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Published at 8th of February 2018 06:26:42 AM


Chapter 24

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Nanahoshi Gourmet: Miso Udon

Translator: flyingsakana

Editor/Proofreader: Jokoril

My name is Nanahoshi.

Nanahoshi Shizuka.

Due to various circumstances, I am currently freeloading in Perugius’s Castle, Chaos Bringer.

With his subordinate’s ability, waking up once every month is how I live right now.

This lifestyle is the result of my “I can’t return until I achieve a certain something in this world” theory.

But let’s leave that aside for now.

In my previous world, there was a fairytale called “Sannen Netarou”

TL Note: The name means “He who slept for three years”

In a certain village suffering from persistent drought, there was a man named Netarou.

He did not do any work in the village and merely slept through his days for three years, raising the ire of the other villagers.

One day, Netarou woke up and moved gigantic boulders from up in the mountains. Every single day, he threw these large boulders into the river, finally changing the course of the river towards the drought stricken village. Because of this, the crops in the field were able to receive water and the village was saved from its long years of drought.

He wasn’t merely sleeping. All this time, he was thinking about solutions to save the village.

Such was the story.

I am doing pretty much the same thing as him.

At least that’s what I think.

However, what I am doing is not something noble like helping the people of this world. Instead, I am merely doing this so I can return to my previous world.

Of course, I am indebted to the people of this world. If they are in trouble, I would want to reach out and help them.

Leaving that aside, it is time for lunch.

My stomach is empty today as well.

It is growling with a “guu guu” sound, requesting me to eat food even while I am showering.

I am now a hungry wolf.

Whether it is Little Red Riding Hood or seven goats, I can probably devour them all.

Nonetheless, being assaulted by such intense hunger every day (actually every month), I might slim down so much that I look anorexic.

When that happens, people might not recognize me when I return to my previous world and I don’t want that, which is why I must eat my fill today as well.

While my mind was filled with such thoughts, I arrived in my room. A pleasant smell reached my nose. At the same time, the figure of Rudeus preparing something at the table came into my view.

[Aah, good morning Nanahoshi.]

[Morning.]

Placed in front of Rudeus is a pot made from earth magic, being heated up by something that looks like a portable stove. A nice bubbling sound reverberates in the room.

It looks like we will be having Nabe today.

Soups like this with many ingredients cooked together are not uncommon in this world. Normally, the ingredients are thrown into the pot as is, resulting in a soup with a strong pungent stench and horrible flavor. Even when made by a capable chef, the soup would turn out to be something edible, but remain unappealing to the appetite.

However, what’s this aroma of miso that tickles my nose?

This smell cannot be produced unless the flavor of the dashi stock is properly brought out and the miso paste is dissolved completely. Ah, my stomach is growling again.

[What is it today?]

With a passable greeting, I arrived at my seat. If we are using fire in the room, won’t we get scolded by Perugius? I recalled that I forgot to warn Rudeus about this, but it should be fine. Perugius will also be eating here anyway.

[Today we’ll be having… here, look.]

Rudeus lifted the lid from the pot, revealing the dish beneath the steam.

As expected, it is a dark brown soup. What looks like chicken meat, spring onion and mushrooms with a white egg in the center are bubbling in the soup. Furthermore, beneath all those ingredients lies something white, long and thin. White noodles! That means this dish is probably…

[Udon?]

[That’s right, it’s miso udon.]

Miso udon!

[You made udon noodles?]

[Yup, I had some difficulty explaining what “noodles” are to her, but actually making these is not that difficult.]

It is mainly Aisha that re-creates the dishes from our previous world.

After listening to explanations regarding the cooking method and the finished product from Rudeus, the dish is re-created through trial and error.

The miso udon we are having today is also a result of that process.

[Alright, eat it quickly before it becomes soggy.]

While saying that, Rudeus skillfully transferred the miso udon into a bowl using a ladle and chopsticks before serving it. The miso soup’s aroma drifts into my nose. Saliva fills my mouth as I immediately grabbed a hold of the chopsticks.

[… Itadakimasu.]

Just when I was about to eat the udon noodles, I stopped.

I put down the chopsticks and took up the spoon.

I decided to first taste the soup.

I cannot start eating the noodles before first tasting this rich miso soup.

[..Nn]

The flavor of the dashi was splendidly brought out in this soup.

It is most likely seafood based.

A deep miso flavor is layered with the taste of the dashi, and there is a mellow aftertaste that is hard to describe.

At that moment, my stomach started growling again, as if it’s hurrying me to eat solid food.

Stomach: Please give me solid food now.

Me: Please stop rushing me.

I can hear these words resounding in my mind.

Me: Calm down, I’ll eat it even without you telling me to.

With that, I once again picked up the chopsticks.

I picked up the soft udon noodles floating in the soup. Even though I am confident in using chopsticks, the udon noodles that I haven’t had in a while broke up and fell back into the bowl. Unfazed, I picked up the remaining pieces of udon, blew on them and slurped them up.

[..Nfuu.]

This is definitely udon.

It may be due to the quality of the wheat flour used, but the taste is a little different from what I’m used to. However, this is without a doubt, the taste of udon. It is so soft that I can swallow it without chewing.

Ahh, it’s so nostalgic…

Speaking of which, I’ve eaten this kind of udon a long time ago.

My mother prepared it for me when I was down with flu back when I was still schooling. The udon I had back then was bland, and the lack of flavor was made worse by my illness. Compared to that, this udon is delicious.

[Fu…]

I took a breather after I swallowed the udon noodles.

Next up on the menu would be the spring onions. Spring onions in this world have a strong raw stench.

They taste as if they might contain poison when eaten raw.

Maybe because these spring onions were being cooked in the miso soup for a long period of time, the stench is almost non-existent.

The more I eat, the more I can taste the unique flavor of the spring onions; it doesn’t make me sick at all.

Rather, it was as if every bite is preparing me for the wave of flavor coming from the next mouthful of udon.

The taste of the udon noodles and spring onions come together in perfect harmony, bringing the tastiness of the miso udon to the next level.

What about the mushrooms?

From the appearance, it does not look like shiitake or enoki mushrooms at all, it is unique to this world.

The bright colors make it look poisonous. Perhaps this mushroom was once a monster.

I picked up a mushroom with my chopsticks and put it in my mouth. I savored the texture of the mushroom by chewing slowly. The intense umami flavor burst out in my mouth – it tastes a lot like shiitake mushrooms – No, this is definitely shiitake. Yup, let’s just call this mushroom shiitake.

Before the aftertaste of the mushroom faded, I quickly took a bite of the chicken.

As usual, this world’s “chicken” does not taste exactly like chicken as well. But how do I put it, maybe because it was simmered in the soup for a long time, this meat melts in my mouth.

The umami flavor of the shiitake and chicken, coupled with the miso, spring onions and the udon noodles.

Truly a match made in heaven.

I continued chewing and swallowing this delicious meal.

The ingredients are cooked so tender that I can easily swallow it and it goes into my stomach without much resistance at all. Before I knew it, the bowl was empty.

[…Seconds.]

[Alright.]

Rudeus scooped out more udon noodles from the pot.

I started eating the moment the bowl was re-filled with the noodles.

Spring onions, udon, chicken, udon, mushrooms, udon, re-fill.

I kept eating in this cycle without talking.

I probably did not eat miso udon all that much in my previous world.

Even if I went to an udon restaurant, I can’t imagine myself ordering this at all.

I would have ordered another kind of udon.

But now that I know how tasty this dish is, things would be quite different.

Miso udon would be the first thing that comes to mind when talking about udon. I might come to utter such a phrase like I am some udon connoisseur, even though I really know nothing about udon.

[Is it good?]

[Yes.]

But I cannot let my guard down.

Although Rudeus would feed me good food, this comes at a price.

Sometimes, he would come to me asking for advice.

[By the way Nanahoshi, listen to this.]

Even though he asks for advice, the topics are usually not serious.

Things like:

How Ars is so popular at school, and how he’s worried that Ars would lay his hands on girls here and there.

How Sieg has become very muscular, and would corner Rudeus with his powerful sword strikes during practice-duels.

How Lucy and Clive started going out, and are often seen going on dates in town.

How childish Lara still is, frequently playing pranks on people.

Trivial stuff like that.

[I arm wrestled Sieg the other day.]

[Arm wrestle?]

[Yeah, and Sieg’s arm has gotten really big, just by grabbing my hands it feels as if he was about to crush it.]

[If I am not wrong, Sieg-kun was taken in by Alexander was it? As a disciple right?]

[That’s right, North God III. I don’t know if it’s because he was a great teacher or our Sieg has talent, but Sieg is mastering the North God Style at a shockingly fast pace. Alek also commended his learning speed.]

[Hmm… So what happened to the arm wrestling match? Did you win?]

[I won. As luck would have it, I was wearing my Magic Armor at the time. With that, I protected my dignity as a father.]

[I wonder if you really protected it…]

Looks like the topic today is trivial as well.

But I cannot relax yet.

Depending on the circumstance, Rudeus will start off with light-hearted topics like these, before going into heavy topics. When that happens, he will sneak peeks at my facial expression before addressing me with “Hey, Nanahoshi” sheepishly.

[Hey, Nanahoshi-san… On another topic…]

Here it comes.

The way he says it with a difficult expression.

Furthermore, he addressed me with a -san suffix.

Today’s topic is going to be considerably heavy.

[It is not really an easy thing for me to say…]

[…What?]

To be honest, I don’t want to talk about it.

Once it starts, I would become so exhausted that I cannot really enjoy the taste of the food.

But I am someone who is always treated to such a feast by him.

It isn’t good to ignore someone who has been taking so much care of me.

[I may be wrong about this…]

[Uh huh…]

It’s coming.

What is it going to be about?

[… Haven’t you been gaining weight lately?]

[Eh?]

Something unexpected.

[Me?]

[How should I put it, you kinda look a little plump compared to how you were like last time.]

I touched my cheeks instinctively.

Did I really become plump?

I haven’t been looking into the mirror lately, so I am not really sure myself.

There are mirrors in this castle, but unfortunately it is not as common as having it in every toilet like back in Japan.

They are so uncommon that I couldn’t find even one mirror within walking distance.

As expected, there isn’t one in this room either.

I have gotten fat…?

Really? No, but, it can’t be.

My body is in a weird state in this world.

I don’t age, my nails and hair don’t grow and I don’t even have periods.

So getting fat should not be possible.

Even so, I still get hungry.

If I consume food, I will still excrete waste.

Meaning, the food will be digested and distributed as nourishment to my body.

If I can get hungry, it implies that this nourishment is used up.

In other words, at least for a time, this digested food stays in my body.

So… I did get fat?

The food is not only used to maintain my physical state, but also stored in my body?

Even though I get so hungry in the morning?

[Ahh, my bad. It’s probably rude to say something like this to you.]

[Not really…]

[If you are worried about it why not I make a weighing scale? It won’t be able to display accurate readings, but it can at least do something like compare my weight to yours. How about it?]

[I-I don’t need it]

I can’t imagine myself getting fat.

After coming to this world, I shouldn’t have been able to lose or gain weight.

The hunger I feel when I wake up must be because I used up all of the energy gained from my previous meal.

That must be it. Yes.

That’s why it must be his imagination.

It’s not like Rudeus sees my face every day.

It’s only about once per month.

He should not be able to notice how different I look.

No, isn’t it the opposite?

Isn’t it precisely because he does not see me every day that he notices the changes in my appearance?

[…]

Thinking back, ever since I started freeloading in this castle, I have only been eating and sleeping.

When Rudeus started making Japanese food, the amount I ate increased as well.

I used to only eat the bare minimum to survive, but lately I have been devouring food till I am bloated.

Me being constantly on an empty stomach may have further fueled my appetite.

But when I think about it, my stomach will get empty even without me doing anything.

Illustrations of Sannen Netarou also often depicted him being fat…

So, I really got fat? With this lifestyle…

[Rudeus. Even while having three wives, it seems like you still do not understand a woman’s feelings.]

While I was trembling from the thought of possibly becoming fat, Perugius entered the room with those words.

It seems like Sylvaril is with him as well.

[A woman’s feelings… It seems like I am still inexperienced.]

[Appearance is everything to a woman. If she had put in everything for her hair, makeup and clothes, to point out changes in her weight is an action of utmost insensitivity. I believe you should have prepared a portion for me as well, right?]

[I see. Here you go.]

Perugius sat at his seat as if it was the most natural thing to do and requested his portion of the meal.

Unlike what he said, I am someone who isn’t all that conscious of my weight though…

It’s just that I thought there was no way I could become fat, and got a shock when I found out the truth.

… Even so, I think I wouldn’t want to get fat.

More importantly, wouldn’t your pure white coat be stained if you slurp on the udon noodles?

Even if it isn’t curry udon, the color of miso udon soup is still quite dark.

Did Rudeus not notice this?

[Oh yeah, do you know how to eat this?]

Rudeus did not notice it at all and said that instead.

In this sense, it is indeed true that Rudeus does not understand a woman’s heart.

But on whether paying such attention to clothes is part of having a woman’s heart, even I have no idea.

[You bastard, are you making fun of me?]

[My apologies, it is because we do not really see things like noodles in this world.]

[They were lost to the war with Laplace. There might be remnants of such food remaining however…]

[Oh, I see.]

Due to the war 400 years ago, humans were practically annihilated aside from those in the Asura Kingdom.

That is why the food culture has perished alongside those who died in the war.

Even so, it wouldn’t be bad if some part of it remains.

[Having said that, it has been a long time since I ate this as well. I only had this once during the war. Furthermore, it is the first time I have it with these ingredients and soup.]

Perugius picked up the fork while saying that.

Isn’t it very difficult to eat udon with a fork?

As I was about to point that out, Perugius skillfully curled the noodles using the fork and put it into his mouth with majestic grace.

There was no way for the soup to splash anywhere.

It looks like I was worried for nothing.

[Hmm, the taste is good.]

[I am relieved.]

[But this is too soft. What I ate before had more elasticity to it, isn’t this food for the elderly?]

Miso udon noodles are almost always soft.

This is because it is simmered in the miso soup.

However, after hearing Perugius say that, I suddenly had cravings for normal udon noodles as well.

Not that I have any complains with miso udon, it’s just that I also wanted to have a taste of springy udon noodles.

[I knew that you would say that.]

While saying that, Rudeus took out some noodles that was in a sack.

He came prepared.

[It was boiled once before, so it might not have that much body to it. But I think it has the texture close to what you desire.]

Rudeus lowered the noodles into the pot to boil it as he said that.

The noodles bubbled in the soup.

Watching that scene, I started to recall a noodle texture different from what I ate a moment ago.

[Can I also get a refill of that?]

[Why of course, eat up.]

With that reply, I once again leaned forward holding my empty bowl.

I ate my fill today as well.

My appetite is fully satisfied.

The hungry wolf returns to the forest with a bloated stomach.

I have been “gaining weight” huh…

I asked to be brought to see a mirror after the meal.

To be honest, my figure did not change that much from what I remember.

But maybe, as I thought, I got a little plump?

Perhaps due to it being right after a meal, my stomach is protruding out.

[…]

It’s not like I absolutely hate becoming fat.

Even so, I would prefer to maintain my current figure.

It’s fine if it’s just a little bit, but I would hate it if I were to become so fat that I was mistaken for someone else.

[… I should exercise a little.]

I told myself just before I went to sleep.





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