The Polar Star Dorm was buzzing. Ryoko came over with a basket of just-picked vegetables from the dorm garden and sighed with a helpless smile. "You guys… stop guessing. That's their private matter."
Even so, her eyes drifted toward the stairwell—clearly curious herself.
Satoshi appeared behind everyone at some point. Today he wasn't in his signature "naked apron," but in farm work getup—fundoshi and all.
He beamed behind the group. "Ahh, youth—so lovely~ But if you poke too much, you'll just trouble the people involved, you know?"
Despite saying that, the words "I'm very interested" were practically written across his face.
Honestly, it was understandable. In anyone's shoes, curiosity would win out.
Third floor, Shun's room.
He closed the door, shutting out the dorm's noise, but the air inside turned heavy.
Miyoko stood in the middle of the room, back to Shun. Her shoulders trembled—locked in an intense inner struggle.
Shun didn't rush her. He simply watched, quietly.
At last, Miyoko turned around. Her eyes were redder than before as she met his gaze, her voice catching despite herself.
"Shun… tell me—are you still the Shun I know?"
Shun froze for a heartbeat and sighed inwardly. Sooner or later, this had to be faced.
Miyoko pressed on, her emotions surging. "Ever since you vanished for half a month before the transfer exam, you've been a completely different person! Your skills skyrocketed to a level that makes no sense. Your personality too… you're calmer—no, colder."
"You aren't the Shun I know anymore. When the Elite Ten provoked you, you didn't even ripple. After becoming a seat yourself, you acted like you didn't care at all about the power everyone else dreams of!"
Only Miyoko's voice filled the room.
Shun didn't answer. For once, his usual composure was gone; he could feel his culinary will in disarray.
With a sob edging her words, Miyoko continued, "I know you've always worked hard—and you have talent… Maybe others don't see it, but I know you too well. Improving that fast… it's not normal! You're hiding something from me, aren't you?"
"We grew up together. I thought we had no secrets. But now… you feel like a stranger. I'm scared I won't be able to keep up with you…"
Tears finally spilled over—fear, unease, and the terror of losing someone precious.
Miyoko had always been fiercely proud. Girl or not, she never bowed her head—even to her father or at the family's Hōjōrō. After entering Totsuki, boys often detoured when they saw her coming—her strength and that famously outrageous arm power had a reputation of their own.
She could hoist a ten-plus-jin Chinese iron wok like it was nothing.
And yet here she was, crying before Shun.
Watching his childhood friend weep out her worries and hurt, something wrenched in Shun's chest.
He'd been fixated on his own growth and on the system's tasks—and had neglected the feelings of the one closest to him.
Guilt rose like a tide.
He stood silent for a moment, drew a deep breath, and steadied his unruly culinary will.
Then his eyes sharpened with resolve. He stepped up to Miyoko and gently set his hands on her shoulders.
"Miyoko. I'm sorry… for making you worry. The truth is… I have been keeping something from you."
Miyoko lifted tear-filled eyes to him.
"All of my changes—my sudden progress—come from one place."
Shun spoke slowly, a faint reverence in his expression. "A place called the Shokurin Temple."
"Shokurin Temple…?" Miyoko echoed under her breath.
"Yeah." He nodded, turning grave again. "It's beyond anything you can imagine. Its very purpose is the pursuit of the ultimate Food Art. There are ingredients there that shouldn't exist in our world, cooking philosophies that defy common sense, and training that's harsh beyond belief. That half month I 'disappeared'—I was there, undergoing my first baptism."
His gaze grew even more solemn. "But Miyoko, you have to understand—this place must never be revealed. If the wrong people learned of it, the trouble would be endless—maybe even deadly. Its value would drive the whole world mad."
He held her eyes. "I'm telling you because I trust you more than anyone. I don't want my change to make you feel shut out. But this secret is heavier than you think. Can you bear it? Can you promise me you'll never utter a single word about it—to anyone, even those closest to you?"
Shock chased away Miyoko's grief; the tears stopped cold at the weight of what she'd just heard.
Her earlier doubts melted away.
More than that—Shun had chosen to share this with her. That trust made her chest swell.
She wiped her face hard. Determination blazed in her eyes as she raised her hand and swore, solemnly, "I, Miyoko, swear on my life and on my family's honor! About the Shokurin Temple, I will not reveal a single thing to anyone! Otherwise, I—"
Shun reached out and gently pressed a finger to her lips, stopping her from finishing.
"That's enough. I believe you. I wouldn't have told you otherwise…"
At those words, the anxiety and distance that had wedged itself between them dissolved like mist, replaced by a deeper bond of trust.
Looking at Miyoko's flushed yet unwavering face, an irrepressible impulse surged through Shun.
He drew her toward him, arms tightening, and held her close.
Miyoko stiffened for a heartbeat, then softened completely. Cheek against his chest, she listened to his strong, slightly quickened heartbeat—and felt her own quicken in answer.
She didn't pull away. Instead, she slipped her arms around his waist.
In that moment, words were unnecessary.
Years of childhood friendship, sealed by the vow to guard a world-shaking secret together, quietly transformed into something deeper. Their relationship, from that second on, had a name.
(End of Chapter)
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