A few days later, the training camp officially began. Once everyone finished their preparations, they boarded the bus headed for the Totsuki Resort.
But the bus Kael and the others were riding in had a noticeably strange atmosphere.
The students from the Polar Star Dormitory were as lively as always, chatting and laughing the whole way. The rest of the students, however, were completely different. Their voices were almost whisper-quiet.
The reason was simple—Kael and Alice were giving them too much pressure.
Kael didn't even need an explanation. He had already defeated a member of the Elite Ten, and now he was the captain of the Chinese Cuisine Research Society. His future spot in the Elite Ten was practically guaranteed.
To these students, Kael felt like someone way beyond their reach.
And then there was Alice. She didn't have as much fame as Erina, but she was still a Nakiri heiress. With the two of them sitting on this bus, it would be weird if the others weren't nervous.
So the mood inside the bus was split—relaxed on one side, stiff and tense on the other. Kael and the others noticed the awkwardness, of course, but there wasn't much they could do. They hadn't done anything to cause it. Their presence alone was enough to stress people out.
"Finally! We made it to the Totsuki Resort! I've been looking forward to this!" Yuki practically bounced out of her seat.
She'd never stayed at such a luxurious hotel before; even the cheapest room here could easily cost someone half a month—maybe even a full month—of their salary.
As a student with no real income, the idea of staying here for free felt like a dream.
"Don't get too excited. We're here as students, remember? We're definitely not getting access to the premium services." Ryoko shot her friend an amused look.
"Even so, I'm not picky! Staying here once is already amazing!"
Yuki knew that most people came for the service and reputation. The rooms themselves were just rooms.
"If you're really that interested, you can come back during vacation. I'll bring you."
Alice chimed in casually.
Yuki blinked. "Really?"
"Of course. Don't forget—the Totsuki Resort belongs to the Nakiri family." Alice laughed.
With only her and Erina in their generation, the resort would eventually be theirs to manage. Bringing a few friends over to play wouldn't raise any complaints.
"Then… I'll be counting on you!" Yuki immediately grabbed Alice's hands, holding them tightly.
"Alright, alright. Stop messing around, Yuki. Let's head inside."
Ryoko tugged her along, and the group walked into the lobby. Many students had already gathered, and more were still arriving.
But the moment Kael stepped into the hall, he felt a hostile gaze. He glanced in that direction and instantly found its owner.
"Takumi? Don't tell me this guy wants to use me as his stepping stone."
He recognized him immediately: Takumi Aldini, with his chubby little brother Isami at his side.
In the original story, Takumi made his debut by giving Soma Yukihira a provocative greeting—and even went as far as stepping on his foot just to get a reaction.
Honestly, Kael thought that kind of behavior was basically an insult. Stepping on someone was already rude enough, but grinding your heel in while trash-talking? That crossed the line.
Sure, it was later revealed that Takumi exaggerated that attitude on purpose and that the provocation was a misplay… but once you do something, you face the consequences, intention or not.
What caught Kael's attention this time was that Takumi wasn't looking at Soma at all. His eyes were focused completely on him.
In the original timeline, targeting Soma made sense—Soma did throw the first verbal punch, after all. But in this altered timeline, thanks to Kael's interference, Soma hadn't said a word. And Kael wasn't the kind of person who walked around acting superior.
So why was Takumi staring at him?
As Kael pondered this, Takumi realized Kael was looking back. So the Italian boy stepped forward.
He looked confident at first glance, but to Kaelw, who had Divine Hearing, his rapidly accelerating heartbeat said otherwise. Takumi was trying hard to look calm, but deep down he was extremely nervous.
Kael wasn't surprised. The upcoming evaluations involved reassignments. Group exams used the same teams formed at school, but individual exams were random.
Takumi couldn't guarantee he'd be paired with Kael later—so now was the best chance to act.
Soon enough, Takumi stopped right in front of Kael. And without hesitation, he aimed a foot straight at Kael's toes.
But the moment his shoe should have made contact, Kael's foot shot upward with speed no ordinary student could achieve. In the blink of an eye, Kael was the one stepping on Takumi.
"Hey, classmate. No one ever taught you that stepping on people's feet for no reason is extremely rude?" Kael smiled pleasantly while pinning Takumi's foot in place.
"You—how did you know I was aiming for your foot?!"
Takumi froze. Kael's reaction had been too fast. The only explanation was that he had seen through Takumi's intentions and prepared a counter in advance.
"Isn't it obvious? You were staring at my foot like it owed you money. You were probably afraid you'd miss the step, right?" Kael chuckled.
Takumi's intent couldn't have been more obvious. Even without knowing the original storyline, Kael would've seen right through him.