Chapter 1020

"Executive Chef, do we need to stop this student's behavior of disturbing the exam area now?"

The proctor of B District Restaurant inquired.

"What did he do to disturb the exam area?"

Dojima Gin thought for a moment, then retorted with a question.

"Uh, bringing a group of customers, eating through the other students' breakfast stalls one by one."

"So, how does this kind of behavior constitute disturbing the exam area?"

"Among the stalls he ate at, there were a few whose cooking he thought tasted bad, and once he said so with his following customers, those customers wouldn't touch those dishes."

"Inui, I remember you graduated the year before last and inherited your family's restaurant, right?"

"Uh, yes, but Executive Chef, why do you suddenly bring this up, and what does it have to do with the current matter?"

"You inherited your family's shop, so you might lack the experience of building a shop from scratch. Of course, I personally also lack this part of the experience, but among the classmates I know well, some faced quite a few challenges after opening shops. For example, Shinomiya once had peers deliberately give his shop bad reviews————"

"Chef, what do you mean?"

"The training camp's assessment topics all simulate reality as much as possible. Today's topic is no exception. And in reality, there is no lack of figures like Broly now, who have influence over a group of customers, such as bloggers, social media comedians, food experts, etc. ————"

"So, whether he genuinely thinks the cooking tastes bad or is lying, these are problems chefs running stalls in reality might encounter. In this situation, students who cannot win back customers being eliminated now is still better than encountering the same problem after entering society and being eliminated then."

"I understand, Executive Chef. I won't interfere with his behavior."

"Unless he uses coercive means to threaten customers into making judgments."

"Okay, I understand. Currently speaking, no customers have been coerced by him."

After leaving a sentence telling the proctor of B District Restaurant to continue monitoring Broly, Dojima Gin hung up the walkie-talkie communication.

"If you let it go like this, I'm afraid quite a few more examinees will pass this year."

Hinako Inui, drinking tea, spoke a sentence from behind.

"You guy, slacking off again. What about the C District Restaurant you're supposed to proctor?"

"Anyway, I can proctor from here too, don't necessarily have to stand at the scene."

Hinako Inui puffed her cheeks, and Dojima Gin had no way to deal with this junior.

"The pass rate will rise, but it shouldn't rise to an absurd degree. Broly's behavior of bringing a group of customers to taste dishes will at most give some students who make unappealing breakfast, and students who randomly end up in remote locations, one more chance to be exposed before many customers. But whether they can gain the customers' recognition still depends on the taste of the cooking itself. If the taste isn't good, having a bit of opportunity is useless."

"Conversely, students who make dishes with good appearance but average taste might instead get brushed off because of Broly's personal tasting."

"Like this, wouldn't it be unfair to those students? After all, if there were no Broly, those students who make good-looking dishes might have muddled through this assessment."

"Students who only rely on muddling through, being eliminated is no pity. Besides, if we really talk about fairness, shouldn't those students who randomly end up in remote corner stalls be the ones most needing to cry injustice? In this world, the biggest fairness is unfairness. Everyone standing on the same starting line is originally an unrealistic thing."

"Then Senior Dojima, aren't you afraid other students will also follow Broly's example?"

Hinako Inui asked curiously.

"Learn what? Learn how he, after passing the cooking assessment, goes out of his way to pull customers for other students for no benefit to himself?"

Dojima Gin retorted with a question.

"Uh————"

Hearing this, Hinako Inui also reacted. Broly's current behavior is altruistic, not self-serving. Originally, after he passed the assessment, it had nothing to do with him anymore.

"Besides, if other students can also be like him, directly finishing two hundred servings of cooking in less than an hour, and also make a group of customers believe in his own ability to appraise cooking, willing to follow him and eat, then even if they learn from him, so what? It merely brings some variables closer to reality to this exam area."

"Besides, if other students could also be like him, directly finishing two hundred servings of cooking in less than one hour, and even making a group of customers convinced of his own capability to appraise cooking, willing to follow him and eat, then even if they learn from him, so what? It would merely bring some variables closer to reality factors to this exam area."

In front of the surveillance, a staff member responsible for proctoring at the screen spoke up, reminding Dojima Gin behind him.

"This isn't a problem. The training camp assessment tests not only the students' cooking ability, but also their management ability."

"This is not the problem; what the training camp assesses is not merely the students' cooking capability, but also their operational capability."

"That's right. Even I, when opening Kiriyu Restaurant, invited friends who had become food bloggers to come help publicize my shop."

Hinako Inui added a sentence after Dojima Gin finished speaking.

"Management ability also includes one's own connections. Since they know Broly, being brought a group of customers to look after by the other party is also their own ability."

After Dojima Gin finished speaking, he silently watched the surveillance, suddenly thought of something, picked up the walkie-talkie and began speaking reminders to the restaurant district.

"Students who want to learn from Broly and act as judges after passing the assessment, you need to pay attention. If you cause trouble to other customers, your passing grades will be cancelled."

Once these words came out, some students who had already passed and wanted to forcibly pull customers to look after friends' stalls had their ideas aborted instantly.

After all, friends can be made anew later, but if their own passing qualification is cancelled and they're expelled, that's truly the end.

"I'm not convinced. Why does that transfer student pulling customers have no issue, but me pulling customers here has an issue?"

Some unlucky students, having caused trouble to customers and happened to be caught by the proctoring instructor, about to be judged as failed, immediately pointed at the surging crowd and questioned.

"Stupid goods. He's pulling customers for other students, not for himself, and he himself passed the topic long ago."

Students who hadn't passed the assessment yet but wanted to forcibly retain customers instantly flushed red with shame.

"Chief Chef, then why can he pull so many customers, while I can't?"

"You'll have to go ask those customers willing to follow him."

The Chief Chef shrugged his shoulders, and the student who asked this question actually ran over to ask.

"I saw everyone else following him, so I followed him too."

This is the answer of a conformist who echoes others.

"Heard his knife skills are damn powerful, and his cooking is also delicious, so everyone thinks he's a very powerful appraiser, that's why they follow him."

Okay, this is a customer forcing a logic loop, but one must admit, following Broly all the way eating, some ugly-looking dishes turned out unexpectedly tasty. If no one brought them to eat, they might really have just passed by after a glance and missed out.

"Honestly, at first I followed him to eat delicious cooking, but now I follow him to see how much more cooking he can eat————"

A customer shocked by Broly's appetite answered.

"Same human, same student. He can pull us to eat cooking, you can't pull us. The gap won't find itself, ah!"

This is a hot-tempered big brother's retort, making the questioning student retreat with a gray, defeated face.

This was the Irritable Elder Brother's Refute, causing the questioning student to retreat with a face covered in Dirt.

Among the four restaurant district exam areas, with over seven hundred students, in Dojima Gin's view, there was one and only one who had the ability to draw a crowd comparable to Broly's.

"Nakiri Erina, two hundred and eighty dishes sold, passed the exam!"

"Worthy of the God Tongue, the Food King's granddaughter, the Nakiri Family's future Heir————"

Nakiri Erina brushed her hair back, lifted her chin, and accepted the surrounding praise and admiring gazes with perfect composure.

Totsuki Academy's students, even the excellent ones, do have decent influence within the academy, but placed in society, who would recognize a half-grown student still learning to cook at the academy?

Only Nakiri Erina, or rather most of the Totsuki Ten who actively operate outside the academy, possess sufficient social influence.

Of course, the influence of Nakiri Erina's God Tongue title surpasses even the Totsuki Ten; it can be said she is one of only two people in this practical exam who can pull an entire separate customer queue to serve as examiners.

However, what's rather a pity is that Nakiri Erina has no interest in being a free Food Critic, and even less interest in rescuing ordinary students from dire straits.

What she's currently more interested in is appreciating the sight of Soma Yukihira next door, who chose to make Souffle Omelettes, driven into a desperate situation where his dishes won't sell.

【Finally, I can say goodbye to this arrogant, ill-mannered guy~】

Nakiri Erina was thinking just that when a group of people surged over with a clatter.

", Erina, have you already sold two hundred dishes?"

Broly approached, and seeing the girl's cooking station empty and deserted, couldn't help but ask.

"Naturally. By the way, Broly, what's this?"

Nakiri Erina frowned and asked.

"After I finished cooking, I wanted to conveniently eat some breakfast in the exam area."

Broly answered honestly.

"Then this group following behind you is?"

"I said I wanted to eat breakfast, some customers who've eaten my cooking said they wanted to follow and eat with me, and since others hadn't sold the required number of dishes yet, I agreed.

At first, I wanted to help solve Komekko's dish quota, but later other students begged me, so I went and ate their cooking.

After that, I don't know what happened, the people following me just kept increasing————"

Broly scratched his head, saying it with a somewhat innocent air.

At the very beginning, his intention to help drum up customers for Tadokoro Megumi was genuine, but the customers drummed up afterward increasing more and more was something even he hadn't anticipated.

Of course, regarding this matter, he didn't care too much either; whoever wanted to follow could follow, he just went to some breakfast stalls to eat, then honestly spoke his impressions after eating.

Erina: ", Soma, what's wrong with you, looking like you've hit a dead end?"

Broly looked at Soma Yukihira, asking with some surprise.

"Broly-san, I really am in a dead end. The Souffle Omelettes I made, because I didn't think about the problem of them collapsing once cold, these already-collapsed dishes now can't be sold at all."

"I see. Then just remake them?"

Broly said as a matter of course.

"But even if I remake them, if no one comes to eat, once they go cold, it's the same thing."

Soma Yukihira said with a bitter smile.

"No, why don't you look at the number of people behind me before talking?"

", Broly-san, why are there so many people following you?"

"Cut the chatter, give me one of your Souffle Omelette dishes."

When fifty minutes remained until the cooking exam ended, a large volume of customers arrived at Soma Yukihira's stall.

With the cooking tasting good and creativity sufficient, he managed to meet the passing condition of two hundred dishes in just thirty-one minutes.

His hand speed wasn't on par with Broly's freshly-cut-freshly-made Wensi Tofu, but it was also extremely terrifying, achieving a state of busy yet unflustered.

"Erina, want to go eat other cooking with me?"

Broly invited, and Nakiri Erina glanced at Soma Yukihira's stall revived from the brink, then turned back to look at the burly boy sincerely inviting her to eat others' cooking. She wanted to say something, but ultimately said nothing, only sighing and replying somewhat helplessly: "Fine, I'm a bit hungry too. However, you have to taste for me; call me when you find good cooking, don't let my tongue suffer."

Broly invited, Nakiri Erina then looked at the resurrected Soma Yukihira stall, then turned her head to look at the stalwart boy sincerely inviting her to go eat other people's cooking, wanted to say something, but in the end said nothing, merely sighed, somewhat helplessly replied: "Fine, I'm also somewhat hungry, however, you must taste for me, call me when you eat delicious cooking, don't let my tongue suffer."

Broly made an OK gesture and agreed, the result being that his cooking appraisal strictness instantly rose to a high-difficulty level the moment Erina agreed to join.

Cooking he originally thought tasty directly dropped to an ordinary level; only cooking he thought extremely tasty could barely get a decent evaluation.

"What's called God's Stomach and God Tongue meeting, the two forming a Strong Alliance, raising the students' elimination rate right in the exam area?

"What is called God's Stomach and God Tongue meeting, the two strong strong uniting, directly raising the students' elimination rate inside the exam area?

When Dojima Gin learned Erina had joined Broly's judging panel, causing Broly's cooking judging strictness to directly jump multiple levels, the calm expression on his face couldn't quite hold: 【Good, good, good, playing like this huh, first saving classmates from fire and water, now directly letting classmates fall into fire and water————】

When Dojima Gin learned Erina joined Broly's judging panel, causing Broly's judging intensity towards cooking to directly rise multiple steps, the calm expression on his face could not hold: 【Good good good, playing like this huh, front saving classmates from fire and water, now directly letting classmates fall into fire and water————】

The previous students' attitude toward Broly was "please come," while now it was a frantic refusal of the other's approach.

This situation made all the proctor instructors in the surveillance room somewhat at a loss whether to cry or laugh; although it wasn't the God Tongue personally stepping in to appraise cooking, the situation wasn't much different.

Broly the benevolent father before, now it's Erina the strict mother's turn; a crowd of students who still hadn't passed the practical exam trembled under this invisible threat where the guillotine could fall at any moment.

Breakfast time entered the final ten seconds of the countdown; when the countdown hit zero, the candidates who hadn't passed the exam all breathed a sigh of relief.

Compared to the situation of being expelled for failing the exam, they were more afraid of being appraised by this God Tongue Erina and receiving a bad review.

The former is merely expulsion from Totsuki Academy, after which they can still remain active in the culinary world's upper class society; the latter could directly sever their future as upper-class culinary world chefs.

Which is lighter and which heavier, anyone can tell.

"This practical exam is over. 785 students participated in the breakfast egg dish exam; currently only 506 have passed."

This year's Totsuki Academy training camp exam elimination rate was just a hair away from the fifty-percent elimination standard.

All students who passed the exam, while breathing a sigh of relief, also felt a touch of "when the rabbit dies the fox grieves" for those eliminated.

There's still one day tomorrow; who knows what practical tasks there will be, and how many more will be eliminated————

"I have some good news to tell everyone————"

Dojima Gin spoke, and when the many students all looked up at him on the platform, he continued.

Dojima Gin spoke, and only when the many students were all looking up at him on the stage did he continue.

"From this moment on, there will be no more Task Assessments; everyone may properly enjoy the true Training Camp experience."

Hearing this, the venue fell into Silence first, then the cheers of countless students rang out.

"Ah, Mom, I survived, I survived!"

"I'm going to sleep right now, I'm going back to my Room to sleep hard, nobody wake me up!"

The students' Reactions varied, but Mostly it was the Relaxed feeling after the Heavy Pressure lifted.

"Here, I want to especially Praise one student, Broly, you come up here."

"Me?"

"Yes, it's you."

Dojima Gin invited Broly onto the stage, then continued addressing the students below: "In this Task Assessment, this student Broly

demonstrated to us instructors another Possibility for the Task Assessment.

From this cohort onward, a New Rule will be added to the Fourth Day Task Assessment item of the Totsuki Academy Training Camp: students who complete the Task Assessment early may step down and become examiners before the Exam Time ends————

From now on, this kind of Task Assessment will become even more Complex; students must not only cook well, but also manage their Connections well to obtain corresponding assistance during the assessment.

Student Broly's contribution this time is extremely outstanding, providing more Opportunities to forge Friendship for future Training Camp Juniors; let us applaud and cheer for him!"

The students below listened and stared at each other Face Each Other — the other party calls the increase in Task Assessment difficulty providing more Opportunities to forge Friendship?

However, they Thought Of the fact that they had already gotten through the Training Camp and wouldn't have to do it One Time again; the Suffering is left for the Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters afterward.

Instantly, incomparably Passionate Applause Sound and cheers rang out below; Truly, people's joy is always built upon others' Painful experiences.

Even If this Suffering has not yet been truly established, but is something that will only be established in the future, it does Not Hinder this group of Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters who have already Broken free from the sea of Training Camp suffering from being happy and laughing first.