Multiverse Gourmet Hunter

After hearing the situation, Haruto looked over the nineteen students who had also applied for Booth B-16.

"Eizan Etsuya sent you, didn’t he?"

Haruto did not believe for a second that this was a coincidence.

Booth B-16 was hardly some fiercely contested prime location. Even within the Mountain Area, it was only an average spot.

The Mountain Area itself was also rather specialized. Under normal circumstances, even two or three students applying for the same booth would have been unusual.

Yet nineteen applications had suddenly poured in within half an hour of Haruto submitting his own.

Calling that a coincidence would be ridiculous.

And among everyone at Totsuki, Haruto could think of only one person with both the ability and the motive to arrange something like this.

Eizan Etsuya.

Haruto was certain that if the academy did not limit each booth to twenty applicants, far more than nineteen people would have shown up today.

"Haruto-kun, I think you’ve got the wrong idea."

A second-year student with a buzz cut folded his arms and stared at Haruto provocatively.

"We just happen to want this booth. It has nothing to do with Eizan."

"You might have won the Autumn Elections, but that doesn’t mean you get whatever location you want without a fight."

He stepped forward, his expression growing even more challenging.

"You’ve got two choices."

"Either be smart and give up the booth yourself, then find somewhere else..."

"Or fight all nineteen of us in Food Wars, one after another."

"What’s wrong? The Autumn Elections champion too scared to accept?"

The other students immediately joined in, their overlapping voices full of taunts and provocation.

Naturally, none of them had chosen this booth by coincidence.

Every one of them had been sent by Eizan.

Their objective was simple: force Haruto into a series of Food Wars and wear him down through an exhausting gauntlet of consecutive matches.

"How boring."

Haruto frowned, irritation flashing through his eyes.

"Is this really the best Eizan can come up with? Cheap little tricks that aren’t worth showing in public?"

Annoying as it was, Haruto understood that the problem was more troublesome than it appeared.

If he backed down now and selected another booth, another group would almost certainly follow him and apply for that location instead.

Then he would find himself in exactly the same situation all over again.

Could he simply give up on opening a stall altogether?

The thought had barely entered his mind when Isshiki’s eyes, burning with anticipation, flashed through his memory.

Goosebumps immediately rose across Haruto’s skin.

No.

Absolutely not.

Even if someone killed him, he was not giving Isshiki the slightest opportunity to drag him into that glorified host club.

Which meant Haruto really had only one option.

Food Wars.

What puzzled him was Eizan’s actual objective.

Was he trying to test Haruto’s ability?

Impossible.

Since returning from the Stagiaire, Haruto had already competed in numerous Food Wars.

Eizan had almost certainly collected information on every dish he had prepared, the way he handled ingredients, and even his personal cooking habits.

There was no reason to go through this much trouble merely to test him.

So what was the point?

Haruto’s gaze swept over the nineteen students.

Then the answer came to him.

A gauntlet.

Eizan had probably never expected these nineteen students to defeat Haruto.

Their real purpose was to force him through nineteen consecutive Food Wars, draining his stamina and concentration until he was exhausted and operating far below his best.

Then, once Haruto was worn down, Eizan himself would step in.

After realizing that, Haruto suddenly stopped minding the idea of fighting them.

A gauntlet did not frighten him.

What he feared was that Eizan might never have the nerve to challenge him personally.

"We have no idea what you’re talking about."

Another student, this one wearing an earring, shrugged dismissively.

"We want this booth. Either accept the Food Wars or get lost. Stop making up irrelevant nonsense."

What they were doing was hardly honorable.

If word spread that Eizan had deliberately organized the entire situation, it would damage his reputation.

Naturally, no one intended to admit anything.

Even if everyone present knew perfectly well that Eizan was behind it, as long as they all denied the connection, there was nothing anyone could prove.

Haruto stared at them for a moment.

Then he smiled.

He loosened his collar slightly, his expression calm but carrying a pressure that made the atmosphere around him change.

"Fine."

"If all of you are that desperate for a Food War, I’ll play along."

He spread his hands casually.

"I’m taking this booth."

"And I accept every challenge."

Eizan had gone to all this trouble to set the stage.

Haruto might as well enjoy himself.

Over the next half day, Haruto fought nineteen Food Wars back-to-back without taking a single meaningful break.

Some of his opponents were first-years, but most were second-years.

The themes ranged from shellfish dishes and traditional Japanese set meals to meat entrées and creative desserts, covering almost every major category of cuisine.

Several opponents deliberately selected elaborate dishes that required enormous amounts of time and effort, making it obvious that their real goal was to drain as much of Haruto’s stamina as possible.

Even under those conditions, Haruto remained remarkably composed.

His knife work stayed clean and precise, every cut landing exactly where he intended.

His control over heat was effortless. Even when managing three different ingredients simultaneously, he maintained perfect awareness of the temperature in every pan.

Nineteen Food Wars.

Nineteen victories.

Not a single result was remotely controversial.

Every judge, without exception, voted for Haruto.

When the final result was announced, Haruto officially secured Booth B-16.

He wiped a thin layer of sweat from his forehead and rolled his slightly aching shoulders.

Several hours of uninterrupted concentration had taken their toll.

Even with his physique, his body was beginning to feel tired, and mental fatigue had started creeping in.

At that moment, Eizan Etsuya slowly walked into the venue.

A sinister smile rested on his face, carrying the smug confidence of someone convinced that everything had gone exactly according to plan.

He approached the cooking station and looked at Haruto standing behind it before giving a slow round of applause.

"Impressive. Truly impressive."

"Nineteen consecutive victories. You really do deserve to be the student everyone at Totsuki has been talking about lately."

His praise sounded completely insincere.

The calculation in his eyes was far more obvious.

"Since you look exhausted, I won’t waste your time."

"Have a Food War with me."

"The wager is simple."

"If you win, I’ll give you the exclusive agency rights I hold with twenty-three of the country’s top ingredient suppliers, along with every ingredient procurement channel under my control."

"If I win, you hand over the source of those special ingredients you possess."

"How about it?"

"Sounds fair, doesn’t it?"

Haruto stared at Eizan’s smug, hypocritical expression.

Then he suddenly chuckled.

Leaning casually against the cooking station, Haruto made no attempt to hide the mockery in his eyes.

A cold smile curled across his lips as he looked at Eizan as though he were watching a clown perform.

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