My wife name is Erina Nakiri

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Renz's mental state had been quite poor lately. Although his body had returned to a youthful state, his vitality revived, and he felt younger and more eager to retort, Renz had been in a near-"retirement" slump for several weeks. The lack of passion and loss of motivation were the biggest sequelae of Renz returning from the future to this timeline. Having already known the ending beforehand, and with the [Life Simulator] spoiling his future life trajectory, Renz fell into a state of "laziness." He was putting in effort, but not enough.

To put it plainly, Renz's current state was about returning to his rightful peak, without the ambition to surpass it. The drive a young person should have was gone, replaced by a strong desire for leisure. This might be the sense of deviation caused by achieving one's goal and entering a stage of life free from desires, unless Renz found a new objective. Fortunately, a new objective wasn't entirely absent.

That objective was to shed the title of a son-in-law who married into the family and instead become Erina's undoubtedly best husband. Renz had been steadily moving toward this goal, but due to his mental state, progress had been slow. Everything Renz did was too cautious. Except for one instance where he was forced into a reckless act by the [Simulator], he had maintained excellent control over the overall situation.

Now, the most direct approach was actually right in front of Renz. Participate in chef rating exams, first build up prestige among the Totsuki Elite Ten, then win the Totsuki Academy selection contests, and simultaneously participate in various culinary competitions, capturing every championship available.

A moment of thought. Isn't this exactly the path of a certain "female boxing" nemesis? Rising to fame at a young age, participating in various competitions, overcoming all obstacles, standing alone in the chess world, becoming a unique banner of the domestic chess scene—the youngest, strongest, and most agile Chess Saint.

From a different perspective, Renz could also rise to fame at a young age, debut as a "God's Tongue" judge, participate in various competitions, starting from Totsuki Academy, then fighting his way through major competitions, standing alone in the culinary world, and becoming the new generation's God of Cookery.

The only difference was that Renz would gain a wife, while the Chess Saint didn't. When viewed this way, he was clearly making a huge profit—gaining both fame and fortune, plus a wife.

As for whether Renz had this confidence, it went without saying. Excluding the basic hardware requirements, Renz, apart from lacking the flamboyant, dazzling knife skills, could easily defeat these Totsuki students in other aspects. The Totsuki Elite Ten were certainly outstanding among young people. They were the ten strongest individuals at Totsuki Academy.

However, Renz's true competition was with the world's top ten culinary masters ranked by ESPN, not these students. He was the one forced to engage in a "dimensional reduction attack." Even if each member of the Totsuki Elite Ten might reach that top stage in the future, for now, Renz had ample confidence to defeat them all.

Lacking motivation and passion was one thing. But confidence was another matter entirely.

---

Meanwhile, inside the Totsuki Academy gymnasium.

The Totsuki Elite Ten had already gathered under the leadership of the Director. The entire gymnasium was arranged like an arena, with a judge's seat in the middle, where the Director, also known as the old man, Senzaemon Nakiri, would sit later.

The two competition zones: one side consisted of students from Totsuki Academy fighting on home turf, while the other side comprised international students who had studied culinary arts abroad. Even without a Shokugeki, it was obvious to anyone that the Totsuki Elite Ten had the advantage.

Outside of these two zones were special invited guests like Renz, who couldn't represent Totsuki Academy or the international students but were simply young chefs with a significant reputation in their home country.

Surrounding the arena in the center of the gymnasium were spectator stands, where students interested in the friendly match would come to watch. Totsuki Academy was a school dedicated to culinary arts, and this cooking showdown naturally drew a huge crowd—almost the entire school had come to the gymnasium.

Chefs also had a ranking system, ranging from Level 1 to Level 10, though not every chef was required to undergo this ranking. Normal people opening restaurants didn't need to be ranked; these levels simply served as convenient certificates to symbolize status and skill.

Schools like Totsuki Academy took this ranking system very seriously. Above Level 10 were "Special Grade Chefs," and it's worth noting that most Special Grade Chefs didn't obtain their certification through exams. They earned their Special Grade Chef certificates by participating in major culinary competitions. This kind of Special Grade Chef certificate, earned by fighting through the masses, was far more sought after than those obtained through examinations. With this certificate alone, securing a head chef position in a Michelin-starred restaurant was practically a given.

However, in culinary competitions of this caliber, it wasn't purely about "deliciousness" anymore.

Underground cooking competitions and civilian cooking competitions might focus more on deliciousness, where excellent taste could compensate for minor flaws. But grand, "hall-level" culinary competitions were about pursuing artistry. Although it sounds strange, it was truly the case. The winning dishes in such competitions were invariably masterpieces that excelled in color, aroma, and taste, from presentation to color, from color to spices, from spices to flavor, and from flavor to comfort.

There were even certain visual requirements. From Renz's perspective, he preferred underground cooking competitions; those performances designed for the general public were somewhat pandering, with the element of showmanship overshadowing the essence of cooking. Unfortunately, this was the public's preference. As long as it looked "wow, so amazing" visually, they would instinctively conclude that the other person was very skilled. This led many people in such competitions to focus more on showing off their skills and neglecting other fundamental aspects.

Later in his life, Renz had passed the age where he liked to show off his skills to elicit gasps of awe from the audience. His cooking thereafter was renowned for its texture and taste, reaching a state of returning to simplicity. However, even without elaborate carvings, Renz's innate skill, even if he made something casually, would definitely be above world-ranking standards in terms of presentation. In fact, if Renz wanted to, he could use dazzling knife skills to capture everyone's attention.

---

Just then, Senzaemon Nakiri spoke. "Cough, cough. Now, everyone should be here. Let's first introduce the participants. On this side are the contestants representing Totsuki Academy, and on the other side are the contestants representing international students."

"This is a friendly match, a competition that the old man arranged temporarily."

"There will be a total of two rounds of matches. The rules are relatively simple, divided into individual matches and team matches."

"As for the specially invited guest participants, please choose a side to join according to your own preferences."

As the Director of Totsuki, Senzaemon Nakiri organized this friendly match to allow the students in the school to enter and enjoy the atmosphere of culinary competition, to adapt in advance to the atmosphere of future competitions they might participate in. Ordinary students would open small shops after graduation. However, there were always students who longed for a bigger stage. This friendly match was a trial run for these students who aspired to a larger stage, to calibrate and experience before entering those competitive stages.

Renz looked at the positions where the two sides were divided and standing. Choosing between the Totsuki Academy and international student camps? This choice required no further thought.

Renz would definitely not choose the international student camp. However, joining the Totsuki Academy camp, Renz was also unwilling. No, it wasn't that he was unwilling, but rather that by joining the Totsuki Academy lineup, Renz would once again enter a bound fate with the Nakiri family. This action, in the [Life Simulator]'s judgment, was—Renz chose the Nakiri family. The moment Renz even entertained the thought of joining Totsuki Academy, the value of the "marrying into the family" route constantly fluctuated and soared. Perhaps this was a major turning point in his life's path.

Moreover, in terms of strength, Totsuki Academy undoubtedly crushed the international student side. The international students severely lacked top-tier combat power; there were only two strong contenders: Alice and her attendant, Ryo Kurokiba. If he joined the Totsuki Academy camp, it would be akin to "adding flowers to embroidery"—making something good even better.

It would be difficult to leave a deep impression. But if he went to the international student side, Renz could lead Alice and the others, but another phenomenon might occur: Alice's stock would rise again. He couldn't choose the former, and he couldn't choose the latter. Difficult!

"These three specially invited chefs, please make your choices," Senzaemon Nakiri said, sitting in the referee's seat, his voice resonating like a great bell.

The first person asked, without blinking an eye, made the choice of the strongest contender: "I choose Totsuki Academy." In Japan, Totsuki Academy held a great reputation. Choosing the international student camp, where their strength was unknown, would be a foolish mistake, wouldn't it?

Another person, however, said disdainfully, "Then I choose the international students." He intended to challenge Totsuki Academy. If he wanted to gain fame, he had to be ruthless. Defeating Totsuki Academy students on their home turf would make it hard for anyone present not to remember his name. Participating in this friendly match offered no prize money, only fame. And losing wasn't a problem; losing to the strong ones from Totsuki Academy was expected from the audience's perspective, wasn't it? Joining the international student camp was a sure-win, no-loss deal.

Both had made their choices. Next, it was Renz's turn.

In the Totsuki Academy camp, Erina's lips curved into a smile. In her eyes, Renz had only one path: her—Erina! But something Erina hadn't expected happened. Alice shamelessly raised her hand to request assistance.

"Renz-kun, pick me, pick me! Alice needs your help!" Alice waved, a sly glint in her eyes. Joining the international student camp maximized benefits. Winning was a huge profit, losing was no loss. This was Renz's biggest path to fame. Erina couldn't even figure this out; she was such a fool. Now that she was asking for help, Renz's best option was right in front of him. As long as Renz accepted Alice's request for help, with Erina's personality, she would probably be half-dead with anger, right? Hahahahahahahahaha...

She actually threatened such a cute little sister yesterday. I never thought my Alice would stab her in the back today. That's what you get for bullying your sister for no reason! Serves you right!

Renz first glanced at Erina. He saw Erina's eager gaze. Then he turned to look at Alice. Alice's hand swung back and forth, showing an expectant expression, looking as if she was waiting for Renz to "return to the team." And when Renz turned his gaze to Alice, Erina's eyes narrowed, her arms crossed, and her right foot unconsciously began to tap. This was a sign of Erina's "impatience."

"Director, I'd like to participate in this friendly match representing a personal faction, if that's possible?" Renz made his choice. He chose neither Erina nor Alice. This was a way to break the deadlock. But that sentence was also incredibly "arrogant." As soon as he spoke, the temperature and the sounds of discussion in the entire gymnasium dropped.

"You... a single person, a single team?" Senzaemon Nakiri said with a slight surprise. "In that case, the team matches would be difficult to arrange, and for individual matches, people are selected from both sides to compete."

"As a third-party faction, how would you participate in individual and team matches?"

"For team matches, I can just borrow someone to cooperate with me, and as for individual matches, when both sides select someone to duel, I can just join in as well," Renz quickly answered.

With that statement, the previously quiet gymnasium erupted in chatter again. This guy who suddenly appeared, he seemed to be a participant in one of the "God's Tongue" judging sessions, but getting recognized by "God's Tongue" once made him dare to be so arrogant? Wasn't he a bit too conceited? Borrowing someone to play a team battle and thinking he could win against other teams? Let's not even consider that. For individual battles, when both sides choose one person to compete, and you, representing a third-party faction, just join in midway, wouldn't you have to fight several rounds consecutively, from start to finish? In this kind of competition, the topics for individual battles are random. What if he got a topic he wasn't good at? Wouldn't he just be asking for trouble? If he fought all the way through and didn't win a single round, wouldn't he just be a joke?

"That's right, I want to try out my current skill level and learn more," Renz naturally heard the "sarcasm" from the seats in the gymnasium. There was no helping it. His only bit of fame was from the "God's Tongue" judging, and that was just for doing well in a single type of cuisine. It was normal to be questioned. Since things had come to this, to minimize the "ill will" from the surrounding audience, he used a humble tone to explain the "reason for his actions."

Currently, Renz's culinary skills were indeed at a level where he wanted to test their intensity. This statement wasn't wrong. It was just hard to say who would be learning from whom.

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