[218] Shadow of the Giant

Chapter 218: Shadow of the Giant

"This is..."

As the sea bream slice touched his tongue, Dojima widened his eyes.

"Mr. Dojima, what's wrong?"

Beside him, Sena Hiromi, who was once part of the Elite Ten and now the deputy head chef at Totsuki Resort, asked with a hint of curiosity.

However, Dojima seemed frozen, unresponsive.

Seeing this, Hiromi also picked up a slice of sea bream with chopsticks, dipped it in the sauce, and put it in his mouth.

"This is... The sea bream is still alive."

"Yes, despite these thin slices, it fully captures the rich and tender texture of the sea bream." Dojima, now back to his senses, nodded.

"The instantaneous low-temperature cutting stimulates the nerves still alive in the sea bream meat, bringing out the firm texture and the full flavor of the sea bream. It feels like the sea bream is still alive."

"Come on, try it. This kind of dish is not something you can taste every day." He invited the surrounding graduates.

Hearing his words, the graduates also began to taste the dish.

The chilled sea bream slices melted in their mouths, filling their mouths with a rich texture. This sensation was beyond words. The delicious taste made it seem as if the sea bream was dancing in their mouths.

They even "saw" a giant sea bream, breaking free from the constraints of the ice mountain, once again swimming in the vast sea.

Unlike the Three-Egg dumplings from before, Shinomiya also chose to taste this so-called Intense Ice Fresh Sea Bream Mountain dish.

However, at this moment, his face showed no joy from savoring the delicacy; instead, it was quite solemn.

Even if he was stuck in his culinary skills, he was among the strongest few among these graduates.

So, in this dish, he could "see" more. Most graduates could only see the gigantic sea bream swimming freely in the ocean after breaking the ice mountain. Still, he could see that the sea bream was actually trying to escape, with a colossal shadow of a giant looming behind it. No matter how the sea bream swam, it couldn't escape the giant's grasp.

The giant hand gripped the sea bream, a flash of the blade, and then the sea bream was expertly dissected into slices.

Although the giant's face remained obscured, Shinomiya knew it was Hachiman who had crafted this dish.

The fact that Hachiman had left such a "profound" impression on him was enough to prove that Hachiman's culinary skills were vastly superior to his. How could this not upset the proud Shinomiya?

Dropping his chopsticks without looking back, he left without a word.

"Hey, Shinomiya-senpai, where are you going? Aren't you going to eat this delicious sashimi?" Hinako exclaimed in confusion as she watched him leave.

Shinomiya didn't respond and gradually disappeared from everyone's sight.

"Ugh, Shinomiya-senpai is such a strange person. He actually looks unhappy after eating such delicious sashimi," complained Hinako with dissatisfaction.

But Dojima understood Shinomiya's current feelings.

After tasting the Intense Ice Fresh Sea Bream Mountain, he could clearly feel that Hachiman's culinary skills were entirely on par with his, even subtly surpassing him.

At this moment, Dojima finally believed what Hachiman had said before.

Not confident enough to win, but equally confident not to lose.

Focusing his gaze back, Dojima looked at the remaining graduates in the hall.

"Now, does anyone have any objections? Hikigaya-kun is fully capable of taking on the role of a guest lecturer."

Upon hearing his words, all the graduates fell silent, and even some with shorter graduation periods displayed expressions of embarrassment.

Because the culinary skills demonstrated in this dish had completely surpassed theirs.

In the end, Hitoshi, with a solemn expression, spoke up, "Indeed, the younger generation is formidable. Hikigaya-kun's culinary skills no longer belong to... and even surpass us."

"Indeed, young people nowadays are quite impressive," Donato also smiled.

Not only them, but other graduates also joined in with praises.

Seeing this scene, Dojima nodded and turned to Hachiman.

"Excellent, Hikigaya-kun. We sincerely invite you to be a guest lecturer for the Totsuki Resort residence training."

"Dojima-senpai, you're too kind. I look forward to learning from everyone in the next few days."

Upon hearing his words, Hachiman smiled faintly.

"Now, can I taste the dishes prepared by the senior graduates?"

"The graduates' creations are all here; feel free to try them. No need to worry about us," Dojima gestured towards the large table of dishes.

Looking at the table full of dishes, Hachiman didn't hold back and started tasting each one.

Indeed, they were graduates of Totsuki, and the weakest dishes on the table were at the level of Intermediate Level 4. Most were at Intermediate Level 5, and there were very few that reached the peak of Intermediate Level 5.

Those few were probably the signature dishes of Hinako Inui, Fuyumi Mizuhara, Hitoshi Sekimori, and Donato Gotoda. In the original work, they were also among the most outstanding graduates.

"As expected of the Totsuki graduates, the dishes are truly delicious." After tasting all the dishes, Hachiman praised.

"But we agreed that everyone should participate, yet, Dojima-senpai, you didn't cook, did you?"

Upon hearing his words, Dojima laughed playfully.

"Hahaha, this time, my main responsibility was to coordinate the ingredients for you all, so I couldn't spare my hands. So, next time, next time when there's a chance."

"Alright, I'll look forward to Dojima-senpai's cooking next time," Hachiman smiled faintly and didn't delve further. Instead, he started discussing some minor flaws in a few dishes he had tasted and suggested improvements.

Listening to his analysis, the graduates looked at each other, and Dojima, somewhat uncertain, spoke up.

"Could it be that you, Hikigaya-kun, also have the 'God Tongue'?"

Being able to accurately identify flaws in dishes and suggest improvements is a characteristic of the "God Tongue."

However, Hachiman shook his head, "I don't have a 'God Tongue' like Erina. My taste buds are just a bit more sensitive than the average person."

Indeed, with the near-maxed-out [Physique] module, Hachiman's senses—such as hearing, smell, and taste—were greatly enhanced. Not only his senses, but even his reaction speed and explosive power far surpassed that of an average person.

"Well then, Hikigaya-kun, is there anything in my dish that can be improved?" A graduate pointed to his own dish, cautiously asking.

Hachiman smiled slightly and pointed out the flaws he had detected and suggested improvement methods.

With a leader, other graduates also started asking for feedback.

After all, someone who can taste flaws in their own cooking and provide improvement suggestions is precious for chefs.

This is evident in Erina's reputation in the culinary world.

So, having someone like Hachiman with a "pseudo-God Tongue," how could they not be excited?

As time passed, it quickly approached noon. Several buses were already parked in the Totsuki Resort's parking lot.

The new students of Totsuki were here today!