Chapter 484: The Banquet and the Feast!
"Ten more pork-and-vegetable okonomiyaki!"
"And ten more of those beef tendon and green onion ones from earlier!"
"Oh, right! Ten orders of stir-fried spaghetti too!"
"And finally, ten mixed okonomiyaki and ten classic ones. Hmm… that should be enough for now."
"Oh, and please bring me two large pitchers of juice. Thank you!"
After easily drinking all four of his opponents under the table, Luke went to the restroom.
When he returned, he immediately heard that familiar voice placing an order.
Without hesitation, Luke walked over.
At the same time, he stole two plates of sauce-fried noodles and a snack platter from beside Stella.
"Stella, has your appetite gotten even bigger?"
Unlike Luke, the banquet's main target who had been surrounded and forced into drinking matches, Stella had practically been eating nonstop since the banquet began.
Aside from offering Luke a toast and congratulating him at the start, she had done nothing but eat.
Seeing how relaxed she still looked, Luke felt her appetite was almost catching up to his own.
The sudden voice beside her made Stella, who had been fully focused on the food, pause.
At first, she looked slightly embarrassed.
After all, such an absurd appetite was hardly something a young woman could take pride in.
But then she realized it was Luke.
The faint embarrassment vanished immediately.
If someone else had approached while she was stuffing herself, Stella might have felt awkward.
But Luke?
This guy ate even more than she did.
There was nothing to be embarrassed about.
"It started after I finished training with Nene-sensei and completely mastered Dragon Spirit."
Stella sounded rather helpless herself.
If possible, she certainly would not choose to eat this much.
For a young woman, devouring food like this was hardly elegant.
But she had no choice.
"If I don't eat this much, I lose all my strength."
"I even get so hungry that I become dizzy."
"It's not like this every day, though."
"If I don't use Dragon Spirit, my appetite is still close to what it used to be. It's just a little larger."
"But whenever I use Dragon Spirit, my appetite goes crazy for about three or four days afterward."
While explaining, Stella reached toward the table for another plate.
Then—Her hand found nothing.
Stella blinked in confusion.
She clearly remembered having at least two more plates of noodles and snacks beside her.
So she turned suspiciously toward Luke.
Chew, chew, chew~
Gulp.
Luke swallowed the final bite.
Then he innocently blinked at Stella and gave her a bright smile.
Anger!
"LUKE! THOSE WERE MY NOODLES!!!"
"What's the big deal? I'll order more for you."
"Of course it's a big deal!"
"Do you know how painful it is to wait for more food when there's nothing left to eat?!"
"You should understand that better than anyone!"
"Heh. That's exactly why I did it."
"You were happily eating the whole time while I was surrounded and forced to drink."
"This is revenge for destroying my mental balance!"
"…That's horrible!"
"You were torturing me with food earlier. That was just as horrible!"
"I wasn't doing it on purpose!"
"Heh. Don't think I didn't see you conspiring with Shizuku earlier…"
"Ah, the food's here. You can put it right here."
"Waaaah! That's what I ordered!!!"
"Damn it, why couldn't Shizuku have kept you busy longer…"
"Excuse me, we'd like to order some more."
"WHAT?! Luke, you're eating way too fast!"
"Leave some for meeeee!!!"
...
Few people had dared approach Stella's side of the table in the first place.
Once Luke joined her, even fewer were willing to come near the two enormous eaters.
Their presence while eating was simply too intimidating.
Anyone unaware of the situation might have thought the semifinal between Luke and Stella had entered a second round.
The banquet continued for quite some time, primarily centered around drinking and eating.
As time passed, everyone gradually shifted toward casual conversation.
Luke and Stella's feast finally ended—Or rather, every chef Moroboshi had specially hired from the surrounding two or three streets collapsed from exhaustion.
Only then did the eating portion officially come to an end.
Seeing his opportunity, Arisuin shook his slightly dizzy head.
His drinking match against Luke had left him somewhat lightheaded.
Then he pulled several photographs from his pocket.
After clearing one of the tables, Arisuin called everyone over.
"These are some interesting photos I took while all of you were competing~"
As Luke and the others gathered around, a trace of pride appeared on Arisuin's face.
He had not participated in the Seven Star Sword Art Festival.
Although he had withdrawn by choice, there was still some lingering regret.
So he had taken these photos to give himself at least a small sense of participation.
And it was not empty boasting—Arisuin was quite skilled with a camera.
Several of the photographs were exceptionally good.
Some could even be called stunning.
"I watched every match from the first round all the way through the final."
"And naturally, I took pictures of all of them~"
"But if I had to choose the best…"
"Hmm. It really would be these two."
While everyone eagerly traced the tournament through the photographs, Arisuin pulled two from the middle and placed them on top.
"So it really is these two."
Touka sighed as she looked at them.
One showed Luke versus Stella in the semifinal.
The other showed Luke versus Ikki in the final.
Three of the Festival's four semifinalists appeared between the two pictures.
Touka was the only one missing.
But she did not mind.
The difference between those two battles and every other match was obvious.
"Thinking back, I was so caught up in the atmosphere during the matches that I didn't really notice…"
"But looking at these now…"
"You three look absolutely wrecked."
Touka was referring to Luke, Ikki, and Stella in the photographs.
Especially Luke and Stella's semifinal.
Arisuin had happened to capture them during one of the most brutal moments of their fight.
"That's exactly why I'm saying you all went way too far!"
This time, it was Shizuku who spoke.
She had only recently woken up.
As the mastermind behind provoking Luke into the drinking contest, Shizuku had naturally been one of his primary targets.
She was not good at holding alcohol to begin with.
Once Luke deliberately targeted her, she had gone down almost instantly.
Fortunately, Shizuku herself was a water user.
Otherwise, whether she could even stand after waking up would have been questionable.
"Onii-sama, Luke, and Stella too!"
"Your matches were completely ridiculous!"
"Can that even still be called a competition?"
"One mistake and someone could've died right there on the stage!"
"Even if you don't care about yourselves, at least think about those of us watching from below and worrying about you!"
Shizuku's words cooled the lively atmosphere slightly.
But no one present blamed her.
Because she did have a point.
Almost everyone there had personally witnessed those two battles.
And now, after hearing Shizuku say it aloud, they could not help imagining—What if someone really had died on that stage…?
…
…
[PS: Love this fanfiction? Then, vote for more chapters. ;) If this fanfic reaches 100+ powerstones, I will increase the daily upload frequency. Also, don't forget to write a review!]
---
Read more than 40 chapters in advance:
patréon.com/Tom22
Replace "é" with "e" on your web browser.
---
For Audiobook:
youtube.com/@animefic22