The Shocking ‘Ramen’

Brad leaned forward eagerly.

“…You figured it out? You figured out what our ramen is missing? Then please, Ren-san, tell us!”

But Ren shook his head.

“Nope, I can’t tell you right now. You know what they say, seeing is believing… Three days from now. Come back to this alley in three days. Then eat the ramen I serve you.”

We looked at one another and nodded.

“All right, three days from now. Understood. We shall all gather here.”

Maria raised her hand.

“Me too! Am I allowed to come?”

Ren flashed a broad grin.

“Of course! I’ll prepare plenty of ingredients. Actually, this is the kind of ramen you can’t make unless you prepare a ton of them… so yeah, definitely come and eat some too.”

Maria giggled in response.

“Ren-san, you’re a completely different type from Taisho-san, but you’re so manly and wonderful. That white cloth on your head and the way you cross your arms are mysterious and charming too.”

Ren blushed at the compliment and folded his arms.

Maria winked and spoke brightly.

“Hey, Ren-san. My name is Maria. From now on, will you call me by my name?”

Ren faltered for an instant, but despite stumbling over his words, he called Maria by name.

“Y-Yeah… g-got it… Maria.”

Ouri stood up and patted his children on the shoulders.

“Then we’ll meet here again three nights from now… You two are opening the restaurant today too, right? Better get going soon or you’ll collapse from lack of sleep! Hey, Ren. I’m expecting some unbelievably good ramen three days from now!”

With that, he left with Brad and Maria.

Well then, I thought, rising to leave as well.

“Then I suppose I should be heading home too… Wait… Ren? What is it?”

When I glanced at Ren, he was staring fixedly after Maria as she walked away, waving her hand.

“…Hey, Ren. Heeey! Hello!?”

When I waved my hand back and forth in front of his face, he finally snapped out of it and turned toward me.

“Huh!? Oh… what is it, Rinsir-san?”

“No, I was saying that I am heading home now, so farewell.”

Ren cleared his throat once, then began putting away the Yatai’s chairs.

“Ahem! Oh, right… good night, Rinsir-san… See you again in three days…”

…W-What was that?

I did not really understand, but Ren had suddenly lost all his energy compared with a moment ago.

“What is wrong, Ren? Are you all right? If something troubles you, I am willing to listen.”

When I hesitantly said that, Ren opened his mouth with a serious expression.

But he immediately fell silent, shook his head, and returned to packing up the Yatai…

Although I remained worried about Ren, I could not bring myself to press him further, and so I returned home that night.

…Then, three nights later,

I froze in astonishment at the bowl placed before me.

Ouri beside me, as well as Brad and Maria beyond him, must surely have reacted the same way.

That previous ‘veggie-potage style’ had surprised me too… but this time, the visual impact was even greater!

The bowl was piled with so many vegetables that they looked ready to spill over the sides. Peeking out beneath them were absurdly thick slices of roast pork, with an enormous amount of fat attached. On top of that was a mountain of minced garlic… I could not even see the noodles.

The bowl was completely buried beneath vegetables, pork, and garlic.

Staring at the vegetables quite literally ‘piled into a mountain,’ I screamed inwardly.

I-I had been tricked!?

What madness… Fearsome indeed, ‘Extra-Extra Vegetables, Garlic, and Fat’!

Earlier, Ren had asked me, “Rinsir-san, how much can you eat?”

I had replied, “If the ramen is delicious, I can eat as much as you give me.”

Then he asked, “Do you like garlic?” and I answered, “Garlic belongs with ramen, does it not?”

Then Ren asked, “How about fat?” so I replied, “The fat in ramen is the source of its savory flavor.”

Next he asked, “Do you prefer it salty?” and I said, “I do not dislike saltiness, but excessively strong seasoning would interfere with judging the ingredients.”

“Then you’ll want ‘Extra-Extra Vegetables, Garlic, and Fat’… Go on, try making the call.”

He said that, so without having any idea what it meant, I simply repeated,

“Very well… ‘Extra-Extra Vegetables, Garlic, and Fat’… Is that correct?”

Afterward, Ouri copied me and made the same call, and Brad followed suit. Maria tried to join in for fun, but Ren suddenly became serious and hurriedly stopped her.

“No, no, Maria, you’d better not make a call.”

That should have been the moment when I realized, “Wait, something is strange here.”

Ren assumed his usual arms-crossed pose and loudly declared,

“This is a genre of ramen called ‘Jiro-style’! You can probably tell just by looking, but its defining feature is this ridiculous, overflowing volume. And incidentally, with Jiro-style ramen, leaving food behind is forbidden. The vegetables piled on top—bean sprouts and cabbage—are the shop’s generosity, extra servings provided free of charge. Now, eat it before it gets cold!”

…No, no, don’t just tell us to eat it!

What the hell was with this amount!?

I was certain every one of us was thinking the same thing, but we were still curious about the taste, and in any case, there was no point discussing it until we ate.

We picked up our disposable chopsticks, snapped them apart, and plunged them deep into the bowls.