Nero's eyes immediately widened, and she angrily pointed at the Seiba, "So it was you who snatched my gown, and even dared to impersonate my face, this is outright disrespect!"
If there were a sword here, she'd definitely pull it out on the spot and punish this name-stealing scoundrel.
"But…", Nero admired her for a moment, then proudly lifted her head, "As expected of me, no matter what dress I wear, I'm the very image of beauty."
"Hah, what are you saying now?", A question mark popped above Artoria's head; she didn't understand a word.
She had only just been surprised that Nero looked very much like her.
"Eh?"
"Eh!"
Mash, the moment she saw the Ahoge King, turned and glanced at Nero, repeating this three times.
Her brain was as stunned and helpless as Mr. Bean seeing his car flattened, not knowing what to do.
She even forgot she was supposed to stay silent and blurted out, "Th-there are two Artorias?"
"What Artoria?"
Nero realized something and showed displeasure, "I am Nero, Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, how could I be some name-stealing pretender?"
"First time could be an accident, the second time, what is that supposed to mean?"
Artoria no longer chose silence, ignoring Mash, and asked sternly, "If you don't give a reasonable explanation, should I understand this as you issuing a challenge to me, you impostor?"
"What?"
A '#' character appeared on Nero's forehead, "You say I'm an impostor? You stole my clothes, dressed like me, brazenly showed up in front of me, and yet you call me the impostor?"
Green-gem eyes flamed, "Even if you're a pretty girl, I will not forgive you!"
"Hmph, you little brat—"
"Wait, Saber."
Shirou, now in the disguise, came forward to stop the farce.
Although he was seeing one of those beloved Type-Moon scenes, if he didn't stop them now, they might attract Illya and the others' attention.
Even with the system's top concealment plus the disguise, Shirou would be under immense pressure.
His way to divert attention was simple, suddenly look at Mash and say, "They both seem to be girls."
At those words, nearly thirty couples in the area fell silent.
When Mash realized she'd been exposed, she grabbed her head and wailed, "It's over, I totally forgot just now!"
"…"
"Well, I just have a voice that sounds a bit girly, but I'm actually a domineering boy."
Mash made a last-ditch excuse.
It had almost no effect.
The various awkward expressions cast at her made her wish Fufu would run her over.
Nero boldly admitted, "That's right, you are both girls. Beautiful girls are my delight; this is the art of mutual love. What objection do you have?"
'She admitted it!'
'She admitted it!'
And it was almost a declaration of war.
Mash nearly fainted upon hearing it.
"No… that's not—", She wanted to explain, remembered Fujimaru Ritsuka's line about 'if it fails, then it's success,' and swallowed the words back.
In the end, like a child who'd done something wrong, she could only stand there ashamed, frozen.
Eyes fixed on the ground, toes curled inside her shoes, embarrassing enough to gouge out a villa.
'Save me, Ritsuka, this is something I really can't do.'
She wanted to cry but had no tears.
"I see, then it looks like a misunderstanding."
The Ahoge King recognized Mash; from Mash's surprised reaction she quickly deduced the identity mistake.
However, she didn't care if it was male–female, male–male, or female–female, she only cared—
Eyes sharp, she stared straight at Nero, "Answer me, impostor, are you issuing a challenge to me?"
Battle intent ignited like prairie fire, blazing fiercely.
"How bold."
Nero put hands on hips, "In that case, shouldn't it be you issuing a challenge to me? Fine, since you make such a statement, I cannot ignore it."
She said proudly, "I happen to be entering the eating contest too, let's settle this with that match."
"That's exactly what I intend," Artoria would not be outdone.
Shirou, wrapped up in the disguise, looked odd.
Not to mention himself, competing against the Ahoge King in an eating contest?
Does she have that much physical advantage to give her such confidence?
"You—"
A staff member came forward slowly, "We've just received a report that someone here is violating rules, what's going on?"
"That pair are both girls."
The reporting couple pointed at Nero and a flustered Mash.
"N-no, there's a reason…"
The staff faced Nero, who was unafraid and even boldly held her head high, "Excuse me, are you a couple?"
"Of course, I love cute, beautiful girls the most," As she spoke, Nero's eyes glittered.
"Then there's no problem."
The staff smiled broadly, "Sorry, but that's how the rules are. As long as you are a couple, you can enter the pair challenge."
The couples at the scene looked at the staff with "this is allowed?" expressions.
The farce ended, and Shirou breathed a sigh of relief.
At last he could direct his attention back to the ongoing single challenge.
It was the preliminaries.
Elimination format.
The selected foods were buns, dumplings, and soup dumplings.
Competitors needed to eat as much as possible within fifteen minutes.
Pubfuture Ads Judges scored based on eating speed and amount; the top twenty scorers would advance to the semifinals.
Each round would eliminate four-fifths or even five-sixths of contestants at once.
Shirou's gaze moved over Illya, Miyu, Sakura, Rin, and their friends, observing.
'They are probably here for the show.'
'No!'
'Sakura's appetite… could she be using magecraft!?'
'Did she give her stomach a two-dimensional pocket using her "Imaginary Number" attribute?'
Sakura, next to Mito Ayako, ate calmly and evenly. Dumpling shaped like a sycee, then a bun, then a soup dumpling.
Her pace was steady; she didn't look like someone who could eat a huge amount.
Totally different from those who started stuffing food into their mouths frantically.
Different from those who'd signed up just to watch.
But these quiet types were often the scariest.
Because when others slowed down, she kept on.
A bit terrifying.
Rin and Mito Ayako were actually not bad.
Mito Ayako, being a martial artist, had no small appetite.
She just didn't pace herself; she ate a lot in the first few minutes and then basically stopped.
"Sorry, Sakura."
Mito Ayako clutched her stomach in defeat, "I'm out."
"That's fine."
Sakura's speed didn't drop a bit as she spoke, her tone linked to elegance, "Senpai, I'm already delighted you'd mess around with me."
Her gaze slid toward Rin.
Rin also stopped eating.
Seeing this, Sakura's mouth twitched with a slight smile, feeling somewhat victorious.
'If only the senpai saw this, it'd be even better.'
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