"Father… what are you planning to do now?" Nakiri Mana stared at the silent phone, already guessing her father was completely stunned.
Honestly, when she first saw the reports, she had felt the exact same—too speechless to even react.
"What do you think? He's your husband after all, even if he's done a mountain of ridiculous things."
Senzaemon Nakiri finally spoke. He still hated dealing with someone as brainless as Azami Nakiri, but at the end of the day, Azami was Mana's husband, and Erina's father.
"I've completely given up on him. That man is beyond saving. And now he's trying to steal control of Totsuki? Father, just handle it however you see fit."
Mana didn't intend to give Azami any more chances. Everything he'd done was already far past forgiveness.
And judging from the investigation, it wasn't just the Elite Ten he'd been manipulating—he even had messy connections with several of his own WGO officers.
That was what truly broke her. How could someone dumb enough to fall for Azami rise to the rank of First-Class Officer? She was starting to wonder whether the entire officer corps needed a reevaluation.
Being an officer wasn't just about cooking; you needed a working brain too. Otherwise WGO would crumble someday.
"I see. In that case, let him be useful one last time. I'd like to see what the current Elite Ten are really made of."
Instead of immediately stripping Azami of the Nakiri surname—which he could easily do as head of the family—Senzaemon chose not to kick him out.
If he removed that surname, Azami wouldn't even qualify to be Totsuki's Director. But that wasn't his plan. He wanted Azami to burn off whatever remained of his usefulness.
"Father… what do you mean by that?"
Mana looked surprised.
"It's for Erina's sake. After you left, I spent all my time searching for ways to cure God's Tongue and neglected what was happening at home. I didn't realize Azami was that kind of man. Erina was raised entirely under him… and you know what that caused."
Erina's trauma. The fear. The shadows Azami had left behind.
"Even though she's better now that you've reconciled, she still has a psychological scar when it comes to that man. So let him be useful. I'll speak with the teachers at school. If he really manages to convince the Elite Ten, then we'll put on a performance. Maybe it will help Erina finally step out of that shadow."
"And if he fails… then I'll speak with the Elite Ten. You just keep an eye on him. Tell me immediately if something happens."
Mana listened quietly. She felt guilty, but also thought her father's plan made sense.
If Azami is the root of the issue, then the solution has to start with him. Everyone understood that.
And since Senzaemon held complete control, there was no real danger.
To put it bluntly, they were setting a stage for Azami. A stage he didn't even know he was performing on. And just as Senzaemon could build that stage, he could tear it down whenever he wanted.
Azami was nothing but a disposable pawn.
"I understand, Father."
She hung up. Standing beside her the whole time, An was silent after hearing the entire plan.
She could only offer Azami a moment of internal mourning. Just a tiny one.
The man was getting toyed with from beginning to end—wrung dry for every last ounce of usefulness, then thrown away. If he behaved, he might at least live comfortably afterward. But if he didn't…
If he angered Senzaemon and Mana again, his future would be nothing but misery. If Mana decided to target him out of spite, his life would be over.
Meanwhile, Azami had no idea he was already trapped inside a script written for him.
Three days passed in a blink. The Training Camp had begun, and all members of Polar Star Dormitory except Isshiki Satoshi and Kael had departed.
With the help of the Second Region, Kael had successfully reached the level of a Nine-Star Chef—special-grade level—and was close to opening the Third Region.
At the same time, Kael faced his second battle against the Midnight Chefs. Same venue as before, but a far larger crowd. Many students were gone due to the Training Camp, so the audience was mostly outsiders and faculty.
The number of judges had increased from three to five.
Two of them were chefs above Nine-Star level—one being Joichiro Saiba, whom Kael knew well. The other was an elderly woman who was clearly the leader of some powerful organization.
"Look at that idiot. Said he wasn't interested, and now he's sitting up there anyway. Unbelievable."
Gin Dojima stared at Joichiro in the judge's seat, exasperated. Joichiro looked helpless—he had underestimated Kael.
Had he known Kael could pull off such monstrous knife techniques, he would've joined the previous match too.
Still, it wasn't too late.
As for Dojima's judgmental expression? Joichiro pretended not to see it. His skin was thick enough to shrug off anything—well, except maybe Shiomi Jun's murderous resentment.
"When did Joichiro-senpai ever have a sense of shame?"
Shiomi Jun muttered, and the whole row fell silent. Her grudge against Joichiro was obvious. Even Joichiro looked a bit guilty and avoided her gaze.
Calling a chef above Nine-Star level shameless to his face… only Shiomi dared.
"Ahem… let's focus on the match."
Dojima quickly changed the subject.
Across from Kael stood a very different kind of opponent. Bunnyhair had been cute—adorable, even. But Sarge? She was the complete opposite.
Dressed in a military-style outfit, carrying a chainsaw on her shoulder, she looked like a cosplayer from an action anime.
"No wonder she's called the budget Esdeath. The vibe is dead-on."
Kael eyed her outfit. Before he reincarnated, online fans had always joked about this—Sarge really did give off a Temu Esdeath aura.
"No live cow this time? Are you looking down on me?"
Sarge lifted her chin. Seeing no cow beside him made her feel insulted.
Kael's head bobbed three times from sheer disbelief.
"What? Do you think I bring a cow to every match?"
He rolled his eyes. Just because he'd used Furious Bull Azure Dragon Slash once didn't mean he needed a cow every time. Sarge clearly thought he was weaker without it.
She had no idea he hadn't even needed that technique against Bunnyhair. That had just been his first time testing it.
The brief exchange ended, and both sides prepared their tools.
Kael brought out his Seven-Star Knives—minus the largest blade.
Sarge, meanwhile… well, hers wasn't kitchen equipment at all. It was a weapon arsenal. Chainsaws, firearms, even detonators.
A true Weapon Cuisine specialist.
Kael's ingredient was simple: a huge sea bream. Today, he would recreate Ren's famous dish—Blazing Ice Sea Bream Mountain.
He didn't have the Northern Ice Blade, but with the technology of this era and his own Special Ability, preserving flavor was no issue.
As the match began, Kael decided he wasn't giving Sarge any head start. Her attitude annoyed him.
Six knives danced through his hands. To the audience, it didn't look like one chef cooking—it looked like a troupe of ten sword dancers performing a blade ritual.
This was the Seven-Star Knives used at full proficiency. Even without special techniques, the visual spectacle alone was overwhelming.
This flowing blade style was known as Seven-Star Instant Severance Dance—not a secret technique, but it deserved to be one.
Under that dance, the giant sea bream was dismantled in moments. Kael chose the perfect middle-section cuts for sashimi.
With Divine Sight, he could slice fish thin as a whisper.
Knife work complete, he flicked each slice with controlled force. Even without the Hundred-Hole Knife, he could achieve the same rebound using his own technique. Each slice flew neatly onto the ice mountain in perfect formation—none overlapping.
In under a minute, the sashimi was done.
Paired with a sesame sauce built on the foundation of the Spice Equation, the dish was complete.
The entire process took under three minutes. Meanwhile Sarge was still struggling to prep ingredients.
"Already… done?"
Dojima and the others stared, stunned. Sure, sashimi could be fast, but not this fast. He started from a whole fish and still finished in minutes.
Kael ignored the bewildered Sarge and brought the dish forward. This time he hadn't split it into five portions. One giant ice mountain, enough for all judges.
"These slices… they're so thin that if you don't look carefully, you'd miss them entirely."
The judges leaned in, eyes wide. Even as chefs above Nine-Star level, they couldn't match this knife work.
They picked up a slice, dipped it in Kael's sesame sauce, and placed it into their mouths.