Chapter 603: Excited Rindou, One Step Away from a Heart Attack
Kobayashi Rindou and Akanegakubo Momo shared a dormitory. Given their elite status within the academy, the administration would have gladly provided them with separate, lavish accommodations. But they were close friends, and they preferred the shared space.
That, however, wasn't the detail that caught the eye. The real spectacle was the sheer, unapologetic wealth of Totsuki Culinary Academy on full display. Calling their residence a 'dormitory' felt like a severe understatement; by any normal metric, the sprawling, multi-story estate was a luxury villa.
Ichihara Yuko leaned comfortably against Ren, her slender arms wrapped around his as they walked up the manicured path. Her dark eyes swept over the magnificent architecture with a faint gleam of amusement. "This academy of yours operates on an entirely different scale of wealth," she murmured, her voice laced with elegant awe. "To think you and little Momo have an entire villa all to yourselves."
"It's not too bad, right?" Rindou flashed a bright, feline grin, stretching her arms behind her head. "I mean, it's not exactly a private island, but it gets the job done. Totsuki respects power above all else. If you have the skills, claiming a place like this is a walk in the park. But Momo and I are practically inseparable, so naturally, we had to room together!"
Walking a few paces ahead, Momo paused. She adjusted her grip on her cute, pastel rolling suitcase and puffed out her cheeks, hugging her stuffed bear tightly against her chest. "Rindou-senpai... you only came looking for Momo because you were too lazy to cook your own breakfast..."
"Eh? That's a cruel accusation!" Rindou waved her hands defensively, though her eyes danced with guilt. "Look, back when we first enrolled and lived in the old dorms, we were already super close, weren't we?"
Momo blinked, tilting her head slightly. "Hmm... I suppose that is true..."
Rindou's lips curled into a triumphant, mischievous smirk.
Ren simply watched the exchange, a dry chuckle escaping him. "You're just stringing her along."
Momo froze in her tracks, her large eyes darting between Ren and Rindou.
Nami sighed, crossing her arms as she gave Rindou a flat look. "It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. It's because, out of all the girls in your old dormitory building, you two were the only ones who managed to secure seats on the Elite Ten Council at the exact same time. Right?"
Momo stiffened. The realization washed over her, and she whipped her head around to glare indignantly at the red-haired girl.
"Even if that's true!" Rindou quickly closed the distance, wrapping an arm around the smaller girl's shoulders. "Momo! We're still the absolute best of friends!"
Momo narrowed her eyes, acutely aware that Rindou was the exact type of woman who would throw friendship out the window the second romance was on the table. She decided to test the waters.
Leaning in, Momo whispered, "Rindou-senpai, if you were given a three-month vacation right now, would you choose to spend the last two months here at school with Momo... or..."
"I'll definitely come back to visit you whenever I have free time," Rindou answered instantly, not missing a beat.
"Hmm? What happened to being the 'absolute best of friends'?"
"Uh... second best friends?" Rindou offered a placating smile, patting Momo's shoulder. "Oh, don't be mad. Look, my hands are full with this luggage. Here, Momo, you can hold onto my arm instead."
Momo let out a soft hmph, turning her head away haughtily. "A woman completely consumed by love! Momo doesn't want to talk to you anymore! Bucchi is much better company!"
Rindou glanced down at the stuffed bear, Bucchi, realizing that Momo was using the plushie as an excuse to keep her hands occupied. She let out a warm laugh. "Don't be so stiff. Tell you what, I'll treat you to a massive feast tonight to make up for it."
Riven, who had been quietly following the group, tilted her head in confusion. "Aren't we eating at home tonight?"
Momo rolled her eyes, shooting Rindou a deadpan stare. "Did you just say you were going to treat me?"
Rindou puffed out her chest, completely unashamed. "Well, how should I put it? I'm basically the boss's wife now, aren't I? What's his is mine. No problem at all."
Momo's expression went entirely flat. It was an incredibly shameless explanation, yet completely unrefutable.
Ren's gaze drifted away from the banter, settling on a pristine, white multi-story mansion looming at the end of the private road. "Is that Erina's residence?"
Rindou followed his gaze and nodded. "Yep, that's the place. And let me tell you... aside from a personal gym, a massive ingredient storage vault, a climate-controlled wine cellar, and a few bedrooms, every single other room in that massive building is a kitchen."
"All of them are kitchens?!" Nami, Riven, Yuko, and even Ren echoed in unison.
Momo hugged Bucchi tighter and spoke up in a soft, quiet voice. "It's not just her house. Erina controls numerous kitchens all across the Totsuki campus. She routinely challenges underperforming research societies to official Shokugeki matches. When she crushes them, she absorbs their clubrooms, guts them, and converts them into even more personal kitchens."
A heavy silence fell over the group.
Yuko blinked, a rare look of genuine surprise crossing her elegant features. "First Kirari, and now this Erina girl... I'm starting to feel like I'm the abnormal one for hanging around people with such terrifying obsessions."
Nami immediately raised her hand. "Count me in on that..."
"No," Yuko corrected smoothly, glancing at the navigator. "Nami, you're already abnormal by default, simply because you survive in a crew entirely populated by monsters."
Nami opened her mouth to argue, then closed it, her shoulders slumping. She was the most normal person on her ship; why was she the one taking stray bullets?
As they approached the gates, Rindou glanced back at Yuko. "By the way, Yuko, you mentioned you've met Kirari? When did that happen? She never said a word about it to us."
"A little while ago. Ren and I paid her a surprise visit at Hyakkaou Private Academy," Yuko explained, a sly smile touching her lips. "We got a firsthand look at her school and exactly what she looks like when she's deep in her 'games'. Let me tell you, if Kirari ever tries to brag about how intimidating her academy is, I'll be the first to shut her down. I have prime blackmail material."
"Wow..." Rindou whistled. "But wait, Kirari met Ren while she was in the middle of a gamble? Good heavens... she didn't pass out from the shock, did she?"
Yuko looked genuinely startled. "Eh? How did you guess?"
"You just haven't spent enough time around here to see the pattern," Rindou laughed, before her golden eyes locked onto a sleek, luxurious vehicle parked near the mansion's entrance. Her entire demeanor shifted, a spark of pure electricity igniting in her gaze. "Ah! The special transport is already here! I'll go drag Erina and the others out!"
Without another word, Rindou dropped the handle of her suitcase and bolted toward the mansion in a blur of motion.
Yuko stared at the abandoned luggage for two full seconds before murmuring, "Rindou is... certainly energetic today."
"It's because she finally sees the light at the end of the tunnel," Ren said calmly. "Graduation."
The girls nodded in silent understanding. Ren was entirely correct. Rindou's mind was currently consumed by a single, burning desire: secure her graduation date as fast as humanly possible, strip off her Totsuki uniform, and finally be completely free to stay by his side.
Inside the opulent mansion, the atmosphere was tense.
"Alice, what exactly are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Nakiri Alice muttered, her crimson eyes frantically scanning the thick, leather-bound book in her lap. "I'm reviewing recipes, obviously."
Erina nodded slowly from her seat on the velvet sofa. At least her cousin understood the sheer gravity of the situation enough to attempt a last-minute cram session. But before Erina could offer any advice, the heavy mahogany doors burst open, and Rindou sprinted into the grand foyer.
Erina blinked, startled out of her regal composure. "Eh? Rindou-senpai? Why are you running? Are you coming with us to the restaurant?"
Rindou grinned, coming to a halt and placing her hands on her hips. "Yo! Look at Alice, actually studying recipes at the eleventh hour. You've really grown up!"
"She's just panicking," Erina sighed, smoothing her skirt. "But senpai, you still haven't answered my question."
"We're heading out together," Rindou announced cheerfully. "The transport car is waiting right outside your front door. We came specifically to pick you up."
Erina nodded, feeling a fraction of her anxiety ebb away at the presence of a familiar upperclassman.
Hisako, standing dutifully behind the sofa, tilted her head. "Wait... 'we'? Is Akanegakubo-senpai with you?"
"Yep! But it's not just the two of us!" Rindou's grin widened into something almost predatory. "There's a whole welcoming committee!"
Erina, Alice, and Hisako all froze. Were there other Elite Ten members coming to Ren's Restaurant?
Seeing their stiff postures, Rindou waved a hand dismissively. "Don't overthink it, it's just five of us in total. Ren brought Yuko and the others along to help pick us up."
"Oh, I see, that makes—" Erina started, before the words registered in her brain. Her violet eyes snapped wide open. "Ah?! Shopkeeper Ren is here?!"
Hearing that name drop like a bomb in the quiet room, Alice slammed her recipe book shut, and Hisako nearly dropped her clipboard. They hadn't been completely terrified a moment ago, mentally preparing themselves for the journey ahead. But being suddenly informed that the man himself was standing right outside their front door?
It was enough to push all three of them one step away from a collective heart attack.
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