After spreading olive oil over the bread and sprinkling it with salt, Sui toasted it, allowing the moisture to evaporate, concentrating the sweetness even more. The once-crisp bread turned soft and fluffy, filling the air with a faint, sweet fragrance.
"This smells amazing," one student nearby commented.
"Yeah, what is that transfer student making? Is it a dessert? It smells so good."
The nearby students couldn't help but glance over, captivated by the enticing aroma.
Even Chef Chapelle, seated at the front, took notice and looked in Sui's direction.
"Is that Sui?" Chapelle thought, recalling the impressive transfer student who consistently earned A grades. He was curious to see what kind of dish Sui would create this time.
"It smells so good! Hey, Sui, can we talk about something?" Rindō's nose twitched as she spoke, her sharp canine teeth visible as she tried to coax him.
Sui glanced at her sideways. He knew exactly what she was up to, even without her saying anything.
"No."
"I already gave you a small portion before. If you eat any more, I won't have enough left to complete the dish," Sui explained firmly.
"Sui, don't be so stingy! You're a man, aren't you?" Rindō pouted, lightly hitting him in dissatisfaction.
Sui could only shake his head in exasperation.
Meanwhile, Tsukasa and the others continued watching as Sui and Megumi prepared their dish.
Megumi, feeling the weight of being observed by the first and second seats, was clearly nervous. She worried that she might make a mistake and receive criticism from them, so she remained tense, careful not to make any errors.
"You're doing a great job pickling the salmon," Tsukasa complimented.
"Really?" Megumi asked, surprised. She hadn't expected the first seat himself to praise her.
"Of course," Tsukasa said with a kind smile.
The salmon needed to marinate for two hours, leaving Sui and Megumi with some downtime.
Time ticked by, and before long, an hour and a half had passed. During that time, other students continued to submit their dishes to Chef Chapelle for evaluation.
"Takumi Aldini's team: 79 points."
"Ryoko Sakaki's team: 70 points."
"Kiyoshi Yamada's team: 32 points."
Students who received failing scores left the area in frustration.
"Ugh, it feels like Chef Chapelle's standards are getting even stricter."
"Yeah, I'm sure I'll get an E in this French cooking class."
"It's over…"
At this point, Erina turned to Sui and said, "I think I should get going now. There's only an hour and a half left, and I don't want to run out of time."
"Alright," Sui nodded.
"Me too," Alice waved as she also left the kitchen.
Now, only Tsukasa and Rindō remained.
"Hey, senpais, why aren't you starting on your own dish?" Sui asked, surprised.
"It's fine. This is just a simple test; one hour is plenty of time," Tsukasa replied with a smile. "I'm more interested in watching you finish your dish."
"Alright then," Sui shrugged.
"Tsukasa-senpai seems really interested in that transfer student," a student nearby whispered.
"Yeah, he's been keeping an eye on him for a while," another agreed, with a touch of envy.
The students were surprised and a bit jealous to see Eishi Tsukasa sitting on the kitchen counter, so intently watching Sui cook.
"Is that transfer student really that good? Even Tsukasa-senpai is fascinated by him."
"Yeah, he's getting special attention. What's so special about him?"
By the time the salmon was fully marinated, there was only an hour left in the class.
Eishi Tsukasa stood up reluctantly. "What a shame. I wish I could stay and watch you finish this dish. But I'd better go and make my own now."
He knew it was time to prepare his own dish.
"I'll head out too," Rindō waved at Sui before leaving.
Sui nodded, and soon it was just him and Megumi left to finish their dish.
Half an hour later, Chapelle announced another score.
"Erina Nakiri's team: 92 points."
"What? Ninety-two points?! The highest score so far was only seventy-six!" The classroom buzzed with shock.
"As expected from the God's Tongue," one student muttered.
"Yeah, to get such a score from Chef Chapelle, who's so strict... she's incredible."
"Miss Erina really is amazing."
More students submitted their dishes.
"Alice Nakiri's team: 89 points."
"Sōma Yukihira's team: 85 points."
"Haha! I finally got a passing score," Sōma laughed.
"Darn it, still lower than Erina!" Alice grumbled, frustrated at being outdone by her cousin once again.
Meanwhile, Sui had placed the marinated salmon onto the bread, beaten an egg, brushed olive oil over it, and popped it into the oven. This was the final step. Soon, his dish would be complete.
Just then, another announcement came.
"Eishi Tsukasa's team: 93 points."
"Rindō's team: 92 points."
Chapelle set down his fork and calmly made the announcement.
For a moment, the classroom was silent, and then it erupted in shock.
"So strong! He even beat Miss Erina's score!"
"As expected of the first seat! And it only took him less than an hour to cook, right?"
"Yeah, it's insane."
Sui was also surprised. He recalled that Tsukasa and Rindō had only started cooking in the last hour, yet they had managed to produce such highly-praised dishes with ease.
No wonder they had looked so relaxed earlier. They clearly hadn't been concerned about the exam at all.
As expected of the first and second seats.
"I use different grading standards for different year levels, and the standard for third-year students is the highest," Chef Chapelle remarked, coughing lightly to draw attention.
Upon hearing this, the students were even more amazed. Not only had Tsukasa and Rindō achieved such high scores, but they had done so under the most challenging criteria.
"Sui, is your dish ready yet?" Eishi Tsukasa, who had already completed his exam, returned and asked, clearly curious.
It was obvious he was looking forward to seeing Sui's dish made with pear bread. Even Tsukasa wasn't confident that he could handle such a unique ingredient with ease.