Chapter 432: The Far East Dormitory's Lodging Training Begins!

"The law of survival of the fittest at Far East Academy makes this place less of a school and more of a small society."

"There are students here who genuinely love cooking and are dedicated to culinary research, but there are just as many who treat cooking merely as a tool to make money and become social elites."

"Being able to gain the attention of Erina Nakiri and the favor of the Far East General Commander proves that you truly have the strength."

"Plus, having the financial power to casually produce high-end rare ingredients to support a friend's Shokugeki, it's no wonder they think you're the descendant of a culinary noble family."

"Those people offering rewards for information on you aren't necessarily all trying to defeat you as a stepping stone."

"Many of them are likely trying to figure out your background so they can curry favor with you."

"And quite a few of the girls might even be thinking of throwing themselves at you. After all, Wen Shengzai, your appearance isn't half bad, is it?"

After hearing Eishi Tsukasa's words, everyone present—except for Wen Shengzai and Soma Yukihira—showed no strange expressions; even the shy and cute Megumi Tadokoro and the energetic girl Yuki Yoshino were the same.

This is the cutthroat Far East Academy. Compared to ordinary schools, the students here are far more mature than their peers due to their upbringing and environment.

Everyone present, excluding Wen Shengzai and Soma, had promoted from the Far East middle school division, so they were long accustomed to such things.

"It's a pity those girls who want to curry favor or throw themselves at me are going to be disappointed."

"While my family can be considered a culinary noble family, it's a fallen one, and I'm certainly no wealthy heir—just an ordinary chef from a family-run restaurant."

Hearing Wen Shengzai's self-deprecation, the members of the Far East Dormitory who already knew his background didn't react, but Ikumi Mito, who had been invited to the banquet, showed a look of surprise.

"Wen Shengzai, your family just runs a public restaurant? But if that's the case, how did you manage to find rare ingredients like the Frozen Bison for Soma Yukihira?"

"You have to know, even for our 'Mito Meat Products,' which has a certain reputation in the meat industry, it's not easy to find rare meat ingredients of that level."

Regarding this point, the others in the Far East Dormitory, including Soma, were also quite curious.

Wen Shengzai didn't reveal the truth about being a Gourmet Hunter. Instead, he took out his Gourmet Association Silver Membership card and said: "Due to certain reasons, I helped a big shot at the Rare Ingredient Gourmet Association, so he gave me this membership card."

"As long as I have a need, I can order rare ingredients from the Gourmet Association at a ten percent discount."

When they heard Wen Shengzai's explanation, the light in the eyes of everyone present as they looked at the membership card in his hand was almost enough to blind him.

A VIP of the Rare Ingredient Gourmet Association who can order rare ingredients at a ten percent discount—this is worth far more than any wealthy heir status!

Rare ingredients are expensive, but for most chefs, they aren't entirely unaffordable.

The main issue is that they are rare and hard to find. Without certain channels, ordinary people simply can't buy them, often having to pay premiums at black markets or auctions.

There are only three people—or rather, three institutions—in all of Tokyo that hold VIP status at the Rare Ingredient Gourmet Association, and Far East Academy is one of them.

However, it seems the VIP level of the entire Far East Academy isn't even as high as Wen Shengzai's.

Bluntly put, even if Wen Shengzai were destitute, as long as he held this Gourmet Association VIP status, he would be treated as an honored guest wherever he went.

Those giants of the food industry would be dying to marry off the women of their families to Wen Shengzai just to climb the social ladder with him.

"Wen Shengzai, I didn't expect you to have such status. Since that's the case, I won't be polite. Actually, there's a rare ingredient I've wanted for a long time, but I've never had the channel..."

"Me too, me too! The lodging training is in a few days. I don't know if we'll be allowed to bring our own ingredients, but just in case, it's better to bring some trump cards."

Before, the people in the Far East Dormitory all thought Wen Shengzai was relying on connections to get rare ingredients, so although they asked him, they didn't hold much hope.

They didn't even bring it up again to avoid making Wen Shengzai feel awkward.

But now that Wen Shengzai had revealed his Gourmet Association Silver Membership status, why would they hesitate?

Ryoko Sakaki and Yuki Yoshino, who had become close with Wen Shengzai, immediately rattled off a list of rare ingredients they had long desired.

As for the shy Megumi Tadokoro and Ikumi Mito, who had just met Wen Shengzai, they were initially a bit embarrassed, but ultimately, they couldn't resist the temptation of a ten percent discount on rare ingredients.

Rare ingredients are already hard to come by; finding a ten percent discount on top of that is a deal you can't pass up!

Soma Yukihira, who had experienced the deliciousness and magic of rare ingredients, originally wanted to speak up, but he quickly realized that with the high prices of rare ingredients, even with a ten percent discount, he couldn't afford them anyway...

A few days after the Shokugeki between Soma and Ikumi, the annual activity for the first-year students of the Far East Academy's high school division—the so-called lodging training—officially began.

For this lodging training, everyone in the Far East Dormitory had prepared, except for Eishi Tsukasa, who was a year ahead of them.

Because of the declaration of war from Erina, Wen Shengzai had been hiding in the Far East Dormitory for the past few days without going out.

As a "Special Student," he didn't need to attend regular class assessments, let alone skip them, as long as he participated in important grade activities like the lodging training.

This special advantage of being a "Special Student" made Megumi Tadokoro, also a member of the Far East Dormitory, quite envious.

Because she had promoted to the high school division with the lowest grades in the middle school division, she faced the threat of expulsion if she received even one 'D' grade in a regular class assessment.

Because of this, Megumi was always walking on thin ice during every class assessment.

However, the members of the Far East Dormitory who had tasted Megumi's cooking knew that her culinary level was actually not low—in fact, it was better than most at Far East.

She only received low evaluations because she was prone to nervousness, leading to poor performance at critical moments.

Therefore, to prevent her from being eliminated during this lodging training, Wen Shengzai had prioritized ordering a number of rare ingredients for Megumi.

For the same dish, using rare ingredients would make it more delicious; this could be considered a physical cheat code.

However, it was a pity that when the well-prepared members of the Far East Dormitory arrived at the assembly point to board the bus, they were informed by the Far East teachers that for this lodging training, all students were prohibited from bringing any personal belongings or items.

(End of chapter)