The air in the Totsuki mountains felt much cooler as the sun began to rise, but for the dozens of students gathered in the semi-open kitchen area of Group F, the temperature seemed to have reached boiling point.
The traditional-style wooden building equipped with modern facilities bordered untouched wilderness.
A small stream cut through the right side of the area, while a dense pine forest formed a natural wall around it.
Amidst the tense silence of the students, Hinako Inui, chef of the traditional restaurant Kirisaki, stood casually.
She wore a simple apron over her modified traditional attire.
Her peaceful face and sweet smile sharply contrasted with her reputation as one of the ruthless executioners in this training camp.
“Welcome to my class,” Hinako greeted cheerfully, her voice melodic and soft.
“In my class, you will be working in pairs.
The pair you will use is the same pair you formed at the beginning of the semester.”
Several students breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that at least they already knew how their partner worked.
Megumi Tadokoro, standing in the middle row, immediately turned her head toward Emiya Shirou, who stood beside her.
The twin-braided girl let out a long breath, clutching her chest with her left hand.
Being in the same group again with the “unofficial mentor” of the Polar Star Dormitory gave her an invaluable sense of security.
Her panic subsided instantly.
However, in the front row, Yukihira Soma raised his left hand high.
“Excuse me, Chef Inui!” he called out casually.
“What’s the rule if I cooked alone at the beginning of the semester?”
All the students simultaneously stared at Soma.
The majority of them whispered among themselves, remembering that Soma had briefly been a pariah without a partner in the first class because of his arrogant speech.
Hinako blinked her large eyes, slightly surprised, but her smile returned.
“Oh?
Someone is alone, huh?
Hmm…
since you agreed to it from the start, then alright.
You may cook alone.”
“Ah, thank goodness.
Thank you, Chef,” Soma replied lightly, folding his hands behind his head again.
“Very well, now please gather at your respective kitchen stations,” Hinako instructed, waving her hand toward the neatly lined-up stove counters.
Soma had just taken a step toward his empty station when a shadow cut across his path.
A bright blonde-haired youth in an incredibly neat uniform suddenly stood in front of Soma.
His sharp blue-green eyes stared intently at Soma.
“Yukihira Soma…
right?” he asked, his voice carrying a thick Italian accent.
Soma stopped in his tracks, looking at the youth with a deadpan expression.
“Oh, yeah.
That’s me.”
Without any warning, and with a very serious face, the blonde youth stepped his right foot forward and stomped on Soma’s shoe.
He didn’t just stomp; he deliberately ground the sole of his shoe against Soma’s.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds passed.
The two teenagers stared at each other in awkward silence, while the sound of the shoe scraping was the only source of noise between them.
“Hey,” Soma spoke up after the count of ten.
His expression didn’t change, but his eyes narrowed.
“Since you’ve been stepping on and grinding your foot for a full ten seconds…
I assume you’re doing that on purpose, right?”
“Of course!” the blonde youth—Takumi Aldini—smirked arrogantly, lifting his chin.
“I’ve been wondering when I’d run into you and crush your arrogance in this training camp.
But who would’ve thought the goddess of fortune would bring us together in the very first exam!
I will crush you and your ambitions, just like I did to your shoe!”
Behind Takumi, a plump youth with short black hair—Isami Aldini—merely stood quietly with a wide smile adorning his face.
The air around them seemed to crackle.
An aura of hostility emanated from Takumi, while Soma countered with a cold glare.
“I can finally destroy you with my own two hands, Yukihira,” Takumi said theatrically.
“I am overjoyed.”
Soma fell silent for a moment.
He looked down at his dirtied shoe, then back up at Takumi’s arrogant face.
“Is that so?” Soma muttered quietly.
“Thank goodness.
Congratulations, then.” Soma paused briefly before continuing in an incredibly flat tone.
“I get your point.
So, please hurry up and get your foot off my foot.”
Hearing a response completely devoid of dramatic tension, Takumi’s fiery aura seemed to be doused with ice water.
He froze for a moment, his face flushing slightly from feeling foolish, and quickly pulled his foot back.
“T-Tch!”
At a station table not far from them, Shirou was arranging his cooking utensils, his eyes occasionally glancing at the ridiculous spectacle.
Beside him, Megumi laughed nervously, unsure of how to react to the blonde student’s bizarre behavior.
Meanwhile, Hinako Inui walked toward a chair at the front of the kitchen room, right next to the examiner’s table.
She sat down casually, crossed her legs gracefully, then opened a small paper package and took out a rice cracker snack.
“Alright, everyone,” Hinako announced while munching on her cracker.
“I’ll be sitting right here.
If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask me.”
Silence swept over all the students.
They looked at each other in confusion.
A few seconds passed before a male student in the front row bravely raised his trembling hand.
“E-Excuse me, Chef Inui…
but you haven’t given us any assignment yet,” he said politely.
Hinako stopped chewing.
She tilted her head, her eyes widening as if just realizing something.
“Ah!
You’re right!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together.
“I completely forgot.
So, your assignment from me is…
use the ingredients available here to make a main dish within the scope of Japanese cuisine.”
All the students were stunned.
They looked at their respective station tables, then glanced around the kitchen room.
“E-Excuse me, Chef…” the student from before spoke up again.
“The ingredients…
there aren’t any.
Our tables are completely empty.”
Hinako smiled, her index finger pointing toward the lush wilderness surrounding them.
“Yes there are.
Next to us is a clear-flowing river and a very beautiful mountainous nature.
There are plenty of abundant ingredients out there.”
She pointed to a long table in the corner of the kitchen.
“Over there are basic seasonings, dried spices, and various types of oil.
A complete set of cooking utensils has also been provided.
You are free to use any equipment from this kitchen.
However, remember…”
Hinako’s expression turned slightly serious.
“The open nature exam area for Group F has been cordoned off with barrier fences at specific points around the forest and river.
If you cross those fence boundaries to find ingredients, you will be instantly disqualified.”
Hinako returned to her cheerful smile, resuming her snacking.
“Procure your main ingredients from this designated area, and prepare a Japanese dish.
If I eat it and feel satisfied, I will give you a passing grade.
The time limit for this exam is two hours.
Well then…
let’s begin!”
The moment the word “begin” was spoken, mass panic erupted in the kitchen area.
Despair painted the faces of the elite students who were accustomed to cooking with neatly prepared premium imported ingredients.
“Where are we supposed to find ingredients?!” “Hurry into the forest!
Look for mushrooms or bamboo shoots!” “Damn it, I’ve never caught a fish in my entire life!”
Like a colony of ants whose nest had just been kicked, dozens of students bolted out of the kitchen area, scrambling into the pine forest and sprinting toward the river.
Screams and curses echoed as they began to claw at the dirt and search for anything that could be cooked.
In a matter of seconds, the kitchen became deserted.
Only five students remained: Emiya Shirou, Tadokoro Megumi, Yukihira Soma, and the Aldini brothers.
Takumi Aldini, who hadn’t taken his eyes off Soma since the beginning, turned around firmly.
He pointed at Soma with his index finger, smirking challengingly.
“Let’s have a match, Yukihira!”
Soma raised an eyebrow.
“Huh?
A match in what?”
“A cooking match, of course!
Let’s see whose cooking is better, who truly deserves to stand at the top of Totsuki!” Takumi declared with burning passion.
Without waiting for Soma’s agreement, Takumi jogged over to where Hinako Inui was sitting.
“Chef Inui!” he called out loudly, bowing politely.
“I am requesting your assistance this time!
Between my dish and Yukihira Soma’s dish, please judge carefully who is the better chef!”
Hinako stopped chewing.
She looked at Takumi with an innocent face.
“Eh?
Why?”
“W-Why…?” Takumi was stunned.
“Because that’s not part of my job, of course,” Hinako replied casually, taking another rice cracker from the package.
“My job is only to judge whether your dishes are worthy of a passing grade or not.
Being a judge for your personal match is bothersome, so I don’t want to.”
That flat-out, no-nonsense rejection froze Takumi in place.
His posture, which had been upright and full of arrogance, slowly slumped.
His face turned pale, while a gentle spring breeze blew by, scattering a few leaves behind him to emphasize the awkward atmosphere.
“Eh…?
What…?
T-That’s true, I suppose…” Takumi muttered, feeling incredibly stupid for realizing only now that he had set the stage without asking the judge’s permission first.
From his table, Soma let out a long sigh, looking at his impromptu rival with exaggerated pity.
“Hey, what do we do now?” he asked.
“You got all fired up earlier.
Now things are just awkward.”
“Pffft…”
A muffled laugh came from Isami.
The plump youth covered his mouth, his shoulders shaking as he suppressed his laughter at his older brother’s humiliation.
“Not cool, bro.
Very uncool.”
Takumi’s face instantly turned beet red from embarrassment and anger.
“Shut up, Isami!
Don’t laugh!” he snapped at his younger brother, which only made Isami laugh harder.
Soma crossed his arms, shaking his head slowly.
“Wow, you guys are brothers?
You look nothing alike, let alone your personalities.”
Takumi clenched his fists, completely abandoning his sense of shame.
“A-Anyway, I won’t lose to you!” he shouted while pointing at Soma.
“I’ll make a dish far better than yours, and I’ll prove it in front of the judge, whether she likes it or not!
You got that, Yukihira?!”
Before Soma could reply, Isami had already grabbed the back of Takumi’s collar, dragging his struggling older brother out of the kitchen toward the river.
“Come on, hurry up, bro, our time is ticking~”
“Let me go, Isami!
Yukihira, don’t you dare lose before I crush you!” Takumi shouted.
His voice grew fainter as his body was dragged by Isami out the door and into the open nature area.
Soma watched them leave with a deadpan face.
“What is with that guy…
so noisy,” he complained softly.
However, the next second, the signature Yukihira grin returned to his face.
The fire of competition in his chest had been ignited.
“Interesting.
Let’s see just how great that blonde chef is.”
Without wasting any more time, Soma also ran outside, heading downstream where the water current appeared calmer.
Now, Group F’s kitchen was truly quiet, leaving only Emiya Shirou and Tadokoro Megumi, overseen by Hinako Inui, who was peacefully sipping her green tea.
Megumi looked around, a mild panic beginning to creep back into her chest.
“E-Emiya-kun, we have to hurry!
Everyone else already got a head start, all the good ingredients must have been taken!”
Shirou, conversely, was still standing calmly in his place.
He showed no signs of rushing whatsoever.
His gaze swept across the pine forest and the river area—drawing from both his time as Emiya and his memories as a Counter Guardian who had survived in various wildernesses around the world.
To him, this wasn’t an ordinary forest.
This was an untouched paradise of ingredients.
Shirou turned to Megumi, looking deeply into her eyes.
“Calm down, Tadokoro.
There’s no need to scramble.”
Megumi was stunned by the absolute calmness on Shirou’s face.
Her fear shrank back, replaced by confusion.
“Tadokoro,” Shirou continued, his tone becoming more instructional, like that of a mentor.
“For this exam…
you are going to take the lead.”
“E-Eh?!” Megumi was startled, taking a step back.
Her hands subconsciously gripped her apron.
“W-What do you mean, Emiya-kun?!
Me?
Take the lead?
But…
this exam determines our fate!
If we fail, both of us will be expelled from Totsuki immediately!”
“Exactly.
That is precisely why you must cook,” Shirou answered firmly.
Shirou shifted his gaze, looking at the flowing river in the distance.
“Your biggest problem isn’t your cooking ability, Tadokoro.
Your problem is your own panic.
You always underestimate yourself, always hiding behind other people’s shadows.”
Megumi lowered her head, realizing the truth in Shirou’s words.
“But…
if my cooking fails and Chef Inui doesn’t like it…
you’ll be expelled along with me, Emiya-kun.”
“I will not let that happen,” Shirou cut in quickly.
He smiled, a genuine smile that provided absolute security.
“I will be right behind you.
I will be your sous-chef, foraging the ingredients you want, and preparing the cooking station.
But the core idea, and the final touch, must come from your hands.”
Shirou stepped closer, patting Megumi’s shoulder gently.
“Cook for me, Tadokoro.
Show me a dish full of warmth and comfort, just like that crab onigiri you made me that night.
You can do this.”
Hearing those words, the heavy burden that had been constricting Megumi’s chest seemed to lift.
The validation from someone like Emiya Shirou—a culinary master who had genuinely praised her cooking—was the push she needed.
If Emiya Shirou entrusted his fate to her, then she had no reason to be afraid.
Megumi raised her head.
Her eyes, previously filled with doubt, now radiated the warm light of determination.
She nodded firmly, slapping both her cheeks hard.
“Alright!
If Emiya-kun believes in me, I will do my best!”
Shirou nodded in satisfaction.
“That’s a good spirit.
So, Head Chef Tadokoro, what is our plan?”
The instincts of a country girl from a fishing village immediately kicked in.
She closed her eyes for a moment, sniffed the air, and listened to the sound of splashing water.
“The river’s current is clear and slightly cold…
there’s a high probability of finding Iwana (Char/River Trout) in the rocky upstream area,” Megumi analyzed, her voice now steady and confident.
“We also need something to balance the texture of the fish.
In the pine forest to the west, the air is slightly more humid…
we might be able to find newly sprouted spring bamboo shoots and some wild mushrooms!”
“Iwana and spring bamboo shoots,” Shirou repeated while taking mental notes.
“A classic combination that highlights the freshness of nature.
An excellent choice.
You handle the wild vegetables and seasoning prep in the forest, I’ll catch the fish.”
“Understood!” Megumi exclaimed enthusiastically.
She quickly grabbed a small rattan basket from the shelf.
Shirou took off his uniform blazer, rolled his shirt sleeves up to his elbows, and prepared to head out of the open kitchen.
In her chair, Hinako Inui stopped chewing her cracker.
She had been watching the interaction between the two teenagers the entire time.
Her sharp eyes behind that innocent expression observed the drastic change in Megumi’s posture.
Ara-ara…
Hinako thought, a subtle smirk forming on her lips.
That auburn-haired boy…
he possesses a calmness and authority that is highly unusual for a first-year student.
He even knows how to control his partner’s mentality.
And that terrified little rabbit…
it seems she’s starting to show her fangs.
As Shirou and Megumi ran out of the kitchen heading in different directions, Hinako waved cheerfully.
“Have a safe trip and do your best~” she said in a half-singing voice, letting the mountain wind carry her words.
The kitchen was now completely empty.
And the battle of the wilderness had officially begun.
“Like my work?