MagicalExplorer
Reborn as a Side Character in a Fantasy Dating Sim
By now, we had spent several days in the Tréfle Empire.
It had been an absolutely glorious way to spend our time, clearing dungeons for a few days straight and gathering some of the items I wanted while we all leveled ourselves up. However, the good times would have to come to an end.
There was a far more important event on the horizon.
“Um, sorry for bothering you today,” little Lilou said, fidgeting and nervous. She was so unbearably cute, I wanted to fidget right there with her. Except I’d probably get reported to the police for that.
“It’s okay, you’re always welcome to join us,” Yukine replied. Yukine liked children and always looked out for others, so I figured she was the perfect fit for Lilou, but that description didn’t apply to her alone.
“Hmph. Decided to show your face, have you…?!”
This came from Nanami. Yuika flashed her an utterly unamused look.
“…Why’re you trying to act like some big shot?”
“Ah, Instructor Nanami! Yuika! Heh-heh-heh, here I am!”
Nanami and Yuika seemed to get along well with Lilou, too… Though what was this “instructor” stuff about? Had something happened without me knowing? I mean, Ludie was smiling, so it must be all right, but Lilou was still an imperial princess and all.
We all chatted among ourselves a bit before moving to the topic at hand. Today, we weren’t going on a dungeon adventure…
“Well then, let’s hurry over and get ourselves some ramen!”
…but a ramen adventure.
“Eh-heh, heh-heh-heh-heh.”
Ludie must have seriously been looking forward to this. She was acting out-of-character on a level rarely seen in the modern age. Unlike in Wakoku, where you were always a stone’s throw away from one noodle place or another, ramen shops were few and far between in the empire.
While she had once frequently absconded away to get ramen for herself, Ludie hadn’t been able to go out for any lately. Perhaps it was only inevitable she’d end up like this.
Except, I was pretty sure I’d seen her buy a mountain of instant ramen before we set out for the empire…?
“You’re really excited, huh, Ludie? ♪” Lilou empathized with her slightly kooky sister.
Why was Lilou here to join us, you ask? Because Ludie had hammered home the virtues of ramen to her.
I hadn’t been present for this at all, so I had no idea what sort of impassioned oration Ludie had given her younger sister. Apparently, Lilou had listened to her with mouth agape and eyes sparkling. Honestly, I wish I had gotten to see it.
As such, we were all going out together, but we did have a problem to surmount.
“Are you three really okay with not getting any ramen?”
Namely, the fact that ramen shops were tiny. Figuring that seven people would be way too many, Ludie, Lilou, Claris and I had decided we would go out for ramen, while Yuika, Nanami, and Yukine had offered to eat somewhere else.
“It’s totally fine. There’s other stuff I want to try anyway,” Yuika said, waving the guidebook in her hand. The three of them had said they would visit the ramen shop another day instead. I bet if Ludie took a shine to the place we were going, she would tag along with them for the second trip. No, she was definitely going back with them.
“Master, I’m worried,” Nanami said. Was it because we had two different itineraries?
“C’mon, it’s no big deal.”
“It certainly is. If anything happens, please call for me immediately. I will come over as soon as I finish my food.”
“So you’re not actually worried, are you?”
Either way, she was going to finish her meal.
“Look after those two for me, Yukine,” I said.
Yukine forced a smile.
“I’m sure everyone’ll be just fine…”
I mean, I got the feeling that if someone like Ms. Ruija, Ivy, or Anemone were around, then something could crop up, but I didn’t think there would be any problems today. Also, since there would be trouble if anything were to befall us, apparently there were imperial guards secretly following after us as well.
We split up and each went to our respective restaurants.
Ludie had researched the place well ahead of time, and Claris said she’d scoped out the area herself, so we easily reached our destination.
The exterior didn’t resemble the average ramen shop you’d find in Japan, but instead looked very much like an elven restaurant, with a liberal use of fine-looking stumps and trees. The interior design was extremely chic, while still making one feel close to nature, so I honestly didn’t even feel like I was in a ramen place at all.
I was extremely excited to see what sort of ramen this establishment would serve.
“Lilou, you’ve never had ramen before, right?”
I asked Lilou, who was sitting across from me, after we took a moment to drink our water and relax at the only four-seat table in the restaurant. She replied by nodding.
“Prepare to be stunned,” Ludie said from her seat next to Lilou, her eyes bulging out of her head.
So, look, I get that she was excited and all, but I really thought she should have worked a bit more to keep up her prim and proper façade.
“What’s this place’s specialty?”
Sitting beside me, Claris answered my question.
“Tonkotsu pork broth. Their miso tonkotsu broth and soy sauce tonkotsu broth are famous, but their seafood option is just as delicious.”
“They all sound so good… What would you recommend for my first time?”
Lilou hit me with a surprisingly tricky question.
“Do you have any food preferences?”
“Um, not especially.”
While she seemed to ponder the question for a minute, she delivered her answer quickly. Though, well, I had already known as much from the game.
“You’re not great with spicy foods yet, though.”
“L-Ludie!”
The two began to argue. “Why did you tell him?! It makes me look childish,” “Oh, it’s fine.” They really got along well, and it warmed my heart just watching them.
Just then…
“…Lady Ludivine, Master Takioto.”
…Claris addressed us with a very solemn look on her face. She had sent something to our devices.
I had been wondering when exactly it would kick off, but it looked like the time was now.