Chapter 13: The Taste of Rice Changes Based on Who's Eating It. But Doesn't How You Serve It Matter Too?

The day of the Food Fight Festival arrived.

Being middle schoolers required parental supervision, so they registered Hahari-san as Kurumi-chan's mother to get her signed up. Honestly, is that really okay...? Well, rules are whatever, and with Hahari-san's influence she could probably pull anything off... so let's roll with it.

Originally this tournament only allowed 10 participants anyway. Through Rentarou's persuasion? Threats? And Hahari-san's money and authority - good ol' adult power - they bent the rules so everyone could participate... love that. I'm not here just for the gelato, but since we're doing this, I want to win and deepen my bond with Kurumi-chan and everyone.

I mean? Rentarou's gonna become the man who changes laws eventually anyway. Like making harems legal in Japan. Honestly, with this rigid monogamy system worsening the birthrate, why not allow polygamy? The best solution is women partnering with capable men! Like Rentarou or Rentarou or Rentarou... oh and Rentarou.

Now then. The festival's about to begin, but I've prepared a little secret weapon. Earlier, while we were all riding together in Hahari-san's stretch limo to the venue...

"...So to help everyone eat as much as possible, I made this digestion-boosting special smoothie!"

"Kusuri helped with medicine too!"

That's right - smoothies. Heavy dishes would be tough to stomach even if they're gut-friendly.

"What... did you even put in this?"

"Tofu, apples, bananas, chicken breast, and other stuff!"

"We threw in every digestion-friendly ingredient we could find!"

We did carefully select them though. Like excluding potatoes - gentle on stomachs but not suitable for smoothies.

"Won't it taste awful with so much random stuff mixed together?"

"Just trust my skills on this one! I made sure to keep it sweet."

Admittedly, overloading smoothies usually backfires. But I've carefully balanced the recipe.

"...Mmm~!! ❤︎"

"Whoa?!"

"Kurumi really enjoys eating, huh..."

"It's delicious... but why's a smoothie warm...?"

"Wouldn't cold drinks hinder digestion? Hence: warm smoothies!"

"You considered even that...?"

Man... people with expressive reactions are just fun to watch. Kurumi-chan's enthusiasm while eating really boosts her charm. Not that she isn't usually plenty charming...!

"It's true... I can't believe this helps digestion..."

"Kusuri's medicine helps too!"

"Eugh... Are we sure this is safe...?"

Hahari drinks it eagerly despite her surprise, Kusuri-senpai gulps it proudly, while Karane sips cautiously while doubting the medicine. Can't blame her after all the "medicine incidents" we've suffered. But it's fine. Guaranteed.

"Don't worry - we properly tested the medicine's potency this time."

"We tested it on me and Kawaru while gradually weakening the formula."

"While adjusting the medicine’s overpowered effects, it was kinda scary how absurdly fast Rentarou and Kawaru’s digestion became for a while there."

Yeah. That was seriously messed up. Might’ve been the first time I ever felt food digest the instant it hit my stomach. If we hadn’t kept eating nonstop, it would’ve been bad. Thank god the antidote could counter it…!

"I legit thought I was gonna die."

"I saw the River Styx…!"

"You went that far to make this…?!"

『『『『『Thump…!』』』』』

"Um… I-I mean… th… thanks…!"

『『Thump…!』』

Nghh…!! S-such a good girl… Kurumi-chan’s such a good girl…! I wanna feed her more…! Wanna cook for her till she collapses…!

…Wait, no no. She’s gonna eat till she drops today anyway. Can’t spoil her appetite now. That said, I did make extra smoothies… including the dangerously effective ones. Not like we’ll need those, though.

By the way—this batch only has 0.5 drops of medicine in it. Yep. Coming from the two guys (One ex) who nearly died from a single test tube’s worth, trust me—this is the right dosage.

...Now, the perspective finally returns to the venue.

"No need for rules explanations! Just eat, eat, and EAT—the one who devours the most wins, yeeeah!!"

"WOOOOOOH!!!"

As expected of a Food Fight Festival. Both participants and spectators are fired up like never before. Cheers engulf the venue, and the overflowing excitement reaches even us.

"The energy here is insane..."

"[The enemy’s morale is crazy.]"

"Now then, let me explain the rules!"

"Didn’t you just say no explanations were needed?!"

True enough. He did say that earlier... Is this host just running on hype and momentum? Or is this a big, deliberate gag waiting to be called out? Thank goodness Karane was here to react—without her, this would’ve been painfully awkward.

"Now, in this Food Fight Battle—"

"Each round will—"

"Hey, host! Your mic’s cutting in and out!"

"It’s fine if you can’t hear... These rules are the same as in the original work, so just go read that!"

"Some readers might only be reading this novel, y’know?! And let’s be real, how many people actually keep the original manga next to them while reading?!"

"Eh...? But long explanations are boring, and without the original’s sexy background art, this just feels dull..."

"It’s true... Without the original’s alluring illustrations, half the charm is lost..."

"Enough! Somebody explain this properly to the readers!"

"Alright, I’ll handle it... Hey, Rentarou, mind striking a cool pose for us? Y’know, like those pics you sent Hakari. Keep your clothes on, though..."

"No way?! Readers wouldn’t even be happy with me doing that! And it’s not like they can see it anyway!"

"It’s not about visibility—it’s about doing it. Hell, I’m not even visible to the readers! I’ve avoided confirming my appearance outright since it’d be tricky. I do have a rough AI-generated reference image, but... the art style’s kinda... hard to replicate, y’know?"

"That’s your behind-the-scenes reveal?! But...! Ugh... Even if they can’t see it, the act itself matters... Denying this would mean denying Kawaru’s very existence!"

"It’s not that deep?! It’s just about hyping me and the others up by seeing Rentarou..."

"Then... I’ve got no choice! RAAAGHHH!!!"

["KYUN...!!"]

Damn, my nose’s about to bleed—oh wait, it already is. What even is this? Not like I’m into Rentarou’s nudity or anything, but... this kinda thing just hits different...! What’s with that expression?! Disgraceful... This calls for punishment...!

(For the record, Rentarou’s currently striking poses like a seductive panther, biting his lip, covering his mouth with one hand—all kinds of steamy stuff. Impressive. This alone is lethal. Look at the girls behind him—their faces are bright red, noses bleeding, and Rentarou’s still fully clothed. Me too, though.)

...Wait, we’ve gone way off track. Sure, today’s story needs this much digression to fill the runtime, but still. Feels extra meta today, huh? Or is that just normal? Yeah, probably. Anyway, let me quickly summarize the Food Fight Festival rules for the readers.

So, uh... There are five rounds total, and participants can freely choose their lineup. Registered members can compete in as many rounds as they want, with as many people as they want. Each round awards points based on placement, and the final round’s points are doubled. Highest total points wins.

Oh, and there’s a preliminary round to weed out weaker teams—only the top three advance. Gonna be rough.

"Hah... Can I stop now? This is too embarrassing...?!"

"Alright, that’s enough, Rentarou... I’ve safely saved it all in my mental folder, so don’t worry."

Phew. Feels refreshing... Lost so much blood my mind’s crystal clear now. Nose blood, that is.

"What part of that is reassuring?!"

"I’ll share the mental pics with you later..."

"I don’t need my own pics?!"

"As for what you'll be eating in the preliminary round—"

"Skipping the explanation again—"

"Like hell we are!!"

"...I failed..."

"...It's rice! The venue is stocked with every side dish imaginable, but no matter how much you eat, only the rice counts! This is purely a test of how much plain rice you can stomach!"

"I see... Just rice alone would be brutal."

"But focusing on side dishes would be inefficient..."

"[So it's a balancing act between rice and sides, eh?]"

Huh... Yeah, this is torture. Even though the competitors are all hardcore eaters, having side dishes right in front of them but knowing they can't indulge—or rather, shouldn't if they want to win—that's just cruel. What kind of sadistic game is this? And it's only the preliminaries...

"Now then... Who's going out for the prelims?"

"Sending everyone would maximize how much we can eat!"

Hmm... That would be ideal, but there are still five rounds after this... What to do? Kurumi-chan seems determined to compete in all of them. ...All of them?! That's insane... Or is it? She can pack it away, so... maybe? Worst case, she can always drop out mid-match... Fine!

And so, the prelims begin. Representing the Rentarou Family Team are Kurumi-chan and Rentarou himself. Since Kurumi isn’t quite as close with the others yet, Rentarou—the one she’s tightest with—steps up. That’s our Rentarou...!!

["KYUN...!!"]

...Hm? Neither the manga nor this novel ever show Rentarou actually saying that? Well, whatever—it’s just the usual telepathy at work, boosting affection levels on its own.

Right off the bat, Kurumi-chan eyes the side dishes. Normally, you’d stop her... but Rentarou?! Just because she’s cute doesn’t mean you should spoil her—she’ll fill up too fast and... wait, she isn’t?! In fact, her pace just skyrocketed?!

And that’s not all! Her obscene enjoyment of the food is hypnotizing the other competitors into grabbing sides too! So this was Rentarou’s strategy all along...!!

"Seconds, please!!"

"Here you go, Rentarou~❤︎"

"Seconds, please!!"

["We’ve been waiting for you~"]

"Seconds, please!!"

"I-It’s not like I plated this for you or anything, idiot!!"

"The flavor changes depending on who serves it... What kind of taste buds does this guy have?! Is it love?! Do his tongue’s receptors just sense affection?!"

"I don’t really get it... but I do know Rentarou’s amazing!"

"...Damn right!"

…Huh? "The horror of no one to react"? What's that?

…Still, Rentarou's seriously insane!? He's been eating nothing but rice nonstop… Sure, the whole family's been serving him, but… how can anyone eat that much even if the flavor changes!?

"Here ya go, Rentarou! This time I went light and fluffy—packed it so the rice goes down easy!"

"Seconds, please!!"

"Now it's heavy! A packing style that concentrates the umami of the rice!"

"Seconds, please!!"

"Maybe this style works too… My take on Hahari-san's plating…!"

"Seconds, please!!"

"Rentarou's taste buds this and that… You’re one to talk when you can change the flavor just by how you plate it…!?"

"What’re you saying, Karane? Plating does change the taste! Look, if you pack it like this…"

"Amazing… The rice’s flavor got even deeper… richer than before…!"

"…See?"

"‘…See?’ doesn’t cut it!!"

Thanks to the girls’ plating, Rentarou pushed past his limits and finished the rice. And Kurumi, boosted by side dishes, just plowed straight through. With this, first place in the prelims was guaranteed—or so they thought…!

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"Now, announcing the preliminary results! In third place… Team Rentarou Family!"

…No way. Sure, it was just the two of them, but after eating that much, they’re only third!? Impossible. Then who’s above them…!?

"Second place… Team Gourira Alliance and Yuu-kun!"

"Yuu-kun and special gelato, aah~n, hoo! But Yuu-kun… you don’t gotta push yourself, hoo!"

"I… I wanna eat gelato with you too, Boss…!"

"Yuu-kun…!!"

No way. Those people from the Bouquet Toss!? To meet them here… Feels like we’ll probably run into them again later.

"And finally! The strongest and the strongest! Two as one strongest? No, both the strongest! First place… The Gluttony Champions Team!!"

"What’s with those sizes…!?"

"That’s ‘Takeko Super Deluxe’ and ‘Chanko Explosion Nishiki.’ Both reigning world eating champions—prize kings tied for first."

"Aren’t those, like, One Piece world sizes…?"

"[Straight up Buccaneer or Giant proportions.]"

"And there’s two of them…!? This is like two Emperors allying—Kaido and Big Mom…!?"

"Aren’t they way too huge!? The perspective’s broken here!!"

Hold up. The current eating champs… tied-for-first-place champions teamed up!? That’s not just Kaido and Big Mom—that’s like Whitebeard and Roger joining forces! C-can we even win against this…!?