"Su Mia!"
With a loud 'bang', her name was shouted once again.
"Su Ping."
Another 'thud' sounded as it was shouted again.
"Suiii!"
Momo held her forehead with both hands, tears welling in her eyes as she exclaimed, "Is this alright?"
Isshiki, standing nearby, was a little surprised to witness this scene.
Despite Momo's outward appearance as a cute girl, as the fourth seat of Totsuki, no one would dare treat her this way.
Erina, however, was no longer surprised.
"For you," Sui said, handing Momo a small carton of milk.
After taking it, Momo pouted and grumbled, "Su Pian!"
Sui was at a loss for words, though he had anticipated something like this might happen.
"Sui, don't be stingy!" Alice said, stepping forward.
Sui sighed helplessly and gave her some as well.
"Great!" Alice beamed, clearly happy with her milk.
"Hey, what kind of cow did this milk come from? Did you raise it yourself?" a girl from the exchange group suddenly asked coldly, her gaze fixed on Sui.
"Well... you could say that," Sui replied, unsure how to explain and simply nodding.
"Good, then let's play by Totsuki's rules! If you lose, you have to tell me how to raise such cows!" the girl declared in a stern voice.
Everyone fell silent, then collectively turned away, ignoring her.
The girl was immediately furious. "The students of Totsuki are so cunning! They clearly don't want to share how they raise their cows."
"Yeah, I never imagined Totsuki could raise such excellent dairy cows. It's really impressive!"
"They're even better than the cows we breed at our academy."
The exchange students gathered together, whispering in disbelief.
Seeing this, Sui and the others were speechless.
Later, Sui and Erina took a group on a tour of the campus. During the walk, Sui learned the name of the persistent girl in the exchange group: Aimisha.
The topic of cows kept coming up, much to Sui's growing frustration. Just before lunch, they were summoned to the office of Totsuki's Headmaster.
Inside, Senzaemon and Leonora Nakiri were waiting along with a few unfamiliar faces. Judging from their deep facial features, these were clearly Europeans, likely the leading lecturers of the exchange group.
"Erina, is everyone getting along well?" Senzaemon asked with a warm smile as Erina and the others entered.
"Yes, we're getting along fine," Erina replied, though in truth, she was rather annoyed by Aimisha's constant pestering of Sui about the cows.
"Is this the 'God's Tongue'? I've heard her sense of taste is far beyond ordinary," remarked a stern-looking middle-aged man with sharp eyes, directing his question at Erina.
"Yes, she's my granddaughter," Senzaemon nodded, introducing him. "Erina, this is Professor John, the Vice-Dean. He has made great strides in cultivating food ingredients."
"Hello, Vice-Dean," Erina greeted politely.
Professor John nodded and cast his gaze toward the others. "So these are Totsuki's Elite Ten? The best of the best?"
His Japanese was notably more fluent than his students'. The other senior lecturers with him also had keen expressions, clearly curious about the famed Elite Ten of Totsuki.
"Yes. I am Isshiki Satoshi, the seventh seat," Isshiki said, smiling as he gave a polite bow.
"Momo Akanegakubo, fourth seat," she stated curtly.
This time, the first seat, Tsukasa Eishi, was busy with new dish experiments, while Rindō was off exploring new ingredients, rumored to be in the Amazon rainforest. Nene and Kuga were still fiercely competing elsewhere, while Saito Soumei and Eizan had been rarely seen on campus recently. Hence, only Momo, Isshiki Satoshi, and Erina were present.
Professor John nodded, then glanced at Sui, who had yet to introduce himself. "And this young man? Is he the first seat?"
Leonora chuckled, "No, this boy is not one of the Elite Ten."
"Oh? He's not?" Professor John appeared mildly surprised, a hint of disappointment in his tone. The senior lecturers around him also frowned, looking at Sui with suspicion.
If he wasn't part of the Elite Ten, why was he standing alongside them? Could he possess some unique talent?
"Although Sui is not a member of the Elite Ten, he has defeated them in the past," Erina said on Sui's behalf.
"Impressive! Your school is certainly filled with talent," Professor John said, his eyes lighting up in surprise. The others also looked at Sui with newfound respect.
After all, the Elite Ten graduates often became leading figures in Japan's culinary world. That someone had defeated them was no small feat.
"I once tasted the cuisine of Totsuki graduate Kojiro Shinomiya in Paris, and it left a deep impression," Professor John said with a calm smile. "I look forward to sampling dishes from the Elite Ten during my visit."
"Of course. I'll have my fellows prepare something for you to enjoy," Erina replied, her expression becoming more serious, as did Isshiki.
What began as polite conversation had now turned into a clear challenge.
Senzaemon smiled. "That sounds wonderful. Why don't we have the students from both sides prepare a dish, and then we can taste them?"
He was clearly confident in his students.
"Excellent idea. I'm looking forward to tasting Erina-chan's friend's cooking," Leonora said with a hopeful smile.
"Agreed," Professor John nodded. "This will allow us to measure the level of both schools' students."
"Do your best. We can't let Totsuki lose face in front of guests," Senzaemon said firmly to Isshiki and the others.
At that moment, Aimisha whispered something to Professor John.
"What? You're saying the milk you drank here tasted better than the milk from the new breed of cows I developed?"