Erina Nakiri and Soma Yukihira turned their heads in unison to stare at Ray, their faces written with sheer astonishment.
After a brief silence, Soma's voice suddenly pitched up, shouting at Ray in disbelief.
"Huh? You've only been officially learning to cook for two months?"
Soma even suspected he was hearing things. After all, he had tasted Ray's cooking, and there was no way it was made by someone with only two months of experience.
"Yep." Ray nodded earnestly. "I wanted to enroll in Totsuki Academy, so I did some last-minute cramming for a month. Including the time after the transfer exam, yeah, it's been less than two months."
"That's impossible," Erina couldn't help but retort.
Setting aside the baffling orange fragrance in the crust of his Orange Puff Pastry Lava Egg Tart, the sheer precision of his ingredient prep and heat control was absolutely flawless. Even professional chefs who had immersed themselves in the culinary arts for years would need to repeatedly hone their skills to reach that level. Let alone a mere month of cramming.
"Can't help it, that's just the truth." Ray shrugged, wearing a perfectly crafted look of helplessness, though he was secretly overjoyed.
He had worked hard for two months. If he didn't flex a little now, what was the point of all that effort?
Of course, having sufficiently stroked his own ego, Ray smoothly changed the subject, having no intention of explaining further. He couldn't exactly tell them that his culinary skills had skyrocketed in such a short time thanks to the special abilities granted by his Gourmet Cells.
Besides, the entrance ceremony was over. Next up was checking the class assignments and attending lectures. He didn't have time to waste dawdling here.
After checking the bulletin board, Ray easily found his assigned classroom. Poking his head in for a quick scan, he let out a secret sigh of relief when he didn't spot Soma.
Perfect. That should save him a lot of trouble.
Cooking classes at Totsuki Academy were generally done in pairs, and the grouping list was already posted by the classroom door. Ray quickly found his name, then checked his partner—Ryoko Sakaki.
This was a pleasant surprise.
Turning his gaze into the classroom, he quickly spotted her. With long, straight dark red hair cascading over her shoulders and an impressive figure, every movement she made exuded a mature and steady aura.
Ryoko's culinary skills were quite good among the current first-year students, especially her expertise in koji and fermentation. Teaming up with her would undoubtedly make future cooking classes much easier. After all, he had only been learning to cook for two months and still had plenty of shortcomings.
Ray walked over to Ryoko and proactively extended his right hand, a polite smile on his face.
"I'm Ray. I look forward to working with you in our upcoming classes."
Ryoko looked up at him, a flash of recognition in her eyes. She reached out and gently shook his hand.
"You already introduced yourself at the entrance ceremony." She offered a gentle smile. "I'm Ryoko Sakaki, and I specialize in koji. If you ever have any questions about fermentation, feel free to ask me anytime."
As she spoke, Ryoko couldn't help but recall Ray's earlier speech. While he hadn't spouted wild arrogance like that other transfer student, Soma Yukihira, he possessed an extraordinary confidence deep in his bones. Fortunately, he didn't seem difficult to get along with.
After greeting Ryoko, Ray's gaze swept across the classroom once more.
By the window, two boys were conversing in low voices. The blonde boy had sharp features and an intense, focused expression, his eyes gleaming with confidence. The black-haired boy was plumper and seemed much gentler in nature, nodding along with a friendly smile.
It was the Aldini brothers—Takumi and Isami—hailing from an Italian culinary family. After the upcoming Regiment de Cuisine, Takumi would become one of the Elite Ten. Ray figured their Italian cuisine must be excellent and hoped to taste it someday.
In the furthest corner of the classroom, a single figure looked entirely out of place. Messy black hair obscured most of her face, revealing only a single red eye. Her overall demeanor was gloomy, radiating an unsettling aura.
It was Nao Sadatsuka. An invisible barrier seemed to surround her; no student dared to step within three meters of her.
Ray's expression shifted slightly as he looked at her. If he remembered correctly, Nao harbored a borderline fanatical obsession with Erina Nakiri. However, after losing a Shokugeki to Hisako Arato, she was ordered to never come within fifty meters of Erina.
Even so, Nao never gave up. She would secretly spy on Erina with binoculars and religiously send her thirty letters every single day. She was the textbook definition of an extreme, unhinged stalker fan.
Of course, what left a deeper impression on Ray was her cooking style. Nao specialized in stews, with a particular fondness for ingredients that emitted pungent, foul odors. The dishes she prepared often carried a 'dark aura' that ordinary people found unbearable. Within Totsuki Academy, her infamy was widespread. She was known as the 'Witch of the Boiling Pot'.
As for the rest of the students, none of them really stood out to him.
Ray withdrew his gaze and took the empty seat next to Ryoko just as the classroom door was pushed open.
A thin, middle-aged man walked in. Dressed in a black suit with gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, he wore a mild expression. An assistant carrying a folder followed closely behind him.
Upon entering, the assistant hurried to the whiteboard at the front of the room, set down the folder, and began scribbling away.
The middle-aged man stepped up to the podium, his gaze slowly sweeping over the students as a genial smile touched his lips.
"Good morning, young students."
"Good morning, sir!" The synchronized response echoed through the classroom, brimming with youthful vigor.
The man nodded, his smile gradually fading into a serious line.
"From the moment you stepped into this classroom and stood by your cooking stations, you took on the responsibility of preparing gourmet food. Therefore, in the upcoming lessons, I expect all of you to give it your all and deliver results you can be proud of."
At those words, the atmosphere in the room instantly grew heavier. The students who had been somewhat relaxed quickly straightened their backs.
Ray looked at the middle-aged man on the podium, feeling a bit puzzled. The man was obviously the instructor for this class, but shouldn't he have introduced himself first?
Sensing Ray's confusion, Ryoko turned her head and explained in a hushed voice.
"That is Lecturer Russell Archier, a senior instructor in Totsuki Academy's French cuisine department. He also taught French cuisine classes in the middle school division."
Ray nodded in understanding.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]