Theo, a countryside baking enthusiast.

“You all failed!”

Freeze frame.

You can see a guy of average build and looks being completely stunned, terrified even by the prospect of being about to lose the chance of his life.

Yeah. That is me. You are probably wondering how I got into this situation. It all began years back, in my early adolescence, when I first picked up cooking. Well, baking to be more exact. I had a natural talent for that and frankly seeing my then female classmates writhe as they ate the stuff made me very motivated to continue down the path.

Fast forward years of cooking classes, trial and error in creating countless recipes and finally being acknowledged into the grand college of gourmet cooking, Totsuki. At the day I left my home my mother gifted me two earrings. They had the shapes of N’s. I had seen them in a store earlier this week and displayed interest on them, so I happily accepted the gift.

Once I arrived at Totsuki I was pointed towards the entrance exam. I was to be tested by Erina Nakiri, the granddaughter of the headmaster, personally. Along fifty other people of course. I was certain I could prove myself worthy to the god tongue. As you read initially I was wrong. Unfreeze frame.

Disheartened mumbles and screams of disappointment mix with sobs. Personally I was completely frozen. Years of work towards a grand future, shattered by a single arrogant girl. I would not take that. “BULLSHIT!” I shouted and pointed at Erina. “You haven’t even tasted my cake!” “Oh? Well, if you insist.” Erina said while looking down on me from the platform she was standing on. I handed her a piece of the sweet delight, a perfectly cut and decorated strawberry cake. With contempt and amusement in her eyes she ate a piece of it.

“1,2mg too much salt.” She said immediately. “Use flour of the Derede brand next time. Also the strawberries are not sweet enough.” With each complaint I felt a nail hammering through my chest until my legs gave in and I fell to the ground. “Grovelling will not make you pass, your cooking skills are purely mediocre, absolutely normal.” Erina put the final nail into my pride and nonchalantly put the cake on a nearby table. “Better luck next time. Amateurs.” She attempted to walk off.

“Wait…” I said. “Grant me a second chance!” Erina chuckled, “Why would I do that?” “I have a secret ingredient….” I lied, well it was half a lie, that ingredient wasn’t going to make me pass though it would grant me some major satisfaction. “No.” Erina said and looked at the watch on her wrist. “I have other things to do.” “Common, I can see the curiosity in your eyes. It is normal to want to know what I have in store.” She hesitated for a moment before sighing. “Okay. But instead of cake you will make a soup this time!” Erina said, “Better make it quick!”

That worked perfectly for me. I grabbed a small pot and said, “I will get the ingredient.” As I ran off. I was a bit surprised nobody asked for a second chance as well, seeing that Erina was that easy to convince. Instead they opted to look with curious faces what ingredient I would bring.