Chapter 363 - She Has Quite the Business Ac.u.men, Doesn't She?

It seemed like Kuro and Dr. Vier were still talking with each other, so Neun-san and I pa.s.sed the time chatting.

After a while, I started to feel hungry.

[Im kinda hungry.]

[Me too. I was moving around a lot today Embarra.s.sing as it may be, Im also hungry.]

Now that the matter with Dr. Vier had been settled, the tension disappeared and my stomach growled in hunger.

Id really like to have something to eat, but I couldnt just go to the Friends.h.i.+p City in the presence of Neun-san. Although I say that, I also didnt feel like going home yet.

[Hmmm. I wonder if theres something I could eat here?]

I figured that there should at least be some white rice and pickled daikon radish in my magic box. As I made the magic box appear in my palm, Alice appeared right at that moment.

[Alice?]

[.]

Alice silently took out a piece of wood from nowhere, and after her hand seemed to glow for a moment, a rather magnificent stall had been suddenly erected.

On top of the stall, there was a sign that read Alice-chans Tasty Food Stall.

[Incidentally, the price of our products special value includes the travel expenses!]

[]

This f*cking b*stard. Just a few days pa.s.sed and she had become quite good at doing business huh She even set up two chairs at the counter.

No matter how I look at it, it looks like she would try to rip us off. Unfortunately though, its working very well for us.

Neun-san and I looked at each other, before only letting out a sigh of resignation. We then sat down at the counter seats.

[Welcome~~ Heres the menu.]

[Unnn?]

[Errr Phantasmal King-sama? What in the world is this?]

[It is just as written there, you know?]

With a big smile on her face, Alice handed us the menu with just the words Anything: Market Value. Does that mean shell cook whatever we want, but the price depends on what item we order?

I knew that Alice is amazing but can she really make any kind of item?

Perhaps sensing my doubts, Alice fearlessly smiled and spoke.

[Oya? Are you doubting me? Well then, how about we make a deal? If I cant make what you ask, or if it doesnt taste good, that meal is free. However, if its good How about one gold coin per meal?]

[One gold coin Are you trying to overcharge me again?]

[Its not that Im doubting Phantasmal King-sama but Im picky about j.a.panese food, you know?]

If she couldnt make the dish that Neun-san and I ordered, it would be free, and if she could make it well, it would be one gold coin Thats 1 million yen. Alice seemed like she was quite confident though.

However, I dont think the odds are against us. If its a dish that doesnt exist in this world, even if its Alice were talking about, theres no way that she will be able to make it.

[..Okay. Ill take that bet.]

[As expected of Kaito-san, always easy to talk with~~ Well then, please place your order]

[W- Well then, Ill have sus.h.i.+.]

When I told her that Id take her bet, Alice smiled deeply and prompted me to order.

Following her words, Neun-san ordered sus.h.i.+ Isnt that quite a good order? Rice meals arent common in this world after all.

Ive seen sas.h.i.+mi being served in the Hydra Kingdom before, but I dont remember ever seeing sus.h.i.+. It also takes quite the skill to make a tasty sus.h.i.+.

Just as I thought that Neun-san was getting a free meal

[If its nigiri sus.h.i.+ youre looking for, we have regular, top-tier and special. Which one would you like?]

[MhmmW- Well then, Ill take the special one]

[Yes, yes.]

However, contrary to my expectations, Alice simply asked which type of nigiri sus.h.i.+ she wanted. T- This woman She knows about sus.h.i.+. S- Should I say that its to be expected from the Phantasmal King

No, not yet. Its still unclear how it tastes. Ive heard that Neun-san is very picky about j.a.panese food, so she wont just easily accept just anything

Immediately after I thought this, a beautiful set of nigiri sus.h.i.+ was placed in front of Neun-san.

Looking at the nigiri sus.h.i.+ Neun-san silently took out a gold coin from her pocket and placed it on the counter.

[Its my loss.]

[Thank you for your patronage~~]

[Eh? N- Neun-san!? You still havent tasted it though, right!?]

[I dont need to eat this to know how it tastes. It will definitely be delicious]

She was instantly defeated!? The j.a.panese Food-Fanatic Neun-san is calling this sus.h.i.+ absolutely delicious just by looking at it Alice, what a frightening person you are.

[Now then, what will you be having, Kaito-san~~?]

[Ughh Kuhh, I- I will have]

Sus.h.i.+ doesnt work huh What should I get then? Food that doesnt exist in this world Think of it, me. Ive been in this world for six months. Ive also read the guidebook that Kuro gave me, and I know that that isnt there.

[Ramen.]

Yes, when I think of noodle dishes in this world, the only thing I thought of was the dishes made from pasta To be honest, I havent seen any noodle dishes other than that, and Ive already confirmed that there are no ramen shops here.

(T/N: Pasta here refers to those that were used in spaghetti, napolitan and carbonara.)

I remembered wanting to eat ramen and tried looking it up in Kuros guidebook, but I felt depressed because I couldnt find it With this, I should have a good chance in winning the bet.

[What flavor do you want? Salt? Miso? Soy sauce? Tonkotsu? Paitan? I can also make tantanmen, you know?]

(T/N: Tonkotsu ramen is ramen with broth from boiling pork bones. Paitan ramen is ramen with thick, cloudy soup. Tantanmen is the j.a.panese version of sichuan noodles, Tantan.)

[Wha Kuhh Ill have a tonkotsu-shoyu]

(T/N: I dont know how to translate that into english, but its basically a combination of tonkotsu and soy-sauce flavor. I think. Never tasted it.)

[How firm do you want the noodles?]

[Firm enough.]

[Yes, yes.]

This wont do. She also knows what ramen is N- No, I still dont know how it tastes like yet! Theres still a chance that it might not taste good even though it might be a really small chance.

A little while later, a bowl of ramen that had a delicious aroma was placed in front of me.

[Here you go~~ Ive also added pork chashu as a service.]

[T- Thanks Thank you for the meal.]

Its a great consideration for a young man with a hearty appet.i.te This is bad. I cant see a future where I can win this bet. I mean, she even prepared a renge spoon and disposable chopsticks

Picking up the renge spoon, I timidly took a sip of the soup and ate a mouthful of the noodles before I took out a gold coin and placed it on the counter.

[.Its my loss.]

[Thank you for your patronage~~]

Vexing as it may be, but that ramen was super tasty, you know!? She looks so annoying with that smug smile on her face, but it tastes so good that I cant even complain!!!

Its been a long time since Ive had ramen, but I knew that the thick broth would go well with the noodles and the thick slice of the pork chashu was also juicy. There was nothing for me to complain about.

This was a complete defeat. An utter defeat that makes me glad even though I lost.

[Ummm, Alice.]

[What is it?]

[Perhaps, could you make a gyudon or a hamburger steak?]

(T/N: gyudon/beef bowl)

[If you order now, for an additional one copper coin for the magic box, you can order it for take out, you know?]

[How expensive. Ill buy it.]

[Thank you for your patronage~~]

An additional 10,000 yen per dish It was very expensive, but I wanted to eat it nonetheless.

Id certainly like to order several dishes, especially gyudon and hamburger steak, because Id sometimes have an irresistible urge to eat them.

[Ahh, by the way, we also have j.a.panese sweets like dorayaki and such!]

[Ill buy it!]

And Neun-san just took a bite out of her sales pitch!

Unnn, this is hopeless already The situation is completely swayed to Alices favor. However, I cant win I will also still buy them.

Dear Mom, Dad How should I say this, I was reminded yet again how high Alices specs are I tremble in fear before her ability. It seems like Alice was just acting in her miscellaneous goods store, but in reality She actually has quite the business ac.u.men, doesnt she?

Q: Did Kaito really have to pay an exorbitant price just to buy Alice-chans special dishes?

A: If Kaito had said Please make it to Alice without being caught up by Alices pace, she probably would have made it for him for free.

T/N: 73/266