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In the original story, Takumi Aldini targeted Soma Yukihira.
However, now, with the even stronger Yuuki present, his target naturally shifted from Soma to Yuuki.
"Big Brother, I think he noticed us—" Isami Aldini said, seeing Yuuki look in their direction.
"So what if he noticed?! I'll challenge him once we get to the assessment area!" Takumi didn't care; he just wanted to beat Yuuki.
"But Big Brother, what if he just ignores you?"
Isami's words instantly deflated Takumi. Although Isami's Culinary skills weren't as good as his brother's, his ability to deliver a verbal jab was top-notch, striking directly at Takumi's insecurities.
"I-I'll figure something out—" Takumi stammered, then started brainstorming, no longer paying attention to Isami.
....
Soon, the bus arrived at the assessment location. Led by Hinako Inui, the students entered a classroom.
"Hello, everyone! I'm Hinako Inui, your examiner for this assessment. You can call me Chef Inui or Hinako-senpai—"
After introducing herself, Hinako Inui began to divide the students into groups. She also wasn't fond of troublesome tasks, so she continued with the groups they had formed back at school.
With Yuuki suddenly appearing in class, the number of students became odd.
"We'll use the same groups from school. As for Yuuki, you being in a group by yourself shouldn't be a problem, right?" Hinako Inui said with a smile.
"Not at all."
Having more or fewer people in a group made no difference to Yuuki.
"Great. Now then, let's begin! Remember—you can gather any ingredient within this area. There's a fence surrounding it. If you go outside, you'll be eliminated—"
As she spoke, Hinako Inui specifically mentioned the nearby river and the fishing rods inside the adjacent classroom. This was, without a doubt, a mental trap.
She deliberately steered their attention towards the river and fishing rods. Subconsciously, the students would think they needed to use fish. Thus, a group of students rushed to the adjacent room, fighting over the fishing rods.
As for Yuuki, the dish he planned to make also required fish. But he had no intention of fishing. Instead, he removed the handle from a mop in the adjacent classroom.
Just as Yuuki was about to leave, a foot suddenly stomped down toward his instep.
"So, he's using that same trick he used on Soma Yukihira, huh?" Yuuki thought, amused.
Takumi's move was actually quite effective—
In the original story, by stepping on Soma's foot for several seconds, even twisting his foot back and forth, he was able to force Soma into a cooking battle.
This method was much more effective than simple verbal taunts—but the risks were also much higher. It was fortunate Soma Yukihira wasn't the fighting type. Otherwise, against someone with a bad temper, Takumi would have ended up with a black eye and a bruised face at the very least.
Yuuki didn't retaliate. Instead, he shifted his foot, moving to a position that subtly blocked Takumi's way.
Takumi, already nervous about stomping on Yuuki's foot, was startled when his target suddenly vanished and then blocked his path.
To avoid Yuuki, Takumi had to abruptly change his footing—
—Which caused him to lose his balance and fall flat on his face.
"Kid, don't try using sneaky tricks. Otherwise, next time, it won't just be a fall."
Yuuki's mop handle stopped right beside Takumi's head.
The sheer speed of Yuuki's swing created a gust of wind that ruffled Takumi's hair.
Takumi broke out in a cold sweat.
That was close—TOO CLOSE!
That mop handle had almost landed on his head.
Judging by the force of the wind generated by the swing, if it had connected, while it probably wouldn't have cracked his skull open, getting his head bashed in would have been the best-case scenario.
"BIG BROTHER!"
Isami, seeing this, was startled and rushed over. However, his intent wasn't to attack Yuuki, but to help his brother up.
Seeing this, Yuuki didn't bother waiting for Takumi to recover and left with the mop handle.
"I-I'm alright, Isami. Looks like... I can't use that trick anymore—" Takumi said, still shaken. He had simply wanted to challenge Yuuki using that method. He hadn't expected things to escalate like that.
"Big Brother, you were lucky this time. You only fell because of your own mistake. That swing earlier REALLY scared me!"
Thinking about the mop handle almost hitting his brother's head, Isami shuddered.
"These students are really something else, aren't they?"
Hinako Inui, sipping her tea and enjoying her snacks, had naturally seen this whole scene. To be honest, her heart had also skipped a beat. While it seemed to have nothing to do with her—
—It did happen in her class. If something had happened to Takumi, as an instructor, she would naturally also bear some responsibility.
....
The students were now outside, searching for ingredients. Although most chose to try catching fish, falling for the mental trap, there were a few who noticed Hinako Inui's trick.
However, even if they noticed, not many could easily find the ingredients they needed.
This wasn't surprising at all. After all, most students here were Young masters—they didn't usually gather ingredients themselves; they just bought whatever they needed.
So, in this kind of natural environment, it was very difficult for them to find other ingredients.
In contrast, Megumi Tadokoro was practically buffed in such surroundings.
After all, Megumi came from the countryside, and she often went into the mountains. So, she could easily find whatever ingredients she needed.
Soma Yukihira, just like in the original story, went to the river to try his luck at fishing. He had also been influenced by Hinako Inui's words.
In the original story, it was only after Takumi's taunts that Soma thought of using Hinako Inui's snack as an ingredient.
Although Yuuki knew the plot, the dish he was going to make also required fish, so he also came to the riverside. However, compared to other students fishing, Yuuki's method of catching fish was much more direct and brutal—
While he could fish with a rod, fishing relied too much on luck. Although he had his Fishing Space, The System didn't exactly provide him with fish.
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