Ryunosuke understood completely.
To persuade Kaneshiro and Yarizui to help him get votes, the method was actually very simple. Just defeat them in the Bento War and seize their bento, then this problem would be solved.
So, Ryunosuke threw down a challenge to both of them.
"If I can defeat you when bentos are discounted half price and seize them, will you give your votes to me?"
Kaneshiro's and Yarizui's gazes immediately became sharp. They looked at him very seriously simultaneously.
"Seizing half-price bento is no joke. Do you already have the determination to die?"
Ryunosuke felt helpless.
(It's just scrambling for half-price bento, to that extent...)
However, he didn't say that sentence out loud. He felt that if he said it, he would never be able to cooperate with both of them. So, an agreement was made. They planned to hold the Bento War tomorrow at the same time, 7:30 PM.
The winner becomes king, the loser becomes slave. The loser must be willing to bow under the winner's feet.
Ryunosuke thought to himself: (I just want to find votes, not find subordinates...) But he still agreed albeit somewhat reluctantly.
There was no other choice.
To communicate with people whose brains weren't normal like this, he himself couldn't appear too normal.
After exchanging contacts with Nazuna, Ryunosuke prepared to look for reinforcements. More precisely, look for battle partners. He had already seen for himself how both of them fought. Because he felt less confident about winning alone, he chose to find backup players.
Not long after, Ryunosuke arrived at Ayanokouji's dormitory and without much talk directly dragged him along. He didn't even ask whether the man agreed or not. Ayanokouji felt he really had no human rights.
However, because he also needed to use Ryunosuke (as a support tool), he agreed to participate in the Holy Grail War—ah no, the Bento War. Ryunosuke also invited Megumi to prepare a surprise attack. If the frontal attack failed, he would dispatch Megumi.
The next day, the day when they would seize bento arrived.
Ryunosuke went directly to the field with Ayanokouji. Just right, one person facing one opponent. Because he was afraid the other party would slack off, he gave a threat before the war began.
"If you don't show your real ability this time, I won't want to be friends with you anymore."
The light in Ayanokouji's eyes immediately dimmed. He couldn't lose Ryunosuke (friend = tool). If the other party no longer needed him, who would help him deal with his father?
Ayanokouji's aura suddenly changed drastically. Clearly he intended to face this seriously.
The convenience store clerk pushed a cart, placed bentos back on the shelf, stuck on half-price stickers, then just left.
7:30 PM arrived, time to seize bento.
Ayanokouji and Ryunosuke moved. Ayanokouji charged toward Kaneshiro, while Ryunosuke chose Yarizui. He had absolutely no intention of being kicked by those black-stockinged legs, absolutely not!
Both parties immediately engaged in fierce struggle. Ryunosuke who had already entered chuunibyou mode used the Diable Jambe technique. Yarizui also attacked using her legs. Both continuously attacked each other with kicking techniques. The collision of their legs even created sonic boom sounds. One could imagine how great the force they exerted was.
For fairness, both parties didn't bring outsiders—at least that's what it looked like. In reality, because Megumi's presence was so thin, the opponents completely ignored her. So on the surface this was a 2v2 battle, when actually it was 3v2.
On Ayanokouji's side, the battle was almost like a one-sided massacre. Both in terms of physique and technique, he was clearly far superior. He was the best masterpiece from the White Room; all knowledge in various fields he had mastered. A Wizard alone wasn't enough to be his opponent.
If it weren't for Ryunosuke who commanded and threatened him to be serious, Ayanokouji would have definitely pretended to lose long ago.
Ayanokouji assumed a Bajiquan stance, his fist moved very fast leaving shadows. His attacks mixed with tiger-crane techniques, as well as snake moves, made Kaneshiro overwhelmed. The Wizard's main weapon, a pair of long chopsticks, broke into pieces.
Ayanokouji saw an opening, pulled the opponent's body and delivered a knee strike to hold him from being thrown far. After that he released him, stepped back two steps, gathered energy, then delivered a strong kick toward the opponent's neck and shoulder. That attack immediately made Kaneshiro kneel on one knee and couldn't straighten his body.
Cold sweat poured down Kaneshiro's forehead; he forced himself to look up and smiled bitterly.
"I lose..."
Here victory had been determined; even without holding the bento, this duel had already ended.
However on Ryunosuke's side, the situation was a bit difficult. More precisely, currently both of them were rolling on the floor, locking each other until they couldn't stand. He tried to break free with all his might, but it was futile.
Moreover, his locked hand accidentally touched a certain "softness," making Ryunosuke a bit reluctant to give up just like that.
"Just a little more... Only lacking a little more!!"
Ryunosuke struggled hard to break free, when actually he wanted to rotate his arm so he could touch that "softness" more clearly. However doing that risked dislocating his arm.
But he didn't care! Just go for it!
He struggled until he forgot his original purpose for coming here.
Megumi who came with him felt she could no longer watch this madness. She wanted to immediately end this charade and walked toward the bento area. During her journey, not a single person noticed her movement.
Meanwhile, Yarizui who saw Ryunosuke struggling, took the opportunity to clamp the man's body with both her legs so he couldn't move.
"Good persistence, Kouhai. With persistence like this, you've already become a legitimate 'Wolf.'"
In the bento world, Wolf was the term for fighters whose abilities had been acknowledged. But how did Ryunosuke care about that title? He just wanted to touch that "mountain peak." Unfortunately, just a little more... really only lacking a little more.
Megumi stood with a flat expression in front of both of them, tilted her head slightly, and waved the bento in her hand—signaling that the war had ended. She had taken that bento quietly when they weren't paying attention.
Yarizui showed an extremely surprised expression. "Since when did you..."
Her sentence stopped. Seeing the bento already in Megumi's hands, she knew she had lost. She released her hand and leg lock on Ryunosuke, then stood up while patting her clothes as a sign of surrender.
Ryunosuke felt a bit regretful, but when he saw Megumi's sharp gaze, he immediately shrank his neck and didn't dare say anything more.
Being afraid of one's partner is a natural trait of men. Ryunosuke was no exception. Especially with his status of "rowing five boats" (having five girlfriends), he was even more afraid to object...
Megumi sighed with a pitiful look, but she didn't say anything. She already knew her boyfriend's nature very well. Don't forget, she had an almost abnormal "mind reading" ability. To her, all of Ryunosuke's movements appeared very transparent.
Although she could only guess the general outline, that was already more than enough. By observing every word and deed, Megumi could conclude what was in other people's minds. Because of that, even though Ryunosuke tried to hide something, Megumi was more or less already aware, she just didn't know the details deeply.
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