The Time-Stop Breeding Uncle Want's to Retire-Chapter 144

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The date for the Alliance meeting was set.

It was to be held a fortnight later at Lionheart Fortress. Not only was Lionheart Fortress centrally located, but the Royal Knights needed to mediate.

For the time being, they were putting aside their past grievances and cooperating, but that didn’t mean their animosity had completely vanished. The Orcs and the 12 Tribes were still growling at each other, and the Elves and Dwarves weren’t on good terms either.

The Dwarves and the 12 Tribes had at least managed to reach an agreement, settling their territorial disputes and improving their relationship significantly.

In any case, the important thing was that they needed to prepare for the Alliance meeting in two weeks. The Royal Knights decided to take charge of the preparations.

For instance, the food for the meeting.

Of course, in these harsh times, preparing luxurious dishes was out of the question. But they had to at least show some sincerity. Each race had different culinary preferences.

“We need to prepare something that won’t offend anyone, right?”

“That’s not wrong.”

“It’s the right thing to do. If an Elf who knows nothing about Dwarven cuisine tries it, they’ll think it’s an assassination attempt.”

“The first time I tried it, I seriously thought it was a duel challenge.”

Each race had different standards and quantities for food. They couldn’t serve the same dish to the carnivorous Beastmen and the vegetarian Elves.

Hans sighed and said,

“It was fine before when we didn’t have much, but now we’ve received a lot of support. We have to at least show some gratitude.”

The Royal Knights were receiving more support than expected from other races. Even the Elves, who disliked the Royal Knights, were providing necessary resources.

This was proof that the importance of the Royal Knights had increased, but it also meant more things to worry about.

Just like now. It made Hans feel tired.

The only fortunate thing was that, with the exception of the Vampires, all the other races were represented here. So, he at least knew what kind of food each race ate.

Furthermore, for the past year, they had been rotating cooking duties.

Thanks to this, their initially disastrous cooking skills had improved considerably.

“Then, let’s each prepare our own dishes.”

“Are we suspending training?”

“It can’t be helped. We’ll suspend everything except for guard duty.”

“Hmm, but isn’t just preparing food a bit boring?”

It was Yuren who first brought up the topic. Everyone’s attention focused on her. Most of them probably sensed the competitive spirit in her voice.

“Since we’re preparing food anyway, how about we give a prize to the person who makes the most delicious dish? It would greatly boost the unit’s morale.” 𝑅äN𝐨𝖇Ëꞩ

“That’s not a bad idea. It would be good to give some kind of reward to boost morale…”

“T-then, how about granting the winner’s wish?!”

Clara raised her voice for the first time in a while. In a way, she was volunteering herself. And everyone present agreed with her idea.

Hans clicked his tongue and said,

“Granting a wish, all of a sudden?”

“We’ve been working hard! Can’t you do that much for us?!”

“Hmm… Considering the effort involved in preparing the dishes and gathering the ingredients…”

Ironically, Hans recalled his past life. When he worked at a small company, he had been overworked and underpaid.

If only he had received proper compensation and bonuses, he would have been more motivated.

Thinking about that, Hans nodded. It wouldn’t hurt to have an event like this.

“Alright, I’ll allow it. I’ll grant one wish, within my power, to the person who makes the most delicious dish.”

“Heh! That’s more like my Commander!”

“Of course, it has to be a wish I can grant.”

“That’s more than enough!”

Their motivation, which was usually only seen during requests or training, was ignited.

Hans, however, worried that they might get too carried away.

“I think we need events like this sometimes.”

“Cluna?”

“We’ve been through a lot recently, haven’t we?”

“…”

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Hans couldn’t deny Cluna’s words. They had been working non-stop. They had helped with the expeditions in the Human Kingdom, conquered the Purgatory Workshop in the Dwarf Kingdom, and even mediated between the Orcs and the 12 Tribes.

They had even faced a dragon in the process. In any case, the important thing was that things didn’t just end when the work was done.

There was still a lot of work to be done.

For example, paperwork, meetings with each tribe, and so on. And now, they were planning an expedition for the Alliance.

‘They must have accumulated a lot of stress.’

Of course, Hans had handled most of the work, but the other unit members hadn’t been idle.

Even when Hans was away, they had their own duties to perform.

And because it was practically a wartime situation, they had to keep their senses sharp at all times. This constant tension had undoubtedly led to a significant buildup of stress.

Hans nodded.

As Cluna had said, it wouldn’t be bad to occasionally put aside training and work and cater to the unit members’ needs.

“Alright, then, Cluna, you and I will be the judges for this cooking competition.”

“…Me too?”

“It wouldn’t be fair if you participated.”

“W-well, that’s true, but…”

Seeing Cluna hesitate, which was rare, Hans thought,

‘Don’t tell me you were planning to participate in the cooking competition yourself?’

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Contrary to Hans’s thoughts, the members of the Royal Knights weren’t as stressed as he had imagined.

In fact, they were grateful for the abundance of work.

Were they workaholics? No, it wasn’t that.

As everyone knew, they had lost comrades.

Though they weren’t all close, they were at least comrades. And those comrades had died brutally before their eyes. The weight of death wasn’t borne by the dead, but by the living.

It was so painful and agonizing that they unconsciously sought refuge. Few could truly overcome death. They just endured.

The same was true for them. They might appear fine on the surface, but their emotional wounds hadn’t healed. The death of a comrade was that significant.

If their Commander hadn’t been Hans, the Royal Knights would have self-destructed.

That’s how deep their wounds were.

They were suppressing those wounds with Hans. That’s why they were so obsessed with him.

They had feelings for him, and they were using those feelings to cover their wounds.

Wounds inflicted by people could only be healed by people.

That’s why they wanted to be even a little more helpful to Hans. By being helpful to him, their hearts were fulfilled, and they would be able to look forward to the future. And now, they had an unexpected opportunity.

The Commander had promised to grant the wish of whoever made the best dish.

What woman could resist such an offer? They were even more enthusiastic than Hans had anticipated.

Until now, they had seen each other as comrades who needed to protect each other.

But from this moment on, they were rivals who needed to be eliminated. Only one person could have their wish granted. As soon as the words left his mouth, they sprang into action.

“I called dibs on these cooking utensils!”

“Dibs? First come, first served.”

“I never liked you from the beginning.”

“Same here.”

There was nothing that could stop the flames that had already been ignited. The rivalry started with the cooking utensils.

Seeing this, Hans sighed.

“First of all, bloodshed is prohibited. If there’s any bloodshed, the person responsible will be immediately disqualified.”

“Ugh!!”

It was a good thing he had come to check just in case.

Otherwise, Clara’s arrows and Ruby’s flaming hammer would have clashed. If that had happened, Lionheart Fortress would have been destroyed.

Only after Hans strictly established the rules could the competition truly begin. The cooking utensils were to be shared equally.

Sabotaging each other’s ingredients was also prohibited.

“Then, the key is to secure the ingredients first!”

“Hahahaha! You fools! I’m going first!!”

“…”

Watching them jump out the window, Hans thought,

‘There’s a door, why are you breaking the window? Damn it.’

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[Translator Notes]