Another Side (1)

Reminder from Chapter 14, “Golden Menma Inn”

Normally, Ren’s words would be conveyed to Brad through Ouri and me, while Brad’s words would likewise be translated and relayed back to Ren… but writing out that process every single time would be tedious, so I shall omit those parts. It would probably be burdensome for the reader as well.

However, please do not forget that we interpreters are indeed properly mediating between them, and that when we are not present, Ren cannot speak with anyone at all!

…Ren had been pulling his Yatai through the dark alley, intending to return to his own world.

Then, a suspicious hooded figure stepped into his path ahead.

Wondering if it might be some kind of robber, Ren instinctively braced himself.

The figure suddenly shouted in a shrill voice at rapid speed.

“Gastroji! Rotarerika, Taisho ramen!”

Being addressed in an incomprehensible otherworldly language left Ren bewildered.

“Huh? W-Who the heck are you…?”

The hooded figure strode straight up to him and pointed at the Yatai.

“Uraru, makari, ramen! Zemu ramen! Samurasu, bashi-erufu, ramen! Ren ramen!”

The speech was rapid, but Ren could at least make out the word “ramen,” which came up several times.

Ren clapped a hand into his palm.

“Ahh, I get it. You were one of my old man’s customers… So basically, you wanna eat ramen, right? That’s it, isn’t it!?”

The hooded figure nodded vigorously again and again.

“Aisshe! Ramen, ramen!”

Ren flashed a broad grin, stopped the Yatai, and set out a chair on the spot.

“All right! If you were one of my old man’s customers, you’re more than welcome! Sit down and wait right there!”

The figure hurriedly sat down and removed her hood.

What emerged was an astonishingly beautiful woman with pointed ears.

Seeing her, Ren cried out.

“You’re an elf!? …Hey, do you know someone named Rinsir-san?”

The woman looked puzzled at first, but eventually gave an exaggerated nod.

“Aisshe! Erufureji, Rinsir, karedoreku!”

“Ha ha ha! I see, I see… I’ve got no idea what you’re saying, but you’re an acquaintance of Rinsir-san, huh…? I just finished serving ramen to those people too. I’ll make you the same ramen!”

“Ramen, gurenshisu, shisutakke.”

Ren questioned the composed-looking elf woman.

“Hey, are you hungry? How much vegetables do you want?”

“…Fante?”

Apparently she had not understood him, because the elf woman knitted her brows suspiciously.

Ren picked up a bowl in his left hand and shaped a mound above it with his right as he asked again.

“I mean, how much vegetables… About this much? Or this much? Want this much?”

As he made the imaginary mound progressively larger—small, medium, then large—the elf woman nodded at the biggest one.

“Aisshe. Aibarubato, erufu bashi, kouri.”

“Oh, double-extra, huh…? You’re pretty slender, so I’m worried whether you can finish it. Want garlic?”

“Garlic? Erubureji, tomoya… double-extra?”

“You like back fat?”

The woman tilted her head in confusion.

“Aburawa? Mitowa… aburawa…?”

“I mean back fat. I’m asking whether you want fatty bits. And whether you want the flavor stronger or not…”

After several rounds of questioning, the elf woman suddenly slammed the counter and stood up.

“Kuroido! Zerosubia, bashi-erufu, ramen!”

At the exact same moment, her stomach let out a tremendous gurgling growl, and her face instantly flushed bright red… Ren gave a wry smile.

“Ha ha, sorry, sorry. You really were starving, huh…? I’ll quit asking questions and make your ramen right away!”

The woman snorted, turned her face away in embarrassment, and sat back down looking displeased.

Ren muttered to himself as he prepared the ramen.

“…Well, she looks hungry, and she did say she wanted it, so double-extra vegetables should be fine… Rinsir-san turned out to be a big eater despite how she looked too. Maybe elves are just a race that can eat a lot even when they’re skinny. I’ll throw in garlic and back fat too, just in case… I’ve got extra chashu left over, so I might as well put all of it in. Extra service!”

Before long, the ramen was finished, and Ren set it down heavily in front of the woman.

“Here you go! Big Pork Ramen with double-extra vegetables, garlic, and back fat—order up!”

The elf woman’s eyes went blank at the mountain of vegetables piled high before her.

The portion was one and a half times the size of what Rinsir, Ouri, and the others had eaten.

“A-Aisshe…? Uro Brad, burakke… aisshe…?”

Silence fell.

After a moment, the elf woman looked helplessly toward Ren as though begging for assistance.

Ren responded by folding his arms, raising his chin in his usual pose, and declaring loudly.

“Hey, what’s wrong? The noodles are gonna get soggy! And just so you know, leaving Jiro-style ramen unfinished is strictly forbidden! The vegetables piled on top are the shop’s generosity—its spirit! Now hurry up! Eat it while it’s hot!”

Even though she could not understand his words, she apparently gathered from his tone that he was saying, “Eat it all while it’s hot!”

After freezing for an instant, the woman grabbed a pair of disposable chopsticks and hurriedly began eating.

“T-Tato… eru. Cough, purateku, Ren ramen…?”

Her eyes darted wildly, and although the garlic made her choke, she desperately slurped down the noodles and bit through the thick slices of chashu.

She kept eating with everything she had.

But… the amount did not decrease at all!

No matter how much she ate, the mountain simply refused to shrink.

Even so, she persevered until she had eaten about half.

Then the woman let out a tiny burp. Deciding, “There’s no way I can finish this…” she timidly raised her face, only to find Ren staring silently at her with his arms folded.

Ren was merely watching out of curiosity, wondering, “How much does an elf normally eat?” He was not angry in the slightest… but with his eyes half-hidden beneath the towel, making it impossible to tell where he was looking, and his sturdy, sun-bronzed arms crossed beneath his short sleeves, his posture carried a strangely intimidating presence.

To the woman, it looked almost as though he were threatening, “I won’t forgive you if you leave any!”… and she swallowed hard.

In the end, unable to convey that she could not finish it, she slowly began eating the ramen again.

But it would not decrease. It would not decrease. It would not decrease.

The amount would not go down.

It would not decrease… if anything, the noodles seemed to be increasing.

Faced with ramen that seemed to grow rather than diminish despite her eating it, the woman became utterly confused and frantic.

“K-Keitsu, Bradonesu…? Magic ramen!? Meigu, Taisho ramen… A-A-A… AISSSHEEEEE!?”

The tearful elf woman’s scream echoed through the dark alley…