#632 That One Thing You Want to Drink in the Morning

It has begun.

A one-game match of ramen-making to compete for the Gwynn Dragon.

First, we’ll start with each contestant examining the ingredients. 

Was this how it was supposed to be?

At first, it was supposed to be an impromptu bridal training, but now that we started, it turned into a cooking competition.

“You must abandon the unpretentious notion that if it’s good enough, it will sell.”

Veil is assuming an expert’s position, spouting some sophisticated line.

“Al Gor, the previous Geyser Dragon, will provide the commentary while Veil does the explaining. The judge will be Ardheg, the current Geyser Dragon.”

Seriously?

This father dragon has turned this into a full-blown festive event.

“Well, Veil. First of all, as the pioneer of dragon ramen, share with us how you think this game will pan out.”

“This is a chance to consume the gonkotsu broth I have too much of. I want you to use it as much as possible.”

That’s not even a prediction; that’s just a sincere request.

In the past, the broth made from the dragon, Seidour...A.K.A. gonkotsu broth and not tonkotsu, was rich in dragon extract unfit for ordinary people.

Since it couldn’t be disposed of carelessly, I strictly ordered Veil, and to this day, the remaining stock is...

...Ahem, I digress.

Seidour, who was directly involved in making the broth, participated in today’s ramen competition for some reason, working hard to carefully select the best ingredients to make delicious ramen.

“Wow, these tomatoes are sooo red!”

...Tomatoes in ramen?

No, that’s not the point. The more concerning matter here is that there are other women besides Mary making ramen.

Mary herself is fine, but there are four other female participants besides Seidour.

Who are they?

Dragons?

“Grinzel Dragons after the queen’s seat, to be specific,” explains Al Gor, our commentator. “It happens oft among your people too, right? The fierce female rivalry for the king’s wife? It has penetrated the dragon society, too.”

“Dragons are doomed if they rely on the authority of others and not their abilities.”

Since Ardheg’s rule, dragons have changed their ways as a species and have begun taking wives and raising a family, like other creatures.

This isn’t a thorough enforcement as of now, so not many dragons know about it yet, but I guess the quick-witted got wind of it quickly.

The Grinzel Dragons, who are aggressively competing over ramen-making, want to become the Dragon Emperor’s wife and make his power of the state their own.

Women scare me...!

“No, not all of them are after power.”

“Ardheg?”

For Ardheg, the prey...or rather, target that everyone is trying to marry, he doesn’t stand out much despite being the key figure of this event. 

“Seidour’s in it for fun; she only wants to enjoy herself. The only ones aiming for power are the other Grinzel dragons...Above all...!”

Ardheg’s gaze goes straight to Mary, donned in an apron unlike her, as she faces the simmering pot.

Her earnest figure is nothing like the arrogant empress she was when we first met her.

Instead, she is a dainty woman working hard for the sake of a particular person.

Ardheg continued to stare at her.

* * *

Then, after the cooking time was over, each contestant’s ramen was complete.

“Wooow, cucumbers are soooo long!”

Only Seidour wasn’t.

It seems she’s enjoying looking at the various vegetable ingredients.

...Cucumbers in ramen?

Oh well.

It’s judging time from here.

We will taste and evaluate the ramen each Grinzel Dragon has put all their skills into making. 

“Eating ramen is all about speed! If you eat it too slowly, the noodles will stretch, and cold soup tastes bleugh! Slurp it all up!”

Wait a minute.

You want us to finish the entire bowl?

We’re just tasting them, so shouldn’t a spoonful or two be enough?

“It’s just a matter of using dragon magic to stop the substance’s time. That way, you can enjoy them piping hot at your own pace.”

“Sis Veil is such a scatterbrain.”

Teasing lines came from the numerous Grinzel dragons.

Hold up, dragon magic can stop time? As I thought, dragons are on a whole ‘nother level.

“Anyway! We want Lord Ardheg to taste the ramen we put so much effort into making! It will prove how useful we are in supporting the Dragon Emperor!”

The Grinzel dragons, whose names I don’t know, are the most worked up.

They’re burning with the desire to become the Dragon Empress.

“I, Grinzel Dragon Heine, will go first!”  

I finally knew one of their names, but I guess I don’t have to remember it.

“The Geyser Dragon is the king of dragons! And his queen, the Gwynn Dragon, must be the pinnacle of dragon splendor! I made my ramen with that in mind! Its name is...!”

She presents a bowl with a bam.

“Zenith! Big Bang Cosmo Ramen! ~With Sparkling Stardust on the Side!~”

She came up with something amazing!

The ramen bursting out of the bowl swirls around by some magical force without spilling!

It’s as if it’s a ramen galaxy!

“What’s more, it’s sparkly!”

“I dusted it with gemstones mined in the northwestern region crushed into powder. This is the meaning of the subtitle ‘with stardust on the side.’”

Beautiful.

Its panoramic view is fairytale-like that it could almost be called objet d’art.

“Sorry, you fail.”

“But why?!”

“This won’t fly, you dimwit! Putting gem powder in it would give your body a stomachache!”

It’s plenty toxic enough with the dragon extract alone, though.

“No, I’ll still taste it.”

“Ardheg?!”

“She made it for me. If I don’t ingest it, all her hard work will have been for naught.”

Emperor!

How kind you are!

Ardheg bravely eats the dish, which is already far from ramen, swirling in the air.

Does this mean a dragon’s stomach can digest even gems...?!

The creative ramen dishes that the power-hungry Grinzel Dragons serve are similar and are more works of art than cuisine...that too, of avant-garde level.

Not only that, there are so many of them that finishing them all would make you full.

I can see three to four bowls of ramen. 

Dragon stomach or not, it will reach its limit after having its fill sooner or later.

“Ardheg...! Are you seriously going to finish them all without leaving a single drop...?!”

“Belch... I have to eat everything especially made for me to be grateful to the people who made it and to the food that was sacrificed...!”

You’re way too sincere about all this!

The Dragon Emperor of this generation is sincere to all creatures, great and small!

However, it’s obvious that Ardheg’s stomach is at its limit.

What if Bloody Mary’s ramen is too much for him to stomach?

“...”

I’m sure Mary is aware of this too.

Even if Ardheg could eat it, it’s clear that the taste of the food would be halved when his stomach is about to burst.

She’s clearly at a disadvantage.

“...I knew this was going to happen,” calmly says Mary, whose turn has come. “Ardheg is an overly serious person, so I expected him to eat everything that was prepared for him. That’s why I, as the last in line, have prepared special ramen.”

“Special ramen?!”

“It’s noodle-less ramen!”

Noodle-less ramen?!

If the noodles are removed from the ramen, won’t there be nothing left but soup?!

...Ah!

“That’s right—noodles absorb hot water and swell up the most in the stomach! By removing them, you stopped further increase in volume. And the left broth is miso-based to make it easier on Ardheg’s stomach!”

Miso-base broth without noodles...?!

That’s...!

That’s just miso soup!

“I added something called towfoo, recommended by a human princess I passed by. Surely, Ardheg’ll be able to stomach at least this much.”

“Tofu miso soup?!”

Isn’t this the number one stomach-friendly soup you want to drink the morning after a hangover?!

A wife’s wisdom to heal her exhausted husband from the inside out, both from work and socializing!

What man’s stomach wouldn’t give in to this?

“...Wonderful.”

After slurping down a bowl of noodle-less miso ramen, or rather, tofu miso soup, Ardheg’s face was full of vitality again.

“Only Mary can make such a thoughtful dish. I would like to ask you once again. Will you make this miso soup for me every day?”

“With pleasure...!”

The old-fashioned proposal burst, and it decided everything.

With this, the cooking duel for the Dragon Empress was settled, and Mary rightfully claimed victory.

“Huuuuh? That climax was a little lackluster. It would’ve been more interesting if there had been one more plot twist,” says Al Gor, who seems to be the instigator of this disturbance.

Let’s force him to do all the farm work at our house and then send him home. After all, this is the plot twist he so desires.

“Hold it right there. If it’s a miso-base broth, that means you didn’t use my gonkotsu broth, did you?”

Veil didn’t quite get what she wanted either, as the broth in the storehouse didn’t seem to reduce as much as she’d hoped.