The Grand Duke of Chronos’s mornings began early.
Before dawn had even broken, I woke up to go on patrol to see if the potatoes I had hidden in the thicket hadn't run away...
Goddamn it!
They really removed them!
The tops had started to wither, so it was almost time to harvest!
The sandbags were certainly torn, but... how cruel!
"Yaaaaawn, good morning, I say."
My wife, rubbing her eyes, contacted me via correspondence.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"The potatoes are in the warehouse... I forgot to tell you. I'm going back to sleep."
"Goodnight."
Apparently, the potatoes were in the warehouse.
Potatoes~♪ Potato-potatoes~♪
I headed to the warehouse while dancing.
Oh, there they were. They had already been harvested, but these were my emergency rations.
"Is breakfast to be potatoes, sir?"
One-oh-one appeared out of nowhere.
She was eyeing the potatoes greedily.
"No, for breakfast, the palace chefs..."
"I prefer Your Majesty's handmade cooking!"
Her eyes sparkled.
"Ah, yeah... I get it!"
And so, I decided to make one dish.
Chronos Potato. They were quite like Earth potatoes.
I lightly boiled them, steamed them, and prepared Buttered Potato with salt and butter.
The Chronos Chef was someone on the level of an executive chef at a high-end hotel, but... he had already given up on me, so he didn't complain.
I'm sorry... I'm a noble from an origin that is infinitely close to a commoner... Yes.
It was breakfast, after all.
Breakfast was Chronos Cuisine. The kitchen was in full operation from early morning.
That was because, from the Grand Duke on down, the Ministers of State sent from the Galactic Empire and my subordinates all ate their meals here.
I made Buttered Potato in a corner while apologizing, saying "I'm sorry" to everyone I bumped into.
The chefs had their pride, too.
It couldn't be helped if they got annoyed with an amateur hanging around in their workspace.
But they were putting up with it. I felt nothing but gratitude.
Once I finished, one of the younger staff told me, "We’ll take care of the rest."
That was code for "Get out."
Ah, yes. Understood.
Looking out the window, dawn had completely broken.
As I walked, I found Melissa practicing in the martial arts hall.
"Morning. Want to go?"
Sadly, this wasn't an invitation for something sexy.
It was an invitation to spar.
"Heeey."
I put on my protective gear and gripped a Bamboo Sword.
It wasn't the Super Weapon Wooden Sword I used for sparring with Katori-sensei, but just a regular Bamboo Sword.
Regular sparring began.
Melissa was strong.
She came from a family of ancient martial arts, after all.
She must have been doing this since the moment she was born.
She parried my blade with fluid grace.
Ah, this was bad.
Her speed was on the level of Katori-sensei.
To put it plainly, my technique had still not reached the level of a master.
I was only compensating for it with raw power and reflexes.
Compared to me, Melissa's attacks were delicate and precise.
She might have already set foot into the territory of a true master.
I didn't feel like I could win against people like Eddy or Melissa under the same conditions.
Technically speaking, Rikochi and I were rough.
We compensated for that with power and the range of weapons we could handle.
Conversely, the "monster-ness" of Eddy, who stood at the entrance of being a master with both guns and swords, was probably at an abnormal level.
Ren was a shooting specialist, and Edge was an ESP type.
Claire was... originally a shooting type, but... how did it end up like this?
Ah, me too. People thought of me as a specialist with the sword, but when placed in the hands of a true professional...
"There, one point."
I took a hit to the head with a sharp clack.
Of course.
"As I thought, I can't win, can I?"
"But you know, Captain, you're invincible if you bring that Wooden Sword. You'd snap a Bamboo Sword like this right in half."
That was like talking about bringing a Katana to a fight with wooden sticks.
In other words, the conditions were unfair from the start.
"If I brought that Wooden Sword, Melissa, you'd pull out a Live Blade, wouldn't you? If you did that, I'd run away."
"...I suppose that's true."
I would seriously run away if the opponent had a Live Blade.
Because before the question of winning or losing, I’d get hurt, and that was just dangerous.
There was no merit in defeating Melissa while having a terrifying experience.
It was the same as my relationship with Rikochi.
We guys hadn't been able to figure out how to beat Rikochi's Urumi.
However, if we fought barehanded or with swords, we were stronger.
That didn't mean we were overall stronger than Rikochi, though.
Even from Rikochi's perspective, she probably didn't think she was stronger than us.
That’s just how it was with interdisciplinary martial arts, especially in the Weaponry Division.
If just one condition changed, you'd become unable to win.
I did a few more rounds of sparring like that, but I couldn't win a single one.
Then Eddy also arrived to do his morning practice.
I learned the Tachibana Style from Melissa.
Eddy refused, saying, "I'm not dexterous enough to learn other styles."
Well, I guess that was normal.
I was the dexterous type, so I would learn the Tachibana Style.
I'd use it in my next fight with Katori-sensei.
I took a shower and finally sat down for breakfast.
In the morning, it was Chronos breakfast.
Now that the supply shortage had subsided, it wasn't Gyoza.
It was something like udon, and a bread—or rather, a buckwheat crepe.
The potatoes I had steamed were also piled up.
On the crepe, I placed cheese and fish that seemed like sardines preserved in oil.
There were also pickles.
Today, they were Magellan Pickles bought by the Kamishiro Group.
They were spicy, like kimchi. These were delicious.
The udon-like dish seemed to have a poultry broth.
It was topped with leaves that had an aroma like cilantro.
It soaked into my post-practice body.
Then, one of the men muttered.
"I want to eat fermented soybeans and white rice..."
"...Stop it."
Another man rebuked him.
White Rice-sama was being grown on Magellan.
There had been a planet that was just at the right time for planting.
Right now, it was late summer over there.
I suppose the harvest would be in another month.
Yes, Magellan was a political burden... but it was in a delicate position where we personally needed it.
Hmm... it was a troubling matter.
It was currently winter on Chronos.
Come to think of it, I had Daikon Radish drying outside.
Maybe I should start making takuan soon.
Just as I was thinking about what exactly a Grand Duke was supposed to be doing, Kevin came staggering in.
"The surgery is finished..."
"Ah, yeah. Hang in there."
"I'll hang in there..."
The Imperial Physician also recognized Kevin's abilities.
He was hammering techniques into him with everything he had, keeping him neither dead nor alive.
Moreover, it was surprising to hear that the Instructor Physician himself was studying the physical differences between each race like his life depended on it.
If there was a specimen, he would dissect it like crazy, and apparently, he was writing papers in parallel with all that!
...The stamina of those doctors was too monstrous.
Kevin was currently still treating people of the Galactic Empire.
Just among the military personnel alone, there was a terrifying number of people.
With that many people, sick or injured individuals requiring surgery appeared every single day.
This was the result.
Kevin's experience points were becoming something incredible.
He said that even with Zork abilities, he was barely able to keep up.
The severity was at a level where One-oh-one, who had obtained her Nursing Qualification, said, "I will not become a doctor!"
Tatiana had also obtained her Nursing Qualification but was saying, "No way, it's impossible."
I suspected Tatiana would be forced to study medicine as a Saint with healing abilities.
I... was glad I was the King.
Then Kevin muttered.
"I want to eat white rice..."
I know, right!
Really, I totally agree!
Everyone else nodded in unison.
Yes, White Rice-sama... was important.
The conversation started from there.