Finding My Special Ingredient

Chapter 3- Boeuf Bourguignon

3rd person's pov 

It has been a month since the entrance exam as Aika wait in a tent with Soma to do their speech later for the entrance ceremony. Now they were presenting the class insignia to the first year representative, which was of course, Nakiri Erina.  It was the entrance ceremony for the first years of Totsuki Teahouse Culinary Institute High School. While Erina was on the stage, there was many positive comments about her except for a few that Aika thought as negative comments because of the perverseness in it. 'Not that any would actually ask her out on an actual date. Her grandfather would be the one to stop them from even coming close to her and would make sure to chop off their hands before they can even touch her.' Aika thought to herself as she look at the stage again. "Now for the dean's address." The announcer said as Sanzaemon went up to the stage. 'Anybody with a brain would realised that the Nakiri Erina that they so want to go out with is the granddaughter of the undisputed don of the food mafia, Nakiri Sanzaemon. He's the incarnation of power not only in the Totsuki Institute, but in Japan's entire culinary world which is why some people thinks he is very scary. Which he is indeed, sometimes.' Aika thought as an anime style sweatdrop was on her head.

"Everyone, congratulations on your advancement to high school. In your three years of junior high, you have learned cooking fundamentals and gained an understanding towards food. You have had hands-on culinary training as well as classroom learning on various subjects such as culinary science, dietetics, public health studies, horticulture, management and so on. Now, all of you stand on the threshold of your high school careers, however here we would not be testing knowledge or technique. We will test nothing less than your strength to be a chef." Sanzaemon said as he raised his hand and pointed to most of the people and continued "Children, 99% of you are nothing but common rocks. You exits solely to grind to perfection the 1% of you who are diamonds. Last year's freshman count was 812, and by the next year the ones that survived and went into their second year only left with 76." The amount of people that was cut of shock a lot of people, but not Aika. 'After all, the ones that graduate from here are the elite chefs and there will only be a handful of them. I can already see by the start of next year the number will dwindled down form 76 to less than 30.' Aika thought as she continue to listen to the dean.

"The worthless and the average are ruthlessly expunged like the one thousand students that will start this year will only end with a hundred students by the start of the next year. And the ones that will survive all the way to graduation will be only but a handful. You are here to become that one handful of elite so devote yourself, body and soul. That will be all." Sanzaemon said as he walk off the stage when he was done with his very long speech. 'I pity those who are in the year as I, because you are condemned to fight for second place since birth. The only one who will reach the pinnacle of the Totsuki Institute, and by extension the whole Japanese Culinary World is me, Nakiri Erina.' Erina thought as she smiled to herself. Aika on the other hand was busy lecturing Soma about not talking too big and running his mouth in front of the students to hope to not have him be hated by the whole school. 'Now I can only hope that he doesn't run his mouth like agreed and we will all be fine.' Aika thought as she sigh to herself and walk to her designated station-the stairs to the top of the stage-to prepare to go up after Soma is done.

"Please hurry up and give your speech." the announcer said to Soma that was blabbering around. "Okay, okay. I will keep it brief then. Hi, my name is Yukihira Soma, to be perfectly honest, it was a big shock I actually got in here but I have got no intention of losing to people that has never served anyone before. So now that I'm here, this institute is nothing but a stepping stone for me." With that said Aika mentally slap her head as Soma has once again, ran his mouth. "I will be taking the number one spot. Oh! I hope we all get along for the next-" Soma was cut off by Aika taking a roll of paper out form nowhere and slapping him with it. When he was about to say something, Aika just gave him a glare that was saying 'We will talk about this later on so be a good puppy and go back to your seat.'