"This is our dish, an orange chiffon cake," said the group of four students nervously, presenting their dessert.
Ms. Juliet nodded and asked, "Which third-year senior would you like to challenge?"
The group hesitated, glancing nervously at the six third-year students who had already prepared their own dishes. The seniors eyed them mockingly, smirking with confidence.
The four students swallowed hard. Even though they had worked together, they lacked confidence in their dish.
"Let's challenge her," one of them finally suggested, pointing toward a quiet girl wearing glasses. She appeared to be the least intimidating of the third-years, and her dish, a simple egg pudding, seemed the least remarkable.
The senior smiled softly and brought her egg pudding to the instructor.
Ms. Juliet began tasting both dishes, her expression calm and unreadable.
The entire classroom watched intently.
"This egg pudding is soft, sweet, and has a lovely milky flavor. Very well done," Ms. Juliet commented after tasting both dishes. "As for the orange chiffon cake, it wasn't mixed evenly, resulting in an inconsistent texture. Furthermore, the temperature was off, leaving parts of the cake slightly burnt. The winner is the egg pudding."
Ms. Juliet then turned to the four students and announced in a cold voice, "You've failed the challenge. You all receive an E."
"No!"
"Ms. Juliet, we gave it our best! It's impossible to beat a third-year student!"
"Please, give us another chance!" the students pleaded, their faces turning pale.
But Ms. Juliet remained unmoved. "Next group!" she called out coldly.
The next group of students stepped forward, trembling as they presented their dish. "This is our dessert, a cream cheese dessert cup."
"Which senior do you wish to challenge?" Ms. Juliet asked, her tone as icy as before.
…
As time passed, group after group approached the instructor to challenge the seniors, only to meet with defeat every time.
"Are the third-years really that strong?"
"Well, of course! Anyone who makes it to the third year at Tōtsuki is a master. None of them are weak."
"Damn it, even with four of us working together, there's no way we can win!"
The first-years grew increasingly anxious as they watched group after group fail. Soon, all the third-year seniors had been challenged, except for Momo Akanegakubo. No one dared to face her.
She was the fourth seat of the Elite Ten and a master of desserts. Challenging her would be suicide.
"This is so boring…" Momo muttered, sitting on a chair while hugging her teddy bear. She yawned in boredom, her dessert untouched in front of her. "I shouldn't have bothered coming to this class."
"These first-years are so weak. They're nowhere near as good as we were."
"Yeah, at this rate, they'll be eliminated soon."
The other third-year students shared smug looks, amused by the incompetence of the first-years.
…
Meanwhile, Sui took the butterfly cakes out of the oven. The freshly baked cakes were golden, perfectly shaped, and filled the room with the tantalizing aroma of butter. Even before tasting, it was clear they would be crispy and delicious.
"This is amazing!" Yoshino exclaimed excitedly. "We can definitely beat those third-years with this!"
Megumi and Ryoko both nodded in agreement, feeling a sense of pride. Although Sui had done most of the work, they had contributed too.
With their dish ready, the four of them brought it to Ms. Juliet.
Ms. Juliet's eyes lit up as she smelled the enticing butter aroma. "Which senior would you like to challenge?" she asked.
Sui glanced toward the third-year students.
"How about it, kid? Dare to challenge me?" one senior taunted.
"Haha, let me, a senior, test the strength of the freshman who beat a member of the Elite Ten," another laughed.
Several third-years were eager for Sui to pick them. Beating him would prove that they were stronger than Eizan Etsuya, who had held the ninth seat.
But Sui only shook his head and said lightly, "You're too weak."
"What did you say, kid?!"
"Don't get cocky, freshman!" The third-years were furious. How dare he call them weak?
Sui smiled slightly and turned to look at Momo, who was still yawning beside them. "I'll challenge Akanegakubo-senpai."
The room fell silent. Every student stared at Sui in disbelief.
Even Ms. Juliet was taken aback. She clearly hadn't expected Sui to choose Momo Akanegakubo, of all people!
Momo, who had been dozing off, slowly opened her eyes, a cold gleam flashing in them.
"Are you sure you want to challenge Momo?" Ms. Juliet asked, needing confirmation.
"That's right," Sui replied confidently. "If I want to test my cooking skills, I need to face someone strong. The others are too weak to properly challenge me."
Sui's statement was honest. When he had beaten Eizan, part of his victory was due to Eizan underestimating him, and Sui had also used his strongest recipe. Now, he wanted to see how he measured up to the top ten in other cooking areas.
"S-Sui, why Akanegakubo-senpai?!" Megumi and the others were stunned.
"Don't worry," Sui reassured them. He believed that in this kind of class, Momo wouldn't be fully focused. That gave him some confidence.
The third-year students, meanwhile, were seething. They realized that Sui had never taken them seriously from the start. His arrogance was unbearable.
"In that case, I'll see what you're made of, kohai," Momo said expressionlessly, her eyes sharp.