After one round of preliminaries, the only people Shirou knew who made it into the semifinals were Sakura and Liz.
The others, like Illya and Miyu, took a few bites and gave up right away.
Totally just there to make up the numbers.
Sella didn't even sign up, you could tell just by looking she didn't dare.
"Go, Liz!"
Illya and Miyu cheered on the expressionless Liz.
Liz blankly made a fist gesture, "Mm, I… will win."
After the eliminated left, Shirou noticed only four women had advanced.
Besides low-key types like Sakura and Liz, the other two were not small in size.
The men who looked like they could eat also weren't small in size.
Next to him, Artoria, watching them wolfing down food, was so hungry she couldn't stand it.
She wished she could jump down and compete immediately.
How to describe the Ahoge King now. Well, Shirou had already been in disguise for nearly half an hour, and she still hadn't realized.
As the second round of preliminaries was about to begin, the atmosphere grew intense.
Pretty girls draw attention anywhere, but especially ones who could eat so much and show no change at all.
In short, Sakura's popularity was sky-high.
She was about to be cheered on by the crowd.
A flawless smile paired with Yamato Nadeshiko elegance, plus graceful eating pace, it really struck a chord.
"Mmhm," Next to her, Nero's eyes sparkled with interest, "So many pretty girls, all my favorite beautiful maidens!"
She spread her arms in rapture, stepping like in a dazzling dance.
"Pretty boys are fine, but in the end, pretty girls are the best!"
"Just by standing there, they brighten up the surroundings so much!"
Her gaze swept over Illya, Rin's group, and Sakura.
She was already thinking about how to scoop them all up.
"Um…", Nero's attitude had Mash dripping with sweat.
"Don't you agree?", Nero suddenly turned to her.
"I, I…", Mash couldn't say a word. She just wished someone would come rescue her.
'Ritsuka, why, why is this so different from what you told me!'
She really wanted to hide in a bathroom and cry in secret.
'Girl–girl? No way, absolutely no way.'
'Please save me, Ritsuka!'
Meanwhile, the Fujimaru Ritsuka in question didn't realize how serious things had gotten.
Blending in with the crowd, she was eagerly waiting for the two to appear.
The blonde ahoge glutton's strength needed no explanation.
When shopping, she'd seen with her own eyes how the buffet staff (exaggeratedly) had to kneel and beg her to leave.
The key thing was, the girl had angrily said, "I wasn't full yet, why won't you let me keep eating…"
Just from those words, you knew her strength.
If not, Ritsuka wouldn't have chosen her.
And certainly wouldn't immediately aim for first place in the doubles contest.
She didn't believe anyone could out-eat that glutton.
It had to be said, the Fortune Restaurant had really gone all-out for this contest.
Round one had been Chinese food for a fiery start.
Round two switched to Western food, again with three dishes.
Golden crispy pizza, tender juicy steak, and pasta were all set before the twenty contestants.
Rules: again, eat as much as possible in fifteen minutes.
This time, ten contestants would be eliminated.
"Yo~ welcome, everyone, to the very first Fortune Restaurant–sponsored Glutton King Challenge at 71 International Plaza!"
"I'm your super super cute host, Mengbao-chan, nya~"
Wearing pink cat ears and twin tails, the adorable girl made a glittery peace sign as she appeared.
She held the mic to her lips, showing off her figure and cuteness with exaggerated gestures, "Right now we're in the singles preliminaries of the Glutton King Challenge! The second round is a fiery Western food showdown, Nya~"
"The detailed rules were already explained, so Mengbao-chan won't repeat them. I'm sure everyone can't wait for the second round to begin, right? Nya~"
She cutely gestured with her fingers, "And surely you're all paying attention to the hot contenders of this match."
"Besides the participants already considered dead-set for the championship, two super super super dark horses have appeared, both adorable pretty girls, Nya!"
Saying this, host Mengbao-chan's eyes also lit up.
The cameraman cooperatively zoomed in on Liz and Sakura.
Liz blinked blankly, Sakura smiled demurely.
"In the first round, they both handled it with ease… unbelievable, to keep such perfect figures while eating so much, Nya~"
After her commentary, Mengbao-chan checked the time and returned to the point, "Well then, without further delay, the second round preliminaries, twenty to ten, officially begin!"
"Will the dark horses pull far ahead, or will the favorites catch up? Let's wait and see~ Nya!"
The so-called "favorites" were contestants the organizers had specially invited to keep the crowd excited: well-known food streamers, or strong contenders from other contests.
Among the twenty, at least five had actually won championships elsewhere.
You could tell by their eating technique they were very experienced.
And all broad-shouldered, barrel-waisted.
There had also been several attractive female streamers invited.
But they were eliminated in round one.
Now, with even prettier girls like Sakura and Liz, the organizers completely gave up on rigging things behind the scenes.
"Go, Liz! Whether or not we get that double-door fridge depends on you!"
Sella waved with passion.
Honestly, the Einzberns could buy however many fridges they wanted.
But it wasn't the same as winning one.
Liz cutely paused and raised a hand in reply.
Sella nearly jumped, "Idiot, don't stop eating!"
"Sakura, don't lose!", Ayako Mitsuzuri cupped her hands and shouted.
"Go… go!"
Yukiko Sanegawa, not knowing who to cheer for, shouted softly enough that only those nearby heard.
The contest burned on hot.
Sakura and Liz advanced round after round.
After Western food and Japanese cuisine challenges, they finally reached the Extreme Food Challenge with only five contestants left.
"Hello everyone~"
Host Mengbao-chan was brimming with energy, forgetting to add "Nya" as she spoke into the mic, "After three thrilling rounds, the final five have been decided."
"And unbelievably, it includes the pretty girl Sakura, and the stoic beauty Liz. Both have fought their way into the semifinals."
"Could it be, they'll surge ahead and take the championship?"
Mengbao-chan's flawless little face leaned close to the camera:
"Such tense, exciting speculation! And by the way, Mengbao-chan forgot to say 'Nya' earlier, so let me make up for it, Nya~"
She cutely made a cat paw gesture at her cheek, then said, "All right! Next comes the devilish East–West fusion challenge!"
"This round is completely different, it's a true challenge to the limits of the body."
"We've combined Chinese and Western food."
"For example, hamburgers stuffed with char siu, or pizza topped with mapo tofu."
At this, Mengbao-chan's tone grew solemn, "Audience, this time's mapo tofu, if you treat it like ordinary mapo tofu, you're gravely mistaken."
"To push this round's 'extreme' challenge to the maximum, we've invited the man with a very special reputation in the food world, Kirei Kotomine!"
The camera shifted, revealing a figure that made Shirou suck in a sharp breath.
Wearing an apron, waving to the camera, was the Mapo God himself.
That delighted smile already made clear what sort of thing he'd prepared.
'Not good! Not good at all!'
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