“Alright, let’s take a break now.”

“Yeah, let’s rest for a bit.”

“Agreed.”

Today, as usual, I’m in the forest with my party members, Nicole and Fal, working on requests we took this morning. We've been gathering medicinal herbs and hunting goblins without much of a break since early in the day. It’s about time we rested.

“Okay, let’s head to the river like always.”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

Using the compass Tetsuya gave us, we set off toward the river. This handy tool has been incredibly useful for navigating this vast forest with its tall trees, where it’s easy to lose your sense of direction.

“So, what’s for lunch today?”

“How about ramen, as usual?”

“Sounds good. Since we’re going to keep trekking through the forest afterward, we should make sure to eat something substantial.”

“Okay. Let’s see… We had soy sauce flavor two days ago, so today let’s go with tonkotsu (pork bone) flavor.”

In the town of Al-Flare, there’s a store called the Outdoor Shop, run by Tetsuya, the guy we happened to save from goblins once. Recently, he started selling a new product called stick ramen.

The day it launched, we lined up early at Tetsuya’s shop, only to find a huge crowd of people already waiting. His store is popular among adventurers because it sells unique and highly useful items and foods that you can’t find anywhere else.

That day, I tried the sample ramen for the first time, and it might’ve been the most delicious meal I’ve ever had. Now I find myself eating this ramen for lunch at least every other day.

“Let’s see… Each portion needs 450 ml of water…”

Using the Sierra cup—a lightweight, metal cup with measurements on it that we also bought from Tetsuya’s shop—I measure the water needed to cook the ramen. This Sierra cup is so versatile and durable, it’s become one of my go-to tools.

The water we use is fetched from the nearby river and boiled before consumption. The river water here is clean, and once boiled, it’s perfectly safe to drink.

“Roya, the fire’s ready.”

“I’ve already sliced up the dried meat and wild greens.”

“Alright, now we just need to boil the noodles until they’re soft and add the soup base. Then it’ll be ready.”

The stick ramen noodles are incredibly thin, which means they cook really quickly.

Boiling the measured water, I toss in the noodles and dried meat. Once the noodles soften, I add wild greens we gathered earlier while collecting herbs in the forest.

This forest is full of edible wild greens. Since we’re from a farming village near the forest, we’re pretty knowledgeable about these plants. However, there are also poisonous plants that resemble edible ones, so we have to be careful.

“This soup has such an amazing aroma.”

“Yeah, it smells way better than the instant soups.”

The soup for the stick ramen has a richer, distinct aroma compared to the instant soups Tetsuya sold before. Both are great, but this ramen soup stands out.

“Alright, it’s ready. Let’s dig in!”

“Yeah!”

“Sounds good!”

We divide the noodles and soup into bowls and pull out our foldable forks.

“Wow, it’s so simple to make, but it tastes amazing! These thin, kneaded wheat noodles combined with this flavorful soup are just perfect!”

“Yeah, the soup is incredible! Even the cheap dried meat tastes better because of it.”

“The chopped wild greens add a nice touch too. This is such a luxurious lunch!”

It feels nostalgic thinking back to when we used to gnaw on plain dried meat as our go-to rations. Instant soups and now stick ramen have become indispensable to our meals.

“That nutritional bar is pretty good too, though.”

“True. But for the price, even though it takes a bit more effort, the ramen is better.”

“Those bars are great for trips to open fields without rivers nearby. They’re sweet and delicious, so they’re perfect for snacks.”

“Yeah, but after tasting that yokan and chocolate bar, I just can’t stop thinking about them…”

“I know, right? Those were so delicious! Tetsuya said he plans to sell them eventually, but I don’t know if I can wait that long.”

A few days before the stick ramen and nutritional bars went on sale, Tetsuya treated us to yokan and chocolate bars during a rare night out. They were unbelievably sweet and delicious.

According to Tetsuya, unlike his other products, these treats only last a few days, so he hasn’t decided whether to sell them yet. But I really hope he does!

There’s no other candy that sweet in this town, so it’d definitely be a hit.

“By the way, the staff at Tetsuya’s shop seems to have increased.”

“Yeah. Dolph is a former C-rank adventurer, and the elf Lange is currently a B-rank adventurer. I mean, who exactly is Tetsuya preparing to fight with that lineup?”

Fal’s reaction makes sense. Even Lilia is a former B-rank adventurer. C-rank or higher adventurers are rare in Al-Flare, so it’s a bit surprising.

“They both looked so cool. I bet they’re really popular with the ladies.”

Dolph and Lange are not just strong; they’re also incredibly good-looking. There’s no doubt they’re popular. Not that I became an adventurer just to be popular, okay! But yeah… I can’t help but envy them a little.

“Yeah, they both looked really cool. I bet they’re a hit with the girls.”

Ugh… So even Nicole thinks they’re cool…

“But for me, Fia is still number one! Her slightly oversized, baggy clothes look so adorable on her!!”

““………………””

Yep, Nicole is still Nicole...

“Ah, that was delicious. I feel ready to push through the rest of the day now.”

“Yeah. We’re so close to reaching D-rank as a party. Let’s keep it up!”

“Yeah, let’s give it our all.”