Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 21

Count Well-ride’s mansion was quite far from the main road, situated on the outskirts of his land.

This was because all the prime locations were dedicated to buildings essential for his trading company.

The Edelweiss Trading Company was the second most important thing in his life.

Of course, the first was his only daughter, Frelia.

The mansion’s caretakers stood in a row, pleased by their master’s return.

The head butler, an old man, stepped forward.

“Welcome back, Count.”

“Brad, please provide the necessary tools for the clown Hwool to cook.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Butler Brad bowed respectfully. Obeying his master’s orders, no matter how unusual, was paramount.

However, the other servants began to whisper amongst themselves, eyeing the suddenly appearing clown.

“A clown? Is he going to put on a show for the young lady?”

“But why only one? Clowns usually perform in groups.”

“More than that… didn’t the Count just say to prepare cooking tools? What does that have to do with a performance?”

“Maybe he’ll pretend to cook and make us laugh with clumsy knife skills.”

“Ah! That could be it! Like getting hot water thrown on him!”

The servants, occupied with managing the large mansion, rarely had the chance to attend festivals. So, the Count often booked traveling performers and allowed the staff to watch.

Before long, preparations for cooking were complete in the middle of the garden.

“Clown Hwool… I’m sure I’ve heard that name somewhere… Ah, he’s suddenly starting to knead dough. What? When does the performance start?”

The chef in charge of the mansion’s kitchen observed Hwool’s bread-making.

“He unexpectedly has a decent stance, considering he must have just seen it somewhere. But still, he’s just a clown. Look, even if he bakes that dough that hasn’t risen at all, it’ll just be a hard lump you could use as a brick…”

Hwool, having finished kneading the dough, walked past the servants.

Contrary to the chef’s prediction, the dough was rising perfectly.

“…Wh-what? What kind of magic did he use to make the dough rise already? He didn’t even let it ferment at all?”

Moreover, the color and elasticity of the dough were as excellent as if made by a bread artisan who had trained for years.

Hwool put the bread into the oven and then began to prepare other ingredients.

He brought out a large cheese and lightly ran a kitchen knife over it.

Then, the cheese was sliced at an incredible speed.

The maids who were watching cheered.

“Wow! It looks like he’s just waving the knife around, but the cheese is cut as if he used a ruler! How can he do knife work like that?”

It was the maids’ job to prepare ingredients in the kitchen.

In their eyes, Hwool’s knife skills were beautiful, like a dance.

“Ah, ah, ah! I want to handle a kitchen knife like that too!”

With that kind of skill, preparing ingredients that used to take all day would be finished in an hour.

Another maid grabbed her head and groaned.

“W-what kind of clown handles a kitchen knife so well? Compared to that, what we’ve been doing is like child’s play…”

In her eyes, Hwool was literally a pro at preparing ingredients.

While listening to the servants’ exclamations, Cainchel smacked his lips.

As his beginner swordsmanship reached 10 stars, his ingredient preparation became even more perfect.

However, he still couldn’t rank up to intermediate.

‘The answer is still learning to cook, isn’t it? Anyway, all that’s left is to grill the meat. I received an advance payment, so I have to make the best sandwich.’

The chef was alternating between looking at the oven where the bread was baking and Cainchel with an unbelievable expression.

The maids seemed to have completely fallen for Cainchel’s knife skills, sending him admiring glances.

Receiving their gazes, Cainchel placed the meat on the iron plate.

‘Meat condition clear. Temperature clear! Then let’s grill a lot!’

Sizzle!

The meat sizzled on the grill with a mouth-watering sound.

The people watching smacked their lips without realizing it.

The meat looked delicious just by looking at it.

‘Complete.’

With the meat, all preparations for making the honey butter sandwich were finished.

Cainchel took out the well-baked baguette from the oven.

Eventually, the chef couldn’t stand it and exclaimed.

“How can it be baked so well without any fermentation at all!”

Hearing that, Cainchel smiled.

‘Didn’t ferment the dough? Come on, no way. Then the bread wouldn’t rise like this.

I just used the Fire Fist [a technique using mana to generate heat] to knead the dough and ferment it at the same time.’

That was what looked like magic to the chef.

As Cainchel began to make the sandwich in earnest, excited cries erupted from the servants.

“That’s a sandwich?! I’ve definitely heard rumors that there’s a clown who makes incredibly delicious sandwiches!”

“S-surely that person is the clown Hwool?”

“I definitely heard the Count say he was the clown Hwool…”

“Wait a minute. The amount Hwool prepared is too much for the Count and the young lady to eat! S-surely!”

“Is he making it for us too?!”

Cheers erupted from the servants.

They had the opportunity to eat the honey butter sandwich of the clown Hwool, which they had only heard rumors about.

In that way, 20 honey butter sandwiches were quickly completed by Cainchel.

And he looked at the Count as if asking for permission.

“It seems you’ve made plenty, so you can eat the leftovers.”

“““Wowww······!”””

Of course, the servants were given the sandwiches only after all the performances were over.

Two honey butter sandwiches were placed in front of Count Well-ride and Frelia.

“He even made some for them, what a great service.”

“I have to work as much as I get paid. Besides, it’s the greatest joy for me to see people enjoy the food.”

“A clown is saying things like a chef.”

“That’s also part of the performance.”

“Then shall we try it.”

Count Well-ride sat Frelia on his lap and fed her the sandwich himself.

“Eat up, Frelia. It’s the sandwich you wanted to eat.”

“······.”

Frelia’s light pink lips parted slightly. As the Count brought the sandwich forward, a very small piece of the sandwich disappeared.

And very slowly, Frelia’s mouth moved.

Usually, the meal ended around this point.

She ate surprisingly little food.

“······.”

But then Frelia’s lips parted again.

The Count was surprised and exclaimed.

“Y-you want to eat more?”

“······.”

The Count’s hand holding the sandwich trembled. This was the first time this had happened.

“Frelia······. Oh, my poor daughter······. Eat a lot, yes, eat a lot. Huhu······.”

Frelia was held in her father’s arms and ate the sandwich very slowly.

In that way, one sandwich disappeared completely.

Even so, Frelia parted her lips again.

“M-more, you want more? Yes, here, there’s one more. As much as you want······.”

That’s when it happened.

A small and frail voice flowed from Frelia’s lips.

But it was such a beautiful voice.

“······Father, it was really delicious······. And thank you······.”

Frelia’s gaze was still looking at some distant place.

But clear and proper words were definitely flowing from her mouth.

That the sandwich was really delicious.

And thank you for taking care of me like this all along.

“F-Frelia······!”

In the end, Count Well-ride couldn’t stand it and hugged Frelia tightly.

The servants who were watching the scene collapsed one by one.

They knew very well what kind of heart the Count had been taking care of his daughter with.

How much time had passed?

Count Well-ride, who had barely come to his senses, said.

“······It seems my sleepy daughter has woken up for a while. Thank you for making such a delicious sandwich.”

It seemed like a slight incident had occurred, but Count Well-ride seemed to like the sandwich Cainchel made.

Cainchel said to Head Butler Brad, who was taking out a handkerchief and wiping away tears.

“It seems the young lady wants to sleep a little longer in the Count’s arms. I want to give her clouds for that young lady. Could you bring me some sugar for a moment?”

“Sugar, you say?”

“Yes. Usually, we say that someone who is sleeping comfortably is sleeping on clouds.”

“Ah!”

Brad brought Cainchel a jar full of sugar cubes. Sugar was quite expensive.

Especially sugar cubes, which were made by solidifying pure white sugar, were the most expensive of all.

While the servants were bowing their heads and crying, Cainchel approached the oven.

And he put his hand in and lightly baked it.

‘Fire Fist can be used like this too.’

He placed the sugar cubes with a little water in his hot hand and clenched it.

Then, the melted sugar instantly became a sticky, viscous state.

‘Sugar has the property of melting in heat, the property of sticking due to viscosity, the property of stretching, and the property of hardening in cold air. That’s why this kind of magic is possible.’

Cainchel spread his palms while holding both hands together.

Then, the sugar, which had turned into white threads, fell down as if dancing.

After repeating that several times, white clouds bloomed on the plate.

Frelia had closed her eyes again, as if she had fallen asleep again.

Count Well-ride, who was holding her, said.

“Cotton candy. It’s the first time I’ve seen it made with just hands. You have a very strange talent.”

Cainchel smiled and replied.

“It’s a gift for the young lady to sleep comfortably.”

“Haha, yes. My daughter is a really terrible sleeper. With those cotton candy clouds, she’ll be able to sleep really comfortably. Today’s performance was very good, Hwool.”

“Thank you.”

Count Well-ride seemed to have no more interest in Hwool and began to whisper something to Frelia.

Cainchel quietly got up from his seat.

When the performance is over, the clown must leave the stage.

Staying there would only disturb the audience enjoying the afterglow.

But one thing was certain.

The word ‘delicious’ came out of Frelia’s mouth after eating his food.

That fact made Cainchel’s heart beat faster.

“Sleep as much as you want, Frelia. I’ll keep being by your side so you can wake up whenever you want.”

For some reason, it seemed like he heard the Count’s whisper.

@

‘Did she really like my sandwich? But did Count Well-ride have such a sleepy daughter? Well, I got a lot of money. What’s important now is not other people’s private lives, but this!’

Cainchel stroked the Joma Stone [a magical artifact] hanging around his neck.

It had been ringing fiercely from the moment Frelia put the sandwich in her mouth.

This kind of vibration was the first since he learned about the Brilliant Road [a path to enlightenment].

It clearly meant that he had gained something enormous.

Cainchel, who had left the mansion, walked along the path through the bushes.

And he took out the Joma Stone he was wearing around his neck.

“Now, then, let’s check what I got. Come on, come on, I even satisfied the Count’s daughter. If it’s just a slight increase in resistance as usual, it wouldn’t call me so desperately, would it?”

Cainchel slowly began to read what was floating on the Joma Stone.

There, what he had been so desperately wanting was written.

Who the hell is Hwool #3