Chapter 383

After putting an end to the argument between Etsuya Eizan and Rentaro Kusunoki, Azami Nakiri turned his attention toward Senzaemon and Erina.

“Father, Erina. It’s been quite some time.”

Senzaemon frowned and shot Azami a look of undisguised disgust. In the end, he merely snorted, apparently unwilling to waste even a single word on him.

His feelings toward Azami couldn’t have been more obvious.

“It’s been a while, Father.”

Erina, on the other hand, responded calmly.

There was no trace of the fear or anxiety she once felt whenever she stood before Azami. She could now face her father without flinching.

Watching his granddaughter, Senzaemon couldn’t help smiling with relief.

When he had agreed to Azami’s wager involving the Régiment de Cuisine, he had known perfectly well that he was taking an enormous gamble.

He had been betting on Erina’s ability to break free from the psychological scars of her childhood and finally grow into her own person.

Judging by her composure now, that gamble appeared to have paid off.

Naturally, Azami noticed the change in his daughter as well.

Something flickered in his eyes.

“Erina, it seems you’ve grown quite a bit.”

In truth, Azami had already suspected what Senzaemon was trying to accomplish, but he didn’t particularly care.

As far as he was concerned, the process was irrelevant. What mattered was the final outcome.

As long as he could secure absolute control over Totsuki Academy and impose his culinary ideals, a minor complication like Erina’s newfound independence was hardly worth worrying about.

“Enough. Let’s begin.”

Senzaemon’s response was blunt and decisive.

The two sides spent a short while discussing the arrangements before settling on the rules for the Régiment de Cuisine.

The competition would follow a three-on-three elimination format.

Each team would nominate three contestants for every round, after which their individual matchups and cooking themes would be determined by random selection.

Anyone who lost would be eliminated from the competition, while the winners would remain eligible to participate in subsequent rounds.

The two teams would submit their chosen contestants before the matchups were randomly assigned.

As for the judging panel, it would consist of Senzaemon Nakiri, Azami Nakiri, and Gin Dojima.

Once the rules were announced, quiet discussions spread throughout the venue.

Haruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

The format was actually rather interesting.

Although the individual matchups would be randomized, the outcome would still depend heavily on how each side deployed its contestants.

Choosing the right three people at the right time could provide an enormous advantage.

‘If I were arranging the lineup…’

Before Haruto could finish developing the idea, Erina approached him.

“Haruto, could you help us decide who should participate in each round?”

There was an unmistakably earnest note in her voice.

She had considerable faith in his judgment, especially after witnessing his culinary ability and everything he had done to help them prepare.

Haruto smiled and nodded.

“Sure. No problem.”

As long as nobody expected him to step into the arena himself, he was perfectly willing to help.

Besides, he already had an idea.

He followed Erina into the team’s waiting area and looked over the assembled contestants.

“First, let me ask you something. After all that special training, your stamina should be good enough to handle consecutive matches, right?”

“Yes, it should.”

Erina nodded immediately.

However, the moment she remembered what that training had involved, her expression changed slightly.

The others reacted even more dramatically, several of them shuddering at the memory.

Calling it special training was far too generous.

That had been absolute hell!

They still remembered having to prepare dishes while wearing those ridiculous spring-loaded training suits.

Even now, the sensation was impossible to forget.

If Haruto hadn’t provided various items to help them recover between training sessions, they genuinely suspected the regimen might have left them physically wrecked.

Looking back, it was almost unbelievable that they’d managed to endure the entire ordeal.

“In that case, I’ve got a suggestion.”

A mischievous smile appeared on Haruto’s face.

“For the first round, Erina, Megishima, and Isshiki should be our three contestants.”

Erina blinked.

“You want the three of us to go first? But what about the later rounds?”

“There’s no need to worry about that.”

Haruto waved a hand and patiently explained his reasoning.

“Azami’s side definitely won’t send Eishi Tsukasa and Rindo Kobayashi into the first round. They’ll most likely start with a few of their weakest contestants.”

“So we’ll do the exact opposite.”

“With your abilities, the three of you should have no problem winning the opening round. And after that…”

Haruto proceeded to explain the rest of his strategy.

As Erina listened, her expression gradually changed.

After thinking it over for several seconds, her eyes grew increasingly bright.

Finally, she nodded firmly.

“All right! We’ll go with Haruto’s plan!”

The others considered the proposal for a moment before agreeing as well.

…

It wasn’t long before Azami’s team submitted its lineup for the opening round.

Once both sides had registered their contestants, the system randomly assigned the individual matches.

The enormous display above the arena immediately revealed the first three pairings.

Erina Nakiri vs. Mea Yanai

Tosuke Megishima vs. Shoko Kaburagi

Satoshi Isshiki vs. Julio Shiratsu

Haruto couldn’t help smiling when he saw the names.

Everything had unfolded almost exactly as he’d predicted.

Azami had sent out three of his weakest contestants in the opening round, clearly expecting them to face the likes of Soma and the other first-years.

Unfortunately for him, Haruto’s intervention had completely disrupted that plan.

Instead of weaker opponents, Azami’s contestants were now facing three of the strongest chefs on the opposing team.

There was hardly any suspense surrounding the outcome.

The matches began, and all six contestants immediately got to work at their respective cooking stations.

Haruto remained in Erina’s waiting area, watching the proceedings with considerable interest.

The theme for Erina’s match against Mea Yanai was apples.

Megishima and Shoko Kaburagi had been assigned chicken, while Isshiki and Julio Shiratsu would be competing with eel.

Less than an hour later, all three matches had concluded.

As expected, Erina, Megishima, and Isshiki achieved a clean sweep, winning their respective battles by overwhelming margins.

Yet the members of Azami’s team didn’t appear particularly discouraged by the result.

From their perspective, sacrificing three relatively weak contestants to exhaust three of the opposing team’s strongest chefs was an excellent trade.

After all, the Régiment de Cuisine would continue until every member of one team had been eliminated.

Even if Erina and her companions rested through the next round, a few hours wouldn’t be nearly enough for them to recover completely from an exhausting Shokugeki.

By the time Azami’s strongest contestants entered the competition, those three would already be worn down.

Defeating them would become considerably easier.

Or so they believed.

The teams soon submitted their lineups for the second round.

This time, Azami’s side selected Nene Kinokuni, Etsuya Eizan, and Rentaro Kusunoki.

They were convinced that Erina, Megishima, and Isshiki would withdraw temporarily to recover from their previous matches.

Among the remaining opponents, only Terunori Kuga seemed particularly threatening.

With Nene, Eizan, and Kusunoki competing, they believed they could secure at least two victories.

If the matchups went their way, a complete sweep wasn’t out of the question.

However, when the next set of pairings appeared on the enormous screen, every member of Azami’s team froze.

Erina Nakiri vs. Rentaro Kusunoki

Tosuke Megishima vs. Etsuya Eizan

Satoshi Isshiki vs. Nene Kinokuni

“What?! Why are those three competing again?”

Rindo Kobayashi frowned, staring at the screen in confusion.

Beside her, Eishi Tsukasa’s eyebrows drew together.

“Do they… have enough stamina to keep fighting without resting?”

Meanwhile, Haruto couldn’t help smiling when he saw their reactions.

Once again, events had unfolded exactly as he’d expected.

Thanks to their previous training, Erina, Megishima, and Isshiki possessed far greater endurance than before.

Two consecutive Shokugeki were hardly a problem for them.

Even three rounds in succession should be manageable.

And aside from Eishi Tsukasa and Rindo Kobayashi, there were very few contestants on Azami’s team who stood a realistic chance of defeating those three.

The second round was already looking extremely promising.

…

Inside the arena, Nene Kinokuni stood opposite Satoshi Isshiki.

Seeing his familiar smile, she bit her lip and glared at him.

“I’m not going to lose to you!”

Despite her declaration, Nene wasn’t feeling particularly confident.

She and Isshiki had known each other since childhood, which meant she understood better than almost anyone just how frighteningly talented he was.

Skills that took her countless hours of practice to master could often be learned by Isshiki after watching someone perform them only once.

Worse still, he could frequently execute those same techniques even better than she could.

Although Nene technically held a higher position on the Elite Ten Council, she knew perfectly well that this was largely because Isshiki had spent so much time deliberately concealing his true abilities.

His actual level was another matter entirely.

Nevertheless, even knowing that she was probably going to lose, Nene had absolutely no intention of surrendering without a fight.

“Is that so?”

Isshiki’s smile faded slightly, replaced by an unusually serious expression.

“Then I’ll make sure to give this match everything I’ve got.”

He understood that Nene was nothing like Julio Shiratsu, his opponent from the opening round.

Her abilities were on an entirely different level.

If he underestimated her or held back too much, there was a genuine possibility that he could lose.

Watching the atmosphere between Isshiki and Nene, Haruto couldn’t help finding the situation amusing.

“Interesting.”

He rubbed his chin before leaning slightly toward Hisako Arato, who was standing nearby.

“Hey, Hisako. Don’t you think Isshiki must be having a really hard time right now?”

Hisako looked at him curiously.

Haruto grinned.

“If he wins, he’ll probably hurt Nene’s feelings. But if he loses, he’ll be letting everyone on our team down. Either way, he’s in trouble.”

Hisako considered that for a moment before nodding with complete seriousness.

“That does sound like a difficult situation.”

Haruto’s smile only widened.

…

The second round quickly grew intense.

Rentaro Kusunoki attempted to provoke Erina throughout their match, but she remained completely expressionless, refusing to give him the reaction he wanted.

She finished her dish in just forty minutes and defeated him by an overwhelming margin.

Megishima also secured a convincing victory over Eizan, maintaining a clear advantage throughout their confrontation.

Isshiki’s match, however, proved considerably more difficult.

Against Nene, he appeared to struggle before finally securing a narrow victory.

When the judges announced that Erina’s team had once again won all three matches, the entire venue fell silent for several seconds.

Nene’s eyes immediately reddened.

She stood motionless with her head lowered, her shoulders trembling slightly as she struggled to hold back her tears.

Seeing her like that, Isshiki could only sigh helplessly.

He remained beside her and did his best to offer some comfort.

Meanwhile, in Azami’s waiting area, Rindo stared at the results with a thoroughly troubled expression.

“Well, this is a problem.”

She had never imagined that Erina, Megishima, and Isshiki would compete in two consecutive rounds.

Their original strategy had relied on wearing down the opposing team’s strongest contestants before committing their own main force.

Instead, six of their ten contestants had now been eliminated, while every member of the opposing team remained in the competition.

The advantage had shifted almost completely to Erina’s side.

“Don’t worry. Leave the rest to me.”

Eishi Tsukasa spoke with a serious expression.

As the First Seat of Totsuki’s Elite Ten Council, he possessed absolute confidence in his culinary abilities.

No matter which member of the opposing team he faced, he believed he could win.

Rindo certainly didn’t doubt his strength.

However, there was something else she understood just as clearly.

Even someone as talented as Eishi Tsukasa would find it extremely difficult to maintain an undefeated record if he had to keep fighting Shokugeki one after another.