[74] - Vacation at the Shōkeien Ryokan, Megumi's Monkfish Show

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Seeing everyone so excited, Alice Nakiri also smiled.

At this age, it was also the age to show off, and Alice Nakiri didn't hide it at all, directly expressing whatever emotions she had.

This was also why Erina Nakiri envied Alice.

Alice could cry openly in front of everyone after failing, completely disregarding the surrounding environment and her own status.

This kind of carefree attitude was something Erina truly envied.

With the limo ride, the group arrived at the Shōkeien Ryokan.

Since Megumi had notified her family beforehand, everyone at the inn came out to help carry their luggage.

However, when they saw their daughter stepping out of such a luxurious car, they were all stunned. But after Megumi explained, they understood the reason.

This was because Alice Nakiri, the Young lady of the Nakiri family, was present.

Here in Japan, and especially in the restaurant and inn industry, they knew very well the Nakiri family's position...

Seeing her family so tense, Megumi Tadokoro did her best to reassure them, and they gradually calmed down.

....

After their luggage was taken upstairs, everyone gathered in the main hall to discuss their itinerary.

"It's getting quite late today. Tomorrow, we can go on a picnic in the mountains!" Megumi Tadokoro suggested.

The area around the Shōkeien was rather rural, with a pretty nice environment, so she planned to take everyone to the mountains tomorrow.

In the next few days, they could also go out to sea for some fishing, some diving, and play on the beach. In short, there were quite a few activities.

"Megumi, you used to do the Tadokoro Monkfish show here at the Shōkeien, didn't you? We still haven't seen it yet!" Yoshino Yuki couldn't help but say.

Only Yuuki had seen Megumi Tadokoro's monkfish show, as everyone returned to their own homes during vacations. Only Yuuki had gone to the Shōkeien Ryokan with Megumi and seen her performance.

"M-Monkfish Show...?"

Hearing these words, Megumi Tadokoro became somewhat uneasy. If it were a performance for regular guests, it was fine.

But performing for acquaintances—that was an entirely different matter.

"That's right! Only Yuuki has seen it. And he keeps talking about how AMAZING it was back then." Ryōko Sakaki said with a smile.

"I..."

Unable to withstand everyone's persuasion, Megumi eventually agreed. However, agreeing didn't mean they could see the show tonight—after all, ingredients were a factor.

"That's easy—leave it to me!"

Alice Nakiri made a phone call.

With the Nakiri family's extensive network and local industry, getting an extra-large monkfish delivered from the docks was a simple task.

Although Alice and Megumi were love rivals, Megumi Tadokoro was completely unaware of this. Moreover, Alice wouldn't use underhanded tactics against Megumi—

—If there was going to be competition, it would be fair and square. She wouldn't stoop to dirty tricks.

Alice would also often help everyone.

Coming from the wealthy Nakiri family, she had plenty of ways to help everyone.

Precisely because of this, everyone had a very good impression of her.

"The power of MONEY—I wish I had that superpower!"

Seeing Alice Nakiri solve the problem with a single phone call, Yoshino Yuki was incredibly envious.

"Keep working hard, Yuki, and one day your dreams might come true!"

Ryōko Sakaki smiled at her friend. Although she was also somewhat envious, she wouldn't say it out loud, unlike Yoshino Yuki, who, with close acquaintances, was an open book.

....

As everyone chatted, Megumi Tadokoro went to prepare the tools.

Her family, after hearing about what Alice had done, were also very surprised. Truly, rich people were different. They didn't even bat an eye at the cost, ordering a ten-kilogram monkfish and even having it delivered by special car.

However, they also actively helped Megumi Tadokoro prepare the tools. After all, Megumi's performance was a Shōkeien Ryokan specialty.

Since a dedicated car was used to deliver the fish from the docks, the ingredients arrived soon.

"What a HUGE monkfish! This is the biggest I've ever used for a performance."

Looking at the giant monkfish before her, Megumi Tadokoro was quite surprised. The Shōkeien Ryokan's performance was to attract customers, so the monkfish they usually prepared wouldn't be this big.

But this one was brought here by the superpower of money, naturally, its size was HUGE.

However, for Megumi, it wasn't much of a problem. Although the size was much larger, its internal structure wouldn't be too different.

Yuuki also glanced at it. After confirming that the internal structure wasn't affected by its immense size, he didn't say anything.

....

And so, in front of everyone, Megumi Tadokoro began the Tadokoro Monkfish Show.

Hearing that Megumi was back and would be performing, the other guests at the Shōkeien Ryokan also gathered to watch.

Megumi was now completely focused.

While the knife in her hand couldn't compare to Yuuki's Raging Bull Blue Dragon Slash, her movements were decisive, not a single hesitation or mistake.

Even with the monkfish being much larger than normal, she could precisely locate all the key parts.

The entire dissection process was smooth and elegant. It could only be said that all of Megumi Tadokoro's hard work had paid off.

After Megumi finished, the audience erupted in applause.

"NO WONDER Yuuki keeps going on about it—Megumi's monkfish show is a feast for the eyes! That technique is flawless! I even recorded it!" Ryōko Sakaki exclaimed.

Megumi's performance was genuinely impressive.

"Seriously amazing! You can tell this is the result of years of hard work." Even Alice Nakiri, despite seeing Megumi as a rival in love, had to admire her skills.

"Even though you haven't done the Monkfish Show for a semester, you're still very proficient. While there were some minor slips, they didn't really matter." Yuuki gave Megumi a thumbs-up.

However, in his eyes, Megumi Tadokoro's performance had quite a few flaws.

This was the benefit of Enhanced Vision; any mistakes were immediately apparent.

Yuuki then directly pointed out Megumi's flaws to her.

Being so straightforward wouldn't discourage Megumi.

Megumi was mentally very strong now—such words would only help her remember those areas for improvement.

"Her technique looked perfect to me! Are there really that many problems?"

Yoshino Yuki asked, bewildered. It was as if they hadn't even watched the same performance.

"It's normal that you couldn't tell; these flaws were very minor and didn't have much overall impact. Of course, if you use this kind of presentation in a high-level Shokugeki, then those details become crucial." Yuuki explained.

The more skilled the chef, the more precise their control over details—often, it was these minor missteps that decided victory or defeat in high-stakes Shokugekis.

Naturally, everyone wouldn't doubt Yuuki's judgment.

Megumi herself was the most aware of this. After Yuuki pointed out those areas for improvement, Megumi reviewed her own performance and also realized there were indeed some imperfections...

As for others, those were things she couldn't even notice herself, but she would correct them according to Yuuki's standards.

After memorizing these issues, Megumi took the cut monkfish to the kitchen. This monkfish would be used for dishes, of course, for Yuuki and the Polar Star residents.

While the other guests were eager to try it, after learning that the ingredient was provided by Megumi's family, they could only shake their heads helplessly.

They couldn't just procure a monkfish at a time like this—and besides, tonight's performance was over. Even if they brought a monkfish, Megumi Tadokoro wouldn't do another show.

This monkfish was very large, and Megumi had expended a lot of energy; she couldn't handle another one. After all, Megumi was just a delicate girl.

After dinner, everyone went to take a bath.

Yuuki didn't go with them—he didn't like bathing with a large group of people, so he used a single-person room.

....

After showering, everyone gathered again in Zenji Marui's room.

"Why do you always have to come to MY room, even for vacations?!" Zenji Marui said in exasperation.

They always used his room in the dormitory, and they even did the same last time during the Training Camp. Now, even when on vacation, they still wouldn't let him off.

"It's a habit now! Since we're all here—let's just have fun!"

Saying that, Yoshino Yuki took out a deck of cards.

Since it was too late tonight, they could only play some simple indoor games, and poker was naturally the best choice.

Seeing the cards, Yuuki was somewhat amused.

Keep in mind, his current vision was leagues above everyone else's, and he could clearly see the subtle differences on these cards.

"I'll shuffle—" Yuuki, using this as a chance, directly memorized every single card in the deck. Now, he knew what everyone was holding.

It had to be said, this Evolving Vision ability was truly powerful, completely broken in all aspects.

Since there were too many people, they divided into two groups.

When playing cards, there naturally had to be a wager. But their wager was simple—losers had to stick a paper strip on their foreheads.

As the "Cheat player," Yuuki couldn't help but grin.

Although the cards in everyone's hands were face down, he already knew exactly what they were.

After some quick calculations, he knew exactly how to win.

Thus began Yuuki's poker winning streak—

—and every victory was swift and decisive.

In just one short hour, Megumi Tadokoro, Alice Nakiri, and Yoshino Yuki all had paper strips plastered all over their foreheads.

"This makes NO sense! We played so many rounds, and Yuuki won EVERY SINGLE TIME! You MUST be cheating!!" Yoshino Yuki said, looking at Yuuki with suspicion.

The other two had the same look.

Yuuki's performance was just too outrageous. From the start until now, in one hour, in fast rounds, it took Yuuki less than a minute to play his hand.

And even in slower rounds, it only took a few minutes. In one hour, they played more than twenty rounds, and Yuuki won every time. This was clearly abnormal.

"This isn't cheating. You guys shuffled the cards, and you guys dealt the cards. I didn't even touch them—how could I possibly cheat?" Yuuki said, indicating that his "cheat" couldn't possibly be considered cheating.

"Is Yuuki that good? How about we switch teams?"

Zenji Marui looked at Yuuki with some suspicion. At his request, Yuuki joined their team, but soon, Zenji Marui and the others were also utterly defeated, left doubting their existence.

Yuuki winning every round was one thing—it was the SPEED that blew their minds. It was as if Yuuki knew what cards they had and how they would play, easily winning every single hand.

The fastest round was when Yuuki got a straight flush and directly played his hand in one go—the entire round lasted less than ten seconds.

"You're definitely using some kind of TRICK, aren't you, Yuuki? There's NO way anyone can win this many times in a row!!" Alice Nakiri couldn't help but exclaim.

Although she didn't know how he did it, Yuuki definitely had a trick up his sleeve. Otherwise, with this win rate, she felt Yuuki could win the lottery.

"Actually, it's simple. All you need to do is memorize the cards. When I shuffled the cards in the beginning, I already memorized every single one, so even when they're in your hands, I still know what you have."

"Then, it's just some simple calculations to know what you will play." Yuuki explained with a smile.

Upon hearing these words, the room became completely silent.

"Memorize the cards? Memorized so many cards in such a short time? Are you some kind of SUPER BRAIN?!" Even the usually quiet Shun Ibusaki couldn't help but interject.

That speed of memorization was simply too fast!

"I've seen some speed-memorization shows—those folks are crazy fast at memorizing. But that kind of memory only lasts for a short period." Alice Nakiri said.

Yuuki's technique was way above those Memory Masters.

After all, Yuuki's memorization lasted for over an hour. Although those Memory Masters could memorize in a short time, they would forget after a while—

—Not to mention Yuuki was also calculating the order of play continuously.

This completely blew their minds...

It could only be said—as expected of Yuuki, not only was his cooking skills extraordinary, but he was also ridiculous in other aspects as well.

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