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To be honest, even if Erina hadn't asked him to care for the now five-month-old Rina, Renz would have done so.

That was his daughter, and as her father, he would certainly give his all. At this moment, Renz realized why the little tsundere was so close to him. The answer was now clear: during her infancy, Renz had spent more time caring for Rina. If Rina wasn't close to him, who else would she be close to? The first person she saw might not have been Renz, but Erina.

However, an infant's memory isn't long. If Renz was the person she consistently saw in her memories over the next few months, it made sense that Rina would be psychologically and emotionally more attached to Renz.

And you, the mom, complain that Rina isn't close to you? You don't even play those 'baby games' with Rina. It's good enough that she doesn't bicker with you; you still want her to cling to you?

Within Renz's gradually clearing mind, the Life Simulator once again provided new prompts.

[Success Rate of 'Bride-Coming-to-You' Line: 0%]

[Upon reaching 100% success rate, you will return to your original time and timeline.]

[The success rate of the 'bride-coming-to-you' line varies with future developments. The closer you align with the 'bride-coming-to-you' trajectory, the higher the success rate.]

[When the success rate perfectly covers, you, having returned to the origin, will automatically follow this life path unless you actively change facts.]

[If the corresponding requirements are not met, your life, upon returning to the starting point, will be fixed in the identity of a Nakiri family son-in-law.]

So that's how it is.

Is this like a branch quest for Erina that the Life Simulator has opened for him? In that case, he should quickly record the stock market changes of these past few years. If he memorized them, wouldn't that be a foolproof wealth code?

[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]

Renz's thought was met with an alarm from the simulator.

[Flowing events within the worldline are random and unstable. The simulator is not responsible for any errors that occur.]

Butterfly effect, or grandmother paradox? Renz, who had just had a sudden thought, immediately abandoned the idea of a permanent solution. He didn't need to play the stock market; he had other ways to make money.

"We have to return to the Nakiri household for a banquet on Christmas Day, both you and I," Erina mused.

"Apparently, many people will be coming then," Erina said with a smile. "My grandpa has invited many outsiders."

"We should prepare."

Renz participated in such Nakiri family banquets every year, but this time was special. It was supposedly his first year attending such a banquet in this altered timeline, and some people might come to 'trip him up' or 'set conversational traps,' such as... his mother-in-law, who had a rather ordinary impression of him.

Meanwhile, Renz was already gently patting Rina, who was crying again in her stroller, and softly rocking her.

Looking at his eldest daughter, whose eyes were red and who was still whimpering, Renz gave Rina a kind smile.

"Heheheha," Rina's bright eyes sparkled. Her tearful cries immediately turned into laughter as she extended her tiny hands, touching and poking around. Unfortunately, Rina couldn't speak yet, only babble.

"Do you only have her in your eyes?" Erina pouted. With no outsiders in the house, Erina's playful demeanor showed no restraint.

"Now, you're in my eyes too," Renz turned his head, his eyes fixed on Erina, her reflection shimmering in his pupils.

Then, Rina cried again.

She cried loudly.

Because Renz had turned his head, Rina couldn't see his face, nor the reassuring smile that made her feel safe. Renz didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"So Rina has liked you so much since she was little,"

Erina poked Rina's tiny hand with her finger.

"Mrow," Rina's throat emitted a low purr, like a kitten'.

When Erina poked her, she immediately reached out both hands, trying to climb onto Renz.

"Interrupting for a moment, all the children in the family like me very much. I think you should look for the problem within yourself," Renz said, sticking out his tongue playfully. Rina clung to him, and Haruki also loved to play with Renz. The third child, the little cutie, always hid timidly behind Renz whenever they went out to see people, never leaving his side. As for the naughtiest one, Shinichi, Erina would often grab a rolling pin and beat him, and he would always be jumping around. Whenever he was beaten, he would run to his dad to save his hide. What else could he do?

"No, why her? She's only five months old! Aren't I the one who feeds her every day?" Erina said indignantly.

"I don't know, maybe you look fierce and she gets scared,"

Renz teased. "I bet Rina's first word will be 'Papa'."

"I don't believe it. Rina will definitely say 'Mama' first," Erina bit her lip, looking utterly unconvinced.

"I feed her every day, coaxing her to say 'Mama' every day. How could she learn to say 'Papa' first?"

"Wow, it's terrible that you're cheating." Renz strongly condemned such deceptive behavior. "Are you really that unhappy that the children are close to me?"

"No, you be the strict father from now on, and I'll be the loving mother," Erina thought it was a matter of parenting strategy. She was always the 'bad cop,' so it was normal for the children to be annoyed with her. If she played the 'good cop' and was kind, they would definitely be closer to her.

"With your personality, can you even be a loving mother? The moment you get angry, your image will be shattered, and it will inevitably bring a terrifying shock to the children," Renz's mouth twitched slightly. Erina's self-perception probably wasn't quite accurate yet.

"Oh, right, I just remembered something," Renz returned to the computer desk and quickly typed on the keyboard.

"Do you remember your dad wanting to start a school to take down Totsuki?" Renz mused. These matters related to Erina were deeply etched in his memory, especially his father-in-law's desire to poach talent from Totsuki Academy to strengthen his own school. As a supporter of Totsuki Academy, Renz couldn't stand by and do nothing.

"Hmm," Erina didn't pay much attention to this matter.

She believed it wouldn't cause much of a stir. Totsuki's foundation was there; how could a school only established for a few years compare to Totsuki?

Renz scrolled his mouse. "My father-in-law's influence isn't small. After he established Seiryo Academy, he successively poached Eishi Tsukasa, Rindou Kobayashi, Momo Akanegakubo, Soumei Saitou, Nene Kinokuni, and Etsuya Eizan."

"No, there were too many traitors from Totsuki. Six of the Ten Elite Council members left all at once," Renz said, rubbing his forehead. After the list of previously unknown traitors was exposed, both Renz and Erina were stunned, feeling that something wasn't quite right, as many of the people on the list were quite familiar to them.

Searching his memories, it seemed to be due to differing culinary philosophies. His father-in-law's faction of chefs pursued the boundless realm of art in cuisine, wanting to create mythical, miraculous effects with their cooking, neglecting the original purpose of food: to satisfy ordinary people. Given Eishi Tsukasa's personality, his father-in-law's philosophy would indeed be more appealing to him.

However, what interested Renz more was that on the day his father-in-law established Seiryo Academy and poached the Ten Elite Council members, he, representing Totsuki Academy, initiated a Shokugeki.

Within a single day, he defeated all six 'defected' Ten Elite Council members, one by one, in their respective fields, thoroughly crushing them. He preserved Totsuki Academy's reputation and severely damaged Seiryo Academy's prestige upon its founding. Renz looked at this information, which even included video recordings. Had he really turned into a "Crazy Renz-kun," riding all over his father-in-law's face with his output? This was far too disrespectful to his father-in-law. On the very first day of the school's establishment, he had launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, a precise thunderstrike.

However, Renz's move primarily preserved Totsuki Academy's prestige. His father-in-law had a colossal fortune; he was too rich and powerful. Even though he lost face on the first day of school, he still managed to save Seiryo Academy through his 'cash ability'.

After three years of development, Seiryo Academy slowly gained momentum as Japan's second-ranked culinary school, beginning to compete fully with Totsuki Academy in the market. Last year's and this year's Autumn Election even held joint events, with fierce Shokugekis between students from both academies. The question was, if the Old Man wanted Seiryo Academy to perish, he still had the opportunity to make it disappear.

But for some unknown reason, the Old Man didn't act decisively; he lifted his hand high but brought it down gently, giving them a pass. Was it nostalgia? Or did he want the culinary world to be more diverse? All of this remained unknown.

"I suddenly realized I have another identity."

"I am now an honorary professor of the Asian Region Cuisine Department at Totsuki Academy."

"I will also be attending next year's Spring and Autumn Selection as a judge."

This title of honorary professor of the Cuisine Department was recently bestowed by the Old Man after Renz had severely beaten the rebellious Ten Elite Council members. After that, he had immersed himself in studying at Totsuki Academy. After Erina became pregnant, Renz had kept a low profile for an entire year, taking care of Erina. Throughout his entire first year of university, Renz had not made any waves in the culinary world. Now that they had a child and Erina no longer needed constant care, Renz was appointed honorary professor of Totsuki Academy's Chinese Cuisine Department by the Old Man.

"I say, why don't you go back to my dad's Seiryo Academy and earn some reputation points?" Erina suggested after some thought.

"It would be beneath me to go and fight their students

now," Renz said, shaking his head.

"No, Eishi Tsukasa has graduated, and Kobayashi has graduated too. After they graduated, they also took on part-time lecturer positions at Seiryo Academy."

"Eishi Tsukasa is still the world's fifth-ranked culinary treasure."

"Aren't you going to 'slaughter' this fat sheep and earn yourself some fame?"

"You're an honorary professor. Initiating a Shokugeki against another school's lecturer, I think that's quite normal. It's not like you'd be bullying someone smaller."

"Erina, you're truly ruthless. You want to push your dad to a dead end," Renz said, stunned by Erina's idea. His biggest battle before his year of low-profile hiatus was defeating the six 'rebellious' Ten Elite Council members by himself. After that, he vanished to take care of Erina and their child. Now that Erina no longer needed care and they had a child, he could return to the culinary world, and the first thing he was going to do was target his father-in-law's culinary academy.

Are you truly heartless?

However.

Renz thought about it for a moment.

It seemed there was some truth to it.

Participating in international competitions required slots. Apart from direct invitations based on reputation by the organizers, one had to win the right to a slot by competing in secondary competitions. The best way for Renz to announce his return from hiatus to the culinary world was to have a Shokugeki with a well-known figure of the current era. Eishi Tsukasa was exactly such a figure.

But, always picking on Eishi Tsukasa, wouldn't that be unfair?

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