——Tōtsuki Tea Ceremony and Culinary Academy.
Commonly known as Tōtsuki Academy, one of Japan's most prestigious culinary schools. A hyper-elite institution where the graduation rate didn't even reach 10%.
Though it consisted of both a middle and high school division, Shogo Santo was, of course, transferring into the high school.
He had been eagerly awaiting this transfer exam day—after all, it would mark his first encounter with the greatest prize of his second life: Erina Nakiri.
"Have a safe trip, Shogo-sama."
"Yeah, thanks for seeing me off. I'll be back."
After bidding farewell to the maid, he passed through the towering academy gates. The first thing he needed to do was make contact with the original protagonist, Sōma Yukihira.
"...Oh, there he is."
He spotted the protagonist walking with an irritated slump in his posture. It seemed the incident where background characters mocked him for being from a humble diner had already happened.
Sōma Yukihira was the biggest obstacle in Shogo's path to claiming Erina Nakiri. In order to break the hero-heroine relationship, Shogo needed to get on good terms with him.
"Hey. Are you here for the transfer exam too? My name's Santo Shogo. Nice to meet ya."
"...Oh, uh, yeah. I'm Sōma Yukihira."
"No need to be so guarded. I don't care if you're from some back-alley diner."
"You heard about that, huh...? Man, what's even up with this school? Makes no sense."
While Shogo relied on cheats for his cooking skills, his communication abilities were something he had honed himself.
Being born into a distinguished family wasn't for nothing. Thanks to Sōma's easygoing nature, Shogo quickly managed to break the ice.
"At this rate, I wonder what kinda stuck-up bastard's gonna be judging us."
"Hah, yeah... Probably the type who'll make you regret underestimating her."
"Huh? 'Make me regret'... What?"
"Never mind. Hey, Sōma—she's here."
A single girl appeared in the exam venue.
Her long blonde hair swayed as she strode forward, her confident demeanor completely unshaken.
Though Shogo's eyes were drawn to the prominent twin peaks straining against her blazer, the gravitational pull of her short skirt and black socks—the zettai ryōiki—was just as overwhelming.
"I have been entrusted with overseeing today's transfer exam. My name is Erina Nakiri."
'With a body like that, how the hell is she a chef...?' Shogo thought.
But in the future, characters who'd make him want to retort like this would keep popping up left and right. Reacting to every single one would be a waste of time. 'For now, I'll just watch them as if I'm licking them up, and then devour them in my mind~!'
"Huh? Who? That girl's the examiner?"
"Looks like it. She's starting the explanation."
Not that Shogo needed to listen—thanks to his knowledge of the original story, he already knew what was coming.
While Erina, who had skipped interviews and document screenings out of sheer laziness, had cooking stations brought in, Shogo was busy indulging in fantasies of defiling her.
"The main ingredient is eggs. Prepare one dish. Those who can make my tongue tremble will be permitted to enroll in Tōtsuki Academy. Oh, and—for the next minute only, I will allow you to withdraw from the exam."
Instantly, the mob of examinees scattered like frightened rabbits. They shoved each other aside in their haste to escape, their behavior utterly pathetic. 'Seriously, why is it all guys here? If there were any cute girls, I could've scouted them for the family business.'
"W-Whoa, what the hell...? They all ran off."
"Well, she is famous. They say if she calls your dish 'disgusting,' your career as a chef is over."
"Hah!? That makes even less sense!?"
"Yeah. Can't argue with that."
'This world really does revolve entirely around cooking, huh?' But thanks to that, Shogo's ambitions were within reach, so he couldn't complain.
"You want the privilege of tasting my latest creation...? Fufu, what a greedy girl."
"My... apologies... Erina-sama~!"
And then, out of nowhere—Yuri.
The girl exchanging intense gazes with Erina was her secretary, Arato Hisako.
With her short, pink hair barely brushing her shoulders, she was a beauty in her own right. Though not on Erina's level, she still possessed a body far too alluring for a first-year high schooler.
'Of course—this girl, too, is my prey.'
"Can I make anything I want?"
The one interrupting this Yuri moment is none other than Soma Yukihira.
Shogo would've loved to watch Erina and Hisako a little longer, grinning to himself, but the protagonist's forced momentum was unstoppable. Not wanting to fall behind, Shogo quietly moved to stand behind Soma.
What followed was irrelevant. Soma licked his lips, provoking Erina and Hisako into outrage. But from the moment they noticed his presence, Shogo had only one goal.
To conquer the "God Tongue."
"Ugh, this is disgusting!!"
"Wha—aaaaaat?!?!"
Just like in the original story, Soma's "Transforming Furikake Rice" was branded a failure. Honestly, if he hadn't unnecessarily provoked Erina, he might've passed. But 'oh well.'
Shogo couldn't even call out to Soma as he left in despair, 'forgive me Soma, but imagining Erina's trembling, moaning figure is just too damn erotic.' Suppressing his raging arousal took everything he had.
"Haah… haah… One more, then. Even after seeing Yukihira-kun fail, you still intend to take the exam?"
Finally, it seemed to be Shogo's turn; his lower half had calmed down enough.
'Time to go.'
"Of course. I'm Shogo Santo. Pleased to meet you."
"...Santo. So the rumors were true—the eldest son of the Santo family has come to Totsuki."
As expected, Erina seemed to know of him. Beside her, Hisako turned a surprised gaze his way. 'Adorable~!' He couldn't wait to ruin that serious expression with pleasure.
--But first—the main event.
In this exam, Shogo needed to carve the name "Shogo Santo" into Nakiri Erina's mind, as a chef. Into her brain, her body, and most of all… her tongue.
"...I won't go easy on you. If you're fine with that, then begin."
"Just a moment, madam."
This would be the first time since his reincarnation that he would cook seriously.
If Shogo went all out, even he didn't know what would happen. That's how little he understood his own cheat abilities.
Still, this was an improvised dish. He wasn't too worried. If he'd had prep time, things might've gotten dangerous. It wouldn't be strange if he ended up creating addicts.