Prologue

The student meal hall at the Azami Military Academy.

Teeming with youthful students chatting merrily—a quality sorely lacking in two men seated opposite each other at one table.

One of them, Colonel Chrome Molybdenum, was an instructor here.

A square-bodied man muscular down to his fingertips, he was a former member of the royal guard. Yet he was surprisingly well-versed in the art of cooking, as long as you weren’t fussy about the flavor.

Across from him sat a burly bald man in his forties. His wrinkled suit said traveling businessman, but everything else about him screamed soldier. If you looked closely, you could see scars lurking between his wrinkles from years of hardship, suggesting he’d lived through the thick of it.

The students were giving the pair’s table some distance, as if some shady deal was going down.

Chrome sat up straight but bowed his head.

“It’s been a while, Coba.”

Coba shrugged off the formality. “No need for that. I’m just a businessman now.”

“You may have left the military, but you’re still a respected veteran.”

Coba flashed him a dry smile. “You haven’t changed, at least. So? How’s it going?”

“Pretty well, thanks. Found the princess, avoided having the throne snatched out from under us, doing what I can to lead the next generation.”

Coba whistled, a chuckle setting his shoulders shaking. His smile seemed genuine. “Glad to hear it. Where’d you find— No, I’d better not ask. I’m an outsider now.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Coba Lamin, my predecessor as head of the royal guard? I haven’t forgotten how helpful the information you gathered during the crisis was.”

“Ah, it was nothing special.” Coba shrugged, draining his glass of water.

“How have you been, Coba? I hear you’ve been keeping yourself busy.”

“Yeah, the hotel is finally starting to pay off. I’m running myself ragged securing supplies and personnel. Feels like I’m working harder than I ever did in the army.”

Both men laughed.

“Gah-ha-ha. Doesn’t matter if you’re head guard or a proprietor of a hotel; if you’re in charge, the work never ends. Forty-five, and I’m still learning new tricks,” Coba admitted.

“Always better to be busy. I’ve heard people talking about Reiyoukaku. They say the hotel there is great.”

“Yeah, we’re pretty focused on our clients’ needs, after all—”

Coba launched into a lengthy spiel about Reiyoukaku’s business.

Located off the beaten path, near the mountains, the town was a former hub for lumber. Now it boasted a man-made lake and a secluded hot spring. It had a well-established reputation for natural splendor among those in the know.

But for a long time, the inns there had been for merchants and freight industry types—nothing for the upper crust or vacationing families.

So Coba had built a luxury hotel. Not to compete with the existing inns—in fact, he swore that the boost in tourism had brought more merchants through the area, and it was a win-win for everyone involved.

“The hotel’s hot spring pulls its waters from the secluded one, which— Oh, listen to me, yammering away. The business life has really gone to my head.”

“Hot spring, huh? I’d sure like to visit sometime.”

“Oh? Then have I got an offer for you.”

Coba had clearly been waiting for this. He leaned across the table with an impish grin, like a friend about to make a suggestion you should really refuse.

Chrome had seen this look on his face before and immediately began choosing his words carefully. “An offer…?”

“No need to get your guard up. I ain’t trying to eat you alive here.”

“Experience tells me the more you say something’s gonna be fine, the more I’ll suffer for it.”

Coba slapped his hairless dome and made a face that said you got me. The gesture proved sufficiently disarming, and Chrome found it hard to stay annoyed.

“No, no, no,” Coba said. “Nothing like that. I could just use some additional help around the hotel for the next holiday. We’re so short-handed!”

“You want my help?”

“Yeah, you’ve worked as a cook before… Although, if I’m being honest, I’ve got a famous local lord staying and could use a few experienced guards.”

“That sounds ominous.”

Coba stirred the ice in his glass. It clinked around. He looked like a kid caught in a lie.

“Yeah, you see, there’s been a string of incidents in the vicinity. People turning up comatose. If anything like that happened to a VIP… I’m sure it’s just a minor monster, but I don’t want a black mark on the hotel’s name just as things are taking off.”

Chrome nodded gravely. “And that’s where I come in. Hmm…comatose?”

“Yeah, like the life has been drained out of them. They stay under for three days and three nights. We can’t figure out if it’s a monster or a human behind it. Real sinister.”

It all sounded familiar to Chrome. He stroked his chin, racking his brain.

“Hmm…sounds like a treant.”

“A treant? The tree-shaped monsters from fairy tales?”

“From what I’ve heard, they use their roots to sap the life energy from passing animals and travelers. Anyone affected is left comatose for three days and three nights…and treants are found in remote mountain regions. You say the area was once known for lumber?”

Coba slapped his head again, looking impressed.

“You sure know your stuff! Guess you ain’t a teacher for nothing.”

“Yeah, well…there’s rumors going around about illegal treant cultivation somewhere in Azami. As a countermeasure, the government has given us all a basic briefing.”

“Interesting. Glad to hear the government’s on top of things. Well, if there’s illegal treant cultivation going on in my neck of the woods, I definitely need your help.”

Coba doubled down, but Chrome just shifted uncomfortably.

“Do I really seem like hotel staff?”

“Oh, please. I admit, you’re a hard-ass and everything you cook is slop, but the strength you bring to the table makes up for that.”

Coba spoke with no trace of spite, but Chrome just glared at him.

“Tact was never your forte.”

“And good humor was never yours. This is the era of smiles, my old friend.”

Coba flashed a phony grin. Chrome’s lips formed the exact opposite.

“Please?” Coba asked. “If a guest is injured, it’ll be a disaster. That’s the last thing I need…and this is a major holiday. The hotel’s booked, and I need every hand I can get. I don’t want to screw this up and get docked a star in the hotel guide.”

“I feel like they’d dock you a star the second you hired a hard-ass like me.”

Chrome seemed to be holding that line against him, but Coba just laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.

“Even military academy staff are free for the holidays, right? And you said you quit running the meal hall. So who is running this place? A competitor?”

“Oh, well…”

That was when…

“gh!!” Coba’s back stiffened, his fists unconsciously clenching, ready for a fight. “What…is that?!” he wheezed, his voice almost drowned out by the beating of his heart.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Sweat ran down his forehead. Steam rose from it.

He had the look of a man realizing he’d just stepped into a monster’s den.

He turned slowly, to see…

“Here you are! Two cups of tea.”

…a boy with a gentle smile carrying the order.

“Hi-yahhhhhhhh!”

As if an enemy had snuck up behind him, Coba spun around and delivered a backhanded swing.

It was kill or be killed.

The whoosh of his sudden motion echoed through the meal hall.

Lloyd leaned back just enough to avoid Coba’s fist, moving so fast he left an afterimage—all without spilling a drop of tea.

Coba gasped, stunned.

“Wh-who are you?!” he croaked.

“Oh, my name’s Lloyd Belladonna,” the boy said, smiling. “I took over this meal hall from Chrome!”

He bowed politely and placed the tea on the table as if nothing had happened.

“Sorry. Am I interrupting your calisthenics?”

“Huh? Calisthenics?”

Coba might have been retired, but he was pretty confident the force of his blow was still every bit as impressive as that of any active cadet. Having it dismissed as “calisthenics” was simply baffling.

“Lloyd, how about we get two risotto started?”

“Oh, certainly! Coming right up, Chrome!” Lloyd bowed again and hustled back to the kitchen.

Coba was left staring after him.

“Sit down, Coba,” Chrome urged, as if this happened a lot.

Coba silently settled into his chair, all expression draining from his face.

Chrome grinned at him. “What happened to the whole smile thing?” he asked, clearly relishing this.

Coba didn’t seem to notice. He leaned over the table, his tone urgent. “Wh-who the hell is that…monster?!”

“Lloyd. A cadet at the military academy.”

“B-bullshit! No way a beast like that is a student!”

“Pretty much my reaction,” Chrome admitted. “But I swear, he is one of my students. Just, well…he’s from—”

Chrome broke off, thinking better of it.

Lloyd was from a village named Kunlun: a legendary town where heroes gathered, known far and wide…in children’s stories.

Saying Lloyd was actually from there would only make Coba laugh.

“Mm? From where?”

“Uh…way out in the boonies. He’s doing his best to become a good soldier and send money back home. A real good kid.”

That was 99 percent true! Yet somehow fundamentally wrong.

“A struggling student? I suppose people out in the boonies have to learn to fend off horrible monsters. Makes sense he’d get that strong.”

This guess was more or less on target. Except Lloyd had grown up fending off far more horrible demon lords.

Chrome settled for an awkward smile, and Coba shook his head, impressed. Then Lloyd reemerged with their dishes.

“Here’s your risotto!”

The steam carried the tang of tomatoes to their nostrils. The parsley garnish added an appetizing touch of green, perfectly balancing the dish’s colors. Coba examined the food with wide eyes, clearly certain this would be an excellent meal.

He took a spoonful.

He chewed slowly, savoring the flawless harmony between the tart tomatoes and the sweet rice.

“Makes you feel like an accordion player.”

“What’s that even mean, Coba?!”

“I want to give it a standing ovation.”

“Sit down, Coba!” Chrome shook his head at his former boss’s ecstatic review.

When their plates were clean, Coba fixed Chrome with an earnest look.

“Chrome…can I borrow that kid?”

“Lloyd?”

Coba nodded. “He’s strong. He’s a fantastic cook. And his customer service is top-notch! Of course I want to hire him! I’ll even splurge on the wages!”

“Yeah, but…it’s not up to me.”

Coba took a firm grip on Chrome’s square shoulders. What a passionate portrait of two men!

“I’m begging you! Can we at least talk about it?!”

“Uh, Coba! That hurts! And people are beginning to stare.”

“Please! I’ll do anything! I’ll hound you every day until you say yes!”

Chrome could sense the crowd around them shrinking away. He turned red. “Calm down!” he begged. But his red face was just making it worse.

In the end, he was forced to fold in the face of his ex-boss’s excitement. Chrome ran the idea by Lloyd.

“Oh, I don’t mind,” Lloyd said. “I don’t have any plans, and the meal hall will be closed for the holidays.”

And thus, Chrome successfully avoided false rumors about his interest in men, even after everyone had seen this passionate exchange between him and his ex-boss.

—I mean, Lloyd agreed to work as holiday staff at a hotel.