Settling down in Orario, Ritsuka began her peaceful daily life.
When she ran out of money, she would sneak into the Dungeon to farm a few waves of minotaurs. When she had plenty of money, she lived a serene retired life.
Occasionally playing chess with the old man next door or having tea with a group of elderly folks had gradually replaced Ritsuka's routine, as if her age had become disjointed.
mapo water No. 1 Modified Version was completed on her fourth day in Orario.
It lacked the intensity that could send someone to heaven, but it added a nice touch of seasoning. Adding a bit to a bowl of mapo ramen made the flavor excellent.
Of course, she hadn't given up on the original mapo water either and had made some improvements to it.
Based on the original, the spiciness was doubled. Even Ritsuka almost face-planted into her noodle bowl the first time she tried it.
One must know that after enduring the torture of the Hydra's poison, her willpower was definitely rare in this world.
Perhaps just as that woman with the King of Heroes class card had said—she was able to endure entirely because of her twisted obsession and a conviction as chilling as a dead person's.
"Modified Mapo Ramen... Emiya lass, are you trying to commit murder for money?"
The old man from next door, who had dropped by again with nothing better to do, looked up in shock at the board hanging on the wall.
It was covered with a list of items the shop offered.
Having seen that hellish color, even though Ritsuka ate it with an expressionless face, he wouldn't dare try it unless he wanted to leave this damn world early.
That simply wasn't something a normal person could eat and stay alive!
"How could I? I've modified the original. Father Mapo, who invented this, might be a devil, but I'm certainly not."
"I've drastically reduced the spiciness compared to the original ramen. It's somewhat similar to soy sauce ramen with a bit of chili added."
Of course, it wasn't that simple.
mapo water itself was somewhat mysterious. She had only barely cracked the ingredients, and the production process was entirely of her own discovery.
"Would you like a bowl? You haven't had breakfast yet, right?"
Because of the old man's previous care at the library, plus their neighborly relationship, Ritsuka decided to give him a 50% discount.
Not that it was expensive to begin with... Soon, the old man's breakfast was ready.
Red mapo tofu was added to a few chopstick-fulls of noodles, followed by mapo water No. 1 Modified, and finally, a tea egg was scooped out and dropped into the bowl.
"It's not much, but please enjoy."
Taking the money from the old man, Ritsuka spoke in a Matsuoka-like voice.
"Mmm, the taste is quite good. This was totally worth it."
"By the way, old man, can you watch the shop for me? I need to go buy some things."
Opening the cabinet, Ritsuka took out a small flask of sake and placed it on the table. The payment was decisively accepted.
The old man beamed with joy. "Leave it to me. I guarantee there won't be any problems!"
———
———
Ritsuka walked through the bustling streets toward her destination.
mapo water No. 1 Modified was finished, but this version was vastly different from Father Mapo's original. She still wanted to recreate the original version.
The only thing missing was likely the different levels of spiciness from various types of peppers.
Passing through Northwest Main Street, Ritsuka paused slightly.
Northwest Main Street, also commonly known as 'Adventurer Street', gathered the largest crowds of Adventurers in Orario.
Including the headquarters of the 'Guild', the management organization for Orario and the Dungeon, numerous weapon shops, item shops, and taverns were all essential stores for Adventurers.
Turning slightly off the main street into the back alleys, it was also crowded with old and eerie shops.
Perhaps they were secretly opened by some god with bad taste... It was just past nine in the morning.
The pleasant sunlight shone on her face, and Ritsuka squinted comfortably as she bypassed Northwest Main Street.
Because many people would have just finished breakfast and were preparing to head to the Dungeon at this time, the main road was filled with crowds of Adventurers preparing for their labyrinth exploration.
Beastmen carrying greatswords, Pallum Mages, and many Supporters with large backpacks following the Adventurers.
Having been here for four days, Ritsuka had supplemented her common knowledge of Orario quite well.
She didn't know much about the Familias, and among Orario's'strongest', she only knew of the 'the king' Ottar and the 'Sword Princess' Ais Wallenstein.
It wasn't that she looked down on them; it was just that Ritsuka wasn't very interested in such things to begin with. The Boarman Ottar had also performed poorly; for an unarmed Ottar, that day was a nightmare.
Because of his underestimation, he was kicked flying in the crowded plaza... How embarrassing.
"Speaking of which, the commotion was covered up so quickly. As expected of the Freya Familia?"
The power of a super-large Familia was still very strong. The fact that Orario's strongest was kicked flying was suppressed in just a single day. Ritsuka was somewhat surprised by this.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Ritsuka hummed a tune and walked toward the fruit and vegetable market.
"Robbery!!"
Suddenly, a woman's scream rang out, followed by a masked man running past Ritsuka.
The surrounding vendors immediately went into bystander mode.
Ritsuka looked at the woman who was still squatting on the ground after being robbed. 'There are robberies in Orario too? Shouldn't all the passion be thrown into the Dungeon?'
Complaints aside, Ritsuka's reaction was not slow.
Without even taking time to think, she directly used 50% of her speed, rushing out under the bewildered gazes of the onlookers and jumping onto the eaves of a nearby apple stall.
Her legs bent and she launched herself forward, wood chips splashing behind her.
With less than three seconds of head start, a mere petty thief couldn't run very far. In the blink of an eye, Ritsuka caught up to him, and the sound of the wind breaking behind him made the robber's heart race with fear.
In Orario, the most common problem encountered when robbing is the sheer number of Adventurers.
If someone who liked to play the hero showed up, wouldn't they be beaten to death in the street?
The robber sensed Ritsuka about to catch up from behind and cursed his bad luck for encountering a meddling Adventurer.
Quickly turning a corner, this fellow, who used to be an Adventurer himself, almost collided head-on with a green-haired girl (?) walking out of an item shop. "Damn it, get out of my way!!"
The man roared, drawing a knife and stabbing it toward the Elf girl (?).
"Hey, what is this... a cornered dog jumping over a wall?"
Suddenly, a black shadow leaped over from above. While gently pushing the girl (?) aside, the man's hand was grabbed.
Immediately after, the 'crack-crack' sound of bones dislocating rang in his ears.
It was enough to make one's scalp tingle.
"Ugh, aaaaaah..."
Easily subduing the knife-wielding thug, Ritsuka applied a little force and snapped the knife, which was like a toy to her, into two halves.
The weapon fragments clattered to the ground.
With a kick, the man, whose knee was hit head-on, knelt down instantly. Amidst his shrill screams, his leg bent backward, severely injured.
In the future, perhaps this man would light a cigarette in his spare time and talk about the past—
Until he took a kick to the knee.
"...You, you bastard... minding your own..."
With five fingers gripping his head, Ritsuka slammed the man directly onto the ground, his body face-down in a mud puddle after the rain. Since the rain last night wasn't small, the mud puddle was still quite fresh and soft.
He went right in.
Ritsuka picked up the bag that had been stolen from the woman in the market and turned her head to look behind her. "Are you okay?"
The Elf girl (?) was in a daze and nodded blankly, her mind filled with shock.
That kind of speed just now, even she hadn't seen it clearly... "It's good that you're okay. Then I'll be going now; I still have to return the bag to the owner."
Ritsuka nodded with a smile and started to walk away. The management personnel belonging to the 'Guild' were about to arrive, and she didn't want to deal with those official people.
Immediately, she prepared to slip away.
"Wait a moment, what's your name?"
"Don't worry about it, just a passing ordinary citizen."