Chapter 85.
While Yuki Yoshino had been talking a mile a minute, Joichiro Saiba had been quietly listening from the kitchen. With a voice as loud as hers, it was impossible not to overhear.
At first, Joichiro merely thought this Shijun sounded like an interesting kid. Reaching that level of culinary skill at such a young age was rare. But when Yuki casually dropped the words Culinary Mood, Joichiro froze.
He nearly dropped the plate he was holding.
Culinary Mood—the physical manifestation of a chef's will, the absolute zenith of the culinary world.
It was the dream he had chased his entire life. It was the reason he had wandered the globe, drifting relentlessly from kitchen to kitchen, desperate to catch even a glimpse of that pinnacle realm. But he had never found a chef who truly possessed it. Eventually, he had settled down in Japan, opened Restaurant Yukihira, and raised a family.
Yet, he had never truly forgotten his dream.
And now, he was hearing from a timid first-year student that a sixteen-year-old boy had casually unlocked the realm that had eluded him for decades. A boy with the Chinese surname Xie.
The answer clicked into place immediately. This kid had to be a descendant of the legendary Xie family, one of the three great culinary aristocrats.
A surge of overwhelming excitement gripped Joichiro. Ignoring his deeply confused son, he stepped directly into the hallway and practically begged Megumi Tadokoro to invite Shijun over.
Soma stared blankly at his father. He had never seen the man act like this.
Joichiro was usually the picture of laid-back confidence, but right now, the sheer, unbridled joy on his face was impossible to hide.
The rest of the Polar Star residents shared Soma's utter bewilderment.
Why was Joichiro Saiba reacting like this?
Sure, Shijun had backed Kojiro Shinomiya into a corner, but Shinomiya was the First Seat of the 79th generation. Joichiro was the legendary Second Seat of the 69th—the undisputed Golden Generation.
According to Fumio, Joichiro's culinary prowess was virtually unmatched. After twenty years in the industry, his skills should be unfathomable.
So why was this titan of the culinary world acting like a starstruck rookie over a freshman?
They didn't understand.
Joichiro knew what they didn't: the culinary world was unimaginably deep. To the masses, a great chef was just a great chef. But at the absolute apex, the true masters were categorized by their grasp of the Realm. Joichiro himself had only just touched the threshold of that ultimate tier.
The atmosphere in the dorm hung in a strange, heavy silence as Satoshi Isshiki and the others quietly exchanged glances.
Under Joichiro's burning gaze, a trembling Megumi finally pulled out her phone.
Miles away, Shijun was still trapped in the backseat of Erina's luxury car.
Hisako was an exceptionally cautious driver, prioritizing safety over speed to a frustrating degree.
The academy's charter buses had likely arrived on campus twenty minutes ago, while they were still cruising down the highway. Bored to the point of dozing off, Shijun was jolted awake by his ringing phone.
"Why is Megumi calling me?" he muttered, answering the call.
"Wait, you guys are already back at the dorms?"
Shijun shot a resentful glare at the back of Hisako's head. He didn't even have the energy to complain about the driving speed anymore.
He listened for a moment, his brow furrowing.
"Oh? Soma's dad is there? And he wants to see me?"
Shijun felt a flicker of amusement.
Soma's dad is back. What does that have to do with me?
He knew the man was supposed to be a legendary chef, but Shijun's confidence in his own system-backed skills remained absolute.
Did Soma get beaten so badly he called his dad in for revenge?
The thought made him frown. He had expected Soma to have a bit more backbone than that.
"No thanks." Shijun replied into the receiver, entirely unfazed. "We just finished a hellish training camp. I just want to go back to my room and sleep."
If the Polar Star crew was just inviting him over for a celebratory dinner, he would have gladly gone for the free food and good company. But a personal summons from a senior chef he didn't even know? Absolutely not happening. He wasn't going to go out of his way just to stroke some veteran chef's ego.
"Wait, Joichiro Saiba?" Shijun mumbled into the phone, catching the name. "Why doesn't Soma have his dad's last name?"
Beside him, Erina violently flinched.
"What did you just say?" Erina gasped, her usual icy composure completely shattering. "Joichiro Saiba? How do you know that name?!"
The usually arrogant, untouchable heiress suddenly moved with frantic desperation. She pressed one hand against the leather seat, leaning entirely into Shijun's personal space, her face inches from his as she stared intensely at his phone. If she hadn't possessed a shred of lingering dignity, she would have snatched the device right out of his hand.
Caught off guard by her sudden ambush, Shijun froze.
She was so close he could smell the faint scent of her expensive perfume.
Her sudden proximity, combined with the plunging curve of her neckline as she leaned over him, made his breath catch in his throat.
He was a normal teenage guy, after all; having a girl as strikingly beautiful as Erina suddenly press herself into his space was enough to short-circuit his brain for a second.
Realizing exactly what she was doing, Erina's eyes widened. She scrambled backward, pressing herself against the opposite door. She smoothed her skirt with trembling hands, trying to reclaim her elegant posture, but the tips of her ears were burning bright red.
Clearing his throat awkwardly, Shijun decided to ignore the tension and addressed the phone again.
"Uh, right. Soma's dad, Joichiro Saiba, wants me to come to the Polar Star Dorm."
"Then we have to go!" Erina blurted out, her voice pitching up with frantic excitement. "Hisako! Speed up! Take us to the Polar Star Dormitory immediately!"
"Who said I was going?"
Shijun shot back, annoyed by her sudden commanding tone. He wasn't about to change his mind just because she was having a fan-girl meltdown.
"If he wants to see me so badly, tell him to come to my dorm."
Shijun said clearly into the phone before hanging up.
He slipped the phone back into his pocket and braced himself. Now, he had to deal with an Erina who looked like she was about to lose her mind.