418-416 There is no ramen unless it is tonkotsu




I need new strength.
More than that?

 I was perplexed when Veerle asked me about it.

 Viel is the strongest race of dragons, and Viel belongs to the strongest class of those dragons.
 With the exception of Alexander-san, a very different class, it might be accurately called the strongest of the strongest.

 You think you're the strongest of such strongest and still want power?

How ambitious are you?

 Can't we use that ambition to work on the farm?

"A dragon's pride is at stake. We can't afford to lose to a bunch of ningen women any longer.

 Hmm?
 A human woman?

Who's that?
That's the one with the feather woman all the time!

 Ah, you mean Lettuce Rate.
 It's a good thing that you are an angel, so it's perfectly natural for you to have wings on your back, because you're like a duo with Holkosfon now.

I'm sure you're not the only one.

 That's because she's so badly inflated in power these days that it's hard to understand, though.
 Still, it's not enough to threaten her with a dragon, is it?

What do you mean? I've already been defeated by him twice.
What? How long has it been?
There will be no more humiliation for a dragon! We'll win this time! So we need a new force for that!

 Veal said with an effort.

'There's a new flour menu!

 .....
 Oh, I see.
 So that's it.

You mean the cooking competition...?

 Yeah.
 We used to have a winter fair at the Farmer's Fair and Castle Okubo. Lettuce and her friends cooked beans. I'm sure you'll find a lot of people who have been in the business for a while now.

 They were the most popular of the two events, as they were the most popular foods, and vied for the top spot.
 In both cases, Viel was defeated.

'They're cheating! You throw in all kinds of stuff just because it's beans! It's like there's no such thing as a kind over here! They don't know the difference between light and strong flours!

 Still, you, you could produce a dramatic repertoire of bread, noodles, pasta, and other cooking results, right?
 I'm assuming there's no handicap.

'But I still want more breadth in my repertoire! So master! Give me new powers!

 Finally, the translation is complete.
 It seems that the 'new power' that Veerle is talking about is a new wheat dish to counter Lettuce Rate & Horcosfon.

 I think I've said it before, Veerle........
 When did you become such a genuine gluten jar........?

'Alright, alright. Well, let's see if we can't find a way to make udon toppings or pasta.
'That lacks punch! More! We need something new, more fundamental!

 A selfish dragon.........

 A wheat dish that's fundamentally different from bread, udon and pasta........

''By the way, you're not allowed to eat cake or anything like that.

 Most of the cakes and tarts are made of wheat, and at the farm fair, I was asked, "Isn't it OK to make pastries? After consultation, it was rejected.

 There are too many differences between staple foods like bread and noodles and sweets, and the two genres are so different that they become uninteresting.
 Also, I've always known that farm food is very addictive from our world.

 I don't mean to put anything bad in it.

 If we served the already addictive sweets, the event was forbidden because of the sense of urgency of not knowing what would happen.

 If the Viel side allows sweets, the Lettuce rate side will probably serve red bean soup and yokan.
 If this happens, it will be like Japanese sweets vs. Western sweets and the aspect will change completely.

In other words, the new menu will be all about staple foods, right?

 But aren't we about to run out of staple wheat menus?

 Bread, right?
 Udon noodles, right?
 It's pasta, right?

 What else is there to say...?
 Oh.

Should I make ramen?
You got a good idea so fast?

 Veerle's eyes sparkle.

 Speaking of ramen, noodles. Wheat and staple food, both of which are excellent ingredients.
 It's a great way to get a good idea of what you're looking for.

 When people go to a ramen shop, they only eat ramen and go home.
 The dish which is unique and seems to be difficult to eat, and has never been available until now.

 Ramen.

 Shall I make it in response to Veerle's order?

    * * *

 And..........

'Noodles are done...!

 The process of making the noodles has been repeated many times with udon and pasta, so I left out the process.
 The only thing that's different is the addition of brine. I've seen this in some Chinese food manga.
 It took a lot of work to figure it out and procure it, but we managed to complete it.

What is this? It's just pasta!

 And Veal has a common misunderstanding.

"I thought I was going to create a new dish, but I'm disappointed to see you bake an existing one, master! I think you've run out of talent!
'The quality of abuse is tremendous when you get the chance, man.

 But this is where ramen is different from the rest.
 Ramen is not only about the noodles, but also about the soup.

 It's not just the noodles, it's the soup!

That's why we're going to develop the soup.
Oh.

 There are four main types of ramen soup.
 Miso, soy sauce, salt, and tonkotsu.

That's why I make tonkotsu (pork bone) soup.
Hmm? Wasn't there a strange pause just now?
You think there's another kind of ramen soup besides tonkotsu?
"I don't know if I'm being too hard on myself, but isn't this a f*cking rude awakening?

 I don't know what you're talking about.
 I don't think so.

 We need to make tonkotsu (pork bone broth) soup.
 If you want to make a cup of noodle soup, just open the sachet, pour some powdered water over it and it'll be ready in 3 minutes, but it'll take a lot of work to make it from scratch.

 Above all, you need pork bones.
 In our world, we use the bones of a wild boar-shaped monster as a substitute.

 Fortunately, we have a square boar (a.k.a. horned boar) on our farm, which is one of the best examples of meat we consume.
 We usually crush the bones that remain after dismantling a pig to make fertilizer, but we were able to get them from there easily.

The bones of a horned boar are simply stewed.
How long do you think you'll be cooking?
From now until the evening, maybe?
"Yugata!

 I just finished breakfast just now.

"It's going to take so long? It's too costly! You're suggesting we start preparing before lunch to make dinner, which is insane!
'You're going to spare yourself the trouble of beating the lettuce rate?
"Gosh, I can't back down when you say so!

 Thus, we decided to try our hand at making otherworldly pork bone soup.

"Master, you want to boil the bones, right? What's with all those tons of vegetables and shoyu?
It's all about adjusting the flavors. Pork bones alone would taste monotonous, and it's unknown how much potential horned boar bones have.

 Let's let it simmer and get the flavors out, then we'll taste it and add ingredients to make it thicker.
 Veerle and I continued our fumbling attempts.

    * * * *

 It took us until nighttime, far beyond our original estimate.

''Geez! What's that smell! It stinks! It smells so bad!

 Prathi uttered a protest as soon as he entered the kitchen!

I knew you were making something else, but what a stinker you are! It smells like everything in the house, beyond the confines of your kitchen!
That's all right. That's good, because you can smell it two doors down. That's real tonkotsu soup.
I don't know! Look at that, Junior's got a scowl on his face because he smells so bad!

 I'm sorry, my child.
 I'm sorry, my child, but you're not even a year old yet and you're too young for tonkotsu (pork belly).
 But I'll keep working on it so that one day you too can have tonkotsu.

'....Master, isn't it time for you to go?

 Veerle, who had a completely artisanal look on his face, said while sipping the soup he had taken from a small plate.

 That's enough.

 Now, combine the noodles and soup in the bowl........!

Done! Otherworldly Tonkotsu Ramen!