Brightest Star Above

Chapter 20: Research and Trade

Suzuki Miyako P.O.V

The sun rays hit my eyes as I had forgotten to close the curtains last night. I feel like a cat refusing to be awoken from the peaceful and dreamless slumber. I sit up from my bed and stretch my neck and roll my shoulders for a bit before leaving the bed.

For today, I decided to prepare for my shokugeki with Tsukasa-senpai. I had never seen the first seat of Totsuki in a shokugeki before. I also don't know the culinary specialization he has. Maybe I should ask Isshiki-senpai about it or maybe Marui knows someone who might have a video of one of his bouts.

I fixed my hair and put on my uniform. I left my room only to find Isshiki-senpai walking out of his door as well. I approached him and said, "Good morning Isshiki-senpai! Are you busy today?"

"Good morning Suzuki-chan," senpai greets me brightly with both of his eyes closed as he smiles in a grin. "I'll have some papers to deal with for the Elite Ten and then take care of some of this year's harvest."

"Is that so?" My eyes shifted a bit and contemplated before continuing, "Senpai I was wondering if you would know of anyone or society that would have copies of the shokugeki matches of any of the current third years?"

"If you're looking for official matches then there could be some in the library. However, due to some agreements on the shokugeki, some people have asked that there be no public recordings kept." Isshiki-senpai says as we both head downstairs we part ways as he went to make breakfast and I headed early to school.

That means that there would be no guarantee for the library to have a copy of the shokugekis they would have. If that's so, it would be better to approach a third year regarding the type of cuisine. However, it would be difficult to ask since most of the third-year students would either be part of the shokugeki or have no interest in meddling with the first seat of the Elite Ten.

Wait... I remember Kuga-senpai rambling about defeating one of the Elite Ten... Knowing him, he probably has some information of Tsukasa-senpai.

Walking to class, my mind was filled with thoughts of the upcoming shokugeki. Even with the slimmest of possibilities, I should still head to the library to check in case there would be copies of any of them in a shokugeki. I tapped my pen lightly as the teacher continued to ramble on hydrocolloids and its practical applications to our cooking.

I stared at the white walls of the classroom and started to drift away from the class. Winning the shokugeki would allow me not to have any responsibilities and still take advantage of the resources available to the Elite Ten. There would also be recipes that were only available to the higher ups of Tootsuki that I would be able to access.

Winning would be nice since I would need less effort in reaching my goal. However, it's not necessary. I should just wait and see what happens for now. After all, Tootuki is merely a short stop towards reaching my goal.

The class bell rings and countless students felt relieved and relaxed for the momentary break. I snapped out of my thoughts and exited the classroom. I headed the library and started searching on the catalog.

The only ones that were available were during the Autumn Election of his first year and a few harmless ones against other research societies. His shokugeki for the first seat and third seat were restricted material. I shook my head in frustration and frustratedly continued to search.

At the end of the day, I was only able to find articles from cooking magazines regarding some of his skills. I borrowed the magazine from the library and headed back to my class. I sat on the back row as I opened my book for the class and placed the magazine on top of it.

People probably thought that I was such a diligent student but they weren't aware that I wasn't even listening.

I flipped through the pages and found the article.

Totsuki's First Seat: The White Knight of Table

Totsuki's Moon Banquet Festival comes to a close with various students displaying their capabilities. The prestigious academy held its school festival last November 22nd until the 24th. Regardless of gender, status, or age, there were definitely delicious delicacies that would have suitable for your taste buds. Despite the countless skilled chefs who served, a booth in Totsuki's Uptown Area received the highest praises from world renown critiques and bookmasters.

Situated on Building 13, a medium sized room which held less than 20 seats held the finest dishes served by the new first seat of Totsuki. A scion of the Tsukasa family, Tsukasa Eishi is an exemplary paragon of an elite Totsuki thoroughbred. Since his childhood, he has been guided by the Tsukasa family. He then continued to explore the culinary horizons by enrolling at Totsuki for his first year of middle school. Now, he serves the highest position of the Elite Ten as it's first seat.

Specializing in French cuisine, he has served some of the finest creations the country has seen. According to Monsieur Cariveau, a First-Class Examiner for the WGO, Tsukasa Eishi places the highest respect to the ingredients that he uses.

"He "converses" with the ingredients making sure that it is respected and acknowledged when served. His thorough selection of ingredients creates a harmonious combination and thus, he is able to elevate his dishes. More importantly, the ingredients continue to "live" in his cooking which shines the light on the ingredients and not his skills." Monsieur Cariveau states as he tours around the halls of Tootsuki's Moon Banquet Festival.

When asked a second opinion about the current first seat of Totsuki, the Head Professor of French Cooking, Roland Chapelle stated this, "He is truly one of the best students to have ever walked the halls of Totsuki. His skills are undoubtedly above the rest of his students. However, his strength lies with his handling of the ingredients. It seems that his skills are meant to serve the ingredients the best treatment fit for a royalty."

Dubbed as the White Knight of the Table, Tsukasa Eishi has survived the halls of Totsuki and became the First Seat of the Elite Ten. As the most powerful individual in the institution, many are waiting what projects and dishes his newly found position bring to the culinary world. Keep an eye for this young man for he may shake the very foundations of the cooking world very soon!

Basically, his detachment to his cooking lets the ingredients shine better compared others who put themselves in it. People would often place pride in their skills as a chef but Tsukasa-senpai removes himself from the dish thus, allow the ingredients to create their own kind of harmony. On top of that, he's a scion of the Tsukasa family meaning that since he was young, he must've received some sort of training.

This is going to be difficult.

The bell rings once again and I rush towards the Polar Star Dorm on my scooter. I need to prepare for this shokugeki. Autumn and salmon were the themes. If I wanted to win, I needed to maximize them in whatever way possible.

Upon reaching my dorm, I immediately dialed the only person who could best aid me in my current situation: Terunori Kuga.

"I need your help..."

"Oya, oya, oya Miyako-chin is needing my help!? Has the world ended and I've turned bald!?" Kuga-senpai says in an exaggerated tone. I could clearly imagine him opening his fan dramatically as he says so.

"No senpai. You just got a tiny bit smaller than the average human being."

"That's quite mean of you Miyako-chin. Hmph I don't want to hear anything from you."

I pause slightly and waited for him to hung up but he didn't. "I need information on the first seat of Totsuki, Tsukasa Eishi. In return, I will give you the five-spice recipe from one of the Shan Hotels in China."

Hehehe the net has been cast and he can't get away now.

"Omo, omo, omo, that's quite a tempting offer... but what kind of information do you want on Tsukassan? "

"Just specialties and skills...I think..."

"You're about to have a shokugeki with him aren't you?"

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Thank you for reading!