"This is just beyond ridiculous..."
Hearing Lexon's words, the same thought flashed through everyone's minds simultaneously.
"It's just that it's a bit hard to challenge those ranked above the sixth seat... I can't lure them in with a higher position anymore. Does anyone have any good ideas?" Lexon asked the group, looking slightly troubled.
Getting the people ranked higher than him to agree to a Shokugeki was going to be a bit of a headache.
After all, as the sixth seat challenging those above him, simply wagering his own seat wasn't much of an incentive for them.
'As for Erina, whom I haven't beaten yet... given how desperate she is to test herself against me... I'll just find some time to accept her challenge and win whenever I feel like it...'
"No clue."
"Don't look at me."
"I'm going back to my culinary research."
"I'm challenging the Elite Ten tomorrow!"
"Soma! You can't win!"
Everyone offered their own dismissive answers.
After being thoroughly shown up, their minds were now filled with nothing but the desire to refine their own culinary intent.
The gap between them was simply too glaringly obvious.
A transfer student from outside the school... reaching the sixth seat of the Elite Ten in a single semester... already having defeated four of the Elite Ten and now planning to crush the higher seats to reach the top spot...
Compared to him, they felt like they were absolute trash.
Gradually, the residents of the Polar Star Dormitory began to disperse, returning to their rooms to attend to their own business.
"Lexon, remember to show your face at the Elite Ten Council meetings," Satoshi Isshiki mentioned to Lexon before he left.
'Show my face, huh...'
Come to think of it, ever since he had defeated Nene Kinokuni to become the sixth seat, he hadn't actually visited the so-called Elite Ten Council.
'But if I go, there's going to be work, isn't there? What a pain...'
He decided to give a non-committal response for now.
"I'll find an opportunity to check it out," Lexon told Satoshi Isshiki.
"Nakiri Lexon!" Just as Lexon was about to return to his room, a furious voice shouted from outside the door.
'Only one person calls me by that name...'
Lexon looked toward the entrance.
Standing there, as expected, was the orange-haired beauty, Erina Nakiri.
She was glaring at Lexon with visible indignation.
She looked as if she wanted to devour Lexon whole right then and there.
Standing behind Erina was her secretary, Hisako Arato.
Hisako nodded a greeting to Lexon from behind her mistress.
"You were a participant in the Autumn Elections! Why didn't you show up?!" Erina Nakiri demanded as she stormed into the Polar Star Dormitory.
"I declined. You're a member of the Elite Ten, so it should have been easy for you to find that out," Lexon replied flatly.
"I... I... I..." Erina stammered for a moment, caught off guard.
She hadn't done any of her Elite Ten duties lately. From the moment she saw Lexon had been selected for the Autumn Elections, she had thrown herself entirely into her cooking, practicing day and night to sharpen her skills and ignoring all outside news. She had cut herself off from the world just to defeat Lexon on the tournament stage, so she naturally didn't notice that he had withdrawn shortly after being chosen.
Her primary objective had been completely rendered moot.
"Lady Erina, Lexon did indeed decline the invitation shortly after being selected..." Hisako reminded her in a low voice.
"Hisako... why didn't you tell me sooner!" Erina turned to Hisako, her face flushing as she puffed out her cheeks.
"Huh? Did I need to report that specifically?" The secretary was a bit bewildered.
She hadn't thought such a detail required a formal report.
"Wait a second..." Erina suddenly seemed to remember something. She turned back to Lexon and asked, "What did you mean by 'also' just now?"
"Lady Erina... Lexon has also become a member of the Elite Ten. He's the sixth seat..." Before Lexon could answer, Hisako whispered the news into Erina's ear.
"What?!!" Erina was momentarily stunned. She turned back to Hisako once more. "Hisako... why..."
"I told you, Lady Erina... but you didn't seem to care at the time... you were far too focused on your cooking," Hisako replied.
She certainly wouldn't have forgotten to mention something as important as a change in the Elite Ten rankings.
"Ah?" Now it was Erina's turn to look dumbfounded.
Then, she stopped dwelling on the facts that had already passed and focused her gaze on Lexon's calm expression.
'Damn it...'
'How did he suddenly become the sixth seat!'
"Have a Shokugeki with me!" Erina Nakiri didn't back down an inch just because he was ranked higher. She marched right up to Lexon, her eyes burning with competitive fire.
"Sure."
"Even if you don't agree, you have to— wait, what?" Erina had already started her rehearsed line for being rejected, only to realize he had actually accepted.
"You mean you're agreeing? To a Shokugeki with me?" Erina asked, needing to confirm she hadn't misheard.
"Yeah, I agree," Lexon nodded, then added, "But on one condition."
"What condition?" Erina asked.
She had waited for this chance for a long time. As long as the condition was something she could handle, she would agree to it.
"Help me arrange a match with the first seat of the Elite Ten," Lexon said indifferently.
The moment the words left his mouth, a look of extreme gravity appeared on Erina's face.
"You want to challenge Eishi Tsukasa, the first seat?" she asked in a heavy tone.
"Yeah, I'm taking the top spot," Lexon replied. "Of course, if you can arrange challenges with the other Elite Ten members along the way, that works too."
"You really are..." Erina could no longer understand the man standing before her.
The first seat was a third-year student... the absolute pinnacle of Totsuki Academy... the man known as the 'White Knight of the Table'...
Even with her 'God's Tongue,' she didn't have the slightest confidence in facing him.
Given Lexon's growth rate, Erina didn't doubt he could eventually defeat Eishi Tsukasa.
But!
That time definitely wasn't now.
In Erina's estimation, it would take until at least his second year for Lexon to be able to win.
Being able to beat the sixth seat now didn't mean he had the ability to clash with the first seat.
The gap between each seat was enormous... and it only became more pronounced the higher up the rankings one went.
And yet, he wanted to challenge the first seat directly?
Erina found the idea incomprehensible.
"So, can you do it?" Lexon asked.
"It's almost impossible..." Erina gritted her teeth.
She couldn't possibly come up with a wager that would entice the first seat into a Shokugeki for his position.
Even though she was a member of the Nakiri family, and even though she possessed the 'God's Tongue' and incredible connections in the culinary world...
"I shall accept that condition," a weathered voice suddenly called out from the doorway.
With his robes billowing, the tall and imposing Senzaemon Nakiri walked into the room.
"Grandfather..." Erina called out the moment she saw him.
"However, I have a condition of my own," Senzaemon continued, looking at the expressionless Lexon. "If you lose, you must enter the Nakiri family and marry Erina!"
"Grandfather!"
"What?!!"
The moment the words were spoken, Erina and the Polar Star residents who had been eavesdropping from the shadows let out a collective shriek of shock.
"Fine, I accept," Lexon nodded coldly.
He didn't care what the conditions were.
After all... it was impossible for him to lose.
There wasn't even the slightest possibility.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]