Published: September 10, 2025
Satou here. It seems that in Earth’s history, it’s common to say that a god granted the throne to a king to legitimize him. I wonder how things are in a world where gods really exist.
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“Sweet potato~?”
“Again with the sweet potatoes.”
Tama and Pochi peered into a street stall, their ears drooping as they sighed in disappointment.
We were in the food area of the market held in the Royal Capital of the Rumork Kingdom.
The Ministry of Tourism’s airship was scheduled to arrive tomorrow, but since we found out there was a festival, we decided to sneak in early for some sightseeing.
Since this was a stealth trip, we split into three teams of three to five people to avoid standing out.
I’m supposed to rotate between teams every two hours.
The first team consisted of the beast girls, Miss Karina, and Ms. Zena — five people in total.
“Are they from other countries? Rumork uses a lot of dishes made with edible tubers.”
An elderly ape tribe street vendor showed us a pale, white potato-like tuber.
He sliced it with the skin still on and offered it to us.
“Try this sweet potato sashimi. You might be surprised.”
“Surprised?”
“No lying allowed, you know?”
Intrigued by the slices, Tama and Pochi sniffed them carefully.
It’s a common scene in food review shows, but biting into raw vegetables takes some getting used to.
“Crunchy~?”
“I think sweet potatoes taste better when baked or steamed.”
Tama and Pochi took the slices and bit into them with a crunchy sound.
“Definitely sweet potato.”
“Surprisingly tasty.”
“—Indeed.”
Following them, Liza and Miss Karina reached out, and even Ms. Zena hesitantly joined in.
“How about you, young lord?”
“Well, since it’s a special occasion.”
Giving in to the old ape’s gaze, I also tried it.
The texture was like a carrot stick, and the taste resembled a microwave-warmed potato — simple and straightforward.
Not exactly delicious, but not bad enough to make a face either.
“Is this edible tuber a local specialty?”
“Yes, it seems it only grows here.”
I asked the vendor since I thought I hadn’t seen it even in the food-rich Duke’s Capital.
He said its export to the Shiga Kingdom was forbidden.
“—Forbidden?”
“Yeah, it’s said that the ancient Hero King Yamato told the king back then it was ‘Calorie Zero’ and banned it.”
—Calorie zero, huh? I should ask Hikaru directly later.
“If you only eat edible tubers, do you waste away and die?”
“You know your stuff. It’s true — as long as you eat other foods too, it’s fine. But strangely, if you only eat edible tubers, you supposedly die. I’ve eaten it every day for 40 years and I’m fine, though. It’s a weird tale.”
As expected, it’s a low-calorie food like konnyaku.
I’d love to powder it for diet foods and market it to nobles.
Not wanting to take advantage of the free tasting, I bought enough sweet potato and berry baked parcels for everyone.
I pretended to store the portions for the other teams in my bag but actually put them in storage.
“Master~?”
Tama’s ears twitched.
“I smell grilled meat from over there! It must be wolf or bear!”
Pochi wagged his tail so hard it nearly tore off, grabbed my sleeve, and bounced up and down.
“Master, I’m going to check it out.”
“Tama too?”
“Pochi wants to check as well!”
Apparently, not just Tama and Pochi, but Liza was also tired of the tubers.
With a determined look, they eagerly went off in the direction of the meat smell to scout.
“Wait, Pochi! Tama!”
Miss Karina, left behind, hurried after the beast girls.
“Well then, let’s go too.”
“Yes, Mr. Satou.”
After exchanging a smile with Ms. Zena, I started walking toward the four who disappeared beyond the crowd.
To avoid getting separated in the crowd, I held Ms. Zena’s hand.
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“—The Second Prince didn’t go along with it, right?”
“Yeah, the weasel tribe said they couldn’t be trusted and flatly refused.”
From beyond the crowd, my eavesdropping skill picked up the conversation.