Chapitre 32: Battle for the Championship

Jet Spin collapsed after two more rounds. Initially, Zero worried about the snake gentleman but after the doctors declared that he fell into a food coma, he relaxed a little. The lady looked slightly pale and was sweating but she successfully made it into the next round.

Chow Chow Pow and Egui proved to be strong competition. They showed no signs of discomfort even after progressing to the fiftieth round. Ms Wormhold had forfeited at round forty-eight. The emcees were highly impressed as this was considered a new record for Mega Gourmet.

From the crowd, Sedna and Freya watched on with high spirits. They called Gaia and Isis to inform them of the competition. Isis ran over with a newly bought camera, clicking away every five seconds. Gaia grew the goddesses a tree so that they could observe from a comfortable place without having to squeeze with the crowd.

"It's good to know that Zero is doing well," Mother Nature smiled.

Isis squealed and clicked the shutter just as Zero took another mouthful of the Cannibal Banana Fritters.

Freya's expression was crooked. While she was proud of how well Zero was doing, she could also imagine the bill it would rake up just to feed the growing boy. She knew that raising a child could be expensive in the human world and worried about how Zero would cope during his travels.

Seeing her worried expression, Sedna patted her shoulder. "Don't worry too much about it. I'm sure he can win this competition. If he wants to, he can teleport back here at any moment. He'll never have to suffer starvation."

As they watched the competition progress towards the sixtieth round, Chow Chow Pow raised his hand with the most serene expression.

"Yes, contestant 999?"

"I'd like to forfeit."

The calm reply brought waves of shock and the news spread throughout La Boutique very quickly. From the audience in the plaza to the people sitting at home watching the broadcast, nobody could believe what they were hearing. History was probably going to be rewritten.

Numbly, Uni Corn approved and helped Pow walk off the stage. Now, only a frail boy and a hungry ghost were left. Neither looked like they could eat a lot but nobody should judge a book by its cover. The contestants seemed unaffected and shovelled down the next meal effortlessly.

Jack laughed nervously. "It's hard to tell who will emerge the winner for this year's Mega Gourmet. The ever-hungry Egui or Zero who shows no sign of slowing. We will now ask them a few questions so please stay with us, ladies and gentlemen."

Uni Corn approached Egui and the ghost trembled.

"Egui, how are you feeling? We've passed the halfway mark of this hundred course meal now. DO you have any favourite dish?"

Egui frowned. "Hungry... so hungry... want more... give me more food!"

"Zero!" Jack smiled. "I understand that this is your first time participating in the Mega Gourmet. How did you find the food? Anything noteworthy?"

The young boy paused and thought seriously for a while. Many ladies and some men cooed at the adorable tilt of his head. Even though his mouth was stained with purple juice, it did nothing to hide the cuteness.

With his high pitched voice, Zero announced, "I liked Ureh Pheasant Tenders in Pom-pom Fruit Sauce! I also liked Comph Blood Sausages... also liked Weq Lormal Dumplings! I like everything!"

Isis held her nose at the declaration. "So cute..."

Gaia gave her a leaf. "Wipe away that blood please... you'll scare Zero if he sees you like this."

Sedna shook her head and Freya chuckled. "Good job, Buddha!"

The camera clicked again and the Gaia asked Isis to forward her the picture of Zero stuffing his cheeks. "I'm going to forward this to Zeus and the rest. They don't know what they're missing out."