He returned to the Cattle Herding Girl's home.
The Cattle Herding Girl stood on a stool, preparing to cook, as her mother was still unconscious.
As Naruto entered, he saw the Cattle Herding Girl clumsily and carefully cutting tomatoes. He smiled and said, "Don't cook yet. I'll treat you to something delicious."
"Yay~"
The Cattle Herding Girl, who had almost cut her finger, cheered and quickly dropped the knife, jumping off the stool. She asked expectantly, "Naruto Brother, what delicious food is it?"
"Ra—men—"
"Ramen?"
"Naruto, what is ramen?"
Alicia peered out from behind Naruto, her sapphire-blue eyes filled with curiosity.
"Ramen is a delicacy from my hometown (Note: Ramen originated from the Celestial Dynasty)."
Naruto replied, walking straight into the kitchen. He took three boxes of instant ramen from his item bar and skillfully unwrapped them, adding the seasoning packets.
The Cattle Herding Girl noticed Alicia standing at the door and her mouth rounded in surprise.
"What a beautiful older sister."
She couldn't help but take a few more glances, her gaze falling on the loose, pure white silk priestess robe, which was full and round. She pointed at Alicia and exclaimed, "Cow!"
"Cow… cow?"
Alicia froze instantly.
The eight or nine-year-old girl cupped her hands in the air at chest level, weighing them a few times, and innocently replied, "Pretty older sister's chest is even bigger than my mom's, like the dairy cows on Uncle's farm."
"Pfft—!!"
Naruto, who had just taken a sip of milk, couldn't help but spit it out, choking and coughing.
Alicia's face turned bright red with embarrassment. She propped herself with her staff in one hand and covered her chest with the other, quickly saying, "What… what nonsense are you talking about…"
"I don't have a very big one."
"Girls should be reserved, you shouldn't say these things in front of outsiders, only in front of people you… like…" She lowered her voice, secretly glancing at Naruto's back, her voice growing softer and softer until it was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
The Cattle Herding Girl didn't listen at all. She lowered her head, thinking of her own fried eggs, and said enviously, "That's so good."
"I want to grow up too~"
"You will, you will. You're still young, it's your growth period. Drinking more milk will make you grow bigger," Alicia encouraged.
Naruto found it awkward to interject into such a topic, so he quietly pricked up his ears and listened while preparing the ramen.
A short while later.
The aroma of instant noodles wafted through the living room, making the Cattle Herding Girl drool, and Alicia's stomach uncooperatively rumbled.
Alicia covered her flat stomach, her cheeks flushing red again.
"Wow, it smells so good!"
"Is this ramen?"
Seeing Naruto place the ramen on the table, the Cattle Herding Girl climbed onto a stool, propped her hands on the table, and leaned close to the ramen cup, her eyes sparkling with stars.
"That's right."
Naruto lifted the lid of the instant noodles, and an indescribable aroma, accompanied by steaming hot vapor, instantly reached its peak.
The fully dissolved soup base in the round cup soaked the wavy, wheat-colored noodles, garnished with rehydrated red and green vegetables, and brown meat bits. The color, aroma, and taste instantly broke through Alicia's reserve.
"What amazing food! I didn't expect it to be ready just by simply adding water, and it looks incredibly delicious. If adventurers take a few boxes with them when going out on quests, they won't have to worry about food."
Alicia's surprised exclamation, on the contrary, gave Naruto an idea.
"That's right!"
Naruto hit his left hand with his right fist, his mind racing with countless thoughts.
"I can bring instant noodles from the Fire Shadow World to the Goblin Slayer World to resell them and earn money to buy equipment and potions."
"It's a pity that 'Goblin Slayer' is a relatively low-magic world. There aren't many good things. Even if gods exist, they can't interfere too much with the world. They balance each other out, at most granting 'miracles' to their followers, viewing all beings as pawns."
The Gods' Dice is already the best item currently available in the system's shop.
To get more and stronger items, he would probably need to unlock more Underground Cities.
"Then… that… can we eat now?"
Alicia asked shyly, her two full thighs rubbing against each other beneath her priestess robe.
She and the Cattle Herding Girl were driven crazy by hunger, swallowing saliva beside him.
But seeing that Naruto hadn't started eating yet, they felt too embarrassed to just start on their own.
Naruto came back to his senses and waved his hand, saying, "Dig in, dig in. Ramen doesn't taste good when it gets cold."
The two girls cheered, and the sound of slurping noodles immediately filled the dining room.
At the Village entrance.
"I'm so hungry."
"We've been wandering in the forest all day and haven't eaten anything."
The spearman Ryder sat on a stone and complained.
The old Village chief understood, his aged face beaming with a smile: "adventurers, rest assured, I have already asked the villagers to prepare. You will be able to eat soon."
The female pugilist Dalia said unhappily, "Can you be quicker?! How can we kill Goblins on an empty stomach?"
"Yes, yes."
The old Village chief nodded repeatedly.
Kane stood there like an iron tower, asking in a booming voice, "Village chief, guarding the Village and killing Goblins is a temporary request. As for the reward…"
The old Village chief replied with a chuckle, "adventurers, rest assured! I will present the reward tomorrow morning!"
Immediately after.
The old Village chief sighed in his heart: "There really is a world of difference between adventurers. Naruto is such a good young man; he helped our Iron Water Village without asking for anything. But them… sigh…"
Of course, the old Village chief knew that Kane helping them was a kindness, but not helping was also their right.
adventurers are also people; they also need to earn money.
So providing a reward was only natural.
Night deepened.
Normally, Iron Water Village would already be pitch black, with at most a strong man on patrol, while other villagers worked from sunrise to sunset, falling asleep early or engaging in some post-dinner activities. But tonight, the entire Village was brightly lit, and the flames of the torches burned fiercely.
"Haaah~~~"
Ryder let out a big yawn, listlessly drawing on the ground with his spear.
He looked up at the edge of the dark forest and shook his head, saying, "There's no such thing as Goblins raiding the Village at night. Just some greenhorn talking nonsense."
The old Village chief gave an awkward smile and replied, "Naruto said he found Goblin scouts near Iron Water Village, and they might attack the Village tonight."
"For the safety of the villagers, we have to believe it."
Ryder disdainfully shook his head: "Might?"
"If there's no attack tonight, do we continue guarding tomorrow night? If there's no attack tomorrow night, will it be the same the night after? "
"If this goes on, how are people supposed to live?"
"This…"
The old Village chief was speechless.
Ryder stood up, slung his spear over his shoulder with one hand, and said with a yawn, "You guys guard. I'm going to sleep…"
Before he finished speaking.
A sharp arrow shot out from the darkness with a "whoosh," grazing Ryder's face and drawing blood. Then, with a "thud," it embedded itself in a wooden post at the Village head, its fletching trembling and buzzing.
Ryder froze in place, his hands and feet turning cold.
Blood gradually seeped from the thin cut on his face.
"Enemy attack!!"
"Beware of Goblins—"
Kane was stunned, then like a furious lion, he let out a roaring sound.
"Giggle!"
In the bushes at the edge of the forest, there was a violent rustling. Green-skinned imps emerged one after another, some wielding wooden clubs, others brandishing daggers. Some even used bows and thrown stones, charging fiercely and madly towards the nearby Iron Water Village!