Chapter 70
The Manly Man Noodles craze took off even faster than I expected.
Initially, carriage drivers and mercenaries were the main ones taking on the challenge.
Then young knights came, and soon the second sons of noble families who had slipped out began joining them.
A few days later, soldiers on leave from the nearby barracks lined up as well.
Every one of them walked in looking as though his stomach were made of steel, only to undergo the process of becoming humble before humanity somewhere around halfway through a bowl.
Watching them, I realized just how cheap and expensive human pride could be at the same time.
Cheap.
Because it flared up over nothing more than a bowl of spicy noodles.
Expensive.
Because thanks to it, they were willing to pay dearly to fail.
Manly Man Noodles did brisk business day after day beside One Bowl.
Viro's pace at making noodles had noticeably improved, and the employees had begun wondering whether to give failed challengers water first or sell them milk.
It all started when someone from the imperial palace came looking for us.
That afternoon, a path suddenly opened up in front of the shop.
People moved aside on their own.
It wasn't because an aristocratic carriage had arrived, nor because a knight order had formed an official procession. The very air had changed.
After finishing lunch service at Maison Monbel, I had come down for a while to check the broth's consistency inside the shop when I looked up.
The man who entered through the door was a middle-aged knight.
His hair was graying, and deep wrinkles lined his face, but his back was straight.
A sword hung at his waist, yet even without drawing it, he naturally made the people around him take a step back.
His face was too hard and strong to call him old, yet it had seen too many battlefields to call him young.
The young knight beside him said in a low voice,
“He is the captain of His Majesty's Imperial Guard.”
The shop fell silent.
Only then did I realize.
Ragna Wald, captain of the Imperial Guard.
In his youth, he had been a legendary knight, and now he was the Swordmaster known as the Emperor's closest blade.
I didn't know whether he had ever made a proper appearance in the original novel, but in my memories, knights spoke of that name almost as though it belonged to a myth.
Why would someone like that come to a noodle shop?
The answer came soon enough.
Ragna Wald said very calmly,
“I came here to eat the Manly Man Noodles.”
An employee explained with a tense expression,
“The challenge menu is extremely spicy. If you eat all the noodles, meat, and broth, it's free. If you leave anything, you pay the full price. You may drink water during the challenge, but…”
Ragna Wald quietly shook his head.
“I won't drink water.”
The shop began to stir.
I said to myself,
‘Please don't.’
But I couldn't say it aloud.
Ragna Wald took his seat.
His attendants stood behind him, while the spectators held their breath.
People had already begun gathering after hearing the rumors.
The space in front of Manly Man Noodles instantly turned into a small arena.
Viro didn't let his hands tremble.
That deserved praise.
He stretched the dough into noodles, boiled them, and poured the red broth into a bowl.
He topped it with meat and herbs, then finished by drizzling a spiral of spicy oil over it.
As soon as the bowl was set down, a fiery aroma rose from it.
Several spectators coughed just from smelling it.
Ragna Wald picked up his chopsticks and dug in without stopping.
His expression barely changed.
A little sweat beaded on his forehead, but his eyes never wavered.
He ate the noodles, ate the meat, and drank the broth.
His pace wasn't fast, but it was steady.
Like the rhythm of someone swinging a sword, he maintained the same cadence from beginning to end.
Even the sound of breathing in the shop grew faint.
Watching him, I thought,
‘Wow, he's the real deal.’
Lots of people were good at eating spicy food.
There were also plenty of people who endured it through sheer force of will.
But this man didn't look as though he was enduring it.
His mouth must have been on fire, yet his expression suggested he accepted it as merely another physical phenomenon.
Did people who wielded aura through a sword handle spiciness the same way?
It was an absurd thought, but what was happening before my eyes was already absurd.
He had eaten all the noodles and meat, leaving only the broth.
Ragna Wald picked up the bowl.
A low murmur of astonishment passed through the spectators.
Without taking a sip of water, he emptied the bowl down to the last drop of broth.
He set the bowl down.
The shop erupted.
Cheers broke out, someone started clapping, and one young knight clenched his fist, looking as though he might cry.
Ragna Wald quietly wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin.
His face was slightly flushed, but he was still perfectly composed.
He looked at me and smiled.
“The noodles were excellent.”
I bowed my head.
“It's an honor.”
“Spicy.”
“Yes.”
“But the broth was delicious. If it had only been spicy, I wouldn't have finished it.”
I smiled faintly at that.
As expected, the real deal could tell.
Manly Man Noodles had started as a joke, but I had never intended it to be a tasteless joke.
Taste came first.
Only then would it become food instead of a challenge.
Ragna Wald rose from his seat.
“I heard it was free.”
“Yes. Since you finished the entire bowl, it's free.”
He looked at me for a moment, then placed a gold coin worth fifty gold pieces on the table.
“I respect the rules. But a captain of the Imperial Guard can't eat without paying. Use this to cover the noodle bills of junior knights. For the time being, treat every knight who comes in, up to the value of this coin.”
“……!”
Fifty gold pieces was roughly enough for five hundred bowls of noodles.
And then he left.
He was so cool it was irritating.
The shop buzzed with the story for quite some time.
The captain of the Imperial Guard had conquered the Manly Man Noodles without drinking a single sip of water.
Naturally, the rumor that the Swordmaster had approved of the noodles spread at a breakneck pace.
I immediately ordered them to clear a section of the wall.
Marie asked,
“What are you going to do?”
“A Hall of Fame.”
“Really?”
“At this point, we have to make one.”
There's a difference between haphazardly writing down a list of people who finished their bowls and creating a Hall of Fame.
The moment someone's name goes up, they'll pay more money and endure more pain.
We put up a new wooden board.
The Manly Man Noodles Hall of Fame.
First Special Inductee.
Ragna Wald, Captain of the Imperial Guard.
Finished the entire bowl without water.
The moment his name was posted, even more people crowded in front of the shop.
“The captain's name is really on it.”
“He ate it without water?”
“If even the Swordmaster ate it, how could I not?”
“You can't even hold a sword properly.”
And the very next day, a new shop appeared right in front of ours.
“……?”
A shop I didn't know about had appeared.
Its white sign had large letters proclaiming that it sold milk and sweet cream.
I stared at it in silence for a while.
Elysia and Count Kleber stood side by side in front of the shop.
Both of them wore extremely satisfied expressions.
Inside the shop were fresh milk from the west, chilled cream, milk drinks with a little honey, and even small milk rolls that looked perfect for the spicy-noodle challengers to eat.
I asked slowly,
“What is this?”
Elysia smiled brightly.
“The challengers look for milk after eating spicy noodles, right?”
Count Kleber continued,
“And some people buy milk before taking the challenge. I believe they think it protects their stomachs. I don't know whether it actually works, but belief turns into money.”
“You mean this was arranged while I wasn't aware…”
“It was Lady Monbel's proposal. Don't worry about the milk. I'll bring in fresh milk from the west through my distribution network.”
Elysia added gently,
“Of course, we're using high-quality milk from the west, so it's delicious on its own. We can also increase the supply going toward Roenheim, and if we sell a lot of milk, our agreement with the west will grow even stronger.”
“You set up a milk shop in front of the spicy-noodle shop and strengthened the regional supply chain as well?”
“Yep.”
“My lady, you're genuinely frightening now.”
“That's a compliment, right?”
“Half of it is.”
Count Kleber rubbed his hands together with the expression of a wicked merchant and said,
“Even just looking at this morning's sales, the results are excellent. In particular, the people who fail the Manly Man Noodles almost always buy milk. The successful challengers also drink cream beverages to celebrate their victories. Even the spectators buy one each.”
The business model was so beautiful that it was almost grotesque.
I looked back and forth between Elysia and Count Kleber.
Even if these two were dropped into modern society, I think they would make a business succeed within a week.
No, even a week was too long.
‘If my investors in my previous life had been people like these, I wouldn't have worked myself to death.’
I sighed as I thought that to myself.
Marie asked from beside me,
“Why are you sighing?”
“Because the world is frightening.”
“Because of the noodles?”
“No. Because of merchants.”
Marie looked at Elysia and Count Kleber.
Then she nodded.
“They are a little frightening.”
That afternoon, even more challengers lined up in front of the Hall of Fame.
There were especially many young knights who had come after seeing Ragna Wald's name.
They swaggered in, declaring that they would finish the bowl without water, and most of them learned the limits of humanity somewhere around halfway through.
Those who failed emerged red-faced and ran straight to the milk shop.
Elysia watched them with satisfaction.
Count Kleber watched them with even greater satisfaction.
I said to Viro,
“Keep the noodle-boiling time consistent. If the noodles get soggy just because we've gotten more customers, it's over.”
Viro bowed his head seriously.
“Yes. I'll serve noodles I can be proud of.”
His words were so serious that I almost laughed.
But I didn't laugh.
People become strong when they take pride in their work.
To Viro, the Manly Man Noodles had now become a dish bearing the Swordmaster's name.
Then he would do an even better job.
That was a good thing.
I looked at Ragna Wald's name on the wall.
The challengers' eyes were all drawn to that wall.
People eating spicy noodles as though they were challenging a legendary knight.
And Elysia and Count Kleber selling milk in front of it.
What a strange world.