Totsuki Genius

Damian continued talking to Inui, and Inui also became very excited talking.

"Damian, how many years have you been studying cooking? Know that Tōtsuki is a very strict school, they don't care about your origin or wealth."

"I would say since I was a child, about 10 years to be precise..."

"Oh! That's really cool! I believe you won't have any problems with the transfer exam."

"I hope you can participate in the Tōtsuki Friendship and Rapport Training Camp."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I'm going to be one of the judges this year, besides, I can ease the difficulty a little bit for you!"

Damian smiled and said, "That's not necessary. If I agreed to something like that, where would my pride as a cook go?"

"Wow, you're surprisingly manly! I'll be keeping an eye on you!"

Damian was stunned for a moment and then said warmly, "Okay then, thank you."

"It's okay, oh, I almost forgot..."

Damian was stunned for a moment, and before he could speak, he saw Hinako take out a notebook from a small bag next to her, opened the table top, lowered her head and began to write something.

Damian naturally had no interest in spying on her privacy, so he lowered his head and sent a message to Bucciarati, letting her know who the bastard was stealing from the tourists.

Normally, they wouldn't care about this kind of thing, but if that guy continued with that, he might end up dirtying Napolis' name.

Furthermore, the fear of being robbed could suddenly spread among tourists, and that would be terrible.

A very quiet hour had passed since then, and after a long while, Damian heard a voice whispering next to him.

"Um... If I remove the Katsuobushi, it will lose a lot of taste, but how can I add the red ginger...?"

Damian was stunned for a moment, and after struggling for a while, he said softly, "Miss Hinako, are you studying any recipes?"

"Yes, I'm thinking about modifying a recipe. While I was trying some foods from Naples, I ended up getting inspired."

"Ohh, and what recipe is it?"

"Takoyaki, have you ever eaten this? It is a popular round-shaped cake, which in practice resembles a seasoned pancake made with a very soft, almost liquid dough, and fried on a special plate for Takoyaki. Normally it is filled with pieces chopped or a small whole octopus, tempura shavings, chopped ginger and chopped chives."

Damian nodded and said, "I know."

"I had the opportunity to prepare Takoyaki for my grandfather a few months ago."

"That's great." Hinako muttered.

"I heard you mention red ginger, are you looking to add that to your Takoyaki?"

Hinako was a little surprised by Damian's question, but answered anyway.

"Yes, but I can't think of how to combine it with the recipe."

After hearing this, Damian thought for a few seconds and spoke, "Where do you plan to put the red ginger?"

"I plan to add it to the calamari, but I don't know how to combine it, can you think of any way to combine them?"

After she asked, she regretted it. If she didn't know how could Damian know, even she, a Totsuki graduate, didn't know.

Just as she was about to say something, Damian spoke.

"Why don't you try making it like octopus Takoyaki with white cabbage?"

"Octopus takoyaki with white cabbage?"

"Yes, in this recipe one of the ingredients is red ginger."

While speaking, Damian turned on his Notebook again and opened a folder that had several recipes.

"Here, look." He turned the screen to Hinako and showed the ingredients.

"100 g of white cabbage."

"100 g of leeks."

"100 g pickled red ginger."

"Tenkasu to taste."

"2 eggs."

"80 g of chopped octopus."

"200 g takoyaki flour."

"600 mL of water."

"Takoyaki sauce."

"Mayonnaise."

"Dried tuna flakes."

"Aonori."

"Really, how did I not think of this before?"

"Yes, besides, his preparation method is different from others."

"You start by chopping the cabbage, leek, ginger and combine everything in a bowl, then put the flour, water, eggs in a bowl and mix until smooth.

"Add the cabbage, leek, ginger to the flour liquid, eggs and water, and mix well."

"Preheat the takoyaki pan and grease it all over with oil, then fill the entire pan with the liquid dough and fill the cavities with a piece of octopus.

"Sprinkle tenkasu on top and, using chopsticks, turn the balls until they are completely round and golden, and finally, transfer the balls to a plate, add the sauce, mayonnaise, tuna, aonori and serve." Damian spoke as he read the preparation method out loud.

"Really, I hadn't thought of that." Hinako spoke as she started writing something down in her notebook.

"You're a genius, Damian!" She spoke with shining eyes.

Suddenly, she took out her notebook and started showing her research to Damian.

"Ms. Hinako, you know it would be an invasion of privacy if I read your research right?" Damian spoke as he turned his face

"It's okay, I'm the one showing you!"

"Come on, help me with this! With you here I feel like I can finally finish this!"

"If you say so... Let me see." Damian sighed and walked closer to get a better look at the notebook.

After that, Damian and Hinako started talking about Hinako's research.

From time to time, Damian would also talk about his own experiences trying to modify other recipes.

Maybe this would help Hinako achieve her goal.

Hinako was amazed at Damian's knowledge.

"Are you going to become a student or a teacher?"

"Well, my grandfather always said my talent for cooking was scary."

"Plus, I always strive to make my dishes delicious."

"Humph! I was worried that you wouldn't be able to adapt to Tōtsuki's difficulty, but it seems like I was worrying for nothing!"

Damian said warmly, "Thank you, for your concern, Ms. Hinako."

"It's okay. Fufufu~ I'm sure you'll definitely be popular in Tōtsuki!"

"Really? This gives me peace of mind."

"Are you nervous? Don't worry, with your appearance and if your cooking skills are as good as they seem, you will definitely be very popular."

"Know that even I could chase you if we were in the same class when I studied at Totsuki."

Damian smiled when he understood the mischievous tone in Hinako's voice.

(Is this naive woman trying to play with me?)

Damian wasn't a little embarrassed, he's not like those herbivorous Rom-Com protagonists.

[A/N: I personally like Horimiya the most.]

Damian had a bright smile on his face and looked at Hinako.

"Ms. hinako, it's not too late for you to chase me."

"Eh?!"

Hinako was completely stunned. She didn't even know what to say!

"That... that... Damian I graduated a long time ago."

"I know that... But as long as there is love, not even the barriers of age can stop us."

Hinako looked at Damian with a flushed face. After thinking for a while, she immediately said, "You have to go to school, and I have to take care of my restaurant! Isn't this the same as a long-distance relationship?"

"As long as there is love, distance is also not a problem, and we won't be in the same city?"

"This... this... um... um! Damian, this and that are totally different things, if you like me, you're the one who should pursue me." She spoke, without even realizing her ambiguous lines.

She sighed in relief when she finished speaking, but in the next moment, Damian brought her face closer to his and spoke in a playful tone.

"So it's okay if I chase you?"

"Y-you!!"

(End of chapter)

Now, getting straight to the point... GIVE ME YOUR POWER STONES NOW!!🤌 Ehem! Have a good night or good day? I don't know haha