"My bread is too hard!"
In a small bakery called 'Wheat Tail' in the royal capital, former Sixth Princess Pavoria Reine is walking a new path in life. But her peaceful bakery is suddenly overrun by a cast of eccentrics. There's a wizard from the next town trying to save on food expenses, a former hero who can't read the menu despite legendary swordsmanship, and the castle's head maid who somehow gets mistaken for a customer. Every time someone asks Reine for softer bread, her kneading hands get
Pavoria Reine's Tomorrow: Which Way? - Bread that can't become soft, and a self that can't be relied upon.
Clink-clank.
Every time the doorbell rang, Reine's shoulders twitched. Inside "Mugi no Shippo," bathed in the morning light, the scent of freshly baked bread drifted softly through the air.
But no customers came.
"[sad] Normally, Marco would be here by now…"
Reine gently adjusted the bread arranged in the showcase with her fingertips. Hard bread. Bread that sticks to your ribs. The bread the craftsmen said they loved.
Today, not a single one had sold.
Wiping her flour-dusted hands on her apron, Reine looked out the window. Craftsman Street stretched out in its usual morning routine. The clang of the blacksmith's hammer. The aroma wafting from the bakery. And yet, her shop alone seemed left behind, hollowed out.
(*It's because of Panifique's free bread coupons.*)
Yesterday, she'd heard the rumor that Sein had started distributing them all over the city of Forna. In celebration of their opening, they said. Fluffy bread worth two copper coins, free for a limited time. Of course everyone would go.
"[whispers] Even I would go."
She murmured it quietly, then immediately shook her head.
"[angry] I'm not going!"
Her own voice echoed through the workshop, and she felt a little embarrassed.
That's when it happened.
Clink-clank.
"[excited] Welcome!"
Reine spun around with enthusiasm, and standing before her was Marco, the plasterer. His work clothes were stained with sweat and cement. But his usual hearty smile was missing.
"[gentle] Marco, good morning. Is everyone—"
She started to speak, then closed her mouth.
Because she saw the crumpled piece of paper in Marco's hand.
"This, well…"
Struggling to speak, Marco placed the paper on the counter. It was a free bread coupon from Panifique. A clean print, with a picture of fluffy bread drawn on it.
"The guys at the site said they're going there today."
"Ah."
Reine put on a smile. A dimple appeared on her left cheek.
"[gentle] I see. If it's free, it can't be helped. They must be happy to have fluffy bread for lunch."
"No, but I, your bread too—"
Marco started to say something, but then tucked the coupon into his pocket.
"…Sorry."
"[gentle] Don't worry about it! Please come again anytime."
Reine bowed her head with a bob. Her golden braid slipped off her shoulder.
Glancing back repeatedly, Marco walked off toward the main street.
The door closed.
Clink-clank.
That was it.
Reine didn't move for a while. Then, slowly, she placed both hands on the counter and rested her forehead against it with a soft thud.
"[whispers] Just as I thought."
The coolness of the wood seeped gently into her forehead.
(*I knew it. I knew it, but…*)
Her chest tightened, shrinking small.
She stayed like that for a moment, but when the blacksmith's hammer rang out from outside, Reine lifted her head.
"[serious] Right."
She retied the ribbon of her apron with a firm tug.
"[excited] I just have to bake fluffy bread myself! If I do that, everyone will definitely come back!"
Yes, that's it, that has to be it. Fired up, Reine rushed to the back of the workshop.
The stone oven's fire was still red. She opened the bag of flour and let it stream softly into the bowl. Flour dust danced up, turning the tip of her nose white.
"[excited] Fluffy bread… fluffy bread…"
Chanting it like a spell, Reine began to knead the dough.
—*If you use too much force, it will turn out hard.*
In the back of her mind, Sein's voice echoed.
"[serious] I know. Relax my strength, gently…"
Reine tried to remember. The kneading method Sein had taught her in the castle kitchen. The way those large hands seemed to envelop her own, softly.
Squeeze.
"[surprised] Ah—"
Before she knew it, her fingers had sunk into the dough. Her impatience had traveled straight into her hands.
The finished dough was lumpy and cracked.
"[sad] This is harder than my usual bread."
Even so, Reine put the dough into the oven. Maybe, just maybe, it would puff up once baked. She put that wish into it.
—Thirty minutes later.
What came out was a rock.
No, more like a brick. The surface was smooth, but it didn't give at all when pressed with a finger. When she tried to cut it with a knife, it made a sharp clang.
"[crying] Why…"
Reine crouched down on the spot.
"[angry] One more time! This time for sure!"
She stood up and added more flour. This time, more water. Plenty, plenty of it.
—*If you use too much force, it will turn out hard.*
"[angry] I said I know!"
Angry at the phantom of Sein, she kneaded desperately. But this time, there was too much water. The dough was soggy, sticking messily to her hands. It wouldn't come together. The inside of the bowl turned into a sticky swamp.
"[crying] Honestly!"
Reine added more flour and kneaded again.
Third time's the charm. With a feeling like a prayer, she put it in the oven and waited for it to bake.
The fire in the stone oven flickered and swayed. Only the crackling sound of the firewood echoed.
What came out was, after all, hard bread.
This time, the surface was cracked, like parched earth. And yet the inside was soggy. The worst.
"[sad] Why."
Reine lined up the three failures in the showcase. None of them were fit to sell.
Far from baking fluffy bread, she couldn't even bake her usual hard bread.
"[crying] Am I… not suited to be a baker?"
She slumped face-down on the counter.
When she closed her eyes, memories of the castle kitchen welled up slowly.
Back then. When Reine was still a princess.
She would visit the kitchen almost every day, learning to bake bread from Sein. Though Sein always looked slightly annoyed, he always taught her seriously.
—*Lady Reine, not like that. More gently. As if you're petting a sleeping kitten.*
Sein's voice was always kind. And to Reine, dejected after a failure, he would offer freshly baked fluffy bread.
—*Listen, Lady Reine. Bread is honest. The baker's heart takes shape directly. If you're impatient, it becomes hard. If you're gentle, it becomes fluffy.*
—*Then, Master, your bread is mean-spirited, just like you.*
—*You say that often. Then, Lady Reine, your bread is just like you…*
—*Like me?*
—*…Never mind.*
Sein always cut his words short. His narrow blue eyes would cloud over for just a moment, then quickly return to the stern face of a chef.
Back then, that was enough.
There was someone who stood beside her, guided her hands, and baked bread with her.
Now, there isn't.
Sein is the enemy, trying to destroy my shop.
But—.
"[whispers] Master's bread really is amazing."
After murmuring it, Reine bit her lip.
"[sad] Even though I shouldn't admit it."
The corners of her eyes grew hot.
—Knock knock.
Suddenly, the back door sounded.
"[surprised] Y-yes!"
Reine hurriedly lifted her head and rubbed her eyes with her apron.
When she opened the back door, a neighborhood child was standing there. A boy about eight years old, a familiar face who often played around here.
"Hey, hey, big sis!"
"[gentle] Oh my, young man. What's the matter?"
"Today, I went with my mom to that bakery called Panifique!"
Reine's smile stiffened for an instant.
"Their bread is super fluffy, and sweet, and it just melts in your mouth!"
"[gentle] O-oh. That's nice."
"Yeah! You should try it too, big sis! You'll definitely be surprised!"
Faced with that innocent smile, Reine laughed, a little crumpled.
"[gentle] Thank you. Maybe next time."
The boy waved energetically and ran off to his friends.
Left behind, Reine stood alone.
Returning to the workshop, Reine picked up one of the failed breads.
It was lumpy. Cracked. Visibly hard.
When she squeezed it, her palm hurt a little.
"[sad] This is my bread."
She said it to no one in particular.
As the sun slanted and evening light streamed into Craftsman Street.
Clink-clank.
This time, a man in neat attire entered the shop. He was a messenger from the Forna Bakers' Guild.
"Miss Reine, do you have a moment?"
"[gentle] What is it?"
"Lately, it seems you've had few customers… Are you all right?"
His gaze was probing. Reine straightened her back.
"[serious] There's no problem. I'm currently working on a prototype for a new bread. I'm sure everyone will be pleased with it."
"However, the influence of Panifique—"
"[calm] I will protect my shop myself. Your concern is unnecessary."
Reine declared it flatly.
The messenger looked slightly surprised, then nodded lightly.
"If anything happens, please consult the guild. Don't bear it all alone."
Leaving those words behind, the man left.
(*Don't bear it all alone.*)
Those words stabbed sharply into her chest.
"[whispers] …Would it be easier if I relied on someone?"
But Reine shook her head.
"[serious] No. I have to manage this myself."
After all, it was a shop she started herself. Her opponent was the master she drove out herself. Asking someone for help felt like admitting defeat, somehow—.
She gripped the ribbon of her apron tightly.
Night fell, and it was closing time.
Today's sales were just six copper coins. And even that was from a traveler who had wandered in by chance. None of her usual customers came.
Reine put away the sign and stirred the embers of the oven.
The failed breads still sat lined up on the shelf. Bread like a stone. Bread like a brick. Cracked bread.
Picking up one of them, Reine stared absently at the fire.
"[whispers] You couldn't become soft, could you. My bread… and me."
Her voice had no strength.
—Knock knock.
The back door sounded.
When she showed her face, Petro from the hardware store next door was standing there. As silent as ever, with his usual stern face.
"Petro."
Without a word, Petro gently placed the hammer he was holding onto the window frame.
Then, he glanced at Reine's face.
"…"
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, said nothing, simply turning his back. His retreating figure melted into the twilight as he returned to the hardware store.
Reine stared at the hammer left on the window frame.
A stubby little hammer, but polished properly.
"[whispers] Does this mean I should break the hard bread again?"
She laughed quietly.
"[surprised] Oh."
Under the hammer, a small scrap of paper was tucked. When she pulled it out, just one word was written there in clumsy handwriting.
*Don't lose.*
Reine gazed at those letters for a moment, then pressed the scrap of paper to her chest.
"[whispers] Petro… you could write."
A warmth welled up deep behind her eyes.
But she wiped the tears away, and Reine sat back down in front of the oven.
The firelight dyed the workshop orange. The smell of flour, and the scent of burnt bread. And in her hand, the stubby little hammer.
"[whispers] Tomorrow, for sure."
The voice she murmured was still small.
But it had just a little more core to it than before.
The fire crackled, and the quiet night deepened.
Tomorrow will come.
Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.