"Report Shinomiya-senpai? Is that even allowed? What if he comes after us later?!"
When Kael said he planned to report Kojiro Shinomiya, everyone except Alice Nakiri and Soma Yukihira tensed up immediately.
After all, Shinomiya was a Seven-Star Chef—someone miles beyond what first-years could ever hope to challenge. The only one present who could stare down someone like him without blinking was Alice.
"Relax. Shinomiya-senpai is a Seven-Star Chef, and he's pretty famous, but he's clearly in the wrong this time. And besides, there's no way he can reach his hand into Totsuki' and do whatever he wants."
Kael looked around the group.
"So, what do you want? Gamble your futures on his class… or deal with the problem directly?"
Shinomiya was strong, sure. But right now, he was already showing signs of falling apart. His stalled growth hadn't gone unnoticed.
The only reason the world paid so much attention to him was because of his age, someone that young becoming a Seven-Star Chef meant reaching Eight Stars was pretty much guaranteed, and maybe even Nine if he pushed himself.
With talent like that, of course everyone had high expectations. But if a prodigy suddenly stopped growing, people would lose interest fast.
Which was why Shinomiya couldn't stir up any major trouble now.
As for the time everyone here graduated? Shinomiya either stays messed-up and becomes irrelevant, or he recovers and stops being a problem. So there's nothing for them to worry about.
"Then let's just report him. I'm not risking getting expelled!" Yuki Yoshino shook her head so fast she looked like a bobblehead.
The others nodded as well. Nobody wanted to gamble on their chance of survival, especially Megumi Tadokoro, who was the most likely to fail this kind of exam.
Seeing everyone's decision, Kael immediately called Gin Dojima.
"Hello, who's speaking?"
Dojima saw an unknown number but still answered, these days it wasn't hard for people to get your contact info, and you never know who might be calling.
"Hello, Dojima-senpai. My name is Kael, a first-year in Totsuki's high school division. I'd like to report an examiner. Is that permitted?"
Kael didn't waste time.
"Kael? Reporting an examiner? Go ahead."
Dojima froze. He had spent quite some time waiting at the bathhouse for Kael, only to bump into Soma instead. Now Kael was calling him directly. He wasn't surprised the boy had gotten his number. Given his talent, and with how close he was to Alice, it was obvious that the Nakiri sisters had shared Dojima's number with him.
But what surprised him was why Kael needed to report an examiner.
He quickly ran through the day's exam list in his mind. Kael had two tests today: basic culinary skills under Fuyumi Mizuhara, and stamina and speed under Kan Shupei.
Nothing about those should have gone wrong.
"It's regarding Shinomiya Kojiro-senpai. His exam…"
Kael explained everything—how Shinomiya intentionally eliminated students for no valid reason.
The moment Dojima heard it, his expression darkened.
He was the one who'd invited Shinomiya to the resort, after noticing something was wrong with him. Dojima wanted to pull the struggling chef back on track. Shinomiya's talent wasn't inferior to his own, and he was planning to return to Japan eventually.
As someone in charge of the resort, Dojima wanted that talent on their side.
But he never expected Shinomiya's exam to become this warped.
"I understand. I'll investigate immediately. If the allegations are true, we'll deal with it seriously."
After hanging up, Dojima immediately contacted all the students Shinomiya had expelled. He also ordered an inspection of Shinomiya's ingredients and requested the classroom's surveillance footage.
Within half an hour, the results returned.
Everything Kael said was true.
Shinomiya's exam had completely deviated from its intended purpose, and he had abused his authority without restraint.
Even the staff had asked the expelled students why they didn't complain to the school. Their answer made Dojima want to both laugh and cry:
They believed examiners had absolute authority. If the instructor expelled them, then that was final. No point running to the school—"rules are rules," right?
Dojima hadn't expected his earlier attempt at establishing graduate prestige to backfire so hard. His intention was to encourage students to listen to their examiners, not to make them terrified to speak up.
But regretting it now wouldn't fix anything.
"Contact all students expelled in Shinomiya's class. Tell them they're allowed to return and continue the remaining exams."
"Also, notify all graduates and Chef Chapelle. Emergency meeting."
It didn't matter how late it was. Something this serious needed to be addressed immediately.
The expelled students, already on their way home, sprinted back to the resort the moment they heard they had another chance.
Meanwhile the graduates assembled for the late-night meeting.
"It's this urgent? Couldn't it wait until morning?"
"I was already in bed…"
The graduates grumbled as they entered. They had early exams to supervise tomorrow morning.
"Chef Chapelle, do you know what this is about? Why call a meeting this late?" someone asked Roland Chapelle.
"No idea. Gin just notified me as well."
Even Chapelle looked puzzled. But he knew Dojima well. If Gin called a meeting at this hour, something serious had happened.
Dojima soon entered the room.
"Everyone, take a copy of this document. Read it first."
He had staff distribute the files. As soon as the graduates opened them, their expressions changed instantly.
Chapelle's already serious face darkened further. Most of the graduates stared in shock—then slowly looked toward Shinomiya.
Shinomiya himself looked pale. He didn't expect his misconduct to be exposed the same day.
"It seems you've all finished reading. As you can see, Shinomiya's exam contained major issues. This qualifies as abuse of authority."
"I told the students you had broad authority over pass and fail decisions, but did I ever say that authority extended beyond reasonable rules?"
Dojima's voice grew sharper as his natural pressure as a top chef filled the room. In the original story, Shinomiya agreed to a Shokugeki with Megumi and Soma because he was crushed by this exact pressure.
The only person unfazed was Roland Chapelle.
"This is indeed a serious matter. Our purpose is to select excellent students and eliminate unqualified ones. But under this rule, if I didn't get good ingredients, would I be expelled too?"
His words shook the room. Chapelle's authority was still absolute—no one dared talk back to him, not even Shinomiya.
"Let me announce the decision. If anyone has objections, bring them up."
"Because this incident was entirely caused by Shinomiya, his position as examiner is revoked immediately. A resort chef will take over his exam rounds starting tomorrow."
"Shinomiya, you're dismissed. Tomorrow, we'll have a proper talk."
Dojima couldn't punish him more than that—Shinomiya wasn't a resort employee, just a guest instructor. But he needed to correct whatever had gone wrong in the young chef's heart.
"...Understood."
Shinomiya didn't dare argue.
"This incident shows flaws in our oversight. Chef Chapelle, starting tomorrow, please conduct random inspections of all exam rooms. We cannot allow this to happen again."
The graduates immediately straightened. If it had been anyone else, they would've felt insulted. But with Chapelle overseeing them? Nobody dared complain.
"Very well. I'll begin tomorrow," Chapelle replied calmly.
The meeting soon ended, and the graduates dispersed. Hinako Inui, Fuyumi Mizuhara, and others gathered around Shinomiya before he could leave.
"Shinomiya-senpai, what happened? Why would you eliminate students like that?"
Hinako genuinely didn't understand. This behavior brought Shinomiya no benefit at all.
But she never guessed that Shinomiya's heart had twisted so badly. He believed he was above the rules, that everything should bend to his whims.
"I'm not interested in explaining. I'm leaving."
He wasn't just annoyed—he was furious. Hinako actually meant to check on him, but in his ears her concern turned into accusation. A twisted mindset made every kind word sound like malice.
This wasn't the bright, ambitious Shinomiya who had just graduated years ago.
Back then, he was cheerful, driven, and full of dreams. But after years of being battered by the real world, he had grown bitter. He wanted others to suffer the way he had suffered.
A classic case of "I was drenched in the rain, so I'll tear apart everyone else's umbrella."
"When did he become like this…? I knew something felt off before, but never this bad."
Hinako clenched her jaw.
"Looks like his life out there wasn't as glamorous as the rumors made it sound."
Every graduate there had worked in the real world, they immediately recognized the signs. Someone humiliated elsewhere, then venting that pent-up frustration on those weaker than them.