It shouldn't be... my combination was supposed to be the optimal solution..." Feeling both mental and physical pleasure, Shinomiya murmured to himself, questioning his reality.
It was the same process... the same ingredients...
Why was the dish this kid made more delicious than his own?
'And he's... just a student...'
Shinomiya felt a surge of frustration.
Even though he hadn't used his specialty dish... being defeated on the same recipe was an undeniable fact.
An indisputable truth.
"Senior Shinomiya, she was right... your cooking really isn't as good as his!" Hinako Inui chimed in mischievously from the side.
"Hinako..." Shinomiya glared at her, grabbed her by the head, and hauled her away to stop her from being a nuisance.
"I was only telling the truth..." Hinako muttered, her body swaying as she sat tied up in a bundle in the corner.
"You kid..." After returning to the counter, Shinomiya focused his gaze on Lexon.
"What is it, Senior Shinomiya?" Lexon replied, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
"Heh..." Shinomiya turned his head away and started walking toward the door.
After a few steps, his voice drifted back lightly.
"I lose this time. They don't have to be expelled."
At those words, Soma Yukihira and Megumi Tadokoro looked at each other, the joy evident in their eyes.
"Wait, Senior Shinomiya," Lexon called out to stop him.
"What now?" Shinomiya looked back, clearly annoyed.
"I didn't have a Shokugeki with you, so there is no winner or loser..."
"So, what are you trying to say?" Shinomiya frowned.
"I mean this." Lexon suddenly produced a dish.
It was...
Soma, Megumi, Erina, and even the alumni instantly recognized that plate.
It was the dish Megumi Tadokoro had made earlier.
Aside from Gin Dojima, who stood with his arms crossed and wore a mysterious smile, everyone else was completely bewildered.
"You're..."
"Just taste it and you'll understand."
Lexon cut Shinomiya off before he could finish.
Shinomiya's brow furrowed even deeper.
"Taste it, Shinomiya," Dojima added.
"Even you..." Shinomiya was taken aback. Then, without a word, he used a knife to cut into Megumi's Rainbow Terrine and lifted a piece to his mouth.
He chewed.
'This is...'
Shinomiya's expression shifted instantly.
This gentle, caring Chef's Heart...
It reminded him of his mother, who used to wait for him to come home when he was young.
A feeling he hadn't experienced in a very long time...
'Right... it feels like I haven't presented a dish like this to a guest in ages... something that cares for others... that changes for the guest...'
"Shinomiya, your cooking hasn't improved in a long time, has it?" Dojima's words struck right at his soul.
Shinomiya's heart jolted.
"That's why you didn't pull out your specialty dish... you didn't want us to see that you haven't made any progress at all."
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]