#801 The Seventh Noodle Sense

“The iron plate accepts everything.”

Veil’s spouting weird things again.

I happened to be free at the moment, so I had no choice but to listen.

...Actually, I’m convinced Veil keeps track of my schedule and purposely approaches me during my breaks.

This cheeky dragon’s gotten clever, hasn’t she?

“...So, what’s this about an iron plate?”

Reluctantly, I decided to humor her.

I could use a chat during my farming break anyway.

“Didn’t you intervene in that argument between the octopus, crab, and the boar, Master? That’s when you brought out the iron plate.”

Oh right.

I did use it.

I needed to make okonomiyaki to settle a dispute between Kraken, a giant crab called Desmas, and a horned boar. 

I’d struggle to explain if you asked me the reason.

Then, Veil jumped in and decided to make monjayaki to compete with my okonomiyaki.

Why?

Beats me...

“That’s when I realized the deepness of the iron plate...!!!”

“The iron plate is flat, you know.”

“Anything cooked on an iron plate becomes delicious...! It’s like the accepting embrace of a mother to all ingredients!”

So, is this “mother’s embrace” flat, then?

“Anyway, I’ve recently taken a liking to iron plate cooking. I shall showcase my skills to you today, Master!”

Okay, okay.

Veil’s gotten quite passionate about things lately.

She has taken the lead in cooking topics, pushing me aside.

Today is another example of that.

After all, you can’t use an iron plate other than cooking. I'd be concerned if she strays from that and uses it for a yaki-dogeza or something.

I sincerely hope she sticks to genuine cooking only.

“I’ve already prepared a hot iron plate! Even without fire, I can adjust its temperature freely using my magic!”

That sounds a lot like an electric iron plate.

Times sure are changing.

“It’s greased up and ready to cook. First, I’m throwing in some sausages!”

Ohh, a classic.

Sausages are great. Did she use the ones I made and stored?

“The heat causing the oil to drip from the meat is divine. But that’s just an appetizer! Next, behold the buttery-grilled shiitake mushrooms!!!”

A mouth-watering choice!

“When you heat shiitake, a flavorful broth seeps out, so you need to grill carefully to prevent overflowing! Add some butter, let it melt on the iron plate, and smear its buttery goodness all over the shiitakeeeee!”

Ohhhhhhhh!

Just hearing that makes me hungry!

When did Veil become so eloquent?!

“Next up! Bean sproutssssss! I’ll heap them onto the iron plate and stir-fry them until they’re tender and caramelizeeeeeeed!”

Ohh!

The bean sprouts are sizzling and jumping on the iron plate!

“I’ll season them with salt and pepper and, for the final touch, add some butterrrrrrrr! This butter is high-quality, made by the satyrsssssssss!!!”

That’s bound to be finger-licking good!

And I bet she nabbed those sprouts from Letasreit’s bean atelier!

Combine top-grade ingredients with top-grade skills, and it’ll be delicious!

“The visual of the cooking and the sizzling sound enhance the cooking experience on an iron plate!”

“I knew you’d get it, Master! But everything so far was just the opening act! The main event is yet to come!”

“N-No way!”

All that, and it was just appetizers?!

I’ve already eaten everything she has cooked. Is this okay?

We'll have dinner soon, you know?

“Don’t you understand, Master? Working with wheat flour is the ultimate power move for the great farm dragon Veil!”

Uh, I had no idea.

When did Veil become such a gluten enthusiast? Is this like a sudden urge to knead udon dough or something?

“Among all things, my specialty is ramen! However, ramen is meant to be boiled, not fried! I grappled with this contradiction for four thousand years!”

Don’t casually insert a lie there.

“At the end of that struggle, I’ve found the answer to present before you, Master! First, we toss ramen noodles onto the iron plate!!!”

“And just like that, you made a breakthrough, huh.”

“Then, we grill it, including some chopped cabbage and bean sprouts! Grill, grill, grillllllll!!!”

Veil, going all out on the iron plate, is burning with enthusiasm.

“And on top of that, I’ll pour in the special broth I’ve crafted through countless trials and grill it to perfection!!! Once it’s done just right, I’ll serve it on a plate, sprinkle some chopped nori and red pickled ginger, add some char siu, and booooooooooooom!!! It’s doneeeee!!! ...Oh, and I’ll throw in some sesame oil for good measure.”

Thus, Veil’s special teppanyaki ramen was born.

Wait a minute, this is basically yakiramen. 

A soulful dish from Hakata, Kyushu. The street food favorite, yakiramen. 

Grilled on an iron plate, it enhanced the local tonkotsu flavor, making it a mean menu.

Veil could not have known about something that existed in my world.

Are you telling me she completely recreated otherworldly yakiramen, starting from scratch with no hints and relying solely on her creativity and instincts?

Let’s taste it...

...Mmm, it’s delicious.

Much thicker and richer than regular ramen, the broth clung to the noodles, delivering an unmistakable tonkotsu flavor that permeated every nook and cranny of my taste buds.

An intense tonkotsu, enough to saturate every cell in my body.

Indeed, this is yakiramen! 

Did she really manage to create it in this otherworldly place solely through her ingenuity?!

Could it be that Veil, by loving gluten and ramen so much, developed a heightened sense that allowed her to discover a new type of ramen?

A sixth sense for ramen...?

No, this goes beyond a sixth sense...!

A seven-sense ramen...?! It’s ramen, hence, seventh-ramen-sense!

Veil’s ramen prowess, awakened by seventh-ramen-sense, might rival even the top ramen artisans...!

Oh, Veil, you’ve come a long way to reach this point...!!!

“What do you think, Master? My new menu, combining the iron plate and ramen, is the ultimate taste, isn’t it? Even those who claim they’re tired of gonkotsu ramen won’t be able to resist this one-hit KO!!!”

...

Huh?

“I thought I’d used up all my gonkotsu broth in the recent dragon showdown, but for some reason, it came back doubled in quantity in no time! It’ll take me another extra step or two to deplete it! Alllllright, I’m gonna push this new menu out like crazyyyyyyyy!!!”

She must be talking about her special-grade handle-with-care broth.

It’s chock-full of dragon essence, and if any regular person, humans, or just about anyone consumes it, it could trigger excessive evolution and turn into a biohazard.

Boiled down from dragons just like tonkotsu: gonkotsu broth!

“Could it be that you used the same broth for the yakiramen?!”

“What are you talking about, Master? When it comes to the broth I use, it’s always gonkotsu.”

What have you doneeeeeeeeee?!

They say gonkotsu broth puts a significant strain on the body when ingested! And after I went through great pains trying to make sure no one else had it!

Did I accidentally let my guard down because of this oddball called yakiramennnnnnnn?!

This has to be my greatest mistake in life!

“Now that I’ve received high praise from you, Master, I’ll immediately start promoting this yakiramennnnnn! This time, for sure! This time, I’ll completely erase this debtttttt!!!”

In the end, Veil saw her gonkotsu broth as a liability.

Stopping her world domination was a problem for another day; the more immediate issue was how to empty my stomach before dinner after eating so much during this break.

Veil’s journey of noodles would continue, no matter how far.

***

As a sequel...

Surprisingly, I’ve been in great shape ever since I accidentally had some of that gonkotsu broth.

It did have components that powered you up excessively if you drank it in the right amount, after all. 

But it could also lead to disastrous results if you misjudge the dosage.

Man, my body feels lighter, and I’m stronger than ever. 

However, I don’t think I want to consume any more than what I had.

Seriously.

And then...

Huh? It’s winter starting from the next chapter?!