The era is the Warring States period. It’s an age of rival warlords. Here on the continent of Çabrille, lords of various sizes and strengths boast of being the continent’s ruler, and their days are filled with war. On the battlefield, magic and arrows fly, while spears and swords clash. It has become a chaotic crucible where life and death intermingle, and ambition, hope, and desire swirl together. In such times, the mercenary business is profitable. And so I, Gungrave, along with four childhood friends, have started a mercenary group with our own ambitions. Our goal is to become lords of our own domain and acquire a country. We aim to create a safe haven where even orphans like us can live without worry. The peaceful country I aim for is one where no one goes hungry or lives in poverty. I want to save the people from the shitty lords who only exploit them. However, it’s been five years since we started the mercenary group, and it’s still small-scale. My childhood friends have talents in fighting and magic, and I’m confident in my skills with the sword and in strategy. But no matter how many battles we win or how much we earn, the mercenary group just doesn’t seem to grow. People, horses, and weapons alone consume a lot of money. Maybe my talents alone aren’t enough to grow the group beyond about fifty people. Then one day, I met that guy. Looking back, it was probably a fateful encounter.
That day, we were participating in the battle at Lymbere Hill, hired by the lord of the North. It seemed like it would be a prolonged battle, which was perfect for making money. The northern lord had plenty of gold, and there was much to be taken from the enemy lord as well. But the soldiers are getting tired of the prolonged fighting. It’s already been two months. We’ve earned plenty, and I want to end the war soon, but I think we’ve dragged it out too long. We’re on the verge of getting bogged down. It’s my mistake for misjudging when to withdraw. The cavalry unit of twenty that I lead is tired, and the other units are probably the same. We need something to inspire them, to boost morale.
“Captain!” “What’s all the noise about?”
I’m thinking about how to attack on the map board, even skipping mealtime, when one of my childhood friends bursts into the tent. It’s Tegue, one of my childhood friends who leads the archery unit. He’s a bit of a joker, but he’s got perfect aim, and the archery unit he leads is full of elite soldiers.
“We caught a suspicious guy, so I came to let you know.” “A suspicious guy? A spy?” “Ah… well, doesn’t seem like a spy…” “Huh?”
A suspicious guy who’s not a spy?
It’s so vague that I follow him, and there he is.
…I see, he is suspicious.
He’s wearing a tunic and trousers. That’s all he has on. But the tunic and trousers are unlike anything I’ve seen before, I can’t tell the sewing method or the material. But they’re high quality. And this guy is strange. His face is flat and plain. His hair is short and an unusual black color. He’s not tall, and his build is thin. Too scrawny to be a villager, too weak to be a soldier, not refined enough to be a lord’s son. I’ve seen all kinds of people and developed my judgment and knowledge, but I can’t figure this guy out.
“Who are you? Why are you here?”
I ask cautiously. I don’t want to be suddenly attacked.
“HAHAHAHAHA”
For some reason, he starts laughing.
“What are you laughing at?!”
When I get angry, he deflates. What’s with this guy?
“Um, my name is Shuri. Where is this place?” “I’m the one asking questions, don’t say unnecessary things.”
It’s useless to try to gain an advantage. I won’t allow such things. But who is this guy? Why is he here? How did someone who doesn’t look like he can fight end up lost in the middle of a battlefield like this?
“You said your name is Shuri. Where are you from? Which village?” “I’m from the countryside of Japan.” “Japan… Never heard of it.”
I’ve never heard of it, even from veteran soldiers who have experienced various battlefields far and wide. In the five years since starting this mercenary group, I’ve never known of such a domain.
“Look, I just stumbled here by mistake, I don’t even know where ‘here’ is.” “Shut up.”
This guy keeps interrupting my thoughts. He’s carefree and hard to pin down. There aren’t many troublesome guys like this.
“By the way, I’m hungry.” “Shut up, so are we.”
For a moment, I thought this guy might be someone important. Is it normal to demand food in this situation? Moreover, our mercenary group doesn’t have anyone who can properly cook meals. I can cook for myself, but we don’t have a cook who can feed others at a decent level. So, salt and potato soup is common. That’s why we’re hungry. We’re always hungry. When we get to town, we all share the desire to eat delicious food to our heart’s content.
“Captain, what should we do?” “Doesn’t look like he has anything worth taking.” “I don’t think it’s worth keeping him around.” “But we can’t just let him go. We should kill him quickly and prepare for battle.”
My childhood friends chime in with their opinions. Indeed, we probably can’t strip anything valuable from this guy, and it might be better to kill him quickly. We don’t know where information might leak from. It’s best to eliminate uncertain factors.
“Um, may I say something?” “What is it?” “I’m hungry, so could you let me cook?” “…Were you a cook?” “I can cook pretty much anything. If you’re going to kill me, at least let me cook and eat first.”
He’s trying to negotiate in this situation? Indeed, our food situation isn’t good. If we had a cook, things might change.
“Interesting.”
I grin and say to him.
“Then try making some delicious food. Depending on that, I might let you live.” “Captain?! Are you serious?!” “It’s before battle. It’s not a bad idea to boost morale like this. If it’s bad, we can always kill him.”
If he can make delicious food, we can share it with the soldiers to raise their spirits. If it’s bad, we can let the soldiers kill him out of frustration. Either way, we have a method to boost morale.
I untie him and lend him cooking utensils.
“These are the ingredients.”
The boy who called himself Shuri was examining the ingredients I handed him. These are all the usable ingredients we have. I’m not expecting any decent cooking to be possible.
“Is there anything else?” “No. This is already luxurious. Usually, it’s just salt and potato soup.”
This is a lie. We don’t have a specialist for food storage, so we can only secure enough to eat and move. Better places might secure deer meat.
“Then how about a seafood cream stew? It would be perfect if we had shrimp. Since we don’t, let’s substitute with fish scraps.”
Shrimp? Scraps? Seafood? What can this guy make with these meager ingredients? While I’m thinking this, he’s already started cooking. He skillfully fillets the fish. I see, he’s going to make a soup with the meat, potatoes, green onions, and salt. We usually eat fish grilled. It’s mostly burnt black. No one touches it because it’s awful. But Shuri takes out the head and meat, cleanly removes the innards, grills the head and meat, and puts them in a pot of boiling water. He’s also peeling and adding potatoes. The head? What’s he planning to do?
“Can we… eat that?”
One of the unit members behind me muttered. Indeed, we don’t have the custom of eating fish heads. While this is going on, the water has come to a boil and has turned slightly white. …What is this?
“…I’d like to refrain.”
Another mutter. I want to run away too. However, when I saw him putting milk, butter, and flour that he had been roasting in another pot into the main pot, I nearly fainted.
“Ugh…”
Tegue looks like he’s about to throw up too. The whitish pot has turned completely white. …Maybe we should kill this guy here.
“Finally, topping with green onions.”
Knowing or not knowing our murderous intent, Shuri ladles out more soup and tops it with chopped green onions.
“Here you go.”
Are we… supposed to eat this? The more I look at it, the whiter it is. There’s no head visible, but it’s a pure white soup with potatoes, fish meat, and green onions as ingredients. But… this is.
“This… the soup is white.” “It’s cream stew.”
I don’t understand the meaning of that response.
“If it tastes bad, I’ll kill you.”
I remind him, then scoop up some soup with a spoon. The appearance is one thing, but let me be honest.
The smell is amazing.
It’s giving off a delicious aroma, almost demanding to be eaten. Succumbing to that smell, I put it in my mouth.
It’s incredibly delicious.
The taste of fish matches perfectly with the milk and butter. The light taste of the fish meat is enveloped by the rich and mellow flavor of milk and cheese. I thought it was sweet, but salt added at some point tightens the flavor.
“Um?” “Captain, what’s wrong?” “…It’s delicious.”
That’s really all I can say. It’s not bad at all. I’ve never eaten such a meal on the battlefield.
“Hey, give me more.” “Sure, sure. I made plenty, so please eat as much as you like.”
What? Plenty?
“Plenty? With just those few ingredients?” “If you use water, fish scraps, and milk creatively, you can make a large quantity even with few ingredients. You’re all about to work, right? Eating about 80% full of something delicious should give you energy.”
I see. This guy was showing off his excellence through cooking, trying to survive. On the battlefield, you can never have too much food. Of course, it’s not good if supply lines get stretched too thin, but if there’s delicious food, soldiers can fight longer. They can endure cold and heat to some extent. Meals are such an important factor in war. Even in siege warfare, the outcome is decided by stored food. In total war, if soldiers eat their fill and regain their spirits, they gain momentum. The knowledge and skill to make such tasty food in large quantities with just those few ingredients. Maybe when he was looking around and talking earlier, he was exploring our food situation and looking for a chance to sell himself…!
“…I see, you’ve calculated all this.”
We can’t let go of such an excellent cook. Above all, the food is delicious. If we can eat such meals, it’s worth hiring this guy.
“Do you have anywhere to go?” “No, I don’t even know how to get back home.”
Seeing Shuri’s troubled face, I make him an offer.
“If you have nowhere to go, join our unit.” “Huh?” “As a cook. Your job will be to make delicious meals. Cook here until you can return to your homeland.” “Is that okay?” “I’m saying it’s okay.” “Well then, I’d be grateful.”
And so, we added the mysterious boy Shuri to our group.
After this, I, the other officers, and the soldiers enjoyed Shuri’s cooking and performed valiantly on the battlefield. As if all our previous struggles were a lie, the battle lines turned in our favor, and we were able to settle things in a week.
This is the story of the warriors who would later be recorded in history as the “Heroic Mercenary Group.” Gungrave Denju Apurada, the first emperor of the unified empire that pacified the continent, left these words in his writings: “Until then, I thought that strength alone would bring prosperity. But that’s not the case. I needed to know the reason for that strength, its background. Why are they strong, how did they try to become strong? Most soldiers aim to embrace beautiful women and acquire wealth. But that alone doesn’t move soldiers. In the end, it’s delicious food that supports soldiers and people, and shapes a country. The joy of living through a day, and gratitude for being able to greet tomorrow. Starting the morning with delicious food and ending the night with delicious food. Isn’t that happiness? He taught me that.” Emperor Gungrave always had one cook serve by his side. A benefactor he met in his youth, who ran through battlefields with him and made delicious food. This is the story of the cook who supported the heroes. A man who appeared from somewhere, changed the world’s cuisine, and created a new era of cooking. This is the story of Azuma Shuri.
Check out my Patreon for early access to upcoming updates. Patreon Link
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
Chapter 2
The era is the Warring States period. It’s an age of rival warlords.
Here on the continent of Çabrille, lords of various sizes and strengths boast of being the continent’s ruler, and their days are filled with war.
On the battlefield, magic and arrows fly, while spears and swords clash. It has become a chaotic crucible where life and death intermingle, and ambition, hope, and desire swirl together.
In such times, the mercenary business is profitable.
And so I, Gungrave, along with four childhood friends, have started a mercenary group with our own ambitions. Our goal is to become lords of our own domain and acquire a country. We aim to create a safe haven where even orphans like us can live without worry.
The peaceful country I aim for is one where no one goes hungry or lives in poverty. I want to save the people from the shitty lords who only exploit them.
However, it’s been five years since we started the mercenary group, and it’s still small-scale.
My childhood friends have talents in fighting and magic, and I’m confident in my skills with the sword and in strategy. But no matter how many battles we win or how much we earn, the mercenary group just doesn’t seem to grow.
People, horses, and weapons alone consume a lot of money. Maybe my talents alone aren’t enough to grow the group beyond about fifty people.
Then one day, I met that guy.
Looking back, it was probably a fateful encounter.
That day, we were participating in the battle at Lymbere Hill, hired by the lord of the North.
It seemed like it would be a prolonged battle, which was perfect for making money. The northern lord had plenty of gold, and there was much to be taken from the enemy lord as well.
But the soldiers are getting tired of the prolonged fighting.
It’s already been two months. We’ve earned plenty, and I want to end the war soon, but I think we’ve dragged it out too long. We’re on the verge of getting bogged down.
It’s my mistake for misjudging when to withdraw.
The cavalry unit of twenty that I lead is tired, and the other units are probably the same.
We need something to inspire them, to boost morale.
“Captain!”
“What’s all the noise about?”
I’m thinking about how to attack on the map board, even skipping mealtime, when one of my childhood friends bursts into the tent.
It’s Tegue, one of my childhood friends who leads the archery unit. He’s a bit of a joker, but he’s got perfect aim, and the archery unit he leads is full of elite soldiers.
“We caught a suspicious guy, so I came to let you know.”
“A suspicious guy? A spy?”
“Ah… well, doesn’t seem like a spy…”
“Huh?”
A suspicious guy who’s not a spy?
It’s so vague that I follow him, and there he is.
…I see, he is suspicious.
He’s wearing a tunic and trousers. That’s all he has on.
But the tunic and trousers are unlike anything I’ve seen before, I can’t tell the sewing method or the material. But they’re high quality.
And this guy is strange.
His face is flat and plain. His hair is short and an unusual black color.
He’s not tall, and his build is thin.
Too scrawny to be a villager, too weak to be a soldier, not refined enough to be a lord’s son.
I’ve seen all kinds of people and developed my judgment and knowledge, but I can’t figure this guy out.
“Who are you? Why are you here?”
I ask cautiously. I don’t want to be suddenly attacked.
“HAHAHAHAHA”
For some reason, he starts laughing.
“What are you laughing at?!”
When I get angry, he deflates. What’s with this guy?
“Um, my name is Shuri. Where is this place?”
“I’m the one asking questions, don’t say unnecessary things.”
It’s useless to try to gain an advantage. I won’t allow such things.
But who is this guy? Why is he here?
How did someone who doesn’t look like he can fight end up lost in the middle of a battlefield like this?
“You said your name is Shuri. Where are you from? Which village?”
“I’m from the countryside of Japan.”
“Japan… Never heard of it.”
I’ve never heard of it, even from veteran soldiers who have experienced various battlefields far and wide.
In the five years since starting this mercenary group, I’ve never known of such a domain.
“Look, I just stumbled here by mistake, I don’t even know where ‘here’ is.”
“Shut up.”
This guy keeps interrupting my thoughts.
He’s carefree and hard to pin down. There aren’t many troublesome guys like this.
“By the way, I’m hungry.”
“Shut up, so are we.”
For a moment, I thought this guy might be someone important. Is it normal to demand food in this situation?
Moreover, our mercenary group doesn’t have anyone who can properly cook meals.
I can cook for myself, but we don’t have a cook who can feed others at a decent level. So, salt and potato soup is common.
That’s why we’re hungry. We’re always hungry.
When we get to town, we all share the desire to eat delicious food to our heart’s content.
“Captain, what should we do?”
“Doesn’t look like he has anything worth taking.”
“I don’t think it’s worth keeping him around.”
“But we can’t just let him go. We should kill him quickly and prepare for battle.”
My childhood friends chime in with their opinions.
Indeed, we probably can’t strip anything valuable from this guy, and it might be better to kill him quickly.
We don’t know where information might leak from. It’s best to eliminate uncertain factors.
“Um, may I say something?”
“What is it?”
“I’m hungry, so could you let me cook?”
“…Were you a cook?”
“I can cook pretty much anything. If you’re going to kill me, at least let me cook and eat first.”
He’s trying to negotiate in this situation?
Indeed, our food situation isn’t good. If we had a cook, things might change.
“Interesting.”
I grin and say to him.
“Then try making some delicious food. Depending on that, I might let you live.”
“Captain?! Are you serious?!”
“It’s before battle. It’s not a bad idea to boost morale like this.
If it’s bad, we can always kill him.”
If he can make delicious food, we can share it with the soldiers to raise their spirits.
If it’s bad, we can let the soldiers kill him out of frustration.
Either way, we have a method to boost morale.
I untie him and lend him cooking utensils.
“These are the ingredients.”
The boy who called himself Shuri was examining the ingredients I handed him.
These are all the usable ingredients we have. I’m not expecting any decent cooking to be possible.
“Is there anything else?”
“No. This is already luxurious. Usually, it’s just salt and potato soup.”
This is a lie. We don’t have a specialist for food storage, so we can only secure enough to eat and move.
Better places might secure deer meat.
“Then how about a seafood cream stew? It would be perfect if we had shrimp. Since we don’t, let’s substitute with fish scraps.”
Shrimp? Scraps? Seafood?
What can this guy make with these meager ingredients?
While I’m thinking this, he’s already started cooking.
He skillfully fillets the fish. I see, he’s going to make a soup with the meat, potatoes, green onions, and salt.
We usually eat fish grilled. It’s mostly burnt black. No one touches it because it’s awful.
But Shuri takes out the head and meat, cleanly removes the innards, grills the head and meat, and puts them in a pot of boiling water. He’s also peeling and adding potatoes.
The head? What’s he planning to do?
“Can we… eat that?”
One of the unit members behind me muttered.
Indeed, we don’t have the custom of eating fish heads.
While this is going on, the water has come to a boil and has turned slightly white.
…What is this?
“…I’d like to refrain.”
Another mutter. I want to run away too.
However, when I saw him putting milk, butter, and flour that he had been roasting in another pot into the main pot, I nearly fainted.
“Ugh…”
Tegue looks like he’s about to throw up too. The whitish pot has turned completely white.
…Maybe we should kill this guy here.
“Finally, topping with green onions.”
Knowing or not knowing our murderous intent, Shuri ladles out more soup and tops it with chopped green onions.
“Here you go.”
Are we… supposed to eat this?
The more I look at it, the whiter it is. There’s no head visible, but it’s a pure white soup with potatoes, fish meat, and green onions as ingredients.
But… this is.
“This… the soup is white.”
“It’s cream stew.”
I don’t understand the meaning of that response.
“If it tastes bad, I’ll kill you.”
I remind him, then scoop up some soup with a spoon.
The appearance is one thing, but let me be honest.
The smell is amazing.
It’s giving off a delicious aroma, almost demanding to be eaten.
Succumbing to that smell, I put it in my mouth.
It’s incredibly delicious.
The taste of fish matches perfectly with the milk and butter. The light taste of the fish meat is enveloped by the rich and mellow flavor of milk and cheese.
I thought it was sweet, but salt added at some point tightens the flavor.
“Um?”
“Captain, what’s wrong?”
“…It’s delicious.”
That’s really all I can say. It’s not bad at all. I’ve never eaten such a meal on the battlefield.
“Hey, give me more.”
“Sure, sure. I made plenty, so please eat as much as you like.”
What? Plenty?
“Plenty? With just those few ingredients?”
“If you use water, fish scraps, and milk creatively, you can make a large quantity even with few ingredients.
You’re all about to work, right? Eating about 80% full of something delicious should give you energy.”
I see.
This guy was showing off his excellence through cooking, trying to survive.
On the battlefield, you can never have too much food. Of course, it’s not good if supply lines get stretched too thin, but if there’s delicious food, soldiers can fight longer. They can endure cold and heat to some extent.
Meals are such an important factor in war. Even in siege warfare, the outcome is decided by stored food. In total war, if soldiers eat their fill and regain their spirits, they gain momentum.
The knowledge and skill to make such tasty food in large quantities with just those few ingredients.
Maybe when he was looking around and talking earlier, he was exploring our food situation and looking for a chance to sell himself…!
“…I see, you’ve calculated all this.”
We can’t let go of such an excellent cook. Above all, the food is delicious. If we can eat such meals, it’s worth hiring this guy.
“Do you have anywhere to go?”
“No, I don’t even know how to get back home.”
Seeing Shuri’s troubled face, I make him an offer.
“If you have nowhere to go, join our unit.”
“Huh?”
“As a cook. Your job will be to make delicious meals. Cook here until you can return to your homeland.”
“Is that okay?”
“I’m saying it’s okay.”
“Well then, I’d be grateful.”
And so, we added the mysterious boy Shuri to our group.
After this, I, the other officers, and the soldiers enjoyed Shuri’s cooking and performed valiantly on the battlefield.
As if all our previous struggles were a lie, the battle lines turned in our favor, and we were able to settle things in a week.
This is the story of the warriors who would later be recorded in history as the “Heroic Mercenary Group.”
Gungrave Denju Apurada, the first emperor of the unified empire that pacified the continent, left these words in his writings:
“Until then, I thought that strength alone would bring prosperity. But that’s not the case.
I needed to know the reason for that strength, its background. Why are they strong, how did they try to become strong?
Most soldiers aim to embrace beautiful women and acquire wealth. But that alone doesn’t move soldiers.
In the end, it’s delicious food that supports soldiers and people, and shapes a country.
The joy of living through a day, and gratitude for being able to greet tomorrow. Starting the morning with delicious food and ending the night with delicious food. Isn’t that happiness?
He taught me that.”
Emperor Gungrave always had one cook serve by his side.
A benefactor he met in his youth, who ran through battlefields with him and made delicious food.
This is the story of the cook who supported the heroes. A man who appeared from somewhere, changed the world’s cuisine, and created a new era of cooking.
This is the story of Azuma Shuri.
Check out my Patreon for early access to upcoming updates. Patreon Link
<< Table of Contents >>