I Became the Teacher of the Imperial Family’s Bastard

016. Subjugation Battle (1)

A few more days passed since then.

It had become a familiar sight for Aria, who found the crown prince difficult, to cling to me and make the crown prince uncomfortable, to which I would respond with a “tsk” sound.

One new realization was that more than a month had already passed since my return.

And I had already dealt with some of the problems I knew about.

At this rate, I wondered if I could quickly end the other empire’s downfall scenarios as well…

‘…Well, I don’t even know when the rest will happen.’

The information was too vague for someone like me, who had been imprisoned.

Moreover, with the event of the crown prince’s dethronement already gone, the future would flow in a completely different direction than before, so all I could do was train.

Of course, isn’t that how people are?

Like spirits, we can’t just do the same thing over and over again.

Rest was necessary, and for me, that was today.

“Pharos, what are you doing?”

Pharos’ mansion, kitchen.

Aria came to my side, chattering incessantly.

Why is the princess here… The answer must be that the crown prince allowed her to go out.

– Aria likes you more, so I respect that. Respect, indeed.

He pretended to be magnanimous, talking about respect and whatnot… but the blood vessels visible in his eyes made it less convincing.

It was clear that he had pushed for this to win Aria’s favor, and from my perspective, it meant I was stuck with an annoying brat.

Anyway, that’s how Aria ended up in our mansion’s kitchen.

And since she asked a question, I answered earnestly.

“I’m cooking.”

“Hmm? What are you making?”

She genuinely seemed clueless.

Of course, it wouldn’t be familiar to the princess.

…No, in this timeline, I’m the only one who knows this dish.

“A cheeseburger.”

A cheeseburger.

This dish was developed by our cook during my time serving as the commander of the prisoner unit.

Suddenly, those days came to mind.

The war period.

In society, we were nothing but harmful scum (including myself and the crown prince), struggling desperately to protect the country.

We had almost no contact with other units.

We were mainly used as special forces or scouts, and before that, we were largely shunned due to the perception of us as criminals.

As a result, deep bonds formed among the unit members.

We were outcasts, so it made sense to take good care of each other.

‘Hannah’ was the cook of such a unit.

A young girl with black hair and a face full of freckles.

Her crime was… quite unjust.

During the chaotic reign of the second prince, she was imprisoned for unauthorized commercial activities while running a street stall.

No fines or anything, just imprisonment.

After that, as the war intensified, she found herself in a situation where she couldn’t get a retrial.

So she lived in prison for almost seven years.

-…I didn’t know. I didn’t know you couldn’t sell street food.

She was a dumb and pitiful girl.

That was the general opinion, and in other words, Hannah was our treasure.

The food, the extraordinary food that Hannah made, was really delicious.

-Look at this! I spread the wheat thin, stuffed the meat inside, and wrapped it with wheat! If you steam it like this… ta-da! Meat bread!

Should I say her ideas were exceptional, or bizarre?

She often received leftover ingredients from other units and created combat rations.

But they were really delicious.

Among them, the most memorable were the ‘meat bread’ and the ‘cheeseburger’ she was making now.

Especially the cheeseburger was a dish even the crown prince, who had tasted all kinds of delicacies, acknowledged.

Can you understand if the crown prince, feeling hungry in the middle of the night, barged into the women’s barracks where Hannah was sleeping and dragged her out?

Now, he was recreating it.

‘My mouth feels so dry since I haven’t eaten it for a while.’

He cuts the bread in half and toasts it.

Next, he grills the minced and shaped meat.

He melts the cheese and pours it over the meat.

He adds a few pieces of greens and covers it with the bread.

He made it according to the recipe Hannah taught him.

“Ha, haaa…! Pharos! It’s a cheese waterfall…!”

Aria, startled, jumped up and soon drooled.

I cut the cheeseburger in half and gave one half to Aria.

Then I took a bite of my share of the burger.

But.

‘…This isn’t the taste?’

It’s not that it wasn’t tasty, but it fell far short of the taste I knew.

Do I lack the talent for cooking?

How is it that the same ingredients can’t recreate that taste?

‘No.’

This is purely because Hannah’s cooking talent is too exceptional.

A sigh escaped.

‘Can I never taste that dish again?’

Even if I wanted to find Hannah, I couldn’t.

According to the timeline, Hannah would be only about five years old now.

She first started her street stall at thirteen, ten years from now, so her whereabouts before then are completely unknown.

‘If I had known this, I would have asked about her hometown or childhood.’

I was regretting why I hadn’t taken an interest.

Aria stopped.

There was a small bite mark on her burger.

Was it not to her taste?

I thought, but it was the opposite.

Drip―

Aria, with a blank expression, shed tears.

Then she slowly chewed.

Her plump cheeks twitched.

A look of great shock or ecstasy.

Aria, who soon swallowed what was in her mouth, spoke.

“…Pharos.”

“Yes.”

“I’ve been deceived all this time.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m not cotton candy. In fact, I was a cheeseburger…!”

Thud!

Aria fell to her knees and stared at the cheeseburger with intense eyes.

“Aria! In fact, you were a cheeseburger! You were born to become a cheeseburger…!”

One thing was certain.

Aria’s identity seemed to be the most delicious food she had ever eaten.

And the reason she liked cheeseburgers so much was within the realm of understanding.

After all, wasn’t she the sister of the prince (who had stormed into the women’s barracks at night to abduct the cheeseburger chef)?

Moreover, Hannah’s cooking was ultimately combat rations.

It was junk food that filled you with calories like crazy, ruining your health, something you could never eat in the royal palace.

The density of flavor must be different.

One could understand why she trembled at the heaviness that hit her tongue.

“I… I…!”

Watching her, it was like that.

For some reason, a mischievous feeling arose.

“Did you know, Princess?”

“Uung?”

“In fact, somewhere in the world, there is a legendary cheeseburger.”

“`

“···!”

Aria’s eyes snapped open.

Immediately, Aria swallowed dryly and spoke.

“W-where is it···?!”

“I do not know. That is why it is a legend. But its existence is certain.”

As she whispered, Aria’s shoulders trembled with excitement.

“We must find it! As a cheeseburger, I must find the legendary cheeseburger···! Will you help me···?”

“Of course.”

Even if Aria is not interested, Hannah must find it.

People’s eating habits are this terrifying.

Now, no matter what food I eat, I end up thinking of Hannah’s cooking.

“Please take care of me.”

As I extended my hand, Aria clapped! and grasped it.

“Take care of me! From today, you are the Hero Cheeseburger!”

“What about His Highness?”

“He is the Hero Cotton Candy!”

Is there no change in position?

Seeing that I am left in a doomed country in both my previous and current life, perhaps this is the fate of the prince.

Anyway, I spent the day talking nonsense like that.

A few more days passed, and it was during the prince’s lesson.

“`

I heard unexpected news from the Crown Prince.

“We must go on an expedition.”

“What?”

“Isn’t it almost the Founding Festival? And it’s also my coming-of-age ceremony.”

“Ah.”

The first event that didn’t exist in my previous life.

The coming-of-age ceremony of Crown Prince Callios van Orteare was approaching.

* * *

The coming-of-age ceremony, the Founding Festival, and the expedition.

To explain the connection between these three, we must go back to the history of the Orteare Empire.

In the beginning, humans were slaves to other races.

They were too weak to form nations or groups.

That history lasted for thousands of years.

And there were those who rebelled against such an era, and that was the Founding Festival of Orteare.

“The first, born as food for the orcs, the Founder resisted his fate and escaped at the age of eight. And then, he met the wanderer who would become the ancestor of Pharos and learned from him.”

That was the introduction to the history known as the Founding Chronicle.

The Founder, based on the knowledge he gained from Pharos, created the imperial swordsmanship.

With that, he liberated humans captured by other races and formed a group.

That group grew into an army, and the army grew into a nation.

At the end of it all, Orteare was born.

And the day the nation was founded is commemorated as the Founding Festival.

The Crown Prince was the legitimate descendant of the Founding Emperor.

Thus, following the long historical tradition, the imperial heir must prove on the day of their coming of age that they are the descendant of the Founding Emperor, the ‘liberator of humans from other races,’ by subjugating a monster.

Here’s the problem.

What should be subjugated?

A goblin village?

Would that be fitting for a Crown Prince?

Then a dragon?

There’s a chance of dying from recklessness.

So, let’s recall the founding history.

The answer was quite simple.

The race that was at the starting point of the Founding Emperor.

A race that, even in this era of harmony, does not harmonize, and has now been classified as monsters due to their nature.

“We must go hunt the orcs.”

The orcs of the southern highlands.

I asked,

“Are you really going to do that?”

There was only one reason for asking.

This process is not absolutely necessary.

Even the current emperor did not perform the subjugation ritual.

This is merely a ‘good tradition to follow.’

However, I couldn’t help but agree with the following words.

“Generously, I am being hailed by many as the reincarnation of the founding emperor. It is a joyous thing. However, it also means that I must continually prove that I am worthy of such a title. This is why I embark on these subjugations. Only by proving my uniqueness can my position as the crown prince be solidified, and the citizens of the empire can dream of a better future.”

The crown prince laughed heartily.

Despite the clear over-expectations, he showed no hesitation.

I acknowledge his grand spirit.

‘It’s not just grand spirit.’

His actions are well-founded.

Indeed, if we set aside the issue of women, the crown prince is closer to an ideal ruler than anyone else.

One might even think he was born for this very purpose.

Among his many qualities, his martial prowess stands out the most.

Though it is a future yet to be realized, this man has the talent to become the second Grand Master in the empire’s history since the founding emperor.

In other words, proving his legitimacy through martial strength was not a difficult task for the crown prince.

Having made all my judgments, I nodded.

“Yes, well. Then, have a safe journey.”

If the crown prince were to be away for a while, I would have quite some leisure time.

It might be good to take care of some postponed tasks.

‘I should investigate the omens of future events.’

Besides that, I want to find ways to enhance my personal martial prowess or, in my spare time, further research the recipe for cheeseburgers.

The joy of eating has become quite dull, and my quality of life has significantly dropped.

It was at that moment when such thoughts crossed my mind.

“What are you talking about? Of course, you have to come with me.”

“…What?”

Why should I go there?

I spoke with my eyes, and the Crown Prince replied as if he couldn’t understand.

“The test of legitimacy, of course. You have to take it too, don’t you?”

“???”

“Aren’t you the Grand Master? All the Grand Masters of Pharos have proven their qualifications at the Crown Prince’s coming-of-age ceremony.”

“…Ah.”

I had forgotten that the last Grand Master was from 300 years ago.

That’s right.

I, too, must prove myself as a Pharos.

The Crown Prince’s coming-of-age subjugation is another way of expressing the reenactment of the ‘Founding Chronicle.’

The orc subjugation of the Founding Festival began with the teachings of Pharos.

If the purpose is to reenact history, the Pharos appointed as Grand Master must unconditionally participate.

The Crown Prince smiled faintly.

“A week from now is the departure. Be prepared.”

…This is troublesome.

End

ⓒ papapa.

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