The cuisine was incredibly delicious, but the destructive power it brought was equally overwhelming!
Gasping lightly, Alice Nakiri sat on a chair, pressing her hands against her legs, speaking in a flustered voice.
Dylan's cooking was perfect in every way, except the side effects after tasting were too intense, making one irresistibly want to unleash... unleash everything within.
This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but the problem was there was a third wheel here, preventing Alice Nakiri from fully indulging, pushing her restraint to the absolute limit.
"Never mind, I'm going to take a bath first. Erina, want to join me?"
Because her own state wasn't great, feeling sticky and somewhat uncomfortable, but considering someone else was in an even worse state than her,
Alice Nakiri looked at Erina Nakiri beside her and invited.
"It's not like we haven't bathed together before, why is your face so red? You're making me feel a little embarrassed..."
Seeing Erina Nakiri briefly avert her gaze, and seemingly unsure how to reply, Alice Nakiri couldn't help but tease, playfully pinching her as she spoke...
"Where are you grabbing?! Pervert!"
Feeling the hand messing with her, Erina Nakiri's face visibly flushed, and she flusteredly slapped the hand away.
Then came another bout of playful wrestling, leaving Dylan parched. By the time he came to his senses, the two had already left, and the sound of silver-bell-like laughter drifted from the bathing room.
After this period of interaction, Erina Nakiri and Alice Nakiri's relationship had clearly improved significantly, no longer at loggerheads as they were at first.
Dylan deserved some credit for this, but more so, Alice wanted to get along peacefully with Erina, after all, she had already completely overwhelmed her in terms of technique.
People wouldn't hold strong animosity towards an opponent far weaker than themselves, unless they had truly done something unforgivable.
Evidently, Erina Nakiri had not done anything of the sort.
After showering, Erina Nakiri had another meal at the house, only then reluctantly bidding Dylan farewell, leaving Alice Nakiri's home, looking back every few steps, feeling an emptiness in her heart.
"If only I could live here..."
For some reason, this thought emerged in Erina Nakiri's mind.
Her face immediately flushed, and her gaze became somewhat evasive: "I just want to learn cooking from Teacher Dylan more conveniently and quickly, there's no other intention at all."
Muttering to herself in a transparent attempt to conceal her thoughts, Erina Nakiri quickened her pace, and soon disappeared from sight, while
Dylan turned and returned.
"Brother Dylan, it's getting late, want to have a little late-night snack?"
"Didn't we just finish dinner...? Actually, I am a bit hungry, after all. Then let's have some dessert after dinner."
Looking at Alice Nakiri before him, stripped of all her restraints, spraying whipped cream onto her own body, Dylan swallowed hard.
At this moment, before him, Alice Nakiri was the best dessert he had ever tasted in his life!
In the bright spring of March, all things revived.
After returning to Tōtsuki, Dylan didn't go anywhere, staying at Alice Nakiri's home, imparting culinary knowledge to Erina Nakiri and the others for their final improvements.
Perhaps knowing he had returned early, Megumi Tadokoro, Yūki Yoshino, Ryōko Sakaki, and others all arrived at school a week before classes started, coming to him every day before dawn.
Facing such eager-to-learn girls, Dylan also held nothing back, targeting their individual strengths, he generously imparted all he had.
Under his targeted training, everyone's skills were improving by leaps and bounds, and now, everyone present, had the ability to prepare Grade 1 dishes, reaching the peak of a Second-Class Chef.
"Alright, that's it for today. I have some things to attend to next, you can continue practicing here, or go back and rest."
Glancing at his watch, Dylan said to the girls.
He had been so engrossed in the training, he almost forgot the time. Luckily, he had glanced down a moment ago, otherwise, missing the transfer student assessment would have been terrible.
"We'll keep practicing here, Teacher Dylan, you go on and take care of your business."
Ikumi Mito made her decision without a second thought. At this moment, she was still dressed provocatively, even more so because she was in front of Dylan, the fabric on her body was conspicuously minimal; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she looked ready for a beach vacation.
Of course, this was only the case at Dylan's home.
The moment she stepped out of this door, she would change into normal attire, because in her mind, no one else but Dylan was worthy of seeing her in such a state.
As for Dylan, even though she rarely focused her gaze on him, she still tried her best to display herself, which was indeed a bit perverse and obsessive.
But she enjoyed it.
"Mm, Teacher Dylan, hurry along, don't keep anyone waiting."
As for Megumi Tadokoro, she had the same thoughts as Ikumi Mito, but due to the conservative mindset she had developed since childhood, she couldn't go to that extent.
However, when Dylan taught her closely, she would engage in some intimate actions, such as her fingers brushing his when handing things over, leaning her body against him when he helped her, whispering close to his ear when speaking, secretly feeling the warm breath he exhaled, and so on...
She didn't know how to express her feelings, but she was already content with the current situation; she could see Dylan every day, and she could learn cooking from him.
"Then I'll be going now."
Hearing their words, Dylan nodded.
Returning to his room, he tidied himself up briefly, so as not to appear unkempt. Dylan left the house, and headed towards the large classroom for the transfer student assessment.
Before long, he arrived at the academic district from the dormitories. The academic district was bustling with people at the moment, some chatting in groups of two or three, some moving alone, and some elegantly sipping tea with their butlers and maids.
Without exception, these people were all luxuriously dressed, displaying the noble air of young masters to the fullest, hardly looking like chefs at all.
After a quick glance, Dylan couldn't help but shake his head inwardly.
No wonder in the original work, Erina Nakiri merely appeared and stated she was a judge, and it was enough to scare these guys half to death.
Without undergoing the tempering of trials and tribulations, no matter how high one's culinary skills, they could never truly soar to the heavens and shine.
Just like how they had never met Erina Nakiri, yet were intimidated by her reputation, worried that their future as chefs would be blocked, they became timid and hesitant, unable to move forward.
"Hey, you over there! Yes, you! Stop for a moment, I have something to say to you!"
Just as Dylan quickened his steps, preparing to leave quickly, a male voice sounded from behind him, making Dylan look back curiously, and after realizing it was someone he didn't know, he turned and walked away again.
However, the person behind him seemed to have latched onto him, insistently jogging forward, and grabbed his arm.
"Do we know each other, kid?"
Looking at the man's face before him, Dylan searched his memory for a moment, and after confirming he didn't know him, he spoke in a rather displeased tone.
"Don't be so tense, now. If we didn't know each other before, don't we now? You're here for this transfer student assessment, right? So am I. You look impressive, anyone can tell you're extraordinary at a glance!"
As the saying goes, one doesn't hit a smiling face; seeing the man before him grinning, Dylan restrained his patience, and let him finish speaking.
"Get to the point."
Dylan frowned, somewhat puzzled.
"Well, what's the name of the restaurant your family runs? It must be quite famous, right? Later during the transfer student assessment, how about we team up? We can help each other out."
Hearing Dylan's words, the man's expression stiffened, but he quickly adjusted and continued to speak with a grin.
This transfer student assessment was very important to them; to a certain extent, it would determine their future achievements, which was why he was trying to gather as many allies as possible before the competition.
As long as he recruited enough allies, it would somewhat increase his chances of passing the assessment!
"Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. My family doesn't run a restaurant, and I'm not even a participant in this assessment."
Hearing the man's words, Dylan instantly understood his intention.
He also recalled the male student at the beginning of the Food Wars anime, who, upon hearing that the Yukihira family ran a commoner's diner, immediately went from being friendly to utterly disgusted, so Dylan decided to mimic him.
"A school errand boy? Get lost, scram! I thought you were some big shot, didn't expect you're not even a candidate, wasting my precious time and effort."
Sure enough, after Dylan's words fell, the man's face showed disdain, then he waved his hand at Dylan, and his gaze continued to wander around, quickly pinpointing another target and jogging over.
Dylan didn't get angry seeing this situation, he merely shook his head, and continued towards the classroom, hoping that when the man saw him later, he wouldn't be too scared...
"Leader?"
Just as Dylan had already taken a step and was about to leave, another voice came from behind him, but unlike before, this voice held a hint of familiarity amidst its unfamiliarity.
"It really is Leader!"
The voice went from doubt to certainty, as a petite figure hurried over with small steps, standing before Dylan with a face full of smiles.
"Ah, it's you, Huang Mei. It's been a while, you've changed so much."
Looking at the girl's face before him, Dylan fell into thought, and quickly matched her to the small face in his memory.
This person was named Huang Mei. She was originally the daughter of a fishmonger, and because she awakened "Super Taste", he discovered her and took her away.
It had been nearly half a year since she left the Dark Culinary World; the girl before him had also transformed from a rustic, unrefined lass into someone refined and adorable, and she was even wearing sunglasses on her head, looking quite fashionable.
"Hehehe, I finally have some pocket money, so of course I have to invest in myself. I bought a little makeup and some fashionable items, doesn't it make me look more like a girl?
I heard Leader was here, and came without a second thought. I originally thought it would take a few days to meet you, but I never expected my
luck to be this good!"
Huang Mei tugged on Dylan's hand, saying with great excitement, her eyes shining as she looked at him, filled with adoration,
and a hint of something else, hard to define.
"Then you'll need to work harder. After all, you've only been learning to cook for a little over half a year, and you're currently only at the level of a Second-Class Chef. To pass this assessment, you'll really need to put in the effort."
"Don't worry, I'll work hard!"
Hearing Dylan's words, Huang Mei nodded very seriously, and at the same time, cheered herself on inwardly.
"You don't need to be so nervous, either. As long as you perform normally, your chances of passing are still quite high."
Perhaps feeling his words had the opposite effect, making the other party nervous, Dylan patted her small head, and said in a gentle voice.
This statement was indeed true. For this transfer student assessment, one only needed to possess the skill level of a mid-tier Third-Class Chef to pass smoothly.
Leaving aside Erina Nakiri's standards for now, the enrollment criteria for the transfer student assessment were written as such.
A mid-tier Third-Class Chef was considered bottom-tier among Tōtsuki first-years.
Of course, this was after his special training.
Before the special training, the skill level of a mid-tier Third-Class Chef would already be considered mid-level at Tōtsuki.
"Are you the only one who came this time?"
Glancing behind Huang Mei, and confirming there was no one else, Dylan asked curiously.
"No, Brother Chen, Brother Ning, Sister Liu, Sister Wang, Sister Li, they all came. A total of six came, and all of them, except me, are First-Class Master Chefs."
Seeing Dylan's bewildered expression, Huang Mei quickly waved her hand and began to explain.
Besides her, who possessed Super Taste, Dylan didn't have a deep memory of the others, and understanding this, she felt a little smug inside.
"Where are they now then? Are you all acting separately?"
Hearing the girl's explanation, Dylan frowned and continued to ask.
"To be precise, I'm acting alone, because I was curious about what Tōtsuki Academy looked like, so I came two hours early to scout the place.
To be honest, this place is really big, and it looks very luxurious. If I study here in the future, I should be very happy."
Huang Mei scratched her head somewhat awkwardly, a hesitant smile appearing on her face, along with two small dimples, making her look quite adorable.
"I see. You really do look good when you smile. When I first met you, your expression was so cold, it was like you'd been gutting fish at RT-Mart for ten years."
Huang Mei retorted playfully, her face slightly red.
"Alright, I'm one of the examiners this time, so it's not really appropriate for me to walk with you. See you in the examination hall later."
Although he didn't care, Dylan decided to avoid suspicion slightly, to prevent unnecessary trouble from arising, after all, dealing with bothersome flies also spoils one's mood.
Hearing Dylan's words, Huang Mei nodded obediently, watched him walk away, then found a spot to rest and waited for the broadcast announcement.
As for Dylan, after walking away, he didn't rush inside either, but rested outside the large classroom, preparing to enter only after Erina Nakiri had dismissed a batch of people using her authority.
With so many candidates, testing them one by one would take a lot of time, and he wasn't that idle.
In the original work, since these guys could be scared away by Erina Nakiri's status, it proved they weren't very capable themselves, and coupled with their lack of courage, there was really no need to nurture them.
Holding such thoughts, Dylan closed his eyes, and quietly waited leaning against a tree.
Soon, an announcement echoed through the venue.
__
Want more content for everyone? The community goals are:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone!
🎯 5 Reviews = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone!
And our main goal...
🚀 55 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of EVERY STORY!
Your support keeps our work alive. Don't let this chance die!
Access, support, and read now: 👻 patreon.com/Walnutchan