A person's culinary skill had absolutely nothing to do with their character—this was the conclusion Erina Nakiri had reached firsthand after meeting Sogo Doma.
Do not underestimate that conclusion. In this country, which revered the spirit of craftsmanship, people often believed that the more accomplished a master was, the more admirable their inner character must be. People had always believed that, no matter the profession, only masters with noble character could hone their craft to its pinnacle...
But was that really the case? The answer was an absolute no. A person's skill had nothing whatsoever to do with their character. This misconception existed only because this country revered craftsmanship and had incorrectly inherited Confucian philosophy of the mind.
In reality, there were plenty of people with poor character who were worshipped as masters because of some particular talent...
Clearly, under Sogo Doma's "education," Erina Nakiri's knowledge and conclusions had already surpassed those of most ordinary people... It had to be said that, in a certain sense, Sogo Doma truly was an excellent teacher.
Especially...
Back when Erina Nakiri had still innocently believed that perhaps Senior Doma had some hidden hardship, or perhaps he was actually lonely as well. After all, Sogo Doma had once said:
"Unlike me, even wanting to be defeated once is nothing but a pipe dream. Do you think a life like that is fun? A life that has never experienced defeat..."
A life that had never experienced defeat... Perhaps others might have thought...
But Erina Nakiri did not see it that way. Before meeting Sogo Doma, had she, with her God's Tongue, not also lived without ever experiencing defeat? But was that kind of life fun?
Erina Nakiri shook her head. That sort of life was not even as fun as playing fighting games with Umaru!