The Legend of Level 0 in Academy City

"Yinghua! Dinner's ready!"

"Raiko, are you just going to ignore my opinion like this?"

Inoue Eika remained lying in bed, glancing sideways at Saten Ruiko, and said speechlessly.

"Huh? What is Yinghua talking about? No girl wants to sleep in the same room with you, so why should she ask your opinion?"

Saten Ruiko asked, seemingly puzzled, with an air of matter-of-fact acceptance.

"..."

Inoue Hideka, covered in sweat, stared at Saten Ruiko, who seemed completely oblivious to what was happening, for a long while before letting out a soft sigh:

"But I'll be the one sleeping on the living room sofa, won't I?"

"Oh, right! Dinner's ready, Yinghua, aren't you getting up yet?"

Following Misaka Mikoto, Saten Ruiko once again ignored Inoue Hideka's complaints and pretended to suddenly realize something.

"..."

In response, Inoue Hideka simply turned over and refused to look at the naive girl pretending to be clueless.

"Yinghua...can I take this as—you're... ignoring me?"

Saten Ruiko's face darkened, and she asked in a gloomy tone.

"Forehead!"

Hearing the sinister voice behind him, Inoue Hideka's body stiffened abruptly, and he replied in rapid succession:

"No, I absolutely didn't mean that. It's just that I'm going downstairs to participate in a bread-eating contest, so I won't eat lunch to save room in my stomach for the afternoon's competition. That way, I can save a lot of food. You guys can eat it, Ruizi!"

"Hmm...I see! Okay then!"

boom!

The door was slammed shut again, and Saten Ruiko left the room and returned to the living room, where she cheerfully explained Inoue Eika's situation to everyone. Afterward, she and the others happily ate lunch.

The whole house was filled with a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere—except for the barely perceptible resentment emanating from Inoue Hideka's room.

--------

2:20 PM.

Inoue Hideka endured the nausea in her stomach and finally waited for the bread-eating contest to begin.

A bread-eating contest, as the name suggests, is a competition to see who can eat the most bread.

The competition lasts for 20 minutes. Whoever eats the most bread within 20 minutes will be the first place winner, the second place winner will be the second place winner, and so on.

Before the competition begins, in order to ensure fairness, everyone must undergo a physical examination to prevent some people from taking measures such as using pharmacological methods to accelerate food digestion.

There were 127 participants, and 127 tables and chairs were set up in the square, where the contestants sat.

Each contestant had 20 loaves of bread, neatly arranged, measured, and weighed, all of identical size, placed in a storage box on the table in front of them.

Ten people form a group, and the operations committee is responsible for promptly adding new bread to the contestants who have finished their current amount.

Upon hearing the announcement of the start of the match over the loudspeaker, Inoue Eika, who had been starving all morning, couldn't wait to start eating.

However, the phone in my pocket rang at this inopportune moment.

Gollum~~

"Tsk! Who is this?!"

Just then, his stomach growled, making Inoue Hideka even more annoyed. He had finally endured this long, and now, seeing the food right in front of him to fill his stomach, he was being told not to eat!

Hello~~ Who is this?

Inoue Hideka, too lazy to even look at the caller ID, answered the phone directly and replied with an unpleasant tone.

"Inoue-san, something terrible has happened! Saten-san is in danger, it seems she's been captured! Misaka-senpai and Shirai-san have already gone there, I think it's better to let you know..."

The phone rang with Haru Shiori's anxious voice, startling Inoue Hideka. Forgetting her hunger, she jumped to her feet and hurriedly asked:

"What exactly happened? Chuchun, don't panic. Tell me where Leizi is in danger, and I'll go save her right away!"

Finding the bread-eating contest boring, Saten Ruiko decided to stick to her original plan and start enjoying the Daihasei Festival instead of staying with Inoue Eika.

Haru Kazari and Shirai Kuroko returned to Branch 177 for their work as disciplinary committee members, and Misaka Mikoto, who was not competing for the time being, seemed to have gone there as well.

However, Inoue Eika did not expect that less than half an hour after they separated, Saten Ruiko would encounter danger.

Could it be because someone saw me using my abilities this morning, and that's why I've been targeted by someone with ulterior motives?

As Inoue Hideka pondered this, she was about to leave the arena despite the operations committee's objections.

However, the next moment, the words from Uiharu Kazari on the phone made Inoue Hideka freeze in place.

Chapter 249 Failed Attempt to Show Off

"The location is Kirigaoka Girls' Academy in the 18th school district. Saten went to the arena there in search of the legendary 'Absent Metal,' but while she was on the phone, we suddenly heard her scream, and then we couldn't contact her anymore..."

Hearing Haru Kazari's worried words, which sounded almost like she was about to cry, Inoue Hideka breathed a sigh of relief.

Settling into her seat with a sense of security, she picked up a piece of bread from the table, put it in her mouth, and chewed it, while calmly saying to Haruharu Kazari:

"Well, now that Mikoto and Shirai are gone, nothing bad will happen! Don't worry, Haru, Ruiko will definitely get back safely!"

"Huh? Really?"

"Okay, no problem! By the way, Chuchun, could you help me find out where that girl I drew at noon? Just tell me her location after my competition. That's all for now, goodbye!"

At the same time in the original work, Saten Ruiko went to the arena of Kirigaoka Girls' Academy to look for the 'Absent Metal' and was arrested by the staff there as a thief.

At the time, she was on the phone with Uiharu Kazari, who mistakenly thought that Saten Ruiko was in danger. Uiharu Kazari then told Misaka Mikoto and Shirai Kuroko about the situation.

Afterwards, Shirai Kuroko used her spatial abilities to take Misaka Mikoto to Kirigaoka Girls' Academy. Upon seeing Saten Ruiko being arrested, Misaka Mikoto, enraged, started arguing with the staff.

It seems that the Tokiwadai school authorities intervened and resolved the matter.

It's been so long that Inoue Hideka doesn't remember it very clearly.

But in the end, it's true that both of them were thoroughly scolded.

Thinking this, Inoue Hideka chuckled softly.

This mischievous girl never stops causing trouble!

After being caught and reprimanded by the staff in charge of the arena at Kirigaoka Girls' Academy, shouldn't you behave yourself by now?

Even if she doesn't care about the staff's scolding, the guilt of making Mikoto suffer along with her should at least give her a break.

Secretly gloating, Inoue Hideka quickened her movements with her hands and mouth, trying her best to finish the bread in front of her.

Inoue Hideka's decision not to eat lunch was not because she felt she had no human rights and was feeling resentful. To reiterate, it was definitely not because she felt she had no human rights and was feeling resentful.

He had planned from the beginning to make room in his stomach so that he could fully unleash his potential and do his best to win the bread-eating contest.

Now it seems that all the hard work and patience we had before were not in vain.

Compared to those around him, he ate bread the fastest.

Because the competition had a time limit, rather than simply a contest of who could eat more, all the contestants started by eating their bread as quickly as possible.

As time passed, most people gradually slowed down their bread-eating pace.

Inoue Hideka secretly felt smug.

He was spoiled by Saten Ruiko and had a huge appetite, so eating quickly for 20 minutes straight was no big deal for him.

If these breads could be replaced with Chinese food made by Saten Ruiko, Inoue Hideka believed she could eat them even faster.

Finally, the 20-minute time limit was up.

After the referee shouted "The game is over," the operations committee members quickly counted the number of breads remaining in front of the contestants' tables under their responsibility, as well as the number of empty crates that originally held 20 loaves of bread.

Inoue Hideka remained calm and collected, eyes closed, arms crossed, waiting for the referee to announce the first place winner—though it was unclear where his confidence came from.

About five minutes later.

"This bread-eating contest has now concluded. I will now announce the top three winners. The other rankings will be posted on the operations committee's tent later, so please check them out yourselves!"

"So, the first place goes to someone from Zhachuan Middle School—"

Upon hearing this, a slight smile appeared on Inoue Hideka's lips.

Well, looks like I do have some protagonist potential! This is definitely the time for me to shine!

"Fujiwara Masaga!"

? ?

! !

Inoue Hideka's smug smile froze instantly.

He suddenly opened his eyes and began searching around the square.

Since the bread-eating contest didn't require training, Inoue Hideka didn't know who in her class was participating.

Moreover, Inoue Hideka arrived quite late, and the match was about to start when she entered the arena, so she didn't notice Fujiwara Masaga.

I never expected that foodie would participate in a bread-eating contest!

"The second place goes to Jianzhenji from Chongyu Middle School!"

amount……

Inoue Hideka felt her face turn slightly red for some reason. She thought that her big appetite would guarantee her victory in the bread-eating contest. Was she really too naive?

This attempt at showing off... Why did I get slapped in the face the first time I tried to show off?!

Cursing the injustice of fate in his heart, Inoue Hideka's face grew increasingly grim.

"Third place goes to Inoue Eika, also from Sakukawa Junior High School! Now, please come forward to receive your awards!"

Sparse applause rang out in the hall, but Inoue Hideka was no longer in the mood to enjoy this honor.

On the contrary, he felt a little ashamed, and although no one knew what he was thinking, he still felt very embarrassed.

Moreover, he had important things to do next, so after hearing his ranking, he told the operations committee member and quietly left the arena.

"Hello? Haru, have you found that girl? Oh, and did Ruiko and the others go back?"