The Last-Seat Hero Has Returned

48. Interlude 2 – The Spicy Taste of the Republic

Thus ended the ‘Practical Combat Training’ lecture that had given so much shock and fear in many ways.

“Well then, I’ll be off…”

“Stop.”

Someone grabbed the back of my neck as I tried to sneak out of the classroom.

When I turned my head, I saw Iris smiling brightly.

“Where are you going, Dale?”

“Uh… urgent business.”

“I clearly told you to stay after class today, didn’t I?”

“……”

I turned to Camilla for help, feeling a chill from Iris’s gaze.

“Uh, uh-hum. Saintess, I’m not feeling well today, so I think I should go in first.”

“Oh, really? Then there’s nothing we can do. Go in and rest.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning!”

“Wait a minute!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Camilla turned and hurriedly ran towards her dormitory.

‘Damn it!’

For a moment, I shivered with a sense of betrayal.

Iris approached me with a beaming smile (scary).

Just as I was bracing myself to be caught by Iris and endure hours of nagging.

“Shall we go eat together then?”

The soft touch of her hand and the fragrant scent of peach blossoms tickled my nose.

“…Huh?”

“Huh? What do you mean, huh? Don’t you remember we agreed to have dinner together every Monday?”

“No, I do remember that.”

I naturally thought she would talk about the kiss with Professor Elisha.

“What happened with Professor Elisha earlier wasn’t something you wanted, but something you were forced into under the guise of an investigation, right?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

“Such a thing can’t even be called a ‘kiss’, it’s more like artificial respiration. Don’t you think so, Dale?”

“Of course.”

“Good.”

Iris caressed my lips, breathing heavily.

“Dale, you didn’t kiss her, you were just bitten by a horny b*tch… or in this case, a horny spider? Anyway, it was just bad luck, so don’t worry about it. Got it?”

Even though calling a professor a ‘horny spider’ seemed a bit much.

“…Yes.”

For now, it was best to nod quietly and calm her down.

“Hehe. Good.”

Iris smiled satisfactorily.

She pulled my hand, urging me forward.

“Let’s quickly forget the bad memories and go to the cafeteria together.”

“Cafeteria? Why the cafeteria all of a sudden?”

Doesn’t Iris have professional chefs who prepare her three meals a day?

“I just want to eat the food you make on Mondays.”

“Ah.”

When it comes to the ‘food’ I make, there’s only one thing.

“You wanted to eat ramen, didn’t you?”

“Ahem. N-no, that’s not it?”

“One moment it’s junk food, the next it’s bad for your health.”

“Sh-shut up!”

Iris, her face flushed, slapped me on the back.

I stifled a chuckle and nodded.

“Alright. Then let’s stop by the store and get some ingredients.”

“Yes!”

Iris nodded with a bright smile.

And so we headed to the school store.

Despite the prestigious name of the Hero School, it wasn’t very large.

‘Not many cadets use it.’

Most cadets preferred the cafeteria, so the store itself wasn’t very big.

“Is this the store?”

“First time here?”

“Ah, yes. I never really had a reason to use it.”

“True.”

With chefs preparing three meals a day, there wasn’t much reason to come to a store whose only advantage was its low prices.

“Wow… There are so many things I’ve never seen before.”

Iris looked around the store with sparkling eyes.

Though the store wasn’t very large.

Since it was a place where cadets from three nations gathered, it was filled with items from the Empire, the Holy Kingdom, and the Republic.

‘Just by looking at the displayed items, you can see the distinct styles of each nation.’

The Empire mainly had meat and bread, the Holy Kingdom had vegetables and health foods, and the Republic had instant foods and meal kits showcasing their technological prowess.

“Mr. Dale, come here! L-look at all these ramen…!”

Iris, who had been looking around the store with shining eyes, gasped when she saw the ramen section filling one wall.

“Are all of those really ramen?”

“Yeah. There are a lot of varieties, right?”

“My goodness…”

“Haha. But honestly, they all taste pretty much the same.”

There were some differences between brands, but in the end, most ramen tasted similar.

“Oh, there’s the ramen you made for me before, Mr. Dale.”

Iris pointed at the red packet of ramen with the character ‘辛’ written on it.

“This is probably the best-selling and most popular brand.”

“Really? Oh, by the way, what does the character written here mean? It doesn’t seem like the continental language…”

“They say it’s a character used by the old Republic people.”

“Huh? I learned a bit of the Republic language before, but I don’t remember seeing such a character.”

“Well… it’s a bit complicated to explain.”

To be honest, I didn’t know exactly why they used such characters either.

“Should I say it’s kind of an ancient language that the Republic people used a long, long time ago?”

“By a long time ago… do you mean before the Republic people even came over from another world?”

“Yes. That’s what I learned. Ah, if you compare it to the Empire or the Holy Kingdom, it would be like the ancient language used in the mythological era.”

“Ah, I see. So it’s like a remnant of the ancient language in the continental language.”

“Exactly.”

As expected, our Saintess is really smart.

“Then what does the character ‘辛’ mean?”

“It means spicy.”

“Ah, it was indeed a bit spicy.”

Iris nodded, recalling the taste of the ramen Dale had cooked for her.

Wasn’t the reason she got hooked on ramen because of that stimulating taste, which was hard to find in Holy Kingdom cuisine?

“Since we’re here, why don’t you pick another ramen?”

“Wouldn’t that make it difficult for you to cook, Dale?”

“Making ramen is pretty much the same, so don’t worry.”

“Hmm. Really?”

Iris scanned the shelves with a serious look, like an artist choosing a masterpiece.

“How about this one?”

What she picked was a ramen with black packaging labeled ‘Buldak’.

My expression stiffened as I looked at the packaging.

“Uh… that, that one is a bit…”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“This one is a bit different from the ramen you had before.”

“Different how?”

“It’s ramen mixed with sauce, without broth.”

“Ooh!”

Iris’s eyes sparkled.

“I want to try this! Ramen without broth!”

“……”

“…Dale?”

“I understand how you feel, but how about another brand? There are many other ramen without broth.”

“Huh? Why can’t I have this one?”

“That… that brand of ramen is very spicy. It might be too much for you, Iris.”

Even among the Republic citizens known for handling spicy food well, many avoided that brand of ramen.

“Ah, I see. It’s that, isn’t it?”

“That?”

“I heard from Camilla before. When Republic citizens meet people from other countries, they make a big fuss like ‘Is this spicy for you?’ or ‘Oh, you can’t eat this because it’s too spicy for you.'”

“……”

“What did they call it…? Ah, right. ‘Spicy pride,’ that’s what they call it.”

Heh.

Iris looked at me and laughed as if it was ridiculous.

“I didn’t expect it, but you’re also a typical Republic citizen, aren’t you, Dale?”

“……”

“Hehe. I may not look like it, but I can handle quite spicy food, you know? I ate the ramen you cooked for me without any complaints, didn’t I?”

The ramen that proudly had the word ‘spicy’ written on the package in the old Republic language!

“Hehe.”

Iris puffed out her chest and shook her head.

“Honestly, after trying it, I thought Republic citizens might be a bit too boastful about their spicy tolerance.”

“…Oh.”

Is that so.

“And this is ramen without broth, right? The broth is usually the really spicy part, so it should be much easier to eat without it.”

Hmm.

I see.

“Anyway. I want to try this ‘Buldak’ ramen, is that okay?”

“Yes, I understand.”

If that’s really what Iris wants.

“I’ll make it for you.”

I nodded with a bright smile.

* * *

Iris and I, having bought ramen and some simple drinks from the convenience store, headed to my room.

Unlike Iris’s room, which was fully equipped with cooking facilities and tools, my dorm room didn’t have any cooking facilities, but I did have a portable burner and a pot, so cooking ramen wasn’t difficult.

“Here, it’s all done.”

I handed her the bowl of fiery red Buldak ramen.

“Hehe. Then I’ll give it a try?”

Iris picked up her chopsticks and took a big bite of the Buldak ramen.

“Oh? This is really delicious.”

She widened her eyes and chewed the ramen in her mouth.

I sat leisurely in the chair across from her, waiting for the hellish scene that would unfold soon.

“It doesn’t seem as spicy as I thought…”

Suddenly.

Iris’s expression hardened.

“Ugh, ah.”

She trembled like a capybara caught in a trap.

“Spicy, spicy! What is this?!”

Iris screamed, stomping her feet.

Watching her struggle with tears in her eyes, I felt a strange thrill spreading through my body.

‘Ah.’

I had heard that many people in the Republic enjoyed feeding Buldak ramen to people from the Holy Kingdom or the Empire and watching their reactions.

‘So, this is what it feels like.’

Seeing Iris, who had been boasting just a moment ago that “Republicans are just exaggerating about the spiciness,” now crying and struggling, was exhilarating.

“How is it? I told you it was spicy, right?”

“Do Republicans not know moderation?! This isn’t just spicy!”

Iris, crying, looked around for something to soothe the spiciness.

I handed her a steaming cup of tea.

“It’s hot ginger tea. It’s good for calming down the spiciness.”

“Ugh… Th-thank you, Dale!”

Iris gulped down the hot ginger tea.

And then.

“Ahhh!”

The saint’s scream echoed throughout the room.