Eating Contest
Several days passed after the imposter incident, and as the Clearflow Lake stratum was returning to its usual state of daily affairs, I was forced to participate in another one of the meetings held by the eatery owners, whose stores had regained their customers.
“Thanks to our employment of a large number of hunters who can use earth magic, repairs have finished on approximately ninety percent of the settlement’s walls.”
“Wow. The Hunters Association has been working hard, too, it seems.”
“As long as we get that wall finished, we’ll be perfectly defended.”
Munami, the usual moderator, claps her hands, and the shopkeepers follow suit in applause. After all, now they can do their jobs without worrying about outside enemies.
The reason the repairs on the outer walls proceeded faster than we thought is, as Munami explained as well, in large part due to the Hunters Association securing a great deal of people capable of using earth magic.
Before, over half the wall was just wooden stakes, and it would be embarrassing to say it could protect against much. Now, however, the settlement is surrounded by tall, thick earthen walls.
“Silence, please, everyone. It looks like the wall will be complete in two more weeks. Once our safety is secured, we can expand the settlement even more and get a large influx of people. That is why I’ve been thinking of holding an event, dubbed the Wall Completion Commemoration, which will be a joint effort among all the eateries.”
This is thanks to the eateries on this stratum taking the Chains Restaurant incident as an opportunity to forge a pact. It’s so nice that their relationship isn’t hostile but cooperative.
“I’d like for the event itself to be an eating contest.”
“Yeah. Hunters eat a ton, after all. They’ll be excited, eh?”
“Right. And if we offer the winner a prize, we can expect a lot of participants.”
“Plus, if we take a small entrance fee, we won’t end up in the red because of it.”
An eating contest, huh? A standard event with simple rules. This should be exciting.
“I got it. We should go with the most filling foods we can.”
“Why don’t we separate the women—and have them eat sweets?”
“On the other hand, if we use food that’s easy to eat to show off how much they’re eating, it might make the crowd happier.”
Varied opinions go back and forth in an energetic debate. They relied totally on me last time, so it sets me at ease seeing them getting this pumped up about it on their own.
Well, I guess it’s rude to talk like I’m somehow above them. I’m just borrowing the power of the items I can put into the vending machine anyway.
“Then let’s aim to do this in two weeks and have the general store owner create flyers and posters. Let’s keep the energy levels up, everyone!”
“Yeaaah!”
As I watch the store owners thrust their fists into the air, I wonder if it was really necessary for me to be here… They didn’t ask for my opinion even once. I feel a bit left out.
When I look at how excited the owners are— Seriously, why did they bring me here?
*****
Several days passed after that, and the settlement is now bustling with festival preparations.
They’ve decided the event will take place in front of the Hunters Association building, and they’re proceeding apace with the venue setup. It’s still under construction, so there are more than enough carpenters—even though it’ll be used for only one day, they’re creating an awfully grandiose stage for this. Posters with contest information on them are hung everywhere the eye can see, and flyers are being passed out as well. It looks like we’re reaching peak excitement in anticipation of the big day.
Each of the stores will apparently provide the participants with prizes; if you manage to slip into the top five, you’ll get a fairly large prize. I’ve only heard a few possibilities being thrown around, but the weapons shop and item shop are giving away a full set of hunter’s weapons and tools. The other prizes sound like things any hunter would want, too.
Because of all that, the number of willing participants in the contest increases by the day, and the organizers practically weep with joy. I’m happy for them.
“Mr. Boxxo, please, we’d like you to lend us your strength!”
I’ve been invited to an extra meeting again—and those cries of delight have turned into just plain crying as the store owners start whining all at once to me.
Every single person wears a tragic expression as they press into me like a horde of zombies.
“H-hey, you’re scaring him!”
“Settle down a little, old-timers.”
Lammis and Hulemy, who came with me, placate the store owners, who manage to calm down.
“Anyway, what do you want to ask Boxxo, exactly?” asks Hulemy. “Last I heard, preparations for the eating contest were going just fine.”
“Uh-huh. I’m going to enter, too.”
“About that, Lammis. You’re right—it’s going great, and we have more participants every day. At least, it was great, until we found out they would be competing.”
Munami stops talking there and stares at Lammis with a grave look.
They, eh? From that dangerous-sounding tone, I imagine some assassin has blended in with the goal of disrupting the event. The Chains Restaurant would be a likely candidate.
Munami opens her mouth to speak again.
“That infamous contest wrecker, Shui the Inhaler, as well as the Band of Gluttons, will be taking part in the eating contest.”
Suddenly, I understand the situation they’ve found themselves in. The biggest eater of the Menagerie of Fools has an appetite that the number of coins she’s put into me can vouch for. On any given day, she can easily eat five times what a normal person can and then say, “It’s easier to move around when you’re not full” with a completely straight face. If she’s competing, I can’t blame the store owners for being so rattled.
And the four from the Band of Gluttons are participating with her? Their stomachs are nothing to scoff at. Once before, when all five were eating and drinking for real, they made me have to restock my items twice.
Apparently, it’s possible for Tasmanian devils to eat half their weight in food in a single sitting. Despite being small, they must weigh around fifty kilograms. In that case, if they pulled out all the stops, they’d easily be able to eat over twenty kilos. And if four are participating, I really can’t blame these guys for falling into despair. Nope.
They will be charging a small entrance fee, but that’s not going to be anywhere near enough when it comes to those five.
“At this rate, we won’t just take a loss—we’ll go bankrupt! No amount of our cooking will be enough!”
“I heard that eating contests the Band of Gluttons enter don’t just run out of food—they run out of garbage, too…”
“We put all this effort into joining forces, but now we’re doomed!”
Heartbroken, the store owners pound their fists on the ground, but they don’t forget to spare a flattering glance or two for me. I remember this exact thing happening once before. Just quit it with this little farce for now.
“Okay, I see. You want Boxxo to suggest ways or products that will do something about those five big eaters, right?”
Appearing to have learned from previous experience, the owners nod in time with one another. They started at the exact same moment, and they nodded the same number of times. I want to believe it’s all coincidence.
In order to satisfy those big eaters, we have to either feed them a lot—or have them consume something filling beforehand or during the event.
I know— Why not make their drinks carbonated? If they make the contest foods heavy or spicy, they’ll get thirsty more easily and have more of the carbonated drinks.
The meal would have some problems in the health area, but for an eating contest, health doesn’t matter one bit.
With that settled, I drop a two-liter bottle of cola into my compartment. Lammis takes it and places it on the table. The store owners all gather around, but they’re confused as to what it is.
“Um, this is a fizzy drink that feels funny when it goes down your throat,” explains Lammis.
“I drink it because I like it,” adds Hulemy, “but it’s sweet and fills you up fast. I think Boxxo wants to say that if he provides this along with the food, it might reduce the amount of food they eat. Right, Boxxo?”
“Welcome.”
They don’t seem to grasp it even after hearing their explanation, so Lammis pours some into cups for everyone. They take it, but again, they just look at it; nobody puts it to their lips.
Every time it bubbles, they give a start. Unable to watch them continue like that, Hulemy downs hers in one gulp.
“Phew! I could get addicted to the way it bubbles down my throat.”
Seeing her drink it enthusiastically and wipe her mouth seems to whet their curiosity, and they all drink, though only a sip.
“Whoa, what is this? I’ve never felt anything like this before.”
“It’s like something’s popping in my mouth. It might be too sweet, but it goes down easily, thanks to how fizzy it is.”
“I think I like this.”
It looks like they have mostly good opinions of it. Still, some people might not enjoy it, which could be a problem.
“If we served this instead of water, wouldn’t the participants complain?”
“Ahh, yeah. I’m not sure I can drink much more of this.”
“In that case, why not let them choose between this or water?”
“No, if we do that, the ones who pick water will have a clear advantage.”
At this point, I have to leave it to the owners. In complete contrast to before, they offer one insight and proposal after another, so I’d like to think they’ll be fine now.
I remain an observer for a while, and as Lammis and Hulemy sip their milk tea, also not saying anything, the organizers come to a decision.
The eating contest will offer both water and cola, and they’ll leave it up to the contestants to pick which one they want. In doing so, those who choose water will have a clear advantage, but they thought of an interesting way around that.
In the days leading up to the contest, the stores will all stock cola, selling small amounts for rather high prices. By doing that, when the contestants learn they can have the cola for free at the eating contest, many might be swayed to choose the cola instead.
Why, that’s brilliant. If you really want to try to win, you should pick the water, but they’re not in the eating contest as a job. I wouldn’t blame them for losing to the temptation right in front of them.
“There you have it, Mr. Boxxo. If you could provide it to us at a reasonable price, we would be greatly in your debt.”
As the store owners rub their hands and make their request, I almost give them an exasperated grin. But I’d planned to sell it to them at a price that wouldn’t drive them into the red from the start, so I accept with a “Welcome.”
Now the preparations are complete. All that’s left is to wait eagerly for the day of the contest.
