Multiverse Gourmet Hunter

Although Soma, Hayama, and Kurokiba had accepted Haruto’s proposal, he knew putting it into practice would not be easy.

Changing the schedule of an event as important as the Autumn Elections, removing the semifinal round entirely, and requiring every contestant to use special ingredients supplied by him was hardly something that could be settled with a few words.

The judges’ schedules would need to be coordinated, the Autumn Elections Committee would have to approve the new format, and countless logistical arrangements would need to be reorganized.

Haruto had no intention of personally handling such tedious negotiations.

His gaze therefore settled on Isshiki Satoshi, who was still wearing nothing but an apron.

Isshiki was, after all, one of the Elite Ten members responsible for organizing the Autumn Elections.

”Isshiki-senpai.”

”I’ll leave all those troublesome details to you.”

Haruto did not speak loudly, but his voice reached Isshiki perfectly.

Isshiki agreed almost without hesitation.

”Don’t worry. Leave it to me!”

It would certainly create more work for the organizers, but Isshiki believed the change was necessary.

He understood the value of the ingredients in Haruto’s possession.

Under the original tournament structure, Haruto could simply overwhelm every opponent with ingredients of unmatched quality and claim the championship without suspense.

A final like that would hold little meaning for Soma, Hayama, or Kurokiba.

There was also a more complicated reason Isshiki needed to handle the aftermath for him.

The residents of Polar Star had grown accustomed to Haruto returning with extraordinary ingredients.

Out of trust, they had silently agreed never to question where those ingredients came from.

That did not mean everyone else would be equally restrained.

The moment Haruto displayed ingredients capable of overturning the culinary world’s understanding of food, outsiders would begin investigating him.

Suspicion, greed, and even attempts to seize those ingredients by force would inevitably follow.

For Haruto’s current situation, that would bring nothing but unnecessary trouble.

Totsuki Academy and the Totsuki Group behind it, however, possessed enough influence and prestige to keep those problems at bay.

Naturally, there was no such thing as a free meal.

Haruto would most likely have to provide some of his ingredients in exchange for their protection.

Isshiki explained this clearly, and Haruto agreed.

Once they reached an understanding, Isshiki began negotiating repeatedly with the Elite Ten Council and the academy’s senior leadership.

It was not long before he returned to Haruto.

”The academy has more or less reached a decision.”

Isshiki looked unusually serious.

”They’re willing to approve the changes to the tournament. The academy will also keep the source of your ingredients confidential.”

”They’re even prepared to establish a dedicated special-ingredient research project under your name.”

The crucial factor that persuaded the other Elite Ten members and Director Nakiri Senzaemon had been the samples Isshiki previously received from Haruto.

Those ingredients had sent shockwaves through both the Elite Ten and Totsuki’s upper administration.

”So what does the academy want in return?”

Haruto lightly tapped one finger against the table and looked calmly at Isshiki.

Isshiki gave him a direct answer.

”They want you to sell a portion of your special ingredients to the academy for research. The exact price can be negotiated later.”

Money was not a serious concern for Totsuki.

The important thing was gaining access to ingredients that money normally could not purchase.

”That’s fine.”

Haruto agreed immediately.

In truth, the moment he decided to use some of his unusual ingredients in the tournament, he had already anticipated the trouble that would follow.

He simply did not care very much.

After everything he had experienced and all the strength he had gained, Haruto was already powerful enough to ignore most threats in this world.

Unless someone decided to drop a nuclear bomb directly on his head, he could confidently say that there was very little in the Food Wars world he needed to fear.

That confidence was not blind arrogance.

It was the composure born from genuine strength.

Still, not fearing trouble did not mean he enjoyed having it constantly appear at his door.

If Totsuki could eliminate those problems before they ever reached him, all the better.

Besides, Haruto had already planned to release some of his ingredients eventually.

He had gathered enormous quantities of food across three different worlds—far more than he could ever consume by himself.

There was no doubt he would acquire even more in the future.

Many of the ingredients he possessed were relatively low-level as well.

They were too unusual to throw away, but no longer valuable enough to excite him personally.

Selling those ingredients to Totsuki was perfectly acceptable.

Haruto was also curious to see what kinds of dishes the chefs of the Food Wars world might create with them.

Of course, he had no intention of becoming a generous fool who handed out treasures freely.

This arrangement was also bait.

”The ingredients available for ordinary sale will be limited to lower-grade varieties,” Haruto told Isshiki plainly.

”As for the higher-grade ingredients, anyone who wants them will first have to prove they possess the skill to use them.”

”I have no interest in watching good ingredients go to waste.”

”And how would they prove themselves?” Isshiki asked with interest.

”Simple.”

A faint gleam appeared in Haruto’s eyes, like a hunter studying potential prey.

”They’ll use the special ingredients to create a dish capable of satisfying me.”

Producing a dish worthy of Haruto’s approval would not be easy.

That requirement alone would eliminate the overwhelming majority of applicants.

More importantly, it would give Haruto the opportunity to taste even more delicious food.

To him, that was the greatest benefit of all.

He was even considering a deeper partnership with the WGO in the future.

That, however, could wait.

Before pursuing cooperation on that scale, he would need a far larger and more stable supply of ingredients.

At present, the greatest limitation was not the speed at which he gathered them.

It was the size of his Gourmet Restaurant.

Even if he sold off a portion of his stock, the remaining storage space would still be insufficient.

Unfortunately, Haruto had not yet found a good way to solve that problem, though the ability itself had recently begun showing a few new changes.

After Haruto formally approved the academy’s conditions, the change to the Autumn Elections format—an alteration that affected the entire academy—was approved in only one day.

The semifinal round was canceled.

Haruto, Soma, Hayama, and Kurokiba would all advance directly to the final.

There would also be no assigned theme.

The four contestants would be free to prepare any dish they wished.

The announcement caused an uproar throughout Totsuki.

Every student wanted to know why the Autumn Elections had undergone such a dramatic last-minute change.

The academy, however, offered almost no explanation.

The final was scheduled for two weeks later.

That delay had been requested by Haruto so that Soma and the others would have enough time to familiarize themselves with the special ingredients.

Haruto also needed time to decide what he would cook.

Totsuki itself required ample time to reorganize the event, so the administration accepted his request without objection.

Over the next several days, the altered tournament format became the academy’s most discussed topic.

Meanwhile, the person responsible for the entire upheaval behaved as though it had nothing to do with him.

Haruto attended his classes as usual and spent the rest of his time researching new dishes.

...

One day, Haruto returned to Polar Star Dormitory and found a boy waiting near the entrance.

The boy wore the uniform of Totsuki’s middle school division, with his collar neatly fastened. He held a black notebook in one hand.

Haruto found him vaguely familiar, but could not immediately remember where he had seen him.

Noticing the boy’s nervous expression, he asked,

”And you are?”

The boy quickly turned around and bowed politely.

”Good afternoon, Haruto-senpai. My name is Hayatsuda Mitsuru. I’m a third-year student in Totsuki’s middle school division and a member of the school newspaper club.”

”I came here hoping to interview both Yukihira-senpai and you.”

At the introduction, Haruto’s hazy memory finally cleared.

’Isn’t he Soma’s little fanboy?’

Apparently, though, he wanted to interview Haruto too.

Haruto had no intention of wasting time on that.

”So you’re with the newspaper club.”

He smiled casually and waved one hand.

”Soma should already be back. You can interview him.”

With that, Haruto turned and entered the dormitory.

Mitsuru watched his retreating figure with a helpless expression, but did not chase after him.

Soma had already rejected his request once before, so he was familiar with this sort of treatment.

Still, Mitsuru had no intention of giving up.

After enough persistence and pleading, he eventually persuaded Soma to accept the interview.

As for Haruto, Mitsuru never managed to encounter him again after their first meeting.

Even if he wanted an interview, he could not find the man anywhere.

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