"What's this 'Top 100 Ramen Shops'?" Shuichi Chiba abandoned his attempts to disrupt the conversation with sly tactics and asked curiously.
Tsuki Akiyama gave him a strange look. "It's the Tokyo Ramen Top 100 list on Tabelog, isn't it? Haven't you ever used Tabelog?"
Now that she mentioned it, Shuichi Chiba recalled what it was—Tabelog was basically the Japanese equivalent of Yelp or Dianping.
Still, this wasn't a case of him lacking common sense as an outsider. His predecessor hadn't used it either, as he'd been scraping by on supermarket half-price bento for most meals.
"Do you think your family's ramen shop could make the list?" Shuichi Chiba asked.
"How could it?" Tsuki Akiyama replied, exasperated. "A tiny shop like ours can't compare to the bottom-ranked ones on the Top 100 in terms of scale, ambiance, or reputation."
"But the taste isn't any worse than that of the so-called champion, is it?" Shuichi Chiba said, suddenly realizing he'd forgotten to eat. He quickly took another sip of soup, letting out a satisfied sigh.
"I wouldn't know. We don't have spare money to go try it," Tsuki Akiyama replied, lowering her head to focus on her bowl of noodles.
Mrs. Akiyama sat across from them, smiling warmly as she ate, watching the two young ones seriously discuss business matters.
"Then I'll treat you to a bowl sometime. If it doesn't taste better than ours, we can aim for the Tokyo Ramen Top 100 champion spot." Shuichi Chiba said casually.
Before he finished speaking, An Akiyama, who had been focused on devouring her food, perked up at the keyword. Her little ears twitched as she quickly swallowed and raised her hand.
"I want to eat too!"
"Eat, eat, eat—that's all you care about. Where's this energy when you're studying?" Tsuki Akiyama scolded, tugging her younger sister's ear in mock exasperation.
While admonishing her sister, she turned to Shuichi Chiba and said, "Aren't you oversimplifying things? Just because the taste is the best doesn't mean it'll top the list."
Shuichi Chiba chuckled, ruffling her hair playfully and messing up her hairstyle. "Are you saying Tabelog might not be entirely fair? Well, that's not necessarily a problem for me."
"Ah, I almost forgot—you're a real young master," Tsuki Akiyama said with a flash of realization. This guy wasn't just a regular guy playing along with her maid games—he was the actual rich heir of an entire street.
She had gotten so used to playing her part as a pretend maid that she'd nearly forgotten that her role was fake, but his position as a young master wasn't.
Still, she was visibly uncomfortable with Shuichi Chiba's gentle actions and demeanor. Swatting his hand away, she thought to herself that she'd much prefer something more outrageous than being treated like a child.
Yes, spanking is fine, but a gentle head pat? No way.
"It's not just about taste," She said, regaining her composure. "Factors like ambiance, service, and popularity are also part of the evaluation criteria. We can't possibly compete with those established places on that front."
"Aim for the top, and you'll at least land somewhere in the middle. Who cares if it's achievable? Start with the heart of a champion," Shuichi Chiba declared, silently considering the possibilities. If the ramen shop could win a championship, the system's evaluation of him might significantly improve. Would that bring him closer to passing the assessment and truly taking over the shopping district?
"While what you're saying is very reasonable and sounds great, take a look…" Tsuki Akiyama tilted her head toward her mother across the table. "Does my mom look like someone with a champion's mindset to you?"
Mrs. Akiyama puffed out her cheeks indignantly. "Tsuki-chan, don't underestimate me! Your mom is amazing too, you know."
Tsuki Akiyama let out a dry laugh. "Alright then. How about this: fix all the complaints that grandma keeps bringing up about the shop. Then we'll help you plan for the championship. With Chiba-kun's help, fairness won't be an issue, at least."
"Um…" Mrs. Akiyama's gaze darted evasively. "The shop just opened, isn't this a bit too ambitious? Maybe we can think about it later?"
"See?" Tsuki Akiyama sighed and turned to Shuichi Chiba.
"…"
Shuichi Chiba couldn't help but feel he'd overestimated the situation. Clearly, Mrs. Akiyama was a laid-back slacker. Pinning hopes on her becoming the queen of Tokyo ramen was, in hindsight, a pipe dream.
"But if Mom could win the championship, wouldn't Grandma be really happy?" An Akiyama said, setting down her bowl after finishing the last sip of soup. "The other day, Grandma even said she hoped Mom could 'slap someone in the face,' didn't she?"
Mrs. Akiyama immediately shrank back, trying to minimize her presence. Slapping faces or proving others wrong? No thanks—too much effort.
Shuichi Chiba chuckled at her reaction. "Mrs. Akiyama is already amazing. She's raised both the class rep and the council president and done such a great job. That alone puts her ahead of 90% of mothers in Japan. No one can expect more than that."
Hearing this, Mrs. Akiyama puffed up with confidence again. "Exactly! I've worked really hard! I'm absolutely not lazy."
"..."
Tsuki Akiyama didn't disagree with his words but couldn't help sighing at her mom's personality.
"Sigh…"
"Tsuki-chan, you just sighed!" Mrs. Akiyama said, hands on her hips. "You've hurt Mom's feelings. Doesn't Chiba-kun have a point? Mommy is amazing."
"No, he's right. You are amazing," Tsuki Akiyama admitted, staring at her bowl. "The sigh is just… me feeling a little mentally drained."
"So… are we still going to eat the champion ramen?" An Akiyama asked blankly, nibbling on her chopsticks.
Tsuki Akiyama: "…"
"We'll go," Shuichi Chiba said, laughing. "When we have time, I'll take you two to try it. Let's see how it really tastes."
Regardless of Mrs. Akiyama's willingness to aim for the championship, Shuichi Chiba had already decided to take the two sisters on a taste-testing trip. It would help him gauge where Akiyama Ramen currently stood in terms of quality.
He himself always ate ramen with a 600% flavor boost from the system, so he genuinely had no idea how the taste of regular ramen compared from the perspective of ordinary people.
"Yay~~~!" An Akiyama cheered excitedly.
"Really, An-chan, you're such a traitor! Are you saying that Mom's cooking isn't as good as ramen from outside? It's clearly better than Grandma's!" Mrs. Akiyama grumbled in dissatisfaction.
"No matter how good it is, I'd still want to try something new. After all, I've been eating Mom's cooking for over ten years…" An Akiyama said with a rare sigh.
"So heartbreaking—neither of my daughters is thoughtful!" Mrs. Akiyama pouted, feigning hurt.
Finally, the lively breakfast came to an end. Because of repeated delays, the trio barely had time to chat or play games on the way to school. They rushed there in a hurry, nearly arriving late.
However, once they reached school, the ramen shop discussion wasn't over. During the break between classes, Shuichi Chiba suddenly noticed that some of his classmates were talking about the Akiyama family ramen shop.
With his sharp hearing, he quickly pinpointed the source of the conversation: a group of three girls huddled together in the classroom.
"By the way, tomorrow is the weekend. Do you want to go eat ramen together?"
"Huh? What's so great about ramen? Sitting with a bunch of old men, eating in the heat, sweating all over, and then getting soup stains all over you—doesn't that sound terrible?"
"Well, it's not that bad. I went to Charge's before, and they provided hair ties and aprons. Plus, they only serve women, and the air conditioning is really good."
"True, true. But it's not like I'm dying to go. It's my little sister—she found this ramen shop with amazing flavors, and she's been dragging me to try it out."
.
.
.
.
You can read advance chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.
pat reon.com/GreenBlue17
200 Power Stones for 1 extra chapter.
5 New reviews for 1 extra chapter.
Goal refresh every week.