I'm in a real religion, why are all the people who confess to me girls?

"Who eats ramen every day? So even if you eat as much as you want for a week, you won't lose too much. As for ending the competition with twenty bowls, that's impossible. Twenty bowls of ramen alone would fill you up, not to mention the bowls in the competition are bigger than a person's face."

As soon as Karuizawa finished speaking, Matsushita shook his head.

"I do know someone who might win the grand prize."

Seeing Matsushita's mysterious expression, Wang Meiyu suddenly thought of something, clapped her hands, and smiled.

"I know who Matsushita is talking about. If it's her, she should be able to do it."

"You two wouldn't be saying that..."

Karuizawa realized what was happening at that moment.

"Wow, that's already 28 bowls! How can that guy eat so much?"

"Whether you can eat or not can wait. Don't you think that girl looks familiar?"

"Huh? Now that you mention it, I do seem to have seen her somewhere before, it's that girl named Miyako..."

Upon hearing the familiar name, the three exchanged a glance and then desperately squeezed their way into the crowd.

Excuse me, could you please move aside?

Karuizawa was the first to squeeze to the front of the crowd, and she was stunned at first glance.

Sakayanagi was eating her ramen in small, elegant bites, while the number on the sign next to her remained at zero, as if she hadn't come here to participate in a competition at all, but rather to showcase her graceful movements.

The white-haired girl in the middle had collapsed onto the table, still eating noodles, and it was unclear whether she was alright.

The sign next to it reads the number four, which is a rather terrifying number for ordinary people.

But compared to the contestant in front of them whose stack of bowls was taller than a person, it was nothing.

The sign next to it clearly showed the number 27, indicating that this was the 28th bowl.

Are you kidding me?!

Are there really people who can eat that much?

Karuizawa looked again and saw Amane. "Oh, it's alright now."

"Ha, ha, ha, it wasn't easy to squeeze in. I knew only Tianyin could shock everyone like this."

Wang Meiyu looked at Tianyin, whose belly was already round from eating, with an expression of admiration.

This child has completely transformed into the likeness of Tianyin... I mean, a die-hard fan of Tianyin.

Even after being treated that way, they still admire that guy so much. I really don't know what's so great about Tianyin that makes them admire and support her so much even when they're not being threatened.

"As expected of Tianyin, even though I was mentally prepared, seeing such a spectacular scene still left me speechless with astonishment."

Matsushita shook his head helplessly.

Only Tianyin would set aside her airs and eat and drink so heartily here without caring about her image.

After finishing her 28th bowl of ramen, Tenon on the stage glanced back at Kiryuin and ran somewhat laboriously to Kiryuin's side.

"Arisu, arisu, it seems the maple leaves have died."

"Really? Then just throw it away. We've almost finished eating. I'll go pay the bill and we'll leave. There's getting more and more people watching, and it's getting noisy and giving me a headache."

Chapter Seven: I Want to Talk to You About Something...

Kiryuin, who had been lying face down on the table and seemingly "sacrificing herself," immediately sat up when she heard that her two mischievous friends were going to throw her outside again.

"Don't you have any compassion? If you see your best friend lying on the table, shouldn't you carry her back? Instead, you're going to throw me outside again... Wait, why does this feel so familiar?"

Just as Kiryuin was deep in thought, Sakayanagi gestured to Amane, who then skillfully hoisted Kiryuin onto her shoulder like a sack of potatoes and happily skipped after Sakayanagi, heading towards a more lively place in the distance.

Only a group of stunned spectators remained, staring blankly at the receding figure.

Ah, of course, some people had a relieved smile on their faces, like the ramen shop owner, who was so happy that he even shed tears.

I think I vaguely heard someone shouting to put her down quickly, but yeah, it was probably just my imagination.

Karuizawa and the other two exchanged a glance and gave each other a wry smile. As expected, they still couldn't treat Amane as a normal person. Putting aside the issue of carrying someone, could she really still be full of energy and jumping around after eating more than twenty bowls of ramen by herself?

For a moment, Karuizawa was almost unable to tell whether he was dreaming or reality was beginning to become abstract.

Besides Karuizawa and his two companions, some students from Class D of the first year were also present at the two-story restaurant not far away, witnessing the farce unfold.

We had originally planned to have a small gathering here, but we never expected to witness such an interesting scene.

"As expected of Miyako, her appetite and astonishing arm strength are unbelievable no matter how many times you see them."

Ichinose, standing to the side, looked at the boy who had made the sound with a strange gaze.

That person was none other than Kanzaki, who had just been given a good scolding by Amane. From anyone else's perspective, they would be surprised by Kanzaki's exclamation.

"Ichinose, please don't look at me like that. Although I haven't gotten any advantage over Miyako yet, that doesn't conflict with my acknowledgment of her strength."

Kanzaki's explanation was met with a mischievous smile from Ichinose.

"Huh? I don't think I've said anything yet. Kanzaki-san, you're the one who brought up something so painful."

Ichinose's smiling gaze made Kanzaki so embarrassed that he wished he could disappear into a hole. Even now, he remains just as sensitive to other people's strange looks and the topics of conversation.

Ever since he was crushed by Tianyin's absolute strength that day, he seemed to be trapped in it and unable to get out. Later, whenever he saw that face, he would feel scared for no reason. This is also why when he saw Tianyin during the duel, his body would involuntarily choose to run away.

Just as Kanzaki was about to say something, he suddenly shut his mouth and at the same time gave Ichinose a meaningful look out of the corner of his eye.

Ichinose seemed oblivious to what was happening, maintaining her signature gentle smile.

"So you've all been here..."

Shibata's voice came from not far away, sounding as leisurely as someone who had just finished a big meal and was taking a walk.

In fact, the banquet continued. Ichinose and Kanzaki left the banquet on the grounds that they needed to get some fresh air. Everyone knew that the two must have something to say, so no one said anything more.

Of course, most people were focused on eating. Since the members of Class D hadn't eaten anything other than the mountain vegetable set meal for almost two months, they didn't care about their image or social interactions after seeing the feast prepared by Ichinose and began to eat heartily. Some of them didn't even notice when Ichinose left.

What about Shibata?

It should be noted that Ichinose had informed Kanzaki in advance that she had something to say, which is why the two of them came out one after the other in such a coordinated manner. Anyone who saw them knew that they had something private to discuss.

Shibata, however, acted as if he knew nothing and intervened at just the right moment...

"I was a bit full, so I came out for a walk. Shibata-kun, are you satisfied with tonight's food?"

Karuizawa asked with concern.

When Shibata heard Karuizawa's question, he didn't answer immediately. Instead, he glanced at Kanzaki first, and then answered Ichinose with a satisfied look.

"It's been so long since I've had such delicious food. I'm so full I can barely move. Ichinose, don't you want to go back and eat some more? There's still plenty of food."

"It's alright, I don't eat that much. Speaking of which... Shibata-kun, is there something you want to tell me?"

Ichinose explained the reason for Shibata's strange behavior in front of everyone; he genuinely wanted to talk to Ichinose alone.

But at this moment, Kanzaki was like a clueless, naive young man.

Shibata gave him several hints, but the other party ignored them.

At this rate, it will be quite difficult to find another opportunity to talk to Ichinose alone, unless Ichinose is asked to meet with him privately.

Normally it wouldn't matter, but since the whole school is on holiday, there are students wandering around aimlessly everywhere. If he is discovered meeting with Ichinose in private, some bad rumors will inevitably spread.

According to Shibata's assessment, this is the best place for a private conversation, but unfortunately, Kanzaki is being so oblivious that it makes it impossible for him to proceed with his next move.

"You seem to care a lot about me being here?"

Kanzaki's cold gaze made Shibata frown. Such an overly hostile attitude could inexplicably irritate someone, but after much deliberation, Shibata decided not to let go of this excellent opportunity for conversation.

"If that's how you want to interpret it, Kanzaki-san, then there's nothing I can do. After all, I need to discuss some personal matters with Ichinose, and it might be a little inconvenient if you're there."

Shibata chose to confront Kanzaki directly. If Kanzaki didn't avoid the issue under these circumstances, it would undoubtedly be seen as him deliberately trying to cause trouble.

"What does it matter to you all talk and me standing here talking to you? Or is the content of your conversation something you'd like to hide?"

Kanzaki retorted with an extremely firm attitude, leaving Shibata in a dilemma. Seeing Ichinose watching the two bickering with great interest, he couldn't help but ask Ichinose for help.

"Ichinose-san, I do indeed have..."

"I don't think there's anything I can't share with Kanzaki-kun. We're all 'one of us,' aren't we all comrades?"

Ichinose's casual remark sent a chill down Shibata's spine.

Ichinose seems... to be quite different now.

This feeling is stronger than before.

Shibata's gaze began to shift back and forth between Ichinose and Kanzaki.

Is it Kanzaki controlling Ichinose, or... is this the real Ichinose Honami?

Chapter 8: Madman? Genius?

"Shibata-kun, what's wrong? You don't look well. Do you need to rest?"

Ichinose continued to care for each of her companions with the same gentle and considerate manner as always, but beneath that gentle face, Shibata always seemed to see another face, seemingly smiling yet not smiling, quietly watching them from the sidelines.

"I'm fine. Anyway, it's not exactly a personal matter. I heard some people have had some complaints about Ichinose throwing such a big party during such a difficult time, so I thought of..."

"Is it 'some people' or Shibata who have complaints? Why don't you just say how many points you want Ichinose to earn by publicly selling items?"

Kanzaki snorted coldly, mercilessly exposing Shibata's pretense.

After a brief moment of surprise, Shibata adopted a businesslike expression.

"Kansaki, didn't you consider Ichinose's feelings? What's wrong with being more tactful? This meal cost nearly 100,000 points, which is quite expensive for treating all 39 people in the class. Considering that everyone hasn't had such a sumptuous meal in a long time, it's not a big deal if it's a bit pricey, but... if you only got 3.5 million personal points from selling items, and after repaying the points borrowed from Sakayanagi-san plus interest, you should still have 3 million points left."

Shibata took a breath and looked at Ichinose with a serious expression, who was still smiling.

"Then I don't think it's worth spending one-thirtieth of the price to eat this meal. I also don't think you would be willing to spend so much money, unless... you got more points. You only sold an item worth 20 million points for 3.5 million points. Just thinking about it makes it very suspicious, doesn't it?"

Shibata's words were reasonable and well-founded, and even Ichinose couldn't find any points to refute them. Of course, she didn't need to refute them either.

“You’re right, I concealed the truth. I actually sold five million personal points. I think I can use the remaining one and a half million points as I see fit. Do you have any objections, Shibata?”

Ichinose said these words calmly, and Shibata's face showed a surprised expression. He originally thought that Ichinose would cover it up, but he did not expect that Ichinose would tell him the truth frankly.

Then another question arises.

Are these figures accurate?

"Is it really only five million points? That item is worth twenty million..."

"The value of 20 million is based on the premise that someone can afford it. Shibata, you should think about it carefully. Haven't prices been fluctuating recently?"

Shibata couldn't understand Ichinose's obvious attempt to change the subject, but seeing Ichinose's serious expression, Shibata decided to follow Ichinose's train of thought for the time being.

"Aside from the free items, other prices seem to have increased to varying degrees, but does this have anything to do with how many points are sold?"

"Of course there's a connection."

Ichinose said it with absolute certainty.

"Why are prices rising? Schools can't possibly lack basic daily necessities, so it's definitely not a decrease in the quantity of supplies that's causing the price increase. Then why is it? Our points are all distributed by the school. If it were a school-run store, I could understand it as the school trying to better recoup points to incentivize and encourage students to work harder. But these are ordinary businesses. Don't they know that price increases are adding to the burden on many students in lower-ranking classes? Given free alternatives, surely some people will choose to endure it and refuse to buy, right?"

Ichinose's series of rhetorical questions put Kanzaki and Shibata into deep thought.

As for things like price increases, they hadn't paid much attention to it unless Ichinose brought it up herself, because they always swiped their cards after buying things and rarely paid attention to the difference between each expenditure and the previous one.

What could be the reason?

Shibata became curious: why do prices at school fluctuate?

"The reason is simple: the points are decreasing."

This explanation left both of them stunned.

What do you mean by "points are decreasing"? Aren't points being distributed every month? Logically speaking, apart from special classes like theirs that have had their points deducted to zero, other classes should receive some points every month. Even if some classes lose a lot of points in special exams, there should still be classes that gain a considerable number of points. So, the change shouldn't be that significant.

“The school issues a batch of points every month, but these points are being bought up and hoarded in large quantities. If it weren't for the incident of the one-man raid, everyone might have been able to maintain their spending level with their considerable points. But you all know that every class in the school will have 500 class points deducted, right? This has led those students who are living paycheck to paycheck and those whose savings are running out to consciously control their spending, and as a result…”

Before Ichinose could finish speaking, Kanzaki interrupted him.

"With the total number of points halved, students began to save and conserve, which reduced the circulation of points. Meanwhile, the points that had been distributed earlier were hoarded, leading to a gradual decrease in the number of points on the market. Merchants, without profits, naturally had to adjust prices according to costs, but after the price increase, people could no longer afford to buy, thus creating a vicious cycle."

Kanzaki's words made Shibata narrow his eyes.

If what they say is true, then the school should have taken action to control the situation, instead of remaining completely calm with no news about it at all.

"The most direct way to solve this problem is to release points, but releasing a large number of points can easily cause a crisis of trust. So the best solution is to get people who hoard points to spend them. If I'm not mistaken, Tianyin has already controlled about 85% of the personal points in the entire school. She probably noticed this situation, which is why she was willing to spend five million points to buy that item."

Ichinose's explanation was reasonable, but... that wasn't the question Shibata wanted to ask. What he wanted to know was why the item that allowed him to freely choose his class only cost five million points, not that Amane spent five million points to buy the item in order to avoid being targeted by the school.

Considering the friendly relationship between Ichinose and Amane, it's hard not to think about things in a strange way.