Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 7

As if to prove it, Cainchel’s current level and stats appeared in the Joma Mirror.

Many things had been added to the list of items that had been only a few lines long until recently.

[Cainchel Van Zistad – Lv3]

– Stamina (5), Agility (3), Strength (3), Dexterity (3), Intelligence (7), Mana (2), Divine Power (2)

– Fire Resistance (0.1%), Poison Resistance (0.1%)

* Cooking Level: ★★★

* Gourmet Level: ★

* Basic Swordsmanship: ★★★★

* Disarm: ★

Thanks to absorbing the experience from eating the dishes Ainkel made, Cainchel’s level was now 3.

‘Again, all stats have increased this time.’

If he continues to grow like this, what will happen?

Even if you exclude the stats that are not related to swordsmanship, it was a huge difference.

Even at level 30, he would have stats that others could only obtain at level 100.

‘Besides, Mana and Divine Power are increasing as a bonus.’

It was a thought that would have gotten him stoned if a priest or sorcerer had heard it. Those two talents are stats that you cannot have unless you are born with them. This kind of thinking itself is close to blasphemy.

‘Then let’s organize what I need to do for the next month.’

I wish I could learn a few cooking methods from Gordon…

However, there was something more urgent than that.

First, he had to eat a lot of food to secure a certain amount of stats.

No matter how excellent his swordsmanship is, he cannot properly wield a sword without the stamina and dexterity to support it.

Agility is needed to cut down enemies at high speed.

Stamina is needed to increase endurance.

In addition, strength is needed to wear heavy armor.

Some trainees even hired personal trainers and worked out to balance their stats.

‘Since all stats increase in a balanced way just by eating delicious food, there’s no need to manage them separately.’

Cainchel started to dance without realizing it.

Next is swordsmanship.

‘To be promoted to intermediate level, several conditions are required. First, let’s focus on becoming completely familiar with basic swordsmanship.’

This means that it is enough to prepare ingredients as he has done so far.

‘There are plenty of ingredients to prepare. I’ve gained some trust from Ainkel, so it will be easier to get work in the future. At least 9 stars. No, let’s be determined to raise it to 10 stars within a month.’

That’s how the work to be done for a month was decided.

Cainchel grabbed a kitchen knife and swung it at the mountain of carrots and potatoes.

@

The next day, the mana charged in the Joma Mirror completely disappeared.

It lasted more than half a day longer than expected. Was it because he hadn’t used it much during that time?

At the last moment, the Joma Mirror sent a notification that basic swordsmanship had reached 5 stars.

It was only 1 star three days ago.

It was literally a crazy level up.

It was as if to soothe the regret that he would not be able to check his stats for a month.

All he did was take a nap in the corner of the kitchen, but he wasn’t tired at all.

Cainchel looked at the kitchen knife that had prepared ingredients for 400 people. There were various foreign substances on the blade.

“You worked hard today.”

If you leave a used knife as it is, it will rust and the blade will become dull.

Cainchel brought the knife sharpening steel placed on the workbench.

He uses this to maintain the sharpness of cooking knives.

He crossed the blade of the kitchen knife and the knife sharpening steel like a cross and rubbed them together, making a swooshing sound.

After repeating it several times, the kitchen knife began to emit a cool sharpness.

“You’re doing well. Working with a dull knife is dangerous, so you should always keep your knife sharp.”

“Chef Joffrey?”

“Anyone who works in the kitchen knows that. But too many people handle it roughly because they’re lazy.”

“It’s become a habit.”

No matter how much he swung his sword, nothing changed.

However, he had never failed to treat his sword with care for even a single day in three years.

The same was true for kitchen knives.

Joffrey bowed his head and apologized to Cainchel.

“You can tell a lot about a person by the way they handle their tools. I think I was misunderstanding you. I didn’t try to see the person himself because of my prejudice against nobles. I’m sorry.”

It was a look he hadn’t shown even when Gordon scolded him.

Embarrassed, Cainchel grabbed Joffrey’s shoulders and stood him up.

“It’s okay.”

“No! You can hit me until you feel better! Oh, right. I have to work, so please go easy on my hands.”

“Oh, dear…”

He knew that Joffrey didn’t like him from the first time they met.

However, the things he ordered him to do while subtly tormenting him ended up being incredibly helpful.

That’s why he just quietly did his job without saying anything.

It seemed that it had stimulated Joffrey’s conscience.

Besides, he had even done the preparation of ingredients for 400 people, which the chefs were supposed to do.

Joffrey hated nobles, but he wasn’t so thick-skinned that he didn’t know how to be grateful.

Eventually, he came to apologize.

Rather, it made Cainchel embarrassed.

‘I was just trying to level up.’

However, he had no intention of dispelling the misunderstanding. Now that things have come to this, shouldn’t he squeeze out as much as possible?

Cainchel smiled and replied.

“I’m really okay. If you’re really sorry, please make me a simple dessert.”

“Will that be enough?”

“Yes. But please make it a really delicious one.”

“Oh! I understand!”

Joffrey patted his chest with a face that said, “Leave it to me,” and disappeared into the kitchen.

He didn’t know why he hated nobles, but he didn’t seem like a bad person at heart.

“Are you curious as to why Chef Joffrey hates nobles?”

“…Huh, Chef Ainkel.”

Cainchel barely managed to suppress a scream.

Is it a specialty of the chefs working here to sneak up behind you and talk to you!

Without even being asked, Ainkel began to talk about Joffrey.

“Joffrey is a very talented chef who specializes in making desserts. He even used to run a large cake shop in the capital. He was so popular with nobles and even princesses that you couldn’t buy one unless you lined up every day. But…”

Ainkel paused for a moment before continuing.

“Because his business was doing so well, a noble started to covet the store. Eventually, he bribed the chefs he worked with and took the entire store away. In the end, he had no place to work and ended up frying potatoes here. Still, the cakes Joffrey makes are really delicious. You should definitely try them.”

Cainchel swallowed a groan. To think that he had his store, which he had built up over a lifetime, taken away by a noble.

At that point, his hands would tremble at the mere sight of a noble’s shadow.

But he was cooking for the knight trainees who would be serving the nobles, so it was understandable that he was prickly.

“But he’s good at making desserts, right?”

“Yes.”

At that moment, one corner of Cainchel’s mouth went up. Desserts were one of the most difficult fields to learn from books.

But to think that there was an expert so close by.

How long had he waited?

Joffrey walked over with a steaming plate.

“Here’s Joffrey’s special pound cake. I added dried fruit because there wasn’t enough fresh fruit. Dip it in whipped cream and eat it.”

“Ah, thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

“Hey, Ainkel, I didn’t make that for you. Get your fork out of here.”

“Hahaha… I’ll just have a bite…”

Pound cake was a cake made by mixing flour, eggs, butter, and sugar in equal proportions and baking the batter in a mold.

Cainchel cut it into three pieces.

Then, the savory and sweet smell unique to freshly baked cake wafted out. It was so intoxicating that he felt dizzy for a moment.

‘How can you bake it to make it smell like this?’

“Would you two like to have some too?”

“Ah, is that okay?”

“Hmm…”

Eventually, the three of them began to eat the pound cake baked by Joffrey.

‘Then, let’s taste how good Chef Joffrey’s skills are.’

When he cut a small piece of cake and put it in his mouth, an exclamation naturally came out.

‘It’s similar to bread, but with a much softer texture… Besides, what is this subtle sweetness? Ah, it’s alcohol.

He mixed the rum that Chef Gordon drinks every day into the batter.’

This time, he tried dipping it in whipped cream. It tasted slightly sour, as if it were made with yogurt.

It harmonized with the soft sweetness of the pound cake, making him feel so happy.

“It’s delicious.”

“As expected, the cakes Joffrey makes are the best!”

Joffrey’s face turned slightly red at the continuous praise.

“…Well, if it’s that good, I might make it once in a while if I feel like it.”

In this way, Cainchel completely blended into the kitchen staff.

Of course, he was secretly thinking about how to steal Joffrey’s dessert-making skills.

@

There is a saying that a soldier who fails in a military operation can be forgiven, but a soldier who fails in food distribution will be severely punished.

That’s how important eating is.

Cainchel carefully stirred the ladle as if he were mixing an alchemical elixir [a substance believed to be capable of transmuting base metals into gold or prolonging life].

Then, he scooped exactly one serving of stew and put it on a plate and handed it out.

“Oh, I’m starving after performing all day. Will this fill me up? Put more on when I’m asking nicely.”

“This is the correct amount.”

“Oh, there’s a big chunk of meat floating around there. Give me that.”

“I can’t.”

“Tch. Serving food is a privilege, a privilege.”

A man in clown makeup spat and walked to his seat.

Cainchel sighed.

Suddenly, people flocked to the cafeteria, and he had no choice but to participate in the food distribution.

But it was much more tiring than he had expected.

After dealing with all 200 members of the Royal Orchestra, he felt like lying down.

Why are there so many things they want?

Just eat what I give you!

He felt like he had suppressed that shout about 100 times.

“Ugh. Another group is coming. I was about to take a break.”

But a familiar face appeared among the people.

It was a knight trainee from the Chevalier class [the highest-ranking class for knight trainees].

When he saw that Cainchel was serving the food, he whistled and rejoiced.

He looked like he had found an interesting toy.

“What? Isn’t that Cainchel? I haven’t seen you around lately, so I thought you were hiding somewhere like a rat?”

“…Julius.”

The knight trainee was Julius Conrad, Vincent’s right-hand man and the 2nd ranked in the Chevalier class.

“Hehehe. You look really good holding a ladle. Why don’t you just go that way? No, if you hold a kitchen knife, you won’t have enough fingers.”

Cainchel smiled and said.

“I guess Vincent isn’t here.”

“Huh? He’s talking to some famous actor in the orchestra. Why? Do you miss getting beat up after not getting beat up for a while?”

“No. I just thought that since the lion is gone, the fox is acting like a king.”

At that moment, Julius’s face contorted.

What? What nonsense is that inferior kid talking about?

And Julius’s patience was not strong enough to hold back his anger.

“I think I need to make you realize your place. What are you doing? Aren’t you going to give me stew?”

With those words, Julius held out his bowl. It was Cainchel’s job to put exactly one serving of stew in it.

Cainchel narrowed his eyes and scooped up the stew with a ladle. It was the moment he was about to transfer it to the bowl.

Murderous intent flashed in Julius’s eyes. And he was about to turn the plate over and pour the contents on Cainchel.

“Kikikikikikikik! As expected, you’re the type to… Keuk!”

At that moment, Julius screamed because of what happened so suddenly.

Cainchel swung the ladle and hit the tip of Julius’s finger holding the bowl.

Julius dropped the bowl due to the sudden attack.

And the contents were poured directly onto his body.

“Aaaaaah! H, hot!”

“J, Julius!”

“W, water! Someone get me cold water!”

“M, m, my haaaaaand!”

In the end, Julius had to apply cold water to his burned finger.

Cainchel smiled with satisfaction as he watched the scene.

It was all thanks to the Disarm he had obtained yesterday.

‘In other words, I destroyed Julius’s weapon, the plate, with my weapon, the ladle. So you can apply it like this.’

Thanks to the Disarm skill, he was able to move at an incredible speed beyond reflexes.

However, the skill level is only 1 star. If Julius had been holding a proper weapon, he would not have been able to disarm it.

But what the opponent was holding was a plate.

Disarm 1 star was enough.

“I told you to be careful because the stew is hot. How can you even hold a sword properly with such weak fingers?”

Julius, who had finished applying cold water, began to get angry.

“Hey, you inferior bastard! I was going to show you a taste of hell anyway, so wait. I’ll apply for a duel with you at the next stat update!”

It was a declaration of war.

Duels between trainees were only allowed on the day of the stat update.

It is common to want to show off your strength when you know it has become stronger.

That’s why fights often broke out between trainees who didn’t get along well, resulting in serious injuries.

In the end, they decided to allow duels only on that day, meaning that they should fight in front of many people even if they were going to fight.

Julius, who had declared a duel with Cainchel, smiled with satisfaction.

There’s no way that idiot, who’s worse than a fool, can fight him. Now he’ll be crying and begging for forgiveness, right?

But the result went in a direction that Julius could not have imagined.

Cainchel slowly approached Julius.

And he smiled and said.

“Don’t look down on me just because I cook.”

“Wh, wh, what!”

“It means I accept the duel.”

“Y, you bastard!”

In this way, the duel between the worst underachiever in the history of the Stanitz Knight Academy and…

The 2nd ranked in the Chevalier class was concluded.

It didn’t even take a day for that fact to reach the ears of all the trainees.