Starting from the Dragon Tribe! - Chapter 88

Starting From the Dragon Tribe

Chapter 88: The Old Ramen Master

“Hey, is this couple new students this year?” The ramen master got up and smiled as he greeted the young people in front of him.

“You’re mistaken, Sensei, we’re not from Todai also we’re just friends,” Lu Chen just noticed that this small street was the backdoor of the University of Tokyo. It seemed that the people who came here to eat ramen were usually students of Todai.

“Lovers start off as friends, hm? Young people should be more bold. Some things aren’t meant for the girl to initiate,” the ramen master seemed to be very talkative, or he often chatted with Todai’s students, so he was very enthusiastic.

In his eyes, these two were on their first date. The young man might be waiting for the right opportunity, but young people are thin-skinned, so maybe if he added a few things, then maybe they would pick up on each other’s hints.

But… Lu Chen was a bit embarrassed, while Erii didn’t move.

Maybe in Erii’s mind, there was no concept of terms like “couple” and “love,” so she didn’t feel shy from the ramen master’s words.

“Business is all right. Students come here often. It recently became cold, and now young people prefer to be in warmer places.

The master skillfully began to work, the soup pot and ingredients neatly arranged on the countertop. His ancient yet steady hands gradually turned it into finger-licking cuisine.

Lu Chen and the old master chatted with each other while Erii sat there, a certified listener.

“What a lovely young lady,” the old master couldn’t help but praise, winking at Lu Chen, “Young man, you sure you don’t want to pursue her?”

Lu Chen scratched his head, a little embarrassed. Why was it that recently, whether around his friends, or around passersby, they would all urge him to pursue Erii?

The Japanese branch also went all out in accommodating all his tour locations. He started to doubt whether he came to Japan to carry out the mission, or to come here to fall in love.

“Here, try it,” Two steaming bowls of ramen were placed in front of Lu Chen and Erii. The sliced crab sticks were neatly arranged, each slice no different in size or thickness from the other. The master’s knife skills were evident.

Erii received the chopsticks and wrote on the notebook, “Itadakimasu.”

The old master seemed a bit crestfallen that such a lovely and pretty young lady would be mute.

He took out a small plate and put two soy eggs upon it, “This is on the house.”

“Thank you, Sensei,” Lu Chen smiled and thanked. He was very hungry. Because Erii did so, he also put his hands together and politely said, “Itadakimasu.”

“Be careful, it’s hot,” Lu Chen saw Erii pick up the small spoon to scoop up some soup to eat and reminded.

The spoon that was already in front of the mouth stopped. Erii obediently opened her cherry blossom lips to gently blow. White vapor dispersed. Under the illumination of the stalls lights, their surroundings seemed to warm up.

She took a small sip of soup and took her chopsticks to grab some ramen noodles and blew on them. Then, she turned her head to look at Lu Chen as if to say, I blew it, can I eat now?

Lu Chen laughed and nodded, thinking that the teacher was right that Erii was a good girl.

He also started to eat, taking a crab stick and a large bunch of ramen noodles and was ready to put them into his mouth, but he was stopped by Erii gently pulling on his sleeve.

Then, she put down her bamboo chopsticks and spoon and wrote in her little notebook, “Be careful of the heat, too.”

Lu Chen forze a bit, then smiled and gently blew on the ramen, the hot water vapor rebounding off his cheeks. The warmth traveled down from his face to elsewhere, warming his entire being.

The old master looked at the pair of teenagers across from him and also unconsciously smiled, feeling that he didn’t need to say anything more.

This sort of emotion had not yet sprouted, like a seed buried deep within the ground in this cold winter, quietly waiting to germinate. In the face of life’s beauty, even the frozen and solid earth would have to give way. As long as spring arrived, it would emerge from the ground.

***

***

For a time, Uesugi Koshi was in a slight trance. If he had any children, he would’ve wanted them to fall in love like this and have a good and complete life.

But he couldn’t. The Emperor’s lineage was a mistake, both a god-given power to the Yamata no Orochi, and a god-given curse to the Yamata no Orochi. It should not exist in this world at all.

He would be this world’s last Emperor and die quietly from old age.

“Sensei’s skills are so good. Can I have another bowl?

This sort of traditional ramen stand didn’t support credit cards, but Lu Chen had a certain amount of cash, enough to eat a few bowls of ramen at least.

Uesugi Koshi, whose thoughts were suddenly cut off, shook a little, and the soup spoon in his hand fell, but he instantly reacted, grabbing the spoon in midair.

“Of course. Young man, you sure have a big appetite,” Uesugi Koshi smiled, not expecting a bowl of ramen to show its bottom after such a short while. He knew that his place was famous for its large servings.

He put away the bowl, but did not notice the flash of surprise in the young man’s eyes.

Lu Chen was of course surprised. The moment the old master last concentrated, the subconscious reaction speed to grab the soup spoon was amazing, and the soup spoon that was now hanging on the side had a deep handprint on the handle.

This old master was a hybrid!

He was also unimaginably strong, or at least, Lu Chen thought, an A-grade hybrid did not have this sort of power. A mere reflexive action caused the solid wooden spoon handle to change shape, its density at least doubling, just like a hydraulic press.

Thinking back to what Principal Anjou had told him, he wondered if the old master in front of him was the super hybrid that sold ramen that the principal had mentioned.

He really was different from what he had imagined. The old master in front of him looked like an ordinary talkative old man, the sort of owner who got along with every customer.

At this time, Erii also raised her notebook, “Another bowl.”

Lu Chen smiled and put off the idea of poking the old master into sparring with him. The other party evidently wanted to live a quiet life, so he wouldn’t bother him.

“Sensei, add another five bowls, please. Sorry, I tend to eat a lot,” After the lesson Lu Chen received from Caesar and Chu Zihang, he apparently learned that it was rude to say that a girl was able to eat a lot, so he ordered all the bowls under his name.

____

____