The girl's movements remained graceful, composed—not at all like the frantic, frenzied stuffing typical of eating contests.
It was hard to believe that such leisurely movements could possibly conquer this terrifying mountain of meat.
At first, Zero was absolutely convinced of this…
…But very quickly, he realized the truth.
Though Yuuko's movements seemed unhurried, they possessed a certain rhythm…
…Each lift and placement of her chopsticks perfectly matched a steady, continuous beat, without the slightest hesitation or pause between bites.
In Zero's experience, enjoying a good meal always started quickly and gradually slowed. As one's stomach filled, the speed naturally decreased.
But Yuuko's rhythm never slowed. Zero never once saw her pace falter or drop. Initially, he thought her unhurried manner looked terribly slow—but after ten continuous minutes, he clearly understood how wrong he'd been.
The girl's movements remained serene and effortless—but now, nearly a third of that horrifying mountain of meat had already disappeared!
Even scarier was the fact that Zero hadn't even noticed how much she'd consumed until now. Yuuko's rhythmic eating made the meat pile shrink steadily, smoothly, at a consistent pace. To find an analogy…
…Boiling a frog in lukewarm water?
It wasn't a perfect comparison, but close enough—she was steadily, persistently, creating an impossible miracle through the simplest, most unassuming actions.
Folding a sheet of A4 paper in half once is trivial—anyone could do it…
…But folding it in half a hundred times was unquestionably a "miracle."
Time passed minute by minute. Rina had long since finished her own ordinary meal and now rested her chin on her palm, watching Yuuko's face with great interest.
Yuuko seemed completely immersed in the enjoyment of her food. Her expression bore a faint, contented smile as she continued elegantly savoring every bite.
As if carefully discerning the subtle differences between each mouthful, she ate with such captivating intensity that simply watching her made one's own appetite grow.
…it wasn't just Rina. Zero could clearly see patrons at surrounding tables staring in astonishment. Initially, they'd chuckled quietly at Yuuko's casual, leisurely pace, but now their mouths hung open wide enough to shove their fists in.
And what made this even scarier was that, despite the massive volume she'd consumed, Yuuko's stomach showed no visible change whatsoever.
…This had already completely transcended common sense. Zero immediately realized that trying to apply normal human logic to a 2D-type girl like this was itself utterly absurd.
After his initial shock and admiration subsided, he simply thought: the girl enjoying her meal with such blissful contentment was surprisingly adorable.
Just moments ago, she had been a distant ice-queen, aloof and cold—but now, she resembled a young girl tenderly enjoying her favorite doll.
At last, she swallowed the final bite. Apart from a few lingering grease stains, the massive basin now contained absolutely nothing.
The girl put down her chopsticks, letting out a satisfied sigh.
"Indeed, even better than I imagined."
Rina grinned, waving her hand cheerfully. "Right? If I recommend a place, it's obviously reliable~ Haha, glad you liked it. Now then…"
After paying—though actually, since she successfully conquered the Mega-Eater Challenge, the meal was completely free, and they even received bonus prize money—Yuuko seemed completely uninterested in the cash reward. It seemed she hadn't joined the contest for prize money or glory at all—she'd genuinely done this just to enjoy delicious food.
"So, where shall we wander around next? Haha, we'll decide as we go~"
The remainder of the afternoon was spent aimlessly strolling around, the two girls leisurely exploring from one end of the shopping district to the other until evening approached.
"Well, it's about time we headed back, otherwise we won't make tonight's gathering~ Though seeing each other there would've been fine too, this sort of casual meetup was still more relaxing~"
Rina stretched exaggeratedly, picked up Zero, and spoke pointedly to Yuuko. Yuuko simply nodded quietly, not objecting.
"Mm, today was fun. Then… see you later."
Both sides waved goodbye—but suddenly, Yuuko seemed to remember something and spoke up again.
"Zero-kun and Hajime-chan… please take very good care of them."
Earlier during their stroll, Rina had already introduced both plushies—of course, just as stuffed toys.
Naming plushies wasn't anything strange; overflowing, pink-tinted girlish affection explained everything. But Yuuko's sudden seriousness caught even Rina off guard, making her vaguely sense something deeper behind those words.
"Eh? Well… Ah, yes! I definitely will!"
Rina seemed tempted to ask something more, but eventually refrained, smiling calmly instead.
After watching Yuuko leave, Rina casually pulled out her phone.
"Alright, I guess I should head back too—I still have troublesome things to deal with tonight~"
Although in reality Rina had been away for over two months, by the Real World's reckoning, she'd only stepped out for the day and would return home that same evening.
She quickly dialed, speaking cheerfully.
"Could you come pick me up at the usual place, Genji-san~?"
A respectful middle-aged man's voice immediately answered from the other side:
"…Yes, Ojou-sama."
Zero froze instantly, a sudden feeling hitting him hard: something was very different from what he'd imagined.
Shortly after, a luxurious-looking black limousine smoothly pulled up in front of Rina. Zero didn't recognize the car brand at all—it probably belonged to a company that hadn't existed back in his original world.
Not particularly strange; although social structures seemed similar, this was still a different world, after all. Familiar corporate names being replaced by unfamiliar ones was perfectly natural.
Rina entered the limousine casually. Seated in the driver's seat was a middle-aged man dressed in a formal black butler's uniform. He nodded respectfully toward Rina and asked gently:
"Did you enjoy your day out, Ojou-sama?"
"Mm-hmm, it was super fun~ Then let's head back, Genji-san~"
"Yes, Ojou-sama…"
With these simple exchanges, Zero's mind filled with question marks…
…Wait a second, why did this suddenly feel like some bizarre scenario straight out of a cliché manga?
The car drove straight out of the city and swiftly headed along a winding mountain road leading deep into the hills. Zero stared blankly as the road twisted and turned, winding ever deeper into the mountains, until suddenly…
…It opened up, revealing a luxurious complex of villa-like buildings, resembling some sort of secluded resort.
"You can stop here. I'll walk the rest myself~"
Just before the car reached the entrance of the villa complex, Rina suddenly asked Genji to stop at the main gate. Although clearly confused, Genji didn't question her decision—he simply nodded calmly.
"Understood, Ojou-sama…"
Rina stepped out. The moment the car door closed behind her, with no other outsiders nearby, Zero immediately blurted out the critical question on his mind:
"Um… Rina? Out of all these buildings here—which one's your house?"
This whole sprawling villa-resort complex had far exceeded Zero's ability to comprehend; he'd completely stumbled into his own mental blind spot.
At his question, Rina tilted her head, looking confused for a moment—then smiled brightly and answered casually:
"Huh? Which one? You're asking that? Well… all of them are mine~"
---
T/N: ?????????????????????????????????????????????????
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
discord.gg/wisetl
patreon.com/wisetl