Chapter 5: The Extra-Large Challenge

Chapter 5:
The Extra-Large Challenge

 

THE OTHER DAY, Paula—the owner of the tool shop—swung by Kirio Drugs.

“Jeez, it’s been so hot lately,” she griped, crossing her arms on the counter. “I feel really slow and heavy! Am I sick? It’s literally like this every summer.”

Paula didn’t look sick, and she was as energetic as always, so I just handed her a regular energy potion.

“I have no appetite lately,” she continued. “If I eat the usual amount, I end up feeling gross. But this happens every year, so I don’t really give it too much thought.”

The next day, Captain Annabelle visited and said something similar. The drugstore didn’t sell products for appetite, so I told her to eat as much nutritious food as she could without overdoing it.

It would’ve been awesome if Kalta had a town doctor, but the local clinic was always vacant, so the symptoms continued. I heard rumors that the area’s physician was tending patients in another town.

The day after Annabelle’s visit, Elaine stopped by. “Every time I’m with you, Sir Reiji, my body temperature gets rather high,” she said, her face bright red. “It’s been quite a problem.”

Later, Ririka dropped in and said something similar.

“Are you doing okay, Ririka?” I’d asked her. “Do you think you might be getting sick?”

“M-me? Um…I guess you could say that,” she admitted. “I’m feeling a little odd.”

“I knew it.” I nodded. “Recently, everyone’s saying they lost their appetite, or they’re bloated, or they’re feverish.”

“Um…I feel like we’re talking about different things.”

“Huh? What’s up?”

“Oh…it’s n-nothing. Nothing at all.”

I spoke to Zeral and the general-store manager, Alf, plus the farmers. None seemed to be having issues. It’s just the women?

Around dinnertime, I decided to ask Mina and Noela. “Have you girls been feeling all right? Paula, Ririka, Elaine, and Annabelle are kind of off lately.”

“No problems!” exclaimed Noela, happily chowing down on her meal. She did strike me as the type not to get sick.

“Well, it’s been quite hot,” Mina pointed out. “It makes sense that they wouldn’t feel well.”

“Er…why?”

“I don’t know the reason, but even I lose my appetite during the summer. It’s kind of a natural diet, so that’s nice. But I also struggle to work up the energy to do things. Tee hee!” Mina forced out a laugh.

I looked at her plate. As she’d said, her serving was much smaller than usual. Loss of appetite among girls and women during the summer…

“Ah!” I exclaimed. “This has got to be summer fatigue!”

Noela and Mina looked at me blankly. “What’s that?” Mina asked.

“Dehydration and indigestion are common during summertime due to the temperature. You lose your appetite, space out, and feel slow.” I’d heard that summer fatigue was especially common among menstruating women. “But why does it happen?”

Mina tilted her head. “Why are you asking me?”

Isn’t it obvious? “I’ve never experienced it,” I replied.

“Huh? Really? I always thought everyone went through this!” Mina exclaimed. “I don’t have an answer for you, Mr. Reiji.”

“Master! Master! Also don’t know,” Noela added.

“I figured.”

I was guessing that the women with summer fatigue would eventually catch colds or something. If you couldn’t eat much, your stamina dropped fast, and summer colds sucked. Getting sick wouldn’t hamper Paula much, but Annabelle was Kalta’s security. If she didn’t have the energy to fight, that would be a problem.

The next day, I took Noela to the forest to collect ingredients. Even with all the shade, the temperature was quite high, so we took breaks by the cold river as we foraged. I planned to create a new product that was less a medicine, more of an herbal remedy.

We got back to the drugstore sweating bullets, and I immediately started mixing the herbs we’d picked.

“Arroo…” Noela was cuddling me, and her fur was genuinely suffocating. This was the one time I wished she wouldn’t nap on me.

I did my best to move away from her and finally finished the new product.

 

Rikkuntoushi: Corrects bowel movements. Improves appetite.

 

I’d have everyone suffering summer fatigue try this, I decided. I brought a bottle into the kitchen.

“Hey, Mina! I made some herbal medicine that should help your appetite. Give it a try.”

Mina had a pained expression. “Help my appetite? I’d, um, rather not take it.”

Well, that’s rare. Mina had never refused to try one of my creations. “Why not?”

“Your treatments work too well, Mr. Reiji. I’m a little worried that you’re messing with me.”

“I’m not, I promise. What if you get sick? This morning, you could barely eat breakfast.”

I didn’t know whether ghosts could catch colds, but Mina had a physical body, so I wouldn’t have been shocked if she did.

“Well, yes, but…”

Noela drew close and poked Mina’s abdomen. “Mina.”

“Yes?!”

“Safe!”

Mina sighed and rubbed her stomach. “I wouldn’t want to cause you and Noela trouble by catching a bug, Mr. Reiji, so I’ll take the medicine.”

“Glad to hear it.” I handed Mina the rikkuntoushi.

Then I heard Paula’s voice from the store. “Rei Rei? Your favoritest lady friend is here! I walked all the way to Kirio Drugs in this heat just to see you, hon!”

“Since when did she become my favoritest lady friend?” I muttered. Still, perfect timing. I could give her the rikkuntoushi.

When I headed to the storefront, I saw Paula, Annabelle, and even Kururu.

“Wow, you’re all here,” I said. “Great! Paula, Annabelle, this new medicine I just finished helps with appetite loss. If you’re feeling bloated, it probably has to do with your appetite.”

“Wow!” exclaimed Paula. “You really went out of your way.”

“And we didn’t even request it,” Annabelle added. “Thanks a lot.”

“Quite a few folks had similar symptoms, so it made sense to concoct something.”

Paula laughed. “Rei Rei, dear, this is the kind of moment when you should say something like, ‘I made it just for you.’ You’d earn bonus points.”

“For what?” I handed the bottles over.

Paula and Annabelle immediately gulped down the rikkuntoushi.

“I haven’t seen you in so long, Reiji baby,” Kururu interjected. “Don’t you have some for me?”

“You’re not suffering summer fatigue.” I rolled my eyes. “Eh, whatever. Might as well play it safe.”

I gave him the last bottle; he gulped his down, too. The three rubbed their stomachs.

What’s wrong? I wondered. Don’t tell me the rikkuntoushi made them nauseated.

Rena, the Rabbit Tavern’s barmaid, entered the drugstore. “Hey, Mr. Pharmacist!”

“Yo.”

Rena handed me a single piece of paper. On it was a skillful drawing of an enormous plate of pasta—about twenty servings. Underneath that, I read, “The Extra-Large Challenge! First guest to finish wins ten thousand rin!”

I raised an eyebrow at Rena. “Is this what I think it is?”

“Yup! Dad said that events like this would be fun. I came here to tell you and the others about it.”

“Hunh. An eating challenge, eh? Ten thousand rin…”

Eating twenty servings of pasta was impossible for me. And according to the flyer, if you didn’t finish the Extra-Large Challenge in under thirty minutes, you had to pay a penalty fee of five thousand rin.

“How about it, Mr. Pharmacist? Care to participate?” asked Rena.

“Nah. I’d just blow it.”

Swoosh!

Annabelle swiped the flyer out of my hands. Paula and Kururu peeked at it over her shoulders. Paula, the constant goof, had a stern expression; Annabelle was practically salivating. Mina also stared at the flyer. She gulped. Apparently, she’d heard Rena’s explanation as well.

As for Kururu, well, he had his cleft chin back. Why? How? Seriously?!

Everyone looked preposterously focused. They raised their heads to gaze at Rena, chorusing, “We’re in.”

“Really?” I hesitated. Is this because of the rikkuntoushi? None of these four is a big eater. Are they gonna have to pay the penalty fee?

“I’ll go let Dad know!” Rena dashed away.

“Can you really eat that much, Mina?” I asked. “An extra-large serving in under half an hour?”

“Silly question, Mr. Reiji.” Mina sure sounded confident.

The others nodded, equally certain, and exited the drugstore. I tailed them, worried.

At the Rabbit Tavern, I saw four plates already piled with pasta. There were different sauces in different spots on each plate—pepperoncini, Bolognese, carbonara, and a ton of others.

Those seriously look delicious.

The four diners took their seats, and the tavern’s bear-like owner came out holding an hourglass. “You have thirty minutes!” he exclaimed.

I gulped. Why am I the one getting nervous?

“You may begin!”

He flipped the hourglass over. Mina, Annabelle, Paula, and Kururu immediately grabbed their forks and dug into their mountains of pasta.

Slurp! Slurp! Slurp! Slurp!

They focused completely on devouring their respective feasts. I was pretty sure I’d seen something like this on TV. That’s right—Food Fight!

The Rabbit Tavern was getting loud, and onlookers now surrounded the four diners. The Red Cat Brigade mercs were all there to watch Annabelle.

“If you eat like that, nobody’ll want to marry you, Boss!” one cried.

“Shut up!” Annabelle yelped.

“There’s a cash prize?!” one merc exclaimed. “I see—you’re goin’ through all this so you can feed us the good stuff!”

“You got this, Boss!” The mercs cheered.

In the midst of that yelling, I heard children. “You can do it, Paula!”

I recognized four neighborhood kids Paula played with a bunch. She waved one hand at their warm cheers.

“I believe in you, adorable Mina!”

A group of middle-aged men were rooting for my live-in ghost. Mina really had become something of an idol among Kalta’s old dudes.

One sketchy-looking guy breathed heavily. “Are you having money problems, dear Mina? Can you afford food? I-I’d do anything to help you. Just ask, okay?”

Needless to say, Mina wasn’t broke. Still, this was the first time I’d ever seen her completely ignore everything around her.

Unfortunately, nobody was present to support Kururu. We locked eyes; he winked at me. Ah, crap. Nope, not cheering for you. Sorry.

The elf touched his cleft chin, tilting his head. He looked as though he wanted to say, “Hrm, how odd. What’s off with my chin today?”

None of the four had even said a word about the Extra-Large Challenge’s cash prize, although they’d zeroed in on the flyer like hungry animals.

Well, now they’ve zeroed in on their pasta. I gave them the rikkuntoushi to prevent summer fatigue, so why’re they participating in this challenge…? I mused. Wait! I get it! Their eyes have gotten too big for their stomachs! They’re not here to win at all—they’re here to eat! I’d finally solved the mystery.

Paula collapsed, tipping her chair over. Swoosh.

“I can’t eat anymooore!” she cried.

The other three looked agonized. Kururu’s hands weren’t even moving. Upon further inspection, he was completely unconscious. Judging by how much pasta he’d eaten, he’d probably conked out before Paula.

Annabelle and Mina were the only competitors left. Slurp! Slurp!

Annabelle glanced at Mina. “Y’know, I’ve always wanted to ask why you’re holed up at Reiji’s place.”

“None of your business. However, it must be very tiring for you to wake up early every morning just to see Mr. Reiji!”

“That’s not why I visit the drugstore!”

Both women had their cheeks packed with food like hamsters. Damn. This is impressive.

“You look like you’re in pain, sweetie,” Annabelle snickered. “I’m only half full!”

“Oh,” Mina retorted. “Well, I’m only 30 percent full.”

“Whoops! My bad. I’m only 20 percent full.”

“I misspoke too. I’m only 10 percent full.”

They’re arguing about it?! The two were clearly in over their heads.

“Unnngh,” Mina and Annabelle groaned in unison. They face-planted onto the table at exactly the same time.

I figured this’d happen, I reflected. And they left 40 percent of the pasta.

“That’s a wrap!” exclaimed the Rabbit Tavern’s owner.

In the end, nobody finished the Extra-Large Challenge, and all the challengers coughed up five thousand rin. The tavern staff enjoyed the leftovers.

The middle-aged creeps were lurking near Mina, who was so stuffed she was immobile. I picked her up and carried her home.

“My tummy hurts, Mr. Reiji,” she whimpered. “Having an appetite is scary. I completely forgot myself!”

“You were basically a different person,” I agreed.

“I’m happy I get a piggyback ride, though.”

“Hey, now. I’m not an ambulance.”

“Well, you always dote on Noela,” Mina pointed out. “It’d be nice if you doted on me every once in a while!”

Jeez, fine. I shuffled back to Kirio Drugs.

The rikkuntoushi prototype had worked way too well, so I diluted the herbal treatment before selling it in the drugstore. Needless to say, I put a warning label on it: “Beware of overeating.”