Chapter 216
Hearing what Director Hikawah said, Roland Chapelle spoke without expression:
"Let us observe first."
"I believe this young chef named Takamine Mineo, if he was able to gain the Director's recognition, must possess some extraordinary merits."
As the instructors were talking, the door to the educational building's hall was suddenly pushed open with a loud thud.
Mineo stepped inside, and instantly everyone's attention centered on him.
"Quite a lot of people showed up!"
"Hisako, it seems our school still holds a great deal of charm."
Hearing Mineo's words, Hisako said expressionlessly:
"Totsuki Academy has always been known as the birthplace of talent in the Japanese culinary world. It is only normal for many young chefs to yearn for this place."
"Furthermore, Instructor Takamine, please call me Miss Arato. You and I are not yet close enough to call each other by our first names."
"According to the schedule, you may now begin organizing the interviews. I hope casual conversation can be saved for later."
"Hisako, you act so serious every single day. I'm starting to doubt whether you can serve Erina properly."
"If you act so cold every day, won't Erina feel a bit bored?"
That sentence from Mineo caused Hisako's mental state to fully explode, but she immediately suppressed her emotions.
She took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and said in a cold voice:
"Instructor Takamine, the time to organize the evaluation has arrived. If you do not start immediately, the students might begin to raise objections."
"If any complaints come in, I think Milady might also have an objection!"
If teased any further, Hisako might actually fly into a massive rage, so Mineo decided to stop bothering her.
He walked alone toward the main podium, looked around at the participants, and began to speak.
"Allow me to briefly introduce myself."
"I am Instructor Takamine Mineo, who has just recently taken office at Totsuki Academy."
"My presence here is to serve as the examiner responsible for your evaluation."
"I won't say much unnecessary stuff. Now, everyone follow my instructions and stand in two rows."
"Males stand on the left, females stand on the right."
"The examiner is actually that young?"
"He looks to be the same age as us."
"Holding an instructor position at Totsuki Academy at this age? Is his ability sufficient..."
Although several participants felt shocked because Mineo's outward appearance was too young, everyone still obediently followed Mineo's instructions and divided themselves into two rows.
The male row on the left numbered thirty people.
The female row on the right numbered twenty people.
After Mineo saw that everyone was standing in their positions, he walked around the two rows.
As he walked, Mineo pointed at several people and said:
"You, and you too..."
"Everyone I pointed at, please step out of the line."
In the male row, Mineo pointed at sixteen men.
Then Mineo spoke:
"Thank you for your effort in coming here. If you have no other business, you may go home now."
"Can go home now?"
Hearing Mineo's words, the men who had stepped out of the line were all stunned.
"Mr. Examiner, what... what do you mean by that?"
"Literal meaning. I feel you are not suited for Totsuki Academy, and also not suited for the profession of a chef."
Mineo's words did not only shock the participants; even the instructors standing in the corridor were stunned as well.
At that moment, the participants Mineo had told to go home immediately grew angry. Several of them could be heard saying in emotional tones:
"Why are you telling us to go home?"
"The evaluation hasn't even started, and you're already saying we failed?"
"What exactly is the meaning of all this!"
"Can the Totsuki Academy transfer student evaluation be carried out haphazardly like this?"
Hisako walked to Mineo's side with a serious expression.
"Instructor Takamine, the official evaluation hasn't even begun. Why are you immediately declaring them as failed?"
"This is not in accordance with the procedures and regulations of the transfer student evaluation. I hope you can take this exam seriously."
"If not, I think Erina-sama will feel disappointed."
Seeing Mineo immediately eliminate over a dozen people without even conducting any sort of evaluation, Director Hikawah also spoke seriously to Senzaemon:
"Director, see for yourself. The school gave him the position of instructor and head examiner not to let him act according to his own whims."
"Directly telling participants to go home without an evaluation—if this spreads far and wide, it is feared it will damage our school's reputation and honor."
Senzaemon glanced at Mineo, then spoke in a heavy voice:
"Is Director Hikawah being too hasty?"
"Let us watch everything until the end. I believe a boy named Mineo would not take such an action randomly."
The scene returned to Mineo. He looked toward the crowd that was beginning to get emotional, then said to Hisako:
"Hisako, do you feel like I'm just playing around?"
Hearing Mineo's words, Hisako said with a serious expression:
"If this is not a random act, I hope to receive a reasonable explanation."
"As to why Instructor Takamine is immediately declaring them as failed."
"In the history of Totsuki's transfer student evaluations, there has never been an instance where people were rejected even before the interview began."
Seeing Hisako's serious expression, Mineo gave a faint smile and said:
"Hearing your words, I suddenly feel that the examiners responsible for the previous transfer student evaluations were of too low a level."
"Who told you that one must perform an interview or a practical evaluation first to know if someone's talent is sufficient?"
"Hisako, you are still too young!"
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Join my Patreon here:
patreon.com/FaaanzKun
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —