July 17, 3901. At the ducal family's drill grounds on the outskirts of Jagus, the royal capital of the Jagus Principality.
Duke Niestol Kirilo Jagus sat in his self-propelled, custom golem chair.
Beside him stood another man in his late twenties. With black hair, blue eyes, and a tall, spindly frame, his proportions seemed slightly unbalanced.
Before them stood a golem crafted entirely from crimson magi-crystal, alongside a combat golem that appeared to be an older model.
"All right, begin."
Sprawled back in his golem chair, Duke Niestol Kirilo Jagus issued the command.
"Yes, Your Highness."
In response, the black-haired man gave his instruction.
"Prototype 108, move out."
The golem of crimson magi-crystal sprang into motion.
Standing around 170 centimeters tall, it was relatively compact for a golem.
"Very well. Combat Golem Unit 58, deploy."
Duke Niestol Kirilo Jagus directed the older combat golem forward.
It stood two meters tall, its armored plating bearing the telltale hue of bronze.
Grasping an all-metal pike, it lunged toward Prototype 108.
"Prototype 108, 'Heat.'"
At his command, the magi-crystals covering the golem's entire body flared red.
In an instant, the red shifted to a brilliant yellow glow—clear proof that it was radiating immense heat.
Even over ten meters away, the Duke could feel the scorching air.
"Ohh, magnificent!"
"It is currently at roughly two thousand degrees Celsius. While magi-crystal will not melt at such temperatures, bronze, on the other hand..."
Prototype 108 snatched the thrusting pike out of the air. The moment it made contact, the bronze weapon turned red-hot and melted, ruined in seconds.
"Mmh, this is fascinating."
Prototype 108 pushed off the ground with a burst of speed and seized the older golem by the arm.
"Its movements are remarkably swift as well."
"Indeed. It would hardly be practical otherwise," the black-haired man replied.
While they spoke, the older combat golem's arm melted completely away.
"All right, that is quite enough."
"Understood... Prototype 108, stand down."
"Combat Golem Unit 58, 'Stop.'"
Both men ordered their respective golems to halt.
Missing an arm, the older combat golem froze in place.
Prototype 108 stopped simultaneously, cutting off its heat generation. As it cooled, its radiance faded from yellow to bright red, and finally to a deep, dark crimson.
Watching this, Duke Niestol Kirilo Jagus offered his praise.
"...Well done, Lubark. The Progresser never fails to impress."
"You flatter me, Your Highness."
Lubark was indeed a member of the Progresser.
Even in this era, the organization continued to faithfully serve the ducal house of the Jagus Principality.
"Surely no other nation commands such a golem."
"I am inclined to agree, Your Highness."
The portly Duke and the lanky man named Lubark exchanged a few more words before the Duke nodded.
"Very well. In my name, I authorize the mass production of this golem."
"I am deeply grateful."
Afterward, the Duke muttered under his breath,
"Still... what on earth is the laboratory doing with its time?"
"Karion! Is Karion here?!"
Rokou B. Sihalo, the technical administrator, came storming into one of the research labs.
"Ah, what seems to be the matter?"
When Karion, the laboratory chief, showed his face, Rokou immediately laid into him.
"What have you all been doing?! His Highness just reprimanded me for our complete lack of results lately!"
"H-Huh..."
"Rumor has it that His Highness keeps another, secret group of researchers under his direct command, and they have been presenting one breakthrough after another!"
"I-Is that so?"
Secrets have a way of leaking out. Though the Progresser's existence was classified at the highest level, Rokou B. Sihalo had caught wind of it.
"Our new golem carriage is nearly finished, however..."
"Then finish it at once! Do you hear me?!"
Without waiting for a reply, Rokou B. Sihalo spun on his heel and marched toward the Tower.
"Oh! What sort of dish is this?"
"It is called 'ramen.'"
Today's lunch, prepared by the fake Elena (Spica 9, alias Lila), was a bowl of ramen.
When making the noodles, blending kansui into the wheat flour gave them a signature chewiness and springy texture.
Kansui is an alkaline salt solution.
The prevailing theory is that this distinctive texture was first discovered in Mongolia when alkaline lake water was used by chance.
From there, noodle dishes and their preparation techniques were said to have gradually made their way to Japan.
Incidentally, the alkaline salt Spica 9 used was sodium carbonate.
It was produced by heating baking soda (sodium bicarbonate).
Baking soda itself was readily available across the Lauren Continent, harvested from natural baking soda springs.
The broth was brewed from chicken bones and niboshi.
It was a light, clear soy sauce ramen.
The toppings consisted of tender slices of chashu and seasoned menma.
The chashu had been prepared from scratch by Spica 9, while the menma was provided in salted form as a tribute from Nostalgia.
(Naruto is probably something you can only find back on Hourai Island...)
Long ago, Jin had firmly insisted that ramen was incomplete without naruto, prompting the Golem Maids to pour their efforts into recreating it.
(I really wanted to garnish it with green onions, too...)
Unfortunately, Rokou B. Sihalo despised alliums, so she had been forced to leave them out.
"This broth is simply wonderful!"
Though Rokou had arrived in a foul temper, eating the ramen prepared by the fake Elena completely lifted his spirits.
"Hehe, I am glad it pleases you."
The fake Elena offered him an enchanting smile.
Before long, the royal chefs prepared this very dish for the Duke as well.
"Mm, delicious!"
The Queen grew equally fond of it, eventually coming to eat it once every three days.
Little by little, the subtle infiltration of culture continued to make quiet inroads.