The elementary school cooking class in this world was very open and relaxed, especially the first session. After being divided into groups of three, the students could decide for themselves what dish to make. The teacher wouldn't even offer instructions beforehand. The whole point was self-reliance!
And at the elementary school age, imaginations run wild. As a result, students were attempting to create all sorts of bizarre dishes.
Leonora sat elegantly beside the lectern, watching one chubby boy mix a mass of black sludge with a mass of yellow sludge, constantly stirring until it became a truly awful color. She watched the preparations of several other groups, finding them all mostly the same.
Leonora's scalp prickled, and her white eyebrows furrowed tightly. She suddenly regretted taking this job. She felt she had overestimated the abilities of the average elementary school student. She had already lowered her standard from "edible" to "success is merely avoiding food poisoning!"
Leonora couldn't sit still any longer and began to move around to offer some guidance to the students. Otherwise, if she truly let these students finish their dishes unsupervised, the only measure of success would be if no one died.
Over the next ten minutes, Leonora, who had grown up immersed in a culinary dynasty, experienced the vast difference in skill levels for the first time.
"Teacher, why is my dough getting darker the more I knead it?"
"...Did you wash your hands?"
"Teacher, why is my soy sauce bubbling?"
"...Because that's cola!"
Leonora grew increasingly weary. Just as she was beginning to doubt life itself, she suddenly witnessed a perfectly normal conversation.
"Shiraishi-kun, the batter seems thin. What should we do?"
"Just add a little more flour."
"Shiraishi-kun, how big should we cut the octopus tentacles?"
"Fingernail size is fine."
In the corner of the cooking room, a little shota was directing two small girls in an orderly preparation process. While they weren't exactly skillful and were a bit flustered, compared to the other students, their efforts could only be described as pleasant to watch.
"They're making takoyaki, are they?"
Under the little shota's direction, the two girls prepared the ingredients and batter, and then he took over for the final cooking. Leonora felt a touch of relief. Finally, there was one dish she could look forward to. Especially since the little shota's appearance and demeanor were exceptionally handsome. That was a bonus!
Leonora chose not to disturb them. Rather than offering guidance now, she felt it would be more effective for them to finish the product and taste it, so they could discover any shortcomings themselves. That would leave a deeper impression.
More than half an hour quickly passed. Most of the students had finished their cooking. Leonora also breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
Faced with the elementary school students who were looking up at her with expectant faces, she couldn't bear to directly shatter their confidence. But looking at the weirdly shaped dishes, she found it unbearable. So, she dragged Kobayashi Touko over.
"Kobayashi-sensei, these are the dishes the students carefully prepared. Please join me in tasting them." At this moment, her Japanese became much more fluent!
Compared to Nakiri Leonora, Kobayashi Touko had a much greater tolerance for questionable cuisine. She was able to eat dishes that clearly didn't even look like food and still offer an evaluation that wouldn't crush the students' spirits!
Leonora watched her, deeply admiring Touko's gentleness as a teacher. She, on the other hand, could only take a tentative bite of each. Then, following Touko's assessment, she offered a slightly more severe critique.
This caused the entire evaluation process to take a considerable amount of time. Seeing that the class was nearly over, Touko asked the students who had already been reviewed to return to their classrooms.
The students in the cooking room gradually dispersed.
Finally, it was Asa's group's turn. At this point, apart from Touko and Leonora, only Asa and the two girls in his group remained in the room.
Leonora had been mentally tortured by all sorts of bizarre dishes for over ten minutes. She felt her taste buds were tired and malfunctioning. No matter how delicious a dish was, it wouldn't pique her interest now. Even if Asa's group had the highest completion level in her eyes, and their takoyaki looked quite authentic.
"Still, it's only average at best."
Leonora gathered her spirits, forked a small takoyaki ball, and brought it to her mouth. She took a light bite. It was soft, glutinous, and pleasantly springy. Even though it had cooled slightly, the moment she bit into it, a unique seafood aroma burst out, sweeping over her taste buds.
Leonora's delicate body instantly trembled, and her beautiful eyes, characteristic of her Nordic heritage, widened abruptly. She suddenly perceived an inexpressibly wonderful sensation erupting from the small takoyaki ball in her mouth, surging into her consciousness, as if to carry her to the clouds.
"How can this be? Is this really takoyaki made by an elementary school student?!"
She slowly closed her eyes. She felt herself swimming naked in the deep sea, accompanying sharks and dancing with octopuses, their tentacles wrapping around her body, tightening, tightening!
"Oh~"
"Subarashii!"
Leonora leaned her long, pale neck back in the chair, thrusting her chest forward and letting out a deeply intoxicated moan.
At the same time, Asa, sitting directly across from the Nordic beauty, witnessed the buttons on her taut little blazer burst off one by one.
Asa gazed into the abyss and couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
Only a character from Shokugeki no Soma! This is the professional way to Explode Clothes!
Kobayashi Touko standing nearby was stunned. Was it really that delicious? How did her clothes burst open?
Just as she was about to pull Leonora's blazer back over her, the latter suddenly shot up, her pretty face flushed with an abnormal redness, her eyes shining as she fixed them on Asa. She leaned forward, directly placing her hands on Asa's shoulders.
"Have you ever studied cooking before?"
The control effect of the abyss was strong; Asa found it difficult to look away. "No." He shook his head.
Leonora was dumbfounded. A little shota who had never formally studied cooking could create a dish that conquered her taste buds…
"You must transfer to Totsuki Academy!" Leonora said with utmost seriousness.
Asa was stunned. Touko was even more stunned.
Touko quickly pulled Leonora back, her face flushed with embarrassment as she pulled the blazer closed. "Why are you trying to steal our student?!" Touko said indignantly.
Leonora's azure eyes, however, stared intently at Touko. "He possesses the potential to become a Culinary God."
"Only by transferring to Totsuki can all of his potential be unearthed!"
Touko was dumbfounded. "A Culinary God?"
"Is that an exaggeration? Just based on one piece of takoyaki?"
Curious, she also forked a small ball and placed it in her mouth.
Mmm~
Touko's beautiful eyes, behind her glasses, suddenly widened. The deliciousness burst forth in her mouth, accompanied by a wave of unparalleled pleasure surging within her body. Sitting in the chair, she could barely control her delicate body, which was trembling from excitement.
"This is…"
Moments later, she leaned back on the chair, feeling slightly weak.
"How is it? This is definitely the talent of a Culinary God bestowed upon him!" Leonora said excitedly. She had never encountered a child with such immense talent!
After experiencing it herself, Kobayashi Touko was silent. Indeed, it was the most… delicious food she had ever tasted. Moreover, Nakiri Leonora was the director of the research department at Totsuki, the highest culinary academy! Her excitement alone was enough to prove Asa's talent in the culinary world!
"Shiraishi-kun…" Touko looked at Asa. As a teacher, she certainly hoped her student would have the best possible development.
"I am very happy studying and living in Kobayashi-sensei's class at Shuchi'in, and I won't be transferring to any other school."
Asa's calm and firm words fell into the ears of the two women, leaving them both momentarily speechless.
Touko revealed a heartwarming and touched smile. Asa's statement was a confirmation of her work as a teacher, and it filled her with satisfaction.
Leonora, however, couldn't understand at all. "Shiraishi-kun, you might not understand the significance of Totsuki Academy for your talent…"
"Nakiri-sensei, thank you for your affirmation, but I will not be transferring."
Leonora looked at the handsome little shota before her and realized that the determination in his will could not be changed by a few words. To see brilliant gold yet be unable to mine it was completely maddening!
Leonora slumped back in her chair, dejected.
Kobayashi Touko wasn't surprised. Since the day Asa transferred to Shuchi'in, she had noticed that the little shota, who seemed soft and easy to bully, was actually quite opinionated.
"That reminds me..."
"The School Festival is in three days. I've decided to have our class run a small restaurant, Shiraishi-kun. Would you be willing to join us and sell the takoyaki you made?"
"Your takoyaki would definitely be hugely popular!" Touko half-squatted in front of Asa, speaking gently.
The School Festival? Asa thought for a moment, then shook his head in refusal.
"I have to help my older sister's club then."
Given Yukino's personality, she certainly wouldn't participate in class activities. And as for the Service Club, aside from her, there was only Asa, the unofficial member. If he left, Yukino would be all alone.
Besides. Given the LV2. Exploding Clothes Cuisine's chance of triggering the effect, Asa could only imagine how chaotic the scene would be. Asa did not want that outcome. More likely than not, Mrs. Yukinoshita and the others would also be attending. Asa definitely did not want them to have their clothes burst off in public.
At most… he'd sell them at the Service Club. Yes, good privacy!
Touko sighed with regret upon seeing Asa refuse.
Just then, Leonora suddenly pointed to the takoyaki on the table and asked earnestly, "Can I take these with me?"
She was unwilling to let talent of this caliber be buried. She planned to take Asa's food back for her sister-in-law, Nakiri Mana, the only Bookmaster of the WGO and the owner of the God's Tongue, to taste!
If she could leverage enough influence to draw more attention to Asa's talent, she believed the little shota would then be forced to take his gift seriously. Failing that, his mother would certainly take notice.
Asa looked back at the two small girls in his group. They had been completely unable to keep up with the overwhelming amount of information since the situation began and were currently only capable of thinking, "Shiraishi-kun is so amazing!"
"I-I have no problem with that!"
"Me neither!"
After receiving their confirmation, Asa nodded to Leonora. "Nakiri-sensei, you can take all of these."
Upon getting the answer, Leonora quickly began packing them up.
"This will be perfect for Alice to taste when I get back, so that girl who doesn't know where to stick her nose knows what a true genius is!"
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