Toya soba, Yokohama branch.

It is a small shop with coarse Japanese cloth draperies, round lanterns, and glazed tile eaves.

The tatami mats, low tables and kimono-clad waiters are full of history and traditional Japanese style.

On the sign at the front of the store, it reads, "The Iwate head office was founded in the 40th year of the Meiji era."

It is an authentic century-old shop...... branches.

Inside the store, except for Yutaro Kotori, who was absent because he was busy returning to the car and taking care of the shrine, the other six people were sitting neatly around the rectangular tatami mat table.

The table is already full of snacks with a rich variety and exquisite appearance.

Tuna, salmon sashimi, miso pickled radish, salmon roe, shiitake mushroom puree, dried pork, miso soup, fruit pudding......

"Sousuke, are you ready? Once the war has begun, there is no turning back! ”

Higashino Xinghei lowered his eyebrows, revealing a wolf-like provocative look.

"Hmph, the package money has already been paid, of course it's full firepower."

Sousuke Araki, who was sitting across from him, looked at him with sharp eyes and did not shy away from it.

"Ahem, according to the usual practice, I am still the ...... of the arbitration of this duel."

Before the second time, Ryoma clenched his fists and coughed lightly, and his face was also heavy.

"This time? Still? Could it be that such a frequent duel is an important part of Araki's daily practice? Be sure to record the details in a while......"

Yumayu, the little bird who was sitting next to Sosuke Araki, pulled out a notebook out of nowhere and carefully wrote it.

"I really miss it, it's actually this store...... It's been a long time......"

Siena, who was sitting on a tatami mat and was close to the height of the petite waitress on the side, looked around at the interior of the store and sighed.

"Has Uncle Siena ever been here?"

Sitting beside him, Mochizuki Lingna, who looked as petite and cute as a doll, asked curiously.

"More than twenty years ago, I happened to eat with Moon Shadow-kun."

As if recalling something pleasant, Siena was also interested, and a pair of big black hands like a fan gently pressed on the table: "Hey, two little brothers, why don't you let me participate in the ......"

"Oh? We're risking your life, are you sure you want to participate? ”

"The loser, but you have to pay the bill for the whole table tonight? We don't want to bully our foreign friends......"

Kohei Higashino and Sosuke Araki, who were originally "looking at each other passionately", turned their heads to look at him sharply when they heard this, and their eyes glowed like wolves.

"Hehe, I don't have any other skills, but if I want to talk about this kind of 'war', I haven't lost to anyone...... When I was trapped under the sand cave by the 'Holy War Army' for half a month, I ate all the scorpions, snakes, and rats below. ”

Siena, smiling and showing her white teeth, exudes the savage aura of a cheetah in the African savannah without giving in.

The atmosphere at the table was as heavy and quiet as before a storm for a while.

The trio, who were already exuding a sense of crime, plus the sturdy and tall black priest, and the two "innocent girls who were coerced" next to them......

Immediately, the image of this table was upgraded from a "local gangster trio" to an "international human trafficking syndicate disguised as religion".

As soon as the group entered the store, the speed of eating and checking out began to skyrocket.

Occasionally, guests who open the door and enter are also directly dissuaded by this strange atmosphere.

"Sousuke, Kohei, can you start, mother-in-law, my hands are sore?"

I don't know when the old woman waitress who was waiting on the side with a tray seemed to be very familiar with the three of them, and asked impatiently.

"Hey, the real protagonist, is it finally here?"

The pile of exquisite "bewitching sluts" on the table is not the "protagonist" of today's meal.

The most famous food of this restaurant, which originated in Iwate, is not the usual soba noodles, but the "Tsubaki soba".

It was the tray in the old woman's hand, and there was a large stack of dense red bowls.

椀子 is the dialect of the wooden bowl.

In the Morioka area, there is a custom of using soba noodles to entertain guests.

The origin of the small bowl of soba noodles was to serve freshly cooked noodles to many people at one time, so a small amount of soba noodles was served in small bowls and served to guests little by little until they were full.

When the noodles are eaten, the waiter will compete with each other for the number of bowls they eat, and the waiter will also pour the noodles from the small bowl into the bowl while shouting "Hayi, doda" until the customer covers his bowl with the lid to show that he is full.

Of course, in the middle of the meal, guests will also enjoy some side dishes with noodles and miso soup.

Over time, the custom spread from the local area to all parts of Japan.

In many places, every solar term and New Year, a contest is held to see who can eat more bowls within the specified time.

The Tsubaki soba contest is one of the "reserved items" of the food duel between Sosuke Araki and Kohei Higashino.

And today, the war between the two has ushered in a powerful intruder: Father Siena, a black-robed and white-toothed priest who has returned from the barren Middle East and claims not to have eaten a full meal in ten years.

"Tired folks, how are you? I'm the host of Justice before Ryoma...... Without further ado, I declare that the 21st Tsubaki Soba War ...... Open! ”

Accompanied by Ryoma's exaggerated rap declaration like a nightclub DJ in front of the second day, Kohei Higashino, who was sitting at the table, picked up his chopsticks with the momentum of a knife-wielding abdomen, drove a mouthful of soba noodles from the bowl along the wall of the bowl with lightning speed, chewed it violently, and swallowed it quickly.

The whole action is smooth and takes no more than a second.

"Wow, oh, oh, our 'Hungry Dog Higashino' contestant seems to be full of momentum, and today he took the lead and grabbed the first place by surpassing Kato-sensei's hand speed......"

Sousuke Araki, who was sitting across from him, followed suit, picking up chopsticks and inhaling the soba noodles in his bowl and swallowing them in his mouth without chewing.

"YOOOOOO...... 'Hungry Devil's Stick' Sousuke Araki is also determined to get it today, and he actually used the secret technique combination of 'Storm Inhalation' + 'Refuse to Swallow' at the beginning! Is it because there are beautiful women around, or is it because of the strong challengers? ”

Sosuke Araki's perverted way of eating immediately aroused the admiration of Ryoma's tongue before the second one.

"Hello, Dota."

The old woman who was waiting on the side, with a hand speed that did not match her age, poured the noodles in the small bowl into the bowls of the two of them with lightning speed at the moment when the two swallowed the noodles and took the bowl away from their mouths.

It gives the impression that the noodles in that bowl have never been eaten.

"It's appeared, Granny Yudou's stunt, so that people don't have time to flip the lid and can't say no, 'lightspeed fraud adds face'!!"

"Hmph, young people are really energetic...... But sometimes if you rush too fast, you might fall to the ground......"

Siena on the side did not race against time like the two of them, but swallowed the noodles unhurriedly, and carefully closed his eyes and savored the pleasure of the salty and fresh soba noodles breaking in his mouth.

"Oh, our new challenger '20 Centimeters per Second' has finally made a move! He didn't use any special skills, but instead held the ground with a winning face and ate soba noodles ordinarily, is this the legendary return to the basics? ”

"Naa, real bow sauce...... It's so boring to eat with these rough guys...... Wow, so fresh......"

Looking at the "passionate" game in front of him, Mochizuki Lingno disdainfully stuffed a piece of salmon sashimi into his mouth, and suddenly showed an expression of enjoyment.

"Secret technique 'Storm Inhalation' + 'Refuse to swallow'? Perhaps there is a secret to Buddhahood? ”

The little bird Yu Zhengong on the side was sweating and taking notes, carefully observing the fierce competition scene, and had no time to enjoy the food on the table.

"Hello, Dota."

With the rhythmic slogan of "One to Three" and the gesture of adding noodles with afterimages, the small red wooden bowls piled up in front of the three began to increase rapidly.

Kohei Higashino, who was the first to start, has always maintained a leading position with his wild chewing and high-speed movements.

And Sousuke Araki also relied on his unique inhalation method to bite him in the back.

"Well...... 'Hungry Dog Higashino' player took the lead in breaking through the 50-bowl mark, it seems that you are ready to break through to the end in one breath today?"

"Host" two before Ryoma enjoyed the food while not forgetting the passionate commentary.

"Sousuke Araki, the 'Stick of the Hungry Ghost', followed closely with two secret techniques, and also broke through the 50-bowl mark...... Unfathomable, unfathomable, the new challenger Siena just caught up unhurriedly in the most simple way of eating noodles!! ”

Siena maintained the seemingly ordinary way of eating, as if slowly and quickly eliminating the "refreshing" soba noodles in the bowl, and even broke the 50-bowl mark after the two.

"It was so intense at first...... As is customary in previous tournaments, the 100-bowl tournament has just begun, so please look forward to it. ”

Looking at the two teenagers in front of him who were smoking soba noodles at high speed, Siena's thoughts began to drift.

"Hey, don't eat a few hundred bowls, and call yourself a soul slayer."

The scene in front of me began to coincide with a memory that had been sleeping for more than 20 years.

……

Twenty years ago.

"Hello, Dota."

"Sister Chino's head...... We're just here to do a folklore survey...... Is it really necessary to challenge 200 bowls of soba...... Ah, thanks. ”

A young man with black-rimmed glasses and long messy hair, but rather handsome on closer inspection, asked with a bitter face and soba noodles wrapped in his mouth.

In the face of the noodles that the waiter next to him quickly poured into the bowl and the urging slogan, he also nodded his head in thanks, and was mechanically forced to eat the "constantly refreshing" soba noodles in the bowl.

"Hmph, little brother Qingren, don't eat a few hundred bowls, and call yourself a soul slayer, and you can be killed by the tofu you gave away, right, Siena?"

Sitting across from the young man was a blonde girl with blue eyes and vitality who radiated all over her body wherever she went.

She was quickly stuffing soba noodles into her mouth, puffing out her little face and enjoying this traditional Japanese delicacy.

The petite chest didn't shake a little from the rapid movements.

"Hey, that's nature, don't eat enough, where is the strength to do what investigation?"

A black boy dressed in a priest's robe with a cross on his chest stuffs soba noodles into his mouth with a heroic gesture.

"Hey, you're the soul slayer, I'm just an ordinary folklorist entrusted with assisting you......"

"Hello, Dota."

“…… Ah, thank you...... Why do I keep having people eat me here!! ”

The young man, who was ignored by the two, could only honestly, respectfully and hard continue to suck the noodles that the waitress poured into his bowl, and there was no chance to pick up the lid next to him and cover the bowl.

"Hello, Dota."

……

"Hello, Dota."

"'Hungry Dog Higashino' is like a rainbow...... Look at this high-frequency trembling hand speed, who can stop it...... Wait, it seems ......"

"Ahem, ahem, ahem......"

Eating the 151st bowl at high speed, Kohei Higashino, who was originally smooth, moved his throat slightly, and seemed to be choked by the noodles.

"Oh, it's not good, 'Hungry Dog Higashino' seems to have had an accident and was choked on the face? This is a big blow to his original momentum......"

Higashino hesitated, took a sip of the miso soup on the side, and then continued to eat noodles.

Thankfully, he was able to choose to solve the problem by drinking miso soup and found his rhythm...... However, excessive miso soup can cause the noodles to absorb water and swell in the stomach, which will affect the maximum consumption limit of the day...... 'Hungry Dog Higashino', who drank miso soup at the beginning of the race, will be able to see how far he can go today! ”

"Hello, Dota."

Just as Higashino Kohei was drinking soup, the small red bowls piled up in front of Sosuke Araki were already as tall as his.

"Eh, eh, with two secret skills, the 'Hungry Devil's Stick', which has been secretly speeding up, actually took this opportunity to overtake in the corner, it seems that it is still unknown who will die in today's race......"

"Hello, Dota."

With the slogan of Granny Yudou who is not slow, and the speed of adding noodles that can serve three strong men at the same time, the red wooden bowl in front of the three of them is constantly stacked high.

"Ahem, ahem, ahem......"

Higashino Yukihei wrapped soba noodles in his mouth and coughed again.

As Ryoma said earlier, since the first time he choked, his speed began to slow down gradually, and he was relieved by drinking miso soup continuously.

Naturally, he reached out again and picked up the miso soup bowl next to him and put it to his lips.

"Oops......"

Immediately, sweat broke out on his forehead and his face turned pale......

"How so?! I carefully calculated the amount of miso soup remaining and used the lubrication of each sip accurately and thoroughly......"

The bowl of miso soup in his hand, which was supposed to be more than half left, was empty at some point.

"Wow, oh, 'Hungry Dog Higashino', who has just broken through the 200-bowl mark, seems to have encountered the worst...... Miso soup is gone!!! ”

Suddenly, Kohei Higashino suddenly realized, and looked at Sosuke Araki opposite with resentment: "You despicable guy...... When did you do it......"