Chapter 25.1

His narrowed eyes soon relaxed back into their original beautiful shapes. Franz did not doubt that he still had the advantage over them.

“To introduce myself once more, I am a knight from Schleisen who has come a long way in obedience to national orders. This is a matter that, as citizens of the nation, you must cooperate in—”

“Paha! Cooperate! As a citizen of the nation!”

The village chief laughed, holding his belly in his hands.

“Gosh, what trustworthy words those are. Words I’ve heard to death during the war!”

“….That is an opinion I cannot simply laugh over. Elder. Is that the opinion representative of this village? If so, I would like to meet your chief.”

“I’m the chief, though.”

That was when Anna swiftly brought out the chief’s meal.

All she’d done was put together the leftovers from what she’d made for the knights earlier, but that was the only way she could get this current situation to subside.

The village chief pouted at getting the menu items he hadn’t chosen, and Franz scowled at the candid interference.

Thankfully enough, however, the restaurant began seeing customers come in more and more.

Every time someone came in, Franz held up the customer to ask, ‘Do you know this man named Bertram, and every time, Anna snatched up the menu and dashed to the new customer.

Meanwhile, the village chief left the restaurant to grab all the villagers one by one, hinting at them to beware of that knight.

Most of the customers knew right away what the situation was.

While Bertram had been here, he had saved the villagers multiple time.

According to his chasers, he wasn’t even a criminal.

And more than anything, that blond-haired noble chap was very pompously despicable.

Those were reasons enough for the villagers to protect Bertram.

One of them ran off towards the farm in order to tell him that ‘some noble is here looking for you.’

In the meantime, Anna didn’t stop loading food onto the soldiers’ table. Only when the five men, Franz included, were groaning from their full stomachs did their meal come to an end.

Franz stood up and said something he didn’t mean.

“Thank you for the meal. Now, then…”

“Thank you very much! That will be 3 golders and 40 silbres.”

“What? You take money?”

“Of course, this is a restaurant. Its days as a cafeteria ended three years ago!”

“You served us unlimited supplies of food we didn’t even order, and now the price you ask for is ridiculous!”

“Huh? But you told me to bring you whatever I could. I myself was working really hard to satisfy all of you here, as nobler than I am as you are…. D-do you mean to say that, I won’t be payed…?”

Anna began to sniffle. On that beat, customers that were seated in the restaurant rose up.

Though they were shorter than the soldiers, their muscles were rough and rugged.

Franz made a quick decision.

“I will pay.”

“Thank you very much!”

“But young lady. This kind of shallow trick will not work with me next time. Keep that in mind.”

“All I did was cook food, sir.”

“…And, I’m being honest with you when I say this, but.”

Franz lowered his head. Ephemeral gleaming golden hair tumbled loose right in front of Anna’s nose, like a golden waterfall.

At the sight, Anna too could not help but swallow anxiously.

But the words that were whispered into Anna’s ears were—

“It didn’t taste good. You especially seemed unable to get rid of the stink of meat.”

“…There’s, there’s a reason for that!”

“Whatever that reason is, if you tried running a restaurant like this in the city, it would be just perfect for you to starve to death.”

The men left the restaurant without giving Anna the chance to excuse herself.

Once Anna thought the back of Franz’s head was far enough, she wagged a finger in his direction and yelled.

“You bigheaded stuck-up! Come again next time, and I’ll make you flatter me saying, ‘Your food is the best food in the world, young lady!’”

***

Wherever Franz went, the villagers all responded similarly.

Once they were told that Bertram was not, in fact, a criminal, they then said they didn’t know a person of that name. It was to the point that he could’ve suspected them of all being in the same loop.

One of the soldiers piped up.

“Could it be that all the villagers are conspiring to hide His Highness?”

“His Highness is not cunning enough to do that.”

“….That’s very cold of you to say.”

“No, really. Is he the type to win favor among other people?”

Of course, if anyone replied to him with a ‘no,’ his head would be sliced off that instant.

Apart from their country’s king, the only person in the entire nation who could insult Bertram openly like this was Franz Gerhart himself.

“As long as we find him, I’d love to usher out our Highness by tying him to one of the horses’ tails.”

The only person who could speak that way, and even move that into action, was Franz.

After the war, Bertram had left the palace, declaring that he would be ‘paying back all the debts he had incurred.’

Both Franz and the king had believed that he’d be back in a month, tops. But it was now three years since he had vanished.

Eventually, the king, who feared people might say that he had sent out his nephew because he feared the threat he represented to his throne, the king had sent Franz, telling him that he must bring back Bertram no matter what he did.

Since it was His Majesty who told him to go, he’d gone, but he felt like dying, having to drag soldiers all the way to the dusty countryside like this.

“Alright, you all remember this too. As soon as we meet His Highness, pin down his limbs. I will take responsibility. Understand?”

“Yes!”

“Hath Sir Knight Erich also deigned to understand?”

“….”

“Sir Knight Erich?”

“My mistake, sir!!! Please stop doing that!!!!” answered Erich the soldier, his face bright red.

Ever since his lie to Lara about being a ‘knight’ had been discovered, he’d become the constant butt of their jokes. As punishment, he had also been made responsible for the elite horse they’d found at the city sheep ranch, Monat.

On the other end of the reigns Erich was holding at a length away, Monat kept kicking the ground, as if he did not like their slow, slow reconnaissance.