They Say an Age Gap Like This Doesn’t Even Need Matching – Chapter 23

Author: isuzuuy

The mana around me began to stir, and then a figure dropped straight down from the ceiling.

He was a highly suspicious-looking man dressed in black, complete with a face mask.

Well, that was how he would appear to someone who didn’t know him.

“Kay.”

To me, he was a face I knew better than anyone.

Kay, my fellow expedition member, whose skills in stealth and infiltration were second to none.

Let’s skip the question of how he’d managed to find me here in just a few days. It must have been an easy task for him.

“Have you been well?”

“No.”

He pulled down his mask and answered in a flat tone.

“I’ve been hounded relentlessly for the past few days.”

“Oh, really?”

Well, that was understandable.

Kay had originally been the head of an information guild. People must have been clamoring at him from every direction, demanding to know what on earth had happened.

“I knew you’d do this.”

The corners of Kay’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“You were planning to somehow restore the country on your own and hold a victory celebration, weren’t you?”

Well, of course I was.

What was this?

Why did it feel like I was being scolded?

Of course, given the unbelievable situation of having three hundred years pass, it was only natural for them to resent me, their captain. But that wasn’t what he seemed to be upset about.

“Once you realized things had gone wrong, you should’ve come straight to us. Did you even think about how worried we’d be?”

“Why would you be worried about me? If anything, I should be the one worrying about all of you.”

Oh, now even his eyebrows shot up.

He really was furious.

There was nothing to be gained from making him angrier. I’d better find a way to smooth things over.

“You were all so desperate to see your families again… And then something like this happened. I don’t know how I could even face you.”

I sighed and lowered my head.

I’d said it to calm him down, but those words reflected how I truly felt, too.

“Kay, have you met your descendants? Is the guild still around?”

“Yes, well…”

“How are they? Are they doing well?”

“There are a few things that make my blood boil, but they’ve done a good job of building up the guild.”

“I see. That’s a relief.”

As I continued the conversation, I glanced at his expression. He seemed a little less angry than before.

“Captain.”

“Hmm?”

“At first, it was so absurd and hard to believe that we couldn’t accept it. But now, we’ve all come to terms with reality.”

I was momentarily at a loss for words as I looked at him.

“From the moment we volunteered for the expedition, we knew we might never see our families again. The fact that we survived at all is a miracle.”

“Kay, that’s…”

“No one resents you. We were just worried you might be going through all this alone. And, to be honest, it hurt a little that you wouldn’t lean on us, even when you were facing a situation like this.”

So that’s how they felt.

Could they really see it that way?

I didn’t know. I couldn’t even begin to imagine.

Because I had no family.

Even in my earliest memories, I was an orphan. I’d been alone ever since.

So I could only imagine the grief, despair, and emptiness they’d felt. I didn’t truly understand any of it.

If they’d poured all their resentment onto me as their captain, or even grabbed me by the collar and shaken me, I would have accepted it.

I believed that was my role, and a responsibility I had to bear.

But perhaps, just a little, I’d been afraid.

The time we’d spent together had accumulated, year after year, until they had become the closest thing I had to a family.

If I actually had to face their hateful, resentful gazes, I wasn’t sure I could simply take it in stride.

Maybe that was why…

I’d tried to handle everything on my own, no matter what.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you. I’m just like this, you know. You’ve always been the ones supporting me without being asked.”

I shrugged as I spoke, and Kay let out a hollow laugh.

“Yes, well. That’s true.”

Good.

He was definitely calming down now.

“Let’s work on your current plan together.”

“Do you even know what I’m planning to do?”

“Doesn’t matter. Knowing you, it’ll be something reckless and exciting anyway.”

“Really? You don’t care what it is?”

Would they really find it fun to strike the enemy from behind and reform Bardia?

“Yes. Everyone agreed. That’s what we’re going to do.”

After everything they’d been through, you’d think they’d want to rest. Yet not a single one of them was thinking of retiring.

Then again, given Bardia’s current situation, even the founding heroes buried in their graves would probably leap to their feet in outrage.

And what about the people who’d volunteered for the expedition, prepared to give their lives to protect those who remained?

The fact that they hadn’t dropped a fireball on the place right away was proof of their remarkable restraint.

“All right. Works for me.”

Just having Kay on our side would be an enormous help.

Not only were his personal abilities perfectly suited to covert operations, but the information guild run by his descendants would also give us insight into the political situation across the continent.

“We’ll avoid war as much as possible. You understand what I mean, right?”

“I expected nothing less from you, Captain.”

Kay shrugged.

In truth, with the expedition’s strength, turning Cradion’s imperial capital into a sea of fire would probably be the easier option.

But what we’d fought to protect three hundred years ago wasn’t just a single country.

Regardless of whether the country was divided or how the balance of power shifted, the lives of ordinary people who simply wanted to live peacefully from day to day had to be protected.

Those with power should fight those who possess power.

We couldn’t allow the people who needed protection to get caught up in our battles.

“Then what should I do first?”

“First…”

An idea came to me just as I needed one, and my eyes lit up.

“Let’s get you a job under a false identity.”

***

“Perfect. Absolutely perfect.”

I nodded as I looked around the space, which had been transformed beyond recognition.

“Isn’t it, Head Chef?”

“Well, it’s quite decent.”

What I’d managed to squeeze out of the head chamberlain was…

A kitchen!

There had already been a kitchen here, but it had fallen into disrepair after being left unused for so long. We’d taken this opportunity to clean it up and get everything in order.

And so, Kay had gotten himself a job at the detached palace under the false identity of its head chef.

We just happened to need a cook.

It wasn’t because I was tired of going back and forth to the Central Palace every mealtime.

I’m reluctant to leave the food in someone else’s hands when we know so little about the compound poison.

Even the “love potion” the Crown Prince had intended to use was still unaccounted for. Who knew what had happened to it?

I had no way of knowing who might tamper with Elhardt’s food, or when.

Kay was a good cook. His retirement dream had been to run a pub.

He was once called a revolutionary in the field of magical beast cuisine.

Almost everything he made was delicious, except for his wyvern stew with scallions.

The ingredients here were probably far superior, so I had high hopes.

We’d arranged for an assistant cook to be brought in from the information guild run by Kay’s descendants.

Apparently, Kay had mentioned that there was still a lot he needed to teach him, so he intended to keep his successor close and train him personally.

“Now, let’s go introduce you.”

Since he’d become part of the detached palace staff, I had to introduce him to everyone.

“Excellent. I’ve been curious about whom you chose.”

“You’re going to be surprised.”

“In what way?”

“You’ll see.”

I smiled confidently and led Kay up the stairs.

When we reached the bedroom on the second floor, I knocked rather politely on the door. Normally, I’d have just walked right in without a second thought.

“Elhardt, can I come in?”

The door swung open almost before I’d finished speaking.

As if he’d been pacing right outside, waiting for me.

“Ser, where have you been all this—”

Elhardt began speaking in a rush, but then he fell silent and looked at Kay, who stood behind me.

“Oh…”

Kay let out an admiring exclamation, then greeted him with a bright, friendly smile.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. I’m Kay, the head chef who’ll be working at the detached palace.”

“I thought it would be good for you two to meet, so I brought him along.”

Elhardt stared intently at Kay with a stiff expression before slowly nodding.

“…It’s a pleasure.”

…That’s a strange reaction.