Chapter 3 The Chef that Never Smiles

Soma is looking around the kitchen and sighs at how many people are glaring at him. He can't blame them, though, because of what he has said in the opening ceremony.

He turns to his partner, who is called Tadokoro Megumi, for some reason, Soma feels attracted to the girl in front of him. And he remembers what his father said, "The trick to being a good chef, is the right woman. A woman who will make you a better man. Better at cooking, better at everything."

As he turns back to Tadokoro Megumi, he is confused as to what she is doing, he asks, "Erm, you were Tadakoro-san, right? Why are you eating the kanji for "Person" as if you were to avenge your parents?"

Megumi stops what she is doing and looks at Soma, "Ah…th-this is…so I don't get nervous…or so I thought…"

"Why are you nervous?" Soma asks.

"Because…if I get another E, I'll be expelled…" Megumi frowns.

"Well, we are in an Elite school, and it is no doubt that there are people like you." Soma sighs and the words are like an arrow hitting Megumi's heart.

"Uh…just when I was trying to survive peacefully and securely, of all people, I had to be paired with him…" Megumi frowns.

"But don't worry, I will make sure that we will overcome this together. I'm Yukihira Soma! You can call me Soma, nice to meet you." Soma shakes hands with her, and she can only nod.

And after a while, the teacher of the French class, Roland Chapelle, arrives and he says, "Good morning, young apprentices. You're responsible to make delicacies from the moment you stand in the kitchen, for that, neither your experience nor position matter. In my classes, any dishes that can't take an "A" will get an "E". Make sure to remember that."

Megumi is now paled as she curses at her bad luck. "I'm so unlucky...to have Roland Chapelle sensei for my first class..."

Soma waves his hand towards Chapelle sensei and says, "Chapelle sensei, nice to see you again!"

Chapelle notices Soma and he nods at him, Megumi whispers to Soma and asks, "You know him? Soma-kun?"

"Of course, I studied under him for a month when my parents and I visit France." Soma says. "He may be strict, but he is nice on the inside."

Chapelle notices Soma and sighs, "So Yukihira is here in the class, maybe I should see how he has grown since the last meeting."

He then says to the class, "Today's menu is "Boeuf Bourguignon". A standard French dish, just in case, I'll write down the recipe on the whiteboard. The time limit is 2 hours! Submit your dishes as soon as you finish."

After hearing what Soma said, Megumi somehow feels a little relieved, Soma turns to Megumi and says, "Tadokoro, can you take care of the ingredients? I have some things that I need to ask the teacher."

"Sure." Megumi says as she starts working, she also notices that Soma is talking casually to Chapelle like he was just an old friend of him, much to her surprise.

"So I see you finally come to the school, Yukihira Soma." Chapelle says to Soma, who sighs, "Yeah, I mean, my Dad sent me here because of his relationship with the headmaster."

"I see. I admit you are one of the students that I'm having high hopes of, but that doesn't mean I will just give you an A even if you mess up."

"Of course not." Soma says with a laugh, and the other students are confused at how Soma is talking to Chapelle sensei like it is nothing.

But as Soma returns to the pot, Megumi is taking the plate, something that Soma forgot to do. Soma notices the pot lid and he asks, "Tadokoro, you left the lid open?"

"Eh?" Megumi is confused and she says, "I didn't…I mean, we have to let it boil for 20 minutes more."

Soma notices two students who are smirking at them, and he realizes what's going on as he opens the lid, on top of the meat, there is white powder on it.

"What…what is that white powder?" Megumi says in a panic, Soma tastes it and says, "It's salt."

"Why? What…what are we going to do?" Megumi is panicked, and Chapelle also notices Soma and Megumi's cooking table. He knows that Soma might have an idea to fix the mess.

"This meat is useless now, we have to remake this…even though it takes an hour to make the meat tender and for the flavor to soak in, and after that we have to boil it for 30 minutes for the sauce to fit in. But we only have 30 minutes. If we submitted this one, we'll definitely get an E…It's over…" Megumi starts to panic and cry, while Soma already comes back with a plate of ingredients.

"I went for some spare ingredients." Soma says to Megumi, who stops crying. "Now let's do it."

"But…Soma-kun…we won't be able to finish it in time anymore…" Megumi says.

"Chapelle sensei told us before we are students, we are chefs. And we are going to get the dish done no matter what it takes. Help me." Soma says as he puts the white headband on. And then Megumi nods in determination as they start to work on the new recipe.

After a while, both of them are finished, causing the two students who ruined their meat to be shocked. Chapelle places the fork on top of the meat, and he says, "It's tender…! It's as if the fork bounced on it…!"

Now the students are shocked, as they didn't have the time to boil. Chapelle says, "Your team had an accident, how did you complete this?"

"I used honey." Soma says as he takes out the jar. "I rubbed it on the meat before boiling, I also added it as a seasoning."

"I see, honey has Protease, that made effect on the hard beef and let them make it tender in a short time." Chapelle says.

"B-but why did you know that you could use Honey?" Megumi asks.

"A long time ago, I was reading a cooking book that said that you could use pineapple to make meat tender, but you don't have many opportunities to buy a pineapple. So I tested various things to see if one of them could make the meat tender. Honey can be preserved and it's the easiest to use by far!"

Megumi is a little confused, and Soma takes a spoon to her. "Well, you'll understand after you eat it. Here, Tadokoro."

After both Chapelle and Megumi take a bite of the meat, they feel like they are in a honey mess as they are very satisfied, the chef himself is even smiling, much to everyone's shock.

"Yukihira, Tadokoro. I'll give you two an A, however, it's a shame that I don't have the authority to give you something higher."

Megumi is very surprised and delighted, and Soma just takes off his headband and says, "It wasn't much!"

As for the two students who ruined Soma and Megumi's recipe, they ruined theirs in the end after seeing how they passed, and they get an E as a result.

"Thank you for today, Soma-kun." Megumi says.

"It was nothing! I wouldn't like to see a girl like you crying after all." Soma says, causing the girl to blush a little. "Want to become friends?"

Megumi is shocked, but then again, he saved her from getting expelled, and she nods, "Friends."

After that's done, Soma says, "By the way, I have a question that I want to ask you, I was looking for a place called the Polar Star Dorm. Do you know where it is?"

"I lived there, how about I show you there instead?" Megumi asks, and Soma smiles, "That's great."

But as they walk on the road, Soma is now sweating a lot and he mutters, "The academy is freaking huge…"

"I know, but we're almost there, Soma-kun. Just hang on there." Megumi says.

"But now I'm really hungry...I think perhaps there is no other choice." Soma says as he takes out the box, and he takes a bite. "This sure is so disgusting."

Megumi is now surprised at what Soma is doing, she asks, "Soma-kun? What are you eating?"

"This is the dried squid dressed on honey, I am not sure you might want to try this." Soma says with a weird laugh.

Megumi asks, "Is that really bad?"

"I warned you." Soma says as he puts the squid in her mouth, and Megumi feels like her whole body was being groped by the squid.

"This is so disgusting..." Megumi is now terrified at the taste, and Soma quickly puts it away. "I warned you. Let's forget that happened..."

Megumi thinks, "Now I retract, I don't like this person..."

After reaching the Polar Star Dorm, Soma is looking at the place with shock, as for Megumi, she quickly retreats to her room as she doesn't want to see Soma again.

Right now, Soma is now in the hallway as he smells smoke, and there is a loud voice, "Hey! Room 208! You went and modified the lounge into a smoking room again! Shall I make you into smoked chips?"

And after that, Soma notices some wild animals running past, with a girl chasing after them. And the voice rings again, "Don't keep animals in your room! Room 116! If you do it again, I'll skin your body!"

"I'm sorry!" The girl yells as she rushes away. And then Soma feels an earthquake and the voice again, this time for Room 205. Soma thinks, "What the hell is this place? And why would a girl like Tadokoro live here?"

"You are the transfer student who wants to enter this dorm, Yukihira Soma, right? I'm the place's dorm mother, Daimidou Fumio. Just call me the Polar Star's Maria."

"Oh? My mom told me that the dorm mother of the place is a person named Fumio-san, but I never knew you were still the dorm mother. I'm here for the acceptance challenge." Soma says.

"If that's the case, I'm sure you've prepared your ingredients?" Fumio asks.

"Of course not, I intend to use all that's left here. Just tell me where the kitchen is?" Soma asks.

"I'll show you, but you have the nerve to just use the leftovers, how many of the students' dishes do you think I've tasted? Do you think I'll give an improvised dish a passing mark?"

"I won't worry about that, if my parents were able to do it, then I would do it as well." Soma says, and she says, "Your mother, Yukihira Tamako, right? She was the Seat Number 5 in her second year, and then the second seat in her third year. She was an amazing chef back in the golden age, but that doesn't mean I will have the same regards as your mother."

"I know." Soma says as he starts working on the food, and after a while, the meal is ready and Fumio says, "There should've been less than 1g of beef and pork minced meat. What kind of magic did you use to make this fleshy hamburger?"

"I used canned mackerel to make this Mackerel Burger." Soma says.

After tasting the food, Fumio feels delicious at the taste of the burger, and when she drinks the soup, she is also surprised, "What is this? This fragrant flavor…is proof that fine quality dashi was used…"

Soma reveals that she uses dried squid to make the soup, and he says, "Now I called this the Yukihira Style Improvised Mackerel Burger meal!"

Fumio sighs as she knows how Tamako likes to call her meals Yukihira Style, but she can't stop eating the meal, and eventually, it reminds her of her old days, and she was about to kiss Soma.

"Alright, your room is 303. I'll accept your admission into the dorm." Fumio says.

"It wasn't much! Now I really need to take a bath." Soma says with a smile as he leaves, Fumio sighs and says, "To think we will have the son of Tamako here, the number five of the golden age…perhaps the golden age is going to come again."

In the bathroom, Megumi is having a shower as she thinks, "That squid is so terrible...who knows that a boy like him would do such a thing...he used me like a toy..."

But as she decides to relax in the bathtub, she smiles, "Fumio-san is scary, but here, there are no strict senseis, and no Soma-kun..."

But as she opens her eyes, she sees a naked Soma walking into the bathroom, and then she lets out a terrified scream.

Here is the new chapter, Soma and Megumi finally meet for the first time, but I want Soma to be very nice to Megumi rather than others, but I also want to keep the original. And that's the result. I hope you like this chapter.