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Volume 5 Chapter 1 Part 6

「I admit that it was pretty rough, but I have been through this exact song and dance number enough times to get used to it. And besides, things must have been pretty difficult for you guys up here as well, right? If Atlantis was not picked as the board for the first stage of the 2^nd War for the Sun’s Authority, then this village would never have been a target of an attack in the first place.」

「Perhaps, but it has been targeted and attacked now, that is a fact, and nothing that we can do anything about now that is has been done. Besides, this is the Lost Continent of Atlantis we are talking about. Due to the very nature of this place things like that tend to happen from time to time, so we already managed to get used to it. To borrow you own words, we have been. . . . . .  through this song and dance number already. Did I get that right?」

「Yeah, you pretty much nailed it.」

「So you see, there is nothing that you should be worrying about. Although I do have to say, even though things can get out of hand here from time to time, yesterday was the first time when it happened to such a degree, but thankfully no one was seriously injured, so I guess we managed to get by a disaster by the skin of our teeth.」

Lalah the Assistant Priestess then turned away from Izayoi and snorted out her nose. Izayoi wondered if that was her indirect way of saying that she is worried about the attack on the pier that happened the other day, as well as if it was really okay for him and You to be here, eating the food that the natives have prepared for themselves. After all, since they were tasked with facilitating the first Gift Game of the 2^nd War for the Sun’s Authority, should it not be that they should make sure to conduct themselves in such a way that would ensure that they are not going to be giving favorable treatment to any of the participating Players in particular or sharing any information vital to how the Game is to be carried out with them? And now that they have done it, are they going to have to face the consequences, or are they simply going to get admonished for it?

「From the look on your face I can see that you are worried about us, but rest assured. While it is true that we were asked to host the first stage of the 2^nd War for the Sun’s Authority, we also received a separate order form the 「Demon Lord of the White Night」to entertain and accommodate any of the Players should they arrive at our village. Also, this is our own way of showing gratitude and appreciation for you dealing with the bad guys not once, but twice, so do be sure not to hold back and eat as much as you want today.」

「Really? Well then, I will gladly take you up on your kind offer. More seconds, please.」

You said, holding the few of the empty plates she had in her hands up, expecting the to be filled with food once more. Stupefied at that sight, Izayoi turned his head around and looked at the tables where all the dishes were being placed and paled in sheer terror when he saw that than half of the plates have already been picked clean, down to every last breadcrumb and drop of sauce.

「O-Oi! There is no way in hell that you just eaten so much food, all by yourself, in such a short amount of time! For crying out loud, there must have been at least twenty or more servings here, an now they are. . .」

「Yes, it was all very delicious, every last dish. Thank you very much for preparing such a  feast.」

「Oh for fuck’s. . .  *Siiiiiiiigh* Miss Assistant Priestess, I am sorry to be asking for this, but I think that if you want all of the villagers to have their fill as well, then you would best prepare more food as fast as possible. And if you want to truly satisfy this girl right here, then prepare for a pretty tough battle, because she might not look like it, but she is actually the winner of the Harvest Festival eating contest. Just a fair bit of warning though: if your cooks let their guards down for even a moment, she is going to run all of your food storages dry.」

Throughout the time it took Izayoi to say all of this, You managed to clear yet another plate of food clean. Well, Izayoi initially wanted to their next conversation to be th one where both of them would tell the other what they were doing throughout the last two years, but all signs on heavens and earth seem to be pointing towards Izayoi being the only one to do the talking while You is still going to be stuffing her face silly.

Taking another bite out of the salted olive he was currently holding, Izayoi then began recounting of everything that happened to him, starting from the most recent events.

*          *          *

Around an hour or so later.

「Fuaaaaaah. . . . . . . ! Man, I ate so much that I could not make another bite even if I wanted to! Nevertheless, it was all superbly delicious. Thank you very much for allowing me to partake of this meal.」

When she was finally done eating her heart out, Kasukabe You put her hands together and bowed down with a happy smile on her face. Izayoi, who had no choice but to watch as she devoured more than thirty servings of food by herself without even breaking a sweat felt so sick and mortified that the only way he could comment on that impressive yet disgusting achievement of hers  while twisting his neck was:

「You know, I always wondered: if you are always eating so goddamn much, then how come you have not grown a bit bigger in certain places? Do you really care more about eating than your own sex appeal? Girl, keep it up and you will end up on an expressway to fat town before you know it.」

「Says the guy who also ate quite a lot. I knew that you are not a picky eater, but I never would have guessed that you would end up liking the cuisine of the natives that much, Izayoi.」

「Huh? Really?」

He asked surprised, checking out the plate that he just emptied. He did not eat as much as You did of course, but still, counting everything that he has eaten in the last sixty minutes, he must have easily eaten a three adult male’s share of food.

「See what I mean? Two years ago, you would have never eaten so much food unless it was off-the-charts good, but look at you now. Did your appetite increased that much while you were away from us?」

「. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No, I am sure that that is not it. Hmm, I wonder why? Maybe it was because of all that happened yesterday, but when I woke up, I really felt genuinely hungry on top of being exhausted. Maybe that is all there is to it? After all, they say that a strenuous physical activity increases the apetite accordingly, and I will be damned if what I did yesterday was not one strenuous physical activity after another.」

Although he finished his sentence with a slap on the stomach and a hearty laugh, it was really no exaggeration to say that Izayoi did end up eating way more than he usually would have eaten for breakfast. Maybe this unusual hunger of his actually had something to do with The Blood Accelerator and the exhaustion that he felt after using it during the battle with possessed Heracles yesterday?

Lalah the Apprentice Priestess looked like she was calm and collected the entire time, but there was no way that Izayoi would have missed her biting down on the inner side of her lower lip whenever she saw him, and especially You, put another thing on their plates. Izayoi did warn her about You’s bottomless lust for food, but she probably never expected that he would be jumping onto the gluttonous bandwagon as well.

「W-Well, as long as you are saying that all of the dishes were to your liking, then I am happy to hear it.」