The strongest anime shop owner

The students below looked at the genius girl, Erina, receiving her award on the stage and all sighed in admiration.

After receiving the award, Erina turned and walked away with an air of arrogance, as proud as a peacock spreading its tail feathers.

Below, a man hugged himself and said with a blissful expression, "If I could go on a date with her for a day, I would die happy..."

"Idiot! Don't talk nonsense, or you'll be wiped out by the academy!" His friend next to him broke out in a cold sweat and immediately made a shushing gesture, reminding him.

Just then, the host on the podium continued the proceedings, saying, "Next, please welcome the Commander-in-Chief to give a speech."

'She's the granddaughter of the head of the Gourmet Mafia, isn't she?' Most people know this about Erina.

At this moment, an old man walked up. He had a full beard and looked very much like Zhang Fei. He also had a scar on his face, which added to his fierce aura. He stood there with his arms crossed.

This is Senzaemon Nakiri—the Commander-in-Chief of Totsuki Academy.

Even if he just stood there, a fierce aura instantly spread out, imposing and awe-inspiring, with an imposing presence.

"How terrifying!!!"

"Totsuki Academy... that means it's the embodiment of the entire culinary world! This isn't just a mere mafia boss... it's practically a demon king!"

"He's the Demon King of Gourmet Food!"

Several timid people were completely terrified, their hearts pounding with fear as they silently expressed their anxieties.

At that moment, Senzaemon Nakiri, who was standing on the stage, spoke into the microphone: "Everyone, congratulations on moving up to the high school division."

After a pause, he summarized: "During your three years of junior high school, you have gained a deep understanding of basic cooking skills and ingredients. You have also practiced various cooking techniques... public health, cultivation principles, business management..."

"So you are qualified to stand at the entrance of high school now. From now on, what will test you is not skills and knowledge... but the will to survive as a chef—"

At this point, Senzaemon stretched out his hand, pointed at the crowd below the stage, and said, "99% of you are just discarded stones to refine the 1% of jade."

Immediately afterwards, Senzaemon stated a pitifully low probability, seemingly to ignite everyone's fighting spirit: "Of the 812 first-year students who enrolled last year, only... 76 successfully advanced to the second year."

"The incompetent and the ordinary will be ruthlessly discarded. Of the nearly one thousand first-year students, only one hundred will remain by the time the program is fully implemented. And those who will graduate smoothly can be counted on one hand!"

“And you have the potential to become…the elite among this extremely small minority.” Senzaemon said this last sentence with great emphasis.

Senzaemon, with his sharp eyes, immediately spotted Su Luo hiding in the corner. A wicked thought instantly formed in his mind, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his lips: "Oh! By the way, if anyone beats him in the food battle, I can take the liberty of having the winner enroll in the second year."

Seeing Senzaemon pointing at her, Su Luo, who already sensed something was wrong, turned to run away, but it was too late. A pair of wolf eyes stared intently at her, which frightened Sō involuntarily, causing him to take a few steps back. He then forced a bitter smile and reached out to greet him: "Hi!"

"Damn old man, I was just teasing you a bit, did you have to be so harsh?" Seeing thousands of eyes staring at her, Su Luo felt a chill run down her spine.

When everyone saw Su Luo's age, they were filled with pride. They all believed they could win and showed an air of certain victory. Their eyes blazed with a fierce wolfish light, as if they couldn't wait to devour the wound as well.

However, a small number of people remained calm, because they knew that age did not determine the quality of cooking skills. Moreover, these words came from the headmaster of the academy, which naturally indicated that this person was extraordinary. Otherwise, if he were just an ordinary person, wouldn't the academy have ruined its reputation?

Even Soma, who was waiting on the side, showed a burning gaze. Although he didn't know anything, for some reason, his heart would burn with passion whenever cooking was mentioned.

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Chapter 30: Taunt Skill Maxed Out

Hearing this, Erina Nakiri, who was inside the tent, came out and looked at Su Luo, wondering, "Isn't this that strange little boy?" During the assessment, she didn't even look at him and just left. Why is he here now?

Although she was very confused, she was even more furious. She was a genius among geniuses, and even so, she had never received such praise from her grandfather. A sense of jealousy rose in her heart. What others might think was nothing, she thought was a compliment.

Alright! The commander-in-chief's words plunged Su Luo into the deepest abyss.

Just then, the system's voice announced: "Mission: Protection Battle. Since the Supreme Commander of Totsuki Academy has granted a second-year student who is superior to the host a guaranteed admission to the second year, a food battle will be held. If you win all the food battles under this condition, you will receive double the reward. Deadline: Ends when the host enters the second year."

Upon hearing this, Su Luo was momentarily stunned, her initial bitterness instantly replaced by delight.

Seeing Su Luo's stunned expression, everyone assumed that he had backed down and was afraid.

"Also, there's only one spot available!" Senzaemon's words stirred up even more waves, igniting the already enthusiastic crowd and making their eyes burn even brighter as they stared at Soya.

This means that only one person can be guaranteed admission to the second year. For Su Luo, losing even once means losing the chance to make a big profit. So she unconsciously clenched her fists tightly, showing that she really tried her best.

After Senzaemon finished speaking, he went downstairs, and the scene immediately became noisy and heated, with most people thinking about issuing challenges and seizing the opportunity to grab the spot.

Seeing Su Luo's frozen, dumbfounded expression, Erina's initial jealousy instantly turned into disdain.

"Totsuki's brand power stems from... this thoroughly competitive model that leads to elite education for a select few... Just having studied here is enough to gild a chef's reputation. If you can persevere until graduation, you can become a star who dominates the culinary world for life." Hearing her grandfather's words and looking at the crowd below, Erina couldn't help but think arrogantly, "You were born in the same era as me, how pitiful... because from the moment you were born, you were destined to only be able to compete for the throne of 'second place'! The one who reigns supreme at the top of Totsuki, and even in the culinary world, is me—Erina Nakiri."

"Finally... let me introduce two transfer students from the high school section." The host continued.

"I see... So the other examiners have some who passed..." Erina originally thought there wouldn't be any transfer students, since she didn't have a single one who passed, so that was all she could think.

"Hmph! Just thinking about it makes me angry." This remark reminded Erina of Soma's annoying face: "But whatever, anyway..."

Just when Erina thought that Soma couldn't possibly be here, a familiar yet annoying voice suddenly came from the speaker.

"Um... well, how should I put it... thank you all for your kind words, haha..."

Standing on the stage, Soma stammered, unsure of what to say. He subconsciously scratched his head with his index finger and said hesitantly, "Should I talk about my motivation for enrolling? This is really a headache. It's a bit awkward to talk about this while standing on this stage."

Seeing that Soma was stammering, someone roared, "Stop being so hesitant and just say it!"

"Then I'll just say a few words..." Looking at the rioting crowd, he felt a bit pressured and had no choice but to speak.

Hearing that familiar voice, Erina looked up and was immediately taken aback to see Soma's face, which she hated. She thought to herself, "Wasn't he beaten up by me? How come he's back here?"

Soma crossed his arms behind his back and spoke into the microphone: "Um... my name is Yukihira Soma. To be honest, I don't think I'll ever be studying here. But I don't think I'll lose to you guys who've never faced guests before. But since I'm here... I'll just be a stepping stone."

"I'm going to get first place," Soma said, holding up one finger. He then walked to the side of the podium, bowed, and said politely, "Please bear with me for the next three years..."

Before Chuangzhen could finish speaking, Su Luo rushed forward, pushed him aside, and said to him, "Didn't you say you had nothing to say? Why are you still talking so much nonsense? I'm getting impatient. If you still want to say something, can you let me speak first?"

Originally, Sou didn't want to wait for Soma to finish speaking before coming up. After all, knowing the plot, he knew that Soma would attract a lot of hatred, which would definitely be a loss for him. However, in order not to change the development of the plot, he had no choice but to endure it.

Seeing this, Su Luo smiled apologetically and went downstairs.

"You bastard!!"

"Watch out or I'll kill you, transfer student."

Sure enough, as soon as the words were spoken, some people roared out.

After Soma went down, Hajime went up too, but...

······

"You bunch of trash destined to be crushed to the bottom by me, how are you?!" Taking the microphone, Su Luo didn't even think before unleashing her fury, letting the storm rage on.

"What, you bastard!!"

"I'm going to kill you!!"

What did you say?

The person who was laughing suddenly stopped speaking and immediately roared.

"I'm telling you, you bunch of idiots, I'll take first place. If you're not happy, then issue a challenge! Trash!!!" Su Luo wasn't like Soma, who wasted so much time on nonsense and using provocation. It was the simplest thing to do. He was a man whose taunting skills were maxed out.

Su Luo, who was about to step down, suddenly remembered something and turned back: "Oh! By the way, let me tell you a secret, I am the illegitimate son of the campus heartthrob!" When she said this, she deliberately lowered her voice, as if she was whispering. If so many people hadn't heard it, they would have thought she was really talking about a secret!

As if afraid that others wouldn't believe her, she said, "Look at my face shape, doesn't it look like his?" Then she showed her face to everyone.

puff! ! !

Not far away, Senzaemon Nakiri coughed up a mouthful of blood. All he could say was, "You're more ruthless than me."

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Chapter Thirty-One: The First Lesson of Totsuki

Besides, we don't look alike at all, okay? And you say it with such confidence, are you trying to fool me?! Or are you trying to fool me?! But no idiot would believe that.

"Go away, how could anyone believe that we don't look alike at all? Do you think everyone else is stupid!" Senzaemon thought to himself.

"Sister, what do you think?" Su Luo said to the host in a cute and innocent voice.

"Hmm! Now that you mention it, it really does look alike," the host remarked instinctively. What can you do? She's just so adorable!

Hearing this, everyone felt that it was indeed possible.

Seeing this, Su Luo grinned and made a victory sign at Senzaemon.

puff! ! !

Senzaemon spat out another mouthful of blood. Fine! You're awesome, you win.

Because of this incident, the legend about the school's top student's illegitimate son began to circulate in the school.

Although saying this might reduce the number of people willing to take on the challenge, everyone needs to vent their anger, and even if no one challenges me, I still want to annoy this old geezer.

Moreover, Su Luo wasn't worried about no one coming to challenge her, since her age and the qualification to be admitted to the second year were still very tempting, so she wasn't afraid of no one coming.

As Su Luo stepped down from the stage, she heard Soma's voice coming from inside the tent.

“I’ve lived in the kitchen for 12 years! I can’t let your ‘This is awful’ comment tarnish our restaurant’s reputation!” Soma said confidently. “Just wait and see, I’ll make you say ‘This is delicious’ yourself.”

"I used every trick in the book and all my culinary skills," Soma said, clenching his fist with great confidence.

Inside the tent, Soma and Erina stood facing each other, a gentle breeze blowing, stirring the path of the awakening chef.

Su Luo walked up to Senzaemon, who was watching the scene inside the tent, and said to the old man, "Old man, don't these two look like a good match?"

"Hmm." Senzaemon, who had been staring at the two people in the tent, didn't really come back to his senses and subconsciously replied.

"The guy is too stupid, and the girl is too arrogant," Su Luo commented again.

"Hmm?" Senzaemon nodded naturally, but wait a minute! He quickly snapped out of his daze, turned around, and looked at Su Luo, asking, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh! If your son isn't here, where else would he be?" Su Luo waved her hand, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"You're not my son! Look at me, how could I possibly have a son? Don't think I don't know who you are." Senzaemon pointed at himself and said angrily.

Seeing Senzaemon's angry expression, which looked quite frightening, had no effect on Su Luo whatsoever.

Su Luo picked at his ear, looking a bit nonchalant, and said indifferently, "So what if I'm not? Why would I say I'm impotent just to prove I'm not your son?"

At this point, he shook his head knowingly and said, "Sigh! People these days..."

His expression infuriated Senzaemon so much that he didn't know what to say.

"Grandpa, what are you saying?" Just then, a clear and melodious voice came from the front.

Before Senzaemon could speak, Su Luo interrupted, "Your grandfather wanted to abandon your uncle. He got so angry just to avoid acknowledging me. Besides, if he doesn't want to acknowledge me, he doesn't want to! He even claimed to be impotent. Even I, the person involved, couldn't stand it."

"You weren't my son to begin with!!!" Senzaemon couldn't stand it anymore and roared at Su Luo.

This time, Su didn't say anything. She looked dejected and turned to walk away into the distance, appearing pitiful no matter how you looked at her.

Erina, who had arrived here, looked at her grandfather suspiciously, making Senzaemon extremely embarrassed. He couldn't help but cough a few times and explain, "Granddaughter, you have to believe your grandfather. He really isn't my illegitimate son."