Mutou Judai had originally thought that since Erina had already proposed seeking his help, she should have a well-thought-out plan.
But in reality...
"Let's have a Shokugeki!"
When Mutou Judai and Erina came to this bar called Great Universe together, after Erina talked with the management for just a few sentences, she said these words.
Initially, Mutou Judai thought that in this world that seemed similar yet different from his previous life, Shokugeki could decide considerably more things than he had imagined.
But then...
"Who wants to play that kind of house game—since it's your Nakiri family making a direct proposal to our side, then..."
A middle-aged man who looked drunk, although still wearing a smile on his face, had sharp eyes at this moment.
"Let's have a Kengan match!"
Hm!?
Mutou Judai completely couldn't understand what the other party was saying.
But Erina seemed to understand.
And after hearing the other party say this, she wasn't very surprised, just simply sighed.
"I'm just borrowing it for one day, and I'll make your bar, which is struggling near Totsuki Resort, come back to life in one go—this would be more beneficial for your business too, right?"
"The Nakiri family cares about my business?"
The president of Kinokuniya Bookstore, which was the investor of Great Universe Bar, a middle-aged man named Okuya Ken, laughed.
"You don't need to worry about these things. If your Nakiri family wants to fight Kengan, then fight. If not, then please leave."
Okuya Ken left it at that, while Erina said she would consider it further, then temporarily pulled Mutou Judai out of Great Universe Bar.
Only then did Mutou Judai speak up with a question.
"Nakiri, I know what Shokugeki is, but what's Kengan?"
Erina wasn't surprised by Mutou Judai's confusion. At this moment, she closed her eyes and slowly began explaining to Mutou Judai.
"Kengan is too troublesome to explain, with too long a history—anyway, you just need to know that the Kengan he mentioned is a fighting technique where representatives are sent to fight, and whoever's representative wins gets their conditions met."
"I see... the nature is similar to Shokugeki, but instead of comparing culinary skills, it compares fighting techniques..."
Hearing Mutou Judai's summary, Erina sighed.
"That's exactly it... but I never expected the other party would directly propose Kengan..."
Saying this, Erina slowly opened her eyes.
She seemed to suddenly remember something, her eyes couldn't help but flicker, and she continued speaking expressionlessly:
"...No, I should have thought of this from the beginning."
Hm?
Seeing Mutou Judai's puzzled expression, Erina didn't explain this point further, just simply let out a long sigh.
"There's no choice. If this could be solved with a Shokugeki, everything would be fine... but if it requires fighting Kengan, this is beyond our capabilities."
Although Erina was somewhat unwilling, there was nothing she could do about it.
"—Let's give up on this opportunity for now and think of other methods later."
Even in this situation, Erina didn't complain about anything.
Except when facing her father, at other times she was actually much stronger than she appeared.
However, seeing that she seemed ready to give up, Mutou Judai blinked.
The system panel that only he could see showed that he had already merged ten percent of Jack Hanma's template—honestly, compared to normal fighters, ten percent of Jack Hanma was already an invincible existence!
Moreover, he also had the curse skill...
Although he had used this ability on cooking so far, actually from the description it was clear that using it on cooking was just a small easter egg, and this ability was truly meant to be used on people.
So...
"There's no need to give up."
Hm?
Hearing Mutou Judai say this, Erina was stunned for a moment, then she saw this terrible man, not knowing what bad idea he had thought of, showing his signature honest and simple smile.
"Since they want to fight Kengan, let's fight them~"
...
The employee break room of Great Universe Bar.
The representative fighter of Kinokuniya Bookstore, a lean man with silver short hair named Himuro Ryo, was currently looking at his employer—Okuya Ken, who had been talking with Erina earlier—and let out a helpless sigh.
"So we're going to fight Kengan with Totsuki next?"
Hearing Himuro Ryo ask this, Okuya Ken still had that drunk appearance and laughed foolishly.
"That's what I said, but this matter might not be that serious."
Hm?
Himuro Ryo was somewhat puzzled.
He still remembered Totsuki's fighter—the opponent didn't seem like someone who could be easily dealt with.
Floating Cloud: Mikazuchi Rei!
It was said that even the legendary fighter, Tiger Wakatsuki Takeshi, whose physique was naturally dozens of times that of ordinary people, had once lost to him!
However...
—So what?
Himuro Ryo was a monster who, relying on Jeet Kune Do and having fought only a few Kengan matches, was judged capable of matching powerful fighters!
In other words, a so-called super rookie!
Whether it was Floating Cloud, Tiger, or even Fang of Metsudo...
How would you know who's stronger without fighting!?
Thinking of this, the fighting spirit in Himuro Ryo's eyes began to burn.
Seeing him like this, Okuya Ken let out a helpless sigh.
"Don't get so excited... Your current hypothetical enemy, that Floating Cloud who has been fighting Kengan matches for Totsuki since his debut, seems to have some problems... Although we can't be completely certain yet, when Totsuki faced the last Kengan match, they chose to hire assassins from the Wu clan as fighters..."
"As for Mikazuchi Rei, there are rumors that he transferred..."
Saying this, Okuya Ken slowly narrowed his eyes.
"Moreover, just recently, regarding the Kengan that Toyo Electric initiated against Totsuki, Totsuki has been delaying repeatedly..."
Okuya Ken's narrowed eyes gradually closed, and the smile on his face became even more foolish.
"Although Totsuki can't continue delaying much longer, I'm still a bit curious about Mikazuchi Rei. If possible, knowing in advance would satisfy my curiosity—plus, Great Universe Bar's location isn't really good, so if we can win a Kengan match against Totsuki, this bar could have better survival space."
However...
Okuya Ken's expression became somewhat serious.
"Himuro, if our luck is particularly bad, when this Kengan match begins, you might have to face that Floating Cloud or a member of the Wu clan. You..."
Okuya Ken stopped there.
As the leader in the publishing industry, his conversational rhythm and social skills were excellent.
At this moment, Himuro Ryo laughed.
"It doesn't matter—"
The current Himuro Ryo hadn't yet encountered Kaneda Suekichi. Right now, although he couldn't be said to be arrogant, as a super rookie who hadn't encountered strong enemies, he was very confident in his abilities.
So...
"No matter who the opponent is, I'll win!"