Event 70: A handshake

The knives inside the kitchen moved with speed and the cod that the duel had mistakenly bought was now being the rising star within the restaurant, all due to the abilities of Haruta, the renowned Zao Shen within Totsuki.

"Ready orders!" Haruta exclaimed out loud, implying that his work was ready to be delivered.

The owner of the restaurant entered the kitchen, thanked the work and removed the dishes for later delivery to the customers' tables, the work currently carried out was only a warm-up for the body.

As was already the custom for Haruta he could hear the clamor of the clients while tasting their dishes "This is the best way to remember the house" Haruta said between memories of his duels while he was in Totsuki.

"Here," the female voice brought Haruta out of her thoughts, redirecting her gaze towards the person next to her, Ogata was there with her hand stretched out next to a towel "Here, you seem very tired" she said quietly.

Haruta was stunned to hear the orange-haired woman's words 'what is wrong with him now, why isn't he acting like a robot?' Haruta asked in his mind, the latter had already gotten used to Ogata's cold personality.

"Thank you" said Haruta taking the towel from Ogata's hands to proceed to use it to wipe the sweat off his face "....."

The silence reigned between the two, Haruta continued cleaning while Ogata stood there without saying a word "This is quite uncomfortable" Haruta said in his mind waiting for Ogata to say something to remove the tension from the environment but nothing happened.

"Haruta, the clients want to see you ...!" exclaimed the owner entering the kitchen with a big smile that faded like the wind "what is happening here?" asked the owner when he saw how his daughter was standing right next to Haruta wiping the sweat with a towel.

"Haruta I hope you are not taking my advice while trying something with my daughter ..." said the owner with an expression that would have made Haruta jump.

"What are you talking about, old man?" Haruta asked without understanding but soon a slight smile adorned his face, Haruta took Ogata's hands "Thank you very much Ogata-chan, I really needed a towel" Haruta said with a smile on his face, he quickly stood up and walked to one side of the owner placing his hand on the shoulder of the latter.

Without saying anything Haruta left the kitchen with a smile on his face while the owner's expression seemed to be that of a person who had run out of air, on the other hand Ogata stood in the same place as before with his hands as Haruta I had left them ...

"What is the table?" Haruta asked waiting for an answer but no one helped him "Sure, everyone is in the kitchen ..." Haruta murmured with a small chuckle as he remembered the owner's expression.

Haruta glanced at all the tables until he noticed a specific person staring at him 'it must be that old man ...' Haruta said in his mind.

"Imagine it was the prodigy named Zao Shen ...." the old man murmured when he noticed that Haruta was near his table.

The expression on Haruta's face turned to a slightly darker "who are you and how do you know that nickname?" Haruta asked in a serious tone.

"Wow do you really not remember me?" asked the old man with a rather surprised tone, soon he shook his head and looked Haruta directly in the eyes "I was present as a judge in some of your shokugekis, one of which I remember most was the duel you had in your last year within the high school division"

Haruta quickly recalled one of the memories of the original Haruta during the course inside Totsuki "The duel against the chef at Gusteau's restaurant his name was ....."

"Skinner, the main chef of the restaurants after Gusteau passed away, was a very arrogant dwarf and always played with his dirty mustache and his ears looked like those of a monkey" said the old man, laughing out loud every time he remembered anything about that duel " He challenged you with his specialty French food even the recipe was one of the most popular in his restaurant "

"Ratatouille .... a classic recipe from France" said Haruta remembering that dish he cooked during the Shokugeki.

"The victory was overwhelming three to zero, everything in your favor and the face of the dwarf was totally ruined, his arrogance went to waste and all that was left was humility" said the happy old man as he remembered that moment.

"It was a good battle Lord Kakinoshin Oizumi" Haruta said making the old man smile in response

"I see that you remembered my name, not many people in the world of gastronomy forget it, much less the students of Totsuki" said the old man leaving his empty glass on the table "But let's get to the point, I was looking for you ... I have a work and requires a good chef to complete it "

Hearing the old man Haruta's expression turned to a complicated "I am not a chef, I was expelled from Totsuki and there are many chefs better prepared for this task"

"All those chefs will be your assistants, I don't care if you were expelled or cheated I just need your skills" said the old man as he moved his palm from front to back "Many big shots will be celebrating in my restaurant and I need someone to prepare a luxury food, so in my mind there are only three possibilities "

The old man extended three fingers in front of Haruta "Saiba Jouichirou the legendary Ashura, according to what he hears has a small family restaurant called yukihira dining room, he does not intend to work in any large restaurant, the second option is Shinomiya Kojiro the former first place in totsuki but currently not He is hungry for new challenges and finally you are on the list, the genius with the pseudonym Zao Shen really is the god of food "said the old man describing all his options.

"Even if it were that way there is also the chef Doujima who was the rival of the Saiba Jouichirou" said Haruta remembering one of his parents' companions and the first place of that generation.

"Don't talk stupid, Chef Doujima is rusty you have much more talent and skill, if they competed with Chef Doujima you would win eight out of ten duels, whereas against Saiba Jouichirou you could only win four out of ten, that is my evaluation of your current skills" said the old man persuading Haruta who was already more interested in the old man's proposal.

"Will the pay be decent?" Haruta asked looking to the side.

"I can assure you that no chef would earn that much money just in one night" said the old man extending his hand to close the contract.

"Can I bring a chef with me as an assistant?" Haruta asked looking at the old man in front of him.

"Is he a good chef?"

"He is not the best but he has a lot of wisdom"

The old man thought about it slightly but in the end he could only keep stretching his hand "If Zao Shen recommends it, it is because he has talent" said the old man with a smile on his face

"Okay, consider it a done deal" Haruta said closing the deal with a handshake.