"Teach her how to make ramen?"
Tōsuke glanced at Megumi with an impassive expression.
Megumi's heart suddenly tightened. She quickly bowed and pleaded, "Please... senpai, please teach me!"
It was only then that she realized Sui had asked Tōsuke Megishima to personally teach her how to make ramen.
In Totsuki, the Ten Elites held esteemed positions, especially the third seat. To have the illustrious Tōsuke as her mentor must have cost Sui a great deal, she thought. Megumi couldn't help but feel a surge of gratitude toward Sui, vowing that she would repay his kindness for the rest of her life.
If it weren't for him, she would have been expelled long ago. Now, to help her win the Autumn Elections, Sui had even sought out one of the Ten Elites on her behalf.
"Yes, that's the plan," Sui confirmed.
If memory serves him right, the opponent Megumi would face in the quarterfinals was one of the strongest. Besides Erina and himself, Akira Hayama were the strongest first-year students at Totsuki.
Although Sui was quite skilled in ramen, he knew there was a gap between him and Tōsuke, a true ramen specialist. That's why he hoped Tōsuke could teach Megumi.
"If that's the case, I'm afraid I'll have to decline," Tōsuke said flatly.
"Why?" Sui frowned, puzzled.
"Because I'm very busy these days," Tōsuke replied calmly.
"Busy? You mean driving a ramen cart and selling ramen every day?" Sui asked, curiosity piqued.
"No."
Just as Tōsuke was about to explain further, a luxury car rolled up and stopped in front of his ramen cart, catching both Sui and Megumi off guard. It was unusual for someone in such an expensive car to visit this modest ramen stand.
Stepping out of the car was a familiar face—a young woman with long, jet-black hair. She was pretty and youthful, only a few years older than Sui.
"Wait, isn't that...?" Sui recognized her immediately. It was Ann, the WGO First-Class Archon who had previously inspected the alumni French Restaurant.
Ann was equally surprised to see Sui. "Aren't you that Totsuki student?"
"Do you know her?" Tōsuke asked, also surprised.
"Not exactly," Sui replied, then turned to Ann, "Are you here for ramen?"
"No." An shook her head before glancing at Tōsuke's cart with a faint smile. "This area is about to be demolished. You won't be able to stay here much longer."
Tōsuke remained calm, explaining, "I came across this area while selling ramen and learned that several of the ramen shops and snack bars here were being forced to close. They asked for my help."
"That's right. These substandard eateries will be torn down, and we'll be replacing them with real gourmet restaurants approved by the WGO," Ann said with a smug smile, looking down at Tōsuke as if he were insignificant. "Not even Totsuki can stop this. This area is crucial to the WGO's vision for the future of gourmet dining."
"What kind of vision is that?" Sui asked, unable to hold back his curiosity.
"We need to eliminate inferior restaurants so that the public can experience real, high-quality food," An explained in a soothing tone. "Doesn't that sound wonderful?"
"We will never give up our ramen shops!" A dozen or so people emerged from the shadows, glaring at Ann with defiance. They appeared to be the owners and families of the ramen restaurants on the block.
"Just you?" Ann sneered, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Of course, we can't do it alone! But we have the young master on our side!" one of the older men, wearing a headscarf, said firmly.
"Young master? Even if you are the third seat of Totsuki, you're nothing but a mantis trying to stop a chariot," An replied dismissively, her eyes looking at Tōsuke and the others as if they were beneath her.
As her words hung in the air, hundreds of men in black suits began pouring in from the east side of the street, each armed with machetes or baseball bats. Their presence radiated pure hostility.
Following behind them were bulldozers and a construction crew, clearly ready to tear the area down by force.
The few remaining customers eating ramen quickly turned pale and fled in terror.
Megumi, never having witnessed such a terrifying scene, blacked out and collapsed into Sui's arms.
Sui sighed and carefully laid Megumi down on the ramen cart.
"Damn it!" The ramen shop owners were horrified as the realization hit them that the opposition had mobilized such a large force.
"I told you before, not even the Elite Ten of Totsuki can withstand the WGO," An said with a smug smile.
"Get out of here, kid, or we'll smash your pathetic ramen stand to pieces," one of the thugs, a large muscular man, sneered as he approached Sui.
"You're the ones who should be leaving," Sui replied coolly.
"You little punk, what did you say?" The burly man growled and reached for Sui, seemingly intent on tossing him aside.
But Sui didn't even look up. With a simple motion, he grabbed the man's wrist and flung him away as effortlessly as if he were tossing out trash.
"What?!"
Everyone was stunned. The man Sui had just thrown weighed at least 200 pounds, yet Sui had tossed him aside like it was nothing.
Even Tōsuke couldn't hide his shock, momentarily stunned by Sui's strength.
Ann's expression faltered slightly. "Even so, you won't be able to stop us today."
But before she could finish her sentence, figures began appearing on the other side of the street. More and more people arrived until the street was packed with a sea of black-clad figures.
"Young Master, we're here!"
"Sorry for being late!"