Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Potatoes and War Stories
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Louise confirmed that Guchi had left before speaking up.
“You saw it, right? He’s an old man who sometimes says things that get under your skin, but he’s got a heart of gold. Once he starts looking out for someone, he’ll go all out to help. That’s why the regulars at this tavern all like Mr. Guchi.”
Lander nodded in agreement.
“Following someone you just met into a dangerous alley isn’t something anyone can do. He’s a man of great character.”
“If he heard that, he’d scowl and tell you to cut it out. He always says flattery makes his stomach turn.”
“He must be quite shy, then.”
“Yeah. Though his looks don’t show it at all. Oh, keep this between us. He gets offended easily.”
Lander covered his mouth with his fist, chuckling like a fake cough.
“But isn’t traveling alone tough?”
Louise pulled some potatoes from under the shelf and asked. She needed to prep them ahead for tomorrow’s business. The sprouted ones would be trimmed and used for magical porridge ingredients.
“The physical strain I was used to, so that was fine. And since I can sleep anywhere my head hits a pillow, lodging wasn’t much of an issue.”
“I’m jealous of that constitution. I can’t sleep if my pillow’s even a little off. Especially if the blanket smells unfamiliar—I can’t even cover myself with it.”
“I used to be the same, but as the saying goes, environment changes people. Living here and there made me get used to it.”
“True. After a hard day’s work, you can sleep anywhere. What about food? I never quite adjust to out-of-town dishes. The base flavors are similar, but those subtle spice differences throw me off.”
“I’m lucky—I’m not picky about food. My tongue must be numb or something; I can eat anything that goes in my mouth.”
“Seeing how you enjoyed our porridge proves you’ve got an iron stomach. Some customer once bolted to the back of the building right after eating. The retching was loud enough to hear from here.”
She carved out the rotten parts of the potatoes and transferred them to a basket. Lander, watching from the side, offered to help. Louise gladly handed him the sprouted ones.
“Cut off just the bluish parts and the sprouts, then put them here.”
Lander gripped the trimming knife, glancing between the potato and the blade before slowly moving his hand. The knife sliced into the potato. Louise eyed the large chunk that fell away and said,
“You only need to trim a little. That way, you don’t waste the edible parts.”
“I see. It’s been ages since I’ve prepped ingredients.”
“Did your wife handle all the cooking?”
“Sometimes she did, but usually a friend in charge of meals took care of it.”
“You had someone dedicated to cooking? Turns out you’re richer than you let on, Mr. Lander.”
Louise winked teasingly.
“If I had to compare, it was more like a mess hall setup—not personal service. But his skills were top-notch, so everyone treasured him. Some even fell in love. That’s how good his food was.”
“I’d love to try it sometime. Good enough to fall in love with, huh?”
Lander gave a faint smile and fell silent. It was the same wistful look he got when speaking of that ‘old friend’ he could no longer see.
She joined his silence. Everyone had their stories. Stopping mid-conversation meant he’d started sifting through the past.
She shouldn’t interrupt. Her job was to quietly wait and split the sprouted potatoes.
“Do you run the place alone?”
Lander spoke up. The topic shifted. Louise let the previous conversation fade and jumped into the new one. She wanted to keep chatting enjoyably with this stranger.
“It was my parents’ tavern originally, but somehow it ended up all on me. Thanks to that, these once-soft hands are a mess now.”
She showed off her rough, cracked hands.
“Mom and Dad are probably sightseeing in the Holy City by now. They’re on sabbatical travel—funny thing, last year was their sabbatical too. They’re still so passionately in love it’s embarrassing for me to watch, so they’ll probably plan the next trip right after this one.”
“They must have free status.”
“My dad fought in the war. That’s how they earned it. Thanks to him, I can leave the territory anytime with minimal paperwork. Of course, I have to come back. But still, being able to visit other places without special reason is a huge perk.”
“You’re right.”
Louise glanced at Lander and asked,
“How about you, Mr. Lander? How’d you get permission to enter the territory?”
“I’ve been there before.”
“Where?”
“The battlefield.”
Lander held out the basket. In that short time, he’d finished prepping the potatoes. They looked perfectly trimmed at a glance—no flaws.
“You’re done already?”
“I’m good at repetitive tasks. No matter what they are. I’ll help with the rest too.”
“Sure,” Louise replied, scooping out more potatoes for him. She eyed the now-empty basket, then stole a glance at Lander. Battlefield? Was that for real?
War. A familiar yet alien word. It had dragged on for years, with sporadic news trickling in.
Some tavern patrons had spoken of fierce battles. Even the war with the Allied Kingdoms, once thought to upend the world, was now over.
“It must have been rough. My dad loves talking too, just like me, but he rarely shares about the battlefield. I never heard proper stories, but I could tell from his face. How horrific, how miserable it was.”
“It’s no place you can talk about smiling.”
She noticed Lander’s expression mirror her father’s for a moment. But while fear had blanketed her father’s face, Lander showed emotions contrasting it—scattered across his features.
His look said the battlefield wasn’t all horror.
Maybe that’s why Louise could ask about it.
“What’s it like? The battlefield.”
“It’s a place where people live. Aside from the special circumstances and the oddballs from all over gathering there, it’s like any neighborhood.”
“Like you?”
“I wasn’t exactly ordinary either.”
“What did you do there? Fight every day?”
“No. War’s a human endeavor, so battles don’t happen nonstop every day. Early on, it was nonstop chaos without a wink of sleep, but as things shifted, the war’s shape changed too.”
“How so?”
Lander cracked his knuckles. His interlocked fingers danced from thumb to ring finger. When they stopped, the outlander spoke.
“We’d wake up in the morning and do light exercise. Across from us, the enemy would light fires and prep breakfast.”
“You could see that? Were you that close?”
“It was the front lines. Right up against each other.”
“Wasn’t that dangerous?”
“It could be, depending. War’s still war. But it rarely happened. After morning meals in our camps, we’d form up and sing marching songs. The enemy did the same.”
Singing face-to-face with people you had to kill—Louise found it baffling yet oddly amusing.
“You’re not supposed to laugh, right?”
“No. It was funny. Hearing their marching songs so much, I even memorized them. A friend of mine joked that one day we’d belt out their anthem by mistake when it was time for ours.”
“Messing up and singing the enemy’s song would be disastrous.”
“It happened a few times. Maybe subconscious slips.”
Louise’s eyes widened as she asked,
“What happened to them?”
“Nothing much. They got latrine duty. Everyone was exhausted back then. Even the hotheads said a full assault would be better than the boring standoff. The stalemate wore people down.”
“If I were there, I’d be too tense to last a day. Just imagining facing enemy soldiers…”
Louise shivered slightly. Death was commonplace. Burying a newborn by the village river barely counted as news.
But she’d witnessed deliberate murder driven by malice only once.
Seeping blood, spine-chilling screams, a pickaxe stained red. Just recalling it made her dizzy. The battlefield must be littered with such deaths.
“Everyone’s like that at first. Shaking with nerves. Lots of guys puked daily. But you get numb. You end up scarfing food in a trench reeking of rot. The more numb you get, the better soldier you are. Morale builds that way.”
Lander spoke plainly, then smiled faintly.
“That’s the battlefield.”
“Must have been hard.”
“Everyone struggled. In that sense, your father is truly remarkable. Enduring that and coming back to protect his family.”
Lander set down the knife.
“All done.”
“You’re so fast. I barely made a dent while talking.”
He hadn’t even seemed to look at the potatoes in his hand. Peeling and sorting without a glance—it was impressive. And not sloppy either. Just the rotten spots neatly removed.
“Anything else I can help with?”
“Would you mind?”
“No plans till Guchi gets back, so give me something to do. Gotta earn my keep.”
“Then could you check the shelf? It’s been creaking lately.”
“I’m no carpenter, but I’ll take a look.”
Louise pointed to the noisy shelf and asked him to check it.
* * *
“Sorry, Guchi. Keep you waiting long?”
Guchi eyed Bank, who sat across from him reeking of booze.
“No plans to cut back on the drinking, huh.”
“What would I live for then?”
“Guild lets you slide is the mystery.”
“You’re useful labor. Too valuable to toss for being a drunk. Anyway, congrats on making it back safe from the Crimson Forest. See any white-horned deer?”
Bank offered a cigarette. Guchi sniffed it near his nose. A sour scent wafted up. Some mystery leaf rolled up. He set it down.
“Still got that unique taste in smokes. No such luck on the deer—not even a shadow.”
“Too bad. If you’d brought horns, I’d have fenced them high-price right away.”
“Buyer nearby?”
“There’s a lady here who goes nuts for rarities. Even this territory’s lord is scrambling to impress her, hunting down goodies.”
“A lady?”
“Yeah.”
It was then Bank pulled out paperwork he needed to fill. A noise came from behind. Guchi turned. The one-eyed man from the alley had entered.
Beside the one-eyed man stood a uniformed fellow. The one-eyed man was politely escorting the uniformed one— a far cry from the handaxe-wielding thug.
(To be continued next time)