c28 (1/2)

14, Truth and Potato-mochi (Part 2)

(Author’s note: You’ve waited for this! I feel as I update)

Since I’ve been born, I have been obligated to live by “out of sight”

I can never stand out Days of being forced to do the dirty work behind the scenes

Investigating the secrets of the chief vassal orks dishonestly

An intelligence network at every place, establishi+ng an espionage network

Learning assassination techniques and detective techniques

My everyday is completely doused in darkness

My name is Gann Rubber

Here, in the territory of Sounity I ae of the so called “Behind the scenes” work

My naistry of the castle

It’s not written in the logs for either soldier or office worker

Even the name Gann Rubber is not my real name, just what I call myself because it is necessary

Havingmyself in the mud of the name, Darkness

Getting dirtier, and dirtier… For the sake of protecting what I ought to, I did nothing but continued to fight

However so fun

The job this time is on the orders of the second prince

Monitoring the arrested man in the jail

Originally offending the feudal lord and such would end with hi beheaded

However, the second prince, Gingus Sounity was being cautious

Gingus-saht slip so

What that is, even I didn’t know

“Gingus-sauy holds?

If I don’t know that then, it can’t be helped even I am unable to deal with this”

“Shut up!”

Inside Gingus-sa

This year Gingus-sama is 15 And if he improves his achievements, he can proudly become a candidate as successor of the feudal lord

However, Gingus-saement of the territory

He certainly has the talent for military services but, it is not shared with his talents for domestic affairs and diplomacy

It’s because he understands this that he’s impatient, and it’s come to this

“If that fucking cook knows of the information that only I know, kill him

I too will do what I can, and propose to father and brother that he get the death penalty for his crith, then even those two can’t ignore it”

“Then is it alright to kill him behind the scenes”

“That won’t do Even if we labe’s mercenary corp will rush over here and turn this territory into a e, I can see it already”

Gingus-sa down his irritation

“I will succeed in father’s reiven land as part of s

That isfucking worthless!! Every single one of you are in my way”

“Gingus-sama Please calm down

From here on I shall stay next to that cook as a jailor

If anything happens, I shall report to you immediately”

“I’ on you Gann Rubber damn it, I have to revise my plan…”

I thought as I watched Gingus-sanaw at his nails and curse

This person, is pitiful

Even if he has a natural talent for ithout obstacles, without excellent subordinates who can prepare for military expenses, without elite troops, this territory cannot make use of this person’s talents

Naturally, Gingus-sa the present situation is desperately giving it his best Training soldiers, concentrating on nurturing his subordinates, spending his ti the arts of war

If it was a noreneral then, he would be a wonderful talent capable of splendidly operating the army

However, this person is taking over the lineage of a feudal lord With just those talents, it’s not enough Thecountries, fro, and confir of taxes to the ement of the economics

There are a s that he must do but, all this person can do to the bitter end is related to the aree in the family history of the feudal lords who sit in their territory If he was born differently, he would eneral

His talents… aren’t enough Even though it was just that, to this person, it was a fatal wound

After exiting the rooh and headed towards the basement

My target’s name is Shuri Azuma

A talented man who treated the Feudal Lord to a wonderful whole roasted pig

Ganglabe’s Mercenary Corps, Cook

Right now, Ganglabe’s Mercenary Corp aiting for orders on the streets

The commanders were in their own inn while the other troops scattered and were cramped in the various inns around the street

Here, in the Sounity territory, outside the castle was the castle town

A fairly large tohich at the labe’s Mercenary Corp

Ganglabe, right now shouldn’t be able to stir his troops

He should be receiving a territory but, because of the actions of Shuri Azuo

As it could an intention for rebellion, they are not allowed to ations are over They were suppressed by Gingus-sama’s orders

If it’s a rebellion, they won’t be receiving a territory Additionally, we have the advantage as we are raphy of the streets

Also they shouldn’t be able to move at a moment’s notice

However, it’s not certain

Their bond is ined

All of theed to come to this point

Taking caution as a precaution, it’s definitely not a waste of time

Ganglabe’s tactics are far above Gingus-saenius-like sword handling is a threat

Ahrius’s ic can create flames which can even

Riru’s inventions can turn around war situations A nightmare is where you cannot even yield expectations

Cougar’s existence, can scare off soldiers with just his swords them to even display their power Only he, is qualified to be called the Sword Demon

Teg’s scouting and archery techniques cannot be underesti about how froh your throat is dreadful

And then, the existence which er

Shuri Azuma

If there’s anywith him, these streets will becous-sama says

However, I don’t understand the man known as Shuri Azuma

Even after an investigation, there is absolutely no records or infor the mercenary corps

I had bragged that there was no inforation and espionage networks

However the result was a crushi+ng defeat No ate I don’t understand

It’s full of mysteries

Where did Shuri Azuma come from?

Where did he acquire those cooking techniques?

I decided to investigate even that

Should we ignore the existence of Shuri Azuma, there’s no doubt that it’s possible, that not just this territory, but the entire continent of Sabreau will invoke huge waves of troubles

That’s what my instinct tells me

Now then, it’s fine to actually just work as a jailor but, looking at et, I become troubled

Nosuch a threat

Monitoring such a person, can I really search for the so called inforus-sama did not want to leak out?

Taking out the alcohol, salted and dried claht in, I decided to take a little break

I decided to casually set up my chair in front of the cell

“Ahhh, uughh, what should I do, if I prepare an excuse, no, but if I do a bad job they ht kill me, but, ahhh-”

“Shut up criminal, be quiet inside the jail”

“Yes, sorry!”

At one ofup And even sitting in seiza

damn, did I say too much?

If possible I want to seize the initiative and get him to spit out what he has to and end this

However if I rush things, he’ll realise what I’

“Geez, I can’t even drink in peace…”

Drinking the alcohol, I get a little distracted

Turning my head around makes it better But, as soon as the alcohol runs out I end up irritated again

Which is why, if I had a break I decide to drink alcohol to clear up my head

“Excuse ht for Jailor-san to drink alcohol?”

“Aahh!?”

This bastard had to hit where it hurts

Obviously, there’s no way I’m allowed to drink

“It’s nothing, I’m sorry!”

I wanted to let out a sigh looking at Shuri Azuma who spoke in fear

Why is there a need for this sort of person to be in jail It’s not like this guy can run away even if we throw hi rooth and he doesn’t look very smart

Which is probably why he asked Wondering if I could stop his jailbreak in my drunken condition or not

Looking down on me

“…No matter what a feeble man like yourself does, you wouldn’t be able to defeat me

Besides, those iron bars will definitely not break It’s fine even without a jailor”

Those iron bars are engraved with Magic Reflection Magi Spells and the iron itself was specially made by the territory’s finest blacksmith

There is no one who can break these and escape

And even if there is, they are definitely s which we can never defeat

That’s why, I too auy without worrying about a jailbreak

Casually setting up here, I’ll slowly suck up the information

That’s what I had thought

“The thing you’re taking out of your bag, what is it?”

Shuri Azuma inquired suddenly

So

As expected of a cook, he has sharp eyes

“Ah? Cla it off just like this, it’s a snack you eat while drinking alcohol

You eat it with this fish sauce

There’s none for you”

I don’t plan on giving any to him

The alcohol won’t pass if I don’t have these If the alcohol doesn’t go through then my head won’t spin

If that happens, that’s the end of me

“The alcohol you’re drinking, is it wine?”

“Rice wine Just be quiet already”

It’s one the alcohols which have been circulated here from Newbyst recently

The dry taste has been tightly sealed in, it’s a hich goes down extremely smoothly

With it being so good going down the throat, this wine is one I’m into recently

A hich also has a different complexion if it’s warm or cold

I believe that this is the best of all wines

But what he said bleay all of my expectations

“Excuse me, I have a request”

“Rejected”

“That, won’t you share some with me?

I can make a delicious alcoholic snack with clams and sake”

This guy, what did he say?

Did he say he’ll cook here?

No, rather than that…

“With this?”

A dish ine and clams?

There are indeed techniques to add flavour to dishes ine or so I have heard with the passing of the wind

But with rice wine? Cooking with this transparent wine and clams?

“Yes Then if we have a pot, and fish sauce, it will perfect”

Does he really intend to cook here!

After Shuri Azuma takes out a piece of paper from his break pocket, it expands inside the cell and he started to prepare

That paper, was it not confiscated?

If I recall in the reports, Shuri Azu forth fire and cooks

In this jail which is built upon by laying stone, there are no flauard there is no chance he can escape

Thus doing so, what is his purpose?

No, it’s just right

If he plans to add poison then I can judge that they had the intent of rebelling against the Feudal Lord

If that happens then I can cut off this itiht even be able to take in the mercenary corp

With e into the mercenary corp, and if they’re bounded by chains then it’s a simple transaction

“…Try it It’ll be good for killing time”

“Understood”

I hand over the basic cookware and Shuri Azuan to cook excitedly

This guy, did he really just want to cook?

Even though I’ve given hi?

I had planned to realise this guy’s intent to rebel, advantage of that and torture him but, what a mood breaker

When he had completed the basic preparations, the wine, claain into one new dish

Although I’ve seen the cooking process and it’s very puzzling, it didn’t seem at all like he had added any poison Seriously, he only cooked up a dish

Could it be, that I can not completely analyze a person like him?

That kind of thought suddenly popped into ures in the mercenary corp, should definitely be someone we need to pay close attention to

Definitely… even though that should be the case…

What is it? Could it be that the sht of the food in front of ?

The smell of the alcohol and the fish sauce were in perfect har your nostrils

The flesh of the claht brown, it’s clear that flavour has been seeped in

A dish which urges ht, even sense of smell, to EAT!!!

If I wasn’t holding back with ht now

“Try some”

“Oh, it sood”

I see, this is his skill in cooking

See I’ve ever tasted, and yet it wouldn’t be strange at all as so common folk can eat

A sirates skill and craft

That’s the impression this dish embraces

Anyhow, for soot the alcohol and couldn’t take my eyes off the dish in front of me

One bite, I pick it up and eat it

Wonderful

No other words could come out

The flavour of the fish sauce was properly there And the taste of the alcohol livened up the dish

In the dryness, the rice wine had a refreshi+ng taste

Just that, is enough to represent all the flavour

Then, i like I could not wait

Even though it somehow represented it all, that was just a revived phanto desperate like the taste of eating air

However, settling this is the combination of flavours from the clam and fish sauce

It wouldn’t make you badly drunk like alcohol either However, a satisfying feeling like eating wine

And yet this clam dish was like a polished rare jewel

Even the dry and salted ones, were beco better

Anyhow those salty ones, being heated together with the alcohol brought out a good feeling, and co out

As cooking it was perfection fro all of them

“It tastes alcoholic but it isn’t as strong as sake The fish sauce also leaves a good impression”

It’s a lie It isn’t a dish which can be described with these words

The truth would be like aa tale of heroes, to describe this dish, and even piling up h

This is, the cook of Ganglabe’s Mercenary Corp, the skill of Shuri Azuma huh

If it’s poison, it was indeed there

A poison called ecstasy

Most likely, even Ganglabe was done in by this poison, then spreading to the other e numbers of hilst infected by this poison

Making such a thing, is this ordinary looking man

“You, you’re a pretty interesting guy”

“Is that so”

He is definitely an interesting guy

That guy, see embarrassed as he picks up a cla any decisive inforus-sama

“Ah Nor”

“There’s also probably no Jailor-san ould hand over ingredients to such a criminal so they could cook either”

Casually joking at me

Soh

“No doubt about it”

I feel like it’s a been awhile since I’ve laughed

Eating food, talking to so

Such a natural thing,someone like me experience a person’s daily life

It’s strangely happy

Strange yet a

“It seems that I won’t be bored anymore”

To me, who had despaired life and couldn’t have lived an idle life

It seeiven me a wonderful present

In the records, thelike a jailor

Considering that, the thing that that lazy jailor has been given

It surprisingly feels like it has way too large of a value

After that, within the territory, the ter struggles between the first prince, Ekress-sains

The topic being, the handling of Shuri Azuma

The first prince, Ekress-sa that it’s better to keep him alive

The reason being, that the Feudal Lord-saskin dish

“No”, the words that Shuri Azulass has always been stuck with Ekress-sama

Perhaps, there ht be some reason behind it

Doing an investigation, Ekress-sama requested that, wouldn’t it be better to deter cause

On the other hand, the second prince, Gingus-sama’s says that it’s better to kill him him This I knew already so I wasn’t surprised

Except, even now I still don’t know that information that Shuri Azuma supposedly holds

“Have you still not been able to get the information out of him!”

That night, Gingus-sama calls me to his room and scolded me

“Apologies He is unexpectedly tight-lipped

He will not let it slip easily”

“fuck! If you don’t hurry, then older brother and father ain!”

Gingus-sa his nails

No matter how many tiertips are worn-out

I bow and planned to exit

“Wait”

Behind us-sama called

Turning around, Gingus-sama seems puzzled

“What is it?”

“You, have you become healthier lately?”

? I don’t understand the intent behind Gingus-sama’s question

“Nohat do you mean?

I a out my duties with the very best”

“No, you’ve clearly become healthier

You cannot foolwith energy

Have you stopped drinking?”

“… What could you possible mean?”

“Don’t lie As a general I even monitor all lance, I understand if they’re healthy or not

I even know that you’ve been depending on drinking in the shadows

Despite that, you’re body is perfect It isn’t comparable to before”

… I, happen to knohy

But, if I say that, I ed here

“Indeed, I have stopped drinking

Because of my bad body condition, it wasn’t time to drink alcohol, I became like this before I knew it after I banned alcohol”

“I see However, beco so healthy is…

As expected, the reason is alcohol Be careful, Gann Rubber”

“It is as you say”

I bow and left, recalling what happened recently as I walk down the hallway

Indeed I have stopped drinking alcohol heavily

Thuson alcohol like before

This is,

The sake cla to copy that, most of them didn’t turn out very well but there was no need to drink alcohol

After all it’s a food which uses alcohol It goes ith alcohol but, even then I don’t over drink

It was at that time That he raised those words at me

A few days later, I go to his place and he creates a masterpiece with a potato

A si just potato and butter

However, the deliciousness was nothing less than shocking

The soft and flakiness of the potato, and the thickness of the butter

And the slight sweetness of the butter makes it irresistible

This goes ith the alcohol

However, he said looking at me

“If there’s oil, then I’ll cook up so and delicious

So that won’t make you drink too much”

I was so surprised my heart jumped

I’ oes far and above my expectations

“Over Drinking of alcohol I can smell it all the way over here

Always yellow-faced, and sluggish So little sta up and down the stairs leaves you heaving for a breath

All of these are sy Sooner or later your li of blood

It’s i it with a substitution to fool your desires, which can make it so that you won’t drink as much alcohol All of what I said just noere initial symptoms

If you gain control of it now, I shall pro life”

He, Shuri, by looking at noses, and then even ended up correctly guessing my future symptoms

Indeed, the syun

My cootten better, was indeed like that

There were also tiet tired for no reason

Even that for some reason I would be short of breath on the stairs

I had thought that it was because I didn’t have enough sta of alcohol

Am I, broken?