Food Wars: Taste Reversal

The main teacher of this class, Roland Chapelle, the director of the French cuisine department at Totsuki Academy, was recognized as the most severe instructor at Totsuki Academy. He was known as the "chef who can't laugh."

Before Mr. Chapelle arrived in the classroom, everyone was informed that the class would need to be completed in teams, in pairs, with the specific list determined by lottery.

Looking at the unfamiliar faces in the classroom, Megumi Tadokoro secretly hoped she would not end up in a group with Shiraki. This was because, not long ago, she had been given an ultimatum: if she received another E grade, she would be expelled from the school. As for the other students, it could be said that 80% of the people present hoped that Shiraki and Soma Yukihira would be grouped together, so that the two arrogant transfer students could be expelled from Totsuki at the same time. Many of them were preparing, ready to see the two transfer students struggle when class began.

There were even a few students who exchanged looks and smiled maliciously, glancing at Shiraki and Soma Yukihira.

Soon, after the groups were drawn, Megumi Tadokoro looked at Shiraki, who had been assigned to her group, and she nearly cried with joy.

"Great! I'm in a group with Shiraki-kun! I'll definitely try not to lag behind!"

Megumi Tadokoro tightly grabbed Shiraki's arm and wiped the nervous tears from the corners of her eyes. The moment the group assignments were announced, she had been so nervous that she almost fainted. But now that she was paired with Shiraki, her luck had turned, and she wouldn't be expelled from school!

However, she knew she couldn't rely on Shiraki-kun for everything—she had to work hard and help too!

Megumi made a silent vow in her heart.

"Oh, it's Shiraki. Please guide me," Shiraki said with a faint smile.

Meanwhile, Soma Yukihira was grouped with a fat student whom Shiraki didn't recognize. From the other student's submissive expression, it seemed that Soma Yukihira was the one guiding him. It was fortunate that Soma Yukihira didn't end up with the other students who seemed eager to tear him apart. Otherwise, the tension and conflict within the group could have ruined the class.

Once the grouping was complete, the atmosphere in the classroom returned to its usual intensity. A group of fierce students stared at Soma Yukihira and Shiraki's cooking station, as if eager to challenge them at any moment.

However, this situation didn't last long. Soon, a middle-aged lecturer with a serious expression pushed open the door. The moment he entered, the entire classroom went silent. It was Roland Chapelle. As he walked up to the podium, he glanced at the students below. The muscles on his face didn't seem to relax even a little.

"Good morning, young apprentices," he said.

Since this was the first class of the school year, Mr. Chapelle took a moment to encourage the students.

"The moment you step into the kitchen, you must take on the responsibility of making delicious dishes. This has nothing to do with experience or stance. Dishes that cannot get an A grade in my class will be judged as E... Remember that!"

In Shiraki's ears, this statement sounded like an encouragement, but to the other students, it was far more ominous. It meant that if they couldn't produce an A-grade dish, they would face the possibility of being expelled. In one class last year, Lecturer Chapelle had given out E grades to 50 students, and his dropout rate had become the highest among all the instructors at Totsuki Culinary School. Words from such a strict teacher carried a lot of weight. The students who had originally been eager to challenge Soma Yukihira and Shiraki now found themselves sweating nervously.

"Today's menu is beef stew with Burgundy wine, a classic of French cuisine," Mr. Chapelle continued. "I will write the recipe on the whiteboard, and you will have two hours to complete the dish. Afterward, you will submit your ratings. The timer starts now!"

As soon as Mr. Chapelle finished speaking, nearly everyone in the classroom sprang into action. Most of them were familiar with making Burgundy beef stew, as it was a classic French dish, and they quickly began preparing the ingredients.

However, Soma Yukihira's group remained slow and leisurely. The chubby student with him looked close to tears. He hadn't expected Soma Yukihira to still be standing there, pinching his chin and pondering the recipe for Burgundy beef stew. It seemed like he wasn't even looking at the recipe seriously. The situation felt like a disaster in the making.

Megumi Tadokoro quickly trotted to the back of the room to bring various ingredients and utensils. Although she was nervous, her anxiety was far less than it had been the previous night. With Shiraki on her team, her heart was much more at ease. However, on her way back with the ingredients, a student next to her tripped her up. Megumi instinctively hugged the ingredients to her chest and fell forward. Just as she closed her eyes, expecting the pain of the fall, she suddenly felt something soft catch her.

Opening her eyes, she saw that Shiraki had caught her. She was now in his arms, with the ingredients still intact.

Megumi's face turned bright red, but before she could say anything, Shiraki helped her stand up, his expression cold as he turned toward the student who had tripped her.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where my feet were. You almost fell, and it would have been bad if the ingredients were ruined. Hahaha, that was really dangerous," the boy said, his tone insincere. His eyes, however, were fixed on Megumi, a sly grin on his face.

"But we need to start cooking now. So, if there's nothing important, could you get out of the way? If you interfere with our cooking, I'll make you regret it."

The boy moved closer to Shiraki, casually gesturing with the kitchen knife in his hand.

"Heh, interesting. I hope you can keep laughing like that for much longer," Shiraki replied, his smile turning cold. He wasn't someone who would let an insult go unchallenged. If anyone was foolish enough to provoke him, he'd deal with it immediately. Originally, he just wanted to get through the class, but since this person had decided to step on his toes, Shiraki wasn't going to let him get away with it.

"Shiraki-kun, I'm so sorry! It's all my fault. I'm just clumsy..." Megumi stammered, seeing the growing tension between the two and trying to mediate. Before she could finish, however, Shiraki pulled her aside.

"Shiraki, let's go. Grab the ingredients. Let's get started."

"Ah... Oh! Yes!" Megumi quickly recovered from the surprise, nodded, and returned to the cooking table with her ingredients.

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