I want to eat soba noodles. ......

　It was a hot day when Toya blurted out these words.

　I know it's the right time of year, and I'd love to eat some soba noodles, but I don't think it's a good idea to mention it while eating the lunch you made for me.

　As I suspected, Haruka, who made today's lunch, seemed to be slightly unhappy.

"What's wrong with you all of a sudden?　Are you unhappy with my cooking?

"No, the food is good. As usual. But you still have those soba noodles you bought before, right?　It's time for zaru soba. Don't you want some, Haruka?　We have soy sauce.

　It's not exactly soy sauce, but lately we've been referring to soy sauce-like inspirational sauces as simply 'soy sauce'.

　We've come to call it this because it's too much trouble to call it "soy-sauce-like inspirational sauce" or "soy-sauce-like inspirational sauce" every time, but it'll probably stay like this until we find the real thing, or until we can make it ourselves.

　Similarly, "Miso-like Inspirational Sauce", "Worcestershire-like Inspirational Sauce", and "Okonomi-sauce-like Inspirational Sauce" are also called "Miso", "Worcestershire sauce", and "Okonomi-sauce".

"Well, we don't have katsuo dashi or kombu dashi, but we can make it work, can't we?

　Mary, who was listening to our conversation, curiously asked a fundamental question.

"What is 'soba'?

...... Oh, you don't know, Mary? I've heard that it's not widely eaten in the Kerg area. And Mitya?

　When I bought buckwheat noodles, she said they don't sell well, and they seem to have a strong image of being a rescue crop, so I guess they aren't popular. It's not surprising that Mary doesn't know about it, considering that.

　When I looked at Mitya, she also nodded her head.

"I don't know. Is it good?

"Do we like it?　I'm not sure if I like it or not, but it's more about the taste of the noodle soup.

The noodles may be good or bad, but that's the first thing.

But if you can make mentsuyu, I'd like to eat somen too. In summer.

　But if you can make mentsuyu, I'd like to try somen.

Somen is ...... in a way the most amateurish kind of noodle, isn't it?

I'm not sure.　I'm sure you'll agree.　--I'm sure it's thin and difficult to make.

It's probably the best of all the major noodle types. The cheap ones are made by extruding with pressure, but the hand-pulled somen are made with special craftsmanship. I think it would be difficult for me.

　I had a feeling that it would be, but I guess it's still difficult.

　As Natsuki said, if you just want to make somen that looks like "pushing with pressure", you can do it with a little modification of the home-use noodle-making machine I used to make, but if it doesn't have the firmness of somen, it still won't taste good.

　I can't tell you the feeling I get when I eat cheap somen. When you eat cheap somen, the feeling of "This isn't it" is indescribable, so this method is probably not for you.

　Well, just by watching commercials, it looks really difficult to make somen.

　At first glance, it looks easy to stretch the noodle between two sticks with two sticks, but I guess that is what is called "looking easy because a skilled craftsman does it".

　As is the case with many artisanal techniques.

It's a pity, though. I like it a lot. Somen.

　As I sigh and let out the words, Natsuki looks back at me, and then turns her head.

I'll try my best. I'll try. It may not take shape right away, though.
You said it would be difficult.

　You said it would be difficult.

"Yes. Can you forgive me if it's not ready until next year or so?
Of course. I'm just glad you're making it.
Sure. I'll do my best!

　"I'll do my best!" Natsuki replied with a good smile.
　With your cooking skills, this could be really promising.

We'll help you too!　"Hey, Haruka.
"Yes. That's a good idea. I've been on a factory tour before, so I know just how to do it.

　Toya looked a little frustrated at their reaction.

"Huh?　Isn't that different from what you did with me?

"I didn't say it was impossible. I just said it would be difficult. You know?

Yeah, yeah. I just thought it would take a long time, so I thought it would be impossible this season.

　Haruka and Yuki looked at each other and nodded to each other.
　I'm not sure what to do.

I'm sure you're not the only one.
"Of course not. Hey, Natsuki?
Yes. Of course.


Of course. Toya.
"Of course, of course. ......?

　They all said "of course", but none of them said "of course what".

　But before Toya could pursue the question, Yuki changed the subject.

But first we have to make soba. We need to make it into flour first. ......
"Shall we make a millstone?

　I made a millstone to grind matcha green tea, so making a millstone itself is not a problem.

　Yuki said to me, "Why don't you automate it? Yuki said to me, "Why don't you automate it?

But Yuki told me to automate it.　It has buckwheat hulls. ...... Haruka, what do you think?

What do you think, Haruka?" "Well, it's a lot of work, so it's probably less work. Let's try designing with rollers.

　Rollers, as the name implies, are a method of crushing buckwheat noodles by passing them between two rollers.

　By repeating the process of sifting and passing the buckwheat through the rollers, we can finally obtain the flour with the husks removed.

　Incidentally, the process of grinding with a stone mortar is also repeated, and is more tedious than that of matcha, which can be made by grinding once.

　Furthermore, the amount of tea used at one time is much less than that of matcha.
　I would certainly like to automate this process.

Do you know how to make magic tools?

Yes, at least. There are various magical tools in this house, such as a bath heater and a kitchen stove. I made all of them myself.

　Mary and Mitya rolled their eyes, perhaps remembering the many magic tools in our house.

You guys are amazing!　You can do anything!

"Not really.　So, I'm going to make buckwheat noodles very easily, okay?　You can count on me, right?

I'm counting on you!　I want to try soba!

　I'm not sure if the fact that we're looking forward to it has raised our expectations or not, but when you think about it ......, soba noodles aren't really that great. I'm sure you'll agree.

　I'm not sure if I'd be able to do that if I were you.
　Enjoy the flavor of soba.
　You can eat it easily even when you have no appetite because of the heat.
　I hope it will not disappoint you.

　　　　I'm sure you'll agree.

　I'm not going to go into the details, but I'm going to give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

　Of course, Yuki didn't make it alone, Haruka helped and I helped a little, but it was still fast enough.

　Incidentally, it seems that most of the mechanism was appropriated from wheat grinding tools bought from the store and the "demon corpse shredder" part of the compost, and the only part newly developed was the part to sift the ground flour.

　That's why it seems to have been easy to make, but if you're told that it's the same mechanism as making mincemeat out of demon corpses, I'm not sure what to think. .......

　However, since it has enough power to crush the corpse of a demon, it can crush soba noodles.

　We have already secured enough buckwheat flour for our consumption after one night of operation.

　As for the other tools, we used the rolling pin, the board for cutting noodles and the knife for udon.

　As for the wooden bowl used for kneading buckwheat flour, we could not find it in the market, so we made it from earthenware.

　There are many craftsmen who are good at woodwork in this town, so they could have made it if I had ordered it, but the original wooden bowl was lacquered.

　Unfortunately, I have never seen lacquered tableware in this area, and I am not sure about other paints. I am a little worried about the smell and safety of other paints.

　I thought it would be better to use silicon dioxide, which is also perfectly waterproof.

　The disadvantages are that it is heavy and can be broken if dropped, but the same is true for glass balls.

　But it's the same with glass balls. And even if it breaks, it can be easily rebuilt, so it's not a big problem.

Well, let's get to work.

　Today's noodle maker was Toya, who had made soba noodles with his father.
　Today's noodle maker is Toya, who has made soba noodles with his father, and Yuki, who has made udon noodles, is preparing to do the same.
　Toya is experienced and Yuki is inexperienced. The latter, however, has [cooking] skills.

　Which one of them can make it better? ...... Well, I think the result is obvious, but I'm looking forward to it.

Today I'll use 7 buckwheat flour and 3 wheat flour.

　As Toya said this, he weighed out a cup of buckwheat flour and a cup of wheat flour and put them into the bowl.

"You're not using 100 percent buckwheat flour, are you?

　When I pointed out that there was a lot of buckwheat flour in the bowl, Toya shook his head in disgust.

If you don't make it well, it will be soggy and not as good as it should be.　If you use the right kind of garnish, you can make it better, but you can't get good garnish here, and in a sense, if you put in garnish, it's not 100 percent soba.　So, for amateurs, a little more flour is just right.

"So 30 percent?　Not even Nihachi Soba.

　Yuki followed Toya's example and said so while adding flour.
　This one, unlike Toya, weighs out the flour exactly to the nearest gram.

"Oh. Flour itself is not of consistent quality.

　That's true, isn't it?

　Flour available around here is not clearly classified into light, medium, and strong flours.

　Even durum wheat, which I used to buy when I made pasta, is sold in the same way as ordinary wheat.

　Recently, I've started buying from a specific store, and I've been able to get relatively stable quality, but in the beginning, I was even given wheat that had sand in it.

　That was really bad.

　Perhaps it was because wheat is sold as food, but even the supposedly all-purpose "purification" couldn't separate it. It is strange that sand on clothes can be removed.

　Incidentally, at that time, I changed my mind and solved the problem easily with "Ground Control".

　Now that I'm a higher level player, I can probably use "Erase Earth," which is available at level 5.



　In addition, the store we are using now is not cheap because they prioritize quality, but of course there is no one among us who would complain about that.

　I don't want to eat crispy bread.
　But we can't deny that the quality is unstable, even though there is no mixture.

　This time, the buckwheat grinder was so good that we might as well buy it before grinding.

The next step is to mix the water. Add water and mix everything.
"Mm-hmm.

　I poured in the measured amount of water and roughly mixed the whole thing, and it started to look like it was falling apart in small chunks.

Quickly. If it dries out, you won't be able to stretch it properly, so good technique is important with soba.

　"Knead the chrysanthemum," he said.

He kneaded the raggedy stuff together and kneaded it. "Knead the chrysanthemum and make it navel ...... clean so that there are no cracks on the surface. Finally, crush it from the top to make it look like a rice cake, and you're done.

"Wow!

　Mitya was glued to the work, which she had never seen before.

　And Yuki, watching Toya's work from the side, did the same - or, considering that she was watching, completed the same work more skillfully than Toya.

Yuki has nothing to say about ....... Yeah. Let's stretch it out then. It's important to expand the circle into a square. It's like making a diamond.

　Toya and Yuki are stretching it out on the table with a rolling pin.
　At this point, Yuki is completely more skilled than Toya.
　She stretches it out larger and thinner than Toya.

Yuki is really good, isn't she?
"Well, it's thinner and less firm than udon, so it's a little difficult.

　Yuki's technique is excellent, even though she says it is difficult.
　The edges are clean, and there are no cuts at all.

All you have to do is fold and cut. Do what you want.

　After being overtaken in the process by Yuki, Toya smiles and throws it away.

It's thinner than udon. It's thinner than udon, so it's a bit of a hassle.

　While he was saying this, the soba noodles were being cut at a brisk pace.
　It looks just as good as the store-bought kind.

"It's amazing, Yuki. It's stunning.

I'm not sure if it's because of my skills or because I'm used to making udon.　Even Haruka can cut it well, right?

You can't cut it that fast yet. Soba is about half as thin as udon.

You just need to adjust the angle of the knife after cutting, so you'll get used to it.

　We still eat bread as our staple food, but we get bored with bread alone, and we eat pasta and udon quite often.

　For pasta, we use the noodle-making machine that Yuki and her friends built, but for udon, we make it by hand.

　Natsuki and Haruka also make the noodles, and Toya and I help with the kneading, but Yuki is often in charge of the stretching and cutting. Inevitably, she has a lot of experience.

　Even though there are some differences between soba and udon, I guess his experience is not wasted.

"Hey, Haruka. Cut mine. I've already done the folding.

Why don't you do it yourself?

There are people who can do it better than me, so I'll leave it to them. I'm not even that good at making soba.

I think you did pretty well for an amateur. Well, I understand.

　Haruka took over from Toya and cut the soba quickly.

　Haruka was not as good as Yuki, but she had made udon noodles before, so she was better than Toya, who specialized in kneading.

"All you have to do is boil it in plenty of water and you're done.
"Yes, sir. Yes, I'm ready.

　Throw the cut noodles into the water as if you were handling them.
　Take the boiled buckwheat noodles into a colander, rinse them thoroughly in cold water filled with ice, and drain them.

"Sis!　There are so many ice cubes. It's summer.
It's amazing. There's also so much clean water at .......

　That's the point of surprise.
　Well, ordinary people can't use ice this time of year.

　There are ice shops in the city run by wizards who can use ice magic, but their prices are too high for the common people. But it still sells. There are people who buy it.

　So even though the ice shop is only open during the summer, it is said to be able to make enough money to live on with a left fan.

　All you have to do is to use magic while cooling off with a left fan, literally. As long as you can use the magic to make ice, anyone can do it, and you don't need much store space.

　In other words, even if Haruka and I, who can make ice, and Yuki, who can make ice, were to retire from adventuring, we would be quite safe.

　The only drawback is that if you don't have stores in different towns, you'll be competing with each other and making less money.
　...... Yeah, well, I guess you have to accept that you'll make less money.

Now, it's boiled. Let's try it right away. It's a pity there's no condiments. ......



　We took the buckwheat noodles on a regular plate to the cafeteria, though it didn't look good because there was no colander.

　Then, I handed out the soba sauce that Natsuki had prepared.

Itadakimasu".

　Personally, I prefer ginger with soba, but I have no intention of denying wasabi. I don't have either, but unfortunately I don't have either.

　It would have been nice to have at least one of them, but ...... is not an option.
　I'll start with the one made by Yuki at .......
　Sip it with a little bit of dipping sauce.

......Oh, the aroma of soba is totally different.

　I have eaten buckwheat noodles in a buckwheat noodle producing area, and they are no better than that.
　No, as far as aroma is concerned, it is definitely superior.
　The fact that this is the first time you have made soba is ...... amazing.

Yes, it is. The dipping sauce is not so good, but the soba is very tasty.
It's good enough for a lack of ingredients. I think you've done a good job of recreating it, don't you?
Yes. Did you use mushrooms?
Yes. And smoked and dried fish. I'd like some ...... kelp.

　I think it's a very good mentsuyu, though Natsuki is not satisfied with it. I think it's good enough.

　Mary and Mitya followed our example - though they were using forks - and nodded their heads in agreement.

"How about it?　Mary, Mitya.
It's not what it looks like, but it tastes better than I expected.
Hey!　Mee!

　Mary scolded Mitya for speaking clearly, but Haruka laughed at her without seeming to mind.

　In fact, it doesn't look very good, does it, Soba?
　It's a long, brownish thing that you dip in a black liquid and eat.

It's okay, you can be honest with me. But it looks like you liked it. Would you like some Mary?

"Yes. Yes. It's light and good for hot weather. ...... To be honest, it's a little underwhelming.

Right. I'll get you something else.

　I'm sure you'll like it.

　Shrimp tempura and kakiage, the best match for soba.

　And deep fried chicken for the meat-loving Mary and her friends. They were probably made from the meat of a killer gator.

Yay!　Bon appétit!　It's okay!
"Bon appétit!

　I'm sure you'll be happy with the results.
　I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one.
　I'm not sure what to make of it.
　I'm sure you'll like it. It's hot and crispy thanks to the storage.

　The prawn tempura is made of crawfish-like shell shrimp, but there is no inconvenience at all, except that you cannot make prawn tempura with a tail. In fact, it tastes much better than regular shrimp tempura.

　The kakiage also contains prawns, so it is quite luxurious.
　After taking a break with tempura, we had soba noodles made by Toya.
　--Yes, it's good too, but ...... the noodles are a bit thick.
　Haruka cut the noodles, so Toya must not have stretched them enough.

　However, since the noodles were stretched to a fairly large size, it must have been quite difficult to stretch them thinly without tearing them.

　If you think of it that way, it is well made.

Sorry, I'm not very good.

"No, no, you're good enough for an amateur. The handmade soba noodles I got from an acquaintance before were much thicker, and they cut into pieces when boiled.

　I don't mean to demean the soba I received, and it was edible enough, but that's usually the way it is with amateur soba makers.

　Toya noticed that I was looking at the noodles carefully, and said to himself, "I think it's good enough compared to that.

　He wasn't too bad at it, and it's a hobby he can be proud of.

Your father was quite into it, wasn't he?

"Well, yeah. He had all the tools he needed to make it. He often shared his work with people he knew. I had to go along with it.

　Incidentally, he had even bought a tool like a cutting machine that could cut noodles at a specified width by simply lifting and lowering a lever.

　It seems that this was also the reason why Toya could not cut the noodles.

　Yuki and his friends can cut the noodles as quickly as the professionals, so it is not really necessary, but if you want to mass-produce ......, it may be useful to have it.

　The buckwheat noodles made by the two of us this time will be gone in this one time, and we will make them many times this summer.

I'm sure I won't have to do it again. Now that I've taught you how to do it, just leave it to Yuki and the others and everything will be fine.

I can't deny it.

　Since Yuki, who was making soba for the first time, was better than Toya, his [cooking] skills were not undeserved.

　And, as expected, Haruka and Natsuki, who were taught by Yuki, soon became able to make the same level of soba, and just as Toya had said, his turn never came again.





　By the way, the three of us worked together on the somen, and by the end of the summer, we had completed something that looked like somen ......, and was tasty enough compared to the cheap somen sold around.

　This was good enough for me, but the three of them seemed to be dissatisfied with the result and said, "We'll try harder next summer! I heard.

　In the first place, somen is supposed to be made in winter, stored, and dried slowly.
　According to Haruka, who has visited the factory.

　--To be honest, I was getting a little bored with the number of times soba noodles were served this summer, so I hope they'll keep up the good work.