Chapter 03. The Girl With God-like Memory

Takumi's POV

I was silent in the ride home from the Polar Star dormitory. After welcoming Yukihira's cousin, I barely talk to her but I do have a lot of questions. How the hell did she do that?

During her admission test to be a tenant of the dorm earlier, she served my version of the Zuppa Toscana Della Nonna Tina. The very dish I served to her and the other transfer applicants earlier. I had my suspicions when we were grocery shopping, but I was taken back when she served it in front of Fumio-san. She got everything about the dish the same, except for the taste maybe as I refused to do so earlier.

Based on Yukihira, she specializes on Eastern Asian Cuisine, which explains her knowledge for South Korean dishes. She don't seem to be a student from another culinary school, so how was she able to reproduce my soup?

"Takumi-senpai?" I was awakened from my thoughts when Eisuke called me. "Are you okay? You've been zoning out a lot today. Shouldn't you get check on?"

"I'm fine," I sighed. "I just need some rest. I may have overdid it today."

"Akagi-san would agree with what you said," Eisuke giggled as we turned to him. "I asked her earlier, how was the admission exam, and Takumi-senpai as an examiner. According to her, she thought you didn't want anyone to pass."

Does everyone think I didn't give the applicants mercy? I do believe I was considerate enough to them, though. I gave a lot of thought on what I would serve them, and now I'm the one merciless?

"There's something about that girl," I thought out loud that made everyone looked at me with a grin. "No, fuck, I didn't mean it that way!"

"You sound so defensive, Niichan. We didn't even say anything," Isami teased that made me glare at him. "I knew there's something about her just by the fact that she managed to impress you with her pizza."

"I told you, I'm not interested in her that way!" I denied and paused. "Whatever. I need some sleep."

The timing was perfect as the car came to stop at our condo building. I didn't speak the way up and just went straight to my room. I went for a quick shower and went to bed only in my boxers. But I couldn't sleep.

My curiosity was too much, and I knew I need to satisfy it. Yukihira might know some things but it'll be weird if I call him just to ask those things, it's almost midnight.

Akagi Rie. Who is she, really? How could she recreate the dish I served her by just one sip? Why does I feel almost nothing seeing her holding a knife? Why does her eyes look so blank after we judged her cooking? And why does her cooking feeling like temporary illusion?

I've never been this curious about someone.

I didn't know when, but I only realized that I did manage to sleep last night when I woke up around nine. It was a Saturday so I didn't see any harm in sleeping in. I didn't have anything to do today, except for dinner at Ristorante F. Of course, Isami, Shiratsu-senpai, and Eisuke are joining me.

It's a good thing that I have them. We only have a small office as of now, but we already recruited fifty members. Their orientation will take place when we open our building to the public. The school year is starting next week, and I'm excited on what will happen. Totsuki is home of the best of best cooks, after all.

When I got out of bed around ten, Isami was already out. I got a text from him earlier that he's hanging around at the Polar Star Dorm to learn more from Ibusaki and Sakaki-san. He's been interested in the ways of food preservation since we met them, after all.

I wasted my time just scrolling through social media. I didn't have anything to do, anyways. When it comes to lunch, I just made myself a simple pasta. I got out of our apartment after eating and I went to my office in the HOR. I was bored so I was hoping I received shokugeki challenges. But tough luck for me, there wasn't any.

I was the only member in the Elite Ten that was here so I sighed in defeat as I left the building. Should I just go back to our apartment? Usually I would go to Polar Star dorm, but I don't want to trigger my curiosity even more. As I was about to board the car, I got a call so I fetched out my phone.

"Hello?"

"Takumi-kun? Where are you right now? Are you busy?" it was Tadokoro-san.

"I'm about to leave the Elite Ten Building," I answered. "What's up?"

"Ah, there's another party in the dorm," she responded with a giggle. "Midorino-san passed Fumio-san's test, and Isshiki-senpai throw another party out of the blue. All of the usual guys are here, even Nakiri-san and Kuga-senpai."

"Sure, why not?"

"We'll see you here, then!"

The ride to Polar Star was fast. It's really convenient that the school has its own chauffeur services which can be mobilize by any member of the Elite Ten or any high-level personnel of the school anytime.

"Takumi-chin is here!" Kuga-senpai announced as I entered the dining room. "What have you been doing today? It's Saturday, but I heard from Tadokoro that you came from our offices."

"I was bored, Senpai. I went by the office to see if I was challenged to any shokugeki, but there was none so I came here," I explained.

"Ah, you're bored?" Kuga-senpai smirked at me. "Yukihira-chin! Takumi-chin is bored!"

I frowned at him as he announced my mood that gained the attention of others. To my surprise, Isshiki-senpai suddenly appeared besideme and had an idea.

"How about a cook off? Three vs three?" Isshiki-senpai suggested. "The Original Freshman trio, versus the Transferee trio? Won't that be fun? Takumi-kun, Soma-kun, and Tadokoro-chan against Bryle-kun, Akagi-chan, and Zuki-chan!"

The three freshmen became alert as they heard their name.

"Wait, what?! We'll automatically lose!" Bryle complained. "They're members of the Elite Ten!"

"Come on, now! It'll be fun!" Isshiki-senpai insisted. "Bryle-kun, you aced your promotional exam at our sister school in the USA. Zuki-chan and Akagi-chan managed to impress the merciless Takumi-kun!"

"I am not merciless!" I denied it.

"Let's do it!" Yukihira persisted. "It'll be fun, Rie, Bryle, Zuki. If you managed to win against us, we'll grant each of you a wish! As long as it's within our power, that is!"

"Do you even stop having cook offs?" Akagi raised an eyebrow at her cousin. "Megumi-senpai and Aldini-senpai did not even agree yet."

"I say we give it a go, Rie, Bryle," Midorino-san persuaded the two. "No, wait. Senpai, what will happen if you win? Are we going to have our admissions revoked?"

"Of course not!" Yukihira assured. "If you lose, you- uh, you'll do my paper wor-! Ouch! What was that for, Nakiri?!"

"You, bastard! Start acting like a Council Member already!" Nakiri-san scolded him. "Stop using shokugeki and other cook offs to avoid your responsibility!"

"Souma-kun, having the freshmen handle your paperwork is too much, don't you think?" Tadokoro-san sweat dropped at what he said, ignoring that he was hit in the head by the headmaster. "They are transferees, too."

"Then, what do you suggest will happen if they lose?" Yukihira raised an eyebrow. "It's too early for them to learn about my delicacies, and I certainly can't use them to Rie."

He can't use his bizarre creations against his cousin?

"I know," Tadokoro-san smiled at them. "If we win, you'll be in charge of lunch for every harvest day."

Everybody agreed on it, except for me since it won't benefit me since I don't leave here. After a few minutes, we agreed to do the cook off. It's three vs three, like Regimental Shokugeki, it's okay to help your teammates. Our theme was meal set: one will cook a vegetable entre, one will cook a meat dish for main course, and one will make dessert. Bryle will cook the meat dish, Midorino-san will do the vegetable dish, while Akagi was assigned to make dessert on the opposite team. As for us, we had a drawlots since Yukihira and I wanted to do the meat course. In the end, Yukihira is assigned to the vegetable entre, Tadokoro-san will do the main dish, so I ended up with dessert.

Great.


No One's POV

"Well, at least you guys aren't going against Megumi's vegetable dish," Yuki tried to comfort the freshmen. "But you know, those three are called trio for a reason, and not just they are the freshmen rebels who came for the Elite Ten Seats."

"They can talk in the kitchen without using words," Erina told them that made them flinched. "But you're going to be fine. This is a good practice before the school year starts."

"Will you be judging a dish by its own or are you going to judge it as a meal set?" Bryle asked the upperclassmen. "Also, does it matter what kind of cuisine we will serve or do we just need to serve a vegetable dish, meat dish, and dessert?"

"We'll be judging them by meal set, and the type of cuisine won't matter. The judges will be us, the senior students," Satoshi answered with a smile. "Begin cooking!"

"What do you plan on making?" Hodzuki asked Bryle. "That way, Rie and I will be able to adjust our dishes accordingly."

"Are you guys okay with Filipino Cuisine?" Bryle asked the two that made them smile. "Perfect. Let's do this, then."

"Hmm? They work together rather well," Alice commented as they watch the freshmen. "Also, I think they are up to something."

"Bryle and Yukihira does think the same way for some things," Ryoko stated. "They are both innovative thinkers."

"Just by that, I can already say that their addition to our student body will be important," Erina concluded. "Their knife work are advance, and even their handling of materials. I gotta say, Takumi-kun did a great job passing the other two."

Souma, Megumi, and Takumi are silently cooking in one side. True to Erina's words, they could communicate in the kitchen without using words.

"Wait here, I'll get my condiments," Rie announced as she was cooking when she saw Bryle marinating the beef and ran to her room.

"What condiments?" Yuki frowned.

The girl came back with a whole box, and when she opened it, it revealed many different condiments that are sealed in jars.

"Woah, Rie, I didn't know you have such things," Souma commented as he saw what her cousin brought up. "Let me try those!"

"Sure, later," the girl shrugged as she got a jar out.

"Oh, nice! You have shrimp paste!" Zuki exclaimed. "I'm almost done here. Bryle, you good?"

"Yes, yes, got what I need, thanks to Rie," the guy assured to them. "Rie, how are you doing?"

"I'm done with the tofu," all of the upperclassmen, even the three who are cooking looked at her in confusion.

"Tofu?" Takumi blinked. "Akagi-san, aren't you supposed to be the one who'll make dessert?"

"Yes, I am?" she responded in confusion.

"Tofu in dessert?" Ryou frowned. "That's not something we see everyday."

"But this smell," Akira commented. "It's brown sugar syrup and cinnamon."

"That means we're eating something new today," Satoshi exclaimed. "As expected for our transferees!"

"It's not exactly new for me," Hodzuki commented. "I lived in the Philippines for three years, the dessert Rie's making is a popular treat. We used to eat it as light breakfast or dessert."

"Filipino Cuisine, huh?" Isami wondered. "Bryle-kun, Akagi-san, do you also have experience in that cuisine?"

"Uhm! One of our teachers in food history in my old school is Filipino," Bryle answered. "In gatherings, he would make us Filipino party food and I've grown to love their flavors. I actually begged him to teach me about Filipino cuisine in general."

"As for me, my best friend in South Korea is a Filipina," Rie stated. "We kind of bonded by the fact that we were both foreigners, and over the years, we shared our own food and culture with each other. Filipino cuisine is my favorite."

"You guys are awesome, the only thing I know about Filipino cuisine is adobo," Souma commented.

"Adobo is indeed their national viand," Hodzuki shrugged. "But it's definitely Bicol Express for me."

"Nu-uh, if it's Filipino cuisine, it's definitely chicken inasal!" Bryle disagreed. "And halo-halo."

"No, Filipino cuisine is definitely beef-bulalo!" Rie also expressed her disagreement.

"What do you know about Filipino Cuisine, Erina-sama?" Hisako asked the headmaster.

"Filipino cuisine is best described as "East Asia meets West Asia" cuisine. It evolved from the country's Austronasian's origins with a mixed of Chinese, Spanish, and American influences. Most of the dishes are cooked with the expectation to be shared, so they are made with big batches," Erina explained. "But Filipino Cuisine itself is very broad as every style differ, depending on the ethnolinguistic group."

"We're done!" Megumi announced.

"Wha- woah, Megumi, that looks so epic," Yuki commented as they saw the dishes of the three.

"The desserts cute! Momo-senpai would like this, don't you think?" Alice commented. "As expected from our ever-kind Takumi-kun! He actually hold back and made a simple panna cotta."

"Can you guys just drop the idea that I was too merciless with the applicants?" Takumi frowned. "I put a lot of thought on what I would serve them, you know."

"That's what he said, Rie," Hodzuki whispered to her.

The Original Freshmen Trio's dishes were Yukihira-Style ratatouille by Souma, salisbury steak by Megumi, and vanilla strawberry panna cotta by Takumi. Akira looked at the three and said, "You guys held back too much."

"I didn't!" Souma denied it. "If there's someone who held back out of the three of us, it's definitely Takumi."

"I did not! You guys are not gonna let me live my life again, are you?" Takumi groaned. "Anyway, judgement time?"

Satoshi, Nene, and Terunori shrugged and ate the dishes. Of course, they are taken back. Souma was right, they did not hold back. The three dishes looked simple, but flavor-wise, it's definitely dishes made by the best chefs of the best culinary school.

"As expected from the Original Freshmen Trio," Satoshi shook his head. "They did not hold back at all. The red wine in the ratatouille gives it a nice kick."

"The beef is so tender, but it then melts, it feels so homey, as expected from Megumi," Nene praised. "And the gravy, does this have cognac and almonds? What combination! I never thought alcohol and nuts would make a great pairing."

"Takumi-chin used alcohol on his panna cotta, too," Terunori described the seemingly simple dessert. "Vanilla rum. It blends so well with the goat milk and thick cream that he used. It also enhanced the flavor of the strawberry."

"We call this "A Safe Alcohol Consumption Meal Set, Freshmen Trio Style". We always trained to pull off something like this back when we are still on the train, but it's the first time we've done it with Tadokoro as the one making the main dish. Takumi and I used to alternate from main to dessert role since she's better than the two of us combined when handling vegetables," Souma explained. "She's definitely handled that beef well, didn't she?"

"Let's taste it!" the other people started tasting them and Satoshi was staring at the transferees who were just focusing on their dishes and not minding the rukus that the dishes of their opponents made.

"We're done!" Bryle announced.

"You're do-huh?" Terunori asked in confusion.

"We call this "Upgraded Budget Meal", here you go," Hodzuki smiled at them.

The Upgraded Budget Meal is served in a stainless diet plate that has three parts: a bowl of rice was placed in one, something that looked like beef barbeque was on the other one which was garnished with chives that also came with a mini container that contains sauce, and the last one had a vegetable dish. It was served with a medium sized glass that contains a dessert that looks like panna cotta.

"In the Philippines, there are places called "Carinderia". They are like diners that can be found almost everywhere, especially on places a lot of people go like wet markets or university areas. Budget meals are composed with rice, a meat dish, and a vegetable dish that were designed for students to get a proper meal they need for school. It's affordable since one thing they took consideration for in pricing such meal are the students' budget or pocket money," Hodzuki explained. "A lot of them survived schools and universities living off such meals."

"Woah, talk about an instant lesson!" Souma stated. "Anyway, where's ours?!"

"It's crucial that you eat it with rice," Rie suggested, ignoring her cousins. "A simple Filipino meal is rice and one viand. Because of such, most of them are cooked by the expectation that they will be eaten with rice. In this case, the vegetable dish might be overwhelming if you eat it by itself."

"And the dessert? It looks like parfait," Nene wondered.

"They call this one "taho". It's silken tofu with brown sugar syrup, and mini pearls. But of course, Rie upgraded it a little," Bryle explained. "It's really a great thing that the three of us have Filipino Cuisine in common. I am not confident that we'll beat our upperclassmen, but I am confident that this is a wholesome meal."

"Then, let's taste it!"

"Hey, where's ours?!" Souma complained again.

"Go plate one yourself, Souma-nii," Rie responded with a deadpan tone. "The vegetable dish are on that pot, and go grill the beef yourself, it's been marinated. Also assemble your own dessert."

"So stingy! I won't give you your share of our meal set!" Souma childishly retorted but the girl just shrugged.

"That's fine, I can ju-" "Rie, just go and assemble all of it. Bryle already went back to grilling more beef."

Hodzuki scolded Rie as she went back to her pot and started plating other servings. Back to the seniors, Nene, who was more interested in the vegetable dish since it was cooked by Hodzuki.

"Woah, what's this rich seafood flavor?!" Terunori exclaimed as he ate the vegetable. "It's delicate and strong at the same. What is this vegetable dish, Hozuki-chin?"

"That would be shrimp paste," the girl explained. "It is made from finely crushed shrimp or krill mixed with salt, and then fermented for several weeks. It's a usual condiments used for many dishes in the Philippines. This dish is called Pakbet Tagalog. It's sautéed mixed vegetables in shrimp paste. It's simple and easy, and there are a lot of things you can put on it."

"Now for the beef," Satoshi declared as he cut through the meat with ease. "How tender, smells amazing, too."

"Hmm?" Akira wondered as he was smelling something off the meat. "Bananas?"

"Woah, how did you catch that, Hayama-senpai?" Bryle asked in disbelief. "It doesn't even smell like normal bananas."

"Banana?" Nene asked as she took a bite of the beef.

All of them was taken back at the deep flavor and texture of the beef. Bryle called it Beef Inasal. The main ingredient of the marinade is a beloved condiment in the Filipino cuisine: banana ketchup. The beef was just melting in sweetness in their mouth as they continue eating it. The freshmen transferee served a very wholesome meal and even Erina was impressed by the flavors they bought together. But of course, they didn't beat their upperclassmen as both Satoshi and Terunori voted for the Alcohol Meal, while Nene voted for the Budget Meal. But even if they lost, their upperclassmen paid more attention to their dishes as it was a new thing in Polar Star Dorm. But of course, all the food were shared all through out them or so they thought, until Takumi realized that Rie did not try his dessert.

"Do you not like panna cotta, Akagi-san?" Isami asked the girl as he, too, noticed that she didn't eat his brother's dessert.

"Ah, it's not that," the girl shyly responded. "I want to try it, too, but I-I have severe allergies towards strawberries."

"Ah, I see, wait here," Takumi nodded and went back to his work station. "Here you go. I didn't make them together so it should be fine for you to consume the vanilla part."

"That reminds me," Souma thought out loud. "You got hospitalized when we were kids because of eating strawberries."

"I'm sorry for be-" "Don't worry about it, Rie. It's not something that you should be sorry about. It's a normal thing. Besides, it's a great thing that we find out about it now."

Megumi smiled at her.


Rie's POV

Time passed quickly, and first day of the semester is tomorrow. To be honest, I did not expect to make friends that fast. But the tenants of the dorm are so welcoming and I really bonded well with Bryle and Hodzuki. We became friends with Eisuke and Hanzo, too. I am looking forward for tomorrow, but I will miss my evening shift here at Tiger's Den. I bid them goodbye after I changed out of my cooking outfit. I was wearing a beige fitted turtleneck and black high-waisted shorts. I got my hair in a ponytail and I paired my outfit with black sneakers. Throughout the days that I stayed in the Polar Star Dorm, I still went to our nearest restaurant to help out. Souma-nii arranged a chauffeur for me every time I came here and then send one to fetch me when my shift is done. I see it as abusing their authority, but Megumi-senpai actually persuaded me to gave in. It's much safer, and it saves me a lot of money from transport, not that I'm on a tight budget. I was about to text him that my shift is done as I got out of the restaurant when I saw a car parked in front of it, and Takumi-senpai leaning on it, as if waiting for someone.

Don't tell me?

"T-takumi-senpai?" I asked that gained his attention.

"Akagi-san, I was waiting for you," he smiled at me. "I was in the area, and Yukihira asked me to fetch you. Apparently, your usual chauffeur had a family emergency."

"Oh, I-uh, thank you, Senpai," I didn't say much and we boarded the car.

Surprisingly, he was not with Isami-senpai, Shiratsu-senpai, or Eisuke. This is the first time that we've been alone together and I didn't know what to feel. I knew I triggered his curiosity for what I did on my admission test with Fumio-san, but he hasn't ask me anything yet. Well, why the hell did I do that back then? It was the first thing that came to mind when Souma-nii asked me if I could cook again. But of course, my attempt was not as flavorful as what he served. To avoid conversation, I got my earphones and played some music. It's not that I didn't want him to know what I can do or what I have, I am just not comfortable about it this time. After all, that thing that I have used to be my trump card in the former industry I was on. But it's also the reason that I was dismissed. Our trip to the dorm did not take long. I was not expecting him to get off, but it turns out that all members of the Elite Ten is here because they had something to discuss. I was expecting a serious discussion, but they only ended up drawing straws on who will handle an upcoming event. I almost pity Hayama-senpai.

I went straight to my room to get my stuffs so I could go take a bath. When I was about to go back to my room, I saw my cousin and he waved at me. He pulled me downstairs to the kitchen where a pot of rice porridge or something was on the stove. He turned the burner off, and served me the porridge in a small bowl.

"Can you tell me what the ingredients are in this dish and how did I cook it?" he asked me.

I didn't mind it much and went for the dish. After a spoon of a comforting porridge, I closed my eyes to savor the flavor and figure out what he asked me. I enumerated the ingredients, and narrated the recipe step by step. It was easy since it's a simple egg-drop soup.

"And then you reheated it before coming to get me," I finished and opened my eyes to look at him. "Did I get something wrong?"

"I'm sorry, Rie," it was then when I felt the additional presence behind me that made me froze in horror. "I know you don't want them to know about this, but if you and I plan to keep this a secret to prevent gaining attention, I figured we need many trustworthy people we could have on the board with us."

I slowly turned and saw the entire Elite Ten, Polar Star Dorm Tenants, Eisuke, Hanzo, Isami-senpai, Mimasaka-senpai, Mito-senpai, Shiratsu-senpai, Arato-senpai, Fumio-san, and the Head Master staring at me in amusement and disbelief. I could feel color leaving my face as my mind went black. I was not prepared for this.

"Oniichan?" I asked Souma-nii's help as I knew they were staring at me with interest.

"How?" Megumi-senpai softly asked.

"Rie has godlike memory and calculating mind. She can remember every thing she heard, smelled, felt, saw, and tasted. Because of such, she can figure out the entire recipe of one dish by one taste and calculate her memory what was in it and how was it prepared," Souma-nii explained. "Would that make satisfy your curiosity, Takumi? You're the one who witness it first hand."

"He witnessed it first hand?" Kurokiba-senpai asked in confusion.

"The dish she made for her admission to the Polar Star, it was the very dish I served to her at the first phase of the transferee admission exam," Takumi-senpai explained that surprised them. "I witness how she made it here, almost how I did it. To be honest, I had suspicions before that since she managed to enumerate every ingredient present in the dish during the exam. But I was beyond baffled when she tried recreating it in front of me. The only thing she did differently is how she did not manage to dice up the ingredients the way I did."

Of course, I couldn't. Because out of everyone who is present here, my knife work is the worst. But I still couldn't speak up since I was too out of it.

"She can do more than that," Souma-nii told them. "But guys, I only let you know about this in hoping you'll help us keep it a secret. Rie hates the attention she gets because of such ability, but she always seem to slip out once in a while."

I was taken back as I felt someone hug me. All I could see was her honey-blonde hair and I knew who it was. Nakiri Erina.

"I'm sorry if you've been used by others because of it," her words of apologies made something inside me break. "I'm sorry if people ever made you feel that you are only relevant to the world because you are born with a gift they didn't have."

Why was she apologizing to me? She never harmed me and she didn't do anything wrong. I was confused but I got more confused when she caressed my cheeks to wipe the tears that I didn't even know fell.

"We got you, Rie," Hodzuki told me with a smile. "Call for us anytime. If ever you slipped out, we'll cover up for you. Isn't that right, Bryle?"

"Yes, yes!" Bryle chirped. "We're the Transferees Trio, after all! We will stand with you."

"So, don't worry too much, Akagi-chan," Isshiki-senpai assured me with a smile. "If you slipped out, we can cover up for you. Though, this school promotes healthy and tough competition, if you get uncomfortable because of their expectations of you because of your gift, call us. If there's something wrong, ask us for help. We will protect you, and make sure you wouldn't be swallowed by the storm, that most gifted people are prone to."

Why do I feel welcomed more than ever? In the other industry I took, all of them would look at me in envy, hate, or intimidated because I can almost to anything perfectly after witnessing it the first time. I was hated for being "too good", and I only had one friend. Most of the others speak shits behind my back because they couldn't bully me as everyone knew I have a perfect memory. When it comes to narrating what happened, the higher ups tends to believe me because of how clear I would remember.

Should I tell them that they are too late? I was already swallowed by the storm and I broke down. That's why I'm here.