Chapter 34: The Moon Banquet Festival
The Moon Banquet Festival.
Totsuki Academy's final autumn event was a hyper-scale food festival that drew over five hundred thousand visitors across five days. Tour groups flocked in from all over the country, so the academy ran free shuttle buses on a regular schedule to handle the crowds.
Given the sheer size of the event, many visitors stayed overnight, and it was said that an almost incalculable amount of money changed hands during the festival.
What was asked of us students was simple: run a stall.
Anyone—individual or group—could apply to open a booth, and every year a huge number of students took part, competing for the highest total sales over the five days. Students whose stalls ended in the red were expelled, but apparently it was almost impossible to lose money unless you did something truly reckless.
There were three designated stall areas.
The first was the Main Street Area.
This was the grand avenue that visitors passed through first. Rows of temporary tents created the classic festival-stall atmosphere. It was the busiest zone, and because the rental fees were lower than the other areas, it was the most popular with both students and guests alike.
The second was the Central Area.
This zone was for high-end, specialized dishes that couldn't be prepared in simple temporary kitchens. Many stalls here required advanced equipment, and because the size of each booth could be customized freely, it was a place where individual skill was tested more than anywhere else.
The third was the Yamanote Area.
Compared to the other two, this was the most upscale zone. Because it was popular with overnight guests, many stalls stayed open late into the night. Most of the Elite Ten set up shop here. It was a battlefield for the strong—without real ability, you couldn't even attract customers.
Choosing the right location was extremely important. If your concept and cooking didn't match the area, no one would come.
With all that in mind, I chose the Yamanote Area. I deliberately picked the zone where most of the Elite Ten were setting up—for a very good reason.
Just as Soma had decided to enter the Moon Banquet Festival to challenge Eighth Seat Kuga Terunori, I had entered to steal an Elite Ten seat.
Kuga was opening in the Central Area. Since Soma wanted a direct confrontation, he chose the same zone, so I ruled it out immediately. The low-price Main Street Area couldn't generate the kind of revenue I needed, so I eliminated that too. The Yamanote Area was the optimal choice to achieve my goal.
My target was Ninth Seat Eizan Etsuya.
Unlike most Totsuki students, he had little interest in cooking itself. He was a man known more for his obsession with money and his work as a consultant. He wasn't running a personal stall this festival, but he was apparently overseeing more than twenty different booths. He was the intellectual yakuza who had no equal when it came to making money.
Forcing Eizan into a Shokugeki and taking his Ninth Seat—that was the goal I had to achieve during this festival.
Five of the stalls he was managing were located in the Yamanote Area. I had checked the layout map, so there was no mistake. I decided to open my own stall right next to those five—in other words, in a spot where it would be easy to steal his customers. If the high-price stalls he oversaw earned less than expected, he would be furious. In short, I was picking a fight head-on.
Taking down a guy like him wouldn't cause any real problems. Several Elite Ten seats were going to be forcibly vacated soon anyway. Even if my seat replaced his, it wouldn't change much in the grand scheme. And even if I joined the Elite Ten now, the flow of the original story probably wouldn't be affected.
Besides, changing the original story wasn't part of my reasons for wanting an Elite Ten seat, so that part didn't matter. In fact, keeping the story on track would actually make things easier. Losing the advantage of my meta-knowledge would be a real pain.
"…Looks like things are going to get busy."
There was a lot to prepare for a festival stall.
With only one week left until the Moon Banquet Festival, many students—including me—were rushing around after class using every spare moment. The scale varied, but everyone had to build a stall that could actually attract customers. This was nothing like the average school festival where you just decorated a classroom.
I had already submitted the application form and received approval. All that remained was to build the stall, decide the menu, and rake in as much money as possible.
To create a stall and dishes I could be satisfied with, I had spent the last few days in a borrowed empty classroom handling the paperwork.
"Shogo-kun! Please check the ingredient order!"
"Got it. Thanks, Ryoko."
The one who handed me the thick file was Ryoko, whom I had chosen as a stall member.
She had her long hair tied back in a ponytail, probably because she had been moving around so much. The nape of her neck, usually hidden, looked charmingly seductive.
"—Sh-Shogo! …Please check the list of cooking equipment."
"Yeah, I'll do it. Thanks, Miyoko."
Next to speak was Miyoko, another chosen member.
She was wearing a thin shirt instead of her uniform, so the alluring lines of her body stood out clearly. She had a healthy sensuality of her own.
"Shogo-kun! The contractors for the stall construction said they'll be a little late!"
"Understood. I'll contact them too. Thanks, Alice."
The one who pressed herself against my back to report was Alice, who had insisted on joining the team before I could even ask her.
I enjoyed the feeling of her breasts against me as I stroked her head. Since fine work might lead to mistakes, I had given her simpler tasks.
"Shogo-san. Here is the test batch of the menu you taught me. Please check the taste…"
The one who offered me the plate was Mimasaka. He was another member I had selected for the stall. I had originally wanted to make the team consist only of my women, but Mimasaka was the exception. He would never disobey my orders and was, without question, useful.
However, in the original story he had helped with Soma's stall, so it was already decided he would go assist there midway. I had told Soma and Tadokoro to contact me if they ran short on help, so the match against Kuga Terunori would probably follow the original story.
Ryoko, Miyoko, Alice, Mimasaka. Including myself, the core team was five people. I planned to hire a few more as waitstaff, but the cooking would be handled by these five.
I had wanted to include Hisako too, but she was helping with Erina's stall, so I gave up. There was no way I could tell her to ditch Erina and come to me instead. That would put Erina in a difficult position, and Hisako might actually start crying.
"…Not bad, but the reproduction level is still low. I'll make another example later, so finish it by the day after tomorrow. Can you do that, Mimasaka?"
"Y-yes! I will definitely be useful! Shogo-san!"
I had instructed Mimasaka to perfectly replicate the dishes I created. Running a stall with only me cooking was impossible. I needed him to learn my recipes and increase our manpower. Perfect Trace was extremely convenient in situations like this. We didn't have much time until the festival, but he would manage.
Ryoko was in charge of two dishes using koji, Miyoko two Chinese dishes, and Alice two cutting-edge dishes. I planned to stay with them the entire time until the flavors satisfied me. I wouldn't allow anything half-done. After all, this was the stall I was running as the leader. I couldn't afford to tarnish the family name.
The main theme I had decided on was meat dishes.
I judged that high unit prices made them the best choice for profit. The strong aroma would also help with customer attraction. It was truly killing two birds with one stone.
If I had any "signature" cooking, it would be meat dishes. For some reason, I always felt like I was in top form when making meat-focused meals. Maybe it was just my body moving on autopilot, but that's how it felt.
"Ryoko, there's a mistake in the first day's ingredient order. We're short twenty-two tomatoes. Everything else looks correct, so fix that."
"I-I'm sorry! Thank you!"
"Miyoko, I finished checking the list. Sorry, but add three more frying pans and two pressure cookers. Please."
"Y-yeah… Got it."
"Alice, I confirmed with the contractors. They'll arrive at the academy in an hour. When the time comes, meet them and guide them to the stall location."
"Roooger! Leave it to me, Shogo-kun!"
While typing on the laptop and giving out various instructions, I remembered my life before enrolling at Totsuki. Running a company from middle school would have been unthinkable in my previous life. I had to admire myself for not going under. I had worked hard for my ambitions, but it seemed that rock-solid determination fueled by lust could make a person this strong.
"Alright, that should cover the basics for now… Everyone gather up. I'm going to give instructions for what comes next, so listen carefully."
I finished the planning document and closed the laptop.
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300 power stones = +1 bonus chapter!!
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