Gilspark, the son of Magistrate Ifuls and husband to Fairina, the bakery girl of Shashato City.
A baker's morning begins long before the sun.
In the heart of Shashato City stood an old workshop. Its recently expanded storefront was particularly eye-catching; this was the workplace of the bakers.
Dozens of craftsmen assembled before daybreak. It seemed a few had even stayed the night. No greetings were voiced—shouting that early would only disturb the neighbors. Instead, they exchanged hand signals as their day commenced.
I was watching all of this. My name is Thermos—Thermos Touchphone. I was the sort of man who stood in line before dawn just to secure the very first batch of bread for the day. You might think it unnecessary to queue so early for a bakery, but without doing so, one had no hope of getting the specific loaves they wanted. Everyone standing here was driven by that same desire.
"Good morning. You're early today," a regular customer said, greeting me.
I returned the sentiment. He had likely picked me as a conversation partner to pass the time until the shop opened. I had nothing better to do, so I humored him.
In truth, I had been curious about this man for a while. It was difficult to judge the age of the Demon Race by looks alone, but he appeared to be around fifty. His clothes were of the highest quality—practically the best money could buy—and he carried an air of significant financial power. His tone was gentle, and his personality seemed pleasant. He appeared to be the head of a respectable household.
What baffled me was why such a man was waiting in line himself. If he had that kind of money, he could easily have the bread delivered or simply send a servant. Why do it himself? Was he a fallen noble? The questions had been gnawing at me.
"Actually, my son's wife works here," he explained. "I come to buy bread because I want to support her."
I see. If that was the case, he would feel compelled to show up in person. That made perfect sense. The mystery that had been bothering me was finally solved, and I felt a weight lift from my shoulders.
As we chatted, the sun began to peek over the horizon. The workshop doors swung open, and the bakers filed out to form a line. It was time for the pre-sale morning assembly. The owner's daughter stepped out in front of the ranks and projected her voice with startling intensity.
"What are we?!"
The bakers roared back in unison.
"We are bakers!"
"Hmm? Just ordinary bakers?"
"We are the craftsmen who bake the most delicious bread in the world!"
"Excellent! And what is our objective?!"
"To create the ultimate bread!"
"Who is our enemy?!"
"Those who do not eat bread!"
"What is our duty?!"
"Bread for the world!"
"Exactly! We shall make every living soul on this earth eat our bread!"
"Glory to the bread!"
"Then let us give it our all today! Greetings!"
"Welcome! What can I get for you?! Understood! Here is your change! Thank you very much!"
It was a spirited assembly, as always.
Wait—the line was moving. Sales had officially begun. My targets were the Soy Sauce Bread, the Miso Bread, and the Yakisoba Bread. All three were incredibly popular, but given my position in the queue, I was confident.
Success. I managed to get them. I suppose I had the "five items per variety" limit to thank for that.
It looked like the regular had secured his haul as well. Come to think of it, I wondered if he'd spotted his daughter-in-law.
Wait, what? The owner's daughter—the one shouting commands at the top of her lungs—was the woman in question? Huh. I decided not to mention that his son would likely have a very difficult future ahead of him. Still, having such a reliable daughter-in-law, even by marriage, was a blessing in its own way.
Apparently, the son worked as an unofficial security guard at Big Roof Shashato—the place that sold that famous curry. It was unofficial because his formal duty was assisting his father with his business. I might have even seen his face there without realizing it.
I took my bread back to the inn for breakfast. It was delicious. Truly, ever since I arrived in Shashato City, meal times had been pure bliss.
Then again, everything other than the food was a nightmare.
For example, the five scouts I had sent to Village Five. They had stayed behind to apprentice at a ramen shop and failed to return by the promised date. Instead of their presence, I received letters of resignation. I intended to drag them back even if I had to use my fists.
Meanwhile, the rest of my team was currently divided into warring factions over the merits of curry versus ramen. It was absurd—fighting over food preferences. Why couldn't they just agree that both were excellent?
Then there were the few who had become obsessed with baseball. As long as it didn't interfere with their duties, I didn't mind, but I hoped they hadn't forgotten their primary mission of gathering intelligence.
Some had even begun suggesting that we should just settle down here in the Demon Kingdom permanently. They were already looking for real estate. I had to tell them to wait until we at least returned home once before doing that. If I started losing men now, I would be in serious trouble.
On top of all that, I still hadn't managed to establish a formal diplomatic channel with the Demon Kingdom. It was a mess. A total mess. But honestly... a far more significant problem had come to light.
In Village Five, there was a form of entertainment called a "movie"—a spectacle that combined moving images with music and voices. It was the talk of the town, so I watched one as part of my investigation. It was quite fascinating. So fascinating, in fact, that I watched it three times.
It was during that third viewing that I realized the truth. I recognized three objects shown in the footage.
They were the Three Sacred Treasures of my homeland—one belonging to the royal family and two held by high-ranking noble houses. I knew the nobles' treasures well because they were displayed annually. The royal treasure was rarely shown, but since I had been the Prince’s childhood playmate, I had been granted a glimpse of it. I never knew what the Three Sacred Treasures were actually for, but they possessed a mystical luster. Just being near them filled one with a sense of peace.
In the movie, one of those sacred treasures was washing dishes.
In the movie, another was being used for cooking.
In the movie, the royal treasure was processing garbage.
...
To be honest, I had suspected it during the second viewing. The third time was merely for confirmation. I had desperately hoped I was wrong.
I wasn't.
What was I supposed to do now? To think our nation's Three Sacred Treasures were actually mundane appliances. Should I report this? No, impossible. I had to keep this a secret. Especially the part about the royal heirloom being a garbage disposal unit—that information could never, ever be leaked.
But the movie was so entertaining... I had a sinking feeling it would eventually find its way to our country.
Gods, what was I going to do? I just wanted to forget everything. I reached for more bread... only to realize I had already finished it all. Blast. I should have savored it more.
Fine. It was a bit early, but I think I’ll head out for some curry. Maybe I’ll run into that regular’s son while I’m at it. His name was... Gilspark, right. If I asked around, I was sure someone would know where he was.
The Three Sacred Treasures: A dishwasher-dryer. An IH cooking heater. A garbage disposal unit.