Multiverse Gourmet Hunter

Once Haruto decided to enroll at Totsuki Culinary Academy, he began studying cooking in earnest.

The money he had made from selling Regal Mammoth meat made the process far easier.

He bought shelves’ worth of professional cookbooks, ranging from basic ingredient preparation and classic recipes from around the world to advanced techniques such as molecular gastronomy.

He also hired three private cooking instructors.

From then on, his days were filled with the crisp rhythm of knives striking cutting boards, ingredients sizzling as they hit hot pans, and stock bubbling steadily over the stove.

Thanks to the changes brought about by his Gourmet Cells, Haruto’s memory had improved far beyond that of an ordinary person.

Complicated ratios and precise instructions for controlling heat only needed to be read once before they were firmly fixed in his mind.

His practical skills developed just as quickly.

Whether it was controlling the force behind a wok toss or placing every cut with perfect accuracy, a few words of guidance were usually enough for him to grasp the principle.

Before long, he could even apply the same technique in entirely different situations.

With professional instruction and his enhanced natural ability working together, Haruto improved at an astonishing pace.

After only a month, he was already beginning to carry himself like a proper chef.

He did not neglect tasting food, either.

Haruto visited everything from small family-run restaurants hidden down narrow alleys to luxury dining rooms occupying the highest floors of skyscrapers.

His Gourmet Cell-enhanced palate allowed him to pick apart the thought behind every dish—the strip of kombu used to deepen a stock, the precise amount of lemon juice added to a meat marinade, or the faint trace of sea salt hidden inside a dessert mousse.

Every bite became an exercise in breaking flavors apart and rebuilding them in his mind.

With every meal, his understanding of cooking grew a little deeper.

...

Time passed quickly amid his constant studying and tasting.

At last, the day of Totsuki’s transfer entrance examination arrived.

After breakfast, Haruto took a car to Totsuki Culinary Academy.

A large number of applicants had already gathered outside.

Most wore expensive clothes and carried themselves with obvious pride, while butlers and bodyguards stood close behind them.

Haruto, who had come alone, looked completely out of place among them.

He did not care in the slightest.

Remaining perfectly calm, he headed toward the academy’s main gate.

Yukihira Soma was standing there with his head tilted back, staring at the enormous campus ahead of him in open confusion.

He had never imagined that the school his father wanted him to apply to would be a lavish private academy occupying an entire mountain!

Every applicant passing through the gates was dressed like the child of some wealthy or influential family.

Soma found himself wondering whether this was really a culinary school at all.

He had even called his father to make sure he had come to the right place.

Apparently, this truly was Totsuki Culinary Academy, where he was expected to take the transfer examination.

The thought that he might soon be studying somewhere like this left Soma strangely excited.

Then he spotted Haruto approaching.

His eyes lit up, and he immediately waved.

"Hey! It’s the barbecue stall boss!"

Seeing a familiar face instantly made him feel more at ease.

...

Soma’s shout drew several curious glances, but the other applicants soon lost interest and turned away.

Haruto looked at him with a helpless sigh.

"Good morning, Yukihira-san. Nice to see you again."

He paused before adding, "But could you stop calling me the barbecue stall boss?"

"My name is Suzuki Haruto."

They might soon become classmates, after all.

Haruto had no desire to spend the rest of his time at Totsuki being known as the boy who sold grilled meat.

"Suzuki Haruto..."

Soma repeated the name, then looked mildly puzzled.

"That sounds Japanese, but you don’t really seem—"

"That’s right. I’m a foreigner," Haruto said calmly.

"Ah, I knew it!"

Soma nodded as though everything had suddenly made sense, only to widen his eyes a second later.

"I didn’t know foreign students could take Totsuki’s transfer exam!"

Haruto found himself at a loss for words.

He could hardly explain that he had somehow been smuggled across worlds along with his entire house and had ended up studying here because he had nowhere better to go.

"I was planning to look around the campus before the exam," Haruto said, smoothly changing the subject.

"Want to come with me, Yukihira-san?"

"Sure!"

Soma grinned and nodded immediately.

"I had no idea where I was supposed to go anyway."

The two of them entered the academy together and followed the winding stone path through the grounds.

Totsuki was even larger than they had imagined.

Cooking classrooms built in all kinds of architectural styles stood among the tree-lined roads, each designed for a different culinary discipline.

Soma looked around in amazement, commenting on almost everything they passed.

Haruto remained much calmer, occasionally stopping to study the signs outside the classrooms with quiet interest.

...

Before they realized it, the time for the transfer examination had arrived.

They followed the stream of applicants into the examination hall.

The room was enormous, with dozens of cooking stations arranged across the floor.

Every counter was already stocked with a complete set of utensils.

The applicants took their places and began whispering among themselves, all of them curious about what kind of test awaited them.

Then two figures entered through the doors at the rear of the hall.

The room fell silent almost instantly.

Nakiri Erina walked in front, dressed in Totsuki’s uniform.

Her long golden hair fell over her shoulders like silk, and every movement carried an air of elegance and authority.

Her critical gaze swept across the hall, making every applicant she looked at instinctively hold their breath.

Following closely behind her was a girl with short pinkish-purple hair, carrying a thick stack of documents in her arms.

She was Arato Hisako, Erina’s secretary.

"Nakiri Erina!"

"She’s overseeing the transfer examination?"

"We’re finished..."

Nervous whispers spread through the applicants, and a shadow seemed to fall over their expressions.

Haruto remained calm. He had spent the past month preparing for this.

Beside him, however, Soma looked completely lost.

He scratched his head and leaned closer to Haruto.

"Who’s that? Everyone’s acting like she’s terrifying."

Haruto glanced at him.

"Nakiri Erina. She’s a student here at Totsuki—and she’s also the examiner for today’s test."

Soma nodded slowly, though he clearly did not understand.

Letting a student run an entrance examination still seemed very strange to him.

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