Chapter 4: The Incompetent King Who Loves Potatoes

Humanoid Hunter Units didn’t sleep. When they fell unconscious, it was a state of rest for self-maintenance. However, even when resting, they could switch themselves on and off. And they never dreamed.

What is this?

At this moment, Svelgen Avei was dreaming.

“..................!!”

In the dark, her dozing consciousness seemed to be floating in a marsh. And she saw something far in the distance. Or she felt it.

“..................!!”

Someone was shouting. She couldn’t make out the words, but it was disturbing. As the shouting grew louder, she grew increasingly irritated. It didn’t make sense. She didn’t understand what the voice was saying, but it annoyed her. She tried to focus on the voice’s owner. Sven felt as if she were sinking to her knees as she slowly approached the voice.

“... are... ish... er...”

As she got closer, the voice grew clearer. She still couldn’t understand what it said. She didn’t understand it, but she was really irritated. And she didn’t know why she was so irritated. If she could describe her frustration, the perfect words would be, “You don’t know anything about my suffering!!”

She didn’t even know what she meant by that. Suffering? What suffering? What was causing her to suffer? As she wondered, she approached the owner of the voice.

Dreams aren’t restricted by the concept of distance, but now she stood immediately before the speaker.

“You are... so foolish... Master!”

She focused her consciousness to better hear what the voice said. Then, as if it had been waiting for this moment, the voice shouted as if to force its message into her ears.

“The next time you harm my master—even if it’s by using me—I won’t forgive you!”

Sven’s consciousness recognized the owner of that voice—not visually but spiritually.

It was herself.

“Whaaah?!”

When Sven woke up, she didn’t know where she was. Slowly, her memory returned. She was inside Genitz’s office in a corner of Schutzstaffel command headquarters in the Wiltian royal palace.

“I... What was I... What was... Huh?!”

She couldn’t remember what she had been dreaming about, as if a cloud shrouded her memory. However, it must have been upsetting, because her heart—the rezanium reactor that served as her heart and brain—was beating strangely.

“I’m surprised. You can sleep and even dream?”

Sven wasn’t alone in the room. Genitz, whom Sven now wholeheartedly believed to be her master, was there.

“S-Sorry, Master! I failed to greet you! And I was lazy, wasting time on a nap!”

She hurried to apologize. She believed it was impermissible for a humble servant to rest beside her master while he worked.

“No, don’t worry about it. I just got back.”

Genitz raised an arm to indicate that she didn’t need to worry, and then he plopped onto the sofa.

“Did you just visit Marshal Elvin?”

“Yes.”

Sven knew Genitz’s schedule. He had visited Elvin to learn the whereabouts of the king.

Elvin was a sly old fox of a general. An unremarkable man... no, even an experienced general was like a child compared to Elvin. In the Schutzstaffel, with its hundreds of thousands of soldiers, only Genitz could argue with Elvin.

“Unfortunately, my visit didn’t yield much.”

He glanced at the view of the royal capital from his office window.

The purpose behind sealing the royal capital was to stop an enemy force, including the regular military, from getting in. Its more important purpose was to stop the escaped king from getting out. The king was undoubtedly somewhere in the city, but Genitz had no idea where.

“Do you think he might have fled to an embassy?” Sven asked.

The embassies were treated as foreign national territory. The Schutzstaffel had announced martial law, forbidden passage in and out of the city, and occupied the royal palace, but even it could not intrude there. To do so would constitute armed invasion of another nation and was tantamount to a declaration of war.

“No, that’s impossible.”

If the king had done that, he would have secured his personal safety, but he would also have granted that nation’s embassy justification for using military force to free Wiltia from an occupying rebel army. In that case, his gambit would be all over. Every nation would send in troops in the name of justice. If they succeeded in freeing the royal capital from the Schutzstaffel, their militaries would then stay under the pretext of defending the city. They would interfere in Wiltian politics and seize all benefits for themselves. They would squeeze the world’s largest nation dry in less than a decade.

“I’ve been watching every embassy, and I haven’t seen any activity suggesting that they have him, so it doesn’t appear he chose that option.”

“Oh... So he isn’t that stupid, huh?”

At this moment, Sven’s priority over everything else was Genitz, her master. Compared to him, even the king was just another face in the crowd.

“That’s right. He wasn’t that stupid.”

Genitz put a hand to his mouth and pondered.

For the past few generations, the Wiltian kings were considered incompetent, for better or worse. Two generations back, the inept king transferred most of his real power to Premier Bist. A robust, nearly totalitarian policy of increasing wealth and military might had born fruit, and Wiltia had flourished. That supposedly incompetent king, however, had made the decision that his crisis-wracked nation, would not be quick to seek aid from other nations.

So maybe he isn’t all that incompetent...

Genitz’s smile disappeared.

Meanwhile, at Billions Trading, Shylock had gathered information on the king and the group from Tockerbrot had analyzed it.

“He likes... potatoes?”

Jacob was surprised by the findings.

“After an exhaustive search, that’s all we know. Apparently, the Wiltian monarch is an extremely inconspicuous person!”

Jacob’s words were understandable. All they learned from the official records was that the king was currently 19 years old and had been on the throne for 13 years. He was male, his name was Wilhelm the Third, and his official name was Balzar Wilhelm Nightlia von Wiltia. That was the only information they found. Except that he loved potatoes.

“There are no photographs of this king,” Milly said.

There were no pictures of the king in the newspaper clippings and official reports they had gathered.

“Taking His Majesty’s photo is forbidden,” Hilde answered.

Jacob and Milly were born in Pelfe, but Hilde had grown up in the royal capital.

“Lud, have you ever met the king?”

Lud had participated in many military exploits in the recent war. While not as celebrated as the legendary pilot Blitzdonner, he received an equal number of medals. The king would have attended the ceremony to present the honors.

“Um... I was given a brief audience, but only through a curtain. I didn’t see his face.”

“Did he speak to you?”

“Let’s see... I think he said, ‘Well done.’”

Lud cocked his head as he tried to remember the ceremony a few years ago, but the only thing he could summon up was that one polite phrase.

“That’s all? Was he unenthusiastic or something?”

“He has no choice. After all, he is known as The Man of Three Phrases.”

“Why is that?”

Milly tilted her head quizzically at Lud’s words.

“He only says three things: ‘Understood,’ ‘Very well,’ and ‘Well done.’ The Department of Protocol and Grand Chamberlain of the royal palace are his mouthpieces at all other times. It’s not unusual for him to go a whole day without speaking.”

“Living off our taxes has made him lazy!”

This was infuriating for a girl who was only 14 and already sweating every day to earn her keep.

“It’s not exactly how it sounds. Do you know the saying ‘He reigns but doesn’t rule?’”

“No.”

Along with Wiltia, many advanced nations on the continent of Europea were constitutional monarchies. Simply put, a constitutional monarchy was a system in which a monarch was head of state, but parliament and other branches of government handled the politics and administration of the nation.

“The king is the most prestigious figure, but all he does is ratify parliament’s decisions and inaugurate cabinet ministers. He isn’t directly involved in political matters. Rather, his role is to use the royal family’s authority to reinforce the government.”

Absolute monarchy appears to move things quickly, since it has fewer useless procedures and unnecessary impediments. However, if someone lacking the requisite abilities for such authority becomes king, that person could destroy the nation in one generation.

“Since the king is the loftiest person, once he recognizes something, we are to follow his rules. So, everything he says and does must be handled with the greatest delicacy.”

If the king, who possesses immense authority, were to show his interests and preferences, then it would confer a public value upon those things. Consider, for example, a novel. Each reader decides subjectively whether a book is good or bad, enjoyable or not. However, if the king were to declare one particular book to be good, then that book becomes officially good. Ideas, beliefs, and principles would become universally mandated rather than left up to each person. There would be a danger of controlling matters of the heart in which people should be most free.

“The king rarely expresses his likes and dislikes. If he indicates a favorite, then it means all other things are not his favorite, whether he wants it that way or not.”

Wiltia was a large nation with many colonies and lands under its rule. As the king of such a nation, perhaps the only phrases he can safely say are “understood,” “very well,” and “well done.”

“That’s why this tidbit of information is valuable.”

After a thorough search, all they had found was that the king loved potatoes. Someone who rarely revealed his tastes had named his favorite food.

“This could prove useful!”

Potatoes had come to the continent of Europea from the new continent of Noa approximately 400 years ago. Potatoes were high in starch and nutrition. Since they could grow even in poor soil, potatoes had served as a lifeline for people in times when agricultural technology was still rudimentary.

“In that case, let’s bake potato bread!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa...”

A few hours later, Lud was in the kitchen rolling up his sleeves in front of a pile of potatoes when Jacob asked a question.

“Why the sudden urge to bake bread?”

“Because I’m a baker.”

“I know that!”

They were in the employee cafeteria at Billions Trading.

Billions Trading was one of Wiltia’s most successful companies, so its cafeteria was equipped with as much equipment and foodstuffs as some restaurants in order to satisfy the appetites of hundreds of employees.

“Listen, Lud. I know you’re a baker, but what’s the point of baking potato bread just because the king likes potatoes?”

“Hmm...”

Lud wondered how to explain it to Jacob, who was perplexed.

“He’s right!”

Milly had joined them.

“What kind of bread is potato bread? Potatoes are mushy, so they don’t make good bread!”

“Milly, that’s not the point!”

Jacob chided the girl for her irrelevant objection.

Since potatoes will grow even in poor soil, farmers who had lost most of their wheat in taxes had long ago started to grow potatoes as a substitute on extra land.

“Ham and cheese are one thing, but potato bread won’t taste good!”

“That’s not true. It’s quite delicious,” Lud said as he lifted a nearby potato.

Casually, he was cutting out the eyes with a knife.

“Potato sprouts contain poison. That’s why potatoes were called the ‘demon plant’ in olden times.”

Next, he steamed the potatoes thoroughly while he prepared the dough. The kitchen had a dough conditioner for rapid fermentation, so Lud had already completed primary fermentation. He divided the dough into small pieces, carefully wrapped each piece around the steamed potatoes, and began secondary fermentation.

“Meanwhile, I’ll prepare the sauce.”

He thoroughly mixed eggs, olive oil and lemon juice until the mix turned a whitish color.

“This is time-consuming,” Jacob said.

He was watching as Lud continued mixing in the bowl.

“If you skimp on this part, it won’t taste right.”

Cooking—including baking bread—is physical work. It was common for pastry chefs to develop the muscles of martial artists in their effort to create sweet products of delicate beauty.

“Huh?”

Lud’s gaze happened to fall on a jar on a kitchen shelf.

“Hmm... That’d be interesting...”

He picked up the jar and poured a few drops into the sauce he was mixing.

“Well, secondary fermentation is almost complete.”

He cut a cross on top of the dough filled with potatoes, poured sauce on top, and inserted cheese.

“All I have to do now is bake them. Oh, I should also sprinkle on parsley.”

“That’s all? Aren’t you going to put in sausage or something?”

Milly, who regarded potato bread with suspicion, sounded disappointed.

“It looks bland. Not bad, but not yummy either.”

She continued muttering, but the smell of baking bread began tickling her nose.

“Huh?”

It was a very enticing smell. Fresh-baked bread has a fragrance that awakens the appetite. What’s more, that fragrance sets the stomach growling.

“Ah, it’s shaping up nicely!”

Lud had worried because the oven was electric, unlike the one at Tockerbrot. Nonetheless, the crosses on the bread were opening beautifully and releasing the aroma of cheese and sauce.

“There! All finished!”

A few minutes later, the potato bread was ready and the loaves were all lined up.

“Ulp!”

“Milly?”

“Oh!”

Milly had scoffed at first, but now that she saw the rows of bread, she couldn’t help but swallow hungrily.

“Go on, try one!”

At Lud’s prompting, Jacob and Milly snatched up some bread and—chomp!—jammed it in their mouths.

“Th...”

They were both momentarily speechless.

“This is delicious!!”

A moment later, they exclaimed as one.

“I had no idea it’d be so yummy! The puffy bread and soft potato are a perfect match! And the salty cheese and the sauce on top bring out the potato’s flavor... I could eat a ton!”

Even as he praised it, Jacob scarfed down the bread.

“Munch munch chomp chomp munch munch...”

Her eyes twinkling, Milly was downing one after another.

“M-Milly?”

Jacob stared at her ravenous eating, but she didn’t hear him.

“Mmph?!”

She had stuffed too much in her mouth and was choking.

“Here, here, here! Have some water!”

Then, as if he had expected this, Jacob handed her a cup of water.

“Mm! Mm! Mm!! Ahhh! What the heck? These are awesome!”

“Milly you’ve got a massive appetite!”

Lud was glad he had made the potato bread, since they appreciated it so much.

“The sauce on top is especially scrumptious!”

“Oh, that’s called mayon sauce. It originated in the Alhadra area. Then the people of Filbarneu spread it to other lands. It’s considered the ‘almighty sauce’ because it goes with everything.”

The sauce had been a delicacy during Filbarneu’s imperial era, so all the nobles in the royal palace had loved it. Mixing the sauce was time-consuming, so its high price was unavoidable. That’s why Jacob and Milly, both commoners of Pelfe, hadn’t known about it.

With advancements in the mechanization of food processing in many cities in Europea, the sauce would soon become less expensive to prepare and begin appearing in the homes of commoners.

“Recently, it has come to be known as mayonnaise.”

“Oh... Mayonnaise, huh?”

Jacob repeated the word, which he had never heard before.

“Anyway, what’s your plan for this bread?”

They now knew that potato bread was delicious. However, they still didn’t know what it was for.

“Many days have passed since the Schutzstaffel occupied the royal palace.”

The sudden invasion by the Schutzstaffel had been so shocking that the king had fled without taking a single servant.

“But the Schutzstaffel has sealed the royal capital, making it impossible to escape outside the city.”

The Wiltian king was still lying low somewhere in the royal capital.

“He doesn’t have anyone to rely on, so he must be hiding alone somewhere. And that means...”

One hour later, a horse-drawn carriage was plodding through the center of the royal capital. To be precise, it wasn’t drawn by a horse. A donkey was pulling it. And on that carriage were the words “Donkey Bakery” and a hastily drawn illustration of bread.

“Lud’s idea is ridiculous!”

Jacob, who was in the driver’s seat and holding the reins of the bridle, spoke in annoyed amazement.

“But the king must be hungry, so...”

Since the king-in-hiding was probably very hungry, Lud’s idea was to spread the aroma of his favorite food so he might show himself.

“Are we searching for a lost cat?!”

Jacob couldn’t help but poke fun at his baker friend, who wasn’t with them at the moment.

“Well, we don’t have anything else to try, so there’s no choice.”

Milly spoke from inside the carriage. The two were wandering around the royal capital by donkey-drawn carriage. The city was under martial law, so not a single other person was out, even though many people would usually be passing by. To be precise, no regular civilian was out. However, Schutzstaffel soldiers in navy blue uniforms stood on every street corner.

“Hey, you! What are you doing? Don’t you know about the curfew?”

One soldier saw the carriage and approached, his facial expression changing. Other soldiers stationed nearby also gathered around the carriage.

“Good work, soldiers!”

Instead of panicking, Jacob replied merrily with a welcoming smile.

“A kid? Aren’t you with an adult?”

Jacob’s smile had momentarily disarmed the guard, and since only children were in the carriage, the caution was fading from his face.

“Nope. It’s just us kids!”

Lud wasn’t in the carriage. Just yesterday he had escaped from the prison in the royal palace after getting caught sneaking inside. He hadn’t come with them because it was likely a warrant had been issued for his arrest.

“We brought a snack for you!”

“Snack?”

Jacob continued talking to the soldiers, as their suspicion changed to confusion.

“I’ve heard there are ne’er-do-wells in the royal capital. And you guys are working to defeat them, right?”

“Y-Yeah...”

The eyes of this innocent boy had softened the soldiers’ stern bearing.

“My family runs a bakery, so I brought some bread to fortify your strength!”

“Oh... all right.”

Jacob’s twinkling eyes buoyed the soldiers’ spirits.

“You soldiers are so cool! I wanna be like you when I grow up!”

“Uh... Ha ha ha... I give up...”

Jacob’s eyes, so full of dreams, disintegrated the soldiers’ caution.

“You’re a good actor!”

“Shh! Keep quiet!”

Jacob was playing the role of an innocent child, and he shushed Milly, who wore an expression of mixed admiration and disgust.

People need more than a sense of duty in their work. They need to receive appreciation and respect from others. Jacob was behaving according to the soldiers’ ideal of a child.

“Please, take all you want! Here!”

Smiling, Jacob offered the bread Lud had baked.

“Well, if you insist...”

“We’d feel bad if we drove you away now...”

“Yeah, I’ll have one!”

The soldiers decided to be lenient with Jacob, since he was just a silly child, and they accepted the bread.

“Oh, potato bread?”

“This’ll hit the spot!”

“For three days, we haven’t had anything but combat grub!”

Sick of canned rations, the soldiers smacked their lips at the potato bread.

“Hey, this isn’t bad!”

“It tastes pretty good!”

More soldiers gathered, and they all wore smiles as they chowed down on the delicious bread.

“Okay, there’s no need to shove. I brought plenty.”

Jacob hurried to hand the bread to the eager soldiers.

“You there! What is going on here?!”

After hearing the commotion, a senior officer approached.

“Captain Bart?!”

The soldiers tensed.

“Uh-oh...”

Jacob’s body stiffened. If the captain found out where they were from, there was a good chance they would be in danger.

“Bread? As a gift, eh? Don’t you understand what’s going on now?”

Jacob and Milly didn’t know the rank signified by the stars on the shoulders of this man named Bart, but they could see he had more stars than the other soldiers.

“Hmm... I’ll have one of those.”

However, Bart only seemed interested in the bread, and he picked one up and ate it eagerly.

“Hey... This is good!” he said admiringly.

“Kid, the royal capital is dangerous right now. You’d better head back home.”

After issuing this advice, he handed Jacob a wad of coins and wrinkly bills from his pocket.

“Huh?”

“I want some bread for my men. Will you wrap them up?”

“I don’t need money. They’re free.”

Jacob hurried to return the money, but Bart wouldn’t take it.

“That’s all right. Keep it as a tip!”

Bart smiled kindly.

“Then I should pay, too!”

“Take it, boy!”

Following their captain’s example, the other soldiers handed over a stream of copper coins and bills.

“Um, no... huh?!”

None of them gave very much. But many soldiers had gathered. So a mountain of small bills piled up in no time.

“Just keep helpin’ out with your family’s business!”

“After this is all over, I’ll buy bread at your bakery!”

“Take care!”

Then they smiled warmly and left, their mouths full of bread.

“..................”

Jacob was stupefied.

A few hours later...

Jacob and Milly had wandered everywhere in search of the king.

“That was unexpected!”

Jacob sounded tired.

“We sure made a lot of money,” Milly said as she looked at the full hemp sack.

They had searched but they hadn’t found the king. Instead, they had delivered loads of bread to Schutzstaffel soldiers. The soldiers had been delighted, giving them spare change and chocolate bars and candy—and sometimes cigarettes—from their provisions as a token of gratitude.

“I thought they were the bad guys,” Milly said softly.

From her point of view, the soldiers served the man who had taken Sven and killed Heidrig. Jacob viewed them that way, too.

“I doubt any of that matters to them.”

That was all Jacob could say.

Captain Bart was in his late thirties. Jacob didn’t have a father. He didn’t even know if his father was alive. But if he was, Jacob thought, he would be around the same age as Bart.

“Hm?”

When the donkey’s footsteps began to flag after hauling them around for hours, a man appeared from a backstreet.

“H-Hey... you!”

The man was using a ragged cloth as a cowl, making him look suspicious, so Jacob and Milly were wary.

“Are you giving out free bread? If you don’t mind, can I have some, too?”

The man stretched out his arm, causing the cloth around his head to shift slightly. The girl sitting next to Milly inside the carriage cried out.

“That’s him!”

“?!”

It was Hilde who shouted.

Lud couldn’t leave Billions Trading, but he wouldn’t let Jacob and Milly wander around a city under martial law by themselves. Lud sent Hilde, a member of the Schutzstaffel, to ensure their safety if they got in a tight spot.

“Is it His Majesty?”

“It’s really him! In person!”

Jacob was surprised that Lud’s plan had succeeded. Not believing it would work, he had compared it to finding a lost cat.

“How did you recognize my face?!”

Hilde hadn’t only come with them for their protection. She also knew what the king looked like. On most occasions, even at ceremonies, the king only appeared behind a curtain. However, it was impossible to never reveal himself to anyone.

Hilde was a member of the Schutzstaffel. Even if under false pretenses, she had once been directly under Genitz’s command. On several occasions, she had seen the king’s face.

“Is this a Schutzstaffel trap?! Yikes!!”

His face pale, the king hurried to get away.

“Agh! He’s running away! After him!”

Jacob quickly descended from the driver’s seat and took off in pursuit.

“Your Majesty! We don’t have anything to do with the Schutzstaffel!”

“R-Really...?”

The king turned around in relief at Jacob’s words.

“But wasn’t she in the Schutzstaffel?”

Milly innocently pointed at Hilde.

“I knew it!”

The king took off running again.

“Milly, you didn’t have to mention that!”

Jacob resumed the chase. Jacob, Milly and Hilde ran through the back streets in pursuit of the king.

“Listen to me, Your Majesty!”

“No! I don’t want to die!”

The king wouldn’t listen. Suddenly a shadow rose before them.

“Gah!”

It grabbed the king by the face.

“I do not know who you are, but if you are running from Jacob, then I must apprehend you.”

It was Rebecca, with her red hair and red eyes.

“Rebecca!”

“Greetings, Jacob.”

After escaping from the royal palace and running all over to lose her pursuers, Rebecca’s customary red dress was filthy.

“Who is he? Shall I smash in his face?”

Rebecca’s top priority was protecting her beloved master and his son. The word mercy didn’t exist when it came to anyone who threatened those two.

“It’s the king! The king!”

Jacob hurriedly stopped Rebecca, who was capable of crushing the monarch’s face.

“Ughhh! Ouch!”

“The king? This man?”

Rebecca looked at the king without interest, while she crushed him in her hands and he screamed in pain.

“So... should I destroy him or not?”

“Ugh! My bones are breaking! They’re breaking!”

Rebecca’s only priority was the protection of her master and his son. It didn’t matter that this man was the Wiltian monarch.

“No! Be gentle with him!”

“Gentle? As in... I should take my time breaking him? To extend the pain?”

“No, forget all about breaking!”

Finally, Rebecca understood and released the king.

“Ugh...”

However, the king had already fainted in fear.

One hour later, Lud welcomed Jacob and the others as they returned with Wilhelm the Third.

“Chomp chomp gobble gobble munch munch...”

The king was safely inside Billions Trading. After recovering from his faint, the first thing he said was, “Feed me anything! And let me take a shower!”

“Truly, it was hell when the Schutzstaffel invaded! However, Elvin had warned me, so I alone was able to escape.”

The subterranean tunnels, long unused, were flooded with waste water. As instructed by Elvin, the king had to swim through that waste water, climb to the surface, and then seek aid from the Weapons Development Bureau. However, the Schutzstaffel’s occupation of the bureau was already well underway.

“I didn’t have anywhere else to go, so for three days I hid under a bench in the park!”

After washing, the king listed his hardships over the past few days as he enjoyed a long-awaited meal.

“The only lucky thing was that I became so soiled early on that the Schutzstaffel guards around the city did not recognize me as the king.”

The homeless living in the park hadn’t recognized him either and they cared for him as a newcomer. They had even given him the old rag he was wearing earlier for protection from the rain.

“And... um... Your Majesty?”

Lud was stunned at how much the king was eating, but he seized this chance to speak. Normally, addressing the king without permission failed to show proper respect. Given the circumstances, however, Lud ignored that rule.

“Genitz is trying to take away your throne.”

As best she could, Hilde explained Genitz’s ambitions and the events of the past few days.

“I see... Well, that explains it. I was worried that he had instigated a full-blown revolution. I’m surprised he chose a method with comparatively less bloodshed.”

The king appeared to have calmed down as he answered with a teacup raised to his mouth.

“But... I guess it can’t be helped.”

“What?!”

Hilde raised her voice in surprise at the king’s reply after he had learned all the details.

“Um, don’t you get it? He’s trying to steal the Wiltian throne!!”

The name of the ruling family was at risk after reigning for over 400 years, from the time of the Luftzand Domain, before Wiltia was established. Yet the king seemed surprisingly unworried.

“Aren’t you the king? Where’s your backbone?!”

Milly couldn’t help growing angry.

“Um...”

Normally, the king would have shouted, “How dare you!” But he refrained. Instead, he accepted this criticism as if he knew it was true.

“Let’s see... What is your name?”

“Milly.”

“All right, Milly... Do you really want me to be the king that badly?”

“Huh?”

At this question, asked directly by the king, Milly was at a loss for words. She had no connection with the young man in front of her. To be honest, she had never cared one whit about the king until yesterday.

“Wiltia is the largest nation in the world, and yet it does not need a king. The massive national system is already established, so it doesn’t matter who becomes king. Even if you became the king, it would change little.”

Wiltia’s advanced technology, hard work and can-do national character had given it the strength to win the Great War. More importantly, however, were innovations in the political system. Systemic reforms introduced by the deft Premier Bist, now deceased, had resulted in political mechanisms supported by distinguished bureaucrats.

Those measures had also eliminated houses that, like the Hessen family to which Hilde belonged, were unable to keep pace with modernization. And that excluded old powers such as the Council of Nobles. Meanwhile, it had raised new powers such as the Rundstadt family to which Sophia belonged, heroes from the common class such as Marshal Elvin, and companies like Shylock’s Billions Trading.

“I’ll be honest with you. It isn’t necessary to try so hard to keep a king. However, the king does have a role as the representative of national character. That is why monarchs exist, and that is the only reason. For the people, as long as royal authority is left intact, the king doesn’t have to be me or even someone from the Wiltian royal family, does it?”

“No, but...”

“Sorry. This may be a bit difficult for a child.”

The king apologized to Milly, who was confused.

“At least I am better off than a monarch who cannot accept his incompetence.”

The king wore a self-deprecating smile.

“With all due respect, are you talking about your father?”

“Yes... Wilhelm the Troublesome Incompetent.”

Troublesome Incompetent. That had been the epithet for Wilhelm the Second, the father of the current king, Wilhelm the Third. The king before last, Wilhelm the First, had been dubbed “the Harmless Incompetent.” And the current king had received the disrespectful moniker of “the Incompetent Returned.”

“I never met him, but I have heard that Premier Bist was a capable man. Wiltia is unified because of him. My grandfather knew that, so he agreed with everything Bist recommended. And everything went well.”

Politics, economics, industry, commerce, agriculture and the military... Bist reformed all systems, effecting a veritable transformation of the nation. In ten years, Wiltia came to stand alongside powerful nations. And in another ten years, it had surpassed them.

“I don’t care what the citizenry and nobility think of my grandfather, I respect him. He contributed to the nation through a policy of inaction. He refrained from interfering by spouting useless words, and he accepted his role as figurehead for Bist’s reform. However...”

The self-deprecating smile returned to the king’s face.

“...my father didn’t like that and was desperate to prove that he actually wasn’t incompetent.”

Nonetheless, as long as Bist lived, this young king’s father could do nothing in the face of someone whose authority and power surpassed his own. After Bist’s death, he suddenly launched a conservative restoration of the nation. He had less knowledge and ability than the bureaucrats, but he shunned them and appointed people with connections to him—in other words, flatterers. The result was widespread corruption in the government.

He had sown confusion in the nation and created problems by needlessly interfering with every policy. In the field of diplomacy, it was even worse. His policies discriminated against ethnicities like the Doga and other continents such as Aesia, where Yamato was located.

“It was awful. He was indeed the Troublesome Incompetent. If he hadn’t died before the Great War, Wiltia might have lost.”

The king had a distant look as he spoke about his father.

At that time, dark clouds were gathering in world affairs and the Great War threatened to erupt at any time. If the government didn’t stabilize its political system before the outbreak of war, it would be too late. Then, Wilhelm the Second suddenly died when he was only in his thirties. To be honest, the citizens, politicians and even nobles were relieved. Later, the current king had succeeded to the throne at the young age of six.

“Since then... for 13 years... I haven’t done a thing. I learned it was best not to. That way, I stay alive. I don’t mind relinquishing the throne if it prevents revolutions like the ones that have occurred in Filbarneu and August, in which royal families were executed. At least it’s better than death.”

The precise timing of Wilhelm the Second’s death, as well as various suspicious factors surrounding it, led to whispers that it was an assassination. In modern times, instead of nations belonging to their monarchs, each monarch was a part of the nation’s political system. If a monarch became detrimental to the functioning of the nation, it wasn’t unusual for him to be removed.

The king knew that very well. That’s why he wasn’t attached to his throne. The only thing he was interested in was prolonging his life.

“But...”

Hilde, Milly and Jacob were at a loss for words at the king’s candor.

“Your Majesty, may I?” Lud asked.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Lud Langart.”

“Lud... I have heard that name somewhere... Oh, you must be the Silver Wolf!”

They had met through a curtain, but the king had stored the name of this hero from the Great War somewhere in his memory. The king’s face registered surprise at meeting this unexpected but legendary figure.

“I know what you’re thinking... but still I must ask you a favor. Will you lend me your help?”

“You appear dedicated to protecting Wiltia in its current form. Is that because of your attachment to the nation as one of its heroes?”

“No.”

Lud shook his head in response to the king’s question.

“I’ve never thought of myself as a hero. If it helps things go smoothly for others to call me that, then they can do as they please.”

“Indeed...”

The king seemed to find Lud’s reply interesting.

“Genitz has taken the person most important to me. I don’t know why, but she must have the power to help him attain his ambitions.”

Rather than seeing himself as a hero, Lud was laden with the grave sins from his past. Until recently, he suspected that he abandoned his life as a soldier out of guilt. Then one day a girl entered his life, attracting droves of customers to his bakery, which had none before.

After hearing the satisfied customers say his bread was delicious, he had finally understood the reason he longed for a new life. It wasn’t for atonement, or from guilt, or to escape reality. He was just incredibly happy when food he made pleased someone.

“I want to free her. I want to rescue her from Genitz, who treats her like a tool through mysterious means that twist her will and mind. That’s my only goal.”

Without her—without Sven—Lud wouldn’t have discovered his true motive.

“I see... So you wish to destroy Genitz’s plan in order to rescue a girl.”

“Yes. And I don’t care what Genitz wants. To echo your words, it doesn’t matter to me who becomes king.”

“Those are bold words.”

Lud’s words would be considered an offense against His Majesty, even if the king had said as much himself. The king, however, was listening with a pleasant expression rather than a frown.

“Please, lend me your help in rescuing her!”

Lud kneeled, placing his hands on the floor and lowering his head.

The king only cared about his life, so opposing Genitz was the opposite of what he had in mind. It was an act that could bring him close to death. Lud sought the king’s help for his own selfish reasons, so kneeling on the ground was a small price to pay.

“Lud Langart, did I hear that you quit being a soldier?”

The king asked casually as he reached for the bread on the table.

“Yes. At the moment, I own a bakery in Pelfe.”

“Oh!”

The king made a noise as if surprised or amused. Then he looked at the bread in his hand as if noticing it for the first time.

“Did you make this potato bread?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know what potatoes mean to Wiltia?”

“Yes.”

Since days of old, Wiltia had been called “the nation of knights.” Knights of the Holy Empire built the Luftzand Domain from which Wiltia had sprung. The name of their order was Wiltia.

“Long ago, when Berun was a province of the Luftzand Domain, the Wiltian knights were poor. No wheat grew in the spoiled soil. They wore rags, ate potatoes, and fought.”

Compared to other nations, they had a rich culture, but the knights of Wiltia were penurious and subjected to ridicule. Nonetheless, they refused to give up, fighting bravely and building the foundations of Wiltia as it stood today.

“People call me incompetent. Curiously, however, a void inside me fills when I eat potatoes. Perhaps it is the spirit of the Wiltian knights in my marrow that causes that.”

The king chuckled as he took a big bite of potato bread.

“That’s why I like potatoes so much. I have tasted many potato dishes, but this bread is unique.”

“Yes. I specially invented the sauce on top.”

“I have tasted mayon sauce many times. Did you add a secret ingredient?”

When Lud had made the mayonnaise, he had added a little something special.

“Yes. A few drops of garum.”

“I see! So that’s why it is so salty and rich!”

Garum was a seasoning made from the organs of sardines fermented in salt water. It had a pungent smell, but it was rich in flavor and had been in use since days of old.

“Garum is tasty, but it has a noticeably fishy smell. However, when adding just a little to mayon sauce, the smell disappears without sacrificing any richness.”

“I see... Mayon has a mild and bland taste, so garum clarifies and gives it an edge. Which also brings out the sweetness of the potato.”

The king put the rest of his bread into his mouth and chewed cheerfully.

“Once, a friend from an eastern nation ate potatoes much the way you are now.”

In the east, there was a seasoning like garum called fish sauce. But, in the home country of Lud’s friend, people used soybeans instead of fish organs to make a similar seasoning. Once during a meal, his friend put butter and a few drops of that sauce on steamed potatoes and ate them happily.

“I took a bite and it was delicious, so I thought this would be a good combination.”

“So this is how they eat in the east... My father despised people from the east, but I found them to be quite interesting. That is why I agreed to the formation of an alliance... Yes, indeed...”

The king sounded impressed.

“Fair enough, Lud Langart. I have heard your request. How can I be of assistance?”

“Your Majesty!”

Lud was surprised to see the king reverse his earlier decision.

“If you claimed to speak in the interests of the nation or in justice, I would ignore your concerns.”

Most world disturbances came decorated in pretty words. Sometimes it was peace, sometimes justice, and sometimes freedom. And most of the time words were all they ever were.

“However, after eating this bread, how could I refuse a request from the baker who made it? I may be an incompetent king, but I am still a king!”

Then the king laughed. It wasn’t a sarcastic laugh of self-mockery. It was a laugh filled with joy from the bottom of his heart.