"Chef Dojima, you see?"
Erina watched Gin Dojima frown, clearly unable to process the result of the match, and a faint smile slowly appeared on her face.
"I wasn't wrong."
"If it's purely about cooking skill, then Chef Shinomiya probably crushed Yuki."
"But if it's a Shokugeki..."
She paused.
"That guy won't lose."
As she spoke, Erina took a few steps forward.
Jaden was already walking back from the arena, victory secured.
She handed him the towel she had prepared earlier.
"You worked hard..."
Jaden accepted the warm towel, faintly scented, and nodded with a small smile.
"It's fine."
"With this, you can return to Totsuki now, right?"
"...Mhm."
Erina paused for a brief moment before nodding.
From the very beginning, Jaden had made his stance clear.
He didn't plan to return to Totsuki.
He didn't want to become a chef.
After confirming his resolve more than once, Erina had no intention of pushing him again.
At that moment, Gin Dojima slowly walked over.
"And you, Jaden-kun," he asked, "you're still not planning to return to Totsuki?"
"Of course not."
Jaden spread his hands casually.
"Mr. Dojima, you saw it yourself just now."
"My way of doing Shokugeki is different from everyone else's."
"If I returned to Totsuki, I might be unbeatable in Shokugeki."
"But aside from that..."
He smiled faintly.
"My culinary talent is honestly hard to describe."
In his previous life, Jaden couldn't even crack an egg properly.
He could break it, sure.
But the egg white would splash everywhere, or shell fragments would fall into the yolk.
If he practiced long enough, he could probably learn simple cooking.
But talent?
Heh.
In his previous life, it was like that.
In this life, it was the same.
Even after practicing seriously, listening attentively in class, and putting in effort-
His grades were still all E.
Simple cooking was his limit.
Given that, why become a chef?
"But in Shokugeki-"
Gin Dojima tried to continue.
Jaden raised his voice slightly, cutting him off.
"Mr. Dojima."
"In this world, if you lose, you lose."
"No matter the reason, a loss is a loss."
"And only by winning do you get a future, dreams, and all that."
He paused.
"But precisely because this world works like that..."
"Just winning isn't enough."
"This world is complicated."
"Winning and losing aren't black and white."
"They're an extremely muddy gray."
"So having the talent to achieve 'victory' alone isn't sufficient."
"If you really want to accomplish something..."
"You need the talent to carve out a future."
He looked at Gin Dojima.
"You're already at this age. You see these things more clearly than I do."
"So don't say anything more."
"I'm not returning to Totsuki."
"And I'm not becoming a chef."
With that, Jaden turned.
He and Erina left through the contestant tunnel.
Gin Dojima remained where he stood.
Jaden's words didn't exactly shake him to his core.
But they reminded him of someone.
A friend.
The man once known as the Shura.
If it were only about winning and losing, even now, few could stand against him.
He undoubtedly had the talent to achieve victory.
But that same man fell on the path of pioneering a future.
Sigh.
Gin Dojima exhaled softly.
Setting those memories aside, he turned toward the arena.
After all, the purpose of arranging this Shokugeki-
Beyond bringing Erina back to Totsuki-
Was to wake Kojiro Shinomiya up.
Judging by the match, the effect probably wouldn't be great.
He was already thinking of other methods.
But the moment he stepped into the arena, he froze.
Kojiro Shinomiya was there.
His face was twisted in agony.
Tears streamed down as he forced himself to eat all three plates of the vegetable terrine he had prepared.
If Gin Dojima remembered correctly-
The judges had taken a single bite and spat it out.
Even without knowing what method Jaden used, Shinomiya's dish had clearly become unbearable.
This...
"Shinomiya..."
Gin Dojima instinctively reached out.
Despite Shinomiya's distorted expression, when he turned around-
There was a smile at the corner of his mouth.
Seeing this, Gin Dojima's tone softened.
"It's your own dish..."
"Is it really that bad?"
"It's awful."
"It tastes deathly bad."
And yet-
Despite the nausea, Kojiro Shinomiya felt lighter than he had in years.
"Since I could make something like this..."
"That means I'm still far from good enough."
After reaching what he believed was his peak, Shinomiya had lost his goal.
And once the goal was gone, his passion faded.
His skills stagnated.
The anxiety from that stagnation fed his temper.
But today, he finally woke up.
The vegetable terrine tasted atrocious.
But it was made by his own hands.
That feeling-
He hadn't felt it in a long time.
When he took the first bite, confusion overwhelmed him.
And within that confusion, memories resurfaced.
He hadn't started cooking for accolades or achievements.
He started cooking so his mother could eat delicious, authentic French cuisine.
Since going abroad alone-
How long had it been since he returned home?
How long since he cooked a meal for her himself?
So-
"Senior Dojima," Shinomiya said quietly, "I might come back and open a restaurant soon."
...
The Shokugeki between Kojiro Shinomiya and Jaden ended.
And because of it, the Shokugeki between Etsuya Eizan-the current Ninth Seat of the Elite Ten-and Jaden was also exposed.
-Six bowls of instant noodles.
That was all Jaden made.
And he still won.
By sheer spectacle alone, these two Shokugeki were destined to become legends.
Under normal circumstances, the Totsuki Resort would have erupted in discussion long ago.
But now-
Now was clearly not the time.
A man wearing sunglasses, a black suit, and a Toyo Electric badge on his chest stood coldly before the acting second-in-command of the Totsuki Resort.
"So," he said, "you're refusing this Kengan match?"
The acting manager's hands trembled slightly.
"If possible, could we wait until Chef Dojima returns-"
Before he could finish, the man in black tightened his grip.
He was holding a student's neck in each hand.
The threat was unmistakable.
If the request was denied, he would kill them without hesitation.
And he absolutely would.
Masaki Meguro.
A lunatic.
Born with a killing impulse.
Finding pleasure in murder.
Enjoying pain.
A monster incapable of integrating into human society.
His own father had died by his hand.
If he were only a lunatic, the law could deal with him.
But behind him stood Toyo Electric.
They had protected him for twenty years.
Protecting him for another twenty would be trivial.
More importantly-
The acting manager couldn't watch students die here.
Not for the sake of the resort.
And this Kengan application wasn't between Toyo Electric and Totsuki Academy.
It was with the Totsuki Resort.
If Gin Dojima were present, there might have been another solution.
But right now-
There was none.
The man sighed.
Slowly, he lowered the hand he had raised.
In that moment, he lowered more than his hand.
He lowered his future.
The position he had worked so hard to obtain.
He understood the consequences.
He understood the potential disaster for the resort.
And still-
"Release the students."
"The Kengan match between the Totsuki Resort and you..."
"I agree."
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