Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower (Ikka Kōkyū Ryōrichō) is a Light Novel series written by Miri Mikawa and illustrated by Kasumi Nagi, which began publication in 2016. It revolves around the drama of a fictionalized Chinese court, as seen from the perspective of Rimi- a hapless foreign girl offered as tribute to its Emperor. In May 2021, J-Novel Club released an English translation of the story.
It is the 111th year of the Konkoku Empire's reign, and things are not going well. The newly crowned Emperor, a sixteen-year-old boy named Shohi, is a murderous sadist feared by all of his subordinates. Someone has stolen the Quinary Dragon, a divine beast necessary to confirm the Emperor's legitimacy, and neither it nor the thief have been found. The court has devolved into a morass of paranoia, plots, and racial divides, as has the royal harem attached to it.
New to this harem is Rimi, a concubine from the foreign backwater of Wakoku. In her homeland, she was a princess only in blood- her true duty, and the only purpose she has found in life, was to cook for her priestess elder sister. It was a humble position, but Rimi loved it, having never felt of use to anyone before. Now her sister is an ocean away, and Rimi must carve out a place for herself in the dangerous Rear Palace. Her only allies are Tama, her faithful pet, and Shusei, a handsome Konkokuan scholar who shares her interest in food. But with their support, Rimi might just survive the month...and help the Empire, too.
This series contains the following tropes:
- Semi-Divine: Wakoku belief reasons that an Umashi-no-Miya, who makes food that can satisfy a god (as embodied by the human Saigu) must also be slightly godlike- an "immortal", in Konkokuan terms. For this reason, the role is technically religious and involves a lot of ritual, but most see it as just glorified cooking and nobody's applied for it in years. Shusei comes to believe the folklore is real, because of Rimi's affinity with Tama and her uncharacteristic forcefulness when persuading the Emperor to eat.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Rimi's feelings for Shusei start because he's the only Konkokuan who's always treated her with respect, protecting her and validating her culture without any ulterior motives. He just wants to do the right thing.
- Take a Third Option: To resolve his angst, Hakurei stole the Quinary Dragon and released it. If it flew off into the heavens, he would know Shohi was unfit to rule and the empire would soon fall, clearing the way for a better country to replace it. If it flew back to the Emperor, he would know that Shohi had heaven's sanction and serve him wholeheartedly. But then the damn thing flew into another section of the palace, which Hakurei had not expected. It can be inferred from future events that this was the Dragon's way of saying, "Yes, Shohi is unworthy, but there's still a chance we can change him." Notably, the Dragon would be found in the company of Shohi's future Morality Pet, causing them to meet for the first time, which had probably been the Dragon's plan all along. Don't underestimate a god!
