Hadith narrowed his eyes at the direction of the voice.

A man in aristocratic attire was trying to shoo away the confused soldiers with a cane. Hadith was familiar with the face of the man who was chasing after him.

A middle-aged soldier with a fearless face—General South.

“Aide, that isn’t the case! It’s just, inviting the people of Kratos to the temple is…!”

“Don’t make a fool of yourself. They’re our only hope. Do you intend to discard it? Moreover, I heard that there are only about 20 people on their side, including the escorts. There won’t be any problem.”

“Kratos is renown for its magicians! It’s not uncommon for a single magician to be able to crush a platoon!”

“Then don’t provoke them! We aren’t warring right now. As such, Kratos isn’t our enemy. It’s part of diplomacy to treat and respect each other well. Even idiots know that.”

“But, according to Lord Georg, there’s no doubt that the Kingdom of Kratos is aiming for the Dragon Princess’ sacred relic in Radea…”

“Who cares about what Lord Georg said! He’s a rebel, a rebel…!”

General South was silent. The nobleman, who was merely referred to as ‘Aide’, snorted.

“Surely, you haven’t forgotten that you are the intruders? Who do you think allowed you to enter Radea?”

“…I’m grateful to the aide for accepting us.”

“Yes, do not forget that. If I’m gone, you’ll be attacked by the imperial army. If you understand that, begone.”

The aide ordered with a treacherous smile. Towards that, South straightened his posture.

“We can’t do that.”

“What?!”

“We’re the imperial army. It’s our duty to protect the empire!”

“What are you talking about?! You’re nothing but rebels!!”

The indignant aide tried to hit South with his cane. The soldiers around him tried to help, but without losing a momentum, South caught the cane with his right hand.

“No matter what you said, I won’t give it up! For it’s Lord Georg’s last order!”

“If so, why don’t you make a petition to His Majesty the Emperor?! I’m sure you’ve heard it—in the imperial capital, Crown Prince Vissel has already banished your friends, and formed a new imperial army!”

“—Still, we are, no… we alone must—”

“—Why are you still daydreaming!? You have nowhere else to go—”

“Okay, okay, hold on a minute.”

Grabbing the cane that was swung down, Hadith stepped in between South and the aide.

South, whom had been struck on his cheek, blinked. The aide turned towards Hadith.

“W, who are you!?”

“I’m from the bakery.”

“Th, the bakery?”

To the shocked aide, Hadith nodded with a smile.

“Now that I’ve heard both of your sides, why don’t you stop the quarrel? In fact, why don’t we all just go to apologize to His Majesty the Emperor?”

“Huh?”

Hadith’s response to the overlapping voices of those in the surroundings was to raise his index finger.

“The emperor must’ve wanted to protect Radea. There’s also the Dragon Princess’ sacred relic. Don’t you know? The emperor loves the Dragon Princess! Oh, not to mention, the present Dragon Princess is still 11-years-old—despite that, she’s cute and amazing!”

“…”

“You’ve continued to protect Radea. If you continue to pledge allegiance, surely, His Majesty will be inclined to treat you well. Even better, I think the emperor would be thrilled if everyone here were to kneel to him!”

It was a pretty good idea. With a wide smile, Hadith proposed such to his stunned surroundings.

“So, let’s all apologize to His Majesty the Emperor! Then, all will be settled! How about that?!”

After a short break, the trembling aide yelled—

“—Someone, throw this baker out!”

“U, understood!”

Then, by the soldiers who obeyed the order of the aide, Hadith was thrown out of the temple.

Hadith buried his face in his knees.

“W, why… I thought if it were from a baker, and not the emperor’s servant, they’d listen…”

Rave popped out from behind.

“…Are you truly asking that, you stupid emperor?”

“Jill always did what I ask once she ate my delicious bread! What, could it be, the bread wasn’t good enough!?”

“They haven’t even eaten the bread, yet. No, that’s not the issue, here…”

“Hey, baker!”

Hadith stopped crouching and looked back at the voice he heard from the temple’s entrance. It was General South. Rave took that as cue to disappear into Hadith’s body.

“Here’s the money for the bread. I heard that you haven’t received it, yet.”

“I see, thank you very much…”

“I also haven’t thanked you for the help. How pathetic, for a general like me to be helped by a baker… Well, the soldiers have to bow to the aristocracy…”

He gave Hadith a bag of money and narrowed his eyes as he laughed.

“Even the women of the city are making a fuss about it. That’s right, I ate your bread as I went after you. It was so good, before I realized it, I had finished it.”

“So, do you feel like apologizing to the emperor?”

“…What an interesting baker. I know we’re rebels, but to us, justice is—”

“—Except, it’s not good to deceive the citizens.”

Hadith had touched a sore spot. South went silent.

The people of the city believed that the order left by Georg, the Grand Duke of Radea, was approved by the empire. It never occurred to them that the soldiers were rebels taking matters into their own hands. They wouldn’t doubt the soldiers because they were protecting the city.

“What about the evacuation orders once the battle truly begins? You can’t involve the residents of Radea.”

“—Duke Leirzatz and Duke Noitral are beside us. They will do something about it. Also, with the involvement of Kratos in all of this, there’s no way Crown Prince Vissel will abandon the citizens.”

“…So, you don’t intend to kneel before His Majesty the Emperor?”

“Of course not. We didn’t come to Lord Georg’s territory with a half-hearted resolution.”

“Why would you go to such an extent?”

South went silent, then spoke after a bit.

“When I was young, Lord Georg helped me during the war. It’s been peaceful for the last 20 years, but there have been many skirmishes in the past. Many people were picked up by Lord Georg after they had lost their places due to the war.”

“Basically, you think of him as your benefactor?”

“Indeed. Everyone saved was also given a new life by Lord Georg. Lord Georg deserved to live. How many times had I been motivated by his desire to protect the Rave Empire? I don’t want to believe that he wasn’t a true member of the Rave royal family—therefore, I can’t bow down to the Dragon Emperor. I feel that by kneeling before the Dragon Emperor, we’ll be admitting that Lord Georg had lost.”

South laughed at the frowning Hadith.

“I guess you wouldn’t understand that. Well, it’s just a stubborn story. But, we’re happy. I can meet my colleagues, and I still have orders to fulfil. Surely, the imperial army that remained in the imperial capital is unhappier than us.

“Even if what you’re doing equate to deceiving the Rave Empire?”

“To us, Lord Georg is the Rave Empire. However, as of the present, I can’t fulfil another will of Lord Georg—even though to us, he’s our homeland.”

Hadith didn’t know what to say. South pushed Hadith’s back.

“That was delicious bread. If you like, please deliver more tomorrow.”

Hadith was sent off with a smile.

“How troublesome… what a hassle…”

“Don’t whine, just do your best.”

Hadith sighed long and deeply. “That’s easy for you to say.” Such was his remark to the Dragon God who came and went as he pleased.

---

***T/N: Hadith, use your cooking to make them kneel instead!

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