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Unlike the others, the Polar Star residents were quite relaxed. After all, under Yuuki and Alice Nakiri's lead, they had already enjoyed several days of the Tōtsuki Resort's services.
However, just as everyone was relaxing and resting, the graduates showed up en masse.
Their reason for appearing here was simple: two main objectives. The first was to get acquainted with Yuuki. Building a good relationship with Yuuki in advance was undoubtedly beneficial—
The second was to invite the students here to work in their restaurants after graduation.
In the original story, Megumi Tadokoro hadn't returned directly to the Shōkeien Ryokan after graduating but had gone to work at Hinako Inui's "Kirino-ya."
Although it was still a bit early compared to graduation, graduates usually scouted for candidates in advance. This way, after the previous batch left, a seamless transition could be achieved.
This model was highly favored by the graduates. They could get employees without spending too much and also establish good relationships with promising young talents, creating their own networks.
Normally, graduates would only approach the students they had their eyes on to extend invitations on the morning of the last day. However, because of Yuuki, the graduates moved up their schedule.
Moreover, besides Daigo Aoki and Shōji Satō, the others at Polar Star were all elites. They naturally wanted to extend invitations to this group.
Although Soma Yukihira hadn't faced off against Kojiro Shinomiya this time, his Culinary skills were inherently strong. This group from Polar Star had all been targeted.
It was just a pity that the time they had spent learning from Yuuki was still somewhat short. When the Autumn Elections came around, there would be significant changes.
"Is it just me—or are the graduates coming our way?" Yoshino Yuki asked, somewhat puzzled.
Right now, only Tōtsuki students were in this recreation area. This group of graduates appearing here immediately became the center of attention.
"No doubt about it. They're coming for us. I think you all probably know why." Yuuki glanced around and said. He had basically guessed the reason these graduates were here.
The others also nodded upon hearing this. It was a regular occurrence for graduates to extend job invitations to students during the Training Camp.
....
"Hello again, Yuuki-kun!" Hinako Inui greeted Yuuki rather familiarly.
This woman was quite thick-skinned. Who would have thought that when she was still at Tōtsuki, Hinako Inui had been even more timid than Megumi Tadokoro?
It could only be said that society was a melting pot, a place that truly tempered a person.
Hinako Inui's transformation perfectly illustrated this...
"If I remember correctly, we met just a few hours ago, Hinako-senpai—" Yuuki said with some amusement.
"Oh, don't mind the small details!!" Hinako Inui pretended to be angry.
Having spent so much time in the real world, she could tell Yuuki's tone was just playful.
"I'll go talk to Megumi."
With that, Hinako Inui went directly to Megumi Tadokoro. She knew very well about Megumi's relationship with Yuuki—
—Trying to establish a good relationship with Yuuki directly would clearly not be so easy. Therefore, approaching it through Megumi was the best option.
Megumi Tadokoro was someone she had taken a liking to from the start. Megumi's demeanor was very similar to hers when she was still in school. So, at the start of the Training Camp, Hinako had immediately noticed this girl who resembled her younger self.
Megumi Tadokoro's subsequent performance in the assessments had also been very satisfactory to her. So, her original target had been Megumi; that Megumi now had a relationship with Yuuki was naturally even better.
"Huh? Hinako-senpai, are you here for me?"
Hearing this, Megumi Tadokoro was also taken aback but quickly reacted. Hinako Inui clearly intended to extend an invitation.
Actually, among the many graduates, the one Megumi Tadokoro admired the most was also Hinako Inui, because their Culinary styles were similar.
With shared interests, they easily hit it off. This scene also made the other graduates quite envious. After all, through Megumi, it was the easiest way to establish a good relationship with Yuuki.
But they could also see that Megumi had clearly also taken a liking to Hinako Inui, so they didn't have a chance.
Helplessly, after briefly greeting and exchanging pleasantries with Yuuki, the graduates started to scout for the students they had their eyes on.
Among them, the only ones not invited were Yuuki, Daigo Aoki, Shōji Satō, and Alice Nakiri.
The graduates knew very well that Yuuki and Alice Nakiri were un-invitable—they weren't qualified to extend such an invitation. As for the other two, well, they weren't up to par, so they weren't picked.
....
After a round of invitations, Soma Yukihira and Ryō Kurokiba rejected them. As for the others, they all said they would consider it seriously.
They didn't agree directly because perhaps they could find an even better offer in the future.
The graduates didn't mind this; it was completely normal.
They extended invitations now just to make a good impression. In the future, when these students were making their choice, the probability of them choosing them would also be higher.
Of course, some were more depressed, like Kojiro Shinomiya.
There were very few students he considered worthy, among them, Soma Yukihira and Ryō Kurokiba, whom he had invited—
—but both had refused. Soma Yukihira was because he already had his family restaurant and he decided to follow his father's approach, traveling around the world to see different places and learn to improve his Culinary skills.
As for Ryō Kurokiba, he was an ambitious individual. He naturally wouldn't be content working at someone else's restaurant.
After graduation, he also intended to open his own restaurant.
So, Shinomiya ended up with nothing to show for it. It could only be said this was also because his standards were too high. If he had invited other students, he would certainly have succeeded, but they didn't quite meet Shinomiya's criteria.
....
After inviting the Polar Star residents, the graduates didn't leave but instead took this opportunity to try and build a good relationship with Yuuki.
This scene made the surrounding students incredibly envious—
They also wanted such treatment, but clearly, those graduates were all circling around Yuuki and his group, so they could only wait and see if there would be an opportunity tomorrow.
Being picked by these graduates was very beneficial.
After all, upon leaving school, Tōtsuki's resources wouldn't be available to them anymore. Although many of their families had considerable assets, finding such a mentor to guide them wasn't easy.
Not everyone was like Yuuki and his friends, capable of ignoring such invitations.
....
"Yuuki is really dazzling!"
On the other side, Erina Nakiri also saw this scene.
In the past, it was always her being surrounded like this, with others as onlookers. But now, she had become the onlooker instead.
"After all, Yuuki defeated Shinomiya-senpai. It's hard to imagine how he did it. Shinomiya-senpai is a star Chef at the Second Class level!" Hisako Arato still found it incredible.
After learning about Shinomiya's conflict with Yuuki, Erina had asked her to find out what exactly happened.
In the end, they learned the whole story from a graduate. Facing Erina's inquiry, those graduates naturally wouldn't hide anything. After all, Erina's status was clear.
Even if Erina's God's Tongue would also cause problems in the future, look at Mana Nakiri—even with God's Tongue issues, she was still WGO's sole Special Class officer, still standing at the pinnacle of the culinary world.
So, facing Erina's inquiry, they naturally wouldn't hide anything. Erina and Hisako thus learned about Yuuki defeating Shinomiya.
At that time, Erina was also completely dumbfounded. That was a Second Class Chef! And Shinomiya was a very famous existence among Second Class Chefs. No one who could become a star Chef was weak.
Her God's Tongue, though powerful, still only made her a Senior Chef...
She had thought Yuuki being a Third Class Chef was already very impressive, but she never expected him to turn around and defeat a Second Class Chef.
"It really is incredible. Even though several days have passed, and based on the dish details Sekimori-senpai described, such a dish is not something we can replicate. Or rather, probably NO ONE can replicate it." Erina Nakiri felt somewhat helpless thinking about Yuuki's dish.
Sekimori was one of the judges.
When Erina and Hisako asked him for the specifics, Sekimori didn't hide anything.
So, they knew what dish Yuuki had made. After knowing, Erina also tried to replicate this dish.
But she was stuck at the very first step.
Although Sekimori had hidden the matter of the Raging Bull Blue Dragon Slash, just trying to stuff celery into beef while ensuring every beef "noodle" remained intact—
—just this one step, Erina was completely stuck. She found she simply couldn't do it. Helplessly, she could only give up on replicating this dish.
However, these past few days, influenced by Yuuki, she often thought about this dish, trying to replicate it using her own methods.
But every time, it ended in failure...
This was the first time Erina Nakiri had encountered a peer she had to look up to. She also tried to catch up, but unfortunately, she simply couldn't match Yuuki's improvement speed, which completely exceeded everyone's imagination.
In the end, to prevent herself from continuing to overthink, Erina Nakiri directly took Hisako Arato and went back.
....
The night passed uneventfully.
When morning arrived, the students had already packed their luggage, and the group returned to Polar Star.
Because they weren't stopped by the graduates this time, Soma Yukihira suddenly remembered he left something behind. After retrieving it and returning to the bus, the vehicle hadn't left yet, so everyone returned to Polar Star together.
Yuuki was actually quite looking forward to returning. Unless something unforeseen happened, Jōichirō Yukihira should still be there at Polar Star now.
Although he had eaten Jōichirō's cooking before, it was at the Yukihira Restaurant, and at that time, the Culinary skills Jōichirō demonstrated were always just slightly better than Soma's.
Moreover, at that time, he hadn't yet acquired his super sense of touch, so he didn't experience just how strong a Special Class Chef's cooking really was.
Special Class Chef was the absolute pinnacle in this world. So, Yuuki was somewhat impatient to experience the Culinary skills of a Special Class Chef.
Before even getting close to Polar Star, Yuuki heard the commotion from the kitchen and smelled the aroma in the air.
"Welcome back!"
As everyone entered Polar Star, Satoshi Isshiki and Fumio Daimidō were already waiting at the door.
Seeing the two, everyone felt a sense of longing for their home. But soon, they heard the commotion from the kitchen.
"Huh? Is someone else at the dorm today?" Alice Nakiri asked with some confusion.
All the Polar Star residents were here, so why was there a ruckus in the kitchen?
"A senpai who came from Polar Star has returned—and you all should be quite familiar with him," Satoshi Isshiki said with a smile.
Hearing this, everyone went to the kitchen door curiously.
"Sōma! You're back! Come help out!"
At this moment, Jōichirō Yukihira also noticed everyone had returned and called out directly.
"Coming, coming! Wait... WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"
Soma Yukihira subconsciously was about to go help, but then he thought again—wait a minute, why was his old man here?
"Is that strange? I did come from Polar Star, after all. Plus, Auntie Fumio told me you already know about me, right? Why are you still so surprised?" Jōichirō looked at Soma with some puzzlement.
After returning, he also chatted with Fumio Daimidō about Polar Star's current situation and his son's current state.
He learned from Fumio that his identity had been revealed. Jōichirō didn't think there was a problem with it.
After all, his reputation at Polar Star was quite notable, so it was normal for Soma to know about him.
"That may be so, but for you to suddenly show up here is still bizarre!" Soma kept complaining, but his hands weren't slow at all, still following along with whatever his dad was doing.
"THAT'S Jōichirō Saiba! One of the TOP Chefs in the world—a Special Class Chef!"
Looking at Jōichirō Yukihira in front of her, Yoshino Yuki's eyes lit up with little stars.
This was a Special Class Chef!
Every Special Class Chef was a boss-level figure, holding high status. So, having a chance to taste the food of a Special Class Chef was not an easy feat.
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