His Name Was…

…No, wait. Who the hell was this guy!?

Before our bewildered eyes, the man flashed a broad grin, gave us a thumbs-up, and said,

“Whoa!? Those ears, that beard… No way, are you an elf and a dwarf!? Man, so another world really does exist! I was only half convinced when I read Dad’s diary, but… this is awesome! It’s totally the world of The Lord of the Rings!”

“Uh, sorry to interrupt while you’re getting all excited by yourself, but… who exactly are you?”

When Ouri asked him in the otherworld language I had taught him, the man folded his arms again, jerked his chin upward, and said,

“My name’s Ito Ren! I’m the son of the man who used to pull this cart… Ito Taisho!”

Hey… what was with that arms-crossed pose he kept doing?

Could he seriously not talk unless he struck that cocky pose!?

And why was he wearing short sleeves in this weather? Wasn’t he cold?

Suppressing the countless retorts welling up inside me, I first asked the question I wanted answered most.

“Then Taisho…!? Where is Taisho!?”

After a brief silence, Ren answered my question.

“Dad died. It’s already been twenty years.”

“Wha!? H-He died…!? No… how!?”

“Traffic accident. He got hit by a truck.”

The truth struck me like a blow.

I was left speechless.

Dead… Taisho was dead.

And he had died twenty years ago.

I had thought there was no way someone as earnest as Taisho would simply disappear without saying anything… but despite myself, my vision blurred with tears.

Wiping away the tears I could no longer hold back, I murmured,

“I do not understand what this ‘truck’ is, but… an accident…? Oh, what a tragedy! Then I have spent twenty whole years waiting for a man who was already dead…”

Ren gazed at me as I teared up, then quietly continued.

“Dad was taken to the hospital and hovered between life and death for three days and three nights. Right up until the very end, he kept groaning that he had to feed the people here ramen. Back then, I thought he was just delirious from the shock of the accident… but elves and dwarves really were here after all…”

Ren raised his right hand and roughly rubbed his nose before speaking again.

“More importantly, you’re Rinsil-san, the elf, right?”

I nodded.

“Yes. Your pronunciation is a little off, but… indeed, I am Rinsir.”

“Rinsil… Rinsir. Okay, Rinsir-san… and the bearded guy over there is Oori-san, the dwarf?”

“Yeah. I’m Ouri Duoall, a dwarf.”

“Gotcha. Dad wrote in his diary that you two really helped him out.”

At those words, I hurriedly waved my hands.

“Not at all, not at all! If anything, we were the ones indebted to him. He fed us so much delicious ramen, and in the end, we never managed to repay Taisho for any of it…”

Ouri nodded solemnly at my words.

But Ren shook his head vigorously.

“No, that’s not true! I read it in Dad’s diary. That necklace he got in this world… if it hadn’t been for that, my mom would’ve died.”

With that, Ren began speaking with a distant look in his eyes.

“When I was a kid, Mom suddenly collapsed. They examined her at the hospital and said she needed some really expensive medicine for treatment. We weren’t exactly well-off. I was crying because I thought Mom was going to die, and Dad saw me, got this grim look on his face, and brought out a jeweled necklace from somewhere…”

Ren rummaged through the Yatai and pulled out a necklace with several emeralds missing.

“Then he removed some of the jewels from this necklace. Smiling at me, he said, ‘It’s okay, Ren! Dad’s going to pawn these right now. We’ll use the money to get Mom treated!’… And in the end, Mom got better. Well, a year later, Dad got hit by a truck and died on the way to the pawnshop to pay the interest on the jewels.”

He held the necklace out to me.

“The jewels from the necklace ended up being forfeited to the pawnshop. I don’t know where they are anymore. But… right up until he died, Dad worked himself half to death trying to restore the necklace to its original state. Some of the jewels are missing now, but I want to give this back to you.”

I gently pushed the necklace back toward him.

“No. That necklace was bestowed upon Taisho by our Elf Queen. And are those missing jewels not themselves proof of how desperately Taisho lived his life!? I could never accept it from you.”

Ren nodded readily at my words.

“I see. Then I’ll keep it as a memento of Dad.”

At that, Ouri stared intently at the Yatai and timidly spoke up.

“So, uh… Ren… that Yatai… it’s Taisho’s Yatai, right? And if you’re Taisho’s son… then you can make that too, can’t you…?”

At those words, Ren bared his teeth in a broad grin.

“Yeah… you mean ‘ramen,’ right?”