Richard Mardukas Story in FMP Fam 4
The story follows Yasuto as he spends a day showing Richard Mardukas, he now lives quietly in England with his former wife, Paula. He is extremely knowledgeable about ships and chess, and his calm, dignified personality makes Yasuto curious about his connection to Tessa.
Mardukas tells Yasuto that although he and Paula are divorced on paper, they never remarried and still remain together. Yasuto then says that although his own parents are married, officially and on paper they have not done so. Mardukas acknowledges that Yasuto’s parents had a difficult time when they were younger.
Unfortunately, Yasuto and Mardukas are terrible at navigating Kyoto. They take the wrong buses and trains, get lost several times, and end up visiting tourist spots almost by accident. They end up riding in the car with Teddy. During their trip, Mardukas reveals how deeply he respects Tessa, who was once his superior officer. When Yasuto tells him that Tessa considers him almost like another father, Mardukas becomes unexpectedly emotional.
Kaname checks in with Yasuto through text and reminded him to be very respectul and polite to Mardukas.
Things become more exciting when Yasuto and Mardukas stop at a hamburger restaurant. They leave Mardukas’s expensive bag at their table, only to discover that a young woman has taken it.
Mardukas is not particularly worried about the expensive bag itself. What really matters to him is the old naval hat inside it, which has tremendous sentimental value. Yasuto decides to help him recover it.
Using his drone, surveillance technology, and the Sagara family’s software, Yasuto tracks the thief through Kyoto. The chase eventually leads them to Nagisa, a young woman who stole the bag because she desperately needed money for vocational school tuition. Teddy intervenes, but Nagisa screamed that Teddy is assaulting her so Teddy gave up and simply let the police arrest him so that Yasuto and Mardukas can get away.
Nagisa had pawned the bag and planned to use the money to gamble in a shogi match. She dreams of becoming a pet groomer rather than taking over her father’s shady business. Although her circumstances explain why she was desperate, Yasuto still points out that stealing was wrong.
Mardukas discovers that Nagisa is about to play a very strong gambler named Oike for ¥300,000. If Nagisa loses, she has also agreed to spend the night with him.
Mardukas decides to play in her place.
The funny part is that Mardukas has never actually played shogi before. He only knows the rules and has studied a beginner’s strategy book. Despite this, he uses his experience from chess and his ability to calculate positions to launch an extremely aggressive attack.
He eventually defeats Oike, shocking everyone in the room. The victory reminds Mardukas that, despite his age and retirement, the instincts that once made him an exceptional military commander are still inside him.
Nagisa returns the precious hat, and Mardukas and Yasuto later retrieve the pawned bag. Their strange little adventure ends successfully.
At the end of the day, Tessa finally meets Mardukas in Kyoto.
The reunion becomes emotional when Mardukas reveals the true history behind his beloved hat. It was a gift from Karl Testarossa, Tessa’s father, from their time serving in the military.
Mardukas explains that Karl’s ship and his own ship once fought together during the Cold War against a Russian submarine preparing to launch a nuclear attack. The operation was extremely dangerous and remained classified for decades.
Mardukas had kept the hat as a symbol of his respect for Karl and Tessa. Now that he is growing old, he decides to return it to Tessa. She becomes overwhelmed with emotion and hugs him.
Soon after, Yasuto’s father, Sousuke, arrives from Tokyo after attending a meeting with the JSDF. Wearing a slightly disheveled suit and a black trench coat, Sousuke looks almost like someone who has just stepped out of a spy movie. He greets Yasuto and apologizes for making him take his place as Mardukas’s guide.Yasuto informed him about Teddy and apparently Sousuke already knows and tells him a connection will handle Teddy. Nami, Paula, and Gobo-chan then arrive and join the group.
As the evening comes to an end, Mardukas prepares to say goodbye. He tells Yasuto that he had a wonderful time and, surprisingly, calls him an important friend. He even jokingly whispers that Sousuke is merely a former subordinate of his, making Yasuto laugh. Mardukas offers to advise Yasuto whenever he needs help with chess, naval warfare, or submarines.
Yasuto jokes that those are rather narrow interests, and Mardukas replies that they are both “otaku” and therefore comrades. The two laugh together and slap their hands together in a friendly farewell.
Mardukas then says that he would like to see what Yasuto is like ten years in the future, hinting that Yasuto will not grow up to be an ordinary person. Mardukas says goodbye and leaves with Paula after thanking everyone.
As he departs, Tessa remarks that he seemed to take a special liking to Yasuto. Yasuto is surprised to hear this, but Sousuke’s reaction, quietly turning away and repeatedly nodding, shows that Mardukas becoming so fond of Yasuto is unusual.
While reading this, I could tell Yasuto is really a charmer, he definetly inherited this from his mom.