Chapter 203: Hinako with a Strange Look

Kenro Ono was taken aback. He glanced over at Sui's station and saw that the rice was perfectly cooked, and the seaweed was meticulously arranged in a bowl. 

How could this be? In such a hectic environment, Sui not only remained calm but completed his tasks effortlessly. Even more astonishing, he had the foresight to prepare additional ingredients. How could he find the time to do all that?

"What's wrong, Chef? Is there a problem with the shredded egg?" Sui asked, frowning slightly.

"N-No, nothing at all." Ono Kenro forced a smile, casting Sui a long, thoughtful look.

Who is this guy? A monster? He couldn't possibly be just an ordinary student from Totsuki, could he?

"Chef, focus. The customers are waiting," Sui reminded him firmly.

"I know." Realizing an intern was lecturing him, Kenro couldn't help but smile bitterly. He had expected Sui to falter under pressure, but instead, it was his own lapse that Sui had quietly rectified. The very intern he had underestimated had saved him from making two critical mistakes.

A complicated feeling welled up inside Kenro.

Time flew by, and the busy lunch rush was finally winding down. Ono Kenro let out a sigh of relief. Today had been far more intense than usual, and even he had been overwhelmed at times.

Reflecting on the day's events, he glanced at Sui with mixed emotions. Without the young intern's help at crucial moments, he would have made two significant errors.

"Anyway, I need to thank you for today," Kenro said, taking a deep breath.

Sui chuckled. "It's nothing."

"I'm heading to the bathroom," Kenro added, now that the immediate rush was over, he could take a short break.

"I'll cover for you while you're gone," Sui replied confidently.

"Alright. I'm leaving the kitchen to you, then," Kenro said, nodding, fully trusting Sui by this point.

As soon as Kenro left, a waiter rushed in. "Is the puffer fish sashimi for table 12 ready yet?"

"Puffer fish sashimi?" Sui raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't told about that order."

"What? The deputy chef didn't mention it?" The waiter looked shocked. "That table has been waiting for twenty minutes already!"

Sui frowned. It seemed that in the chaos, Kenro hadn't noticed the order. 

"What should we do? The customer has been waiting so long," the waitress said, her voice trembling with anxiety.

"Calm down," Sui said after thinking for a moment. "Go inform the table that it will be ready soon."

Five minutes later, Kenro returned from the bathroom. 

"By the way, Ono-san, the guest at table 12 is a food blogger. They're known for being very picky, so please make sure everything is perfect," Hinako said as she approached him at the kitchen door.

"The guest at table 12?" Kenro froze, feeling a chill run down his spine. He vaguely remembered hearing the order earlier, but he had been too busy to process it.

Wait! A flash of realization hit him. His heart dropped as cold sweat began to form.

"I think... I forgot," he muttered in shock.

"What? That guest has been waiting for twenty minutes already," Hinako said, looking surprised.

Hearing the commotion, Kobayashi Kiyomizu and Hoshino Miyuki joined them.

"I'm so sorry. I was overwhelmed and completely forgot about that table," Kenro admitted, bowing deeply.

"No way..." Everyone was stunned. Forgetting an order was a serious mistake, but forgetting a table with a renowned food blogger? It was a disaster. By afternoon, negative reviews about 'Kirinoya' would be all over the internet.

"I apologize again," Kenro repeated, feeling the weight of his error.

Hinako, though not angry, understood the gravity of the situation. "I'll go see if the guest is still there and try to smooth things over."

"Leave it to me. I'll start preparing the puffer fish sashimi right away," Kenro said urgently.

"I'll help too. Puffer fish sashimi is delicate work," Miyuki added.

"Oh, you're talking about the sashimi?" Sui interrupted, walking over calmly. "I've already made it."

"What?" Kenro was stunned. Instead of relief, all he felt was fear.

Kobayashi and Hoshino were equally shocked. Puffer fish is highly toxic if not prepared properly. Even a tiny mistake could leave dangerous toxins behind. Unlike regular sashimi, which is simply sliced into strips, puffer fish must be cut paper-thin—a test of precision and knife skills.

Customer dissatisfaction was one thing. But if someone got poisoned, 'Kirinoya' could go bankrupt.

Everyone paled at the thought.

"This is on me," Kenro said, gritting his teeth. "If anything goes wrong, I'll take full responsibility. It was my mistake, not the intern's."

Kenro had been the one to leave Sui in charge before rushing off. If anything went wrong, he couldn't blame anyone but himself.

"It's just sashimi," Sui said, a little exasperated. "Is it really that serious?"

"Puffer fish sashimi isn't just any dish," Miyuki Hoshino replied gravely. "As an intern, you might not have the experience to handle it."

At that moment, Hinako returned, her expression unreadable.

"What's going on?" Kobayashi asked nervously. "Is something wrong?"

Everyone tensed, waiting for her response.

Hinako didn't say much at first. She simply looked at Sui, a strange look in her eyes. "Who made that dish?"

All eyes turned to Sui.

"Did you prepare it?" Hinako asked, sounding both surprised and curious.

"Yeah. I noticed there wasn't much time, so I made it first," Sui replied casually. "Is the guest upset?"

Hinako's expression softened. She shook her head slowly. "No. Quite the opposite, actually. The guest was incredibly impressed and praised the dish highly."