~UDON Chapter~

1: The Hero Club's Udon Trip

TV Reporter: Now then, for today's feature... Here! It's Japan's big three udon!
Fuu: Big three udon...!?
Fuu: There's no time to waste!!
Fuu: I want to go eat the big three udon!
Fuu: For that cause, since Konohana-san was busy with work, I had Satsuki-san come in her place!
Yomi: I am Satsuki Yomi, third seat of the elite guard.
Yomi: The instructions I received were to treat the Heroes to udon...
Yuuna: Yes, I have a question! What are the big three udon?
Yomi: There is a wide variety of types of udon.
Yomi: Among those, the especially famous Sanuki udon, Inaniwa udon, and Mizusawa udon are collectively called the big three udon.
Itsuki: What type of udon is it that we usually eat?
Yomi: Since you are all from Shikoku, if I were to guess, it's likely Sanuki udon.
Tougou: Sanuki... That's right, in the past, Kagawa was once known as the Sanuki Province.
Yomi: Sanuki udon is very well known, and popular among people across the country.
Fuu: That's our udon alright! So then, let's start by having some Sanuki udon!
Yomi: I've procured enough udon for all of you from a local shop famous for their Sanuki udon. Here you are.
Heroes: Let's give it a try-!
Fuu: [slurrrp]...!? It's...
Karin: It's good, but... Something's different, isn't it?
Sonoko: I think it doesn't have enough body to it~?
Yomi: I think the udon here is plenty delicious, though it may have lost some flavor compared to what you might find in its place of origin.
Tougou: What that means is, if we want to eat the true big three udon, we'll have to travel to their homelands.
Yuuna: Where does Inaniwa udon and Mizusawa udon come from?
Yomi: Inaniwa udon is from Akita, and Muzusawa udon is from Gunma.
Yuuna: Akita? Gunma?
Tougou: Regions that once existed in Japan. Akita was in the area known as Tohoku, and Gunma was in the area known as Kanto.
Yuuna: Hmmm... I have a feeling we went over that in history class!
Yomi: (In history class...? I had been told what to expect, but they really are strange people after all...)
Sonoko: We can always eat Sanuki udon when we go back home, but I want to eat Inaniwa udon and Mizusawa udon from their hometowns~!
Tougou: You shouldn't be so imposing, Sonocchi. We can't go all the way to Akita and Gunma only to eat some udon.
Yomi: We are working on a strict schedule, but that wouldn't be so unreasonable.
Yomi: If tomorrow would be fine with you, do you want to go?
Fuu: [SLURRRRRP]! Please take us, Satsuki-san! Tomorrow, the Hero Club sets out on their udon journey!
Fuu: Anyway, we'll have to stock up on energy! Let's get seconds!
Itsuki: Onee-chan, that's your third...

The next day, the Heroes and the toji gathered before the break of dawn.

Yuuna: Yawn... Morning, everybody! Isn't it fun, us all leaving this early! Kind of like a field trip!
Tougou: Thinking of breakfast, I borrowed a kitchen and made us some botamochi.
Tougou: If anyone wants any, here you are.
Sonoko: I do I do~.
Ellen: Oh! Is it alright for me to have some botamochi too?
Ellen: [chew chew]... Mmm, it's delicious!
Tougou: That golden colored hair, those blue eyes, and... That well pronounced English! Are you perhaps a "westerner"!?
Ellen: My mama is American. I'm Kohagura Ellen, a first year at Osafune Girls' Academy!
Ellen: I wanted to spend some time with you Heroes, so I'm tagging along on the udon tour! Let's have some fun today!
Tougou: An American wants to try udon...?
Ellen: Yes! Udon tastes so good!
Tougou: No one who enjoys udon could be a bad person... We'll welcome you along, Ellen-san.
Yuuna: Udon sure is powerful! It even made Tougou-san fast friends with someone from America!
Hiyori: Is that really something that shocking?
Yuuna: It really is! ...Wait, huh? Umm... Who are you?
Hiyori: Juujou Hiyori.
Hiyori: A friend of mine is from Gunma, but she couldn't come today because of a mission, so I came in her place to show you about Mizusawa udon.
Yuuna: Yay-, thank you! I'm so excited to try Mizusawa udon! Nice to meet you, Hiyori-chan!
Hiyori: Y-Yeah...
Hiyori: (S-Seems like she's the type to act close from the moment you first meet...)
Yomi: Everyone is here, so let's move out. First, in Akita...
Hiyori: Hold on, Satsuki Yomi. The Mizusawa udon place Iwakura-san reccomends closes its doors before noon.
Hiyori: Could we go to Gunma first instead?
Yomi: If that's the case, then I understand.
Hiyori: Good then. Now I should be able to promote Mizusawa udon like Iwakura-san wanted.
Yuuna: If the store closes before noon, then I'm really looking forward to it!
Sonoko: Come on, let's go, Gunma!
Hiyori: From the map she gave me, it should be just ahead... Nn? That's weird; it's closed.
Itsuki: There's a sign up. "As we can't restock, the store is temporarily closed"... Ehh!?
Ellen: You say there's... an aradama infestation at the local spring?
Mizusawa Udon Seller: That's right...
Hiyori: Without being able to get your usual springwater, you can't open shop then, can you...
Yuuna: I won't let them get away with causing trouble for someone selling udon! That's too mean!!
Mizusawa Udon Seller: I'm begging you, please do something about those aradama! If I can just get a hold of that water... I'll treat you to the ultimate Mizusawa udon!
Hiyori: What should we do?
Yomi: The mission I was given was to escort the Heroes on their udon tour.
Yomi: And, as toji, suppressing aradama is our duty.
Karin: There's no reason to think any harder about it then.
Yuuna: That's right! As Heroes, we can't ignore these aradama causing problems for everyone either!
Tougou: We'll defeat the aradama to bring back the Mizusawa udon. And then we can eat it. It's two birds with one stone.
Itsuki: After coming all this way, you can't help but be hungry for Mizusawa udon, can you!
Sonoko: Let's stop the aradama and get back the spring~!

2: Gunma: The Ultimate Mizusawa Udon

Yuuna: Alriiight! Let's go stop those aradama! We're going to have that Mizusawa udon for sure-!
Heroes: Yeah-!
Ellen: You Heroes sure do love udon, don't you. Is there some special reason for that?
Ellen: Don't tell me, is udon the source of your hero power!?
Fuu: That's not completely off the mark, in the sense that we grew up eating udon...
Fuu: The source of our hero power... That would be udon and the girl power hidden deep in our hearts!
Tougou: It's Fuu-senpai's pet theory that udon will raise your girl power.
Ellen: Girl power... I see! That must be why you're all so cute!
Yuuna: Hey, Hiyori-chan, what's Mizusawa udon like?
Hiyori: What makes Mizusawa udon distinct is its pale white noodles. They're usually served as chilled zaru udon, but the dipping sauce will depend on where you eat it... Or so I hear.
Sonoko: Pale white noodles, hmm. This udon sounds like a real beauty~.
Hiyori: And also, compared to your average udon noodles, it's supposed to be a little bit thicker.
Itsuki: If the noodles are thick, then it should already have plenty of body to it.
Hiyori: Ah, about that, I was told it's not as if the noodles have more body than Sanuki udon.
Karin: Hiyori, why do you keep saying "supposed to be" or "I was told" and that sort of thing?
Hiyori: I'm only passing on the information from a friend of mine who loves Mizusawa udon.
Hiyori: I don't know much about Mizusawa udon either. So I'm looking forward to it too.
Fuu: If that's how it is, let's beat up those aradama and get some udon ASAP!
Yomi: I've sighted the aradama. Are you prepared for battle?
Yuuna: I'm ready anytime!
Yomi: Then, let's begin.
Yomi: Now, as the spring has been safely recovered, the Mizusawa udon has been prepared.
Yomi: Here you are, everyone. Let's begin eating.
Everyone: Let's eat-!
Yuuna: It's just like Hiyori-chan told us; these noodles are so pretty!
Sonoko: I know~! And this udon is so good it holds up to our udon back home~!
Tougou: The noodles aren't quite as thick as I was expecting, so it's easy to eat.
Ellen: It's delicious!
Karin: This sesame sauce pairs with it pretty well too.
Itsuki: Yes! It tastes very good!
Fuu: [slurrrp]-! These cold noodles go down easy after all the exercise we just did!
Fuu: I'll have another!
Fuu: [slurrrp]-!
Fuu: With the way the taste changes, between this slightly sweet sesame sauce and the soy sauce, I feel like I could eat as many bowls as they put in front of me!
Fuu: I'll have another!
Fuu: [slurrrp]-!
Fuu: Good thing they have this tempura here as a palate cleanser! It helps reset the appetite!
Fuu: I'll have another!
Fuu: I'll have another!
Hiyori: Y-You're going to keep on eating...? Where are the noodles disappearing to?
Ellen: Maybe they're being converted into hero energy?
Ellen: Either way, she has such a healthy appetite! She's a big eating fighter!
Fuu: [slurrrp]-! Another!
Itsuki: I'm sorry about her, Onee-chan is just...

3: Akita: The Supreme Inaniwa Udon

Yomi: Next is Inaniwa udon. Our destination is Akita.
Fuu: The taste of Mizusawa udon totally lived up to the name of Japan's big three udon. I can't wait to try Inaniwa udon too!
Hiyori: After that many extra helpings, you can still fit in more... That's really something.
Itsuki: What is Inaniwa udon like?
Yomi: From your perspective, Inaniwa udon will be a thin type of udon.
Tougou: Thin? Do you mean like somen?
Yomi: Yes, it would be fine to think like that. It is a type of udon just thicker than somen.
Sonoko: A thin type of udon... An unknown type of udon just entered the picture~.
Yomi: I've made a reservation at the restaurant.
Yomi: I can assure you the taste will be delicious, so please look forward to it.
Yuuna: So it gets Satsuki-san's seal of approval! How soon before we get to Akita!
Karin: Just hope the place wasn't shut down by aradama again.
Tougou: Fufu, something like that wouldn't happen twice in a row.
Yomi: Hello. We have a reservation, under Satsuki.
Inaniwa Udon Restaurant Clerk: You must be Miss Satsuki then. I apologize, but... Speaking honestly, it seems aradama have appeared along our transport route, and we've been unable to restock...
Karin: Ehhh!? This again!?
Fuu: Geez, this is all your fault, Karin. You had to go and put up that weird flag.
Karin: What do you mean, flag!?
Itsuki: Still... Why are all these udon related places being affected by aradama?
Fuu: The aradama just don't understand the deliciousness of udon... That's why they're making trouble for anyone selling it!
Sonoko: The enemies that come out in our world, the vertex, I've heard they'll completely ignore a bowl of udon too~.
Sonoko: Aradama and vertex; something so inhuman can never understand the greatness of udon~!
Yuuna: If only they could tell how delicious udon is, we might be able to come to terms with each other...
Hiyori: Uh, I don't think udon is going to help us reach a mutual understanding...
Fuu: Anyway, just like in Gunma, all we have to do is stop the aradama, right?
Inaniwa Udon Restaurant Clerk: I-If you would! Once we can restock, then we could prepare for you a supreme Inaniwa udon!
Ellen: Yes! Let's defeat the aradama and have some tasty Inaniwa udon!
Heroes: Yeah-!
Fuu: We've been chasing the aradama for so long the sun's completely set.
Itsuki: We're on a straight trip, so it was bound to happen.
Hiyori: Come to think of it, I haven't seen Satsuki Yomi for a while.
Ellen: Oh, really? Where could she have gone off to?
Yomi: Did she get lost!? That's dangerous; we have to go look for her!
Hiyori: Satsuki Yomi is a member of the elite guard. I don't think we need to worry about her at all...
Fuu: My girl power is calling out to me...
Karin: That's just your stomach growling.
Yuuna: But, aren't you feeling hungry by now?
Yomi: In that case, have some omusubi.
Hiyori: Satsuki Yomi!?
Ellen: Where did you go?
Yomi: I thought you would all be hungry on this lengthy mission, so while suppressing the aradama, I stopped to procure us food. I bought them somewhere I regularly get omusubi from.
Sonoko: These are! Such nice omusubi! The rice is glistening~!
Yomi: I will vouch for their taste.
Itsuki: Ah... This is some tasty rice.
Yomi: Thank you.
Karin: The more you chew it, the sweeter it gets... Mm, the saltiness is good enough on its own.
Yomi: You're very familiar with this, Miyoshi-san.
Yomi: You should have some too, Juujou-san, Kohagura-san.
Hiyori: Thanks... Mm, it is good.
Ellen: I'm back at 100%! Let's beat these aradama quick and reclaim that Inaniwa udon!
Yomi: You did good work today, everyone. Now then... Let's eat.
Everyone: Let's eat-!
Yuuna: Look, Tougou-san! It's completely different from how our udon is!
Tougou: It really is like somen noodles. But, the taste... It tastes properly like udon.
Sonoko: It's different from the udon we're used to, but this is tasty too~!
Fuu: Since the noodles are this thin, no matter how much you eat, it has to be low-calorie for sure. It's very healthy!
Itsuki: I don't think that's right, Onee-chan...
Karin: Each of the big three udon tasted good, didn't they.
Yomi: About that... Sanuki and Inaniwa are considered staples of the big three, but there are actually many candidates for the third position.
Fuu: Eh!?
Yuuna: If there's that many candidates, that means there's that many kinds of tasty udon!? Nnn, I want to try them!
Itsuki: But, after today, we're all full...
Fuu: Okay-, after we get back to Kamakura, we can look up other big three udon candidates and start preparing for our next udon tour!
Heroes: Yeah-!
Hiyori: There's just no limit to your passion for udon, is there...
Ellen: It is the source of their power, after all!