Chapter 1: The Food Soul and her Master Attendant

Another day had gone by at the Yukihira Eatery. After the patrons left, the cleanup started.

"Cookie, you noticed a flaw too, right?" Sōma murmured as he polished the glasses.

"Can't say for sure," the Food Soul replied, wiping down the tables without looking up at her Attendant.

"I should've given that rice another three flips and more seasoning…" Jōichirō looked over his shoulder from the sink. Cookie smiled at her Attendant's planning of improvement already. It always reminded her of someone she met long ago. But with each new Master Attendant, a Food Soul's memories of the past would begin to blur. Cookie could no longer remember their name, and it brought a form of sadness in her whenever she thought of them.

The sound of the door sliding open snapped Cookie out of her thoughts and she straightened herself to greet the customers.

"Welco-" The hand of her Master Attendant stopped her before she could finish. The stern look on the redhead's face was a tell tale sign that these people were not customers looking for a meal.

"Hello again," the woman in front greeted as she walked inside with a group of men in suits and shades. "Oh my, it looks like you were about to close. I hope you don't mind us staying for a moment."

At the tone of the woman's voice, just dripping with sarcasm, Cookie went to the back to grab the small grill.

"Do you remember me, little boy?" The Food Soul's teeth were clamped right in a small snarl with frustration at this woman.

"What would you like? Our special today is the-" Sōma started listing the menu with a deadpan tone. The woman however cut him off.

"Oh, no. I'm here to further discuss our plan with you." Cookie stepped out of the back, grill in one hand, as the woman placed a catalog on the table.

"We would like to turn this place into a high resort that will bring a lot of income to this community as-"

The grill was practically slammed on top of the magazine, startling the woman.

"Oh, I get it," Cookie started with a serious look of her own. "You're one of those land sharks I've heard of. Well, sorry. There is no way this place is closing up shop for anything." The purplette finally lowered her sunglasses as she smirked.

"Oh, it looks like you've managed to summon a Food Soul. Although, she doesn't fit in with the aesthetic at all."

"Cookie fits in with the family, and that's all she needs," Sōma interjected. "And showing that I did summon her means we're fine as we are."

"But you know how small restaurants are going out one by one? Families are just struggling to get by nowadays. So I'll leave you my card in case you change your mind." The woman placed a calling card next to the grill. A small growl vibrated in Cookie's throat.

"Here at Yukihira, that's not a problem. We do our best to make sure customers leave satisfied."

"And what if you can't satisfy the customer?" Sōma played it off calmly with a chilling grin.

"Then we'll gladly shut down and be on our way."

"Can you keep your word on it?"

"Attendant Sōma always keeps his word," Cookie responded quickly, picking up the calling card with the tongs in her hands before throwing it over the grill, where it burned to a crisp.

Cookie adjusted the paper bag of groceries in her arms on her way to meet with Sōma after school for the day. Everything on the list for breakfast the next day was accounted for in the bag. The thick bacon was on sale, so she picked that up as well.

"Maybe I'll do a classic Gloriville breakfast of bacon, eggs and hash-browns," she pondered. "Sakurajima land doesn't have many uses for potatoes after all."

Stopping for a moment, the Food Soul took out a small notebook with a worn down leather cover and yellowed pages. She always kept the notebook in her back pocket, and she had this notebook in the past. It was a gift from the same Food Soul whose name she couldn't remember.

Cookie scrolled through the notebook with one hand, and every page had a different recipe with their own depictions. Finally, she found the page that had the depiction of a bacon and eggs breakfast. On the next page was another egg recipe, but the picture showed a muffin like dish.

"Oo, or an Eggs Benedict. That will be a hefty pick-me-up."

"Hey, Cookie." Breaking out of her decision making, Cookie turned and saw Sōma coming up.

"I have everything you and Jōichirō asked for, Attendant Sōma."

"That's a lot of help. Thanks. Dad had sent a note to me, saying he had to run an errand so the restaurant is closed for today."

"Okay then."

"Oh, you want to make breakfast tomorrow?" the redhead asked, noticing his Food Soul's little recipe book. Sōma had seen Cookie take out the notebook a number of times whenever she saw the opportunity to cook.

"Yeah, I was debating between the Classic Gloriville Trio or the Eggs Benedict. Which would you want?"

"My choice would be the Eggs Benedict. Last time you made that, I thought I was going to melt. Even Dad liked it so much that he asked for the recipe."

"Yeah, but he made a significant improvement on the meat sauce. Who'd thought grounding bacon into a powder, add cornstarch and water and mix it until you have a deep red-brown sauce would be delicious on the egg?"

"It caught me by surprise too. But even then, I really liked yours. Where did you learn that recipe again?"

Cookie's cheerful mood instantly deflated. She couldn't remember where she learned the recipe from anymore. Instead of replying, she turned on the balls of her feet to the direction of the restaurant and continued walking.

"Uh, Cookie?" Dense as he was, Sōma followed next to his Food Soul, watching her pocket her recipe book.

"Why do we Food Souls lose our memories whenever we are summoned again?" she asked, but it was to herself.

"Maybe it's to make room for more memories? Like, for me, living an eternal life would be boring, no offense."

"But what about those you don't want to forget? Loved ones and important people that you've met in the past? Would you want to forget them?"

"Guess I can see your point. That doesn't mean you can't retrace your steps."

"Maybe." Reaching the restaurant's back door, Sōma moved to unlock the door. Cookie's nose twitched the moment the door opened.

"Attendant Sōma, something's wrong," she warned.

"Wha-" Before Sōma could asked, the blonde threw the door ajar. The two gasped at the mess that was all over the back.

"What happened?"

"All the meat has been vandalized." The duo stepped inside, inspecting all of the damage.

"A robbery?"

"It doesn't look like anything was taken-" Finding the front door open, Cookie ran to the entrance to see if the perpetrators were still in sight. Missing by a few centimeters, gluey white paint fells at Cookie's feet. When she turned around, she was horrified at the sight of the restaurant banner completely smothered in paint.

"Wow, this place looks better than yesterday." The blonde felt her blood boil at that irritating voice and she turned with a scowl. That woman and her men were standing right there.

"Must be because that eyesore of a sign had a great improvement." The purplette lowered her sunglasses. "This makes in the mood for some juicy, thick meat." The seducing tone, or attempt at it, made Cookie cringe inside.

"Like a steak that has been grilled to perfection and that your fork just sinks into it. There's nothing quite like it." The land sharks entered the restaurant, rudely passing by the blonde. The pompous woman plopped herself at a table, acting like she had already won. "Now then, I would like to place an order. I would like your juiciest, thickest meat."

The Food Soul quietly entered behind the unannounced people, finding the redhead standing in the kitchen.

"What's this?" the woman mocked. "You can't? Didn't you just say yesterday that if you can't satisfy your customers, you'll go out of business? I guess it means that-"

"Cookie, get the oven preheated," Sōma ordered as he untied the white cloth from his wrist and secured it around his head. The Food Soul smirked. It would take more than a dirty trick like this to make Yukihira Eatery kick the bucket.

"On it, Attendant."

Immediately, the kitchen came to life with both Cooking Attendant and Food Soul working perfectly in sync and without a word. Cookie could hear the woman begin to panic a little in the background, confirming with her men that they really destroyed all of their meat. As Sōma tied up the dish, the blonde poured red wine into the wok with butter, sake and soy sauce and made sure the sauce was thoroughly mixed.

"How?!" the men began to exclaim in shock.

"That's impossible!"

"A perfect pork roast?!"

"Actually, this here is a potato," Sōma corrected. "I used the extra thick bacon Cookie had bought for tomorrow's breakfast and wrapped it around the mashed potatoes. I call it a pseudo-pork roast!"

Silence engulfed the restaurant.

"Is this supposed to be a joke?!" the urban planner yelled. "I had specifically asked for a meat dish! All of my head chefs are professionals and work at high end restaurants and hotels that I have established! This place isn't worth the effort of keeping it afloat! There's no excuse for this place existing."

Cookie roughly placed the dish in front of the woman with an audible thunk, making the purplette flinch.

"You have no right to talk down on an adventurous place such as Yukihira… until you've at least tried my Attendant's dish, ma'am," Cookie warned. The blonde was beginning to snicker on the inside when she saw the woman's lips tremble as the aroma of the bacon took hold of her.

The moment that the haughty woman put that juicy potato and bacon was instant victory. She was instantly squirming in her seat, enraptured by the taste. Cookie had to hold in her laughter as Sōma figuratively roasted the woman by explaining what they put into the dish and pretty much striking negotiation with her. He taunted her when he took the potato roast away, and it was only a matter of time before she would break.

"If it's not to your explicit taste, I guess I'll just give it to Cookie."

Cookie smirked at the horror on the urban planner's face and she desperately reached out.

"Wait!"

Checkmate.

In the next minute, the men and woman laid on the ground true bliss. Sōma untied his cloth.

"It was nothing."

That weekend morning, Sōma and Cookie were at work washing the paint off the sign.

"Looks like something exciting happened while I was gone." The two turned to see Jōichirō approaching the restaurant.

"Let's just say we had some very rude customers yesterday," the bright redhead explained. "But Cookie and I took care of it. We should be done here before opening tonight."

"About that, Sōma… For the next three years, the restaurant will be closed."

It took a minute or so before the proclamation had registered in their minds.

"What?!" Sōma was so shocked that he fell off the ladder he was using. He immediately picked himself up.

"What do you mean, we're closing for three years?!" Cookie questioned. "How could you make that decision without our word in it?!"

"Because you two won't be here either." The older man entered the restaurant.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Sōma yelled, following his old man inside. "I said wait! I don't want to lose this place, the only place I've even known!"

"And that's exactly why." Jōichirō calmly brought a fist to Sōma's chest. Cookie could only watch in bewilderment at this interaction. "You need to go out there and be a real Cooking Attendant. Extend your experience beyond here and meet other chefs. If you do this, you will have a chance of beating me."

That's how Cookie and Sōma found themselves on a boat to the Light Kingdom. The Food Soul sat next to her Master Attendant, a siopao in one hand and a bottle of milk in the other. She looked over the redhead, noting the irritated look on his face. He wasn't really for the idea of going to a cooking school to be taught by old farts and snobby tutors.

"Seriously, why do I even need to go to this cooking school?" he groaned. The teen didn't even take note of his stomach sounding like an Uke Mochi due to skipping breakfast that morning. Cookie simply placed her siopao in his hands that occupied his lap, and he began eating it without even looking down. The blonde took sips of her milk, letting herself relax.

"Land ho, ladies and gentlemen!" the captain announced. Hearing that their destination was in sight, Cookie pulled out an envelope from her back pocket.

"What's that, Cookie?"

"Jōichirō handed this to me before we left," the Food Soul answered. "He said to open it when the boat is in sight of the Light Kingdom." She pulled out a white sheet of paper with a note written on it.

Just before the boat reached shore, the two and the other passengers heard screaming of despair and agony. Both Sōma and Cookie turned their attention to the coast, where several people were on their knees, groveling that their lives were over.

"What the heck is going on?" the redhead couldn't help but question, unable to understand what was happening before them. Cookie looked down at the note, and upon reading it, her jaw dropped.

"Uh, Attendant Sōma…" The blonde raised a trembling hand and pointed towards the mountains that had numerous facilities. "That is our new school. The Tōtsuki Culinary Guild." Now her Master Attendant was also dumbstruck. "Jōichirō adds that the graduation rate is even lower than 10%. Oh, and he says, 'P.S. Don't drop out before you graduate, or you will never beat me.'"

From the highest facility of the guild, an elderly man with a long beard and in a yukata stepped out onto the balcony to watch the incoming ship.

"Master Attendant, your granddaughter is on route to oversee the transfer applications," a calm voice notified behind the man. "We must leave as well if we are to meet with this prodigy of an old student you speak highly of."

"I am aware of that, Peking Duck. Just keep an eye on the children so they don't get any ideas of using them for dishes." Scared little peeps followed.

"Master Attendant, must you frighten the children?" Smoke lifted into the air and exited on the balcony.

"Forgive me, my friend. I was merely joking, but keep them close to you."

"Understood."