"Rei, how about this!"
A soup plate landed on the table with a thud.
Inside the plate were soup and noodles.
...That's right. Even though he should have been busy with the New Year's party, Georgima had still been continuing his research on ramen.
It probably wasn't full-time, but even so, Georgima's dedication to cooking—researching ramen as much as possible—was something Rei could only admire.
Especially since it had reached the point where a ramen prototype ready for tasting had been produced.
The aroma of fish sauce drifted from the soup, stimulating his appetite.
(Ramen made with fish sauce... how does that work categorically? Since it's fish sauce, is it still fine to call it shoyu ramen? No, but ramen made with shottsuru wasn't called shoyu ramen—it was called shottsuru ramen.)
Setting aside the question of categorization for now, Rei directed his gaze back to the soup plate.
The soup plate, made slightly deeper than normal, was probably just the right size for serving ramen.
Inside the soup plate were only soup and noodles.
With proper ramen, several toppings would be placed on top—marinated eggs, chashu, menma, nori, chopped green onions, and the like—but since the noodles were the focus this time, those kinds of toppings were probably omitted.
Picking up the soup plate in front of him, Rei first took a sip of the soup.
Drinking straight from a bowl... no, pressing his mouth directly to the soup plate was something that wouldn't be surprising to be called bad manners.
But since the opportunity was there, Rei wanted to drink it that way.
He thought drinking with a spoon would be perfectly fine too, but the main reason was that drinking this way made it seem more delicious.
What spread through his mouth first was an intensely rich fish umami.
Rei had drunk soup made with fish sauce by Georgima before, but that single sip had a depth—there was no other word for it—that was different from before.
"Delicious."
At that single muttered word from Rei, Georgima and his apprentices all broke into satisfied smiles.
The New Year's party, and the appreciation party for the servants held the day before.
He had prepared the dishes for those without cutting any corners, and yet he hadn't stopped his research on ramen prototypes.
Since Rei was said to be returning to Gilm in just a few days, it was only natural that Georgima would want to miss no opportunity.
He had made Rei drink the soup that was the crystallization of all that effort and say it was delicious—expecting him not to feel happy about it would be impossible.
(It's subtly different from the ramen soup I know... well, it's fish sauce instead of soy sauce, so that can't be helped. If the research continues from here on out, there's room for it to evolve further. And soy sauce and miso too, eventually...)
Imagining the ramen soup to come, Rei next twirled the noodles with a fork.
Thinking that chopsticks would really be better at times like this, he brought them to his mouth.
The act of slurping—emphasized in ramen yet often considered bad manners in other countries—was impossible while eating ramen like pasta.
Feeling just slightly disappointed about that, Rei savored the noodles.
(Similar, but different.)
That was Rei's honest impression after eating the noodles.
Compared to udon, they were clearly closer to the ramen noodles Rei knew.
Closer, yes... but even so, somewhere the taste and texture of the noodles were still different from the ramen noodles Rei knew.
"Delicious."
When Rei said that after finishing the noodles, it wasn't flattery or anything of the sort. It was an honest, heartfelt sentiment.
However, even so... no, precisely because of that, a bitter look surfaced on Georgima's face as he watched.
He understood from Rei's expression that he certainly thought the noodles were delicious, while simultaneously reading that they were different from what he had expected.
At the same time, that was enough to give Georgima the conviction that Rei had actually eaten a dish called ramen before.
Otherwise, when eating a dish he had only seen in a book, he wouldn't have come away with the impression that it was "different from what I expected" rather than simply "delicious" or "bad."
(Then why doesn't he say it? ...Well, it's Rei. There's no doubt he has some kind of reason. Given Rei's personality, it's impossible that he's just being coy.)
Harboring a slight dissatisfaction, but deciding that right now he had something else to do, Georgima opened his mouth.
"Rei, tell me honestly. Those ramen noodles... they're different from what you expected, aren't they?"
At Georgima's words, the apprentices who had been happily rejoicing at Rei's reaction displayed visible surprise.
To the other apprentices, Rei had only seemed to be happily eating the ramen they had made.
This was probably a major difference between master and apprentice.
Stared at intently by Georgima, subjected to a gaze that seemed to say lies wouldn't be tolerated, Rei eventually gave a reluctant nod.
"That's right. To be precise, it felt like the texture of these noodles is different from what I read in a book. However, that's strictly how I felt. Perhaps..."
"You're wrong."
Cutting off Rei's words, Georgima declared flatly.
It was exactly the kind of statement where the expression "no room for argument" was perfectly fitting.
"None of that dodging. Did you feel that these noodles are different from ramen noodles or not? Just tell me that."
"...They're different."
At Georgima's question—no, rather at what could be called an interrogation—Rei ultimately answered with just that.
He had judged that Georgima, looking into his eyes, had seen through the fact that Rei knew the dish called ramen... that he hadn't just read about it in a book, but had actually eaten it before.
However, that was shared strictly between Rei and Georgima, and the others around them didn't understand at all.
The true meaning of their conversation would have been incomprehensible to those around, but for Georgima, focusing his attention on making his cooking even more delicious rather than on the surrounding people was only natural.
"So? How specifically are they different?"
"Let's see. Like I said earlier, the bite... the sensation when chewing the noodles felt different between these noodles and the ones I learned about from a book. I think I mentioned this before, but ramen noodles should be made using something called kansui. I don't know specifically what that's like, but... what did you use for these?"
"It's a liquid made by concentrating a particular monster's body fluids. In a country quite far from here, they apparently use this when making bread."
At Georgima's words, Rei opened his eyes in surprise.
They had been talking about kansui, and he never expected something about monster body fluids to come up here.
"That's... at least, I don't think it's kansui."
At the very least, since the kansui Rei knew was something ordinarily used in Japan... no, on Earth, it couldn't be obtained by doing something like concentrating monster body fluids.
Incidentally, Rei didn't have any particular feelings about the point regarding concentrating monster body fluids.
To begin with, since monsters were generally regarded as food, using their body fluids as an ingredient—whether that expression was correct in this case was unclear—wasn't particularly a problem, was Rei's understanding.
On Earth as well, body fluids were utilized, such as using animal blood in sausages or using shark body fluids in health foods.
Rei remembered that much, albeit vaguely. ...The fact that he couldn't answer if asked specifically how to use animal blood in cooking was very like Rei, though.
Given that, Rei didn't find it particularly strange when told that monster body fluids were used in place of kansui.
...Unfortunately, it had resulted in something slightly different from the noodles Rei knew.
"Is that so? But you don't know what kansui is like, right, Rei? Then perhaps..."
"Ah... at least, I don't think it said anything about using monster body fluids."
That his experience eating ramen had become known was one thing, but he couldn't exactly say he had come from another world to this Elgin.
(Well, considering Georgima's personality, even if he heard I came from another world, he might not feel anything about it in particular? ...The possibility of him demanding I teach him otherworld cuisine is high, though.)
Given that Georgima possessed what could be called an obsession with cooking, that was almost certain.
But unfortunately, Rei wasn't particularly good at cooking even when he was in Japan.
Even with dishes like udon, pizza, and nikuman, he could only give rough explanations, and it was the cooks who actually researched and made them.
If Georgima told him to teach him about Japanese... or Earth's cuisine, Rei could teach him what kind of dishes they were, but if asked how to make them, he would be completely at a loss.
The very fact that Georgima was struggling like this with ramen was proof of that.
What kind of dish ramen was... the taste of the soup, the texture of the noodles, the toppings.
Rei could explain what those were like, but since he didn't know the actual preparation method, Georgima and the others were trying their best to make ramen like this.
If it was this much for a single dish like ramen, if it came to Rei teaching other dishes he knew... it was uncertain when he'd even be able to return to Gilm.
Or rather, Rei even had a premonition that Georgima might come to Gilm with him.
Being employed by Duke Kerebel's House, he normally shouldn't be able to do such a thing, but considering Georgima's obsession with cooking, the possibility of him taking such a measure was by no means low.
No, rather than not low, Rei had a premonition that he would definitely come to Gilm.
"Not body fluids, huh. ...In that case, should I not use this?"
Saying so, Georgima directed his gaze toward a pot placed where the seasonings were kept.
From that gesture, Rei understood that the contents of that pot were indeed the concentrated monster body fluids used as a substitute for kansui this time.
Georgima looked slightly disappointed, but Rei stopped him.
"Isn't it fine to just keep using that? The ramen I ate was certainly slightly different from what I expected. But even so, compared to udon and the like, it's definitely getting closer to ramen noodles. In that case, while we don't know the true identity of kansui, I think continuing to use that body fluid and improving on it... is the best approach."
That's right—since they didn't know specifically what kansui was, while continuing to search for it, simultaneously improving the noodles made with monster body fluids seemed to Rei like the best course of action.
Since they weren't using kansui, what they ended up making might not be ramen.
But even so, it would become a dish close to ramen, and there was plenty of potential for it to become a dish that surpassed ramen.
If so, discarding that opportunity seemed like a waste to Rei.
"Is that so? Well, this ramen... or maybe I can't call it ramen, but it does feel like it'll turn out reasonably delicious."
At Rei's words, Georgima said this, looking not entirely displeased.
His normally stern face broke into a happy smile—just a little... truly just a little.
Normally, if Rei, who had never eaten ramen, said such a thing, whether it would be believed was a delicate matter.
But Georgima understood that Rei had actually experienced eating ramen.
That was precisely why, without any particular complaint about Rei's words, he accepted it quietly.
"Understood. I won't stop searching for this kansui, but let me continue researching ramen using this seasoning as well."
Seasoning? Rei tilted his head at that word for just a moment, but quickly understood it referred to the monster body fluids.
Rei was slightly surprised that Georgima flat-out called body fluids a seasoning, but since Rei himself felt no discomfort at using animal blood as a seasoning... no, as an ingredient, that was probably something that came from a cook's way of thinking.
"Yeah, go ahead. If you keep researching using that... seasoning, you might be able to make ramen that surpasses ramen."
At those words from Rei, Georgima floated a smile that could be called ferocious... one that seemed impossible for a cook to wear.