Riveria returned to the project's temporary office.
With Sophon's cooperation, she handled some minor matters.
Alice Nakiri arrived after finishing her shift at the cafeteria.
"Hello, I heard you were looking for me?"
Alice Nakiri looked at Riveria with some anxiety.
She had learned from the girl who informed her that this elf was Takumi's new mistress!
Being suddenly called over by such a person made Alice feel uneasy, fearing she had done something wrong and was being held accountable.
"Don't be nervous; it is not a bad thing to call you here." Seeing that Alice Nakiri was uneasy, Riveria smiled warmly and comforted her.
Upon seeing this, Alice Nakiri gradually relaxed.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Riveria Ljos Alf. You can just call me Riveria."
"I just joined Dimensional City today and am currently responsible for management matters."
"I read your application, but I did not have the authority to grant it, so I reported it to Takumi."
When Alice Nakiri heard this, she breathed a sigh of relief.
She had not caused any trouble.
Then she quickly asked: "So, did the City Lord agree?"
She really could not stand it anymore and needed to take a break.
At the same time, Alice Nakiri did not dare to act too casually and even changed her way of addressing Takumi.
This was not because her feelings toward Takumi had changed, but because she did not dare to be so unscrupulous in front of Riveria.
Although Riveria tried her best to look amiable, her aura was difficult to hide due to her high position over the years.
This gave Alice Nakiri a significant amount of pressure.
Even though her family background allowed her to meet many powerful people since she was a child, they were just ordinary people; they could not compete with someone like Riveria, who possessed true power.
As a result, after seeing Riveria, Alice Nakiri could not help but settle down.
"Yes, Takumi agrees."
Riveria did not keep her in suspense and directly told Alice the good news.
"Really?! That is great!"
When Alice Nakiri heard this, she immediately became excited. She even forgot the pressure Riveria exerted for a moment and jumped up with excitement.
"Ah, sorry, I lost my temper."
But she immediately realized it and stood still obediently.
"It is okay; you do not have to be so reserved. I am not as scary as you think. After all, I will not eat you."
Riveria was amused by her reaction and waved her hand casually to show she did not mind.
"Hehe~"
Alice Nakiri smiled sheepishly after her thoughts were seen through.
"All right, you should get ready to go back. Just ask Minami Rika to come over and accompany you to avoid problems with the flow of time."
"Also, the people you bring back can only be women."
"You know the current situation in Dimensional City. It is not suitable for other men to enter for the time being."
"Hurry up and try to return before evening." Seeing this, Riveria brought the topic back on track and gave Alice Nakiri the details.
"Okay, I understand. I will get ready now."
Alice Nakiri nodded, said goodbye to Riveria, and hurriedly went back to prepare.
First, she returned to the workspace in the back kitchen of the cafeteria, changed out of her chef uniform, and then asked the girls to notify Minami Rika.
Then, she went to the only store in Dimensional City, took out her salary card, and bought some souvenirs.
Specifically, she bought fortified ingredients.
Mainly some fruits, vegetables, and side-dish snacks made with fortified ingredients.
Since it was a rare trip back to her hometown, she naturally wanted to bring some gifts.
However, Alice Nakiri did not buy too much.
Carrying several kilograms of fruit and some snacks, Alice Nakiri returned to the office.
As soon as she entered, she saw Riveria speaking with Minami Rika.
Alice Nakiri greeted the two of them, took out her items, and reported to Riveria.
"I want to bring some gifts back to visit my family. I wonder if I can take these with me?"
"Well, it is within the limit, so you can take them. I will deduct the amount from your quota for this month."
Riveria took a look and stopped paying attention.
Sophon had told her that Takumi had strengthened the control mechanism for food ingredients.
Export transactions required Takumi's consent. If individuals carried items out, each resident only had a monthly share of ten kilograms.
The things Alice Nakiri bought did not exceed this share.
After hearing this, Alice Nakiri felt lucky. Fortunately, she had been cautious and did not buy too much before asking.
Otherwise, it would not be fun to be caught and stopped, and she would be scolded regardless of the amount.
"Now that everyone is here, I will leave it to you, Rika."
"No need to worry; just treat it as a trip at public expense."
Minami Rika and Riveria exchanged polite words, and then she greeted Alice Nakiri.
"Let's go, Alice."
"Okay, Sister Rika."
The two left the office and went straight to the dimensional gate.
Alice Nakiri took the lead and opened the passage to the Shokugeki world, and Minami Rika followed closely. As soon as the scene changed, the two arrived at the Nakiri mansion, specifically in Alice Nakiri's room.
Minami Rika looked around and said to Alice Nakiri:
"Let's go. Time is running out. Let's find your grandfather first and discuss the business. We can talk about the rest later."
"Uh-huh."
Alice Nakiri nodded and led Minami Rika out of the room.
"Miss Alice, are you back?"
Along the way, they met several servants, all of whom were surprised by Alice Nakiri's sudden return.
Alice Nakiri stopped a person casually and asked: "Where is my grandfather?"
"The master is in the meditation room."
After getting the answer, Alice Nakiri quickly went to the meditation room.
"Alice? Why are you back?"
Senzaemon could not help but be a little surprised when he saw her.
Then he looked at Minami Rika, who was following Alice Nakiri.
"Who is this?"
"This is Sister Rika, who came back with me to handle something. Here is what happened..."
Alice Nakiri quickly explained the business.
But in her explanation, she did not mention her own exhaustion.
Instead, she said that Dimensional City had grown in scale and the kitchen had begun to face a shortage of manpower, so it needed to be replenished.
For the time being, there was no better option, so they arranged for her to come back and recruit people.
It was not that she thought telling the truth would be embarrassing; she just did not want her family to worry about her.
Minami Rika glanced at her in surprise. she did not expect that this usually carefree girl would have such a side, but she did not expose her.
"I see. I understand."
When Senzaemon heard this, his eyes immediately lit up.
Recruiting people was good!
This way, he could arrange for more of his own people to go over and gain more benefits for the Nakiri family.
"I just do not know if there are any requirements for personnel. If you tell me in advance, it will be easier to make arrangements."
"The requirements are naturally that the better the cooking skills, the better. In other aspects, there is only a gender restriction. Due to certain inconveniences, Dimensional City currently only recruits women. Not too many; just one or two would be enough."
"Okay, I will have someone make arrangements now."
With that, Senzaemon got up, went outside the meditation room, asked the servants to serve tea to the two women, and then dialed a number.
He ordered his subordinates to summon female chefs with excellent cooking skills.
The request was that they must have a close relationship with the Nakiri family. It was best if they were from a culinary family that was a vassal to the Nakiri family or someone trained by the Nakiri family who had no lingering concerns. At the same time, their character had to be carefully considered.
Although Alice Nakiri did not mention this requirement, that did not stop him from adding it himself.
In addition to fearing he would get into trouble if he sent the wrong person, he also wanted people with good character who would remember the kindness of the Nakiri family and act for their benefit.
Otherwise, he feared that after being sent there, those people might turn around and lead their own families to rise up and compete with the Nakiri family!
This was what Senzaemon wanted to avoid most. He had to eliminate that risk in advance!
As for why he did not just send his own family members?
Because there were not many people in the Nakiri family right now.
His daughter-in-law could not leave, and his daughter was acting as she was. Although she had improved, she still might not be suitable.
Well, Nakiri Mana had now returned to the Nakiri house.
She had been brought back by Senzaemon using fortified ingredients. In other words, Alice Nakiri's plan had worked.
But the result was not entirely good.
Although she was back, the relationship was still very tense.
Especially after the ten kilograms of fortified ingredients were consumed by Nakiri Mana.
When there was no more such food to eat, Nakiri Mana's problem returned and began to flare up.
Fortunately, after she returned, some misunderstandings were cleared up.
After some lecture from Senzaemon using fortified food as leverage, she finally stopped trying to leave and chose to stay and face her past mistakes.
Of course, it was also so she could eat fortified ingredients again.
Although that batch was gone, it did not mean there would be no more in the future. Alice Nakiri was still in Dimensional City. She could bring some back later to satisfy her cravings.
For example, Alice Nakiri had brought some back now.
In short, the result was not perfect, but the goal was achieved.
Back to the subject.
Neither of those two could be chosen. If so, only Nakiri Erina was left.
But Senzaemon was very hesitant to send this granddaughter away.
Unlike Alice, Erina was the heir he had personally trained.
If Erina was sent away, would the Nakiri family not be left without an heir?
He was old and did not know how long he would live. There was no time to train another heir now.
Unless he was willing to move the entire Nakiri family there together!
But Senzaemon thought about it and felt a little conflicted.
Finally, he sighed and called Erina.
"Hello? Grandfather? Is there a problem?"
"Alice is back."
"..."
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
Erina had complicated feelings about Alice, her cousin.
On one hand, she did not like her much in the past, but on the other hand, it was Alice's efforts that helped bring back her mother, which touched her deeply and made her very grateful.
"She came back to take someone with her. Hisako is good and meets the requirements. You can bring her here."
Senzaemon did not tell Erina to consider whether to follow Alice; he let her think about it on her own.
If Erina offered to follow Alice, Senzaemon would not stop her.
After all, the prospects for Dimensional City were indeed very good, and at worst, they could shift their focus there in the future.
Or, they could build another branch of the Nakiri family in Dimensional City.
If Erina was not willing, then everything would continue as usual, saving him the trouble.
"Okay, I understand."
Nakiri Erina responded and hung up the phone.
After a while, before the other candidates arrived, Nakiri Erina returned home with Arato Hisako.
"Grandfather, and..."
Erina bowed to Senzaemon and then looked at Alice.
"Hello, Erina, long time no see."
Alice took the lead in greeting her cordially.
Erina nodded, took a deep breath, and then responded with a smile: "Long time no see, Sister Alice."
"!!!"
"Erina, what did you just call me?"
When Alice heard this, her eyes widened instantly and she looked at Erina in disbelief.
She really did not expect that one day she would hear the word "Sister" from Erina's mouth.
You know, the two of them had been together since childhood and never listened to each other. They had never called each other sisters and always used first names.
And now, Erina actually called her sister?!
Senzaemon and Hisako also looked at Erina in surprise.
"Forget it if you did not hear it, hum!"
Erina felt very uncomfortable being stared at by the three of them and could not help but look away arrogantly.
"Wait! No, I heard it. I heard it, so it is okay."
Alice came to her senses and responded quickly.
But she could not help but move forward and tease Erina: "Erina-chan has admitted that I am your sister. Come on, call me sister again so I can hear it. Erina's sister!"
"Ugh!"
Erina shuddered suddenly and quickly took two steps back.
"Can you please stop calling me that? It is a bit disgusting. Besides, you deserve a beating, you know?"
She said this while rubbing the goosebumps that had appeared on her arms.
"If I deserve a beating, then I deserve a beating. Anyway, you cannot beat me now."
Alice did not restrain herself; instead, she spoke proudly with her hands on her hips.
"..."
Erina was speechless because she had also learned from Senzaemon that Alice had now mastered magic, and she feared no one in this world could beat her. How hateful! Let her show off!
"Now, do not say that your sister does not take care of you. These snacks are for you. Eating them is good for your body and your physique will become stronger."
Just as Erina was about to get angry and stop talking to Alice, Alice brought some snacks she had brought back and put them on the table, handing them to Erina.
"These snacks aren't..."
Erina took them blankly, then realized what they were and asked.
Alice smiled and nodded: "Yes, I bought these with my own salary."
After hearing this, Erina remembered that Alice had left home and gone to work alone in a distant place. She was silent as her thoughts changed.
To say she was not moved would be a lie. Although their relationship was not always happy, they had been playmates since childhood.
However, she hesitated.
Because her mother also needed these things.
Even though she had a lot of resentment toward her mother, she was still her mother.
Erina did not want to take her mother's things.
Just as she hesitated, Senzaemon spoke.
"Take it. This is Alice's heartfelt wish for everyone. Everyone has a share; it was not specially given to Mana."
"Um." Hearing this, Erina nodded, silently put the things away, and said to Alice, "Thank you, sister."
Alice suddenly became excited again: "Hey, Erina-chan called me sister! Sure enough, Erina-chan is a tsundere. She has already admitted it in her heart but refuses to say it with her mouth."
"..."
Erina looked away with a dark face, really planning to stop paying attention to Alice, her annoying cousin.
Since you know it, why do you have to say it?
If you cannot speak nicely, do not speak!
You have to tease me to be happy, right?!
Erina was also certain that no matter how moved she was, she still did not like Alice as a cousin.
Then there was a period of silent waiting.
Fortunately, the Nakiri family's subordinates were quite efficient. They did not have to wait long before arriving with more than a dozen people.
If Takumi were here, he would recognize several of them. They were Totsuki graduates who appeared in the original work: Inui Hinako, Mizuhara Fuyumi, and Kikuchi Sonoka.
The reason they appeared here was not only because they were trained by Totsuki, but also because their interests were tied to the Totsuki Group.
At the same time, they were reliable and trustworthy.