"Come on, buy, buy, buy!!" shouted the devil noodle seller as he prepared the orders.
"Sir! Fried noodles, level two, please!" called out a student.
"Sir! Soup noodles, level one, please!" called out another student.
"Alright, alright, be patient," said the seller.
After a while, the line of students finally disappeared.
"Phew, a lot of customers today," said the seller as he wiped his sweat.
But not long after, suddenly there was a loud thumping sound. From the sound of it, it seemed to be getting closer to the devil noodle stall.
"Huh? What's this? An earthquake?" muttered the seller as he stuck his head out of the stall and peeked.
Just as his head popped out, suddenly two people jumped in and landed on the seller, causing them all to fall.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch," hissed the seller as he held his aching head.
The seller opened his eyes and saw Aruta and Sako lying on top of him.
"Two devil noodles, please!!" shouted Aruta loudly, bringing his face close to the seller's.
"Make it super spicy, please!!" shouted Sako, just as loud as Aruta, also bringing his face close to the seller's.
"Spicier than anything you've ever made!!" yelled Aruta even louder.
"Bring out the spiciest noodles ever!!" yelled Sako, also louder.
"Eh?! O-okay," stammered the seller.
"Alright, sir! We'll wait. But beware if the spiciness is just ordinary. It doesn't deserve to be called devil noodles if that's the case," Sako said.
"Huh?! Are you underestimating my devil noodles??" asked the seller, annoyed.
"Hmph! Let's wait outside, Aruta," Sako said.
Sako and Aruta left the stall while grabbing each other's collars.
"How dare they underestimate my devil noodles. I've been training for years to make these noodles. My grandfather taught me how to make delicious noodles with a burning spicy flavor. I'll teach them a lesson. I'll make the most devilish devil noodles ever. I'm sure if an ordinary person eats it, just one spoonful will be enough to give them diarrhea!" muttered the seller, clenching his fists tightly, his face red with emotion.
***
Aruta and Sako sat on the bench but were still grumbling and glaring at each other.
"Tch, he'll probably faint before even finishing a spoonful," Sako muttered, clasping his hands on the table and resting them on his mouth.
"Hmph, he probably can't even handle the smell," Aruta muttered, folding his arms across his chest.
But not long after, the sound of a growling stomach was heard, followed by a fart. It came from Aruta. Aruta suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach and needed to go to the bathroom. He held his stomach and bent over.
"Ah man, is it because of that burger earlier?" Aruta muttered, who was starting to sweat as he tried to hold in his almost-leaking bowel.
"Hmm? Is he holding it in?" Sako muttered.
Aruta, who couldn't hold it any longer, finally said, "Sorry, I need to go to the bathroom for a moment!" Aruta immediately ran quickly to the toilet after saying that.
"Huh? He hasn't even eaten the noodles yet, and he's already running to the bathroom," Sako muttered, watching Aruta dash to the toilet. "Hmm, but this might be an opportunity," Sako muttered with a mischievous smile.
Sako quickly dashed to the devil noodle stall. Once she arrived, she slowed down and sneaked into the stall. Inside, the seller, with a furious yet serious expression, was cooking Sako and Aruta's orders. Sako crept in and grabbed a packet of salt. At the same time, Sako saw that their noodles were done and placed on the stall's counter. The seller turned around to grab chopsticks and a spoon.
Sako, silently but quickly, headed to the two bowls of noodles. With a wide grin on her face, Sako poured the entire packet of salt he was holding into one of the bowls.
"Hehehe, I'm not really good with spicy food. But at least I can win in another way," Sako said as she poured the salt.
After the salt packet was empty, Sako immediately threw it into a nearby trash can, her smile still plastered on his face. But at that moment, Sako froze when he heard the devil noodle seller calling him.
"Miss, why are you smiling like that?" asked the seller.
"Eh?!! Uh... it's nothing," Sako said, cold sweat dripping down his face.
"Hmm..." the seller raised an eyebrow, while Sako could only smile, hoping the seller wouldn't ask further.
"Hmm, alright then. Your order is ready," said the seller.
"Oh, thank you," Sako said as she picked up the tray with their orders. "How much is it-" before Sako could finish, the seller cut her off.
"Super Spicy Devil Noodles! These noodles are made with a special broth, blah blah blah," the seller rambled on for a long time, making Sako's legs shake from standing too long.
"And that's what makes these noodles truly special," the seller finally concluded.
"Y-yeah cool. So how much is it?" Sako asked, tired from standing.
"Oh, sorry, I got carried away. Here's your bill." Sako paid for her noodles and also for Aruta's.
***
After paying, Sako walked back to their table.
"I'll pay for his noodles first. I'll charge him later," Sako muttered as she walked to her table, carrying the tray of noodles.
When she arrived, Sako saw Aruta already sitting there.
"Oh? You're done already?" Sako asked.
"Yeah. By the way, why were you standing there for so long?" Aruta asked.
"Well... the seller was a bit chatty," Sako answered. "Alright, what are we waiting for? Let's get to the challenge!" Sako said.
Sako handed one of the bowls of devil noodles to Aruta. But as Sako lifted the bowl to give it to Aruta, she realized that both bowls had the same pattern, and she forgot which one she had salted because of the seller's long rambling.
"Shit... which one did I salt? Was it this one?" muttered Sako, starting to panic.
Aruta took the bowl Sako gave him and placed it in front of him. Meanwhile, Sako placed her bowl near her and sat down.
Sako picked up a spoon and took a small taste of the broth from her bowl. She started to sweat even more as she realized how salty her noodles were. "Oh shit, it's this one. What do I do now?"
Aruta picked up his chopsticks and grabbed some noodles. "Alright, let's eat-."
Suddenly, Sako kicked Aruta's chair, causing him to fall. While Aruta was still on the ground, Sako quickly swapped Aruta's bowl with hers.
"Ouch... Hey, why did you kick me? Good thing the noodles didn't spill," Aruta said, annoyed, as he got up. Aruta straightened his chair and sat back down.
"I saw a mosquito earlier. Btw let's just eat," Sako said.
"Alright, let's eat," Aruta said. Aruta picked up his chopsticks again and started devouring the devil noodles in front of him. He was immediately shocked by how salty the noodles were. His eating speed slowed down drastically.
"Oh cursed. Why is it so salty?" muttered Aruta.
Meanwhile, Sako was still trying to handle the spiciness while continuing to eat her noodles.
"Mwehehe. Just wait for him to collapse, and I'll buy that pie," Sako muttered as she wiped the sweat from her forehead due to the spiciness.
Aruta kept trying to eat his extremely salty noodles but eventually couldn't take it anymore and collapsed on the table, resting his head on it.
Seeing this, Sako immediately stood up and dashed away from Aruta, heading to the pie stall. "Finally! That pie will be mine!" muttered Sako as she ran to the pie stall. From a distance, Sako saw that there was only one pie left in the stall's display.
"Oh no. I have to hurry!" Sako muttered as she sped up.
Sako kept running, getting closer and closer to the stall.
"Just a little more!"
Suddenly, the pie seller took the last pie, placed it on a plate, and handed it to the person in front of him.
"Thank you so much for coming," said the pie seller as he sold the last pie. Sako, who was now close to the stall, froze in place as soon as the last pie was sold.
Not long after, someone came and saw Sako standing there, frozen.
"Huh? Are you okay?" asked Mono as he ate the pie in his hand.