Chapter 4: System Activation (Patreon)

The center of the restaurant.

Azami Nakamura was bowing deeply.

He was formally presenting his cooking request to Mana. Every eye in the room was fixed on the two of them.

And at that very moment, standing in the crowd, Ramsay heard a cold, rigid, mechanical voice explode inside his head.

"Ding dong!" "Congratulations, Host, on successfully binding the God-Tier Choice System!" "The God-Tier Choice Quest is now officially open!"

"Option One: Intercept Azami Nakamura. Personally prepare a dish and earn Mana Nakiri's recognition." "Reward: Exclusive System Study Space."

"Option Two: Stand by coldly and ignore Mana Nakiri's arrival." "Reward: Perfect-Grade God's Tongue."

"Option Three: Step forward in public and teach Azami Nakamura a lesson." "Reward: Enhanced Eternal Spirit Knife."

The instant the prompt faded, detailed descriptions of each reward flooded Ramsay's mind. All three were wildly tempting. Choosing was agony!

____

The System Study Space.

Put simply, it was an independent virtual realm of consciousness.

Once Ramsay fell asleep, he could enter it to train. The system would match him with top mentors of every kind, who would teach him culinary arts and all manner of skills from the ground up. The potential for growth was limitless!

The only restriction: no shortcuts. Everything depended on his own practice.

Next. The reward for Option Two.

The Perfect-Grade God's Tongue was the ultimate talent reward.

It didn't just wipe out every negative side effect of an ordinary God's Tongue. It would catapult him straight into the world's elite in taste, giving him tasting and flavor-perception abilities that crushed the vast majority of chefs. One step, and he'd stand at the very peak of taste!

And finally. The Enhanced Eternal Spirit Knife.

This one had an even bigger pedigree, a legendary utensil from the world of Cooking Master Boy.

The original Eternal Spirit Knife could turn the decayed into the miraculous. Even the poorest seafood, once worked by that blade, was restored to its peak condition.

And the enhanced version?

It went a step further.

Every piece of seafood it handled would have its finished deliciousness doubled outright.

Even a plain slice of sashimi would climb layer upon layer in flavor and be refined to perfection once cut.

With this divine blade, if he opened a seafood restaurant, Ramsay was confident he could reach the top of the industry within three months and become a world-class seafood tycoon!

___

Honestly. All three rewards had their own strengths, and every one of them was pure gold.

Whether it was a top-tier talent or a legendary utensil, either was a treasure countless chefs dreamed of.

But. Ramsay thought it over for only a moment.

Then he decisively gave up Option Two!

He knew the original story by heart. Before, he could only watch passively as the plot marched toward its fixed ending, powerless to interfere.

Now the system had arrived, and he had a chance to rewrite it. There was no way he'd stand by and watch Mana get won over by Azami Nakamura. And he would never tolerate Erina remaining under Azami Nakamura's thumb, living out her old fate.

As for. Option Three, that was downright absurd.

Beating up Azami Nakamura in public was nothing but picking a fight for no reason and wrecking his own future.

In front of everyone?

Lashing out like that was reckless and impulsive. Hardly a wise move.

He weighed them against each other.

The last two rewards could make him a top chef in one leap, an instant shortcut.

But only the first choice carried the promise of limitless growth.

More importantly, even without any system reward, he had already made up his mind to change this regrettable, predetermined story.

___

With that thought, Ramsay strode out of the crowd without hesitation, calm and unhurried, shattering the hush in the room.

"Miss Nakiri." "Please, wait a moment!"

The clear young voice rang through the restaurant and drew every gaze.

"Could you give me a chance too? I'd like to cook a dish with my own hands. I humbly ask Miss Nakiri to taste it and give her critique."

The room erupted.

The diners, the kitchen staff, even Azami Nakamura, still bowed and waiting, all stared at Ramsay as he stepped forward, their eyes full of disbelief.

After all. He was just an unremarkable apprentice kitchen helper.

And he had dared to step up and offer to cook for Mana Nakiri, whose eye and palate were impossibly exacting. It was a completely unexpected move!

Beside him, the Manager's face changed sharply. She hurried over, furious and flustered, and hissed in a low voice, "Ramsay, what nonsense are you spouting? Get back to your place right now! Stop making trouble here!"

___

Yet. The Manager's protest. made Mana, who had been about to leave, stop in her tracks.

She slowly turned around. Her cool gaze settled on Ramsay, her expression calm, giving away no emotion at all.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Ramsay."

The handsome young man answered without a flicker of nerves.

Mana gave a slight nod. "Are you this restaurant's head chef?" she asked lightly.

"No. I'm just an apprentice here."

"Huh?" "An… an apprentice?"

Mana was briefly stunned. She studied Ramsay for a moment, and a faint trace of amusement crossed her brow.

First an intern chef volunteering, and now an apprentice, bold enough to declare he'd conquer her God's Tongue. This restaurant was hiding quite a few surprising people and stories!

___

The Manager. Her heart clenched.

She rushed in to smooth things over, anxious. "Miss Nakiri, please don't misunderstand." "He just spoke without thinking. It was a joke. He's never had any formal culinary training, so he couldn't possibly make a dish worthy of you." "If." "If you'd still like a meal." "I'll have our other senior head chef cook for you right away!"

Ramsay raised a hand slightly, cutting off the Manager's excuses. His eyes were clear, a confident smile playing at the corner of his mouth, and he met Mana's gaze openly.

"Miss Nakiri!" "What I want to say is… a real chef." "never fears a culinary challenge, and never turns down a dish made with sincerity." "I only want to use this chance to try, to conquer your God's Tongue with my cooking. Besides, one little dish won't take much of your time. Would you be willing?"

Truly. Ramsay really was handsome, with clean, striking features!

He stood tall, and his eyes in particular were deep and jet-black, clear yet resolute, the kind that made people like him without meaning to.

That was exactly why everyone in the restaurant favored him and was fond of him!

But. Mana was unmoved by such things.

She never cared about looks. In her eyes, only food and flavor were the true standard.

She regarded Ramsay, then spoke with extreme scrutiny and exacting caution, "Do you know just how picky my tongue is?"

Ramsay. His gaze held firm.

"I don't. But I… dare to give it everything I've got!"