Chapter 14: Azami Nakamura Launches a Challenge (Patreon)

From start to finish. Azami Nakamura never realized it.

His temperament had long since been warped beyond repair by day after day of comparison and bitterness.

Like a man possessed, he never looked inward. Whenever he met with a gap in skill or a setback, his first reaction was to pin all the blame on someone else!

And the more he failed to catch up to Ramsay’s brilliance, the more obsessively he insisted that everyone around him was biased against him.

Finally, with only one day left in Totsuki’s several-day on-site training, the resentment that had piled up in Azami’s chest could no longer be held down!

That night, ONLY closed after the evening shift.

The staff packed up their tools one by one and left. The kitchen and dining room quickly emptied, leaving the lights to fall alone on the counters. Azami clenched his fists and hurried to block Ramsay, who was getting ready to leave.

“Ramsay!”

The shout, heavy with hostility, shattered the quiet of the restaurant.

Ever since Ramsay had won Mana Nakiri’s favor with a single dish, Azami had deliberately avoided him. All day long, he’d given him nothing but a cold face. He wouldn’t even exchange half a sentence with him!

Ramsay didn’t mind. He got along calmly with everyone at the restaurant, kitchen apprentices and floor staff alike. Only with Azami did he keep his distance. After all, that narrow, obsessive attitude gave him no desire to befriend the man.

At the shout, Ramsay slowly turned around, his eyes calm. “Something you need?”

Seeing this, Azami’s chest heaved even harder. His eyes were full of defiance and stubbornness as he said, one word at a time, “I... want a cooking duel with you!”

“That’s right! You and me. We’re going to settle who’s better!”

Ramsay froze for a moment, genuinely surprised. He couldn’t understand why Azami had come looking for a challenge. Had the letdowns of the past few days addled his head?

Well. How to put it?

He knew exactly where Azami’s hang-up lay. On the day Mana Nakiri came to inspect the restaurant, Azami had believed it was his chance to show off his cooking, only for Ramsay to step in halfway and steal the spotlight!

After all, in Azami’s narrow view, Ramsay was just a newcomer who’d barely begun to cook. Winning attention with a single dish didn’t make him worthy of Mana Nakiri’s special regard!

Looking back, at the start of the on-site training, it was Azami who had held up the restaurant’s reputation with his refined skill.

Every gaze in the shop, every word of praise, should have fallen entirely on him.

But then Ramsay showed up. And everything changed!

Mana favored Ramsay’s dish. When his coworkers chatted, every other sentence was about Ramsay’s cooking. The adulation and attention that should have been Azami’s had all been taken by the newcomer at his side.

A fierce bitterness wrapped itself tightly around Azami, and at last it bred a rage he couldn’t suppress.

Seeing the hostility in his eyes, Ramsay quickly understood what was going on in his head.

Sigh! This guy was trapped at last by the halo of genius he’d worn for so long, and had come down with an ailment: he couldn’t stand to see anyone else shine.

In truth, back at Totsuki Academy, Azami had always enjoyed a fine reputation. He was gentle and friendly with everyone and extremely well liked!

But very few people saw through that mild exterior to the arrogance hidden underneath.

Since enrolling at Totsuki, he had distinguished himself with exceptional talent. Carrying the title of “genius,” he’d been fawned over at every turn by upperclassmen and classmates alike.

Steeped in praise for so long, he had come to take being the center of attention for granted. Without ever admitting it, he assumed he belonged above everyone else!

Having grown used to being admired by all, he was suddenly tasting what it felt like to be ignored and left out in the cold.

He had to admit, that enormous psychological gap had truly shattered his composure!

Now, at ONLY, Ramsay outshone him at every turn, and Azami had lost all face.

His one and only thought was to beat Ramsay fair and square in a cooking contest, win back everyone’s attention, and prove to them all:

Genius! It could only be Azami Nakamura!

With the on-site training about to end, he would return to Totsuki after one more day. If he couldn’t settle who was better now, he’d never get another chance to redeem his pride.

Faced with his challenge, Ramsay simply shook his head, utterly unconcerned. “Sorry, I won’t duel you.”

Hearing this, Azami stood stunned for a long moment. He hadn’t expected to be turned down.

In his mind, a chef should be glad to accept a challenge, and Ramsay’s brush-off could only be cowardice.

So, suppressing his anger, he said coldly, “You... are afraid of losing to me?”

Ramsay gave a low chuckle and answered flatly, “I just think competing with you is meaningless.”

“Hm? Meaningless?”

Those few words struck like a spark on the rage Azami had been banking for so long.

He stepped forward, his voice sharp with accusation. “So you really do look down on me, deep down?”

“That’s what you think. I never said anything like that!”

Ramsay looked him straight in the eye, not turning a hair. “However you choose to guess at my thoughts, it has nothing to do with me.”

“You’re going back to Totsuki Academy tomorrow. Why not just go back and settle into your classes? I need to use every minute to hone my cooking. I don’t have the energy to waste on pointless quarrels.”

The reply, neither servile nor arrogant, left Azami speechless!

He glared at Ramsay for several seconds but couldn’t squeeze out a single rebuttal. In silence, he shouldered his bag, turned, and disappeared forlornly down the end of the street!

Ramsay didn’t take the matter to heart.

However much resentment and bitterness Azami carried, none of it could touch him!

Rather than waste time dealing with someone so off balance, he’d be better off getting home early and asking Stephen Chow for cooking pointers to sharpen his own skills!

But just as he had collected his things and stepped out of ONLY to head home, a slender figure walked slowly out of a dark corner by the roadside, breaking the stillness of the night.

She wore an elegant wide-brimmed hat, and a soft woman’s voice drifted to Ramsay on the evening breeze: “Haha... I just happened to witness a rather interesting quarrel!”