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"This year's Autumn Election is absolutely crazy! Even after expanding the top competitors to sixteen, there were still three students with scores above eighty eliminated! In previous years, eighty points would have been enough to win!"
Unlike the students, the instructors were focusing on the three who had been eliminated.
These three were: Isami Aldini, eighty-seven points; Ikumi Mito, eighty-six points; and Sadatsuka Nao, eighty-four points.
These three, in past Autumn Elections, would undoubtedly have had winning scores, but now, they didn't even make it into the top sixteen.
This meant that, compared to past champions, this cohort had nineteen students who were at or above champion level! This number was absolutely shocking.
"As expected of the generation called the 'Jewel Generation' by the Director. They are far more terrifying than even the Golden Age generation. Especially Yuuki—forget about students, even we instructors aren't sure we could beat him."
The professors chatted amongst themselves.
At this moment, at Group A's spectator seats, Jun Shiomi finally breathed a sigh of relief—
Soma Yukihira and his group from Polar Star had snagged five of the top spots, even knocking Akira Hayama, with his score of ninety-four, out of the top eight! And it was Akira's specialty field, too!
As Akira Hayama's guardian, having spent so many years together, Jun Shiomi knew him very well and also how much effort he put in this time.
Yet, the result was that he couldn't even make it into the top eight.
Thankfully, in the end, they increased the number of spots, so Akira Hayama at least made it into the top sixteen. Although his next opponent would still be from Polar Star, he at least had an opportunity.
....
Due to the change in competition format, the following rounds of the Autumn Elections were temporarily postponed. The Elite Ten needed to discuss what to do next and coordinate with the school.
That night, at Polar Star Dormitory, everyone gathered. After all, Yuuki's plan had been a resounding success; a celebration was in order.
Fumio Daimidō was beaming; Polar Star's performance had really dazzled everyone.
The generation that surpassed even the Golden Age had truly arrived—
Although they didn't have that many Elite Ten members yet, it was just a matter of time.
"Now then, don't get too cocky! After all, you only passed the preliminaries because Yuuki carried you all. The rest of you are alright, but Daigo and Shōji—take note!" Fumio Daimidō said.
Their own dormitory's situation was clear to her. She wasn't worried about the others' Culinary skills, but Daigo Aoki and Shōji Satō were different.
Although their current skills weren't weak, they would inevitably be eliminated in the top sixteen—she didn't want to see them getting complacent and then failing later.
"Don't worry, Auntie Fumio. We know our own limits. Being in the top sixteen is already more than enough for us!"
Daigo Aoki and Shōji Satō both had very good mentalities. They were clearly aware that with their talent, they couldn't have made it through the preliminaries.
But with Yuuki's help, obtaining such a high score, they understood it was only temporary. They constantly reminded themselves to remain humble, immediately extinguishing any hint of arrogance.
In this aspect, Daigo and Shōji were indeed quite commendable.
"It's good that you understand that. The others too—treat this competition seriously. Although there's a high probability you'll face each other, no matter whether your opponent is from our dorm or not—DO NOT SLACK OFF." Fumio Daimidō said.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"We will definitely give it our all, Auntie Fumio. Although, I'm more curious about who will face Yuuki." Yoshino Yuki's expression turned a bit odd when she mentioned Yuuki.
Hearing this, others also made similar faces. Next was top sixteen, then top eight, semifinals, and the finals. That meant four people would have to face Yuuki—
—Whoever those four were, they could be considered unlucky. Facing any other opponent, there was still a fight, but against Yuuki—there was simply no suspense.
Of course, this was just how most people thought.
For Soma Yukihira and Ryō Kurokiba, having the chance to challenge Yuuki was a prize greater than any championship title.
After all, they had never found an opportunity to challenge Yuuki. It was incredibly difficult. Now, they had a chance; some Autumn Election title meant nothing to them.
Actually, facing Yuuki had both positive and negative aspects.
The positive was that losing was completely understandable, no need for excuses. For those who cared about face, losing to Yuuki wasn't embarrassing—after all, it was losing to the Champion.
The negative aspect was that there was absolutely no chance of winning against Yuuki. Only one outcome: certain defeat.
"We might also face Yuuki, you know! Yuuki, please don't hold back if you're against any of us!" Ryōko Sakaki said.
Yuuki had never truly displayed his full Culinary skills in front of everyone. How strong he truly was, no one knew for certain; they could only make estimations.
"YEAH! If you're against me, you better go all out, Yuuki!" Yoshino Yuki also quickly nodded.
Hearing her say this, the others also agreed. They weren't afraid of losing; they just wanted to see Yuuki's true Culinary skills.
"Are you sure about that?" Yuuki glanced at everyone once again.
"Absolutely! You've already defeated Shinomiya-senpai—losing to you won't be a big deal at all," Alice Nakiri said with a smile.
Everyone knew they would lose to Yuuki. If they could make Yuuki use his full strength, then even losing would be honorable.
"In that case, I'll do it. But don't be too shocked then." Yuuki said with a smile.
He had a very good relationship with the Polar Star residents, so this request wasn't difficult for him. He agreed.
"By the way, why hasn't Isshiki-senpai come back?"
When the celebration was halfway through, everyone suddenly remembered there was one person missing. Although Satoshi Isshiki was a year above them and hadn't participated in the Autumn Elections, he was still a member of Polar Star.
"He just told us earlier, because of us, they changed the format. They added matches, so they're rearranging the schedule, the venues, the judges... the Elite Ten are all busy working overtime." Soma Yukihira explained.
It seemed like he wasn't so eager to become an Elite Ten member anymore. After all, being an Elite Ten member seemed to involve a lot of work, even overtime for unexpected circumstances like this. Like some advanced corporate slave.
Learning that Satoshi Isshiki was working overtime, everyone didn't ask any further. For the next two days, the various work arrangements for the Autumn Elections were constantly being adjusted. It wasn't until the third day that the adjustments were complete.
The venues were still the same as for the preliminaries, and the judges invited were graduates. Two matches would be held simultaneously, four in the morning, and four in the afternoon. All sixteen top-sixteen matches would be finished within two days.
The subsequent matches would then proceed as originally planned.
....
At this point, all sixteen first-year students were gathered in the Elite Ten meeting room. Now, it was time for the draw.
Besides drawing lots to see who their opponent would be, there was also the theme.
The drawing results soon came out.
Soma Yukihira drew his long-time rival from the original story, Takumi Aldini.
Ryō Kurokiba drew Miyoko Hōjō.
Megumi Tadokoro faced Daigo Aoki.
Shōji Satō faced Akira Hayama.
Shun Ibusaki faced Subaru Mimasaka.
Zenji Marui faced Ryōko Sakaki.
Yoshino Yuki faced Alice Nakiri.
Finally, Yuuki faced Hisako Arato...
Hisako Arato's heart sank seeing the draw result; after all, she had drawn the last person she wanted to face—Yuuki.
If it were Takumi, facing Yuuki, he would only feel lucky. Although knowing he wasn't Yuuki's match, he could still have a go.
But Hisako was different.
As Erina Nakiri's secretary, she felt she had to achieve at least second place to be worthy of her position!
Precisely because of this, she had always set extremely strict standards for herself, yet now, from the very start, she had to face Yuuki, an opponent she absolutely couldn't beat.
This meant that she was destined to lose this time.
....
With the numerous members from Polar Star, there were bound to be several internal battles. Megumi Tadokoro and Daigo Aoki. Zenji Marui and Ryōko Sakaki. Yoshino Yuki and Alice Nakiri.
Everyone had been mentally prepared for this long ago. Even if it was against a dorm mate, they would give it their all.
After the opponents were drawn, it was time to draw the theme. On Yuuki and Hisako Arato's side, Yuuki had Hisako do the draw.
The resulting theme was Sashimi.
This dish was indeed very common in Japan. Although Yuuki didn't often make such dishes, if he wanted to make it, there would be no problem for him at all. He happened to want to try using his Freezing Air ability.
This theme wasn't particularly friendly to Hisako Arato. After all, her specialty was Medicinal Cuisine, and raw fish wasn't exactly conducive to integrating medicinal ingredients.
"Since everyone has drawn their opponents and themes, go back and prepare. Come back here to compete tomorrow."
Seeing everyone finished with the draw, Eishi Tsukasa spoke. At this moment, he had huge dark circles around his eyes—clearly, he hadn't slept much these past few days due to overtime work.
....
"Hisako, don't overthink it. Just do your best. Never mind you, even I have no chance of winning against Yuuki." Erina Nakiri said.
In this competition, Yuuki was the final BOSS; whoever ran into him was screwed.
So, she didn't have any specific requirements for Hisako Arato's results.
Actually, Erina Nakiri always valued her little secretary and never demanded any specific achievements.
Although Erina was quite demanding of her other subordinates, she wasn't like that with Hisako.
Others approached her because of the connections and benefits from associating with the Nakiri family. Although this was also Hisako Arato's initial motivation, Hisako herself was extremely pure and sincere.
Just as described in the original story, she was someone who served the "flower"—that never changed. Erina Nakiri naturally also understood this. So, if others made mistakes, even if just once, she would abandon them.
After all, Erina Nakiri didn't lack followers.
But with Hisako Arato, it was different.
Hisako was the person who understood her best and the one she cared about most—
So no matter how many mistakes Hisako made, she would turn a blind eye—of course, fundamental errors were out of the question, and Hisako herself never made such mistakes.
"I know, Erina-sama. I'm really unlucky this time. But no matter what, I'll do my best!" Hisako Arato nodded.
Losing to Yuuki wasn't embarrassing. So, she didn't think much about it—perhaps this was even a good thing.
After all, Hisako Arato in the original story became very depressed after losing, only recovering under Soma Yukihira's guidance.
So, this time, it also prevented Hisako from falling into such a state.
....
Another day passed, and the Autumn Election venue once again filled with students.
To ensure the smooth running of the Autumn Elections, there would be no classes during this period, which could be considered a perk.
They could all come watch the competition. Of course, they could also choose not to come, but for Tōtsuki students, it was impossible not to come to such a competition.
"Speaking of which—did anyone see anything weird outside the dorm last night?" Shun Ibusaki couldn't help but ask on the way to the venue.
"Something outside the dorm?" Yoshino Yuki and the others were taken aback.
This was Tōtsuki Academy—while the area around Polar Star was forested, there weren't any wild animals.
"Don't even guess—it was Ibusaki-kun's opponent, Subaru Mimasaka. That guy is quite special; he can copy other people's dishes. Of course, this ability has certain prerequisites: he needs to track his target and thoroughly understand EVERYTHING about his opponent..." Yuuki explained.
The guy lurking outside last night was indeed Subaru Mimasaka.
However, replicating Shun Ibusaki's dish this time would be difficult for him; the time was simply too short.
Even if his tracking skills were amazing, it would still be impossible to completely replicate everything about Shun in just one night.
Of course, replicating a portion of it wouldn't be a problem, but Shun Ibusaki had been trained and taught by Yuuki for so long. The probability of Mimasaka beating Shun wasn't high.
"There's an ability like THAT?!" Everyone was shocked.
They never imagined Subaru Mimasaka would possess such an ability—replicating another Chef's cooking just by tracking them was mind-boggling.
Actually, referring to Subaru's ability as a special ability wasn't an exaggeration; only a special ability could achieve something so outrageous.
After arriving at the venue, everyone saw the burly Subaru Mimasaka.
Their expressions turned a bit odd. It was hard to imagine that this hulking figure was actually a stalker, relying on tracking others to replicate their dishes.
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