“Hmmmm. It"s possible to eat it normally.” (Armstrong)

“It"s not delicious though.”

“It"s fodder for horses after all.”

Two weeks after the duel with Haruka"s elder brother; during the continuous, long encampment I endeavoured in my hobby of food research after finis.h.i.+ng my training in magic today as well.
If one were to ask why I"m doing something like that, it"s because it is my free time once I finish my a.s.signed work and training.
Be that as it may, I"m not doing anything that complicated.
At a section of the training venue located in the encampment of Earl Mizuho Country"s national army, the three of us are simply creating stew by using a big pot on a portable magic stove.
Our most recent subject was the practical application of the Idiot Daikon that has been cultivated in large quant.i.ties on the fields by the garrison as fodder for the horses.
Is there any way to cook these unappetizing Idiot Daikon into something delicious?
It"s a difficult problem we are unable to tackle successfully, therefore it"s something to get us fired up, no… allowing us to waste time.

◆◇◆◇◆

『Wendelin, thou are doing something strange there.』 (Therese)

『Humans can"t survive without eating.』 (Wendelin)

Even throughout the astonishment of Therese who is already staying permanently at the field encampment that finished its expansion, I continue my trial and error.
Also the rebel army led by Duke Nürnberg has deployed several forces of a few thousands in the vicinity to watch out over this field encampment, but as of yet there"s no sign of them sending forth a large army.
According to the intelligence of our spies, they seem to be struggling with the eastern and western parts close to the center and the south.
No matter how much they have taken the family heads as hostages, the prince-elector households probably won"t obediently listen to what they are told.

『There"s someone just like them on our side as well』 (Therese)

The Duke Baden household, the sole prince-elector following our side except the Duke Philip household, seems to have initiated various schemes to seize the initiative.
Because there will only be two emperor candidates left after the rebel army got defeated, it appears that his greed is gradually peeking out.
It doesn"t seem that he will pull the rug from below our feet for now since we have the same goal, but getting impatient due to the current situation, the young Duke Baden reached the point of talking about capturing several cities and bases.
Ama.s.sing several military victories besides the first battle will establish our superiority over the rebel army.
The young Duke Baden proposed this strategic plan at the regular meeting and received support from several n.o.ble households that have sent out additional troops after being able to invite many estranged n.o.ble households that were hesitating because of the rebel army"s conduct.
Therese said that it"s possible for that to be a temptation. She is rejecting that strategic plan as Duke Nürnberg might have adopted a waiting stance and thus it"s possible they will suffer an unexpected surprise attack if they split up the military forces into smaller groups.
As someone that has no military talent, I don"t know which side is correct, but my personal opinion leans towards Therese"s plan.
The reason for that is that I felt something similar to impatience from the young Duke Baden.
I"m sure that he wants to acc.u.mulate meritorious deeds until the civil war ends in order to be allowed to hold a fair emperor election between him and Therese.
Is there any benefit for the the supporting n.o.bles if young Duke Baden becomes the emperor? There are many n.o.bles who simply want to earn rewards by obtaining military achievements.
Seeing that it can be considered as definite that the influence of the big n.o.bles will change after the war, it"s the best chance to increase one"s peerage and territory.

◆◇◆◇◆

“This stew, it"s more delicious with normal daikon, you know?”

“Even though I thought it would work out well since it"s miso stew…”

Entrails are prepared with miso and a vegetable stew boiled inside the big pot placed on the portable magic stove while making a simmering sound.

“Certainly, using normal daikon makes it tastier, but it"s not like it"s inedible either.”

Dous.h.i.+ starts to eat the miso stew that got boiled in the big pot.
Burkhart-san stopped eating it after just tasting a bit of it.

“As expected, the taste of the Idiot Daikon itself is bad, I guess.”

While considering today to be a failure as well, I take out another portable magic stove from my magic bag and begin to heat up a big pot I took out likewise.
Inside the pot is amazake. The amazake, that was heated with magic from above as well, heated up to a good temperature within a few minutes.

“Burkhart-san, you will drink it, won"t you?”

“I will. Since there"s no way for me to drink alcohol in the morning, amazake is a welcome alternative.” (Burkhart)

It was great that I bought sake lees from a peddler staying at the encampment of Earl Mizuho Country"s national army to use them with the boiled lees since it"s still cold outside.
Since the Mizuho dishes are mostly j.a.panese food, it"s a great delight that they suit my taste as well.

“Please don"t drink too much, okay? We are waiting for Elise and the others to prepare breakfast.” (Wendelin)

“I know, I know.” (Burkhart)

“I will drink one cup as well.” (Armstrong)

Dous.h.i.+, who ate all the miso stew that Burkhart-san and me judged as flop, requested some amazake as well.
Since it won"t have any particular impact on breakfast in Dous.h.i.+"s case even if he eats heavily here, neither of us cautions him.

“Here you go.”

“This is the best on a chilly morning, ain"t it?”

“What are you three doing?”

“As usual we are waiting for you, Erw.”

“Please stop it because it"s embarra.s.sing~~~~!” (Erwin)

At a section where many soldiers and samurai of the Earl Mizuho Country"s national army were earnestly practicing, the three of us were creating stew by using a pot on a portable magic stove while not minding the looks of the surroundings.
It"s gone to such a degree that one might even call it depravity, but because of the lacking activity of the rebel army, we had free time.

“They probably won"t particularly mind since we aren"t instigating war euphoria like the young Duke Baden.” (Wendelin)

“That"s right. It"s just as Earl-sama says. One more amazake please.” (Burkhart)

“Please continue your training without caring about us. One more for me as well.” (Armstrong)

“I do mind!” (Erwin)

Erw seems to consider our existence as embarra.s.sment.
I don"t think it"s necessary for him to mind us making stew in a pot that much though.

“Do you want some amazake?” (Wendelin)

“… Yes…” (Erwin)

Even so, it seems that he will drink amazake.
He quietly received the cup with the amazake in it from Dous.h.i.+.

“Haruka, do you want some as well?” (Wendelin)

“Yes.” (Haruka)

Even Haruka, who"s next to Erw, receives a cup from Burkhart-san.

“Well, what to say. Seeing as it"s necessary for us to wait, it"s also indispensable for us to moderately relax our attention.”

As Burkhart-san says; as the war has pa.s.sed the stage of an early end, it will be meaningless if we lose by getting impatient.
Sometimes it"s necessary for an army to wait.

“Though I can also understand your feeling of wanting the war to end swiftly since that will speed up your marriage, Erw.” (Wendelin)

Due to my comment, Haruka"s face became bright red.
The blus.h.i.+ng face of a beautiful samurai girl makes quite the picture.
Erw kept his cool on the surface.
Given that he has some experience with women, he likely won"t show his shame openly.

“No, since I don"t want to get killed in action because I hurried before the marriage, I can understand that we have to wait. What I want to tell you is to not cook things in a pot at a section of the practice ground though…” (Erwin)

“You won"t be able to fight on an empty stomach. It"s a research regarding the valid practical use of Idiot Daikon that hasn"t been used for anything but fodder for cattle until now.”

“On a first glance that"s a fair argument, but going by your appearances, it doesn"t look like that"s what you are doing here, does it?” (Erwin)

Erw revealed a fed-up expression at the trio of a boy, a middle-aged man and an elderly man who are simply looking at the state of the cooking big pot.
Regarding Erw"s marriage, since it was approved by High Earl Mizuho and Haruka"s elder brother in the end, they have officially become engaged.
However, at first it was terrible because Haruka was very shaken.

◆◇◆◇◆

『I will marry?』 (Haruka)

Haruka herself hadn"t realized Erw"s feelings at all.
She seems to be unfamiliar with the subtleties of romance to begin with. It appears that she thought she would stay single for her entire life while devoting herself to the sword.
A part of her also thought that there won"t be any men who would want someone like her as wife.

『If you dislike Erw, no one will force you though.』 (Wendelin)

『No, dislike is… On the contrary, Erw-san is, for a woman like me…』 (Haruka)

Although Haruka was a beauty in the Battou Unit, rude comrades, who tried to make a move on her, had been removed by her elder brother and she was apparently kept at distance by the team members saying that they wouldn"t like it to lose to a woman in practice.
Her practice partners were just the few other female unit members, her elder brother and those unit members who were stronger than her.
From Haruka"s viewpoint, she probably saw Erw as likeable man who learns swordsmans.h.i.+p even from a woman.
Even if, for example, the learning of swordsmans.h.i.+p from Haruka itself is nothing more than a reward from Erw"s viewpoint.

『Seeing as Erw has said that it"s fine, the rest depends on what you are thinking, Haruka, right?』 (Wendelin)

『Me, you say…?』 (Haruka)

『Right. It"s about what you yourself think about it.』 (Wendelin)

『Earl Baumeister-sama, you are strange. There wouldn"t be any problem even if you forcefully ordered me to do it.』 (Haruka)

『I"m a timid person after all. It would be unbearable if I received a surprise attack by the unhappy wife of my retainer. There won"t be any compulsion.』 (Wendelin)

『I see. I think I will accept this marriage.』 (Haruka)

『That"s excellent.』 (Wendelin)

『The only ones who have treated me as woman until now were my female colleagues in the Battou Unit, my older brother and Erw-san. Erw-san is always gentle to me.』 (Haruka)

Since Erw is deeply in love with the Mizuho beauty Haruka, it"s only natural for him to treat her kindly, I think.
However, this natural treatment probably made her happy.
She accepted my request happily while blus.h.i.+ng a bit.

『Then it"s settled, I suppose.』 (Wendelin)

The engagement between Erw and Haruka was smoothly set in stone like this.
High Earl Mizuho stated his aristocratic opinion of 『Though it"s fine if it"s a daughter of a retainer with a higher social rank』, but Erw easily drew back by saying that Haruka is fine. Even Haruka"s older brother can"t go against an order from above.
Since there"s also the fact that he lost in the duel against me, he is gladly accepting his younger sister"s marriage on the surface.
In exchange for that, it became a famous sight of him staring at the two, who are happily training together every morning, while looking at them bitterly from the start to the end.
I think that you should rather do something about him than us three cooking here.
Also, Erw, who is full of happiness now that the marriage has been decided, was slightly annoying.
I haven"t said anything since it was the same for me when I was newly-wed at first, but he is encouraging me to take lessons in katana techniques with a high tension.

『It will be nice if you take lessons from Haruka as well, Wend.』 (Erwin)

『Nope.』 (Wendelin)

Since Erw has a talent for handling katana, he has become a good pupil, but I will probably only get exhausted pointlessly even if I take lessons from her.
Something like talent with katana is non-existent in me.

『Don"t get killed in action due to being too cheerful. From time immemorial, soldier have said things like 『I will marry once this war has ended…』 and then actually died with a quite high probability.』 (Wendelin)

『I have never heard something like that.』 (Erwin)

『Really?』

『It"s knowledge from some book…』

It seems that something like a death flag that has been often mentioned on earth doesn"t exist.
At least Erw didn"t know about it.

『I remember it.』 (Ina)

『Ina knows about it.』

『It"s probably from some story anyway.』

『However, authors wrote it from their past experience and it was also mentioned in doc.u.ments. In addition there have even been children born and such…』

I didn"t read them, but it seems Ina really had seen such story settings.
There are people sensing something like such a rule even in a different world.

『Something so ill-omened for a married couple… I will hold a happy ceremony with Haruka after the war.』 (Erwin)

Erw, who was at the peak of happiness, completely disregarded my and Ina"s statements.
Because even I think that such rule is quite disturbing, I won"t mind it if he ignores it completely as long as he makes sure to not be too merry.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Rather than bothering with our cooking, do something about that depressing guy.”

It"s not the fault of our cooking.
Even now we are popular due to Dous.h.i.+ distributing amazake to those interested. Amazake that"s full of nutrition is good for one"s health after working out.
Right, amazake is health food.
It"s no different from drinking a sports drink after club activities.

“Even though he has been told off even by a big shot of the Battou Unit, is there anything you can do?”

Currently Haruka"s elder brother is looking at Erw and Haruka while bearing a grudge.
He is properly carrying out his training and work, but it has reached the point that a leader of the Battou Unit has come to Erw telling him 『Please do something about this since the mood is getting worse』.
Dous.h.i.+ gives him amazake as he considers him to look pitiful, but he drinks it all up in one go and once again looks at Erw with a hateful expression.

“Haruka, what does your onii-san like?”

“Umm, katana.” (Haruka)

A reply that was very easy to understand.
I guess they are a pair of younger sister and elder brother that resembled each other.

“In that case… O~~~~i, Haruka"s onii-san.”

“Earl Baumeister-sama, I don"t mind if you call me Takeomi…” (Takeomi)

Haruka"s brother throws a reproachful stare at Erw who stole his cute younger sister, but he normally expresses his respect to me who took him down in a duel as Earl.
Once I called out to him, he reverently bowed his head to me.

“As a matter of fact, I want you to try out the new orichalc.u.m katana I requested some time ago.” (Wendelin)

Kanedsan has already completed two sets of small and big katana in this short time.

『Once I got into it, I completely forget about the other katana.』 (Kaneda)

Since it will interfere with his other work if he concentrates on them this much, he finished two sets of orichalc.u.m katana first.

“Erw is still inexperienced with katana. Thus I"d like Takeomi-san to try out the new katana…” (Wendelin)

“Please leave it to me! No way, for me to try out an orichalc.u.m katana while I"m still alive…” (Takeomi)

I hear that for a samurai of the Mizuho people an orichalc.u.m katana is the most valuable item they want to obtain one day.
From the view of a lower-ranked retainer such as Takeomi-san, it seems to be an item that will give him good luck by just swinging it.

“After breakfast we will come to this training area once again. It seems Kanedsan will bring the completed orichalc.u.m katana then.”

“Leave it to me.” (Takeomi)

The sullen expression completely vanished from Takeomi-san"s face and instead it was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with delight that he will be able to test the new orichalc.u.m katana directly after they have been finished.

“(Sword Junkie…) Umm. Because of that…” (Wendelin)

I have asked him to not show a displeased expression towards Erw.
Though I guess it"s probably in vain.
He does his work properly. And since it"s not like he"s pointing such expression towards me, I have no basis to actually warn him about it.

“No matter how much you order me about it, Earl Baumeister-sama, this is a mere instinct.” (Takeomi)

“Is that so…?” (Wendelin)

Due to that answer lacking any hesitation, it resulted in me understanding the sinfulness of being a sis-con from the bottom of my heart.

◆◇◆◇◆