As the group of four entered the mountain area as night began to fall and the lighting decorations were turned on, Soma, Daniel and Megumi couldn't help but be in awe of their surroundings. It looked like something out of a European holiday postcard – everything was so lit up, fancy, and beautiful. As they were admiring everything around them, Rindo called out and shouted, "Hey! You guys coming? If you don't hurry up, I'll be leaving you behind!" The trio then went to catch up to Rindo before she finally led them to the entrance of Eishi's festival restaurant.

As they were led inside, they saw a small space with only a few tables, and the décor being dominated by darker colors. This scheme served to draw attention to the middle of the main room, where Eishi himself stood with all of the ingredients for his menu, cooking every dish himself. According to Rindo, he was so self-conscious that he only trusted himself to cook the dishes to ensure perfection. Heck, he barely trusted the waiters enough to allow them to take the food out and present it per his instructions! In addition, he used a one-way mirror to separate himself from the customers – allowing them to watch him work, but allowing him to concentrate on what he was doing.

As they were served the various courses, they couldn't help but be overwhelmed by what they were tasting. If Daniel was being honest with himself, all of the food being served was as high end and perfect as you could get (or at least the closest he had ever encountered in his life). It was as though Eishi was conversing with the food itself, coaxing it to bring out all of its flavors and textures in the exact perfect manner. It was no wonder that Eishi Tsukasa was known as 'The White Knight of the Dinner Table.' It was all almost too much – every course was ridiculously delicious, but they also went together perfectly in the sequence they were served.

When they were finished, Eishi himself came up to the table and began to go into his worrywart mode – asking whether various aspects of the experience were alright. This included almost everything from the lighting to the décor, to even the air conditioning in the room. The one thing that he didn't ask about, however – and Soma picked up on this first – was whether the food had been good. In this, he had absolute confidence that he had executed it to perfection.

While the Three Amigos were a bit hesitant to give their opinions, Rindo, on the other hand, wasn't shy at all. While she complimented the food as being top-notch delicious, as usual, she also commented that she would have liked to have seen more of Eishi's passion in the food. Eishi's however, argued that as a chef, it was his job to erase his own self from the food he made – that it was his job to concentrate on what made the food good, and refine it until it was perfect. He also admitted the paradox behind this philosophy, saying that this was just another way of expressing himself.

Daniel, on the other hand, was a bit confused by his philosophy – he had always thought that the best chefs were able to lace their personalities into the food they made, and that putting your heart and soul into a dish was what made it worth making and eating. But then again, who was he to argue with the first seat of the Council of Ten? If that philosophy worked for him (and clearly it was working), who was he to judge?

As they finished the meal, Rindo once again began to compliment the trio on how well they had done with their stall during the festival. "You really served Kuga a big slice of humble pie there," Rindo said to Soma. "You came out with some dishes that surprised him and everyone else, including me." As Soma rubbed the back of his head and thanked her for the compliments, she turned to Megumi and noted how her customer service had really made their overall experience so pleasurable, to which Megumi stuttered her thanks.

Finally, Rindo turned to Daniel and stated, "And you – you really came up with something great! No one expected there to be a dessert option for Chinese cuisine." As Daniel began to say his thanks in a nervous manner, Rindo continued. "You know, it's pretty rare to have a dessert specialist on the council, and although she doesn't say it, I'm sure chef Momo would like to have someone worthy to teach some things to and serve on the council in the future. Would you be interested?" Daniel eyes widened, as it was an unexpected opportunity – coming much sooner than he could have hoped for. He nodded and said, "If you really think she would be willing to take me on, and if you think you could set up a meeting, I would be delighted." Rindo chuckled at Daniel's enthusiasm and replied, "Just so you know, you would be in for a very hard and unusual lesson with her."

After Rindo paid for everyone, they all left the restaurant and stretched their legs outside. At that point, they had already eaten a practically perfect meal, which would almost be a shame to mix with something in addition – almost. The only thing that might be able to match what they had at Eishi's restaurant would be the stop they planned on making next – Erina's restaurant. As Soma enthusiastically went up ahead, while taking out a Hujiao Bing as a peace offering to Erina, Daniel and Megumi followed behind him trying to get him to calm down a bit and not just barge in unannounced. However, he would not be stopped as he opened the large doors at the entrance and announced his presence with an enthusiastic (if also loud) greeting. Surprisingly, a few of the patrons seemed happy by Soma's sudden appearance.

As Daniel and Megumi came inside the restaurant, Daniel could sense something wasn't right. The tension in the air was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. He then saw Hisako kneeling on the ground holding up Erina, who looked like she had seen something out of a horror movie as she was shaking and couldn't speak or move. Nearby, off to the side, Soma was sitting at a table with a man dressed in black with greasy black hair and a skunk-like stripe in the middle. Soma tried to converse with the man, but he did not appear to be happy with his presence.

The man suddenly got up and said, "Erina, I've suddenly lost my appetite." As he walked away and out of the restaurant, he added, "You should really be more selective with who you choose to be friends with." As he walked out the door and people began to murmur about what had occurred, Daniel walked to where Hisako and Erina were, and asked Hisako, "Who the hell was that douchebag?" As those who overheard him began to chuckle in amusement, Hisako responded, "That's Erina's biological father – Azami Nakiri." At hearing this, Daniel stiffened at having just insulted Erina's father. Before he could say anything, Hisako held up her hand and shook her head, saying, "No need to apologize. You're correct. He is a douchebag."

Daniel looked at Erina, who was still shaking with a level of fear he had never seen in her – hadn't even thought possible from her, actually – while Hisako continued to softly console her and reassure her that everything would be alright. For obvious reasons, the rest of the dinner service was cancelled, and everyone there understood why. As Daniel saw all of this unfold, he thought to himself, 'I have a really bad feeling about that guy.'

Soon after, there was a big commotion coming from outside the building. From what Daniel could hear, master Senzaemon had come to confront Azami and get him off the campus. At first, Daniel was relieved that Senzaemon was intervening, but then the sounds coming from the confrontation indicated that something unexpected was happening. When he went outside to see what was going on, he got there in time to see Azami reveal to Senzaemon that six of the ten council members had voted to remove Senzaemon from his position as headmaster and install Azami in his place! The crowd was aghast that the Council of Ten would be party to a coup d'état like this, and Senzaemon was left absolutely speechless as Azami declared the dawning of a new era at Totsuki with him as its ruler.

Daniel then went back inside to report what had happened to Hisako, who was just as stunned and horrified as he was – perhaps even more so. When Daniel saw her reaction, he commented, "This is really bad, isn't it?" Hisako could only nod in response. At this point, however, there wasn't anything they could do about the situation except try to help Erina calm down enough so she could get up and get back to the mansion. As Hisako left with Erina, he indicated to her that he would check in later, to which Hisako nodded. As he, Soma, and Megumi walked back to the dorm, a sense of gloom settled in around them.

The next day, Azami went on the school's closed-circuit network and officially announced the transition to him as the new headmaster, which had also been reported on in the school newspaper. Although the paper said it was a sudden 'retirement,' Daniel knew that was just a cover. As the rest of the dorm questioned Isshiki as to what exactly had happened, he couldn't help but be concerned about the direction of the school under Azami's leadership, especially since Hisako actually agreed with his characterization of Azami as a douchebag.

Over the next couple of days, as Azami 'took stock' of what was currently there at Totsuki, Daniel's frustration over the current circumstances continued to grow. This should have been a time of excitement and possibility. The booth with Soma and Megumi, and the dish he had created for the booth, had been a rousing success; Rindo had offered him a foot in the door to learn from the best pastry chef on campus; and he and Hisako would finally be able to reveal their relationship to their friends, who would presumably be happy for them. Now, those plans were on permanent hold, as Hisako needed to give all her support to Erina right now, and Daniel needed to see where Azami and the council were going with their new power play before he could consider moving forward with Rindo's offer. One other thing he noticed was that Erina hadn't been seen on campus or in classes since that night.

One afternoon, as Daniel was lying on his bed contemplating the current situation with some music playing in the background when his cell phone rang. After seeing it was Hisako, he turned off the music before answering it. When he answered, he could immediately hear Hisako crying hysterically on the other end of the line and saying something that was incoherent to Daniel. He then tried to calm her down, saying, "Whoa, whoa there. Easy – I'm having a hard time understanding you. How about you take a deep breath and gather your thoughts a moment?" Hisako did so and began to explain that she had been dismissed from her position as Erina's assistant that afternoon. From what she said, Erina didn't want her dismissed, but was too scared of her father to resist his command.

"Wait a minute – that doesn't make any sense," Daniel stated. "Why on Earth would Azami want to dismiss you, especially when Erina didn't want to. I know for a fact that you haven't done anything to deserve that." Hisako then explained that Azami was doing this to completely isolate Erina from everyone else, leaving only Azami to completely control her life. From what she said, this sounded truly sinister, and Daniel had to know, "Just what is going on with that guy? What does he hope to gain from this?"

After a bit of hesitation, Hisako asked whether Daniel could keep a secret, to which he replied, "Of course." She then told him to sit down as she explained everything. Over the next half hour, she told Daniel everything she knew – about how Azami had been brainwashing Erina viciously into adopting his harsh philosophy about food and cooking, to how he had isolated her from the world before, even going so far as to shred Alice's letters from Denmark, and not allowing Erina to speak to anyone outside him and her grandfather. She explained that Senzaemon had put a stop to this several years ago and banished Azami from the Nakiri household, but that Erina was still influenced by Azami's teachings to this day and had become so scared that she couldn't fight back, and now it was all happening all over again.

As Hisako finished her story, Daniel's eyes were wide with horror at what he had just heard. "My god," he exclaimed, "he's not just a douchebag, he's a damn sociopath!" Hisako then told Daniel that she was with Alice and Ryo, and that they were going to try to get Erina out of the mansion and away from Azami, but that they could use some help. When she asked, he immediately answered, "Yeah, I'm in. Do you have any sort of plan in mind?" When Hisako described their general idea, Daniel thought on it for a few moments before saying, "I think I can help you pull this off without a trace, but we're going to need a couple of items."