In the kitchen, Yukihira Soma, Ryo, and Hayama Akira were fighting.
"I'm the captain, you should listen to me this time."
"When did you become the captain? Your method is completely wrong, okay?"
"What are you talking about?"
Looking at the three people fighting, Satou and the others felt very speechless.
It seems they had too high expectations for them?
They had originally thought that with Hayama Akira there, they should progress quickly.
But looking at the messy kitchen, with several pieces of fresh bear meat delivered in the morning lying on the floor unattended, they knew that these guys had spent all their time arguing.
Satou also sighed, feeling that this grouping had too many problems.
Yukihira Soma, Ryo, and Hayama Akira, the three of them, were always at odds with each other. How could they possibly come up with a good dish?
"Yukihira-kun, what are you doing?"
Tadokoro Megumi asked with a forced smile.
"Ah. Sorry, we were just discussing something."
Seeing someone appear in front of them, Yukihira Soma and the others quickly separated, chuckling.
"Is that how you discuss things? If it's not working, we can re-group."
Erina Nakiri said somewhat helplessly.
"Hehe, no need, we have a great relationship, right, Ryo-kun?"
"That's right, we're doing fine like this, we'll come up with a result soon."
Yukihira Soma pinched Ryo's face with his hand, Ryo grabbed Hayama Akira's hair with his hand, and Hayama Akira stepped on Yukihira Soma's foot, all three of them showing a "we are actually good brothers" smile on their faces.
"…Since that's the case, you'd best start researching bear meat as soon as possible. If you don't do well, we'll be implicated too."
Erina Nakiri said with a headache.
"Understood, we'll discuss it very soon, right?"
Yukihira Soma chuckled, his grip tightening a bit.
Ryo bit his lip in pain, and his grip on Hayama Akira's hair became even tighter.
Hayama Akira, in pain, instinctively stepped harder on Yukihira Soma's foot.
"You guys go eat first."
Yukihira Soma urged.
Looking at the three people harming each other, Satou and the others could only leave speechless.
"If there's anything you need to taste, just ask."
Satou said before leaving.
On the way, they met Eishi Tsukasa, Isshiki Satoshi, and others who had also just finished their ingredient experiments and came out of the kitchen. They all went to the restaurant to eat together.
"I say, Senior Kobayashi, what dish are you planning to make?"
Satou asked. He was very interested in the dish that Kobayashi Rindo, the rare ingredient expert, was going to make.
"I won't tell you!"
Kobayashi Rindo laughed triumphantly, but then her tone shifted, saying, "However, if you give me a whole loaf of that bread from last time, I can tell you everything, and I can even tell you about the dishes Eishi Tsukasa made."
Satou was a little speechless. As expected, this guy was still thinking about his Western Pear Bread.
Seeing that a traitor had appeared so quickly in his team, Eishi Tsukasa also smiled helplessly.
"Hey, hey, Sumaki-chan, what dish are you planning to make?"
Kuga Terunori leaned over and asked curiously.
"Bear paw."
Satou did not hide it and told him truthfully.
"As expected!"
Kuga Terunori had an "I knew it" look on his face.
"Ah, speaking of which, there are quite a few Chinese cuisine dishes in that area, aren't there? We can discuss it sometime, Satou-chan."
Eishi Tsukasa said with great interest, "But it needs to be after the exam ends."
Even at this moment, he hadn't forgotten the exam rules: no discussion between different grades.
After dinner, Satou and the others received news from Gin Dojima that the exam standards had changed.
"The exam rules have changed?"
Tadokoro Megumi asked, her face pale.
"That's right. Currently, Far Moon is the only place in Japan that raises bears, so the bear meat each year is basically reserved by important guests from all over the world. Every year at this time, they come here to enjoy dishes cooked with bear meat."
Gin Dojima nodded and said, "Coincidentally, a group of important guests will be arriving in a few days. So, your passing standard for the exam is to gain their approval with your dishes."
"Let me remind everyone, if you fail, it's not just about you being expelled; Far Moon's reputation will also take a hit."
Hearing the new standard, Tadokoro Megumi almost fainted.
It was too harsh to ask students who had just started working with bear meat to create dishes that would satisfy discerning customers, wasn't it?
However, Eishi Tsukasa and the others were very calm. They had clearly become accustomed to such standards.
"Satou, I look forward to competing with you on the day of the exam."
Eishi Tsukasa smiled at Satou.
Satou couldn't help but smile back, saying, "No problem, but I won't lose."
After dinner, everyone left to continue researching ingredients.
After all, it was a notoriously difficult ingredient to cook, and they also had to please the customers who would taste it, so even the Elite Ten members dared not be negligent.
After returning, Satou also began to try out other methods of preparing bear paws.
In the evening, he and Erina Nakiri took another hot spring bath together.
After what happened yesterday, Erina Nakiri's attitude towards him had subtly changed, becoming more docile and obedient.
No matter what Satou wanted to do, she would not object.
The next day, Satou and Erina Nakiri and the others spent their time in the kitchen again.
Satou tried all the bear paw recipes he knew and began to summarize the pros and cons of each dish with Erina Nakiri, hoping to create the most perfect dish.
However, Yukihira Soma and the others next door were still arguing endlessly, each expressing their opinions, unwilling to back down.
During this time, Satou and Erina Nakiri were invited by them to help taste, but after a while, they started arguing again.
This left Satou and the others quite speechless, worried about whether they could complete the dishes within the specified time and satisfy the upcoming customers.
Soon, three days passed.
It was the day of the final exam.
"Satou, I wonder if everything will be alright."
A worried expression appeared on Tadokoro Megumi's cute face.
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