"Soba noodles can be a bit coarse when eaten, but after being boiled and rinsed with cold water, they become smooth and chewy. Adding a little mustard to the dipping sauce and dipping it in the dashi broth tastes very good. When eaten in the summer, chilled sauce brings an even more refreshing, flavorful sensation."
Kazuo was quite experienced in this, after all, every household eats soba noodles for New Year's, and at the beginning of this year, he even personally made cold soba noodles with Xiao Bei. So explaining these things to Bimyo Shisei, who had never encountered them, was extremely easy.
And these weren't particularly profound bits of knowledge, yet for Bimyo Shisei, who had a passionate love for food, the appeal was immense.
One person spoke, while the other gazed at him with incredibly adoring eyes.
Even Kazuo himself couldn't help but feel a little flattered.
"That's amazing! Asama-sensei really knows so much!!"
The young lady's eager gaze made Kazuo's heart flutter.
He smiled and waved his hand, saying, "It's nothing. Everyone eats this during the New Year. It signifies longevity, so over time, I've just learned a lot about it. It's really nothing..."
Although being admired by Bimyo Shisei certainly felt good, still—
Kazuo still hoped that if she were to admire him, it would be better if it was for him as a Trainer...
"I was very curious about these things even before I came to Japan..."
Bimyo Shisei said, imitating the actions of an actor she had seen in a drama. She tried to pick up a small portion of noodles with chopsticks, dip them in sauce, then cupped her other hand underneath, and gently opened her small mouth to eat them.
Kazuo's preconceived notion of foreigners was that they directly poured sauce over their noodles.
So, seeing Bimyo Shisei's actions being so proper, he was momentarily stunned.
It must be said that Bimyo Shisei was indeed a young lady of noble birth; her table manners and gestures were impeccable and just right. Moreover, for a foreigner, being able to use chopsticks so skillfully was quite remarkable.
After a light chew, Bimyo Shisei's twinkling emerald eyes sparkled even more. She lightly covered her mouth and exclaimed softly:
"This... this is actually so delicious! After entering my mouth, there's a springy chewiness, it's cool, and the sauce tastes so good!!!"
Bimyo Shisei truly seemed like a high-society young lady who, after getting used to foie gras and caviar, and tiring of rare delicacies, had a strong interest in the foods favored by ordinary people.
Bite after bite, Bimyo Shisei had only ordered the smallest portion of cold soba noodles. In less than a few minutes, only the bamboo basket remained on the table.
Although her entire process was performed with great elegance, it seemed to Bimyo Shisei that her actions appeared somewhat crude.
So she lowered her head a little shyly, nodding and softly saying, "I'm so sorry, for Asama-sensei to see such an unseemly side of me..."
However, Kazuo smiled, completely unconcerned, and said, "It's nothing. If Bimyo Shisei likes it, then that's wonderful. But I really didn't expect Bimyo Shisei to truly enjoy noodle dishes so much?"
Bimyo Shisei nodded slightly in response, "Actually... I used to always like to eat high-calorie, strongly flavored foods, but because I never gained weight no matter how much I ate, my family never controlled me... So I've always yearned for those rich, meaty, oily ramen soups!!! And I want to try cup noodles too!!!"
As if unable to hide her excitement, Bimyo Shisei clenched her small fists, showing her strong desire.
"But... it's hard to get these two things at the Academy..."
Kazuo hadn't expected the usually cheerful and natural Bimyo Shisei to be so dejected over such a matter.
He was somewhat amused and exasperated.
However, there was a reason for Bimyo Shisei's feelings. After all, cup noodles were not sold at the Academy. As a competitive academy, students were professional athletes, and some were even strictly managed with nutritionists for their physical conditioning.
Fried foods like cup noodles were naturally not sold at the school. Kazuo himself had brought his own emergency rations back then.
As for ramen—Kazuo couldn't imagine a sixteen-year-old young lady with excellent image and temperament going to a street restaurant, squeezing in with greasy, working-class uncles, and slurping down noodle soup with a "slurp-slurp" sound... Without a male companion, a girl entering such a place would easily be looked at askance.
And if that were truly the case, just imagining it, the scene would be too fantastical... However, the Academy's cafeteria only sold cold soba noodles at most; they wouldn't make or sell ramen with rich, slow-cooked broth.
Nutritional balance and organic health were the foundation of the Academy's cafeteria, especially since this was Tracen Academy.
"Indeed, it's hard to do such things at the Academy..."
Looking at it this way, Bimyo Shisei's situation was indeed very "difficult."
Although he didn't know the extent of Bimyo Shisei's passion for these things, he assumed she must feel very regretful about it.
However—
Kazuo subconsciously mentioned:
"Leaving cup noodles aside for a moment, just talking about ramen, if you know the steps, you could make it yourself at the Academy, couldn't you? After all, isn't there the Food Research Club?"
As he recalled, the president of the Food Research Club, the German exchange student he had met before, seemed to be very skilled at cooking, right?
Her name was... Eishin Flash, right? However, the speaker had no intention, but the listener took it to heart. Kazuo's casual remark directly enlightened Bimyo Shisei.
She stood up excitedly and said, "That's right, I can do it that way!! If I ask Eishin Flash, maybe I can make ramen myself!!"
Kazuo hadn't expected such an intense reaction from her and was slightly embarrassed, saying:
"Um... Bimyo Shisei, I was just making a suggestion; you don't need to overthink it..."
"Asama-sensei, you're right. I can definitely try these myself! For ingredients, I should be able to import them... Asama-sensei, why don't you come along too!!"
At this moment, Bimyo Shisei truly burst forth with a rare Kiai and drive. This pressure effectively stifled Kazuo's original words.
Actually, he had intended to use the opportunity of dinner today to clearly explain his team's situation and future prospects to Bimyo Shisei, hoping to invite her to join his team... He hadn't expected that before he could even utter the invitation, it now became very difficult to speak.
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