"Hello, this is Eizan. Who may I ask is calling?" The moment the call connected, a standard diplomatic greeting came through.
"Eizan, you actually have the nerve to ask who I am..." Sogo Doma said mournfully as he walked into an empty corner.
"..." Eizan fell silent for a while before stammering, "D-Doma, former First Seat, you've already dropped out of Totsuki, so could you please stop messing around? I just checked—this isn't even your old number. Don't think you can use the excuse of 'you didn't save my new number' to challenge me to a Shokugeki..."
"Ahem, Eizan, is that really the kind of person you think I am? I just forgot that I changed my phone number..."
"Heh..." Eizan sneered without answering. Back then, this guy on the phone had forced him into a Shokugeki with the excuse—how dare you step into the classroom with your left foot first. He couldn't even be bothered mentioning it! Still, for him to call at a time like this, could it be... He decided to probe first.
"Is there something the former First Seat, who has already left Totsuki, needs from me?"
"Eizan, your tone is awfully sarcastic. I've only been gone for a few days, and the tea's already gone cold?"
"Heh..." Eizan sneered again. "The former First Seat sure knows how to joke. With the powerful background of your Doma Conglomerate, even if Totsuki went cold, you never would..."
"Though your tone is as sarcastic as ever, Eizan, I can still sense a thick layer of jealousy in your words..."
"..." Eizan Etsuya was silent for a while. Those words had struck right at his heart. What he felt could hardly be described with a mere word like envy—it had to be jealousy. Ahem. "First Seat Doma, let's not