The next time he returned to the Food Wars! world, he would spend some proper time with Erina.
Of course, Mai had no idea what Ryuji was thinking. If she did, then no matter how good-natured she was, she'd probably get jealous.
She happily admired the scenery around them, then suddenly seemed to remember something and spoke up.
"Hmm, Ryuji, if the food turns out to be good, let's bring Tifa here next time. I always feel like she's afraid of being alone."
There was genuine concern in her voice.
Since her ideal was to become the perfect wife and mother, Mai was quite sensitive to Tifa's emotional state.
"Yeah, she does seem a little afraid of loneliness. She was like that yesterday when I took her to school."
Ryuji nodded.
There had actually been another reason for sending Tifa to school.
At first, there had been other considerations, but after seeing Zangan-style martial arts, he had gained a new one.
Neither his own style nor the Zangan style was particularly friendly toward illiterates.
While practicing without education wouldn't necessarily cause major problems, it would make future progress much more difficult.
At the very least, obtaining qualifications equivalent to those of a nutritionist was practically essential. Otherwise, if you didn't even know how to eat properly to replenish your body's needs, the whole thing became a joke.
A solid understanding of the human body was equally important.
Ryuji himself had read a vast number of medical books. Every time he arrived in a new world, he would search for local medical knowledge and read through it.
If he actually sat for an exam, obtaining a medical license here probably wouldn't be difficult for him.
And physics and chemistry were just as important for becoming stronger.
After all, even in cultivation stories, people were expected to understand at least a little about alchemy and artifact forging.
But the problem is...
Ryuji felt that things like alchemy and artifact forging probably required a solid understanding of math and science as well.
No matter how mystical metaphysics was, it still had rules.
And if there were rules, then mathematics was involved.
Likewise, even if the laws of physics differed from world to world, they still had to exist.
And that, in his opinion, was what people called the 'Way of the Universe' or something.
While discussing Tifa with Mai, Ryuji and Mai eventually entered a rather upscale kaiseki restaurant.
After glancing at the menu prices, he found himself somewhat speechless.
"I just hope the food is actually good."
That was what he thought at first.
But the moment he saw a woman with enough makeup on her face to rival a freshly painted wall talking endlessly about tradition and refinement, he had a bad feeling.
And when the kaiseki meal was finally served, he became even more speechless.
Because the taste couldn't really be described as particularly good.
At best, it was bland.
And as for the portion size...
"Even a cat probably wouldn't even be full after eating this."
Looking at the tiny servings, Ryuji genuinely felt that both he and Mai had been ripped off.
As a result, a question suddenly popped into his mind.
I wonder how Tifa is eating at school.
His own meal wasn't exactly impressive.
Surely the school's food had to be better, right?
Meanwhile, at that very moment, Tifa was staring silently at the food in front of her.
Her appetite had always been small. Normally she never ate very much.
But after beginning to practice the Life Return technique Ryuji had taught her, her appetite had more than doubled.
And yet...
The food in front of her wasn't even enough to satisfy her original appetite.
Looking at the meager portion in front of her, Tifa couldn't help but glance around the cafeteria. Yet she quickly discovered that everyone else was eating meals of roughly the same size. Aside from a few commuting students who brought their own food, most people appeared perfectly satisfied with what was on their trays. Tifa couldn't help feeling baffled.
Don't these people need to do any physical work?
The question immediately surfaced in her mind. But seeing the serving cart and the meal tickets she had already used up, she could only let out a sigh.
"It looks like I'll have to trouble Mr. Ryuji again and ask if I can bring food from the dojo."
Not being able to eat her fill was a serious matter. Tifa wasn't the type to be stubborn about such things.
But as she slowly ate the food on her tray, another thought gradually surfaced in her mind.
I owe Mr. Ryuji more and more.
Fortunately, she could read the local language, so attending school directly wasn't a problem at all.
She just felt a little lonely.
Watching her classmates gathered together in small groups, chatting and laughing, Tifa couldn't help but feel isolated. The feeling was so strong that she didn't even realize she had already finished everything on her plate.
Yet she continued the unconscious motion of eating.
That absent-minded behavior immediately drew laughter from a group of girls in her class.
A burst of giggles spread through the cafeteria. The hostility hidden within those laughs made Tifa deeply uncomfortable, so she decided to leave.
However, the girls had no intention of letting her go so easily. Tifa's beauty and figure completely overshadowed everyone else in the school.
Her mere presence had effectively shattered the existing social balance. Therefore, some girls wanted to teach her a lesson.
Rising from their seats, they picked up their lunch trays and began moving toward her, clearly intending to dump the leftovers on Tifa's face.
Sensing both their movements and their hostility, Tifa instinctively clenched her fists. But the moment she thought of Ryuji, she decided that she would simply dodge instead of fighting back...
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"
A girl with a headband suddenly leaped over and landed behind Tifa. Looking at the girls who were about to throw their leftover food at Tifa, her tone was anything but polite.
Tifa turned around in surprise and saw the girl.
She vaguely recognized the girl. If she remembered correctly, her name was Kasumi Todoh, though they had never really spoken before.
"Kasumi Todoh, are you really going to stand up for this woman?!"
~~~~~~~~~~
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