Chapter 58: Another Person with the God's Tongue
"I don't have any plans."
"The only thing I want to do is to defeat you!"
Alice said without hesitation.
"Just that?"
This time, Erina's tone fluctuated slightly, "Alice, you still haven't understood the reality!"
"In Totsuki, even if you exhaust all your efforts to defeat me, what good will it do?"
"Even though right now I'm just the lowest of the Elite Ten, there are nine other strong members above me. They are the ones standing at the top of Totsuki!"
"Um..."
Alice hesitated for a while, unsure of what to say.
Since she had just transferred to Totsuki Academy, she might not fully comprehend how fierce the internal competition could be.
Ordinary competitions usually involve two opponents facing off, one wins and the other acknowledges defeat, and then they continue training for the next match.
However, in Totsuki, it's like having a single cake—if person A takes it, person B, no matter how hard they try, won't get a piece.
And there's just one cake, and the external cake can't participate, as all resources are restricted.
Take the protagonist, Sōma, for example. No matter how talented he is, the Elite Ten doesn't really pay attention to him.
Even with the "Shokugeki" rules to resolve conflicts among students.
In theory, students could challenge the Elite Ten to a Shokugeki and potentially replace them.
But rules are rules, and the Elite Ten also have the power to interpret them.
If it wasn't for Nene Kinokuni's coup at Totsuki, which allowed Sōma and others to directly compete with senior figures like Eishi Tsukasa and Rindo.
They would probably have to wait some time before they could rise through the ranks.
...
At this moment,
Seeing Alice fall into silence,
Erina let out a soft sigh.
The future is unpredictable, and if Alice can't see the current situation at Totsuki clearly in time, she might stumble sooner or later.
"Huh?"
"When did I finish the layer cake?"
Unexpectedly, Alice noticed that she had finished the layer cake without even realizing it.
After savoring it and feeling unsatisfied, she shifted her gaze to the five large octopus takoyaki in Erina's hands.
"Erina."
"Can you give me one..."
"No, this was given to me by Zane." Erina replied firmly.
Then, fearing Alice might come to snatch, she picked up one takoyaki and ate it right in front of her.
The golden crispy takoyaki, packed with tender octopus pieces, drizzled with plenty of egg yolk sauce and bonito flakes, brought pure happiness.
But before she could fully come back to her senses from the taste of the takoyaki, quick-witted Alice snatched one from Erina's hands.
"Alice!"
"You... you..."
"Alright, alright, I'll just eat one of your takoyaki, and I'll make a Dragon's Roar Strawberry dish to compensate you later!"
"Huh?"
"Who wants to eat your fancy molecular gastronomy dishes?"
Seeing Alice's retreating figure, Erina was truly stunned.
When she finally reacted, she wanted to be angry but couldn't, so she clenched her teeth, stomped her foot, and quickly followed after.
...
Day. Night.
These are two different worlds!
Generally, restaurants that operate during the day usually end their business before 8 p.m.
While those operating at night typically start from around 5 to 6 p.m. and continue until 3 a.m., sometimes even closing before 7 a.m.
Sometimes, even if the establishment normally closes at 3 a.m.
If customers don't leave, like if they want to continue drinking with friends, the restaurant has to stay open for them.
Therefore, some late-night establishments are unpredictable in terms of their closing time.
However, Zane's tavern strictly follows the rule of closing at midnight, and he usually doesn't entertain customers past that time.
"Shopkeeper."
"Two portions of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall."
Just as Zane was busy organizing today's orders,
Ahead of him, a familiar and sweet voice suddenly rang out.
"We're closed!"
"Come back tomorrow."
Hearing the voice, it seemed like Zane knew who it was.
So he didn't raise his head to meet her but directly issued the order to leave.
"Closed?"
"Isn't the closing time at 12? We are only a few minutes late, see..."
Anne was surprised to hear that the tavern was closing right on time, she hesitated.
Wishing to taste Zane's dishes urgently, she quickly booked two plane tickets and rushed back to Neon Country overnight with her.
And right after getting off the plane, without taking any time to rest, she hurriedly made her way to the tavern.
Finally arriving at the scene, only to be told that the pub was closed?
"I'm not trying to rush you out, but we've run out of ingredients today and can't make the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall according to your request," explained Zane.
"Is that so?"
"That's really unfortunate."
The woman behind Anne started speaking.
Her voice was somewhat soft but filled with deep regret.
"Huh?"
"This voice..."
Upon hearing this, Zane couldn't help but look up.
Standing behind Anne was a mature woman in her thirties.
She wore a wide dark red kimono with cherry blossom patterns, and her bold and cold makeup combined with sharp eyes gave off an intimidating aura!
Perhaps due to not eating for years, relying solely on injected nutrients to stay alive.
Even in a wide kimono, her slim figure was evident.
Her extremely pale complexion, lacking any color, indicated severe malnutrition.
To the extent that even a slight breeze might knock her over.
Yet, she still exuded a regal and noble aura, like a "queen" of unparalleled elegance and grace!
Hmm!
This aura.
Could also be sensed in Erina with the Nakiri family lineage.
"Her?"
"Why would it be her?"
Zane was truly astonished.
He definitely did not anticipate Mana Nakiri's sudden visit to the pub.
His cooking had indeed earned Anne's approval and recognition.
But as Mana's secretary, she shouldn't have brought the person representing the strongest figure in the world to this small pub just for a dish like Buddha Jumps Over the Wall!
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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