"This is...?!"
Senzaemon was startled when he saw this photo. He squinted his eyes and asked, "Is this photo true?" He didn't want to believe what he had seen, and that was why he needed to ask this question.
At Tootsuki Academy, the one with the highest authority wasn't the director nor the shareholders, rather it was the Elite 10 that consisted of 10 of the most talented students in this academy.
Eishi Tsukasa met with his son-in-law, whom he has disowned in the past, and made him doubt what was the purpose of their meeting.
"I'm not sure what they're planning, but I can see that my father-in-law is aiming for your position, Grandpa," Haru said.
"...."
Hearing what the words came out from Haru, Senzaemon knew very well, but it was hard to accept such a thing. He stood up and said, "I'll talk with Tsukasa..."
"Stop! Stop!"
Haru hurriedly stopped Senzaemon. He didn't expect that Senzaemon was a type of hot-blooded man who moved without thinking.
"Why did you stop me?" Senzaemon was confused.
"Grandpa, don't alert the enemy." Haru helped him to sit down first and said, "First, we need to know who is our enemy and who is our ally."
"..."
Haru sighed and said, "Have you heard a sentence about, 'Keep your friends close and your enemy closer?'"
Senzaemon frowned and asked, "So you want me to pretend that I don't know anything?"
Haru nodded and said, "Since my father-in-law hasn't moved to overthrow your position then we can conclude that he hasn't had half or more Elite 10 people under him. But if he has made all of the Elite 10 into his ally then you can't do anything against him, Grandpa."
"...."
Senzaemon calmed down and thought what Haru had said was right. His son-in-law hadn't done anything to him which meant that his son-in-law hadn't grasped all of the members of the Elite 10. He looked at Haru and asked, "Do you have a plan?"
Haru nodded and said, "First..."
---
After talking with Senzaemon, Haru walked out of his office to meet with Souma. He was able to end his father-in-law's plan early and take the bud early from the earth, but he felt that wasn't fun. If possible he wanted to set the duel between two factions, and he also wanted to make Erina become the leader of that faction.
It might sound cruel since Erina had a fear against her father because of trauma that she had felt during her childhood time, but he wanted to see her break away from that cage. He loved a strong woman, but a real strength, not a facade to hide the fear.
Even though such a thing might be good since it made her depend on him for her entire life, but as her boyfriend, he wanted her to rebel against her own father.
If it was Chu Feng or Yun Che, both of them might end the life of Erina's father as soon as possible and the problem was over.
But the problem was, this place was a modern world.
The people in this world had created the rule and everyone played the game by a rule. Even if there was an argument that there were a lot of people who didn't play the game by a rule, let's ignore those people for a while.
If the opponent decided to fight him by trying to kill him or assassinate him then he would also fight them back in the same way.
But if the opponent decided to fight him using a trick then he would also use the trick.
Haru wanted to play using the rules of the game, but if the opponent decided to break the rule then he didn't mind playing with them.
'An eye for an eye, right?'
Walking on the courtyard of Tootsuki, Haru looked at the huge and beautiful scenery in this academy. He was about to reach the location where Souma was waiting. He saw Souma who was sitting on the bench together with someone. He was about to call him, but suddenly something happened.
Souma who was sitting suddenly kicked from the bench by the person beside him.
"You vulgar plebian...
"DON'T YOU DARE TO SIT NEXT TO MEEE!!!"
The young man pointed his finger at Souma and yelled loudly, "This academy won't allow ordinary people like you to enter! Only an elite among elites like me is eligible to enter this academy to study! This is Tootsuki, the Paradise of Chef! Low-class people like you----"
*Baam!*
The young man couldn't finish his words since his face was kicked by someone. He was thrown a few meters away twitching on the ground. He felt his nose was in pain and he was wailing loudly.
"Souma, you alright?" Haru helped Souma who was on the side.
"I'm alright," Souma said. He was also very annoyed by the young man earlier, but he didn't want to cause more trouble. However, he didn't expect to see Haru had kicked the young man earlier.
"Y, you bastard?!"
The young man rose from the ground and pointed his finger at Haru. "My father has never beaten me! How dare you do this?"
"Oh ho? Is your father powerful?" Haru asked casually.
The young man seemed quite proud and said, "Of course! My father is the owner of the most popular restaurant in Roppongi!...." He started to "bla bla...."
"Let's go to the exam," Haru said and took his phone to call someone.
Souma nodded and decided to ignore this young man.
"Damn, how dare you ignore me! Guys beat him up for me!" The young man ordered his bodyguard to give Haru a lesson.
But suddenly a group of people with black suits appeared suddenly and apprehended all of the young man's bodyguards on the ground.
"What?!"
The young man was in shock.
Haru didn't say anything and walked away with Souma. He was wondering why someone could be so arrogant.
"....."
The young man wasn't sure what had happened, but suddenly his phone rang. He looked at the screen on his phone and saw that it was his father.
"Huh? Father? What's wrong?"
"Son! Our restaurant gets a lot of bad reviews! And there are a lot of scandals that suddenly come out from various media!"
"....."
The young man slumped on the ground and couldn't believe what he had heard before laughing as he funnily dropped his smartphone to the ground. He thought that everything was a dream and he passed out after that.
Haru didn't do too much and only put up a scandal, but such a scandal would be easily erased as long as there was money, though, he was a bit surprised at the young man's reaction since it was too exaggerated since he didn't make the young man's parent' restaurant bankrupt.
"....."
They didn't know what had happened to the young man while looking at Haru's back with a complex expression, but somehow they understood that this young man was in very big trouble.
---
It was just a small episode for Haru, but for Souma, it was a huge matter.
Souma didn't expect that this school would be like this, especially since the crowd turned silent after Haru uttered a word to the young man earlier. He could see that everyone looked at Haru in fear which made him confused.
"Haru, what did you do earlier?" Souma asked.
Haru chuckled and said, "Do you want to know?"
"..."
Souma thought that it was better to not ask, and at the same time, he realized the identity of his friend wasn't as simple as it seemed. He shook his head and started to complain, "What the hell is going on at this school!" He grumbled and didn't understand why a lot of people looked down on him, especially when he had told them about his origin. His shop might be a small eatery that was famous in the neighborhood, but it didn't mean that they could look down on him.
"Well, for people like them, they're thinking that real food only belongs to the upper class," Haru said. In his view, the cuisine at the star restaurant was only a genre such a horror genre in the movie. Even the food stalls on the street and small shops were also a genre of cuisine, and there wasn't any real or fake cuisine, and because of that cuisine was very fun.
Even if the price of the food that was made at the star restaurant might be more expensive, it didn't mean that the taste was better than the one which was made by a food stall on the street.
As long as the food is delicious then it is good food.
Whether such food was real or fake cuisine, such a thing was irrelevant.
"I can't accept this! I want them to know that the dishes which are recognized by the masses are good food! Not a food which is being decided by a small elitist!"
Souma didn't seem down. He made a vow and raised his fist showing the temperament of Shounen Manga's main character.
Haru smiled and patted his shoulder. "Come on, Souma. I'm optimistic about you."