Chapter 28: Fantasy Ingredients Illustrated Book

A vein popped on Erina's forehead. Then she noticed that Sui was holding the cup she usually used to brush her teeth.

Any thought of gratitude vanished instantly. 

"You wretched guy! Didn't I specifically tell you not to touch my personal things?!" 

Her furious roar echoed from the bathroom. 

As usual, the two bickered as they finished washing up and headed off to school. 

That day, Sui attended another full day of classes at Tōtsuki Academy, earning A's in each course. 

After class, Sui had initially planned to return with Erina, but the tsundere girl seemed to be avoiding him. Left with no other choice, he walked back alone. 

Upon returning, Sui received a new task from his system: 

"New Mission: Establish a Rare Ingredients Research Society." 

Reward: Fantasy Ingredients Illustrated Book. 

Time Limit: 7 Days." 

"Fantasy Ingredients Illustrated Book?" Sui wondered aloud. "Does it just catalog all the rare ingredients? That doesn't sound all that useful." 

The system explained, "Once you obtain the book, you'll unlock the ability to purchase these ingredients. Any unlocked fantasy ingredient can be bought directly." 

"Seriously?" Sui was shocked. He had originally thought it was a trivial reward, but now it seemed like one of the most valuable! Fantasy ingredients were always scarce—he usually had just enough for himself. With this book, though, he could buy them outright! 

This was a reward he absolutely had to secure. 

But how was he supposed to form a rare ingredients research society? Sui wasn't clear on the details, so he decided to wait for Erina to return and ask her about it. 

Erina came back earlier than usual. As soon as Sui heard the door open, he went to greet her in her room. 

"You're back," he said casually. 

Erina's forehead was covered with frustration lines. Having a boy waiting for her in her bedroom every day? It was beginning to feel like they were living together! 

"Could you stop showing up in my bedroom all the time? It's like we're cohabiting or something," she snapped. 

"Huh? But aren't we already living together?" Sui replied innocently. 

Erina almost choked. Furious, she shot back, "We're just sharing a bathroom! Don't make it sound so ambiguous!" 

"Alright, alright." Sui nodded with a grin. "By the way, how do I go about forming a research society?" 

"You're thinking about starting one?" Erina paused. 

"Yeah," Sui nodded. "I want to create a Rare Ingredients Research Society." 

Erina thought for a moment. "That's a good idea. But there are two requirements to form a research society. First, you need at least two members. Second, it has to pass the approval of the Elite Ten Council." 

"Approval?" Sui asked. 

"That's right," Erina nodded. "At least three members of the Elite Ten will review your application. But you should be fine. However, you need at least one other member besides yourself." 

At this point, Sui started looking Erina up and down, sizing her up. 

"What are you thinking?" Erina asked suspiciously, a bad feeling creeping over her. 

"Erina, are you part of any research societies?" 

"I would never waste my precious time on something like that!" she declared, her tone haughty. 

"Perfect! Then you can be my second member!" Sui said happily. 

A dark cloud seemed to hang over Erina's head. Grinding her teeth, she snapped, "I am not joining your research society!" 

"How about this—an ingredient as rare as almond cabbage?" Sui offered, raising the stakes. 

"I'm not that easily bought!" Erina shot back, though her resolve wavered. Blushing slightly, she finally relented. "Fine, but I'm only lending my name. I'm not getting involved in anything!" 

Sui smiled. "Deal. Thanks, Erina." 

He handed her two creamy matsutake mushrooms. "These are for you, as a reward for yesterday." 

Erina blinked in surprise, staring at the creamy matsutake in her hands. After a moment of hesitation, she bit her lip and quietly said, "Thank you... for yesterday." 

"No problem," Sui replied with a smile, before returning to his room. 

Later that evening, Sui had planned to practice making steamed fish. But remembering that he hadn't been to work the day before, he decided to head over to Kagura Sakaya instead. 

When he arrived at the restaurant, Sui was stunned. The place was packed with customers, and a long line stretched outside the door. 

Business at Kagura Sakaya was always good, but it had never been this busy! 

As soon as the staff spotted Sui, they hurried inside to fetch the manager. 

Moments later, Manager Mita rushed out. When he saw Sui, his eyes lit up. Feigning displeasure, he said, "Sui-kun, where have you been? Why are you only coming now?" 

"I had something to take care of yesterday," Sui apologized. He pointed to the crowd outside and asked, "What's going on?" 

"It's all because of you, Sui-kun!" the manager grinned. "Everyone's here to taste your food." 

"My food?" Sui was taken aback. 

"That's right," Manager Mita nodded. "Miss Hanaya gave your dishes a glowing review in a food magazine. She even tweeted about it, and her fans have been flocking here ever since." 

He showed Sui the tweet on his phone. There were already thousands of comments, with people raving about the restaurant. 

"Which restaurant is this? I've got to try it!" 

"If Miss Hanaya praised it, it must be amazing!" 

Miss Hanaya had even specifically mentioned Sui by name in the tweet. 

"Looks like I owe her a thank you," Sui said with a chuckle. 

"You should. She came by yesterday hoping to see you, but you weren't here. She waited for quite some time," Manager Mita added. 

Sui nodded as they made their way to the kitchen through the back door. 

Inside, Miss Sakai and Yuzuki were there, working hard. 

As soon as they saw Sui, they greeted him. 

"Hey, kiddo! Where have you been? Don't you know how many people have come just to eat your food since yesterday?" Miss Sakai teased. 

"Sui, what kept you so busy these past two days?" Yuzuki added, though she already knew he had taken leave for something. 

"Sorry, it's been a hectic couple of days," Sui said, feeling a little embarrassed. 

Alpho and the other chefs looked at Sui with a mix of admiration and envy. His popularity had skyrocketed in just a few days, almost like he was a celebrity chef. Some of them had been working there for over a decade without receiving that kind of attention.