#723 Dragon Somen Road

Veil is going to try her hand at nagashi somen.

I can’t even begin to imagine what she’ll create. 

From the get-go, a dragon’s way of doing things tends to be grand and extravagant, and on top of that, Veil has developed a knack for taking things to the extreme ever since she started living on the farm.

Who’s been influencing her? 

Me?

In any case, after a couple of days of preparation, The Nagashi Somen 2nd Stage ~Veil’s Crusade~ was ready for its debut.

We were invited to her mountain dungeon, where she had it set up.

“The entire mountain dungeon has been converted into a nagashi somen course?!”

Veil, being a dragon, has a dungeon to call her own.

I’ve been using it to grow an orchard and to hunt monsters, but...

“Gahahaha! This mountain is mine to begin with, and I am its rightful guardian. Therefore, I have every right to do whatever I please with it!”

“Yeah, I get that...!”

We do respect the landowner, you know?

“I’ve been thinking... What kind of nagashi somen would make Junior leap for joy? I stake my pride as a dragon on this project!”

“You don’t really need to go that far, do you...?!”

“The conclusion I’ve come to! Is to make something on a large scale! The sheer vastness of a full dungeon nagashi somen course will surely capture Junior’s heart!!”

She’s starting to sound like a promoter from the economic bubble era.

By now, Veil’s dungeon is crammed full of halved bamboo shoots lined up everywhere, making it look like a bamboo fortress.

Veil’s pride and joy is finally complete.

“Wow, you really went all out, didn’t you...?!”

“Just looking impressive won’t do. It needs to function properly too. So I’m gonna try letting some noodles flow through it.”

She’s seriously going for it...!

“The start of the somen run is at the mountain’s peak.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And it’s designed to run all the way down to the base.”

“Huh...?!”

You mean she’s using the entire mountain for her nagashi somen course?

How massive is this thing? Is she trying to shake an entire nation?!

Even so, with Veil being a dragon, getting from the foot of the mountain to the peak is a matter of moments.

Since it’s her dungeon, she can create shortcuts as she pleases and can also fly there.

So, here we are at the peak.

There’s no sense of accomplishment as if we climbed it ourselves.

“Wow, there really is a starting point...”

There’s the end of a split bamboo shoot, and water is trickling down from somewhere in mid-air, flowing through the bamboo.

Mid-air?

“I’ve twisted space so that the water circulates. Once it falls to the goal at the foot of the mountain, it comes back here.”

“You’re using such incredibly advanced techniques as always...!”

Wait, so does this course really run all the way from the peak to the base?

“Junior’s already waiting at the goal! I’m going to make sure this somen reaches him no matter what!”

Saying that, Veil has a bundle of somen in the bowl she’s holding...?!

“Here they come, Junior! The somen is coming your way soon!”

“I’m readyyy, dyyyy, dyyyyyyyy.”

We’re getting a reply from Junior, who should be at the foot of the mountain?

 This mountain dungeon truly transcends space! And the added effect of the echo is a nice touch.

“Okay! Go to where Junior is!!!”

With that, Veil tips the bowl, and the noodles slide down into the bamboo shoot.

Thus, the grand-scale Nagashi Somen Mountain created by Veil, begins!

The scale is already immense due to the mountain serving as the field. It’s a journey of considerable length and size.

Will the somen be able to conquer this marathon course and successfully make its way to Junior?!

“Now, let’s introduce the various obstacles waiting on the course!”

The creator herself, Veil, kindly provides a commentary.

Obstacle one: Sudden Drop Freefall Nagashi Somen.

Obstacle two: Large Loop Somersault Nagashi Somen.

Obstacle three: Cliff Leap Skyscraper Nagashi Somen.

And the final obstacle: Light-Speed Acceleration Sync Nagashi Somen.

“It’s full of crazy stuff just from the names!”

“The first obstacle is coming up!”

We’re racing alongside the flowing somen!

The somen is flowing quite fast! We have to run almost at full speed to keep up, but my sides are starting to hurt!!!

“The first obstacle, Sudden Drop Freefall Nagashi Somen, is an astonishingly steep slope with an incline angle of 90 degrees!”

“But wouldn’t that make them drop, not slide?!”

It’s a sheer drop, a right angle.

At this rate, the somen would simply fall due to gravity and easily crash off the course!

See?! The flow of water plunging into the 90-degree incline is practically a waterfall!

It’s an obvious design error!

Veil’s somen circuit looks set to retire early in the course!

“But that’s not the case! The power of Nagashi Somen isn’t to be underestimated!”

Whaaaaaat?! 

The somen that went into the 90-degree incline... Is sliding down the course as if stuck to it?!

Could this be downforce?

The force of air resistance pressing the somen against the course?!

Is that what allowed the somen to cross the right-angle slope without going off course?!

“Wooooooooah! Incredibleeeee!”

And then, it gradually restores the slope, returning to the horizontal course?!

The somen successfully cleared the first obstacle!

“Don’t get complacent just yet! It’s straight into the next obstacle!”

The second obstacle is the Large Loop Somersault Nagashi Somen.

The somen’s course is going up and making a loop?

What is this, a roller coaster?!

“If you rush in with half-hearted speed, you won’t be able to break through the ring! The correct way is to be fearless, unhesitating, and to put the pedal to the metal!”

Under Veil’s commentary, the somen further picks up speed.

“Go! Race through the giant rotation at super speed!”

In a blink of an eye, the somen noodle sprints through the looping course, flipping upside down at ultra-accelerations!

“Yesssssss! We’ve cleared the second obstacle!!!”

The noodles’ achievement has me thrilled too!

Next comes the third obstacle: Cliff Leap Skyscraper Nagashi Somen.

The course comes to a halt at a sheer cliff – are we expected to leap over to the course on the other side?!

But with a ramp for acceleration, the noodles nail the landing on the other side!

What a stunning leap!!!

“Wait... this is Nagashi Somen, right?”

“Why are you confirming the obvious, Master? We’re about to enter the final challenge!!!”

And what could the final challenge be?

Having raced down the mountain, the base of the mountain is now in sight. It appears to be a straightforward course, but...!

“Of course, it can’t be without any tricks...! The flow of water...exponentially increases halfway down!”

Its speed is proportionally increasing too!

This is more like a raging rapid!

And the somen riding on that flow also gradually accelerates...!

“The somen surpasses the speed of light! This is the ultimate evolution of Nagashi Somen! Run down the path of lightttttttttt!!!”

What on earthhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!

It accelerates and accelerates... The somen noodle has been accelerated to its limit and...!

It’s out of our sight and... appears behind us?!

Could it be...?

It has gone around the world...?!

“The somen has exceeded the speed of light!”

“Way to go, somen! Reaching light speed and clearing the final challenge! We’ve conquered the Nagashi Somen Mountain Dungeon EX Course!!!”

Veil dances wildly with joy.

Having overcome various hardships, the somen now exudes an air of dignity.

It finally reaches the goal and touches Junior’s chopsticks.

“Let’s eat.”

After dipping in soy sauce, he slurps it up in one go.

“Tastes good.”

He gives it high praise.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!

“Success! My original Nagashi Somen course has been completed!!”

“Congratulations, Veil!!!”

We embrace in celebration.

The next day, the Nagashi Somen course was demolished for being “a nuisance to daily life.”

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nagashi comes from nagasu, which means to pour/set adrift/to wash away