Once Azami was defeated and Erina declared the new director, they held a food war among the rebels who hadn't participated in the regimental battle to fill in the remaining seats on the Council. Alice, Akira, and Ryo easily secured the remaining seats for themselves. And with that the first year of the 92nd class was complete.
Yuki and Ryoko hugged Megumi and congratulated her on her Council seat, though she seemed to still be in shock.
"Come on, ladies! Tomorrow we return to the academy, which means tonight, we take full advantage of this hotel's luxurious amenities!" Yuki drooled in anticipation of being pampered while gathering as many of the rebel girls as she could. "You too, Erina-poo! We're all getting some proper R&R after all this!"
"Ooh! Count us in!" Rindo hooked Nene and Momo as she marched after the other girls towards the hot springs. Alice gave her father one last hug before skipping off to join the others.
Isshiki chuckled at the exuberance of the ladies of Tohtski. "Actually, a bath sounds delightful! Come along, comrades, I think the girls have the right idea. This is the time to enjoy our victory before getting back to work!" Isshiki was as upbeat and energetic as ever, which would typically be off-putting to the other boys, but today no one had the strength to argue.
In the girls' hot spring, the rebels began to wash away the stress of the past couple months. Yuki insisted on scrubbing Erina's back while the others took care of each other. Megumi was helping chef Momo when Hojo entered the bath. She congratulated the victors, but quickly turned to Megumi with a bow.
"May I scrub your back for you?" Hojo's smile was genuine, "I've underestimated you in the past, but you've helped to save us all. It's the least I can do." Though surprised, Megumi quickly recovers and is thankful for the girl's reassurance of friendship.
Megumi relaxed into the washcloth as Hojo scrubbed the stress and grime of the past few weeks off her. She almost felt drunk with how tired she was. Looking around the bath house, Megumi saw her friends, students she thought were above her, and everyone in between. To think that she'd played a role in saving the school felt ludicrous. But here she was.
"Are you ok?" Hojo checked in with Megumi.
"Yes. Sorry, just not sure what to do next."
Hojo smiled at her classmate, "I think the next thing is getting you into the bath with the others. I'll be right behind you." Megumi gave her classmate a tired smile. She made her way to the main bath where most of the girls were already waiting. She took her usual place with Ryoko and Yuki, but it was clear that she'd missed some bits of conversation.
"You'll do fine on the counsel. Just make sure you remember to take advantage of the perks!" chef Rindo finished lecturing Alice and turned to greet Megumi. "That goes for you too! This is not a time for you to be shy. Is there something that you specifically want to study or experience?"
Megumi wasn't sure how to respond, but Yuki spoke up for her, "She's been part of the regional cuisine research society for years now. And her experience with vegetables is almost unsurpassed!"
"That's fantastic! Since you're interested in local foods, you should take advantage of the counsel's travel budget and actually visit places." Rindo advised Megumi. "Travel really does do wonders for one's cooking abilities."
Alice nodded along with Rindo's advise, "You should visit our research facility in Denmark!"
"That's a great idea! And I'll draw up an itinerary of all the places you must visit for the best food! At least as a start." Rindo added.
Nene chimed in, "You should get acclimated with your counsel duties first, but we can see to that on the way back to Tohtski while your travel arrangements are made."
Megumi blinked as the shock wore off and was replaced by a nervous excitement. Could she really travel the world on her own?! As the reality of the possibilities solidified in her mind, she found that for the first time her excitement outweighed her nervousness. After everything she'd been through and accomplished, being able to explore new cuisine at her own pace in peace sounded like a dream come true! "A-and… maybe I could stop by chef Shinomiya's Paris restaurant? To thank him properly for his help on the train?"
"Now you're getting it!" Rindo beamed at her underclassman.
"I'm glad that's settled, and I'm very happy for you, Megumi!" Yuki clapped her hands to bring all attention to herself, "But we have other pressing matters to deal with. For example, what's up with this 'gift of endowment'?! Making an arena full of people lose their clothes isn't normal!" the energetic game-chef turned on the two Nakiri heiresses.
Alice and Erina could only shrug, after all it was perfectly normal to them. "It mostly depends on how intense the dish is, but it can also vary from person to person. Especially when speaking of people who've married into the family." Erina explained.
"Though typically, there is some form of stripping." Alice added, "Mother's ability to fluently speak the language of any venue she's in is one of the rarer forms. It comes down to the concept of 'being laid bare' in some form. I'm sure you've all felt this even if it didn't take a physical manifestation. You're overwhelmed by flavour and any emotions that they stir."
"Well, sure, but still!" Yuki tried to protest. "It's still bizarre! Wait, does that mean that you and Erina-poo also have this ability?!"
"Not yet." Erina informed, "The Gift of Endowment usually manifests once a member of the Nakiri clan has reached full maturity, unless their palette is particularly advanced."
"And…even though you have the God Tongue, you still don't have the gift?" Ryoko inquired, "Or are your standards just that high?"
"It's tough to say in my case," Erina allowed, "but I've only just made a specialty of my own, it's possible that one's own cooking ability is also a factor. So, who knows, I could manifest my own gift any day now." She finished with a reflective but still smug smile that ticked Alice off who glared from across the hot spring.
The rest of the Tohtski ladies reflected on this. As insane as it all seemed, it made a weird type of sense.
Hojo had entered the bath during their discussion and was the first to break the silence. "So, your subjective tastes are considered correct because you have some sort of magic that makes people naked."
A long, awkward pause followed her statement, but eventually Alice answered, "Basically, yes."
Though still incredulous, everyone burst out laughing. They'd all experienced too much to argue the point any further. As the water soaked the knots from their muscles, the girls fell into comfortable conversation before eventually rejoining the men of Tohtski for a feast and games. They'd earned a night of celebration and comfort!
-In the boy's bath-
Ryo still found the guys from Polar Star eccentric, but at least they were interesting. Certainly, more so than the typical spoiled students who got into the school on their parents' reputations. Naturally, he was already familiar with Soma and Akira's abilities, but the others were surprisingly refreshing. For example, talking with Shun gave him some great ideas to impart deeper flavours by adding smoked ingredients. And Zenji's knowledge was unparalleled, he even made it a game of challenging him with a set of ingredients and a region to come up with a traditional approach or signature recipe. Even Daigo and Shoji had more to say than Ryo expected, and their approach to food was far more delicate than he would have expected, plus they still gave him a good arm-wrestling match.
Isshiki reveled in the comradery brought on with their victory. He flit between the social groups to encourage mingling. Though he seemed to take a special interest when he got to Ryo. "I was glad to see you get a seat on the council! I'm certain that you'll make a great contribution to Tohtski."
"Um, thanks. Though to be fair I only got in because most of the original Ten were disqualified."
"I wouldn't chalk it all up to that. Besides, how else do you think this works? The top students will always have to graduate eventually, whether they are defeated in a food war or not." Isshiki reasoned. "Gaining a top spot is always just the start. You must keep it and leverage it so you're in the best position for your career post Tohtski." It was a surprisingly reasonable comment from the young man who sashays around in nothing but an apron and everyone took a moment to drink it in. "Of course, all that being said, we're all in the bloom of our youth and must take steps to enjoy this time to its fullest!"
And there it was.
Ryo wasn't used to dealing with so many people. If he was honest with himself, socializing like this was a bit overwhelming. Talking about food was one thing, but Isshiki wanted to talk about things the way Alice would try to talk about things. People and relationships. He would at least try to keep it in the context of cooking, but his intent was clear.
"You seemed to be getting on well with our Megumi!" Isshiki beamed at Ryo, though he could see the other Polar Star men (except Soma, the consistent airhead) take interest in his response and felt that there was more to the question than its face value.
"I guess. She has an interesting perspective, though it's weird that she thinks so little of her ability."
"You're definitely not wrong." Isshiki chuckled, "It's nice to hear that you recognize her skill. Truthfully, she's a very kind and gentle girl, and while she can take constructive criticism well enough and won't shy from a challenge, having her classmates constantly dismiss and insult her took its toll. I'm happy to see her breaking free of that negative mindset."
"Sure enough," Shoji added, "When Megumi cooks at home her food is some of the best I've ever tasted! But when we're in class together she gets in her head so much that she mixes up salt and sugar and can't get her protein to the right temperature, things like that. It's been awesome to see her showing off how talented she really is."
"Very true, bro." Daigo chimed in, "Actually, when I think about it, given the current Counsel of Ten line up, we should have a party for Ms. Fumio! She'll be thrilled with how many Polar Star members made it through!"
"It's really just Soma, Megumi, and Isshiki." Shun corrected, "Ms. Fumio will still be excited, but we don't have a monopoly just yet."
While Ryo was thankful that the topic had shifted off his feelings towards Megumi, he was left wanting to know more about the country girl. But it was too embarrassing to ask after her.