Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 6

Ainkel was reporting the situation to Gordon, his face etched with worry.

“So… the ingredients needed for tomorrow… Sir Cainchel will handle the preparation…”

He looked like a rabbit trembling before a lion.

‘What? You’re telling me you’ve assigned a newbie who’s held a kitchen knife for less than two days to prepare ingredients for the VIPs? You call that a report! I’d rather dress up a stray cat in chef’s whites!’

Gordon would normally have roared in anger like this.

“I see. But make sure to properly instruct the new recruit on how to handle the ingredients. If any problems arise, it’s all your responsibility.”

“Th, then, may I have your permission…”

“What are you waiting for? How many times do you want me to repeat myself? Go.”

“Ah, yes!”

With that, Gordon Lambolton’s permission was granted.

As Ainkel left the room, Gordon, now alone, poured rum into an empty glass.

He downed it in one gulp and let out a sigh, the alcohol heavy on his breath.

“Damn it… What do you think cooking is?”

The passion that had burned so brightly in Gordon’s eyes in his youth had vanished long ago.

@

“So, you’re saying it’s better to use this when preparing fish rather than a kitchen knife?”

Cainchel held up a small, sharp knife that resembled a dagger.

The handle was made of sharkskin, providing a comfortable grip.

“Y, yes… Here’s some unprepared salmon… Would you like to try it as I showed you?”

Cainchel was learning how to prepare ingredients, essentially the basics of cooking, from Ainkel.

“Then let’s try it.”

It was a large salmon, requiring both hands to hold.

Removing the fins, head, and internal organs wasn’t too difficult.

The delicate work came after that.

The thick skin and small bones had to be completely removed to make the ingredients usable for today’s dish.

‘First, cut off a small piece of the tail end, then insert the blade there and rotate it horizontally to start peeling the skin. Then, using a flick of your wrist, slice it off…’

After that, wrap the salmon skin around your finger and remove the rest of the skin.

“Y, you did a great job. You passed. It’s like you’ve done it hundreds of times… Is it really only yesterday that you first held a kitchen knife? Oh, and finally, use these tweezers to remove all the small bones…”

Cainchel focused all his attention on engraving Ainkel’s explanations in his mind, not missing a single word.

In that way, he was able to learn various techniques from a working chef that he couldn’t learn from books.

All of that would become the foundation for improving his swordsmanship skills.

“Then you should be able to prepare most of the ingredients in the food storage with this.”

“Yes, Chef. Then I’ll have it all done by tomorrow morning.”

As it was time to leave work, Ainkel returned home where his daughter was waiting.

Left alone, Cainchel looked at the mountain of ingredients piled up.

There wasn’t enough time to cook with them extensively, but he decided to focus on raising his swordsmanship level for now.

“Then let’s start by preparing the salmon.”

The main dish for dinner was salmon steak with garnish.

A huge amount was needed to feed 400 people.

Cainchel took a deep breath and cut the salmon’s body with a fillet knife.

And just as his nose became accustomed to the salty smell of the salmon.

Ding-

The Joma Kyung [a magical artifact that measures skill] around his neck began to ring.

[You have skillfully prepared ‘Salmon for Steak’.]

[Beginner Swordsmanship level has increased.]

[‘Disarm’ has been created.]

“Yes!”

Cainchel clenched his fist.

Finally, beginner swordsmanship had reached 4 stars.

Most of the knight candidates had been holding swords since they were born.

They received personal lessons from skilled knights and learned mana cultivation methods passed down through their families.

When measuring their swordsmanship skills with the Joma Kyung, most of them were at the beginner 4-5 star level.

And most of the training at the training center was prepared accordingly.

In the end, unless they had a god-given talent, most of those who became knights were from martial arts families.

The opportunity only seemed fair on the surface.

‘Now I’m finally on the same starting line. But there seems to be something strange at the end.’

Cainchel looked at the message on the Joma Kyung again.

There was a strange one below the message that his swordsmanship level had increased.

“Di, Disarm?”

[Disarm: ★]

– A technique that destroys the opponent’s weapons and armor using a sword.

“This is a skill!”

A special technique that has been repeated countless times and completely mastered is usually called a ‘skill.’

To acquire it, one had to be taught by someone or create it themselves.

Moreover, even after acquiring a skill, one had to repeat it tens of thousands of times to fully master it in order to increase its proficiency.

As such, knights with high-level skills regarded it as their symbol.

‘It’s the same as Sir Bain Cruel of Lance Charging or Sir Bernard Willacon of Shield Bash… I have a skill…’

Currently, Vincent, who has ‘Aura Sword,’ was the only knight candidate with a skill.

Aura Sword, which was regarded as a symbol of a Sword Knight, was also a type of skill.

‘Could this also be because of cooking?’

All he learned from Ainkel was how to prepare salmon.

And when he peeled it, a skill popped out.

“Peeling… Yes, the skin is definitely armor for the fish. Wait a minute. Then maybe…”

He learned how to peel salmon skin and acquired the ‘Disarm’ skill.

What if he learned more cooking techniques?

And what if swordsmanship skills were created each time?

“This is amazing.”

As far as Cainchel knew, no one in history had ever obtained such a fortuitous encounter.

—Become a Sword Master.

The dream was becoming a reality and was one step closer to Cainchel.

@

He had acquired a new skill, but there was still a lot of work to be done.

To make the garnish to accompany the salmon steak, he had to prepare various vegetables.

Potatoes, asparagus, bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, olives, etc. There were almost ten kinds of ingredients to prepare.

Cainchel washed all the ingredients well in running water, cut them into bite-sized pieces, and stored them neatly.

In the meantime, his swordsmanship level rose further, and his work speed increased significantly.

The faster he got, the more he enjoyed it, and the more he focused on his work, the faster his swordsmanship level rose.

A perfect virtuous cycle.

Ainkel, who came to check on the situation, opened his mouth and was speechless for a while.

“H, have you already done this much? What kind of magic did you use?”

Cainchel said, cutting bell peppers at a speed that couldn’t be seen.

“It just happened as I was doing it.”

“Ah, hahaha… If you ever want to become a chef…”

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m here to become a knight.”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

Ainkel smacked his lips with a disappointed expression.

With that much talent, he could become a chef representing the empire.

Cainchel, who was quick to notice, knew what Ainkel was thinking.

‘He seems to think I have a lot of talent for cooking, right?’

Cainchel had been wielding his sword silently for three years, yearning for a shred of talent.

But just by holding a kitchen knife, the situation had changed like this.

Ainkel, feeling embarrassed, handed over the bundle he was holding.

Inside was a well-baked blueberry pancake.

“It’s a late-night snack. I thought you might be hungry, so I brought some.”

“I was just hungry, so I’ll enjoy it.”

Cainchel’s eyes sparkled.

Since the gourmet level was created, he could absorb some of the experience points of the person who made the dish by eating it.

However, it doesn’t work with dishes he makes himself. This part is the only regret.

‘How much will my level go up if I eat Ainkel’s cooking?’

Cainchel began to stare at the pancake with the eyes of someone who had been starving for a month.

Ainkel, misunderstanding it, smiled.

“You must be very hungry. Ah, just a moment. I thought you might be, so I boiled some potatoes. I’ll make it into a garnish with other vegetables. Eat the pancake first.”

‘Wow! I can eat two dishes at once!’

This is a double experience event!

He decided to eat the blueberry pancake first.

It was still warm, as if it had just been baked.

When he cut the butter with a fork and put it on top, it melted smoothly.

‘The scent of melted butter and baked pancakes mixed together is really amazing. This is going to be really delicious.’

Cainchel cut the large pancake in half and brought it to his mouth.

Then a warm sweetness spread out. How could this taste come out without adding syrup separately?

“Ah, it’s sweet, right? I put honey in the dough. It’s good to sprinkle it on, but my daughter keeps spilling it on the table when I give her honey separately.”

“Haha…”

It seemed that the secret to the taste was his father’s affection.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it. The knights are no fun. What’s so great about Raphael’s blessing [a divine blessing often associated with knights].”

“…That’s certainly true.”

While he was eating the pancake, a garnish of various stir-fried vegetables was completed.

Even though he had finished all the pancakes, his level had gone up by one.

But he was still hungry.

Cainchel licked his lips and muttered.

“Let’s eat a lot and raise the level a lot.”

“Yes? What are you raising?”

“Ah, no. The taste is really amazing.”

“Hehehe. Thank you.”

The garnish was a simple dish of potatoes, bell peppers, asparagus, and onions stir-fried in olive oil after being boiled once.

The seasoning was simply done with herb-mixed salt and pepper, but it harmonized with the aroma of the vegetables as they cooked, making it very artistic.

“You stir-fried finely chopped garlic first to bring out the flavor. This is called a hidden taste, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. Sometimes I add brown sauce. But the vegetables are so fresh that the taste alone will be considerable.”

Cainchel picked up various vegetables with a fork and brought them to his mouth.

Then he felt a strong spring vibe.

Ainkel was right. It was just a simple stir-fry of vegetables, but the taste of the ingredients was felt so vividly.

A taste that was on a different level from the food he usually ate.

When he asked about it, Ainkel smiled sadly.

“There are too few chefs. According to the organization, there should be six chefs. There are only three. And the chief…”

Ainkel told him that Gordon was only properly in the kitchen for a few days a month.

It was as Cainchel knew.

“It’s not like he doesn’t work at all, and he’s doing what he has to do. But it’s like all the passion for cooking has dried up?”

“Passion?”

“Yes. Oh, would you like to hear how great Chef Gordon is?”

“Hmm?”

Chef Gordon, who had tremendous skills. Cainchel wanted to know more about him, so he listened carefully.

“…Ah, I’ll tell you again tomorrow. It’s too late. Then please take care of the finishing touches.”

With those words, Ainkel got up from his seat.

In the end, he didn’t hear about Gordon until the end.

It seemed he would have to wait until tomorrow.

As he ate all the remaining garnish, the Joma Kyung began to ring again.

Ding-

[You have tasted the 3-star dish ‘Garnish Full of Spring Fragrance’.]

[Due to the influence of the gourmet level, you have absorbed some of the experience points contained in the dish.]

Cainchel checked if there was anyone else nearby.

After today, he won’t be able to use the Joma Kyung for a while.

In other words, now is the last chance to check his status this month.

‘First, let’s clearly imprint the current level in my mind. And for the remaining month. How far can I go?’

Until now, status updates were only accompanied by ridicule, disappointment, and pain.

But now it’s different.