CH 12

It took a while for Ichiyo to recover from the effects of the drugs, but he finally managed to softly fall onto Erina's body, panting heavily. Sensing the hot breath and male scent from him, Erina blushed with embarrassment and pushed him away, denying it, "I didn't!"

"This is just enhancing the flavor of the ingredients by bringing out their original flavors and combining them well to enhance the deliciousness of the dish. We strive to present the full impact of the explosion of flavors on the tastebuds at the moment the dish enters the mouth."

"But I almost got knocked out by the drugs!" Ichiyo shook his head, his nerves finally adapting a little from being overwhelmed by the deliciousness. At least he didn't have the feeling of his legs being weak and unsteady anymore.

"That's just because your taste threshold was surpassed. Your taste buds are receiving a large amount of information about delicious food for the first time and haven't yet adapted to it. After a few more exposures, you will become accustomed to it." Erina's face was still red, apparently being overwhelmed by the close contact with a man for the first time in her life. But she is a teacher after all, and she must show her authority!

"In any case, study hard and you will be able to do it too in the future!"

"Drugging others?" Ichiyo questioned, instantly angering Erina, "I already said there were no drugs, that was cooking, not drugs!"

After a moment of silence, Ichiyo looked at Erina, who casually tied her golden hair into a ponytail behind her head, and asked, "What if I don't learn?"

Erina seriously stared into Ichiyo's eyes and said, "I will tell your grandfather that you bullied me!"

"..."

Ichiyo reached out and pinched Erina's cheek, sighing, "You're really not good at playing! Only children would tattle to their parents!"

Erina swatted Ichiyo's hand away and lightly huffed, pointing to the various ingredients on the table, "Call me teacher and it's your turn to cook now, immediately, right now!"

Ichiyo nodded without refusing. He wasn't an insensitive idiot. Although Erina was arrogant, he could truly feel that she genuinely wanted to guide him and improve his cooking skills. At the same time, another doubt that Ichiyo had temporarily suppressed was how this girl learned her family's inherited dishes. Was it possible that she heard someone describe it and then tried her hand at recreating it?

That was impossible. If that were the case, she wouldn't know the special techniques and steps for preparing the fruit filling, and she wouldn't be able to talk about the details and the inner working of the Seven-Flavors Fruit Daifuku.

Ichiyo didn't force the question, only he knew what he was thinking. Sometimes, pursuing the root of the matter may only make things worse. If he really wanted to ask, it wouldn't be a problem to ask his grandfather when he visited him in a while.

To be honest, Ichiyo had never seen the recipes for these signature dishes. Although a large part of the reason was that he didn't seriously study cooking with his grandfather from a young age and had mediocre skills, his level wasn't sufficient to master dishes of this level. But for some reason, Ichiyo couldn't help but think of something his grandfather said in the hospital this morning.

Ask if he would mind having a younger brother or sister?

Ichiyo suddenly stared at Erina with wide eyes and suddenly had a bold idea!

If that was a hint, does that mean he also shares the fate of Duan Yu?

It shouldn't be. Although both families are chef families and their relationship is relatively close, with frequent exchanges, neither Ichiyo's grandfather nor his father is the type to have extramarital affairs.

Despite the way he joked with his grandfather in the hospital today, the fact is that there was really nothing between the old man and the young nurse. The nurse was professionally checking the pressure gauge of the oxygen tank, while the old man was lying in bed talking to her about something.

Based on Ichiyo's years of experience, the old man usually asks the nurse about her family situation, whether she is ready to start a relationship, and whether she would consider someone.

Don't ask him how he knows, after all, both of his parents' marriage arrangements were made after his grandfather went to their families to cook a few times and somehow managed to persuade them.

It's not uncommon for families to form alliances through marriage in order to benefit each other and increase their reputation and connections. In this case, Ichiyo's mother's family is a prominent landowner and his father's family is a snack manufacturer.

The marriage between Ichiyo's parents allowed the two families to expand their businesses and strengthen their ties. However, it's not always easy for the children of such marriages to be completely happy, as they often have to navigate the expectations and interests of both families.

After all, no normal person wants to become a family member with those who might stab them in the back, getting killed by someone else isn't scary, but getting killed by one of their own is the most unbearable thing!

In any case, suppressing his own weird thoughts for the time being, and putting a plan to visit his grandfather on the schedule, Ichiyo begins step by step to replicate the process his sister-in-law used to make Seven-Flavored Fruit Daifuku, as expected his movements are a little awkward.

Once Nakiri Erina notices that Ichiyo makes a mistake, she'll use her silver stainless steel ladle to lightly tap his head, reminding him to correct it.

The first time he fails, the dish's completion rate is only 32%!

The second time the completion rate is 41%!

The third time the completion rate is 63%!

Erina lightly taps Ichiyo's forehead with her ladle, "It's not like this, when making the skin you have to add a little milk and mint water, otherwise you won't be able to fully express the impact of the fruit's flavor in the filling!"

"When cooking fruit paste, be sure to use a lower temperature to avoid destroying the acidity of the sour fruit."

"Stupid idiot, big idiot!" Erina can tell there are defects without even tasting them, her little face turning red with anger after each failure!

She wants to go crazy!

Ichiyo's forehead is covered in sweat, not knowing how many times he's made this signature dish, occasionally turning around to glare at his sister-in-law, who may or may not be his sister, so what if she really is!

Stinky little sister, behave!

"If you tap my head one more time I'll flip out!"

"Then I'll tell my older sister, I'll tell your grandfather that you're bullying me!"

"I..." Ichiyo grinds his teeth, "You wait, if I don't give you a dose of drug tonight I'm a dog!"

"Idiot, the heat is wrong, try again!"

The Xth time he tries, the completion rate is 87%!

***

Two elderly men with white hair but still vigorous sit opposite each other in the depths of the estate of the Nakiri family, inside Totsuki Academy. In front of them is a low table with a pot of sake, two small cups, and a light toast.

"Monday, I heard you were hospitalized for a couple of days, are you okay?"

"It's nothing, two meals of medicine and I'm fine, I was just fooling my grandson."

If Ichiyo and Erina were here, they could immediately recognize that these two old men are the heads of their families, and also their grandfathers!

"Recently those two little ones have started interacting, right?"

The elder Nakiri nods, "The current situation is good, the rest depends on their bond."

The two old men smile in unison as they clink their sake cups together.

Engagements, that stuff is just used to fool the younger generation, at their level, who cares about that stuff, if they really don't want to be linked, they can just declare a Shokugeki and bet on each other's family's future and see if the other party is brave enough to accept.

So, the so-called engagement is just the first bond that two old foxes establish for the younger generation to get to know each other. If they really don't have fate, they'll naturally end the engagement and move on. If they can become a couple, that's the best outcome.

It's also because of this understanding that the usually doting Nakiri Senzaemon, will agree to this engagement, if in three years, the two younger generations still don't have feelings, then he won't force Erina to marry Ichiyo.

"Alright, Nakiri, it's been so long since we had a proper drink together. Let's enjoy ourselves tonight and then go back to the kitchen for a battle. You've been the head chef at Totsuki for so many years now, if you stay idle for too long, you'll lose badly!"

They were old friends. The old man from the Sakuraba family used to have his sights set on Nakiri's daughter, and wanted his son to try and win her over. However, that idiot ended up failing before he even started. So this time, the two of them came up with this plan together. They would give it three years and see how things go. If they could make it work, the two old friends would become even closer, double the joy.

Failure after failure, starting over again and again.

Finally!

Ichiyo looked at the three Seven-Flavors Fruit Daifuku that was born from his own hands, his expression elated!

Completion rate 100% (Nature) 

Perhaps it's because the level of the recipes and cuisine itself has already risen to a certain level, able to make people feel the wonderfulness of the food. Correspondingly, the random emotional buff has already surpassed the scope of mere emotions!

It can be understood as, double poisoning!

At this moment, it was already three fourteen in the morning!"

Ichiyo grabbed the sweat towel from his sister-in-law and wiped the sweat beads on his forehead, turning to look at her with confident flames in his pupils. 'Try it?'

There were many reasons why he was able to master this ultimate dish so quickly.

First, he had seen his grandfather make it when he was young. Although he hadn't personally tasted it at the time because he was on a sugar-free diet, he had a certain impression of it in his mind. This version of the Seven-Flavors Fruit Daifuku had some changes, but they weren't too significant, just some finishing touches. So after watching it a second time, he was able to pick up on more things.

Second, his sister-in-law might not be a great cooking teacher, but she was definitely a strict chef and critical down to the second. During the repeated production process, as long as Ichiyo made the slightest mistake, she could quickly find it and point it out, even without tasting it!

Third, drawing a recipe from the system will come with corresponding skills and experience, as well as muscle memory. There are many aspects of cooking that are related and transferable, such as handling various flours and the movements when folding the dough for ice-skin pastries. Ichiyo has become quite skilled at these techniques and his steady hands allow him to better control the rhythm when making pastries.

One night, one man and one woman, a miracle of life!

After making dozens of Seven-Flavors Fruit Daifuku and filling half a kitchen's worth of small plates, Ichiyo finally managed to raise the completion rate to full. He determined to give his sister-in-law a harsh lesson.

Ichiyo's gaze was full of aggression. That pesky girl had been tapping his head with a spoon and threatening to tell his parents to make him learn how to cook, even though he knew it was for his own good, it was impossible for there not to be a sense of resentment inside.

Ichiyo smiled, pulling out a pair of chopsticks and handing them to his sister-in-law, stepping back and turning to the side. 'Please!'

Double the dose, he didn't believe this girl could take it better than him!

In an instant, Ichiyo could already see the scene in which he had just avenged his previous defeat from being drugged.

Under Ichiyo's fiery gaze, Erina took a deep breath and didn't rush to taste it, but rather poured herself a cup of warm tea and took a small sip to disperse some of the negative effects of staying up all night and ensure that her tongue and taste buds were active. Only then did she take a smaller plate and pick up a large blessing with her chopsticks, bringing it to her mouth and taking a gentle bite.

Instantly, the fragrance of spring flowers and fruits filled the air, as if standing on an endless grassland. In the distance was a rainbow made up of giant fruit, oranges, strawberries... countless fruits of various sizes bounced on the grassland, heading towards the rainbow sea. A giant fruit that looked like Ichiyo picked up Erina and carried her along with the rainbow waves.

Outside, in the kitchen, he watched Erina's face flush with pleasure. Her eyes were closed, and she let out soft moans of delight as she savored the dish in front of her. Seeing her so lost in happiness made Ichiyo's face light up with a huge smile.

He wasn't looking at the beautiful woman, but rather at the scene of the beautiful woman being drugged!

The negative emotion was instantly swept away.

One word, refreshing!

Erina's eyes fluttered open after about ten seconds, and she looked at Ichiyo with a mix of emotions on her face. Tears of joy trickled down her cheeks as she reached up to wipe them away with the back of her hand.

"You've finally learned it."