Soon, Genos brought over plate after plate of exquisitely crafted dishes that looked more like works of art than food.
"So beautiful!"
Itsuki, with her foodie attribute, had the ahoge on her head perk up like a radar sensor. She looked at Lott with teary eyes.
She might as well have written 'Can I eat it?' on her face.
After receiving Lott's nod, Itsuki eagerly picked up her fork, cut a piece of Eggs Benedict, and put it in her mouth.
"Th-This egg!"
The moment the food entered her mouth, Itsuki's pupils shook as if from an earthquake.
It felt as if every inch of her skin was being caressed by a smooth egg angel, as if she was floating on clouds.
And the moment she swallowed, she let out inexplicable moans.
"Itsuki, are you okay?"
When Itsuki finally recovered from the wondrous experience-
She found her sisters, along with their new friend Chika, Saeko, and the others, looking at her with strange expressions.
"Wh-What happened to me?"
Itsuki asked blankly.
"Itsuki's reaction just now was... so bold..."
Yotsuba scratched her cheek.
Ichika nodded, "It was like the time I entered Miku's room and found her moaning Lott-kun's name while doing who-knows-what."
"Waaah! Ichika, what are you saying?!"
Miku, mortified, rushed over to cover Ichika's mouth.
"Ah!?"
Itsuki covered her face with both hands, wishing she could find a crack to hide in.
"Don't worry, the others are sitting far away. No one else heard except us."
Lott comforted her, "Genos went to get more food too, so no boys heard."
"But you heard!"
Itsuki was so embarrassed she was almost crying.
…
The kitchen behind the counter.
During a break, Alice rested her chin on her interlaced fingers and said to her cousin with a smile:
"Erina, you should stop throwing a tantrum, right?"
"Who's throwing a tantrum?!"
Erina retorted irritably.
But anyone hearing her tone could tell Erina was very unhappy.
After all, going from the highly prestigious Totsuki's Elite Ten to a budget version of a cafeteria lady wasn't something anyone would take well.
"Don't forget, that man is now the most esteemed person on Planet Terra. Not just you, Erina, even Grandfather has to behave properly in front of him."
Compared to her cousin, who had been spoiled and developed a willful, arrogant character since childhood-
Alice was clearly much more straightforward and tactful.
In Alice's view, being a chef was a service industry.
And their current service target was the most esteemed person on the planet, perhaps even in the entire galaxy.
What was there to complain about?
After finishing another molecular gastronomy dish, Alice personally carried the plate out of the kitchen, smiling at her cousin.
"I'm going to say hello. Want to come?"
Erina gritted her teeth and stammered:
"I-I don't want to!"
"Alright then. I hope you can keep up that high-and-mighty queen act."
Alice, holding the plate in her left hand, waved her right hand at the other girl, then walked towards Lott's table on her fair, long legs.
"Everyone, are you enjoying the food? Let me introduce myself again. I'm Nakiri Alice, the new head chef at Shuchi'in Academy."
Nakiri Alice said with a smile.
However, when Lott's gaze fell on her-
Her heart still raced uncontrollably.
Even though her personality was a bit more straightforward and tactful than her cousin's-
When it came down to it, she was still just a sixteen-year-old girl.
"Waaah! Alice-san, your cooking is so delicious!"
Itsuki nodded vigorously like a woodpecker.
She had heard before that Totsuki Culinary Academy, managed by the Nakiri Conglomerate, was the cradle of the world's best chefs.
Today, she truly felt like a country bumpkin seeing the big city for the first time.
"I'm glad everyone is satisfied."
Having initially built a good rapport with the main group, Alice secretly took a deep breath and turned her attention to the main person.
"Lott-kun, is my cooking to your taste?"
When she saw the small mountain of plates piled in front of Lott, Alice was inwardly astonished.
'He really eats a lot!'
"It's quite good, just the portion size for each dish is a bit small."
Lott stated his honest opinion.
Even in his previous life, he hadn't liked the Western style of using a huge plate for just a small portion in the middle.
It's such a waste of anticipation.
"Oh, okay, I'll work on that."
Although Alice was internally cursing Lott for having the taste of a country bumpkin, on the surface she kept smiling and nodding repeatedly.
"This is a black truffle carrot cake, my latest molecular gastronomy creation. Please give it a try."
Alice set down the plate she was holding.
Whoosh-
The moment the plate touched the table.
Genos and Saeko suddenly sprang to their feet.
The former gathered an orange-red energy ball in his palm, the latter drew the katana at her waist.
Alice stumbled back in fright, falling flat on her rear.
'Wh-What? Even if my cooking doesn't suit your taste, is killing me necessary?'
Boom-
A deafening explosion sounded.
The wall on one side of the cafeteria was smashed to pieces.
Fubuki and the rest of the Blizzard Group, who had just taken up their security posts at Shuchi'in Academy today, were sent flying into the cafeteria along with the rubble.
In the next second, they landed in an extremely miserable heap on the floor.
"Grrr Woof-"
Before the nearly thousand students in the cafeteria could process their shock…
A loud, resonant roar, like that of a crimson beast, echoed.
Immediately after, a monster covered in pure black fur, with six pure white eyes on its face, resembling a canine but as large as a prehistoric mammoth, charged into the cafeteria.
"M-Monster! Aaaah-!"
The students finally reacted, screaming with soul-wrenching terror.
Genos and Saeko charged out simultaneously, releasing a blast of fiery energy and a sword slash.
But when they struck the canine monster, aside from stirring up two puffs of dust, they had no effect!
'That one, if I remember correctly... is it Rover?'
Lott looked up slightly, thought for a moment, and recalled the name of this giant black dog.
Rover, nickname [Overgrown Rover].
Even among the Dragon-level monsters of the Monster Association, its strength ranked at least in the top five.
The reason Lott remembered its name was because this dog shared its name with a certain pink-haired social anxiety case. (T/N: In Chinese, Bocchi and Rover was written the same.)
'If this were the Planet Pokémon, it'd be at least a Primary Legendary, right? Probably Fire + Dark type.'
Lott thought with a light laugh.
"Ru-Run! Everyone, run!"
Hayama Hayato's face turned pale as he shouted desperately.
Their 'Popular Kids' group was sitting extremely close to where Rover had burst in.
Now, Rover's black fur was practically brushing against their faces.
Not just the Popular Kids, all the students in the cafeteria panicked and scrambled for the exit.
"Hey! Stop!"
Fubuki, blood still dripping from her head, shouted a warning.
She knew such thing could very likely cause a stampede!
But unfortunately, before any human-caused stampede could occur-
Tobe Kakeru from the Popular Kids group stumbled and fell face-first.
Even worse, his head bumped into Rover's hind leg!
"Grrr?"
Rover turned its head to look at him.
Tobe Kakeru's tears and snot flew everywhere, he was too scared to utter a single word.
"Lott-kun, please save Kakeru!"
Hayama Hayato, in his panic, desperately called out to Lott.
However, just as Yui had guessed-
Lott did nothing, just watched from the sidelines.
And even popped a piece of popcorn into his mouth.
And then… Rover used Iron Tail!