But looking at Lexon's impassive face, he realized he was completely out of options.
After all, they were both members of the Elite Ten... and he had caught wind of rumors that Lexon was connected to the Nakiri family...
The underhanded tactics he usually employed simply wouldn't work here.
"Oh? So both Eizan and Kuga lost to him?" Rindou Kobayashi remarked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
She was always drawn to things that promised excitement.
She was, after all, quite the chaos-seeker...
"Momo is very surprised." The petite dessert specialist turned her gaze toward Eizan as well.
The rest of the Elite Ten felt the same way.
All they knew was that Nene Kinokuni, the Sixth Seat, had been abruptly replaced by a first-year... they had no idea that even the lower-ranked members of the Elite Ten had already been defeated by him.
"Hmph..." Eizan clearly had no desire to discuss the matter, simply scoffing and turning his head away.
"Hey, seniors... if Lexon doesn't want to, how about letting me take a crack at it?" Soma Yukihira, seated across from the Elite Ten, suddenly spoke up, his suggestion catching everyone off guard. Scratching the back of his head, he added, "I want to join the Elite Ten too."
"What are you talking about, brat..." Eizan was already irritated from his interaction with Lexon, and Soma's provocation sent his temper over the edge.
"There are requirements for a Shokugeki with the Elite Ten. Do you have anything to put on the line that we'd actually want? Just your expulsion isn't enough of a stake..." Terunori Kuga said, his eyes narrowing as he glared at Soma.
"Uh..." Soma faltered for a moment at the question.
He really didn't have anything valuable to offer as collateral.
"Hah... trying to request a Shokugeki when you don't even have a stake. You're as arrogant as you are clueless... and even if we did agree, you wouldn't stand a chance," Eizan sneered.
Soma didn't take offense at Eizan's words. Instead, he fell into deep thought, trying to find a way to get them to accept his challenge.
After his experience in the Stagiaire, he felt he had grown tremendously.
Even if he couldn't jump straight to a top seat like Lexon... he felt confident he wouldn't lose to the lower-ranked members...
But... the problem of how to get the Elite Ten to agree was a real headache.
He couldn't think of any other collateral besides leaving the school...
"If you beat him, I'll give you a chance to have a Shokugeki with me," Lexon, acting as Soma's friend, said with a calm smile.
"Fine! I'm in. Let's do it!"
"Brat, we're having our Shokugeki tomorrow!"
The moment Lexon finished speaking, Eizan and Terunori Kuga both barked at Soma simultaneously.
"Wait, really? Okay." Soma was a bit dazed by the sudden agreement, but he quickly turned to Lexon and thanked him. "Thanks, Lexon!"
"Just don't lose," Lexon replied, smiling.
"No problem! Just watch me work!" Soma declared, thumping his chest with confidence. A moment later, he asked cautiously, "So, what happens if I do lose?"
"Nothing too major," Lexon said, his smile never wavering. "But if you lose, I'll have to waste my time in a Shokugeki with someone else. To pay me back for that, you'll have to run a naked lap around the entire Totsuki campus."
"Huh?" Soma was left completely speechless.
Their back-and-forth brought a lighthearted chuckle to some of the others at the table.
"By the way, Lexon..." Eishi Tsukasa suddenly spoke up.
All eyes turned to him.
"Our Shokugeki is set for noon in five days. I settled the details with the Director before the convention. As for the theme... you can decide," he said in his characteristically soft, mild voice.
A Shokugeki?!!
Eishi Tsukasa versus Lexon??
The First Seat against the Sixth Seat??
In an instant, everyone except for Erina Nakiri and Soma Yukihira found their minds momentarily stalling.
"Understood," Lexon replied calmly.
'He chose this exact setting to say it... to ensure the other Elite Ten members were aware.'
'Or perhaps... he's making an example for those who are still torn between the Director and Azami Nakiri?'
'By letting the Elite Ten watch... he's showcasing the strength of the Azami Nakiri faction...'
'In other words... this Shokugeki is being treated as a head-on collision between the Director's faction, represented by me on Senzaemon's side, and the Azami Nakiri faction, represented by Eishi Tsukasa.'
'It will dictate the future of Totsuki...'
Lexon pondered.
'Though I'm still a bit puzzled by how both factions have just accepted that cooking matches are the way to settle these power struggles...'
But then he remembered this was a world of gourmet food... and he stopped worrying about it.
"Whoa, whoa, Eishi! Why the sudden match with him!" The wild and boisterous Rindou Kobayashi grabbed Eishi Tsukasa by the collar and started shaking him back and forth.
"Ah... stop..." Eishi was already physically delicate; being shaken like that made him look like he was about to pass out.
"It was... the Director... and that person... who decided it," Eishi explained between gasps.
"I see..." Rindou was no fool. Connecting the dots with Azami Nakiri's earlier attempt to recruit her... she quickly understood the underlying power play.
She stopped shaking Eishi and whispered in his ear, "Is that the best the Director's side can do? I mean, a first-year taking the sixth seat is definitely a genius... but there's no way he can win against you..."
"I'm not sure myself..." Eishi admitted.
He also acknowledged that his junior was exceptionally talented...
But Eishi didn't harbor the slightest doubt that he would win.
"About the theme..." After a few more quiet words with Rindou, Eishi looked at Lexon, waiting to hear what the theme would be.
The right to choose the theme usually belonged to the one accepting the challenge—in this case, Eishi, who had accepted the Director's proposal...
But as the First Seat, he had his pride, and he wanted to demonstrate the absolute confidence of Azami's side.
So, he had graciously waived the right that should have been his.
"Let's go with French cuisine," Lexon said with a smile.
The moment he spoke, Eishi, Rindou... and the rest of the Elite Ten, as well as the Autumn Election participants, all froze.
French cuisine...
Everyone at Totsuki Academy knew that the First Seat's unrivaled specialty was French cuisine.
Challenging the First Seat to a Shokugeki with French cuisine as the theme... was he on a suicide mission?
"French cuisine?" Eishi stared at Lexon, seeking final confirmation.
"Yes," Lexon nodded slightly.
Eishi fell silent after the confirmation.
"Lexon... just a heads-up... French cuisine is Eishi's best field," Rindou offered, not wanting to see him suffer a total disaster.
"I know," Lexon said, a thin smile playing on his lips.
"You know, and you still picked it..." Rindou was flabbergasted.
"And since we're on the subject, I'd like to challenge you as well, Senior Kobayashi... we can use your specialty, wild game, as the theme for that one." Lexon's voice was level, but it carried a sharp, piercing intensity that left everyone stunned.
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[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]