「 Interlude ~ 」

After going back to the hotel, PP Akira parted from Erina and his entourage, he wanted to go straight into his room and sleep, today is a very tiring day.

From walking around the mountain to collect some tomatoes and other veggies that he needed for the dish. Catching some agressive chicken and dealing with a certain blonde. Most of that isn't even came from the cooking process itself.

And as soon as Akira came back to the hotel, he saw a group of students with a depressed, shocked expression on their face. The Polar Star group is also there and Akira immediately approached them to ask what's up.

"What happened? You seem all tensed up. The first day of the hell camp is just finished, relax and chill, let's enjoy this magnificent Totsuki Resort."

Akira said as he patted Yoshino's shoulder, she looks absolutely depressed and hopeless. Sakaki snapped around when she heard Akira's voice.

"Hah ~, finished? We will be given another task after this." Said the purple haired girl while sighing.

Akira who heard that raised his eyebrows.

"Eh? Another task?" Akira said as he tilting his head.

Ibusaki nodded and looking at Akira.

"That's right, we have to serve 50 sets of steaks for those muscular people." Ibusaki said as he pointing at a bunch of muscular people who were standing in front of them.

And as Akira turned his gaze, he saw a familiar face.

'Sekimori-san?'

AAkira remembered Erina's words about the Essence of this Training, he then smiled bitterly and said.

"So that's how it is haha, they don't give us a break at all."

Then, the narrow-eyed man aka Sekimori Hitoshi continued his words. Akira didn't really pay attention to the speech as Ibusaki explanation is more than enough for him to understand the task.

"If you can't finish it in 60 minutes, you will be Expelled!" Sekimori said. That words absolutely crushed some spirits. Akira swear he heard some bone cracking from the distance.

Can't have shit in Totsuki.

" HAH ??? "

After that, Sekimori who is holding a stopwatch immediately yelled.

"The task is starts now!!!"

And right after he said that, the students began to run everywhere in havoc, there are people who collected materials, looking for their cooking tools and so on.

They are tired and panicked. Its just chaos at this point. And with a time limit like this, everything had to be done very quickly.

But that doesn't seems to be the case for Akira whose still looks so relaxed. He took his black headband out of his pocket and wrapped it up around his head, for someone who came from a dining restaurant like him, this task is as easy taking a shit.

He walking calmly in the middle of chaos and start picking up his ingredients.

The time is running, it's been 14 minutes since the task started and most of students have completed 7 to 13 dishes, Erina has also completed 39 dishes, that's unbelievably fast for a student. But Erina is someone who praised as God Tongue, that is nothing for her.

'Huh ~, Its seems like i will be the first one to finish this task. I better finished this quickly and go to the Onsen by myself. ' As she thought, however, a voice surprised her.

"Hyoujou Akira, 50 Portions, Finish, You Pass !!!" Sekimori said and Erina who heard that, could only put on a shocked face.

' HAH!!!!!???? ' Erina shouted in her mind, she couldn't believe that Akira is finished this task faster than her. And its not even close.

"Praise me." Akira said with a stoic face as he took off his black headband and walked away from the kitchen. Of course that caught people attention, including Sekimori. Sekimori who saw Akira finishing 50 servings of steak and salad in just 11 minutes thought in his mind.

'How terrifying, he cooks 15 steaks at once perfectly medium rare, not even break a sweat. And not mention that red haired kid and also there is God tomgue... This year students is full of monsters.' Sekimori thought.

Then, the task continues for the next 46 minutes.

______________________________

Akira who just finished all the task on the first day was planned to take a rest immediately. He also go to the Onsen but it was just for maybe around 5 minutes, for some reason he felt uncomfortable and immediately rinsed himself.

After leaving Onsen, Akira went straight to his room with a tired face.

"Damn, this is a hell camp for a reason." Akira said as he took a chair and put it near the window, then sat casually. Relaxing himself.

He looked at his phone and thought.

' Should i call Grandma...'

He immediately shook his head and turned his gaze at the beautiful night sky with countless stats. His hands supporting his chin.

He again have a deep thought about his childhood, when both of his parents were still alive. When his father taught him how to paint, and his mother taught him how to cook.

His father is not an extraordinary artist by any mean. He is just someone who likes to paint. But that's enough for young Akira to idolize the man, a role model, and the reason why Akira developed supreme passion for painting.

His mother is a very beautiful woman, someone who looks like a celebrity. Kind personality, and very talented at cooking. Basically a perfect wife material you could imagine. Akira doesn't know how she could fall in love with an ordinary man like his father.

One day Akira asks his mother why would she marry someone like his father who is unemployed and do nothing but painting. Not even has a stable job nor a good looking face.

When Akira asked that to his mother, she only answered with one thing.

"That's because your father was the one who saved me from the Storm." That's what his mother said. Akira, who was only 4 years old at the time, did not understand what his mother mean by that.

And as Akira turns 6 years old, his parents experienced a car accident that kill both of them. And Akira is all alone with Grandma Sabeki, that's also the point' where he starting to act weird, the cheerfull young Akira is replaced by cold and quiet Akira. He has no friends because of that.

However, thanks to Grandma sabeki, Akira gradually began to open up, a smile had also begun to return to his face. Before something weird happened to him as he indicate some sort of a split personality disorder. It happened when he was 12 years old.

But because that he also starting to understand what his mother meant by storm. And this was a unique case for Akira because he did not need someone to save him from the storm. He has a sky heaven personality and its soil.

After that, Akira began to look for his passion for cooking, until one day he had the idea to make his own style of cooking, Painted Dish. And over time he start cooking with his unique cooking style.

Akira then looked back at the starry sky with a smile and muttered.

" Rest in peace, Okaa-san, Otou-san."

That's a nostalgic night. With restless moon on the starry night sky.