"You really didn't hold back," Gin Dojima said to Lexon, who had been summoned to the monitoring room.
"I just wanted to finish quickly," Lexon replied flatly.
"Using a blend of spices to create an explosive aroma that completely shatters the conventions of breakfast is an excellent approach. It might even be too good... With your unmatched speed and skill, it wouldn't have been impossible for you to be the only person to pass in Hall C," Gin Dojima chuckled.
"That's why you technically passed me early, Mr. Dojima," Lexon said with a wave of his hand. "Though I was a bit curious about how many servings I would have sold in the end."
"Selling eight hundred servings in thirty minutes is absolute domination. You've broken the previous Totsuki record... Even back when I was a first-year, I couldn't have achieved something like that," Gin Dojima praised him.
"Ah... I just took a clever shortcut. With your current level, Mr. Dojima, you could do this easily." Lexon remained indifferent to the praise.
"Already comparing yourself to me... You certainly have grand ambitions, Lexon," Gin Dojima murmured.
"Well, I did make that declaration at the entrance ceremony..." Lexon found a chair and sat down, joining Gin Dojima in watching the students on the monitors.
"Totsuki's peak... Does that include me as well? Hahaha, what a bold thought," Gin Dojima laughed heartily.
He didn't dislike that kind of attitude.
Besides... the boy truly was an undeniable genius.
He had witnessed it firsthand during his personal evaluations over the past few days.
In just a few days, the boy had been rapidly absorbing his techniques, sweeping through them like a relentless storm.
It defied all logic.
Even though most of his guidance had been verbal, with only a few live cooking demonstrations...
The boy had still managed to learn an incredible amount.
Gin Dojima didn't know exactly how much of his essence had been taken.
All he knew was that the student sitting next to him was a gourmet monster.
No, "monster" wasn't quite right.
Perhaps he should be called the incarnation of the God of Cooking?
"But as I said before... try to pour your own heart into it, Lexon," Gin Dojima advised.
"I'll give it a try," Lexon responded.
'Although I don't exactly love cooking...'
'If I forcibly blend everyone else's techniques using various methods... to the point where the judges can't recognize or distinguish them...'
'That would essentially make it mine... right?'
That was Lexon's train of thought.
...
The exam came to an end.
When the final announcement blared over the speakers, many students who had barely scraped by sighed in relief. Conversely, those who failed to meet the passing requirements hung their heads in utter despair.
Inside Hall A.
Megumi Tadokoro looked at Soma Yukihira with joy and said, "Soma! You passed! That's amazing!"
"Ah... passing at the very last second is pretty embarrassing..." Soma scratched his head sheepishly. His original concept hadn't suited a breakfast menu at all, forcing him to improvise on the fly just to survive.
"It's still very impressive, Soma!" Megumi praised.
"Sigh... compared to Lexon, I'm really lacking..." Soma's expression dimmed as he thought of his friend. While Lexon, who also aimed for the top of Totsuki, had easily reached his goal ten minutes after the start, Soma had barely made it by the skin of his teeth.
He used to be able to compare himself to Lexon, but now the gap between them was widening significantly.
"Lexon..." Megumi was also at a loss for words when thinking of him.
'Was completing the goal in ten minutes even something a human could do?'
Not wanting to see her usually confident friend discouraged, she comforted Soma. "Soma, you're already doing great! You'll keep improving too!"
"Thanks for the encouragement, Tadokoro." Soma nodded, touched. Then he continued, "As it happens, I just had another sudden inspiration for a creative dish. Could you help me taste-test it?"
"Of course," the country girl replied firmly.
However, the moment she agreed, a devious grin spread across Soma's face.
Seeing that smile, Megumi suddenly had a very bad feeling.
She suddenly remembered Soma's twisted hobby...
He loved making disaster dishes and forcing people to try them.
'Oh no...'
"Then help me try this 'Peanut Tomato Grilled Squid'... Hehehe..." As expected, Soma produced a culinary nightmare and shoved a piece into the frozen Megumi's mouth with his chopsticks.
"Aaaaah!!!"
Instantly, Megumi's screams echoed throughout Hall A.
Elsewhere, Erina Nakiri stared intensely at her glowing phone screen, as if waiting for something.
Buzz!
The phone vibrated and let out a notification sound.
A message appeared on the screen.
Erina opened it.
[Lady Erina, I have gathered the information...]
[The number of servings your cousin, Nakiri Lexon, completed was...]
Erina nervously scrolled down.
[800]
The number seared itself into her vision.
Unconsciously, Erina grit her teeth, the sound of grinding clearly audible.
[Furthermore, that was the amount completed in just thirty minutes... After that, your cousin was summoned away by Chef Dojima...]
Reading those words...
Compared to the original timeline where she only showed a fraction of her power... now, even after going all out for two hours, she only reached 524 servings. Erina gripped her phone tightly, her head bowed and hair veiling her face, hiding her expression from view.
...
"It's finally over!" The residents of the Polar Star Dormitory gathered, and Yuki Yoshino let out a shout of pure liberation.
"Everyone passed... That's wonderful..." Ryoko Sakaki said, moved that not a single member of the dormitory had been cut.
Daigo Aoki and Shoji Sato had their arms around each other, swaying happily.
Shun Ibusaki remained silent as usual, while Zenji Marui looked like his entire soul had been drained from his body.
"Seriously Lexon, you're a freak... How did you finish the goal in ten minutes?" Soma asked as soon as he saw Lexon.
"Yeah, yeah! I was so shocked when I heard about it!" Yuki chimed in.
"I really didn't expect that..." Ryoko added.
The conversation immediately shifted to Lexon's lightning-fast completion of the exam.
As they chatted, Gin Dojima took the stage once again.
"I will now announce the final matter of the training camp."
Dojima announced.
"It's not another exam, is it? I can't take any more," Yuki whispered.
"I don't think so..." Ryoko said hesitantly.
"The final matter... is for all the surviving students to participate in a banquet... and the dishes served to you will be prepared by Totsuki's alumni!"
As Dojima finished speaking, the large doors leading to the dining hall of the Totsuki Enkyu swung open.
Staff from the Totsuki Resort stood behind the doors, bowing to welcome the students.
"Aaaaah! Finally! Finally!" Yuki was beside herself with joy.
The training camp was finally over! And to top it off, they got to feast on the cuisine of Totsuki's alumni! What could be more blissful than that?
At that moment, she had forgotten all the pain and suffering of the camp, her heart filled only with delight.
"A meal from the alumni... Sounds good," Shun Ibusaki said, a rare comment from him.
The rest of the Polar Star crew joined in with excited chatter.
"Let's go, or there won't be anything left," Lexon said calmly to the others, who were still lost in their celebration.
He was also somewhat interested.
In tasting the alumni's cooking, that is.
After all, having his God's Tongue experience more gourmet dishes meant he could further elevate his own level.
By combining his refined discernment with the myriad of rewards he had signed in for, mimicking the flavor of the dishes he tasted wouldn't be an issue at all.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]