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Chapter 9 - [9] Erina's Request

As the saying goes, once you accept your own weakness, you become invincible! And when applied to Erina at this moment, it could probably be rephrased as...

'Once I accept my embarrassing past, I become invincible!'

When her "shameful moments" first appeared, Erina reacted with utter humiliation, rage, and helpless fury.

When her "shameful moments" appeared a second time, Erina's face darkened, her teeth clenched, and she was once again consumed by helpless fury.

When her "shameful moments" appeared a third, fourth, fifth time...

Soon enough, Erina could calmly sip the floral tea prepared by her secretary while watching the anime with everyone else—her composed demeanor immediately drawing a disappointed look from Hayashi.

Season one, season two, season three, season four...

As everyone watched intently, the anime quickly reached the end of the fourth season! With the collaboration between the young mistress and the "Drug King," they defeated Kobayashi Rindō, thwarted Nakiri Azami's schemes, and became the new headmaster and first seat of Tōtsuki...

"Hisako! During the team shokugeki, you said you were already my friend, right?" Hayashi exclaimed excitedly, looking at Jōichirō. "In that case, please call me 'Erina-chan' from now on!"

Jōichirō's expression wavered as he struggled to reply, "N-no, that's impossible! Young mistress, how could I possibly address you like that..."

"T-then... then just call me... Erina-chan!"

"Erina-chan!"

"Hisako-chan!"

"Erina-chan!!"

"Hisako-chan!!"

"Pfft..."

Next, Nakiri Mana, who was sitting nearby, clutched her stomach and collapsed onto the floor, laughing uncontrollably as she slapped the tatami beneath her. "This scene was already hilarious enough, but having you two grown men reenact it makes it even worse—hahahaha!"

Meanwhile, Gin desperately coughed to mask his laughter, and even Senzaemon turned away, worried someone might see his twisted expression.

As for the two involved—Erina and her secretary? They sat on the sofa like a pair of love-struck idiots just realizing their feelings for each other, their faces burning red. Their hands nervously fidgeted between their legs as they occasionally stole shy glances at each other, only to hurriedly look away the moment their eyes met...

It was so sweet that Hayashi felt like he needed an insulin shot!

...

...

Soon after finishing the final episode, everyone fell into a brief silence.

"What can I say..." Jōichirō rubbed his head, then glanced at Mana and said, "I never expected the relationship between you mother and daughter to be so awkward."

"None of your business!" Mana, holding a fan, glared at Jōichirō before turning a disappointed gaze toward Erina. "My foolish daughter, how could you possibly be afraid of that gloomy man!? What were you thinking?"

"Shut up! It's all because you ran away from home when I was little!"

"I did that to find a way to cure the God's Tongue!"

"And did you find it?"

"Shut up!"

"Shut up, shut up!"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Hayashi watched the two of them shouting "shut up" at each other like elementary school kids with the same dead-fish eyes as Conan. Meanwhile, Jōichirō and Gin exchanged glances before simultaneously miming a zipper motion over their mouths.

Women are unreasonable—especially when they're arguing. So it's best for us to just stay quiet and not get involved!

Hayashi gave the two self-preserving men a disdainful look before turning his attention back to Erina and Mana. In just over ten seconds, the mother-daughter pair had escalated to shouting "shut up" at each other with their eyes closed, as if the first one to stop would lose.

Are you two seriously elementary schoolers?

"Hold on, friends! Let's take a break—" Hayashi couldn't help but raise his hand to interrupt the childish argument. "Instead of fighting, shouldn't we discuss something more meaningful?"

Perhaps because Hayashi was a collaborator, Mana surprisingly didn't lose her temper and instead asked patiently, "Like what?"

"Like..." Hayashi thought for a moment. "For example, now that we've seen the future, how do you plan to deal with Azami Nakiri's coup and the subsequent events involving Azami Nakiri? Should we strike first or wait for them to make a move?"

"Dealing with that gloomy man is a piece of cake for me—" Mana scoffed, then added sarcastically, "After all, unlike a certain God's Tongue, I'm not scared of some gloomy man!"

Enough already! Erina's practically puffing up like a blowfish!

"Then we'll take the initiative!" the elder declared decisively. "Without Hayashi, I would have let the younger generation gain experience. But since we need to collaborate, it's better to avoid unnecessary complications."

It was simple logic—if a faction couldn't even handle its own internal affairs, who would dare to cooperate with them? So the elder wanted to ensure Tōtsuki was completely stable before formalizing any partnerships.

"Everyone, we still need to work together." The Senzaemon looked at Gin and Jouichirou, speaking gravely. "It's time to issue the Elite Ten Summons!"

...

...

Once the elder and the others shifted into serious discussion mode, Hayashi found an excuse to leave the meeting room. He wandered alone down the hallway of the Nakiri residence before lazily flopping onto the floor.

After lying there for a few minutes, Hayashi heard light footsteps approaching. He turned his head and saw Erina walking toward him from around the corner of the hallway, accompanied by her secretary.

"Looking for me?" Hayashi sat up and pointed at himself.

"Yeah." Erina nodded with a troubled expression, pressing down her skirt as she sat beside him. "Um, Mr. Hayashi—"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

"If you're thanking me for helping your mother, you've already said that before, haven't you?"

"No! This time, I'm thanking you for myself."

Hayashi turned his head slightly, glancing at Erina's flawlessly beautiful profile with a hint of curiosity as he asked, "What exactly are you thanking me for? Is it because I warned you about Azami Nakiri's return, so you could prepare yourself mentally? Or because I revealed Azami Nakiri's true nature as a gloomy, controlling man with a fanatical obsession, making you less afraid of him? Or maybe because I gave you the chance to see a broader world? Or something else?"

At this moment, Erina seemed to have an air of enlightenment. Gazing at the garden ahead, she replied, "A bit of everything, I suppose? Thank you for all of it."

"Hey, no big deal! If you really want to thank me, how about cooking me a meal sometime?" Hayashi chuckled, then added as if remembering something, "But just so you know, I'm not some high-class gourmet, okay?"

Faced with Hayashi's probing, Erina turned to him with an utterly serious expression and said, "A chef's purpose is to bring happiness to those who eat their food!"

Seeing her like this, Hayashi couldn't help but marvel at the heroine's rapid growth—at this point in the original story, Erina would probably still be stuck in the mindset of "commoner food is beneath me." But now, just by experiencing the events of Food Wars! from a third-person perspective and witnessing the future, she had grown so much.

'Talk about the golden standard of a shonen manga heroine (leans back dramatically).'

"Then I'll be looking forward to your cooking!" Hayashi gave Erina a thumbs-up before asking, "By the way, there's something I've been curious about. Can I ask?"

"Go ahead."

"Well, I was wondering—how do you feel about Sōma Yukihira now?" Hayashi studied Erina beside him with a slightly odd expression. He had read plenty of chat-group novels before, and in those, female characters who received spoilers about their future often ended up saying things like, "Even though the original version of me was a perfect match for him, now that I've seen a broader world, there's no way we could be together."

So what about Erina?

Would she feel a sense of sweetness from watching the interactions between "Erina Nakiri" and "Sōma Yukihira" in the anime and develop feelings for him as a result?

"Hmm..."

The question clearly caught Erina off guard. She lowered her head hesitantly, staring at her fingers as she murmured, "About Sōma Yukihira, huh?"

Hayashi didn't rush her, quietly waiting for her to gather her thoughts.

After about ten seconds of contemplation, Erina clasped her hands between her thighs and swayed slightly before answering, "If it weren't about me and him... I'd probably think it was a beautiful romance."

Erina actually enjoyed reading shoujo manga, so she had to admit that while watching the story unfold, there had been a moment when she felt like she was "shipping them."

Hayashi remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

"But unfortunately, I don't have any interest in romance right now." Erina shook her head and looked at Hayashi. "After meeting you, I've found a new goal."

"What is it?"

"I want to become the top chef!" Erina gazed intently at Hayashi with burning determination in her eyes as she declared firmly, "So, I'd like to ask you for a favor!"

She's even using the formal "you"—this must be a very serious request.

Hayashi scratched his head somewhat awkwardly and tentatively replied, "Why don't you tell me what it is first?"

"You'll be traveling to other worlds in the future, right? Could you take me along?" Erina clenched her right fist against her chest, speaking with nervous anticipation, "I want to taste otherworldly cuisine, cook with ingredients from different worlds, and meet chefs from beyond!"

Just imagining all the unheard-of ingredients, cooking methods, and signature dishes waiting for her in other worlds made Erina feel an urge to press her fingers against her temples in excitement.

Hayashi looked into Erina's violet eyes and asked curiously, "Have you discussed this idea with your mother and grandfather?"

"No, but I'm certain they wouldn't stop me!" Erina pursed her lips and said earnestly, "In fact, I'd say almost every ambitious chef would make the same choice as me!"

Unknown dishes, unknown ingredients, unknown culinary techniques—what chef could resist the allure of such "unknowns"?

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