#402 - Recruitment from General Totsuki

Fukazaki, who had been fighting over the food, immediately wore an embarrassed expression upon hearing Erina's words and slowly retracted his chopsticks.

Indeed, at first, Fukazaki was acting as a staff member, responsible for serving Erina and the other guests.

However, when Erina and the others were savoring the dish, Fukazaki, standing to the side, looked at the artistic, crystal-clear slices of fish on the ice mountain, and his appetite was instantly piqued, causing him to reach out with his chopsticks as if possessed.

Then, after the first bite, he was instantly out of control, entering an even more blush-inducing and heart-pounding 'high' than Erina and Hisako.

Fortunately, everyone else was also in a state of intoxication with the dish, otherwise, Fukazaki would probably have suffered a social death afterward.

Of course, Seiya, the only one who remained sober, watched the entire fan service scene.

After Fukazaki withdrew from the battle for the last slice of sea bream, Soma and Erina continued to argue incessantly, until a pair of chopsticks nonchalantly reached out from the side, picking up the slice of sea bream and putting it into a mouth, causing the two who were originally glaring outwards to turn their angry gazes towards the intruder.

"I've said it before, the longer sashimi sits, the worse it tastes.

Since you two can't come to a conclusion, it's best if I resolve it, and since I made this dish, it's a good ending for me to eat the last bite, right?"

When the sea bream entered his mouth, Seiya thought it was delicious, but he didn't fall into the same 'high' state that Erina and the others had experienced.

Thinking that people who are 'high' usually don't think there's anything strange about themselves, Seiya asked Fukazaki next to him, and the other party said that Seiya didn't do anything strange either.

What the heck? Is it because the sashimi has been sitting for too long, so it can't induce a 'high', or is it that I can't get myself high?

"Remarkable, just as that person said, you are indeed a culinary genius with both talent and skill.

Although it may be presumptuous to ask, young man, if I, as the Director of Totsuki Academy, personally invite you to enter Totsuki Academy, would you be willing to come?

After all, since the establishment of Totsuki Academy, they had never heard of a student being personally invited by the Director of Totsuki!

Moreover, Senzaemon's evaluation of Seiya was also incredibly high, suggesting that he could gain a seat in the 'Totsuki Elite Ten' upon entering the academy, which meant that, in Senzaemon's view, Seiya's current culinary skills might already be stronger than most of the current 'Totsuki Elite Ten'.

Otherwise, if he was only stronger than Erina, Senzaemon wouldn't have spoken with such certainty.

However, regarding Senzaemon's evaluation of Seiya, Erina would have felt surprised and unconvinced if it had been before.

But after eating Seiya's 'Three Non-Stick' and 'Frigid Ice Sea Bream Mountain', she now had to admit that this young man, who was about the same age as her, had already left her far behind in terms of culinary skills.

If it was just the egg dish called 'Three Non-Stick', Erina would have felt that although she was slightly inferior to him, the distance was not impossible to catch up to.

But after seeing Seiya's 'Frigid Ice Sea Bream Mountain', Erina really couldn't muster the courage to compare herself to Seiya.

Leaving aside other dishes, in terms of sashimi, Erina even felt that it would be difficult for her to catch up to Seiya in this lifetime, after all, such extreme knife skills were truly worthy of admiration.

The Director of Totsuki, the personal invitation of the 'Food Demon King', if it were any other chef, they would probably be so excited that they would burst into tears on the spot, right?

However, facing the olive branch thrown by Senzaemon, Seiya was now calmly wiping his Seven Star Knives, and finally, with a serious expression, he said: "Thank you very much for the kindness of the Director of Totsuki, but please forgive me for refusing, because I still prefer my family's small restaurant."

"Damn it, are you looking down on our Totsuki Academy? My grandfather has never invited a student like this before, although you are indeed..."

"Erina!"

Hearing Seiya's refusal, Erina, who suddenly became a little agitated, was interrupted by Senzaemon before she could finish speaking.

Then, Senzaemon looked at Seiya seriously again and said: "Can you tell me the reason why you rejected Totsuki?

Undeniably, in terms of peers, your talent and ability are indeed outstanding among those I have seen, but there are also many culinary geniuses like you in Totsuki.

Staying in a corner will only bury your talent, only by colliding and exchanging ideas with other geniuses can you take a step further.

Or are you dissatisfied with the conditions I just proposed? As long as you are willing to enter Totsuki, any conditions you have are negotiable."

For Seiya's refusal, Senzaemon was not angry, but still said with a calm expression.

If it were someone else, Senzaemon probably wouldn't be so persistent, but the 'Frigid Ice Sea Bream Mountain' that Seiya had just made had indeed amazed him.

Senzaemon had seen many geniuses who shut themselves off from the world, possessed extraordinary talent and ability, and eventually faded into obscurity.

Senzaemon believed that Seiya's current culinary level at this age, in addition to his own talent and effort, was also largely due to the careful guidance of Seiya's mother.

As Soma said, Seiya's mother was a chef whose strength was no less than that of Joichiro Yukihira.

And with such a powerful chef carefully guiding him from a young age, Seiya's starting point was naturally much higher than others.

But now, hasn't Seiya's mother gone on a long journey? Instead of guarding such a small restaurant and burying his talent, it would be better to enter Totsuki Academy and receive elite education.

Senzaemon wouldn't dare to say that the instructors at Totsuki are better than Seiya's mother, but at least it's definitely better than Seiya closing himself off and learning on his own.

"I'm sorry, I don't have any intention of looking down on Totsuki Academy, I just think that studying at Totsuki Academy is completely different from the culinary path I want to take.

I don't value fame, wealth, or status, I just want to constantly improve my culinary skills and keep my family's restaurant open."