"Great job! You managed to spot all three mistakes in the French Country Beef Stew," Donato praised. "And you caught the two traps hidden in the French omelette too. Impressive."
When tasting the French asparagus soup, Donato paused in surprise. "You added a touch of fresh cream at the end to enhance the flavor, didn't you?"
"Yes," Sui nodded.
"That wasn't in the recipe," Donato remarked with satisfaction. "Not only did you correct the mistakes, but you also incorporated your own ideas by adding fresh cream to elevate the flavor. Very well done."
Donato smiled approvingly. "You showed both the courage to spot errors and the creativity to make improvements. You've passed the test."
"Great!" Megumi couldn't contain her happiness, clutching Sui's hand tightly. She had been quite nervous before, but now relief washed over her.
Once Donato had finished tasting all the students' dishes, he addressed the class, "That's it for today. Those who failed may leave now."
In the end, every student who had followed the recipe without question failed, while those who made changes passed. Even if a student found only one error, they were still granted a pass.
To Donato's surprise, however, more than half the class had been eliminated.
"Was today's assignment really that difficult?" Donato was slightly taken aback. To him, the task seemed simple. As long as they identified at least one mistake, they could pass. But most students had been too hesitant to question the recipes crafted by Tōtsuki graduates.
"You found all eleven errors in the recipes and even introduced your own ideas. You're the best student in this group," he told Sui, smiling. "It's a shame I don't have the authority to give higher evaluations. But congratulations, you've earned first place."
"Thank you, chef," Sui bowed respectfully.
Afterward, Sui and the other students took the bus back to the Tōtsuki Resort.
---
At the same time, back home...
"Tohru-sama, when is Sui coming back? I want to eat his magic fried rice," Kanna asked, her voice hopeful.
"You've asked me that one hundred and three times today," Tohru replied, sounding exasperated, though she herself missed Sui.
"Why don't we go do some exercises?" Tohru suggested.
"Alright," Kanna agreed, pulling her tail out of the electrical socket as she stood up.
The two dragons flew off to an uninhabited island near the coast. However, what they considered "exercise" was far different from human activities. Explosions rocked the island as Tohru and Kanna battled fiercely, turning the landscape into a wasteland resembling hell itself.
Even the nearby ocean trembled under their immense power, the waters rippling as if in fear.
Meanwhile, in a distant earthquake monitoring center...
"Any updates? Another earthquake?" the director asked, his expression grim.
"Yes, sir. This is the fourth one in the past two days, and they keep happening without any warning," one of the pale-faced technicians reported.
"With these frequent quakes... could the end of the world be near?" The somber mood in the monitoring center deepened as they feared what might be coming. If they knew the quakes were simply due to someone missing their fried rice, they might very well collapse in disbelief.
---
"Did you hear? More than half the students in Chef Donato's class were eliminated today!" someone whispered at the hotel.
"That's terrifying! Even scarier than Chef Shinomiya!" another replied.
"Yeah, even the lecturer didn't expect such a high dropout rate. But that transfer student, Sui, apparently took first place again."
"Wow, really? I heard that Erina-sama from another training site is also doing well. It seems they're the only two who've consistently passed all their tests in first place."
As Sui returned to the hotel, he ran into Sōma and a few others.
"Did everyone pass?" Sui asked.
"Of course!" Soma laughed heartily. "We're planning to hang out tonight. You should join us!"
"Yeah, bring Erina-chi too!" Yoshino chimed in, eager to have Erina on her side for the games.
"Alright," Sui agreed with a smile.
When he got back to his room, Erina had also returned. The two cooked dinner and ate together.
"By the way, Erina, are you coming to Polaris Dormitory again tonight?" Sui asked.
"No way! I'm not playing those ridiculous games again!" Erina huffed, remembering the embarrassment of having her face covered in notes during last night's game. She was still sulking.
"Okay then," Sui shrugged, letting it go.
However, that night, Erina quietly followed him once more.
"Didn't you say you weren't coming?" Sui asked, amused.
Blushing furiously, Erina stammered, "I was bored in my room, so I just came to watch! I definitely don't know how to play poker."
As expected, Erina lost throughout the night and was eventually carried back to her room by Sui.
---
The next day marked the start of Inui Hinatako's class. The challenge this time was to create a spring-themed dish using wild ingredients. Sui and Megumi passed once again without any issues.
Before long, the Rapport Training Camp reached its third day. This time, the instructor was Shinomiya Kojiro.
"I heard Chef Shinomiya eliminated over thirty students yesterday!" someone murmured.
"Yeah, he's known to be the strictest of all the lecturers."
As the students gathered, their expressions were grim, anticipating the challenge.
"Good day, everyone. I am Shinomiya Kojiro, a graduate of the class of 79. My class is simple: just follow my menu and prepare the corresponding dish," Shinomiya smiled as he handed out the recipe.
"Nine types of vegetable terrine! Isn't that too difficult?" The students grew tense as they read the complex instructions.
It seemed the hardest part of the training had arrived. Sui glanced at Megumi, who stood nearby. He knew that, if things went as they had in the past, this was the moment when Megumi would face expulsion under Shinomiya's strict evaluation.