[One Hour Later]
The banquet funded with an ultra-massive budget by the Einzbern family came to an end.
Other than Artoria and Shirou, only Nero and Mash ate a little.
Everyone else had already eaten their fill long ago, and all of them stared straight at "Shirou."
Nero had still wanted to show off her singing voice, but in the end, because there wasn't enough time, she had no choice but to give up. Instead, she invited them to make sure to come to the singing club next time.
Back at the atrium of 71 International Plaza.
Illya and Miyu cheered him on.
"Do your best, Shirou!"
"Don't worry. Rather than saying do your best, it's more like I've never even considered how I might lose," It wasn't confidence from Shirou, but a statement of the fact that was about to happen.
"Don't lower your guard!"
Sella, with her tsundere tone, said, "You just ate so much. Let's see what you do if you can't fit anything in when the time comes."
'Isn't there still Saber?'
Shirou didn't say that out loud. With Eagle Eye active, he had clearly realized that mentioning another person's name in front of a certain girl usually ended up being very unpleasant.
"Let's go, Shirou."
Because she had been eating all along, Artoria wasn't quite so desperately hungry for food anymore.
However, her desire to win had also been stirred up.
In short, surrender was impossible.
———
"Will this really work?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka, after hearing Nero's plan, was very worried, "Won't it be considered cheating?"
"No need to worry."
Nero waved her hand broadly, certain of victory, "Even without the tongue guard, I still have other preparations."
She had already observed: the organizers, in order to restrict Mapo Tofu, had switched out all the drinks to tea, milk, and fruit juice.
Which meant, as long as they took it slowly, she didn't believe for a second that she couldn't beat someone who had been eating nonstop for an hour straight.
"Then," Fujimaru Ritsuka, like Dumbledoor entrusting Hogwarts, said, "it's all up to you two now."
To be honest, she didn't quite believe the two of them could win, but… at this point, she could only treat a dead horse as if it were still alive and try to save it.
"Mm, I'll do my best," Mash took a deep breath, her expression firm.
Ritsuka was placing her hopes on them, and even Nero was this serious. There was no way to talk about surrendering before even fighting.
Win or lose, they had to at least take on the challenge first.
And so, the King of Big Eaters Couple Challenge officially began.
["Yahallo, my dear viewers, it's been an hour and Mengbao really missed you all."]
The cute host appeared in front of everyone.
She lifted her little foot, posing cutely in front of the camera with a V-sign.
Her watery big eyes blinked and blinked.
["After an hour of rest, finally it's time for the most important couple challenge."]
["This time the rules will be completely different from before."]
Mengbao-chan waved her little hand, and the camera panned over to the competition venue.
After an hour of preparation, the venue had been carefully arranged into a romantic love hall. At the center was a super-large heart-shaped stage, with rose vines and string lights twined around all sides.
At the center of the stage stood a specially-made ultra-long dining table. Each side of the table had reserved special seats for six couples.
While ensuring enough spacing, it also gave plenty of room for couples to interact.
In front of each couple was a heart-shaped number card, used to mark their number.
And standing on both sides of the table were staff members, all in matching uniforms with cute patterns on their clothes.
They could serve the contestants at any time.
After showing the audience the venue, Mengbao-chan said in her lively voice, ["This couple competition will differ from the singles in that it won't use an elimination format, but a points-based system."]
["The challenge is divided into two rounds: the first round has three stages, the second round has two stages."]
["Each time a couple completes a stage, ten judges will score them on their food intake and how much sweetness they show."]
["The score is out of ten points, and points accumulate. Which means, by the end of the competition, the couple with the highest total score will be the champion of this Couple Big Eater Challenge."]
After Mengbao-chan finished her enthusiastic introduction, she pointed her little hand, ["Then without further delay, let's welcome the contestants in."]
———
"It's really lively," In the crowd, Tohsaka Rin sighed.
"Indeed."
Mitsuzuri Ayako was surprised, "I didn't expect a big eater contest to attract this many people."
"Maybe they did a really good job setting it up," Sakura guessed.
"What a twist of fate," Romani looked helpless.
He hadn't expected that Shirou would end up participating in the couple challenge.
And Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash had also gotten involved.
Who knew how things were going to turn out.
["Now let's welcome our first couple,"] The host greeted with a smile, ["Seimu and his girlfriend, Mary (Merlin in disguise)!"]
"Mary?"
Romani, upon hearing that name, froze once, then froze again.
Then his eyes widened, "MARY!"
"You've got to be kidding!"
He clutched his head and wailed, "Impossible, impossible…"
But when he saw the beautiful girl walking on stage, he finally gave up hope.
His whole figure turned ashen.
"Why, why did you deceive me."
"This guy…", Shirou, waiting to enter, saw Merlin disguised as a beautiful girl acting all cutesy for the audience, and honestly felt disgusted.
Artoria hadn't reacted yet. Her small face was serious, pondering, "Mary? Why does it give me the same feeling as Sir Merlin?"
'Because it is Merlin.'
Shirou practically couldn't even find the strength to complain.
'Where had those two popped up from?'
He had no memory of them at all.
["All right, let's welcome the next couple…",] After waiting through a dozen or so couples, it was finally their turn.
After all, they had only signed up at the last possible moment.
When the host's voice rang out, Artoria, like a king about to march into battle, her expression solemn, her posture straight as a blade.
Matched with the formal dress she wore to attend, there was a strong feeling as if she were going to get married.
The staff smiled brightly at her and said, "You need to link arms and walk out together."
"Link arms?", Artoria was startled.
Shirou's face changed.
The staff member said confidently, "If a couple doesn't show a bit of intimacy, how can it work?"
"But…", Shirou's tone was strained, not knowing how to explain.
Of all the times, Nero had to jump in right then, "What, are you planning to surrender already?"
She pressed a hand to her chest and declared proudly, "If you admit defeat now, I can forgive your crimes."
Artoria, who had never considered herself a woman but a knight, when she heard those words, her eyes sharpened, and she directly linked arms with the boy, "Let's march, Shirou, and show that impostor the might of the Lion!"
"O… okay," Shirou's voice was stiff.
The staff member patted his shoulder playfully, "Relax, not intimate enough yet, shoulders should touch."
"..."
The scent of the girl, like blooming lilies, slipped into his nose.
And that soft sensation.
Every detail was so beautiful.
Yet Shirou felt like he was walking on thin ice.
The moment they stepped out…
["OOOHHH!"]
Mengbao-chan's eyes went wide, her tone filled with excitement, ["Grand, grand! Beautiful, elegant! Amazing, too amazing!"]
["Such a perfect bride!"]
["And the groom is very handsome too!"]
The host shook her head wildly, intoxicated, ["No kidding, just seeing the two of them makes you hope they'll always, always be together. So sweet, I've been sunk…"]
She pretended to collapse, then stood up laughing, ["Tada tada tada tada, Mengbao-chan is back again."]
And then she teased, ["Contestant Emiya Shirou and contestant Artoria, are you two planning to get married right here on the spot?"]
"Marriage?"
At that word, everyone narrowed their eyes.
Especially when they saw the two of them intimately arm-in-arm, shoulders touching.
The emotions that rose up, together with Shirou's unease, reached their peak.
"How interesting," Merlin grinned watching this scene, his delight overflowing through the screen.
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