The Time-Stop Breeding Uncle Want’s to Retire

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Bayard, surprisingly, was obediently gathering ingredients herself.

This was partly due to her inherently innocent nature, but more importantly, she understood the true meaning of this competition.

Preparing a meal for guests traveling from afar was, in a way, a matter of course.

Unlike modern times, travel here was inconvenient and fraught with danger.

It could be seen as a similar custom to hospitality. Moreover, Bayard was slightly excited to see her old friends again after so long.

That is, until the ingredients she had painstakingly gathered were burned to ashes before her eyes. Bayard quietly turned her head.

As expected, they were standing there.

They seemed to have no intention of hiding their actions. With smirks plastered on their faces, they looked down at Bayard. Bayard burst into laughter.

Her innocent personality vanished completely, leaving only a tyrant ready to unleash her fury.

But none of the others backed down from Bayard’s imposing aura. Instead, they met it head-on.

“This is how it should be, right?! Isn’t it?!”

“We can’t just let this go!”

“My, my! Look how much you’ve grown! You little brats!”

They couldn’t endure it any longer. If they didn’t beat the crap out of those who had burned their ingredients, they wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight. Ironically, everyone gathered there felt the same way.

From this perspective, it might seem like a reckless rampage, but they were surprisingly rational. At least they had no intention of causing bloodshed, as the Commander had ordered.

In other words, as long as there was no blood, anything was fair game. Bayard was the first to move.

She unleashed her fury without reservation, moving with a ferocity that resembled a wild beast.

Ruby responded in kind.

Until two years ago, Ruby would have been overwhelmed by Bayard’s aura and unable to do anything. But things were different now. She had undergone extensive training and gained valuable experience.

There were times when she wanted to give up, but she had persevered, fueled by her faith in the Commander. And now, those experiences were her support, allowing her to endure.

“The one who’s going to die isn’t me, it’s you!!”

“You disrespectful little brat!!!”

Ruby met Bayard’s ferocious charge head-on, deflecting her attack. She had managed to withstand Bayard, whose physical abilities rivaled even Yuren’s.

This wasn’t because Ruby was particularly strong. It was simply her unwavering resolve. Bayard, momentarily stunned by Ruby’s unexpected resilience, faltered.

Ruby seized the opportunity and counterattacked.

She boldly closed the distance and threw a punch, an upward swing that connected with Bayard’s jaw.

“Look at this little shit…”

“Huh…?”

“You think you’re so cute?! Huh?!”

“W-wait…!!!”

There was nothing wrong with Ruby’s attack. Bayard was simply too strong. Her resilience allowed her to withstand even Ruby’s attacks. That was Bayard’s greatest strength.

But her perception of Ruby as a mere child had changed. So, Bayard decided to go all out. She grabbed Ruby’s wrist, lifted her, and slammed her to the ground.

Like driving a hammer into the earth. She wouldn’t have gone this far if her opponent had been anyone else, but her opponent was Ruby. The tough, armor-like girl who would succeed her.

Meanwhile, Clara and Yuren were also engaged in a fierce battle.

Naturally, Yuren had the overwhelming advantage in close-quarters combat, but Clara was putting up a good fight.

Yuren whistled and said,

“Impressive. I didn’t expect you to have grown this much.”

“I’m not done yet. I can do more!!”

“Good, I like that. Come! Show me your spirit!!”

“Raaaagh!!”

Unlike Bayard and Ruby, the gap between Clara and Yuren was immense.

Yuren had been the Commander of the Royal Knights, after all. She naturally possessed the skills to match her position.

But even facing such a formidable opponent, Clara didn’t give up. If she gave up here, she would be nothing! So, she absolutely couldn’t give up!!!

But just as her determination burned brightly,

“What are you doing?”

A cold voice cut through the air from behind.

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“Oh, my head.”

Hans felt a throbbing headache. It wasn’t an exaggeration, it felt like someone was hitting him in the head with a shovel. He knew the unit members were competitive.

But he also knew that if he kept intervening, they would eventually explode.

So, he had hoped that this cooking competition would help them release some of that tension. He hadn’t expected things to escalate this far.

It was fortunate that Helia had informed him, allowing him to dispatch Cluna.

Otherwise, things could have gotten much worse. Hans shook off his fatigue and looked at the unit members before him.

Perhaps because they knew they had done wrong, none of them dared to meet his gaze.

After observing them for a moment, Hans sighed and spoke quietly.

“You need to explain yourselves.”

“W-we got too carried away gathering ingredients!”

“There’s nothing wrong with working hard!”

“That’s right! That’s right!”

“S-sorry, Commander.”

Hans ordered the three, excluding Bayard, who had readily admitted her fault, to kneel and raise their hands.

Clara, Ruby, and Yuren were forced to receive their punishment like elementary school students.

“But I didn’t expect you to fight over ingredients. I’m partly to blame for this.”

“No, Commander. It’s those idiots’ fault for getting so carried away.”

“What? Idiots?!”

“Then what are we? My stupid daughter?”

Clara, who had flared up, quickly deflated.

Meanwhile, Hans, who had been watching them bicker, put aside his throbbing headache and started thinking about how to resolve the situation.

“Alright, let’s do this. I’ll provide the ingredients equally to everyone.”

In fact, it was the most logical course of action.

What kind of competition didn’t provide the basic necessities? If it weren’t for their current limited circumstances, he would have done so from the beginning.

But they were at war, not at peace. Even the seemingly abundant food supplies could disappear at any moment. So, they couldn’t afford to be extravagant with food.

However, this Alliance meeting was a little different.

Unlike before, when they were constantly being pushed back, this was the first time the Alliance was united and moving forward.

“I can’t provide an abundance, but we should at least be able to serve a decent meal.”

‘And some good alcohol with women wouldn’t hurt either.’

‘…Shut up.’

Pushing away the intrusive thoughts, Hans finished speaking. He wasn’t wrong. The Royal Knights weren’t well-off enough to indulge in luxury.

They had a considerable amount of military rations, but there was a big difference between food for soldiers and extravagant dishes for nobles.

However, even considering that, he had decided that this much was acceptable.

‘Especially for Yuren…’

“Hmm? Commander?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Perhaps sensing his gaze, Yuren looked at Hans, and Hans quickly averted his eyes.

He was concerned about having hunted a dragon. The unit members still didn’t know how he had mediated the situation.

It was true that the Black Dragon Zaerkan was infamous, and that it hadn’t heeded his warning. But it was still awkward to tell Yuren that he had killed a fellow dragon.

He wouldn’t have cared if it had been a human.

There were many humans, and most were strangers. But dragons were different. There weren’t many of them, and they all knew each other.

In other words, unlike humans, dragons were like family, caring deeply for one another. So, they usually tried to spare each other’s lives, no matter how grave the offense.

If dragons were truly strict about punishment, how could the Black Dragon Zaerkan have run rampant so freely? But how could he tell her that he had killed a dragon in front of another dragon?

That’s why Hans was subtly avoiding Yuren.

Even if he wanted to ask her about the Dragon Heart, he couldn’t bring himself to do so after killing Zaerkan.

“Ahem, anyway… this time, don’t fight and prepare properly!”

Believing he had somehow managed to resolve the situation, Hans reiterated his instructions to everyone.

This time, please don’t cause any trouble and do your job properly. He had even assigned Cluna to help them.

‘This should prevent any further incidents, right?’

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[Translator Notes]