Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 27 - Chapter 3

Episode 3: The Local Eating Champion

As Sanae and Theia had similar mental ages, they often shared interests. Food and games were both good examples, and today was no exception. On their way home from grocery shopping, something in the arcade had caught their eye.

“Doesn’t it look like we can get one?” Sanae asked eagerly.

“It does. Keep an eye out on the left side,” Theia replied.

“Aye aye!”

Sanae and Theia were currently in the middle of a claw crane game, carefully pushing buttons to try and snatch up a stuffed animal. This game in particular featured Kisshouharukaze City’s local mascot, Haruyama Shounosuke, as a prize. The adorably chubby stuffed doll had a cutesy samurai design, and it had stolen both Sanae and Theia’s hearts. They were dead set on catching one before they went home.

“You can do it, Theia!”

“Leave it to me!”

Theia was currently the one pushing the buttons. As a modern girl, Sanae wasn’t particularly bad at games like this, but Theia lived for them. So between the two of them, Theia’s job was to operate the controls, and Sanae’s job was to offer advice and cheer her on.

“Just a little more... A little more... Stop!”

“Isn’t it a bit off?”

“Maybe, but if it’s only a little, you can still get it.”

“All right, let’s do this!”

Click!

Once the arm was locked into place, it couldn’t be readjusted. Trusting in her skill and luck, Theia pushed the button to commit.

Whirrr...

“Go! Go!”

“Grab it!”

The two girls held their breath as they watched the motor work to lower the arm inside the machine. Theia had positioned it above the stuffed animal they wanted, but as it came down, it was clear it wasn’t perfectly centered. They watched anxiously as it got lower and lower.

“It grabbed it! It got it!”

“Oooh! Did we do it?!”

As if answering their hopes, the arm grabbed hold of a Haruyama Shounosuke by his stomach. The motor revved in reverse and pulled the arm back up, bringing the stuffed doll with it.

“Ah!”

“You weakling!”

However, shortly after the claw picked up Haruyama Shounosuke’s fluffy body, what was left hanging from the claw began to twist as it was lifted into the air. Unable to withstand the movement, the claw dropped the stuffed doll.

“Hmm... The arm is weaker than I thought.”

“It looks like we have to grab it dead on so it won’t move like that.”

“We’ll have to be very precise with where we lower the arm then.”

Haruyama Shounosuke, which had fallen on his back, was smiling at the two disappointed girls. They’d watched that carefree smile slip right through their claws, but neither one of them was willing to give up. They were both poor losers, and they were determined to take him home with them.

“Let me try it this time!”

“The arm doesn’t stop right away when you hit the button, so remember to push it a little early.”

“A little early? Okay, I got it!”

Sanae stepped up to the machine as Theia moved around to where she’d been. Switching roles, Theia would be the one supporting her now. The truth was that they’d be most likely to succeed with just Theia playing on her own, but it would be less fun that way. While their goal was to take Haruyama Shounosuke home with them, the two of them being able to play together like this was just as much, if not more meaningful.

In the end, it took them five tries to succeed. They both played twice, and Theia finally managed to snag it on her third try. At 100 per game, they’d spent a total of 500 yen, which was a pretty decent result considering it was a game neither one of them was used to. But most importantly, their beloved Haruyama Shounosuke was now in their hands.

“Man, I wanted to win one too...”

Sanae, however, pouted and let out a small sigh. Haruyama Shounosuke was smiling right at her, but she was a little disappointed. While she was happy that they’d won, she’d actually wanted to be the one to do it.

“I was only able to get it because you put it in a good position.”

“That might be true, but still...”

While their goal had been to get Haruyama Shounosuke together, Sanae hadn’t been able to do much herself. She’d wanted to win one and be able to brag to everyone back home that she’d gotten it herself. That was just part of the fun of games for Sanae.

“...Oh?”

As Sanae glanced back at the game machine, she noticed a poster on the side of it with an illustration of Haruyama Shounosuke. Interested, she brought her face closer to it.

“Hmm...”

“What is it?”

“It looks like there’s a festival.”

“A festival?”

“It says it’s the 500th anniversary of the birth of Haruyama Shounosuke!”

The poster was a notice that the shopping street would be having a celebratory festival in honor of the real-life inspiration for the town’s mascot, the local General Haruyama Shounosuke. It would mark five hundred years since his birth.

“Ah, I see. So that’s part of the reason they had these stuffed dolls made.”

“Yeah. It looks like it isn’t just a normal festival either. They’ll have a bunch of different events.”

“Oh? Let’s see here...”

Sanae and Theia leaned in with their cheeks practically pressed against each other as they inspected the poster together. There would be ceremonies, live performances from local artists, a marathon rally, a flea market, and all sorts of other events. One in particular, however, caught both of their attention.

“Theia, look at this!”

“Indeed! It looks like our time has come!”

They looked at each other with sparkling eyes, nodded, and dashed out of the arcade. They were going to get a flyer for the event from the shopping street’s information desk.

With the flyer in hand, they headed straight home to room 106. They were eager to show it to Koutarou and the others.

“...An eating championship in honor of Haruyama Shounosuke’s 500th birthday?”

Koutarou read the flyer out loud with a confused expression. The event that had piqued Sanae and Theia’s interested was an eating contest.

“Koutarou, let’s all participate in it! The prize is amazing! Look!”

“A gift certificate to the shopping street for 300,000 yen?!”

What had really grabbed Sanae’s attention was the prize. The winner would receive a gift certificate worth 300,000 yen that could be used anywhere on the shopping street, as well as a life-sized Haruyama Shounosuke stuffed doll as a bonus. According to the man at the information desk, the shopping street’s chairman had decided to splurge on the event since it was the five hundred year anniversary.

“Heh, the shopping street will regret challenging me!” Theia boasted.

“It’s not like this was directed at you,” Koutarou said dismissively.

“Shut it, you! Defeat is not an option for the royal families of Forthorthe!”

Theia was raring to go because it was a contest. She was naturally competitive and loved games of any kind. Really, bringing up her lineage was an excuse. She was too embarrassed to say it, but it was her way of inviting everyone to participate so they could all compete together.

“Let’s all do it! With 300,000 yen, we can have high quality sukiyaki every day!” Sanae urged.

“She’s right! Let’s all participate for the sake of my glory! I will be the king of the competition!” Theia roared.

“...What do all of you think?” Koutarou asked as he turned to the others.

Koutarou himself didn’t mind participating. Everyone knew that Theia loved competitions and Sanae seemed unusually excited for it too, so he wanted to let them have their fun. The flyer stated that all food would be provided by restaurants from the shopping street, so he also wanted a chance to eat his fill. That said, he couldn’t force the others to join in, so he looked around the room to see how they felt.

“I will participate.”

“I’ll participate too. I want to eat a bunch of food.”

The first two to speak up were Ruth and Yurika. In Ruth’s case, she wanted to please Theia. Yurika’s goal was simply food. She’d get to eat if she participated, and if she happened to win, she’d get a prize that would mean more food. It was really win-win for her.

“What are you going to do, Satomi-kun?” asked Maki.

“I’m thinking of participating myself.”

“Then I will too.”

Maki wanted to be with Koutarou. In the past, she’d chased after him in hopes of forming a bond, but that wasn’t exclusively the case these days. Now she wanted to join in with the rest of the girls of room 106 as much as possible too. But since this would be a new and unfamiliar experience, she felt more reassured that Koutarou would be there. Everything seemed better to her with him around.

“I think I’ll join too.”

Apparently Kiriha was interested in the contest as well. Her inner child—who was normally well under control—was kicking and screaming for her to join in too. In the end, she decided it wouldn’t be too bad to let loose every once in a while. Her concern this time around lay elsewhere.

“The problem is those three,” she said, pointing to the girls across the room.

“I’m bad at eating a lot of food.”

“I want to participate myself, but I don’t know what my doctor would think.”

“I finally lost all that weight, so I want to avoid eating too much...”

Clan wasn’t a big eater in the first place. Harumi was in the same boat, but she was mostly concerned about her health. Shizuka had finally lost all the weight she’d gained from the hot spring trip, so she wanted to avoid putting it right back on again.

“It looks like you can give up at any time, so why don’t you all participate and just do it at your own pace?” Sanae suggested.

“She’s right! Just think of it as some free food,” Theia agreed.

“In that case, I think I will participate,” Clan acquiesced.

“Clan-san, why don’t we compete over a single plate?” Harumi offered.

“That sounds fun! Bring it on, Harumi!”

“Aw, Sakuraba-senpai, I want to do that too!” Shizuka admitted.

In the end, Sanae and Theia were able to convince the three girls to participate as well. All three of them thought it sounded like fun, they just had personal reasons for holding back. But if they could bow out at any time, they had no reason not to join in for a while.

“You’re in too, aren’t you, Koutarou?” Sanae asked excitedly.

“I won’t let you say no!” Theia barked.

“Yeah, I’m in. I just said so, didn’t I?”

Just as he’d told Maki, Koutarou was interested in the contest too. Participating would mean getting to eat delicious food from the restaurants on the shopping street, and he wasn’t about to let that opportunity pass him by.

“All right, then we’re all in for an eating contest!” Sanae cheered.

“Let’s all win this for my sake!” Theia cheered right back.

“I’ll be winning this time!”

“Ohoho, we’ll see about that! I have no intention of giving the win to you!”

And so Koutarou and the rest of the Corona House crew registered for a local eating contest. Sanae and Theia were the most into it. Seeing the sparks fly between them, Koutarou couldn’t help feeling there would be a fierce battle ahead.

The eating championship for the festival had three stages: the preliminaries, the semi-finals, and the finals. Today would be the preliminaries, and plenty of participants filled the venue. It seemed that the grand prize had attracted a lot of attention.

“This is quite impressive. There must be at least a hundred people here,” Theia said as she scanned the crowd.

“We’re going to win this, so that makes us the most impressive,” Sanae said with a proud smile.

“Ha! I like your style, Sanae.”

“Heeheehee...”

Despite being faced with such a large number of competitors, neither Theia nor Sanae seemed to have lost their nerve. If anything, their fighting spirits were burning even brighter.

“By the way, what’s being served for the preliminaries?”

Koutarou’s interest, however, was the menu rather than the number of participants. Curious about the food herself, Yurika had already looked it up.

“It looks like it’s dishes made with potatoes. Apparently the local Kisshou potato is going to be cooked various ways by the Japanese restaurant and the hamburger joint.”

“With so many participants, they’re probably planning on keeping costs low that way. There are plenty of variations, too. Stewed potatoes, deep-fried potatoes, roasted potatoes...” Kiriha added.

The more expensive dishes would be reserved for when there were fewer participants. For the preliminaries, they’d be better off sticking to cheaper ingredients that were prepared nicely by skilled chefs, or just sticking to familiar, well-loved comfort foods.

“I just hope the oily food is served later on,” said Harumi.

“It would be boring to have too many people drop out at the start, so that’ll probably be the case,” offered Clan.

“Goodness... I never thought about that. There sure is a lot to take into consideration with an event like this.”

“If it involves being sly somehow, you can always count on Clan to know her stuff,” Koutarou butted in.

“Shut it, you!”

Harumi and Clan, who both had modest appetites, were interested in the menu for different reasons than Koutarou and Yurika. It seemed, however, that the heavier foods wouldn’t be served until after they were already full.

“Potatoes, huh? Those are surprisingly caloric, aren’t they...?”

Shizuka had a slightly different worry than Harumi and Clan.

“One hundred grams of potato has about eighty kilocalories.”

Being data-oriented even when it came to cooking, Ruth immediately had an answer. Potatoes have a good deal of starch in them, so they’re calorie-dense compared to other vegetables.

“And they’re great when they’re greasy...”

“Yes. They’re excellent with butter or when fried in oil.”

“Aww...”

Restraining herself from eating something delicious was hard for Shizuka, but the consequences of indulging herself too much would be worse. As someone who loved food but was also worried about her weight, Shizuka was caught between a rock and a hard place.

“If you don’t like it, then why not drop out now?”

“No! The problem is that I do like it!”

“My... Well, that is difficult...”

Ruth, on the other hand, had been told to put on a little more weight by the people around her, so all she could do was pity the poor Shizuka.

“Hey, everyone, it looks like its starting.”

Maki saw the staff starting to guide participants into the municipal gym being used as the venue. It seemed all the preparations, including the cooking, were now complete.

“You look like you’re having fun, Aika-san,” Koutarou commented.

Though he was curious as to why she had a smile on her face, he thought it was good when she took interest in things.

“Do I?”

“You didn’t realize it?”

“No...”

Unaware that she was smiling, Maki began curiously touching her own face. Seeing Maki like that, Koutarou couldn’t help chuckling.

“Pffft...”

“Why are you laughing all of a sudden?”

With her hands still on her face, Maki cocked her head some. In that moment, it was truly impossible to tell that she had once been an evil magical girl or that she grew up under such cruel, harsh conditions.

“It’s nothing. More importantly, we should get a move on too,” said Koutarou.

“He’s right! Let’s go! We have to scout out our rivals!” Theia added.

“Maki, you try your hardest too! Our sukiyaki is counting on it!” Sanae added in turn.

“Ah, y-yes, I’ll do my best.”

Koutarou chose not to tell Maki why he’d laughed because he felt it didn’t need to be put into words. Maki was still curious about it, but she never got the chance to ask because Sanae and Theia whisked her away. Though she herself was unaware of it, that was exactly what she needed, and that was why Koutarou had laughed.

The preliminaries started with lighter fare, just as Clan had predicted. The first dish was imoni, a type of potato and meat soup, which had been cooked by the long-established Japanese restaurant from the shopping street. It was a large serving, but most participants were able to finish it, including Harumi and Clan who couldn’t eat a lot, and Shizuka who didn’t want to eat a lot.

“I did it! I finished first!” Harumi cheered.

“Ugh, to think I’d lose to Sakuraba-senpai!” Shizuka groaned.

“Well, I expected to come in last...” Clan sighed.

Clan, Shizuka, and Harumi were holding their own eating contest to see who could finish the first dish the fastest, and to everyone’s surprise, Harumi came out on top. She wasn’t a particularly fast eater, but Clan was completely inexperienced with trying to eat quickly, and Shizuka spent time carefully chewing her food to keep herself from eating too much. As a result, Harumi was able to edge them both out.

Following the imoni was a potato salad. It was made so that it would be light and easy to eat, but being an eating contest, the portion was heaping. It would be the round Clan, Shizuka, and Harumi all dropped out.

“This is the first time I’ve eaten so much of the same food... Ugh...” Clan moaned.

“I just hope I haven’t gained too much weight...” Shizuka fretted.

“Everyone, please don’t force yourselves,” Harumi offered, trying to reassure them.

But they weren’t the only ones suffering. Other participants were starting to drop out too, and the girls who had joined mostly for fun were next on the chopping block. The third dish, home fries, sealed it for them.

“I don’t think I can finish this one...” said Kiriha.

“Same here. They taste quite good, so I might try making some at home, but...” said Ruth.

“I wanted to go a little longer, but... I’m almost at my limit too...” said Maki.

All three girls had to put their forks down. Kiriha and Ruth only made it about halfway through their mountains of potatoes. Maki managed to finish all of hers, but she bowed out before even seeing the next dish. It was a turning point for a lot of the other participants as well. They were starting to drop out one after another, leaving only the hardcore eaters.

“Wahaha! I have abandoned manners for the sake of victory, and now I am unstoppable!”

Theia was one of the participants still in the running. Being as active as she was, she was used to eating a lot in order to keep herself fueled. It rarely ever seemed that way because her table manners were so refined, but she had forsaken them for this special occasion. Her plan was to eat as much as possible as fast as possible before her satiety center could kick in.

“You’re good, Theia! But I won’t lose either!”

Hot on her heels was Sanae. With the large amount of spiritual energy that circulated through her body, she used up a lot of energy in a different sense than Theia. As a result, she normally ate a lot of food too. The only reason she was slightly behind Theia now was because the potato salad had green peas and carrot in it.

“I have to eat as much as I can to recover my costs!”

Yurika was also putting up a good fight. She normally got poor mileage and rarely had the money to splurge on extra food, so she was determined to glut herself as best she could. While she wasn’t on the same level as Theia and Sanae, she was still up there with the best of them now.

“...There was no fee to participate, so there’s no cost to recover.”

Koutarou was a growing boy, and despite what the others had going for them, he was used to eating far more than they were. Moreover, he’d intentionally had a light dinner the night before and skipped out on breakfast that morning. Thanks to that, he was good and hungry by the time the contest rolled around and was able to eat at a faster pace than normal. He was among the top competitors and got to the fourth dish even faster than Theia did.

“But having this come out now is rough...”

The fourth dish was fried potatoes. Deep-fried foods were the heaviest fare yet, and the serving was enormous. On top of that, it was the fourth round. Such a heavy dish on top of everything that was already in his stomach was torturous. Even Koutarou couldn’t help but groan. Theia, on the other hand, had a fearless smile on her face.

“Would you like to give up?”

Theia had just finished her home fries, but even when the deep-fried potatoes were set in front of her, her confidence didn’t waver. Koutarou knew that she was just putting up a front, but it was still an impressive display of willpower.

“All you have to do is lower your head and say ‘I’ve lost. I entrust the rest to you, Your Highness’! Wahahaha!”

“Yeah, you can just leave this to us, Koutarou! I’ll definitely let you eat some of the sukiyaki I make with the prize money!”

About ten seconds after Theia, Sanae finished her own home fries. As a rather guileless girl, it showed on her face that she was having trouble getting down the deep-fried potatoes, but she didn’t let it slow her down any. She was a lot more fired up than usual.

“You idiots! The only way I’m going down is in history! A real man would never give up here!”

“Well said! I’ll hold you to that!”

“You’re cool, Koutarou! But this win is going to go to yours truly, Sanae-chan!”

“Everyone is so amazing... I don’t stand a chance...”

Yurika was still putting up a fight. She had been eating at the same pace since the contest started, but she showed no sign of slowing down. She was good at eating, just not quickly. Because of that, she still had room to spare, but she couldn’t keep up with Koutarou and the others. Koutarou, Theia, and Sanae were going to leave her in the dust.

In order to pass the preliminaries, all four dishes had to be consumed. If too many participants succeeded, they would take the top twenty who finished fastest. Only sixteen managed to complete the challenge, however, so timing wasn’t an issue. The sixteen semi-finalists included Koutarou, Theia, Sanae, and Yurika.

“Ohoho! Having four of us make it into the final sixteen is a fantastic result,” Theia offered in praise.

“It looks like we’re the only girls,” Sanae remarked.

“You guys are just special,” Koutarou teased.

“Even me?!” Yurika exclaimed.

“...No, you’re just greedy.”

“That’s mean!”

Aside from Theia, Yurika, and Sanae, all of the remaining participants were men. Moreover, they were all big guys that looked like they could really handle their food. Because of that, the three young girls stood out a great deal. The whole crowd had their eyes on them.

“Hey, it’s you!”

Out of the blue, one of the other participants approached Koutarou and the others. He easily weighed over a hundred kilograms, and each step he took caused the gym floor to shake a little.

“Is that someone you know, Koutarou?” Sanae asked.

“Nope. What about you, Theia?” Koutarou asked in turn.

“I don’t know him either. Isn’t he one of your cosplay friends, Yurika?”

“He’s not. I don’t know anyone like that.”

As the large man was unfamiliar to all of them, Koutarou and the others anxiously looked around. They figured he must have been calling out to someone else nearby, but he walked right up to them. Seeing that they were clearly confused, he offered a bright, friendly smile.

“I guess you don’t recognize me like this, huh? It’s me, you know. Remember me?”

“Oh!”

Getting a look at the man up close and getting to hear his voice, the lightbulb came on for Koutarou. It wasn’t until he introduced himself, however, that the others caught on too.

“I’m Daisaku, the Sun Ranger’s Yellow Shine.”

Daisaku whispered the last part so that only Koutarou and the others could hear. Since he was part of a secret organization, he couldn’t discuss it too openly.

“Oh, of course! What a strange place to run into you again!” exclaimed Theia.

“If the yellow one is here, does that mean there are bad guys around?” Sanae asked.

Sanae seemed a little worried. The Sun Rangers was an organization meant to combat aliens, the underground dwellers, and other potential threats. If Daisaku was present, it might mean he was on a mission.

“Pffft, yeah. Theia’s here.”

“Are you trying to pick a fight with me, Koutarou?! If I’m a bad guy, that means you’re my henchman!”

“Huh...”

“Ahaha, I’m actually here off duty. I’m good at eating, and I’ve got my eye on that prize money.”

Daisaku started to explain himself as a way to casually break up Theia and Koutarou’s glaring match. He seemed to be as considerate as ever.

“So a powerful rival has appeared...” Yurika mumbled.

“Sure looks like it. I feel like the yellow guy is always eating something...” Sanae mumbled too.

“We won’t lose! Everyone, let’s put our best foot forward here!”

While Koutarou and the others felt that it probably should have been the Red Shine that came to challenge them since he was the leader, it didn’t change the fact that they had some stiff competition now.

The semi-finals were held at noon the following day, with the finals later that evening. While it was a pretty tight schedule, it was only inevitable considering it was a weekend festival. The preliminaries had been held on their own day because with so many participants, the preparations were a serious undertaking. With fewer contestants in the semi-finals and finals, that cut down on the work that needed to be done and they could be scheduled on the same day. Very few contestants would have been able to return for a third day anyway as it would be a Monday, so it worked out well to wrap things up on the weekend, even if it meant the contestants would be eating that much more in a single day.

“...And you ate a ton despite knowing that?! Are you an idiot?!” Koutarou roared.

“B-But... the kelp mochi were so delicious!” Yurika whimpered.

“To be honest, I had a hard time passing them up myself,” Theia admitted.

“But why would you eat food you didn’t need to on the day of an eating contest?”

“But, but... I could eat as many as I wanted for free!”

“You idiot!”

While waiting for the semi-finals to start, Koutarou and the others decided to check out the rest of the festival. Apparently it was a mistake. She’d starved herself all morning, so Yurika couldn’t resist free mochi. By the time Koutarou and the others realized what she was doing and tried to stop her, she’d already gobbled down a good many of them.

“I guess that makes you a write-off...” Koutarou sighed.

“You’re an idiot. I always knew you were an idiot, but I had no idea you were this much of one...” Theia scolded, shaking her head.

“We’ll just have to do this, just the three of us! Get ready for a fight!” Sanae cheered.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry, okay?! I’m sorry for being born!”

It was clear that Yurika was out of the competition. The mochi in her stomach were expanding as they absorbed moisture even now. And with the semi-finals right around the corner, there was no time to starve her again. Day two of the contest hadn’t even officially started yet, but Yurika’s fate was sealed.

Starting with the semi-finals of the eating competition, the menu would be popular dishes from the restaurants of the shopping street. Based on a vote held beforehand, the fourth to tenth most popular dishes would be served this round. And since the finals wouldn’t be very interesting if all the contestants were full already, the semi-finals would largely be a contest of speed. The four fastest contestants to finish all six dishes would advance to the finals, where the top three most popular dishes would be served.

“Hnnngh... If only I hadn’t been taken in by the lure of that mochi... This looks so much better...”

“Everyone, let’s just forget about Yurika.”

“Please don’t forget about meee!”

“Don’t worry, Koutarou. Just leave this to me! Yours truly, Sanae-chan, will be the champion!”

“You think a princess of Forthorthe would go down that easily? I will be the champion!”

“Yeah, okay. Let’s stay positive. Nothing good will come from dwelling on the past. What’s done is done. Yurika’s dead meat, but we all still have a chance.”

“The round hasn’t even started yet! Waaah!”

Now that it was the semi-finals, the audience was really filling in and there were considerably more people than before. As such, the sixteen remaining participants were gathering in a waiting room before going out in front of the crowd. Since it was just a segregated area of the gym being used as the venue, however, it was a rather generous space. It was more than big enough to fit all sixteen of them. Once Koutarou and the girls entered, Daisaku of the Sun Squad immediately called out to them.

“Hey, guys! You’re all looking rarin’ to go.”

Daisaku had heard them before they came into the room, and while he hadn’t been able to make out what they were saying, he could tell how excited they were.

Grrrowl...

“Heh, sounds like you’re ready to go too, Daisaku-san.”

“My, how embarrassing!”

Daisaku’s growling stomach told Koutarou and the others just how motivated he was. Everyone knew that he had a massive appetite, and if his stomach was empty—unlike Yurika’s—then there was no telling how much he’d be able to eat.

“But I am serious about that prize. I’ll do whatever it takes to win it, even if I have to embarrass myself a little.”

As he said those words, the aura about Daisaku changed a little bit. He was still feeling bashful, but it seemed to be for a different reason. Sanae picked up on the subtle change, and grinned as she nudged him with her elbow.

“Ah, I see! Got a girl, huh? Need some funds for a date, do you?”

“Oh, was I that obvious?”

“Eeheehee!”

“Hey, Sanae, don’t just go reading people’s minds like that. I’m sorry about her, Daisaku-san.”

Suspecting that Sanae had used her powers on him, Koutarou hurriedly apologized to Daisaku.

“It wasn’t anything like that. Jeez, you have no faith in me...” Sanae said, shaking her head.

“Even I could tell that. You’re just dense, Koutarou,” Theia added.

“...I couldn’t tell,” said Yurika as she slumped her shoulders.

But Sanae told the truth. It was her female intuition that picked up on the change in Daisaku’s emotions. She hadn’t had to use spiritual energy at all. Pouting with her cheeks puffed out, Sanae crawled up onto Koutarou’s back. She wrapped her arms around him, planted her chin on his head, and demanded an apology.

“So what do you have to say for yourself?”

“I’m sorry, Sanae.”

“I need three times the sincerity.”

“I am very sorry, Lady Sanae.”

“Very good. I forgive you.”

Seeing Koutarou and Sanae’s endearing back and forth, Daisaku smiled sweetly. He wanted to be able to do something like that with his girlfriend.

“So, what’s this girlfriend of yours like?” Theia asked.

She was quite interested in who might be dating the Sun Rangers’ Yellow Shine, but to be polite, she didn’t ask directly who it was. Instead, she kept her questions more general.

“Well, she’s a sensitive and cute girl, but she’s often misunderstood and tends to lose out...”

“And you just couldn’t leave her be, could you?” Yurika asked.

A fan of all kinds of romance thanks to shoujo manga, even Yurika could understand Daisaku’s sincere and humble love.

“Couldn’t leave her be, huh? I’m not sure. I can’t say there was any specific reason I was drawn to her...”

“That’s just how people’s feelings are,” Theia said. “There isn’t always reason to it, exactly.”

“Heh, then yeah. I’d say it was probably because I couldn’t leave her be.”

Daisaku nodded. He had strong feelings for his girlfriend, and they were difficult to try and sort out. But in the end, what it really amounted to was that he wanted to be with her.

“And you want some funds for dates with this girlfriend, huh? Sounds like you can’t afford to lose, Daisaku-san,” Koutarou chimed in.

“That’s right. I’m not planning on letting anyone else beat me. Including you guys.”

“Well, the same goes for me, so here’s to the both of us!”

“Yeah!”

Koutarou and Daisaku bumped fists. As men, they had something of a mutual understand between each other in this situation. On top of that, they knew that they would both be each other’s real competition.

The menu for the semi-finals consisted of six dishes: beef stew from the long-established Western restaurant, takoyaki with onions from the takoyaki shop at the entrance to the arcade, katsudon from the pork cutlet restaurant, yakitori from the old chicken restaurant, twice-cooked pork from the Chinese restaurant, and a kebab sandwich from the fusion restaurant. They were all popular dishes from well known establishments on the shopping street. The participants would be competing to see who could eat all six dishes the fastest, and the top four would move on to the finals.

“I can’t eat another bite... Auuugh, but it’s so good... If only I hadn’t eaten all that mochi...”

The first to drop out was Yurika. Since she was already full, she just barely managed to get through the beef stew. It was the second dish, the takoyaki, that stopped her in her tracks. She could only eat about half of them. Taking all the mochi she’d eaten into consideration, however, Yurika still managed to eat an impressive amount of food. Her only mistake was eating before the competition.

“Too bad.”

“The exit’s over there.”

“Yeah, go tell Ruth and the others that the rest of us will be here a while longer.”

“Can’t you all be at least a little bit more nice?!”

“Don’t talk to us. We’re busy here.”

“Hnnngh... Life is so cruel... Waaah!”

Unfortunately, Yurika’s forfeiting didn’t win her any sympathy from Koutarou and the other girls. She had to take the walk off the stage by herself, lonely and defeated.

“...Are you sure it was okay to send her off like that, Koutarou-kun?”

“She only has herself to blame for this.”

“I see... She’s got a different air about her, but she’s a bit like Megu-chan.”

Even though one competitor was now out of the picture, neither Koutarou nor Daisaku slowed down any. If anything, they were picking up speed as one of their favorite dishes—the katsudon—was served.

“...Urk!”

However, that proved to be a mistake. Desperate not to lose to Daisaku, Koutarou was shoveling his katsudon down when a grain of rice got stuck in his throat.

“Hak! Hrrgh! Hak!”

Wham, wham!

Koutarou pounded on his chest in an attempt to choke down the rogue rice. Unfortunately, it didn’t help any. He then reluctantly resorted to reaching out for his glass of mineral water and gulping some down.

“...Phwah!”

Thankfully, that managed to flush down the rice and Koutarou was spared.

“Are you okay, Koutarou-kun?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Don’t scare me like that, Koutarou!”

“That’s what happens when you just throw food down your throat like that.”

“Yeah, I guess I’ll be more careful.”

Koutarou was fine now, but the ordeal had totally thrown him off his groove. He couldn’t help eating slower afterwards because he was worried about choking again. On top of that, it felt like the food in his stomach was absorbing the water he’d drunk, expanding and making him feel full faster. In a race to make it to the top four, all of those things were serious handicaps.

“Koutarou’s going to have it rough from here on out.”

“It looks like we’re going to have to do it ourselves then!”

“It sure does!”

Realizing that Koutarou was falling behind, Sanae and Theia began to pick up the slack. They were both way behind Daisaku, but there were still three spots available in the top four.

“Defeat is not an option for the royal families of Forthorthe!”

“My innocent maiden heart will lead me to victory... And that prize!”

Neither girl was willing to give up just because Koutarou was faltering. With victory and the prize in sight, they kicked their eating into high gear to try and catch up to Daisaku.

The first to qualify for the finals was Daisaku, who remained strong from start to finish. Second was a local fisherman, and third and fourth were Theia and Sanae respectively. Koutarou admirably came in fifth, but couldn’t catch up to the others. His hiccup in the middle of the race ended up costing him in the end.

“Sorry, you two.”

“We have no intentions of holding it against you. Just leave the rest to us.”

“Too bad, Koutarou! All you can do now is cheer for me!”

Koutarou apologized to Theia and Sanae, but neither one of them seemed to be upset. He’d simply gotten unlucky, and they didn’t blame him for that. Unlike Yurika who had set herself up for failure, Koutarou’s mishap was no fault of his own.

“Besides, if we look at this objectively, even if you had qualified, that would have meant one of the two of us didn’t.”

“She’s right. Only the first two of us to finish would have moved on anyway.”

Even if Koutarou had kept up with Daisaku, the fisherman still would have finished before Theia and Sanae. Only one of them would have been able to move on, but either way it worked out, they still had two of their group in the finals. In that sense, Koutarou’s defeat wasn’t so much of a tragic loss.

“But it is true we lost our best chance at winning this. We’ll have to come up with countermeasures immediately.”

“You’ll help us with that, won’t you, Koutarou?”

“Sure.”

With Koutarou out of the race, however, there was a question of who would be able to defeat Daisaku. He was without a doubt their biggest competition now, so Theia and Sanae had to try to come up with something that might give them an edge.

If they’d wanted, they could have used nanomachines to physically decompose the food already in their stomachs. But realizing that it would be unfair for them to use something like that that no one else on Earth could, they ultimately decided against it. Everyone had a certain amount of access to spiritual energy, however, so they decided that using that would be all right. But since having Sanae go all out still seemed like it would be a little extreme, they limited her help to improving their circulation.

“Sanae-chan special move: Astral Projection Feint!”

“What the heck? That’s unfair, Sanae!”

“Why don’t you use your own ‘Theiamillis-chan Washing Board Defense’ then?”

“Why, you little... Want me to kill you first?!”

In the end, Theia and Sanae mostly relied on exercising to try and work up an appetite again. They ran, jumped around, threw balls, practiced martial arts, and anything else they could think of to keep themselves in motion. Koutarou tagged along as something of a coach and for moral support.

“All right, maybe we should call it quits for now.”

There was a five hour break scheduled between the semi-finals and the finale of the competition. After spending four of those hours exercising with Theia and Sanae, he suggested that they give it a rest.

“Why? We still have time,” Sanae asked.

“She’s right. We need to use up as many calories as possible,” said Theia.

With an hour still remaining, they wanted to continue to exercise for a while longer. Koutarou, however, shook his head.

“Just cool your jets. Do you really want to eat right after exercising? And you want some time to shower and change too, don’t you?”

Theia and Sanae were concerned about trying to use as many calories as possible, but taking the way their bodies really worked into consideration, they would be better off to take a break before trying to eat again. And since he was constantly told to be more tactful, Koutarou was trying to show some consideration in telling them that.

“Now that you mention it, that’s true. I guess we do need some time to cool down.”

“Aww, are you saying you want to see us up on the stage in cute clothes and makeup?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“You don’t have to be shy. The truth is that you’d be happy to see Theia and me all dressed up, isn’t it?”

“Don’t worry. I shall present myself as a lovely princess you will be proud to serve.”

“I said that wasn’t it!”

Though Theia and Sanae had initially objected to Koutarou’s idea, they agreed to it after hearing him out. They both knew that nothing good would come from overdoing it.

Before they knew it, it was almost time for the finals. As Koutarou had been defeated in the semi-finals, only Sanae and Theia would be competing this time around. They felt a little anxious going up on the stage without him, but that anxiety was eased a little knowing another friendly face would be their. That said, they couldn’t exactly relax. That friendly face—Daisaku—was actually their biggest competition.

“I won’t let you win just because you’re girls.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way! You’ll be a worthy foe to defeat!”

“Yeah, this cute girl is still going to win! That’ll get the crowd really fired up!”

“Great! Let’s all give this everything we’ve got.”

“Yeah!”

“Agreed!”

After greeting Daisaku, the two girls took their seats at the table on the stage. Internally, they were still getting themselves pumped up. While Daisaku was their greatest foe, they were competing against each other too.

“I’m going to win this time! That sukiyaki will belong to me!”

“Not a chance! I’m taking that prize home for us!”

Sanae and Theia were enemies when they first met, and even now that they got along, they both stubbornly refused to back down when it came to winning. But it wasn’t just because they were somewhat childish or because they were both sore losers. It was because they had fun going all out when they played against each other. So even as they challenged each other as rivals, they were friends above all else.

“Now then, the event you’ve all been waiting for: the final round of the eating championship in honor of the 500th birthday of Haruyama Shounosuke!”

Just as Sanae and Theia sat down, the announcer’s voice echoed through the gym. The time was now 7PM, the hour the finals were scheduled to start. The event kicked off with the announcer explaining how things were going to go down.

“Now, let’s go over the rules one more time!”

For the finals, the three most popular dishes from the shopping street would be served. The winner would be whoever could finish all three first.

“And now let’s introduce our contestants! First is Higashihongan Sanae, who finished fourth in the semi-finals! Where did she even put all that food? Next is...”

The announcer introduced the four finalists as they climbed up to the stage. As they were two cute girls in the final round of an eating contest, Sanae and Theia in particular got the spotlight shone on them. It seemed to get the crowd excited, and it was clear they were drawing a lot of attention.

“It sounds like the crowd can’t wait for things to get started, and let me tell you, neither can I! Let’s see the first dish!”

With the rules established and the participants in place, the announcer indicated a large screen set up on the stage. As he did, it flashed to a picture of the first dish to be served: beef curry from the curry shop.

“I’ve got this!”

Upon seeing the picture, Daisaku was convinced of his victory. He loved curry. Even better, it was beef curry, which was his absolute favorite. He visited the shop on the shopping street to have it almost every day.

When the announcer gave the signal to start moments later, Daisaku claimed an early lead.

“Curry might as well be a drink! I can win this!”

Daisaku ate the curry like it was a soup. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was literally drinking it. It was only a matter of minutes before he gulped down the double serving. By then, the other three contestants had only finished about a third of theirs. It was clear to them now why Daisaku had been so confident.

“That guy’s an animal...”

“Is his stomach a black hole...?”

Theia and Sanae were mesmerized as they watched Daisaku wolf down his food. Getting distracted like that was a fatal mistake in a race of speed, but they couldn’t help it. They could barely even believe their eyes.

“Your Highness, Sanae-sama! You have to keep eating!” Ruth called to them from the crowd.

“Huwah?! Sanae!”

“O-Oh, right!”

With that, they snapped back to reality and quickly got back to eating. Thanks to Ruth, they weren’t distracted for too long.

“There are still two dishes left! We still have time to turn this around!”

“Let’s do this, Theia!”

While Theia and Sanae were rivals, they still felt like they were working together to defeat Daisaku. They cheered each other on as they dug in.

“All right. Looks like the second dish is going to be pasta, another favorite of mine. At this rate, I really might win...”

As the girls were eating away at their curries, someone brought Daisaku the second dish. It was a waiter in the uniform of the popular Italian restaurant from the shopping street, so he naturally assumed it was pasta. That was a good sign. Since it was another of his favorite foods, it seemed the second round of the finals would be smooth sailing too.

“O-Oh no! I forgot!”

However, the moment the dish was set in front of him, Daisaku went pale.

“Their most popular dish is squid ink pasta!”

Even though Daisaku loved food in general, there were still a few foods he couldn’t stand. Squid ink was one of them. He didn’t care for its unique taste or dark color at all.

“Bad luck for me, huh? Ugh...”

In any normal popularity vote, squid ink pasta would never score very high. In Kisshouharukaze City, however, it was something of a local seasonal specialty, and it just so happened to be in season right now. That’s why it was on everyone’s mind at the time of the popularity poll for the contest. If it had been any other time of year, Daisaku would have been spared the nightmare on the plate before him.

“Sanae, Daisaku’s stopped!”

“You’re right! Now’s our chance!”

While Daisaku had gorged on the beef curry, he was picking at the squid ink pasta like a little girl would green vegetables. Theia and Sanae saw their opportunity to catch up with him.

“Hahahaha, looks like fate has smiled on me!”

But the girls weren’t the only ones that were picking up momentum. Upon learning that squid ink pasta was the second dish, the remaining contestant began eating his curry even faster.

“Oh, right, he’s a fisherman!”

“Tch, I guess he won’t let us win so easily!”

There was no way a local fisherman would dislike squid or squid ink. Even if he didn’t particularly like them, he’d at least be used to them. So while the dish was a nightmare for Daisaku, it was a dream come true for the fisherman.

As everyone reached the second dish, the contest seemed to become anyone’s game. Daisaku, who had taken an early lead, was now struggling with the squid ink pasta and had fallen behind. The fisherman had jumped to the head of the pack, and Theia and Sanae were vying for second place. The margin between all four competitors was slim, so it looked like any one of them could still take the lead.

“I never expected this!”

“Stop talking and keep eating!”

While Theia and Sanae seemed as determined as ever, their petite, girlish frames were working against them. They were both gradually reaching their limits. Whether or not they could still win now depended on their guts as much as their stomachs. It was mind over matter from here on out. And even with their mouths smeared black from the inky sauce, both girls clearly had fire burning in their eyes.

“All right, bring me the next dish!”

The fisherman, however, was the first one to finish the pasta. It was somewhat expected, but he still seemed to have some room left for the next dish.

“Local fisherman Sasayama is the first to reach the third dish! That’s right, ladies and gentleman, the final round!”

The announcer’s excited voice echoed through the venue as a waiter delivered the third and final dish to the fisherman.

“To think it would be this... I was wondering why it hadn’t appeared yet...”

The third dish was ramen. There was no way ramen wouldn’t rank on popular dish poll. But while everyone had expected it, not everyone had expected it to come out last. This ramen in particular was the greasy variety that made abundant use of the fatty part of another local specialty, Harukaze pork.

“Chairman, you had no intention of letting me win, did you?!”

“I-It’s just a coincidence! It wasn’t intentional!”

Such a heavy, oily dish was tough on an older gentleman, especially when he already had a full stomach. Seeing it, he was sure the competition had been fixed against him.

“Sanae!”

“Yeah!”

Theia and Sanae forced down the last of their pasta. The pasta had stopped Daisaku, and the ramen had stopped the fisherman. The girls knew gunning through the ramen would be their last shot at victory.

“Oh no!”

“I can’t be picky now! I just have to eat it, like it or not!”

As Theia and Sanae broke into the last leg of the race, the fisherman and Daisaku desperately tried to eat faster. It was quite a daunting task, however, as they were both forcing themselves to eat things they really didn’t want to.

“I-I give up...”

Before long, the fishermen raised the white flag. He’d managed to get down half of the ramen, but his stomach couldn’t take any more. His old body got the better of him in the end.

“Theia, that guy just surrendered!”

“Now we just have to finish this to seal the deal!”

“Not so fast, you two!”

But just as the fisherman gave up, Daisaku finished his squid ink pasta. He’d had to put on the brakes for the pasta because he hated it so much, but he’d be going at full speed again on the third dish. Daisaku liked ramen almost as much as he did curry. He practically survived off of the two dishes. In fact, he may have even been made of them. So it was no surprise when he started to gobble down the ramen as fast as he had the curry.

“Yellow guy!”

“So you’ve caught up, beast!”

“You can practically drink ramen too!”

Sanae and Theia had already eaten up half of their ramen bowls, but Daisaku was quickly catching up. He was eating so fast that it easily looked like he might overtake them.

“We have to hurry, Sanae! There’s no time to spare!”

“I’ll definitely win! Sanae-chan will be the victor!”

“Megu-chan, I’ll definitely win and get those date funds!”

Daisaku dropped something of a bomb in the heat of the moment, but Theia and Sanae were so focused on their bowls that they hardly heard him. Right now, all they could think about was finishing the ramen in front of them. This was the home stretch.

“Maiden power!”

“The royal families will not be so easily defeated!”

“Megu-chaaan!”

The match was settled within a few minutes, but to the three contestants, it felt like forever. Each noodle was like its own battle.

“It’s oveeer!”

The three of them finished so close together that no one was really sure who’d actually won. They anxiously awaited the announcer to declare the victor.

“Our winner is none other than Higashihongan Sanae-san! A splendid victory against all odds!”

In the end, Sanae was victorious. She’d managed to drink up her broth and set her bowl back down on the table just moments before the other two.

“I did it!”

When her name was called, Sanae threw her hands up in the air in an explosive expression of celebratory joy.

Sanae’s victory was in large part thanks to her determination. She simply wanted it more than the other two contestants. Strictly speaking, it could have been said that her healthy body and spiritual energy made the difference, but in the end, it was sheer willpower that took her to the finish line.

“I’m sorry, Megu-chan. I almost did it...”

“It’s okay. You did your best, Daisaku-kun. Luck just wasn’t on your side.”

“Thank you, Megu-chan.”

“Besides, look at how happy that girl is. You wouldn’t want to take that smile away from her, now would you?”

Daisaku had come in second. He had done his best for his girlfriend, but he had fallen short right at the end. He hated squid ink even more than ever now. It was bad enough as it was, but now it had cost him his date funds.

“Hahh, I guess I lost...”

Theia had finished third. While she had performed excellently, she had the smallest stomach. Ounce for ounce, she probably put up the best fight, and if her size hadn’t been an issue, she would have come out on top.

“But this might be for the better...”

While Theia was disappointed when she first heard the results, she didn’t feel that way now as she watched what Sanae did after the award ceremony.

“Koutarou, Koutarou, look! It’s the stuffed doll I won!”

“Oh, wow, that thing really is big!”

Sanae had been going on and on about sukiyaki, but the first thing she did when she finally won was show off the bonus prize, the giant stuffed Haruyama Shounosuke doll, to Koutarou. Theia understood exactly why, too. This made up for not being able to win one out of the crane game at the arcade.

“That’s right! And it’s proof of my victory, so praise me with everything you’ve got!”

“You did good, Sanae.”

“With a more manly face!”

“Well done, my brother.”

“And one for the stuffed doll!”

“You’ve done well to come this far, Shounosuke-sama.”

“Heeheehee!”

Sanae also wanted to boast to Koutarou and have him praise her for winning the stuffed doll on her own. To Sanae, it didn’t really feel like she’d won until Koutarou acknowledged her.

“It’s no wonder she won, I guess. Koutarou already praised me for winning my stuffed doll...”

Seeing Sanae hugging the stuffed doll in such high spirits, Theia was able to honestly accept her defeat. It was a good fight, but Sanae had had more on the line.

“But Sanae... where are we going to put this?”

“In the room. Like right in the middle!”

“Hey now, that thing’s life-size!”

“It’ll be a reminder of Sanae-chan’s love and greatness every day!”

“I feel like all it’s going to do every day is get in the way...”

“Deal with it! Bask in my glory!”

“Hey, you know what? I have a good idea,” Theia offered.

“Yeah?”

“On the day after tomorrow, let’s ask Clan and Ruth to―”

While Theia had accepted her defeat this time, it didn’t mean she was going to back down. Sanae didn’t want that either. Her sparkling eyes said it all as she looked to Theia, and that’s why Theia had no trouble jumping into the fun with her again, competition or not.