"So what are you going to do?"
Seeing the two preparing to leave the shop, Gojo Satoru immediately grabbed Panda and Inumaki Toge by the scruff of their necks and hid back in the alley.
"Don't worry, my plan is absolutely flawless."
Gojo Satoru turned and gave Panda a thumbs-up, even cutely sticking out his tongue.
"Speaking of which, there's something I want to ask you."
Panda suddenly hunched up, pressing against Gojo Satoru like a black and white dumpling.
"What?"
Gojo Satoru was very curious about Panda's sudden mysterious action.
According to Gojo Satoru's experience, such a situation meant something fun was about to happen.
Only, he didn't expect that this time the gossip would be about him.
"Do you have someone you like?"
Panda's bear face was slightly red, and he was very curious.
Shoko Ieiri was a workaholic, and while Suguru Geto hadn't been heard to have a girlfriend, he had a daughter, which Panda couldn't quite figure out.
Among the five strongest first-year students at the High School, only Gojo Satoru had shown no signs, and he himself hadn't explicitly stated anything.
"Huh?"
Gojo Satoru tilted his head, deep in thought.
"Hmm, how about Luffy?"
An unexpected name emerged from Gojo Satoru's mouth.
"Isn't that an anime character?"
Panda felt his mood was like a roller coaster, reaching the peak only to drop rapidly.
"Think about it, Luffy and I would definitely get along well, right?"
A scene suddenly appeared in Panda's mind.
"This would definitely be very interesting!"
"I think so too! Alright, let's do it!"
Gojo Satoru and Luffy, one on the left and one on the right, hands raised in front of them, excitedly discussed one imaginative "game" after another.
Then they extended their mischievous hands towards the students at the High School and the crew of the Going Merry.
'No, I absolutely cannot let these two get together.'
Panda shivered.
If he were discovered by Luffy, his fate would definitely be worse than Chopper's.
He wasn't as strong as Chopper.
Suddenly, Panda realized something.
'Wait, isn't Luffy an anime character? Why am I worried about the two of them getting together?'
Thinking this, Panda immediately looked at Gojo Satoru.
But he found that Gojo Satoru and Inumaki Toge had already followed Eichi and Artoria a long way off without him noticing.
Panda immediately realized he had been fooled by Gojo Satoru... In front of the gossip trio.
Eichi was leading Artoria to the next gourmet shop to check in.
However, something Eichi hadn't expected happened.
The izakaya that had been open just fine yesterday was not only closed, but its sign was also covered by another huge banner.
"Did this shop close down?"
Eichi found it a bit strange, but it didn't matter, they could go to the next one.
Just then, a friendly Young Miss waitress walked up to the two of them.
"Are you two also here for the eating contest?"
The Young Miss waitress placed one hand on her abdomen and slightly raised the other, directing their gaze towards a long table where more than a dozen people were already seated.
"Eating contest?"
'Why didn't I find this activity when I checked the travel guide yesterday?'
Eichi was a bit puzzled, but looking at the competition site, which was already surrounded by many people, he could only attribute it to being too busy yesterday and overlooking it.
"That's right, the competition is about to start, and the rewards are very generous, absolutely will not disappoint you."
The waitress continued to introduce enthusiastically.
"Want to try it, Artoria?"
Eichi turned to look at Artoria.
"We have more than ten kinds of exquisite and delicious ramen, and they're unlimited too."
Just as Artoria was about to speak, the waitress offered a condition that Artoria could not refuse.
"I want to try it."
"More than ten kinds," "exquisite and delicious," "unlimited."
A short sentence contained too many reasons Artoria was unwilling to refuse.
"Two contestants."
Seeing Artoria's clearly moved and expectant expression, Eichi really couldn't bear to refuse.
"Okay, please come this way."
What Eichi didn't expect was that as soon as the two were seated, the waitress immediately walked to the stage.
"I announce that the first eating contest officially begins now. Please, all contestants, choose your favorite ramen."
Soon, an exquisite menu, clearly feeling freshly printed, was placed in front of the contestants.
The first things to catch the eye were the classic Island Country ramen flavors: miso, tonkotsu, and soy sauce.
Below them were Shin Ramyun, tomato ramen, and so on.
Eichi chose Shin Ramyun, and Artoria chose tonkotsu ramen.
Perhaps due to a preference for light flavors or a scarcity of crops, the spiciness of food in the Island Country is far less than in the Eastern Great Country.
So, the flavor of Shin Ramyun isn't actually that spicy; in Xiang Province, it would probably be considered mildly spicy.
Unless you order special dishes like 'devil spicy,' the spiciness of Island Country cuisine is indeed not high.
Once the contestants confirmed their ramen flavors, freshly made ramen was quickly brought out.
The noodle soup was off-white, with a few slices of meat and chopped green onions as garnish in the middle, and a sprinkle of chili on top.
The portion wasn't particularly large, but Eichi was used to it.
After all, the portion sizes and presentation of Island Country food could almost all be featured in shops in the Eastern Great Country.
Then they would be priced at 98, 198, 298, or similar…
The main focus is on being exquisite but small in quantity.
Eichi immediately started eating.
The noodles were very soft, and this softness allowed them to absorb the soup well, making them even more delicious.
As soon as the first bowl was finished, the waitress brought out a Extra noodles (kaedama).
(A kaedama is an extra serving of noodles, served in a bowl without soup.)
Because soft noodles absorb soup better, after eating four servings of kaedama, the soup in the bowl was noticeably insufficient, and the noodles became a bit dry.
"Another serving of soy sauce ramen."
Artoria finished her eighth bowl of kaedama.
"Is that for real? She's eating so fast! The sumo wrestler next to her has only eaten six bowls."
"Unbelievable."
"So amazing, and so elegant."
After finishing another bowl of kaedama, Eichi ordered a seafood ramen, then looked towards Artoria.
He saw that the bowls around Artoria were already stacked high.
Artoria's dining movements, which perfectly conformed to aristocratic etiquette, and her incredible eating speed had already begun to draw exclamations from the people.
10 bowls, 15 bowls, 20 bowls… Soon, more than a dozen contestants, including Eichi, all withdrew.
Only Artoria and the sumo wrestler, estimated to weigh 250 jin, remained in the arena.
What was more shocking than the exaggerated size difference between the two was their performance.
Artoria had already reached 28 bowls, and the sumo wrestler had reached 23 bowls.
"Unbelievable! This Young Miss has actually suppressed a professional sumo wrestler! Are we going to witness the birth of a miracle today?!"
The host narrated with an impassioned tone.
Finally, the sumo wrestler's score stopped at 25 bowls, while Artoria stopped after eating 36 bowls.
It wasn't that Artoria couldn't eat anymore; it was that she had already carefully tasted all the flavors of ramen.
12 kinds of ramen, each paired with two bowls of kaedama, just enough to consume all the noodle soup. Artoria wiped her mouth contentedly.
"Let me congratulate this beautiful Young Miss for defeating a strong contender in this competition and setting a new record!"
Cheers soon echoed throughout the entire street, and the audience's enthusiasm even surprised Eichi.
'Is this event really that famous? Was yesterday's travel guide expired?'
"Hello, this is the grand prize for this competition. Please use it at the shop across the street."
The waitress smiled and produced a coupon.
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