My name was Kisun—Kisun Holize.
I was a thirty-year-old man, and I was single. By profession, I served as the Iron Knight's attendant.
Generally speaking, an attendant is someone who fights alongside their master. You might have seen it on a battlefield—infantrymen standing ready around a single knight. If that knight is the master, those surrounding infantrymen are his attendants. I was just one of many.
Attendants come in all sorts: some are hereditary vassals who have served a knightly house for generations, while others are conscripted from the lord’s territory or hired for coin. I fell into the category of those conscripted from the territory. I was a commoner, though I had been raised to be an attendant from the moment I was born because my family was relatively wealthy for common folk.
Fortunately, the master I served possessed the skill required to receive the title of Iron Knight. Yes, it was quite fortunate.
Once, a young boy who admired the Iron Knight asked me a question.
"Sir Attendant, what kind of work do you usually do?"
I gave him a straight answer.
"Receiving and processing complaints."
I wasn't joking. Lately, even the King of the Kaizan Kingdom had come to recognize me as the "complaint department."
Now, then.
I was currently spending my days in a place called Village Five. Two months had already passed. My duties as an attendant were on hiatus for the time being. Perhaps that was why I felt so refreshed every morning when I woke up. Even the dark circles under my eyes—the ones I could never get rid of because of chronic sleep deprivation—had vanished. I suspected it was because I no longer felt the need to punch my pillow every night before I went to sleep.
I ate breakfast at the inn. Not just the breakfast, but every meal prepared there was delicious. What was truly surprising was that the menu changed every single time. At an inn back in the Kaizan Kingdom, it wouldn't be unusual to be served the exact same dish day after day. Was this inn special, or were all the inns in the Demon Kingdom like this?
Before coming to Village Five, I had stayed in Shashato City, but I didn't eat at the inn there. Instead, I took my meals at a massive facility called Big Roof Shashato. I decided I would have to investigate this more thoroughly before I returned to the Kaizan Kingdom. Diversity in food is a testament to wealth. I had heard the Demon Kingdom was prosperous, but I wanted to experience just how deep that prosperity ran.
After breakfast, I usually took a stroll through the village. My current official status, while on leave from the Iron Knight, was that of a messenger from the Kaizan Kingdom. My job was technically finished once I delivered the King's letter to Lady Yoko, the Village Head’s proxy. Now, I had nothing to do until the Iron Knight announced he was ready to return home.
Normally, I would have waited quietly, but since I was in the Demon Kingdom, I wanted to see as much as I could. That was the purpose of my walks.
Today, however... I was at a bit of a loss. After two months, I had already seen quite a lot.
Well, it couldn't be helped. I decided to head to my usual haunt to think about where to go next.
Kuro and Yuki was a sweets and tea shop that had opened on the South Side of Village Five shortly after I arrived two months ago. At first glance, the shop looked narrow, but it stretched deep into the back and was actually quite spacious. Right after opening, the customers were few and far between, but as the day went on, the crowd would grow. By noon, a line would usually form outside. Knowing this, I made sure never to go after midday. I highly recommended the pre-lunch hours.
There was no formal reservation system, but I always felt more at ease when I could sit in my usual spot. I gave a small nod to a regular customer I recognized. We had never spoken, but he was a familiar face—an elderly man of the demon race. I had heard his name once, but it was far too long for me to memorize. Prying was a breach of etiquette, so I simply called for an employee and placed my usual order.
The employees at this shop wore matching uniforms, which was a nice touch. It made it immediately clear who worked there. However, the staff members were all a bit older. Personally, I would have preferred younger women, but I supposed that might ruin the shop's settled, calm atmosphere. It was a difficult trade-off.
A cup of black tea and a plate of mini pancakes were quickly brought to my table. I had tried various things on the menu, but I believed this combination was the pinnacle. When I first saw the mini pancakes, I was disappointed by their size, but now I felt they were exactly right.
I took a sip of tea. Then a bite of a pancake.
I drifted off into a moment of pure bliss.
Blast. I had completely forgotten about my observations. I only realized it after I had already stepped back out into the street. While I was inside, my mind had been entirely dominated by tea and sweets. It was a careless lapse, but the food had been delicious, so I let it slide.
Now, what to do? Since I was already out, I decided to visit some of the other shops that shared a connection with Kuro and Yuki.
A month after Kuro and Yuki opened, four more shops had followed suit. As if to compete with the South Side shop, they appeared on the West Side, the East Side, the North Side, and at the foot of the mountain. Personally, I wanted to say Kuro and Yuki was the best, but their specialties were different, making it impossible to rank them fairly.
The shop on the West Side only opened at night, so I decided to head toward the East Side instead.
The shop there was called Cafe Blue. Like its predecessor, it was a sweets and tea shop of roughly the same size. However, it had one very distinct feature: the Bronze Knight worked there.
Was that really appropriate for someone of his station? The Bronze Knight was a man in his forties with a handsome mustache. Even as a man myself, I could see he was quite striking. He served customers while dressed in a crisp, formal outfit. Furthermore, whenever a female customer arrived, he would drop to one knee and lower his gaze to speak with them. He didn't care about their social standing or their age; he addressed every woman as "Milady."
It didn't seem like the sort of thing a Bronze Knight should be doing, yet he did it with absolute poise. It was frustrating, but it suited him perfectly. Naturally, he couldn't handle the entire shop alone, so there were other employees—all of whom were also handsome men of varying ages.
Unsurprisingly, the place was wildly popular with women. The heat from the crowd was intense. It wasn't that men were banned, but the atmosphere made it nearly impossible for a man to enter alone. I watched from a distance. The Bronze Knight looked more alive than I had ever seen him.
Cafe Blue's menu was similar to Kuro and Yuki’s, but the prices were set a notch higher. I assumed the markup was to pay for the smiles of the Bronze Knight and his handsome staff.
I passed by Cafe Blue and made my way to the shop on the North Side.
Its name was Korin Sweets Shop. As the name implied, the Korin Religion was behind it. The employees were clearly members of the faith; I recognized several faces I had seen at the Village Five Church. There were rumors that Fouche the Malignant herself made occasional appearances, but surely that was just gossip. She was supposedly tied to the Reiwight Kingdom and couldn't possibly come to Village Five.
Besides, if she were actually here, the Silver Knight would have been the first to know. Yet, even now, he was still diligently participating in the security team’s training exercises. Therefore, the idea of her being here was a complete fabrication. The woman organizing the queue outside must have simply been a lookalike. Or perhaps a distant relative.
I decided to ignore the fact that the people around her were calling her "Lady Fouche."
Korin Sweets Shop was takeout only, with no space to dine in. They only sold two items: senbei and seasonal dango. Both were incredibly popular. Because they only produced a set amount each day and closed once they sold out, getting your hands on them was a challenge. If you truly wanted some, you had to line up before sunrise.
I had queued up once myself. The senbei and dango were delicious, though it was a shame they didn't stay fresh for long. Since there was a limit on how much one person could buy, anyone wanting a large order had to bring reinforcements. It had become a common sight to see young workers from the major merchant houses lining up in the pre-dawn hours.
Incidentally, the seasonal dango was actually a secret menu item at Kuro and Yuki. They only served it when the shop wasn't busy, and I had been delighted when I first discovered it.
I checked to see if I had any chance of buying some senbei, but the line was hopeless, so I gave up.
I turned back toward the South Side of Village Five and headed for the shop at the foot of the mountain.