"Kael, how did you even do that? Is that really something smell alone can do? I didn't smell anything at all!"
Daigo Aoki stared down at his hands, then tried sniffing them. Nothing. The faint traces of egg sandwich were long gone—only the lingering aromas from the earlier cooking test remained.
"Don't bother," Kael said evenly. "I already told you—my sense of smell is far stronger than most people's. I can even break down the recipe of that shop's secret sauce just by scent. Of course, that only works if it's made from ingredients I've tasted before."
For a while now, Kael had been developing his Five Divine Senses—an ability derived from his Faction Inheritance. Through it, he could simulate countless ingredients and seasonings once stored by the Dark Cooking Society.
Those ingredients weren't real, though. The dishes he made inside the system could be eaten, but only tasted—they didn't fill the stomach at all.
So when it came to actual meals, Kael still had to eat in the real world. Even so, the food and spices provided by the Dark Cooking Society's database had helped him refine his Five Divine Senses considerably.
Unfortunately, the simulated ingredients were limited to those that had once existed within the Dark Cooking Society.
Granted, that organization was massive in the Chuuka Ichiban! world—it had collected an immense variety of ingredients. But compared to the modern era of the World of Food Wars, it still fell short.
That said, some ingredients from the Dark Cooking Society didn't exist anywhere in the Food Wars world—strange and extraordinary foods unique to the Chuuka Ichiban! universe.
They couldn't rival the fantastical ingredients from Toriko, but they were still leagues above what existed here.
By now, Kael had already broken down the composition of the restaurant's secret sauce using his Divine Smell. Every single component was something he'd encountered before.
And even if it contained something unfamiliar, he could still analyze the scent, memorize it, and match it later when he came across the ingredient in person.
That was the terrifying edge of the Five Divine Senses—your secret recipe might've taken decades, even centuries to perfect, but before someone who possessed this power, every so-called "secret" became transparent.
That was also why the Nakiri family had risen to such prominence. After all, the God's Tongue was their hereditary Special Ability. It didn't appear in every generation, but it had never truly died out either.
And in this generation, there were two of them—Mana Nakiri and Erina Nakiri.
With people like that around, the moment you served them something good, your recipe might as well belong to them. One taste was all it took.
Worse yet, the God's Tongue could even pinpoint imperfections—given a bit of time, they could turn your masterpiece into something even better.
"This sense of smell's kinda freaky," Shoji Sato muttered. "But why does it feel so familiar? Like I've heard of something similar before..."
"It's like Erina Nakiri's God's Tongue, right?" Megumi Tadokoro said quickly. "That ability also lets her analyze everything in a dish, but she needs to taste it first—Kael only has to smell it!"
The moment she said it, all three of them turned to look at Kael differently.
Megumi's eyes were full of admiration. Having someone nearby whose power rivaled the God's Tongue—it was impossible not to be impressed.
Aoki and Shoji, meanwhile, saw something else entirely. To them, Kael looked like another Erina Nakiri—still on the rise, maybe, but it was only a matter of time.
And that meant one thing: it was time to get close.
They weren't naive enough to think Kael would "carry" them to success, but even a few pointers from someone with his abilities could skyrocket their cooking skills.
Just look at Hisako Arato. She was Erina Nakiri's secretary—always busy assisting her with countless daily tasks.
In fact, Hisako handled so much that Erina had basically lost all sense of practical living. The fact that she didn't even know how to use a washing machine when she moved into the Polar Star Dormitory said it all.
Even while pouring most of her energy into work, Hisako still ranked among the top ten chefs of their generation.
Why? Simple—Erina's God's Tongue. One taste, and she could point out every flaw and misstep in Hisako's cooking.
For any normal chef, that kind of feedback could take months to discover through trial and error. Hisako saved all that time in one meal.
And she wasn't the only one. Anyone who trained under Erina improved at an absurd pace.
That was why so many students dreamed of becoming Erina's assistant—not just to cling to the Nakiri name, but because her guidance could shave years off their learning curve.
Aoki had thought about getting close to Erina before, of course. But that was just a fantasy. People from the Polar Star Dormitory weren't exactly born into elite families, and Erina's inner circle was practically invitation-only.
As for catching her attention with pure talent... yeah, that wasn't happening.
Sure, there were gifted chefs in the dorm, but none of them were the type to play lackey for someone else.
So now that another "Erina-level" genius had appeared within reach, Aoki and Shoji's enthusiasm toward Kael was only natural—and Kael, sharp as ever, could easily see through their motives.
The meal passed quickly. Before long, they'd exchanged contact info, and Megumi even invited everyone to visit her family's inn sometime.
"Sure thing. When I've got time, I'll definitely stop by your family's inn, Megumi," Kael said with a small smile.
He didn't turn her down—he genuinely planned to go. Just not yet.
Right now, he needed to focus on improving his cooking. His goal was to pass the Four-Star certification next month.
Once he entered Totsuki, he could use the academy's reputation to make a name for himself—and once he had that, the money would naturally follow.
So until the semester began, Kael planned to stay in seclusion and train relentlessly, sharpening his culinary edge.