Multiverse Gourmet Hunter

After the Maple Viewing Meet ended, Haruto returned to Polar Star Dormitory.

For the next few days, his life settled back into a peaceful rhythm.

Every now and then, he would discuss different smoking woods and flavor combinations with Ibusaki Shun or listen to Ryoko explain some of the finer points of kōji-based cooking.

One evening, Haruto returned to Polar Star after class and tidied up his room. He was just about to head out when he suddenly stopped.

His sharpened senses had caught an extremely faint sound coming from above the ceiling.

Haruto looked up calmly.

"Isshiki-senpai, did you need something?"

The moment he finished speaking, one of the ceiling panels shifted aside, revealing Isshiki Satoshi’s upper body.

Isshiki looked down at Haruto with his usual gentle smile.

"Come to the dining room. Everyone’s there."

With that, he slid the panel back into place and slowly crawled away through the narrow space above the ceiling.

Haruto stared upward for a moment, thoroughly confused.

He had been about to leave anyway, so he did not waste any time and headed straight for the dining room.

Before he even reached the doorway, he could already hear everyone chatting and laughing inside.

The moment he entered, several dark lines practically appeared across his forehead.

Isshiki was leisurely climbing down through another opening in the dining-room ceiling.

Once his feet touched the floor, he calmly dusted himself off and replaced the ceiling panel as though this were a perfectly ordinary way to move around the dormitory.

Haruto glanced around.

Everyone was present except Soma.

Before he could ask what was going on, Isshiki approached with a bright smile.

"Haruto! Let’s have everyone from Polar Star participate in this year’s Moon Festival together!"

"A group of young people in the prime of their youth, all sharing the same goal, combining their strength and giving everything they have to accomplish something together—"

Isshiki’s eyes burned with anticipation as he dramatically spread his arms.

Unfortunately, the fact that he was wearing nothing but an apron somewhat ruined the inspiring image.

"Isn’t that the very essence of youth?!"

"The Moon Festival is Totsuki Academy’s biggest and most spectacular annual event! It’s the stage where every student can show the world who they are and shine at their brightest! It’s our youth, our moment, the most dazzling Chapter of life at Totsuki!"

His voice grew increasingly passionate.

Isshiki extended a hand toward Haruto, his eyes full of expectation.

"Come, Haruto! Join us, and together we’ll make the name of Polar Star Dormitory shine across the Moon Festival!"

Isshiki had apparently been preparing for the festival for quite some time.

He was determined to make sure everyone at Polar Star enjoyed their youth to the fullest.

Haruto stared into his burning eyes, and several unwanted images immediately flashed through his mind.

If he remembered correctly, the restaurant Isshiki operated during the Moon Festival could practically be called a host club.

The embarrassment factor was off the charts.

A chill ran down Haruto’s spine.

He looked directly at the hopeful Isshiki, his expression becoming absolutely resolute.

"I’m opening my own stall."

It was not that Haruto disliked the idea of working alongside everyone from Polar Star.

If Isshiki were planning to run anything resembling a normal restaurant, Haruto would have agreed without hesitation.

Joining forces would mean less work for everyone, and it would give them an opportunity to develop dishes together.

There was hardly any downside.

Unfortunately, expecting Isshiki to operate a respectable, ordinary food stall was pure fantasy.

Rather than being dragged into what was essentially a host club, Haruto would much rather open his own place.

As long as he did not lose money, he would be satisfied.

Isshiki looked disappointed by the refusal, but he wholeheartedly supported Haruto’s decision to open a stall of his own.

"I see!"

"It’s unfortunate that you won’t be running a shop with us, but I’ll be cheering for you all the way!"

To Isshiki, Polar Star had never been something meant to restrain its residents.

It was a place that embraced each person’s dreams.

If Haruto wanted to carve out his own place at the Moon Festival, then that too was part of the passionate youth Isshiki valued so highly.

Isshiki turned toward the others.

"Speaking of which, Soma still isn’t back?"

Haruto planned to open his own shop, while Megumi had agreed to help the Local Cuisine Research Society.

Aside from Soma, everyone else at Polar Star intended to work together.

Megumi explained,

"Soma-kun said he wanted to check out Kuga-senpai’s place, so he went with Hōjō Miyoko to see him."

She had originally wanted to go as well, but the Local Cuisine Research Society still had work for her to handle.

"I see..."

Isshiki rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

He could already guess what Soma was planning.

Soma clearly intended to use the Moon Festival as an opportunity to surpass Kuga Terunori in some way.

While they were still talking, Soma finally walked through the door.

Isshiki’s eyes lit up, and he rushed over enthusiastically.

Unfortunately, after hearing the invitation, Soma rejected him as well.

"I’m opening my own place!"

"During this Moon Festival, I’m going to beat Kuga-senpai in sales!"

Only by defeating Kuga in that area would Soma earn the chance to challenge him to a Food War.

For that reason, he had to operate independently.

Isshiki was disappointed again, but still chose to support him.

Early the next morning, Haruto went to the Moon Festival registration office.

Since he had already declared that he would open his own shop, he obviously had to follow through.

He collected an application form and looked over the available fields.

Business concept, type of food being sold, preferred location...

Most of the decisions were easy.

To save himself trouble, Haruto planned to sell his modified Poffins.

His adjusted recipe worked on ordinary humans as well, and he was confident they would be extremely popular.

The location, however, required more thought.

The Moon Festival divided its businesses into three major areas, each with a different atmosphere and target customer base.

The Main Avenue Area was located close to Totsuki Academy’s front entrance, making it unavoidable for practically every visitor entering the school.

It received the greatest amount of foot traffic and was ideal for snacks and other quick-service food with extremely high customer turnover.

Any student aiming purely for maximum sales would naturally prefer it.

The downside was equally obvious.

Competition there was brutal, and operating a stall in that environment would be both exhausting and time-consuming.

The Central Area occupied the academy’s main plaza.

It covered the largest space and offered the greatest flexibility, accommodating almost every type of restaurant or stall.

Its overall customer traffic was comparable to the Main Avenue, though spread across a wider area.

It was a solid option.

Haruto ultimately chose the Mountain Area instead.

Located near the foot of Totsuki’s rear mountain, the area was surrounded by lush greenery and possessed a quiet, elegant atmosphere.

It lacked the noise and crowds of the Main Avenue and Central Area.

Most of the visitors willing to come this far were affluent and successful adults.

Average spending per customer was extremely high, and expectations for food quality were also far greater than in the other two areas.

It was essentially the Moon Festival’s fine-dining district.

For Haruto, the Mountain Area was easily the most relaxed place to work while still allowing him to show what he could do.

After deciding on the area, he went to inspect the booth he had selected—B-16.

He wanted to start planning the design.

Booth B-16 sat around the middle of the Mountain Area and was not particularly secluded. It only took three to five minutes to reach it from the main path.

A small maple grove stood beside the location.

After examining the surroundings for a while, Haruto decided to design his shop around a natural theme that blended into the environment.

With that settled, he prepared to contact a construction company and have the stall built.

Before he could do so, however, he received a call from the staff member responsible for Moon Festival booth registration.

The person sounded awkward as they asked Haruto to return immediately.

When he arrived back at the registration office, he found more than a dozen students already waiting there.

Most of them were second-years.

The moment Haruto entered, their eyes turned toward him.

Some looked curious.

Others were openly provocative.

The staff member in charge of booth registration approached Haruto with a helpless expression.

"Haruto-kun, I’m very sorry about this."

"Within half an hour of you submitting your application for Booth B-16 in the Mountain Area, another nineteen students applied for the exact same location."

"Under the rules, a single booth can have no more than twenty applicants, so we are no longer accepting additional requests."

"However, only one party can ultimately receive the booth."

The staff member continued,

"According to the Moon Festival’s allocation rules, the twenty applicants have several options."

"You may hold Food Wars against one another until a single winner earns exclusive rights to Booth B-16."

"Or you may voluntarily withdraw and choose another unoccupied location."

"Of course, if all parties can reach an agreement, you may also cooperate and operate a single shop together."

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