Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 19

“I’m sorry, but it’s time for the clown to disappear behind the stage.”

A customer, who had been looking anxiously at the dwindling ingredients, finally sighed.

“No way! I waited an hour! How can you run out of ingredients right in front of me! I want to be happy too!”

Then, someone who had succeeded in buying a Honey Butter Sandwich said,

“I feel very sorry for you. To not be able to eat such a delicious sandwich. I wish I could give you a bite, but it’s so delicious that I ate it all in an instant. Would you like some mustard from the wrapper?”

“No, thanks!”

Eventually, Cainchel had to step in to appease the agitated customers.

“The festival is just beginning. The performances that Hool will show you will continue. I will open the stage here again at the same time tomorrow.”

“That’s good to hear. Um, how many sandwiches do you sell a day?”

“We only sell tickets to 200 people [implying limited quantity].”

Then, those who failed to buy a Honey Butter Sandwich began to look around.

There were dozens of people in the same boat.

“Tsk tsk. I’ll have to come at least an hour early and wait. Okay, clown. See you tomorrow.”

The person who succeeded in buying the Honey Butter Sandwich raved about their experience.

Those who didn’t get one glared and vowed to get one tomorrow.

A smile appeared on Cainchel’s face as he cleaned up.

At this rate, there would be no trouble selling the sandwiches.

“Let’s see, today’s income is…”

The large money pouch was full of coins.

“Two silver and 730 copper. That’s 9 silver and 30 copper in total! Good, very good. And I got a lot of resistance too [referring to customer demand].”

Thanks to the tips he received in between, the profit was slightly higher than expected.

He had to set aside 6 silver for the ingredients he would use tomorrow.

Even then, he had 3 silver left.

“…I feel like I’ve become rich.”

However, he wouldn’t have started if he was going to be satisfied with this much.

Cainchel, who had changed into casual clothes, took 200 copper. He had cooked to his heart’s content, so now it was time for his Gourmet skill to shine.

From now on, he was going to visit other street vendors and buy a lot of food from them.

This was more than enough money to eat until he burst.

“As expected, the best way to level up is to work hard.”

Other people raise their stats and gain experience by defeating monsters and wielding swords.

For Cainchel, it was just cooking and eating delicious food.

@

A hot dog with sausage in a long bun and chili sauce on top.

Paella, a specialty of the Tuscan Confederation, made by stir-frying various seafood and rice with spicy spices.

Pasty, made by filling flour dough with meat and vegetables, forming it into a pie, and then frying it.

Fried squid with lemon and hot sauce.

Quail skewers fried in coconut powder.

Cainchel was happily eating them all at the same time with both hands.

‘It’s not as good as the dishes made by the chefs, but it’s still edible.’

If he had to rate it, it would be about 2 stars.

Compared to the dishes made by Gordon [likely a reference to a famous chef, implying high culinary standards], the experience he could gain was negligible.

However, he was eating so much of it that his level was rising rapidly.

‘I’ve reached level 19 with this!’

As he was walking down the street, thinking about the ingredients that went into the food and how to cook it to make it more delicious, the Gourmet Alarm started ringing.

[You have gained a broader perspective from eating so many dishes.]

[Gourmet Level has increased.]

“Great! My Gourmet Level has finally increased!”

He wanted to check the abilities of the 2-star Gourmet Level. To do that, he had to eat something again.

He put a palm-sized crepe in his mouth and swallowed it. It was a dessert made with whipped cream and various fruits on a thinly baked pancake.

‘Strawberries soaked in syrup and whipped cream made with milk. Is this savory taste walnut? It’s like a feast of flavors is unfolding before my eyes. This is Gourmet Level 2….’

Cainchel was now able to know what ingredients went into a dish just by eating it.

“Amazing! That person ate all that food!”

“He’s eating so deliciously that I’m getting hungry too. Should we go get some fish and chips?”

“I want shrimp tempura!”

Cainchel licked the whipped cream off his fingers, not leaving a single drop.

This is all experience.

It would be a waste to throw away even a little bit.

‘Hoo…. I can’t eat anymore.’

Anyway, all he had left was a few copper coins.

Cainchel clutched his bursting stomach and walked through the festive streets.

The festival celebrating the victory after the war with the Seven Deadly Sins [likely a significant event in the story’s world] had begun all over Britannia.

Then the mayor of Citizen, who had tasted the money, started holding festivals every year, and after 10 years, it has become a famous attraction representing the city.

‘Thanks to that, I can level up so easily, so I should be grateful to the mayor.’

“Then, shall we make a lot, sell a lot, and earn experience tomorrow!”

Cainchel, who had returned to the Stanist Knights Training Center, woke up at dawn and began preparing the ingredients he would use that day.

Baguette bread, pickles, imitation pork, honey butter.

When the amount to make 200 sandwiches was completed, he loaded it up and headed to Citizen. It was an absurd forced march, but seeing the experience rising rapidly made it not difficult at all.

However, an unexpected change occurred in Cainchel’s plan, which he thought was perfect.

The back alley where he arrived dressed as a clown was…

Full of customers who came to buy Honey Butter Sandwiches.

“He’s here!”

“I thought I was going to die waiting!”

“Mr. Hool, please make the sandwiches right away! I skipped breakfast!”

Cainchel swallowed hard.

Perhaps the sandwich he was making was a more amazing dish than he thought.

In the end, he had to make Honey Butter Sandwiches right away without even having time to catch his breath.

“Honey Butter Sandwiches are here!”

“Awesome! It was worth the wait!”

“Don’t push! Damn it, I was here first!”

“Line up! Line up!”

And three days had passed since Cainchel started selling Honey Butter Sandwiches.

Cainchel couldn’t even enter the back alley because of the large number of people.

He had no choice but to change the place where he did business every day.

@

“I thought the number of customers would decrease if I changed the location….”

How did they know? There were countless people camped out at the place where Cainchel opened his stall.

There seemed to be almost 500 people today alone.

The number of Honey Butter Sandwiches that can be sold per day is 200.

But the number of people who want it is hundreds….

No, if you think about the people who aren’t here, it seems like there are thousands.

“I knew my hunch was right! Emperor Orléans [a figure of authority or legend] appeared in my dream today and told me that if I go to this alley, I can eat a Honey Butter Sandwich!”

“I took my whole vacation, which wasn’t even a few days, just to eat this!”

“But those who have eaten it say it’s worth it.”

Cainchel looked at the customers who were craving Honey Butter Sandwiches like hungry beasts.

It’s only been a week since he started his business.

‘The popularity is no joke!’

There was a simple reason.

First of all, the sandwich Cainchel made was incredibly delicious.

Cainchel, who had always eaten dishes made by Gordon, did not know how great a 5-star dish was.

Ordinary street food is 2 stars.

Local food with a decent name is 3 stars.

Food that people travel from afar to eat is 4 stars.

But the grade of the Honey Butter Sandwich that Cainchel is selling is a whopping 5 stars. It is natural to fall in love with the charm of the food the moment you put it in your mouth.

In addition, selling only a limited quantity of 200 per day was one of the reasons for its explosive popularity.

The person who bought the sandwich is grateful for their luck.

The person who didn’t get to eat it vows to eat it someday.

In that way, the rumor about Honey Butter Sandwiches spread throughout the city through the mouths of many people.

Several such coincidences overlapped, and the Honey Butter Sandwich became a food that everyone participating in the festival wanted to eat.

“Y-You’re too delicious…. Is this really a sandwich…? How can you make such a fantastic taste!”

“The bread is crispy and the meat inside is so soft that you don’t even need to chew it. And what is the identity of this deep and rich sweet taste? Ah…. If possible, I want to eat only this for the rest of my life.”

“Damn it! I couldn’t buy it again! S-Someone sell me a sandwich! 1 silver! No, I’ll pay even 10 silver!”

“I’m sorry, friend. The only one with enough patience to not eat this and resell it is Emperor Aslan [another figure of high regard, known for selflessness]. He is the one who pitied the starving people and gave them the food he was going to eat and ate only tasteless oatmeal porridge himself. Ah, if you really want to eat it, would you like to smell the scent left on the wrapper?”

“Get lost!”

Like a typhoon had passed, 200 sandwiches disappeared in an instant.

Only then did Cainchel realize that the sandwich he was selling was causing an uproar on the level of Armageddon [a catastrophic event].

‘What the heck is going on?’

Cainchel, who had changed into casual clothes, headed to the square where many people were gathered.

It was to see how popular the Honey Butter Sandwich was.

When he listened, he heard stories about it.

“…Have you tried it?”

“Ah, you’re talking about the Honey Butter Sandwich. Of course I haven’t eaten it. But I really want to try it.”

“I gave up. They only sell 200 a day in this big city. How can I buy that?”

Two old gentlemen with long beards were sitting on a fountain and talking.

Of course, it was about Honey Butter Sandwiches.

They didn’t have the energy to run around the city.

They were gentlemen who had lived their lives eating all kinds of delicious things, so they didn’t seem to have much interest in Honey Butter.

Then another old gentleman ran into the square.

He was holding a Honey Butter Sandwich as if it were a treasure.

“Uwaaaaa! I bought it! I bought a Honey Butter Sandwich!”

“What?!”

“I’m going to eat it now to see how delicious it is! Everyone, come here if you want to smell it!”

“Hehe. This is the famous….”

The old gentleman who bought the Honey Butter Sandwich ate it all in an instant, as if someone would take it away.

“H-How delicious is it?”

The old gentleman who ate the sandwich began to explain the taste of the food he had eaten.

The old gentleman who heard it suddenly stood up from his seat and took off his coat.

And he said to the other old gentlemen.

“I will go to Edenber. Let others take charge of each area and search for the clown named Hool. Let’s carry out a search and destroy operation for the first time in a long time.”

In that way, former soldiers who had participated in the war with the Seven Deadly Sins 20 years ago stood up to buy sandwiches.

Cainchel, who was watching the scene, couldn’t say anything.

‘What is this!’

The heat of the festival.

The magic of a strange food that he had never seen before.

People intoxicated by it were searching the back alleys every day to find the clown Hool.

Meanwhile.

The rumor about Honey Butter Sandwiches reached the ears of the nobles for the first time.

It was exactly the 10th day since he opened his stall.

Who the hell is Hool? #1