Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

"The school exchange competition is only a little over ten days away. Will cramming at the last minute really work? And it's martial arts, which seems difficult even to get started..."

Seeing Bai Yuan's longing expression, Sakaki Ryoko finally couldn't help but voice her thoughts: "Half a month is far too rushed!"

"No one is forcing you to learn this before the school exchange competition. I'm teaching you this mainly for your future development."

As for now, spending a lot of time practicing cooking skills won't yield significant improvement, so it's better to take this opportunity to relax. A balance between work and rest might have surprising effects.

Bai Yuan offered his suggestion: instead of spending these ten days honing their culinary skills, they should practice martial arts instead, which might actually lead to improvement.

This is not groundless.

Instead, if one becomes fixated on something, it's easy to get caught up in it. In Buddhist terms, this is called attachment to appearances, which not only prevents progress but may even lead to regression.

Because of the upcoming school exchange competition, Bai Yuan could see that these people were eager to improve their cooking skills.

Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense.

The school exchange competition is a national-level event, no longer a small-scale competition within their school; it is a competition that will be broadcast live worldwide.

They represent the world of culinary disasters, and if they perform well in the competition, they will bring fame to the culinary disaster world.

But what if you don't perform well...

The thought of losing face in front of everyone would definitely make girls feel uncontrollably nervous, and just thinking about it would put them under immense pressure.

"Does it involve a balance between work and rest...?"

Ryoko Sakaki muttered to herself, "Hakugen's suggestion isn't without merit."

Under such immense pressure, simply focusing on cooking is definitely not a good choice, as the pressure could easily lead to a breakdown during the competition.

This kind of thing happens quite often, almost at every major competition, but it's rarely reported, so it's not known to the public.

"That's right. Although practicing martial arts isn't exactly a leisurely activity, it's good to divert your attention. Besides, practicing my martial arts can indeed increase your stamina."

Upon hearing Ryoko Sakaki's voice, Shiroyuki smiled and began to explain further.

Back when he was in the dark culinary world, he practiced martial arts and learned cooking at the same time.

The reason is simple: without enough strength and stamina, it is difficult to make dishes that meet the customer's standards.

To become a high-level chef, one must at least have extraordinary physical abilities.

"Meet in the yard in ten minutes. I just called Roumei and Miyoko. Don't go anywhere today, just practice here."

When Bai Yuan said this, he wasn't asking for a suggestion. The women understood his determination and nodded in agreement.

At the same time, I started to look forward to the training.

Five or six minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

Seeing Mito Ikumi and Hojo Miyoko rushing over, Tadokoro Megumi and the others explained the current situation to them, and then told them to gather in the yard outside in three minutes for unified training.

"Speaking of which, I've been so focused on cooking lately that I've neglected my martial arts skills. I haven't practiced for several days, so it's a good time to catch up."

Upon hearing Tadokoro Megumi's words, Mito Ikumi nodded in deep agreement, then her face lit up with excitement.

She's been focusing on cooking lately and has neglected her martial arts training. Now's a good time to train properly and make up for her laziness.

"I also think this was done well. It's impossible to make significant progress in cooking skills in just over ten days. The cooking theme was also drawn on the spot, so there was no way to refine it in advance."

Practicing martial arts for half a month should significantly improve one's condition and also provide some benefit to cooking.

As they were talking, Erina Nakiri and Hisako Shinoto, who were related by marriage, came out of the room. They had just taken a nap and their faces were full of contentment.

They chatted as they walked.

They wholeheartedly supported Bai Yuan's measures.

Because it's difficult to significantly improve cooking skills in such a short time, but it can improve physical condition, which in turn enhances the taste of the dishes.

The improvement in physical condition, in turn, affects cooking skills. If you think about it from this perspective, it can be considered a roundabout way to achieve your goal.

Not long after.

Amid the noise, people gradually arrived at the courtyard.

Because of the intense sun, the training location was temporarily set under the banyan tree.

This tree was transplanted by Shirai Awakening, who said that living in such an environment makes one feel more at home and makes it easier to grasp the true essence of cooking.

Alice Nakiri is also very efficient.

That very evening, they sent someone to move the ancient banyan tree from Grandpa's house, which had been growing for countless years, and planted it in their own yard.

Now is the perfect time to block out the sun!

"Is everyone here?"

The girls stood in a neat row. Bai Yuan walked out of the villa with a glass of chilled watermelon juice and his eyes lit up when he saw the scene in front of him.

The girls were dressed in short sleeves and hot pants, each dressed very lightly, and with a slight sheen of sweat, you could even see their underwear underneath.

This feels completely different from wearing a swimsuit.

Swimsuits are displayed openly for people to see. Although a lot of fair skin is exposed, it is allowed for people to look at it.

But clothes soaked in sweat are not something that can be seen by others.

Thus, after secretly seeing it, he would feel excited, which would make Bai Yuan feel happy.

"Brother Bai Yuan, your eyes are so weird..."

Because he didn't conceal his gaze, the girls lined up in front of him could all see the strange look in Bai Yuan's eyes—that incredibly obvious possessiveness.

Alice Nakiri exaggeratedly covered her chest, making a disgusted face.

Although the others did not speak, as Alice Nakiri finished speaking, a subtle emotion appeared in their eyes as they looked at Bai Yuan.

Fortunately, I was mentally prepared.

“A normal man would make this expression if he saw this scene; it’s not a pervert.”

Bai Yuan acted as if it were perfectly normal when faced with the complaints from Nakiri Alice and the others.

Then he had a twig in his hand, exactly thirty centimeters long, which could leave obvious red marks no matter where it hit.

"If you misbehave later, or make mistakes during training, my whip won't be as merciful as it used to be!"

If you're afraid and don't want to train, you can withdraw now.

While vigorously cracking his whip and enjoying the sonic boom in his ears, Bai Yuan's voice turned slightly cold as he focused his gaze on the girls.

This time he wasn't going to hold back; if anyone made a mistake, his branches would show no mercy.

Because he knew that practicing martial arts was not like learning to cook.

Adding too much or too little seasoning to a dish will at most affect its taste.

Furthermore, the difference can be detected during subsequent tastings, and corrections can be made based on this.

But martial arts are different.

Practicing martial arts is like cooking your own body as a dish. If you practice it wrong, it's like adding the wrong seasoning. Although you can see the mistake later, you can't cook it again.

Therefore, even Bai Yuan had to be extremely careful with this kind of dish that could only be succeeded on the first try, for fear that his training method might go wrong and cause the dish to be imperfect.

This is also why he had higher expectations for Alice Nakiri and others when training them in martial arts.

As a teacher, he must take responsibility!

As for how to take responsibility, the whip in one's hand is the best tool.

"Great, it seems no one wants to quit."

The longing lasted only ten or twenty seconds. Looking at the girls in front of him, who stood motionless and with resolute expressions, Bai Yuan's face showed a satisfied expression.

He was right about them; none of the women who followed him were cowards.

"Let's start practicing the horse stance."

Bai Yuan announced the first task he had assigned.

"Eh?"

"Starting from such a basic level...?"

"Stop talking nonsense and hurry up! Even if you're about to die, you're not allowed to stop until I tell you to!"

Seeing the chattering Yoshino Yuuki and Nakiri Alice, Bai Yuan didn't hesitate and directly grabbed the branch in his hand and whipped them.

It doesn't hurt much, but it feels incredibly tingling.

Her snow-white skin was marked with red streaks from the falling branches, which, combined with the sweat dripping from the girl's body, created a unique and charming scene.

However, Bai Yuan was completely indifferent to all of this at this moment.

His gaze was piercing, his eyes filled with seriousness. If anyone made a mistake in their posture, he would whip them without the slightest mercy.

The midday sun grew increasingly scorching, but the girls remained diligently practicing their horse stances, even Alice Nakiri was no exception.

Large beads of sweat rolled down her forehead and dripped onto the grass, but she seemed oblivious, her expression remaining resolute, and she didn't even waver in her gaze.

As for the others, the ones who performed the best were Erina Nakiri, Alice Nakiri, and Miyoko Hojo; all three of them had perfectly standard postures.

Although the others were also practicing horse stance, a closer look revealed numerous minor flaws, requiring Bai Yuan to constantly wave tree branches to make adjustments.

Although each swing of the branch did not cause much damage, it did elicit soft gasps from the girl.

"have a rest."

This continued for ten minutes. Seeing that Ryoko Sakaki's eyes were starting to glaze over, Shirabuchi decisively called a halt. He then brought them a bottle of mineral water at room temperature and gave it to them so they could rest for a while.

"Great!"

"Finally I can rest!"

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, everyone who had been standing in a horse stance immediately lost their composure.

They might sit directly on the ground or walk around, occasionally exhaling a breath of stale air to loosen their muscles and bones and relieve the soreness caused by the horse stance.

"Use the first sip to rinse your mouth, then drink in small sips. Don't drink too much at once, otherwise you'll easily have health problems. Vomiting is considered a relatively mild symptom."

Bai Yuan personally handed the bottled water to Sakaki Ryoko and patiently gave her instructions, worried that she might keep drinking water due to fatigue and thirst, which could cause health problems.

"it is good."

Ryoko Sakaki was too exhausted to answer. After squeezing out that one word, she picked up the mineral water bottle and gulped it down.