Although the trip was for school and would determine his future fate at school (as well as the fate of his friends), Daniel was still excited to be going to Hokkaido for the first time in his life (his Irish coin always with him snugly in his coat pocket). When they finally landed after their flight to Hokkaido, the first thing everyone noticed was the layer of snow that covered the ground. As they were waiting for the buses to transport them all to the first test site, many of the Polar Star residents began to play like kids – as though they had never seen snow before. As they were playing, Erina began to scold them. "Did you all come to Hokkaido just to play in the snow!? You should be focused on the task ahead!" As those she had been scolding began to beg for forgiveness and grovel at her feet, Erina became uncomfortable and asked them to go back to 'Erina-chii.'
After gathering all the rebels together, including Alice and Ryo (even though they hadn't joined in on the harsh lessons of the prior week), Erina began to give them final pointers to get them through the first exam. Daniel's cell phone then pinged, indicating that he was receiving a text message. Once he read it, he got everyone's attention and indicated for them to gather round, as he wanted to tell them all something without being overheard by the other students. "Heads up, everyone – Central's planning on really messing with us during the exams. Apparently, the first test is going to involve salmon, and they plan to group all of us rebels together before giving us salmon that will be useless for cooking a good dish."
The rest of the group looked both surprised and confused, both that Daniel even had this information and wondering how he obtained it. "How the heck do you know that?" Yuki screeched. "I have a spy on the inside," Daniel explained. "This person is pretending to be in with Central and passing information important to helping us fend off their shenanigans." Erina looked at Daniel with narrowed eyes, skeptical of the viability of Daniel's plan, and asked, "How reliable is your source?" Daniel answered immediately, "Very…I think." Erina then sighed and said, "Well, I suppose it doesn't hurt to see if this person is useful. However, if this information turns out to be wrong, we're just going to ignore it going forward." Daniel nodded and explained the situation they were about to face as far as he could tell.
Daniel then looked at both Erina and Alice and asked, "It seems like we'll have an opportunity to obtain salmon outside of what they give us if we are able. I don't suppose either one of you have any idea how we may be able to do that?" Alice then gave a grin and said, "I think I know just the source we can use. Leave everything to me!" As everyone was boarding the buses, Alice was texting and calling her own sources to arrange what they needed. Not long after they got going, she texted Daniel, saying that everything was reserved and set for them should they need it.
When they arrived at the first test site, the students were immediately assigned to their test rooms and divided into groups. Although he didn't know what was going on in the other rooms, it appeared that Daniel's source was correct so far, as all five of the rebels (aside from Erina) in the room were assigned to work with each other in one group – in this case, a group that included Daniel, Megumi, Soma, Alice, and Ryo. After dividing into groups, an instructor named Hiroi entered the room and gave them their assignment – they were to cook a salmon-based dish, and had three hours to do so. As entire salmon were being carted into the room encased in coolers, the salmon being handed to the other groups looked fresh and top-notch.
However, Daniel could see the subtle, evil grin Hiroi was sporting and had an idea of what was coming. Sure enough, Daniel's source turned out to be right on the money, as their group was given a salmon that was not of good quality at all. While it was technically edible, it definitely couldn't be used to cook something that was up to Totsuki standards. When they pointed this out to Hiroi, she didn't seem concerned, although she did say that if they were unhappy with what they had been provided, they could try to obtain salmon from elsewhere as long as they finished on time. As the group left the room to obtain said better salmon, Daniel could practically hear Hiroi giggle evilly, as she thought that Totsuki had obtained all of the finest salmon in the city, and that their search would prove futile.
As the time ticked away, Hiroi was sure that Central had succeeded in getting rid of the rebels that opposed the new administration's methods. However, with about a half-hour left, the group of rebels returned to the test room with a magnificent-looking summer salmon. When Hiroi questioned where they had obtained it, as it should be impossible to do so at this time of the year, Alice revealed she had used her connections at a very famous fish purveyor to get some that had been subjected to a form of brine freezing that had kept the freshness of the fish intact. With Ryo's seafood skills and everyone else's assistance, they were able to great a Yuan-Grilled Summer Salmon, that was still fatty, juicy, and delicious. Even Hiroi couldn't resist as she devoured the dish, screaming "It's all mine!" before eventually passing the group of rebels. Thanks to Alice's connections, the other rebel groups were also able to get the fish they needed to create a passing dish.
As they made their way to the train station to ride the rails to their next testing destination on an overnight trip, Erina went up to Daniel and said, "It seems as though your source is reliable. Good work." Daniel smiled and nodded in thanks before boarding. After dinner that evening, most of the group gathered for a study session to ensure they were prepared for whatever was thrown at them the next day. As the session slowly broke up, Daniel overheard a couple of the staffers talking about how the sky would be a clear one that night – perfect for viewing the beautiful night sky when they got out of the forest in a little while.
Daniel then went to find Hisako and told her about what he had heard, suggesting that they try to make an impromptu date out of it. As she didn't have any particular duties to attend to for the moment, she agreed to it. They then got a couple of drinks and made their way to a car that had large, clear windows on both the walls and the ceiling of the car – the perfect place to see everything unfold in front of them. As they found a small sofa to sit down together, they began to cuddle and enjoy each other's company as they watched the train clear the forest, and the starry night sky open up in front of them with the beautiful countryside scenery serving as an additional backdrop.
As they were admiring the beauty of the natural scene in front of them, Hisako suddenly asked Daniel about his spy within Central. "I'm curious – who is it?" she asked. Daniel thought on this for a minute or so before answering, "I'd love to tell you, but I think it's best if I don't tell anyone until after this is all over. The fewer people who know my source's identity, the better. I'm sorry, but I don't want to put that person in more danger than necessary." Hisako nodded in understanding, as she could see how knowledge of the person's identity by more people would provide a greater risk of that identity being revealed to the wrong people. "Well," she said, "I hope your spy doesn't get caught before the exams are over." Daniel put his arm around Hisako's shoulders, drawing her closer as he replied, "I think we'll be good on that front. I have faith."
The next morning, they arrived in Sapporo before being bused to a resort several kilometers outside the city, where their next exam would be administered. As everyone gathered waiting for the exam to begin, Daniel received a text from his spy, and gathered the rebel group around to hear the contents. Apparently, Central was planning to make all of the rebels go last so that the kitchen supplies would be about all used up by the time it was their turn to begin cooking. "But wait," Hisako interjected, "How does that really hurt us? Can't we just go into the city and get whatever ingredients we need?" Daniel was wondering that himself when he received another text from his spy – a screenshot of a weather report, which showed blizzard-like conditions were predicted for the time period they expected to be cooking. "So that's their plan," Daniel commented.
Moments later, the proctor for this exam, a male instructor named Endo, came out an explained the basis for this exam. The students would be assigned rooms to work in in staggering groups as their names were called, and they would be expected to make a noodle dish. It could be any kind they wanted, as there was a supply of noodles, broths, stocks, and other ingredients they could use. If they wanted something else, they would have to obtain any missing ingredients on their own. As the first names were called out with their room assignments, none of the names called were from the rebel group, except for Erina.
Daniel was still trying to figure out how they would deal with the expected lack of ingredients (and lack of any way to obtain more ingredients) as the first group of students began exiting the exam rooms. He then received another text from his source, which contained a couple of photos. As he looked at them, Daniel figured out what his spy was trying to suggest, and grinned. He then gathered the rebel group around, showed them the text, and explained his idea for getting through the exam and keeping the observers off-balance for what they had in mind until it was too late.
As expected, all of the rebels were saved until the last exam slots, with everyone else, including Erina, already passing the exam. Daniel was assigned the same room with Soma, Takumi, and Megumi. When they walked into the room, they saw that just about every ingredient that had been set up for the exam had been used up by the previous students. As they pointed out the lack of ingredients present, Endo reminded them that they would have to obtain any missing ingredients on their own, knowing full well that there were blizzard-like conditions outside at that moment. As the rebels seemed to be wondering what they were going to do, Endo went off to enjoy a drink by himself, confident that Central would be rid of the rebels by the end of the evening.
A while later, he received a phone call from the kitchens, as the observers told him that the rebels had started cooking – seemingly without any ingredients. As Endo came down to see what was going on, he saw the rebels working with the potatoes that had been in the kitchens – set aside in large bags. What Daniel had received was photos of these potato bags, giving him a clue as to what the rebels would have available. They were cooking the potatoes and using the starch to create their own noodles, as well as using more starch to create a base for a soup. With this, they were all creating the foundation for Special Gousetsu Udon, a specialty udon dish of the Hokkaido region made entirely from potatoes. They were even able to create a potato mochi for a topping to go along with scallions and fried shiso leaves.
Although Endo wasn't impressed at first glance, he was visibly frustrated that the rebels hadn't given up and were even able to create a dish for the exam. When he tasted the udon each of the rebels had made, he found the taste to be delicious. The noodles were cooked to a perfect texture and consistently, while the broth was smooth, rich, and full of umami from the potatoes. In addition, the potato mochi was also done perfectly – golden brown and crispy on the outside, while soft and fluffy on the inside. All of the rebels had executed this dish perfectly, and to Endo's despair, he had no choice but to pass them all.
As the rebels cheered and gathered around Erina, thanking her for her leadership and instruction, Endo began to scold her, telling her that she shouldn't have lent these "rebel scum" her unique expertise, as they needed to be swept aside by Central. Erina asserted forcefully that all she had done was instruct them on the properties of potatoes, and that the rebels had figured out about, and decided to create, the udon dish on their own. As the rebels all gathered around Erina, Endo could suddenly see an aura emanating from Erina – like that of Joan of Arc leading a ragtag group of soldiers to a miraculous victory. In addition, the rebels all had determined looks on their faces. They would take whatever Central threw at them and they would not bow to their wishes – fighting until the bitter end.