The Door of My Bathroom Leads to the Comic World!

Although Erina had grown up accustomed to praise, hearing compliments from Sui always made her especially happy. It wasn't just about receiving praise from someone she cared for, but rather the shared sense of achievement that came from their mutual progress.

The two had frequently competed in cooking late into the night, and before they knew it, not only had Sui's skills improved rapidly, but Erina had also made significant strides.

Sui was particularly aware of Erina's growth, especially in recent times. Every night, she put in her utmost effort, not only to resist Sui carrying her into the bedroom, but to improve her cooking. Of course, her usual tsundere attitude had softened significantly as of late.

"At this rate, we'll catch up," Akira muttered, calculating their position.

He believed that in the end, their scores wouldn't be too far behind those of the second- and third-year students.

"Alright, it's my turn," Sui said with a slight smile as he prepared to present his dish.

As Sui stepped forward with his food, all eyes turned toward him, including those of Eishi, Eizan, Tōsuke, and others. They were clearly curious about his creation.

"Isn't that the top-ranked first-year student?"

"Yeah, I've heard he even outshined Miss Erina."

"Still, his regular grades don't mean much, right? There's no way he's better than Tsukasa-senpai or Miss Erina."

Some students began whispering among themselves. Sui's fame had spread across the school, but most still doubted he could surpass the abilities of Eishi and Erina.

"Miso Marinated Tofu," Sui announced, presenting his dish to Dojima Gin.

*

Dojima took a taste, his eyes lighting up. The tofu was incredibly tender, absorbing all the flavors of the seafood and other ingredients. The result was a harmonious blend of taste that was simply delicious.

My dish is quite simple," Sui explained with a smile. "I cook the lobster and enhance it with white miso, sake, mirin, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, rice vinegar, green onions, and sesame seeds, allowing the flavors to infuse perfectly.

"I see," Dojima Gin said, his expression one of realization. Though the bean curd itself was ordinary, its taste was so rich that it made him want to savor every bite.

"While these are all common ingredients, you've combined their flavors to create something extraordinary. You've taken ordinary bean curd and transformed it into something incredibly delicious."

After a moment of thought, Dojima Gin finally nodded and said, "I think this dish could be priced at 50,000 yen."

"What? Fifty thousand yen?!"

"Isn't that the same as Tsukasa-senpai's dish?"

"No way!"

The students were shocked, and even Eishi and Tōsuke exchanged surprised glances.

"That guy tied with Tsukasa-senpai?"

Eizan's face paled. He hadn't expected Sui to have improved so much in such a short time. Any hopes he had for revenge now seemed utterly crushed.

Akira Hayama, too, was dumbfounded. This time, he keenly felt the gap between himself and Sui—a gap that seemed to have more than doubled.

"Has he really become this strong?" Akira thought. Back at Kirinoya, Sui had defeated him 5-0, but Hayama had still believed there was hope. Now, however…

Erina smiled slightly, already well aware of Sui's ability. After all, it was something she had come to understand through her own repeated failures against him.

"What?! How can it be a tie?" Alice pouted, clearly dissatisfied. Turning to Dojima Gin, she pleaded in a playful tone, "Chef, can you reconsider?"

Dojima Gin chuckled, though he looked slightly conflicted. "Well, in my opinion, both dishes are indeed of equal value. However…"

He pulled out a calculator and compared the costs of the ingredients used by Sui and Eishi. "From a cost standpoint, Sui's dish was 150 yen cheaper."

The only expensive ingredient in Sui's dish was the lobster; the rest were relatively inexpensive. On the other hand, Eishi's dish included pricier ingredients like red wine, chicken, beef, eggs, and cream. While Sui used more ingredients overall, they were generally more affordable. For example, sake is relatively cheap in Japan, whereas the bottle of red wine Eishi used significantly increased his cost.

"So from this perspective, factoring in the cost, Sui wins," Alice declared with a mischievous smile.

"Wait, that doesn't really count, does it?" Kuga interjected. "It's only 150 yen cheaper. Besides, in food competitions, we don't usually consider the cost, only the dish itself."

The surrounding students nodded in agreement, finding the cost difference insignificant.

"No, I think Miss Alice has a point," Eishi said thoughtfully. "This exam was about making the most out of limited ingredients and selling the dish at the highest possible price. Considering the cost is part of the challenge. It seems that I've lost to Sui."

"See, I told you!" Alice said smugly, sticking out her tongue.

"This girl… When did she become so biased towards you?" Erina muttered to herself, her expression slightly bewildered. "She's never treated me, her elder sister, this well."

Sui could only smile in response to the look Alice gave him.

Soon, the exam was drawing to a close.

In a surprising twist, Sōma's final dish turned out to be 'Osechi' cuisine.

*

"Who says no one would pay tens of thousands of yen for food at a simple 'set meal' restaurant? The 'Osechi' cuisine from Yukihira is famous, and every year around the New Year, we always receive tons of orders," Sōma chuckled.

For a moment, no one knew how to respond. 'Osechi' cuisine is a traditional Japanese New Year's meal, featuring a variety of dishes like red and white fish, half-slices, and raw ham rolls.

In the end, Dojima priced his dish at 25,000 yen.

"You're breaking the rules! You used so many ingredients, the cost alone must have been enormous," one of the students protested.

Soma shrugged, unconcerned. 

"You can't say that," Sui interjected. "Could you make that many dishes in just one hour?"

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