Chapter 998: Picking Bones from an Egg / Nitpicking

On the outskirts of the night market street, the old pickup truck stopped in a parking spot by the road.

Behind it, the following black sedan also stopped.

"Miss, the car ahead can't get through."

The driver said.

"Then get out of the car."

Nakiri Erina directly opened the car door; the ground still covered by the dusk's afterglow emitted a trace of warmth.

"The vehicles will wait here; you can go to the surrounding shops to buy food to eat and rest along the way, keep your phones on, and when you're done touring and ready to return, I'll call ahead to contact you."

"Yes, Nito Assistant."

After instructing the driver driving ahead, Arato Hisako also got out of the car.

Three pairs of loafers stood in place, front and back.

Nakiri Erina, bringing the two behind her, walked to the front of the old pickup and asked Broly, who was getting down from the vehicle: "This is the place you said you set up your night market stall?"

"No, the real night market stalls are on the pedestrian street ahead; this is just the parking place."

"Why not drive inside?"

"During night market hours, the road ahead prohibits vehicle passage."

"Then how do you move all that stuff on the pickup to the stall location?"

"Naturally by hand; each person carries a bit; these things aren't too many."

At this time Isshiki Satoshi also brought people over; the Polar Star Dormitory members began unloading things from the pickup.

"Strength is quite something; your build didn't go to waste."

Watching Broly alone hug the whole mobile food cart down from the truck, Nakiri Erina evaluated with a sentence.

"However, when you usually set up night market stalls, is it always this troublesome?"

She asked curiously.

"At the start, we drove the small three-wheeler Broly borrowed; that night market street allowed passage, so we could drive directly to the stall position.

But later the stalls expanded, more cooking equipment was prepared, we changed vehicles, and could only come to here; however, don't worry, the truck has portable handcarts; large items can be placed on top and pulled inside.

Apart from unloading being a bit troublesome, pulling the goods inside isn't strenuous."

The others secured the things needed for the night market stall on the handcarts, and Broly at the front started pulling.

Wheels rolled on the cement road, emitting a not-small gurgling sound.

"You only let him pull alone?"

Nakiri Erina raised an eyebrow.

"We wanted to help, but Broly-san has great strength; even if we went to help we couldn't apply force, and would instead get in the way a bit, so now we only stay at the side guaranteeing the things on the handcart don't tilt, don't fall off before reaching the stall."

Yukihira Soma explained from the side, then looked curiously at Nakiri Erina: "You, this Nakiri family Big Sister, don't really look favorably on commoner cooking, right? How come tonight you came along to this side?"

"Hmph, who wanted to come? If Broly hadn't actively invited me today, asking me to come do a food appraisal for your Polar Star Dormitory night market stall cooking, I wouldn't come to this kind of place!"

Nakiri Erina coldly snorted, lifted her chin, and said.

"Broly-san unexpectedly has this much face, able to easily invite you, this so-called God Tongue Elite Ten?"

Yukihira Soma was somewhat surprised.

He now more or less understood Nakiri Erina's status among food critics.

"He has no face with me————"

Hearing this, Nakiri Erina immediately retorted.

"If it weren't for the Polar Star Dormitory night market stall also having a Totsuki Elite Ten participating in management, I wouldn't have agreed to this kind of invitation."

The girl raised a hand pointing at Isshiki Satoshi beside her, and used him as an excuse.

【So this is what Miss Hisako said, the possible scouting of enemy intelligence.】

Mito Ikumi, following behind, daydreamed a scene of two Elite Ten openly and secretly fighting, and an enlightened expression appeared on her face.

"Hah?"

Isshiki Satoshi tilted his head; he also only knew now that tonight there was still the segment of Nakiri Erina doing food appraisal.

"Hmph, don't you all think that just because I was invited to appraise cooking, I'll speak well for you; on the contrary, if the cooking you make later tastes bad, I will publicly point out your cooking's insufficiencies; maybe I'll directly ruin your current night market stall business!"

Nakiri Erina finished speaking, then lifted her head, looking like she was preparing to appreciate everyone showing worried expressions, but unfortunately the one responding to her was Yukihira Soma.

"Good, I'll bring out my strength, make night stall cooking that leaves even you with nothing to say!"

As long as it involves cooking, Yukihira Soma has never backed down.

"A personal test by the God Tongue? Everyone, opportunity is rare; tonight, we must bring out our Polar Star Dormitory's highest cooking level, properly entertain this Miss Nakiri!"

Isshiki Satoshi also took the chance to boost everyone's morale.

"Normally inviting this person to appraise cooking, I heard it costs at least this number————"

"Wow, unexpectedly it's this much; then tonight counts as a free ride for us?"

"Mm, no need to pay money; of course it counts as a free ride."

The Polar Star Dormitory crowd assented, then muttered in small voices, but all acknowledged Isshiki Satoshi's 'rare opportunity' statement, each eager to try.

Only Tadokoro Megumi was truly worried, fearing she might drag the team back, a completely anxious appearance.

"Don't worry, Komekko, do your best is enough; anyway even if it's messed up in the end, it won't count toward the academy's regular assessment scores."

Broly discovered her nervousness, reached out and patted Tadokoro Megumi's shoulder, comforting this girl who always lacks a bit of confidence.

"Tonight, you and I do grilling together."

"Okay, Broly-san, tonight I'm with you."

The stall arrived; everyone took things off the handcarts and began setting up the night market stall.

Nakiri Erina hugged her arms and just watched from the side.

For some reason, seeing Tadokoro Megumi and Broly acting like a couple running a stall together, she felt some displeasure in her heart.

【What's this about grilling together? You're a cooking beginner yourself and haven't even grilled properly, yet you want to bring others to grill with you? Do you really think the barbecue made like that can pass my God Tongue test?!】

Nakiri Erina muttered to herself, while Hisako Arato kept watching Soma Yukihira; when she turned back, she found that her Big Sister wasn't paying attention to that detestable guy she mentioned, but was staring at Broly instead, leaving her bewildered.

【Aren't you targeting that detestable guy Soma Yukihira?】

Hisako Arato was a bit puzzled, but immediately understood.

【Right, Erina-sama must be worried that if Broly doesn't do well, he might lose face!】

「Erina-sama, don't worry. These past few days of tutoring, Broly's grasp of the Maillard Reaction and heat control is pretty decent; he's no longer at the level of a cooking beginner.

Tonight, as long as he grills seriously, with his existing barbecue foundation, the barbecue he makes shouldn't taste bad. 」

Hisako Arato leaned close and whispered softly into the girl's ear.

「Hisako, what nonsense are you saying? Which eye of yours saw me worrying about this guy? 」

Nakiri Erina's ears turned red; being whispered to by her childhood friend secretary, she glared back somewhat unhappily.

「Yes, Erina-sama wasn't worried; I was mistaken. 」

Hisako Arato didn't refute, only thinking her Big Sister's habit of saying one thing and meaning another had struck again.

【You're staring at Broly—not because you're worried, then what else could it be? Surely you're not jealous because you saw him getting close to other girls?】

Hisako Arato thought to herself, but also saw the tacit cooperation between Broly and Tadokoro Megumi while they ran the stall.

Of course, Nakiri Erina wasn't jealous; it was simply possessiveness acting up.

It's like ordinary people: if there's an opposite sex they're close with, and one day they see that person being close with someone else,

even if you two don't have any confirmed closer relationship, you'd still feel some displeasure in your heart.

Ordinary people are like this, let alone Nakiri Erina, who has been a Big Sister since childhood; Broly is one of the few males close to her.

【You two, what are you looking at? Weren't you here for another Elite Ten member?】

Standing behind, Ikumi Mito, who formed a vague triangle with the master and servant ahead, was a bit dazed.

Isshiki Satoshi was on the other side, while Erina-sama and Hisako Arato were both watching only a newly enrolled transfer student, leaving her completely confused.

The Polar Star Night Stall had just been set up when old customers from the past few days swarmed over; although it was just the beginning of the night market, the difference in popularity compared to other night market food stalls was clear: one waited for customers to come, the other had customers waiting for the stall.

As for now, the food mainly sold at the Polar Star Night Stall were fried rice, barbecue, and tempura, plus some fermented drinks.

Besides that, there was also a Random Dish, mainly for innovative cooking; if someone at Polar Star Dormitory developed a new dish and wanted to test the outside market, they could sell it here.

Since the type was quite random, it was called Random Dish, with the main point being that whatever the stall sold, the customers would buy.

And tonight's Random Dish was exactly the Southeast Asian street snack Isshiki Satoshi had been researching lately—curry fish balls.

「According to the morning application, this stall started five days ago, right? In less than a week, it's already accumulated so many regular customers? 」

The moment the Polar Star Night Stall opened, long lines formed in front of it; the booming popularity made Nakiri Erina raise her eyebrows involuntarily.

「This only shows the stall's cooking does have something to it, but there's an Elite Ten member personally presiding here, so such a situation isn't surprising. 」

"This only goes to show that this stall's cooking does have something to it, but there's an Elite Ten member personally sitting in command here, so such a situation is hardly surprising."

【Not surprising, but why do I feel that this Elite Ten sir, rather than attracting people with cooking and delicacies, is more like using her charms to drum up business?】

Isshiki Satoshi didn't know when she had taken off her upper garment and put on a pink apron; although she hadn't taken off her pants, her upper body was already in a Naked Apron outfit.

And the customers lining up at the Random Dish stall were mostly female, all gazing at him behind the stall with fiery eyes.

Ikumi Mito didn't doubt at all that if Ikumi Mito, this Totsuki Ten member, were openly sold on the menu, those female customers would buy him and take him to strange places to enjoy.

Of course, the customers lining up over there weren't only female; some male customers were mixed in too, most wearing sports jerseys, white socks, and flat shoes.

Mixed in a line mostly of females, not glancing at the surrounding female customers, instead looking at Isshiki Satoshi with equally eager eyes.

At Soma Yukihira's stall, the sound of fried rice never stopped; in front of Sakaki Ryouko's stall, mostly male customers were lining up; Iwasaki Shun and Marui Zenji were doing logistics work processing ingredients, and Broly was also counted as half a logistics person.

At Soma Yukihira's stall, the sound of fried rice never stopped; in front of Sakaki Ryouko's stall, most of those queuing were male customers, while Iwasaki Shun and Marui Zenji were handling logistics work processing ingredients, and Broly likewise counted as half a logistics staff member.

And when he placed the ingredients on the mobile cooking station, Ikumi Mito heard the customers around exclaiming.

「What's wrong with you? Why do you look a bit excited? 」

Ikumi Mito had heard a saying: moderate fitness attracts the opposite sex, excessive fitness attracts the same sex; most of those exclaiming were male, and Broly fit the excessive fitness physique, so she couldn't help but suspect there was something Gav going on here.

Ikumi Mito had heard a saying: moderate fitness attracts the opposite sex, excessive fitness attracts the same sex; most of those exclaiming in surprise were male, and since Broly's physique more or less fit the excessive fitness category, this made her not obtain but doubt whether there was something else going on here.

The person asked, glanced at Ikumi Mito dressed as a gyaru, and then retorted.

The person questioned glanced at Ikumi Mito dressed as a gyaru, then refuted with a sentence.

Ikumi Mito was a bit dazed; could they tell it was her first time coming to the night stall?

「If you were a regular customer, you definitely wouldn't ask the question just now. 」

The person behind said.

「What do you mean? 」

Ikumi Mito asked turning back.

「The Polar Star Night Stall—the knife show of that big boss is definitely a must-see for us customers! 」

「It's just knife skills, what's there to see or not see—」

Ikumi Mito had just finished speaking when Broly started cutting ingredients over there; his technique was clean and neat, flowing like clouds and water, mainly pleasing to the eye.

The surrounding customers also quieted down, staring at this very stress-relieving ingredient processing, and subconsciously showed expressions of enjoyment on their faces.

Pity, Broly's ingredient processing speed was quite fast, and this enjoyable time soon ended.

Ikumi Mito was stunned for a while, only coming back to her senses after Broly finished processing the ingredients; a thought surfaced in her heart: 【No wonder this guy could enter the Sixth Cooking Building and receive Erina-sama's favor—】

After the once-a-night knife show ended, Broly ran back to the barbecue stove and started seriously grilling meat skewers.

Tadokoro Megumi was at the side, mainly responsible for grilling vegetable skewers.

Hisako Arato lined up with the other customers, didn't break the queuing rules to directly get night stall food, but normally bought three portions before leaving the crowd.

Hisako Arato queued with the other customers and did not break the queueing rule to directly take the night stall cooking, but normally bought three portions before breaking free from the crowd and coming out.

"Erina-sama, these are all the dishes from the Polar Star Night Stall, and this is that detestable guy's fried rice; please sample them."

Hisako Arato walked back to her own Big Sister's side, very naturally handed the bag in her hand to Ikumi Mito, then took out Soma Yukihira's fried rice alone from inside, opened the box lid and presented it before her own Big Sister, calling it sampling, but in reality it was just letting her own Big Sister properly pick faults.

"The fried rice can wait, you first take out the yakitori skewers for me."

"Yes."

Hisako Arato froze for a moment, reacted, then hurriedly swapped for another dish.

"This is a soy-sauce grilled chicken thigh skewer."

Presented before the young lady, she introduced it as such.

【Even coloring, surface glossy and slightly charred————】

Just from the exterior, this soy-sauce grilled chicken thigh skewer absolutely deserves full marks for doneness.

【Skin slightly charred and crisp, interior pink, tender and juicy————】

Nakiri Erina first smelled the aroma, then parted her lips to taste, and the feedback obtained on the palate left even her God Tongue with nothing to criticize.

Doneness, a minute more would burn, a minute less would lack fragrance; and the seasoning was a flavor she rather liked — clearly, when Broly was grilling, he had adjusted the saltiness and sweetness of the brushed sauce according to her preferred taste.

Delicious, but she couldn't say it out loud.

Not evaluating, the two people beside her were watching her.

And the people at the Polar Star Night Stall were also covertly paying attention to the situation on this side.

"Passable, but still room for improvement."

After Erina finished the whole soy-sauce grilled chicken thigh skewer, she deliberated in her heart for a while before giving this evaluation.

After that, she successively ate the salt-grilled chicken breast skewers, and the other people's dishes.

And the dishes at the Polar Star Night Stall actually made even her, a possessor of the God Tongue, unable to pick out any flaws.

"Mito, how do you see it?"

This situation caused Nakiri Erina to slightly furrow her brows, and she asked Ikumi Mito beside her.

"Uh, they're all delicious————"

Ikumi Mito originally wanted to answer like that, but saw displeasure surface on Nakiri Erina's face.

"There are actually insufficient points."

She reacted, realizing the other party wanted her to pick faults, and hurriedly corrected herself.

"Good, then you tell me, what insufficient points are there."

Erina nodded, continued asking.

"Uh, Erina-san, I'm only good at meat dishes; for non-meat dishes, my evaluation actually isn't professional enough."

"No matter, then you just evaluate the grilled meat dishes."

"Erina-sama, aren't we evaluating the fried rice?"

Hisako Arato reminded, always feeling her own Big Sister was targeting the wrong person.

"The fried rice has nothing worth evaluating, that detestable guy has a bit of strength, but not much."

Erina waved her hand, then looked at Ikumi Mito, seemingly hoping she would speak the insufficient points.

But what insufficient points could this grilled food have, Ikumi Mito also had a bit of a headache.

"Mito-san, please instruct me."

Broly looked at her.

"Uh————"

【What can I instruct you with, if it were me, grilled food made with a charcoal stove would probably be at this level too.】

Ikumi Mito grumbled in her heart, but if she didn't say a thing or two, nitpick like finding a bone in an egg, she worried it would displease Nakiri Erina.

"Hmm, your sprinkling technique is no good————"

Finally, Ikumi Mito pondered in place for a while, then forcibly found this insufficient point.

"Uh, where is it bad?"

Broly asked doubtfully.

"Ingredients touched the elbow, more performative than technical, not technique, and unhygienic————"

【Although I don't know how you used this overly performative sprinkling technique to sprinkle out an even and controllable flavor effect, this is already the only point that can be faulted————】

Since flavor and doneness were beyond reproach, she could only pick faults from the hygiene angle.