Anesis served as the seat of power for Duke Kerebel, a central figure within the Noble's Faction, one of the primary political blocs of the Kingdom of Mireana.
Inside the ducal manor in Anesis, a woman sat facing a knight.
The woman possessed golden hair that looked as if sunlight itself had taken physical form, and her beauty was so profound that anyone seeing her for the first time would undoubtedly be captivated. However, she carried an impression of dignity and sharpness that made the term "War Maiden" more appropriate than "Goddess." Known to neighboring countries as the Princess General due to her beauty, immense charisma, and skill in both combat and command, she was Elena Kerebel.
Elena had performed the Ritual of Inheritance at the Altar of Inheritance on the lowest floor of the dungeon she had explored with Rei. Though still human, she had obtained the Ancient Dragon's Power, and now exuded a presence far more formidable than ever before.
Even now, as Elena listened to the report from Ara, who sat across from her, she radiated an indefinable pressure.
...No. To be precise, it was more accurate to say that to Ara, who was delivering the report, it simply felt as though she were being subjected to such pressure.
The outbreak of Magic Fever in the City of Baar, the discovery of the Dungeon Core, and the countless slimes emitting purple mist that had been spat out by said core—these matters had already been reported to Elena's father, Liberte Kerebel. Elena had listened to the report alongside her father, but had subsequently summoned Ara to her private room to hear the details once more.
"I see. I understand the situation."
Elena nodded as she spoke, acknowledging the report Ara had just repeated.
Her voice was as beautiful as the tolling of a silver bell, but Ara, who had served Elena for many years and was accustomed to her presence, could sense that her lord was slightly out of humor. Naturally, the reason was not difficult to guess.
"Um, Lady Elena. Regarding Lord Rei... if only I had noticed the matter of the letter a little sooner."
At Ara's words, Elena shook her head slightly and crossed her arms beneath her chest.
Since she was in her own manor, and in her private quarters at that, Elena was not currently wearing armor; she was clad in a dress suitable for a Duke's Daughter. By crossing her arms while wearing such a garment, her naturally generous curves were further emphasized, causing Ara to unintentionally blush at the sight.
Of course, to Ara, Elena was a person she respected, loved, and was utterly devoted to. However, that did not mean Ara harbored romantic feelings for her own gender. Even so, the alluring expression currently on Elena's face had a certain charm that spoke to Ara in many ways.
(Lord Rei... I truly resent you for this.)
Ara muttered inwardly as the face of a certain youth came to mind.
The woman before her was the symbol of martial arts and beauty, Elena Kerebel. It was not difficult for Ara, who had known her for so long, to imagine who the person was that made such a woman blush and pine with such longing.
"...Well, fine. Rei did say he would write a letter, did he not?"
Ara had been momentarily captivated by Elena's radiant expression—one unique to a woman in love—but she hastily regained her composure and nodded as Elena let out a small sigh.
"Yes. Since it is winter, it may take some time to arrive, but he most certainly said he would write a letter."
"I see. Then I shall look forward to waiting for Rei's letter. ...No, in this case, would it be better if I sent a letter first?"
Because Elena had spent almost no time socializing with other noble children, dedicating herself entirely to self-improvement instead, she knew almost nothing about the ABCs of love.
She looked toward Ara to ask what she should do, but Ara herself had no experience in loving a man. Furthermore, since she was always accompanying Elena, she likewise had almost no interaction with other noble social circles.
Nevertheless, she could not simply tell her beloved Elena that she didn't know the answer.
"Well, they say love is like war—the first strike wins. Perhaps it would be best for you to take the initiative and act proactively, Lady Elena?"
Ara simply strung together whatever words happened to come to mind.
And on Elena's part, she saw no reason to doubt the words of Ara, who had grown up alongside her since childhood.
"I understand. Then, please prepare a pen and paper. I shall write a letter at once."
She declared.
"Ahahaha! Set-chan, Set-chan, Set-chaaan!"
"Guruuu..."
At the Full Belly Diner, a restaurant in the City of Gilm, Mireinu’s cheeks were flushed red from the alcohol she had consumed. She was clinging to the neck of Set, who had been allowed inside thanks to the goodwill of the owner, Dishot. She alternated between eating her own meal and feeding pieces to the gryphon.
"Honestly... I'm sorry, Rei. Mireinu is always like that once she starts drinking."
"Don't worry about it. Set is attached to Mireinu, too."
Rei replied to Surnin, who served as Mireinu's handler, while slurping his udon.
Beyond his gaze, Mireinu was feeding Set a dish of boiled vegetables drizzled with sauce.
Watching Set purr with satisfaction as it ate, Rei let out a smile.
After returning to the City of Gilm a bit earlier, Rei had stopped by the Guard Force Headquarters to inform Ranga of Set's safety and receive the sign-off for the quest completion. When he headed to the Guild afterward, he had run into Scorching Wind just as they were returning to the city.
Following that, at the strong request of Scorching Wind—or rather, Mireinu—Rei and Set had ended up participating in a celebration for their successful mission. Although, from Mireinu's perspective, Set was the main guest and Rei was merely an extra.
"Even so, I was surprised that you all knew about the Full Belly Diner."
"Ahaha. We had a time when our rank was low, too, you know. We used to eat here often back then. After all, it's cheap, delicious, and the portions are huge—the perfect triple threat. Since we became known as a C-Rank Party, we'd stayed away for a bit, worried we might cause trouble for the shop... but with the renovations, it's become quite spacious. I don't think we have to worry about being a nuisance now, so I think we'll start coming back again."
Surnin spoke with a nostalgic smile as he twirled the udon with a fork and brought it to his mouth.
Rei was still somewhat unaccustomed to seeing udon eaten with a fork, but since there was no way there would be chopsticks here in Gilm... or anywhere in Elgin, for that matter, he hooked the noodles with his fork and brought them to his mouth with a loud slurp.
"..."
Suddenly, he noticed Surnin and Ekryl were giving him flat, exasperated looks.
"What's wrong?"
"What do you mean? Rei, your manners are a bit... lacking."
Rei tilted his head as if he didn't understand Ekryl's point.
"How so?"
"Like I said! Making that noise while you eat!"
"...Ah."
When she put it like that, Rei finally remembered that slurping noodles was a custom unique to Japan.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the place where Rei had lived was the ultimate countryside, so he had only ever seen foreigners on TV. He recalled a program where foreigners watched Japanese people slurping noodles with looks of utter astonishment.
(Now, how should I explain this?)
He hesitated for a moment, then decided to bluff.
"These udon noodles are a dish I taught to Dishot. According to the history book where I discovered the recipe, slurping the noodles while making noise was considered the proper way to eat them."
"What?! You're the one who introduced this udon dish, Rei?!"
Both Surnin and Ekryl turned gazes of shock toward him.
In the first place, the reason Scorching Wind had visited the Full Belly Diner for the first time in a while was specifically for the udon. Having heard that a dish no one had ever seen or heard of had been developed, udon was currently a secret craze in the City of Gilm. Learning that the Full Belly Diner was the origin, they had decided it was the perfect place for their post-request celebration.
"Yeah. I temporarily formed a party with the son of this diner. At that time, we were talking about food, and I remembered a dish I'd read about in a book and taught him the basics. ...Well, I only gave him the general outline; the fact that he refined it to this level of taste is purely due to Dishot's skill."
"Hahaha! I'm glad to hear the person who thought of udon say that."
A voice interrupted. It was Dishot, the owner of the Full Belly Diner.
"Rei, looks like you made it back safely. Did you find any delicious food in the City of Baar?"
Dishot, ever greedy for new culinary inspiration, asked the question, but Rei shook his head slightly.
"Hardly. Because of the Magic Fever, all food was under a rationing system. I stayed at an inn, but the cook there had caught the infection and was bedridden. The son, an adventurer who hadn't caught the fever, was managing as best he could, but his cooking skills were exactly what you'd expect. ...The cook did return toward the end of my stay, but with the food rationed, there wasn't much he could do anyway."
"...I see. That's a shame. Oh, by the way, how was the reputation of the udon you took with you?"
Dishot looked disappointed for a few seconds, but in the next moment, his expression turned serious again.
Udon's popularity was explosive in Gilm, so he was naturally curious about how it was received elsewhere.
"It was great. Everyone ate it happily. At least as far as I heard, I didn't find anyone who thought it tasted bad. ...Well, maybe they just didn't want to say that to me since I was the one providing it."
"Ho! I see. Regardless of the exact details, they didn't leave any leftovers, did they?"
"That wasn't an issue. ...Oh, that reminds me, I forgot to return this."
Remembering suddenly, Rei reached into his Misty Ring and pulled out the massive iron pot he had used to transport the udon to Baar.
It had been properly scrubbed, and because it was a well-seasoned pot, it wasn't exactly like new... but it had been cleaned so thoroughly that it didn't even look like the same pot Dishot was used to seeing. Almost all the baked-on grease and grime on the exterior was gone.
"Heh, that's a remarkably clean pot."
Mireinu, who had been playing with Set, turned an impressed gaze toward the vessel.
Dishot smiled happily as he examined it.
Seeing his good mood, Ekryl tilted her head.
"Pops, what's with you? I'm sure you're happy the pot came back shiny, but still."
"Hah! The fact that they polished it this much means the udon was just that delicious. This pot is their way of saying thanks. ...Nothing makes me happier than knowing people were this pleased with my food."
"Heeh, so that's how it is. ...Wait, hold on!"
As if suddenly realizing something, Mireinu turned toward the pot with an expression of horror.
"Rei, your Item Box stops time inside, right?"
"Hm? Yeah. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to store hot food."
"Then... could it be that the cause of the Magic Fever is still stuck to that pot?!"
Mireinu pointed at the pot with a trembling finger. The moment she heard that, Ekryl jumped back to put distance between herself and the vessel.
However, Surnin shook his head at the two of them and touched the pot to show there was no danger.
"I understand being anxious since the Magic Fever hasn't existed around here until now, but it only infects through direct contact between people. This is common knowledge in the south, so there's no problem."
"...Really?"
At Ekryl's doubtful question, Surnin smiled and nodded.
Hearing that, she finally felt relieved and returned to her seat to continue her meal.
"Ah—... and so."
Seeing that the commotion had settled, Dishot turned his gaze back to Rei.
"Rei, can you think of any other ways to eat udon? Putting it in soup is certainly delicious, but I'd like to increase the variety of menu items if I can."
"Well, even if you ask me that..."
Rei, who had continued eating his udon as if nothing had happened, finished his portion and set his fork down, falling into thought.
(Ways to eat udon... maybe Zaru Udon? Or dipping cold, firm noodles into a hot soup like Tsukemen. ...No, that's still just using soup. ...Wait. What if I don't use soup at all? I see.)
The conclusion he reached after a few seconds was a simple one. Compared to the udon they had served so far, it took less effort and only required a few types of ingredients. However, there was a potential problem.
"Is there a custom around here of eating eggs raw?"
"...Eating eggs raw?"
At Rei's question, Dishot instinctively furrowed his brows.
"No way, no way! Eating raw eggs is unthinkable!"
Mireinu, who had been listening in, shook her head exaggeratedly while stroking Set's fur.
"Hmm, I thought as much. Then it's impossible... no, wait. You still leave the yolks runny in things like fried eggs or omelets, right?"
"Well, that's true."
Seeing Dishot nod, Rei felt a flicker of hope.
"Then it might be viable. There's something called Kamatama Udon. To make it, you take one or two eggs and beat them in a bowl, then take freshly boiled udon—without rinsing it in cold water—and put it straight in. The residual heat from the noodles half-cooks the egg. As for the seasoning... usually, you use a condiment called soy sauce, but since you don't have that, try experimenting with some kind of sauce. Also, I think the book mentioned adding herbs for aroma and as an accent for the texture."
(I doubt they have things like dried bonito flakes, but I've seen ingredients similar to long green onions a few times.)
Thus, another new udon menu item was destined to make its appearance at the Full Belly Diner.