"Hey, that's Hojo-san's group. Something seems wrong," Megumi exclaimed in surprise.
Sui frowned slightly. If he remembered correctly, Miyoko was very capable. Even if the customers weren't satisfied, they wouldn't give such a harsh evaluation, right?
"My steamed dumplings are not as bad as you claim!" Miyoko's cheeks were pale as she bit her lip and said in a low voice, "Please, try them again."
"Do you expect me to eat this garbage again?" the customer sneered loudly. "You dare be stubborn when the food is this bad? Are all Tōtsuki interns this incompetent?"
"Yeah, I thought Tōtsuki was supposed to be amazing, but I didn't expect their interns to be this terrible. It seems Tōtsuki isn't as great as people say," another guest chimed in, adding fuel to the fire.
The commotion immediately drew the attention of everyone in the hall. Both the Tōtsuki interns and the guests dining in the restaurant turned their heads in curiosity.
"Look, it's Hojo Miyoko's group," one student whispered.
"Haha, that girl's usually so arrogant. I didn't expect her to fail like this," another said with a smirk.
"Yeah, it would be great if she got eliminated. She's such a strong competitor," some other students added, laughing with schadenfreude, clearly enjoying Miyoko's misfortune.
"Is something wrong with Tōtsuki's interns? Is their cooking really that bad?" some guests murmured to one another, watching the scene unfold.
As more people focused on her, the pressure mounted. Miyoko's partner began to tremble, her legs weak with fear. She couldn't even muster the strength to speak.
Despite the immense pressure, Miyoko gritted her teeth and held her ground, refusing to back down.
In the corner, Mizuhara Fuyumi sat quietly on a chair, observing everything with an expressionless face. One of the hotel staff hesitated and asked her, "Chef Mizuhara, should we intervene? Those guests seem to have bad intentions."
"No," Mizuhara responded calmly. "Though this is outside of the original plan, situations like this can happen in the real world. If they want to become chefs, they need to learn how to handle it. If they can't deal with it, it's just bad luck."
"Understood," the staff member nodded, though they couldn't help but feel sympathy for Hojo Miyoko and her team.
"Hey! You served us terrible food, so shouldn't you compensate us?" one of the troublesome guests suddenly shouted.
"Exactly! We're not asking for much—just 100,000 yen should cover it," the second guest added with a smirk, raising their voice even louder.
By now, it was obvious to everyone that these two were trying to scam the students. Although this sort of thing was rare, such people did exist.
However, the other students had no intention of stepping in to help. They just watched with grim expressions, indifferent to Hojo Miyoko's plight.
"Hojo-san looks so pitiful," Megumi sighed softly, clearly feeling sorry for her.
Sui nodded before stepping forward. "What's going on?" he asked as he approached Miyoko.
Upon seeing Sui, Miyoko's eyes lit up with gratitude. She bit her lip and said indignantly, "These guys are claiming my steamed dumplings are horrible, but there's no way that's true!"
Sui glanced at the remaining dumplings on the table, picked one up, and tasted it. "Hmm... it's actually pretty good," he said after a moment.
Although his God Tongue could detect some imperfections, the dumplings were far from bad. Certainly, they were not the disaster the customers claimed them to be.
"What do you know, kid? She's your classmate, right? Of course, you'd defend her," the guest snapped, his tone laced with hostility. "If you don't give us a proper answer, we won't let this go."
Sui glanced toward Mizuhara Fuyumi, noticing that she had ordered the staff to stay back, clearly wanting the students to resolve this issue on their own.
"So, what kind of answer are you looking for?" Sui asked calmly.
"It's simple. Either you make us some dumplings that satisfy us, or you compensate us for our trouble," the guests sneered, making their intentions clear.
Anyone could see they were after compensation, and no matter what Sui served, they would likely complain again.
Unexpectedly, Sui nodded. "Fine," he agreed.
This surprised everyone around him.
"Sui, I appreciate your help, but this really isn't your problem," Miyoko said quietly, biting her lip. If anything went wrong, Sui himself could face expulsion.
"You don't need to thank me. I just can't stand people like this," Sui replied nonchalantly.
"That's right, Hojo-san," Megumi added, nodding earnestly.
Seeing both of them standing by her side, Miyoko was left speechless. All she could do was murmur a quiet thank you.
"This transfer student sure likes to meddle," one student muttered under their breath.
"Yeah, those two are clearly scammers. He probably thinks he's some kind of hero," another said mockingly.
"Wouldn't it be great if he got kicked out for this?" a few students snickered.
Suddenly, Miyoko's eyes turned icy cold, and she shot them a sharp glare. "If I hear you talk badly about Sui again, I will not forgive you. Do you understand?" she said coldly.
The students froze in fear. Despite being a girl, Miyoko was a powerhouse at school. Even the boys couldn't beat her in a fight.
"Y-Yes, we understand," they stammered, terrified of her wrath.
Mizuhara watched the scene unfold and chuckled softly to herself. "This year's freshmen are quite interesting," she mused.
"Should we stop this now?" the staff member asked again, unsure of what to do.
"No, let's wait and see how they handle it," Mizuhara replied, still expressionless.
Meanwhile, Sui had already entered the kitchen and was preparing to cook.
"Sui, what are you planning? Let me help you," Miyoko said, following him into the kitchen.