"Okay..."
Although the staff member had accepted the entry fee and Kiga had completed her registration, that did not stop him from eyeing her with suspicion.
Could a high school girl with such a slender, delicate build really compete in an eating contest?
Most of the other contestants were several weight classes above this girl, after all.
If not for the entry fee, she really would have looked like she was just there to join the fun. The nice way to put it was "it's the participation that counts"; the less flattering version was "freeloading on food and drinks."
Since she was not freeloading, all he could say was that she had come to throw her money away.
Asaba Kotone could more or less guess what the staff member was thinking from his expression and the look in his eyes.
Clearly, the staff member was inwardly questioning Kiga like mad.
Asaba Kotone had nothing to say about that. In any case, Kiga would soon dispel those doubts through sheer ability.
By now, all the contestants in the eating contest had taken their places.
Apart from Kiga, almost all the contestants were big, burly men. Even the adult men with more proportionate builds, who were not so muscular or overweight, were hardly wearing a high school uniform like Kiga.
That made Kiga alone the most conspicuous person there.
Before the contest had even officially begun, the other contestants were all looking at Kiga with surprise and doubt.
The crowd of passersby watching the fun had also focused their attention on Kiga.
"Is this little girl seriously not joking?"
"If I'm not mistaken, that's a Fourth East uniform, right? Why would a high school girl be at an eating contest?"
"The entry fee isn't cheap, either. She's probably just here to