Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 74

When Cainchel and his party emerged from the dungeon after a week, they were met by a large crowd.

Most of them were peddlers dealing in magic stones.

They are busiest when a new dungeon appears. They bring necessary supplies to the dungeon and exchange them for valuable magic stones.

It was a business that brought them incomparable profits compared to trading animal skins or barley.

They had even taken out loans to buy as many magic stones as possible, but the results were disappointing.

One of the peddlers sighed as he looked at the magic stones in his velvet pouch.

‘I even gave him a down payment because he boasted about being a Gold-ranked mercenary, but he only managed to mine this much in two weeks!’

It turned out he was all talk and couldn’t even use an Aura Sword properly.

Up until 10 years ago, you had to be skilled enough to wield an Aura Sword properly to become a Gold-ranked mercenary.

But now, you can get a Gold-ranked mercenary badge just by showing something similar to Aura.

This is because the number of skilled individuals was halved due to the aftermath of the War of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Overall, the level of mercenaries had become standardized at a lower level.

The first underground floor was already more crowded with people than monsters.

How about the second underground floor in comparison? It was literally a situation where you could catch fish just by casting a fishing rod.

‘I need to recruit skilled individuals who can go down to the second underground floor or lower at all costs!’

The saviors that the peddler had been waiting for appeared before his eyes.

It was only natural that they would rush in with their eyes burning.

“I am Lorenzo, a peddler who has been trading with Mino Territory for five years. Would you give me a chance to talk? I have a good offer to make, and I am ready to humbly listen to anything you have to say.”

But his words didn’t last long.

Another merchant pushed Lorenzo away and said.

“Wouldn’t it be better to trade with a proper merchant guild rather than a local peddler? I am affiliated with the Great Deer Merchant Guild, and although we are small in scale, we have trust and…”

Cainchel waved his hand to indicate that it was okay. The peddlers misunderstood this and raised their voices.

“D, do you mean you want 5 gold per magic stone? It’s a little high compared to the market price…”

“Hahaha! This is why local peddlers can’t make it! It’s true that the price is a bit high. But the Great Deer Merchant Guild has a distribution route that connects to the capital, maximizing profits. If you sign an exclusive contract, I will give you 250 gold as a contract fee for 50 magic stones. It’s a really groundbreaking condition compared to other merchant guilds.”

Zeke, who was following behind, raised his hand with shining eyes, but Percival poked him in the side.

“I’m sorry, but we already have a merchant guild that we’ve decided to trade magic stones with.”

“Ah… I don’t know where it is, but with much better conditions than that…”

“Edelweiss Merchant Guild. They are a reliable partner.”

The merchants who had gathered became speechless at the name of the giant that suddenly appeared.

Edelweiss, called one of the three major merchant guilds, was beyond their reach.

And rumors spread among the merchants that Edelweiss might expand its operations to the north.

Everything was according to Cainchel’s plan.

@

Back at the tavern, Cainchel handed over a sack full of garlic to his assembled party and said.

“This is garlic that has been treated to have the strongest possible smell. Squeeze the juice and apply it every day so that the garlic scent doesn’t disappear from your clothes.”

“That’s right. To catch a Lycanthrope, you must first paralyze its nose. But where did you get this garlic? The scent is really strong.”

Cainchel shrugged his shoulders.

It was ordinary garlic he bought from a passing peddler before coming to the tavern. However, he had used his cooking skills to enhance its effect.

“But if we want to fill the entire dungeon with the smell of garlic, it will be difficult with the brazier we’ve been using.”

“From now on, I’m going down to the south to bring back an automatic oven for grilling Döner Kebab [a Turkish dish of seasoned meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie]. As a bonus, we need to solve the dungeon problem.”

Döner Kebab is a dish where seasoned meat is grilled very slowly in an oven and then sliced and eaten.

Since it uses charcoal, the aroma is on a different level than grilling in a pan.

“But are you really going to involve the Edelweiss Merchant Guild in the dungeon management?”

“If we leave the mercenaries alone like this, the area around the dungeon will become a complete lawless zone.”

“How are you going to persuade Baron Mino? He might consider it a disgrace to entrust his private land to a merchant.”

“We’ll have to trust Emily on that. But the War of the Seven Deadly Sins shook the Britannian aristocratic system to its core. In the south, there are even commercial cities ruled by mayors elected from among the bourgeoisie [the middle class].”

“Hmm…”

“Besides, if the dungeon is properly managed, we can start collecting taxes in earnest. Of course, about 30% will be taken as a commission, but compared to not earning a single penny until now, it’s something to welcome with open arms.”

“The problem is whether the Edelweiss Merchant Guild will accept the offer. From their point of view, isn’t the north just sour grapes [something that is not worth pursuing]?”

“Some wines are made using only sour grapes.”

If the subject of the deal was just a simple dungeon, they would weigh the profits to be made against the noise that would arise from entering the north.

But what’s there is the best salt.

‘If it’s Count Well-Ride, he’d set up a branch even if it wasn’t in the north, but in an enemy country.’

Who would have known that the scale of the work that started with salt would grow this big?

“Then I’ll trust Captain.”

“…Thank you for playing along. But when are you going to stop teasing me?”

“Haha, who knew I’d have a Captain at this age? I feel like I’m back in my teens.”

“…”

‘But why do I have so many things to do? I wonder if I’ll even have time to sleep.’

Cainchel quietly sighed and activated the gate to Citizen.

He wanted to take Abel with him if he could.

Abel, a half-elf, cannot properly use mana cultivation unless he is in a dense forest.

‘If I had known this would happen, I should have registered Abel instead of Zeke in the gate.’

It was too late to regret it.

And two days later, Cainchel returned with a certificate delegating full authority for this matter.

@

“In the end, it starts with cooking and ends with cooking.”

Abel muttered, bringing his nose to the leather clothes soaked in garlic extract.

With this much, even a werewolf with a sensitive nose wouldn’t be able to detect their location by smell.

When he thought about it, all they did in the dungeon was eat the food Cainchel made and catch monsters.

“It wasn’t a bad vacation.”

Before the passage leading to the third underground floor, a plausible oven had been installed.

They stacked meat marinated in a strong sauce on it, lit a fire, and grilled it while turning it around.

Kebab needs to use charcoal with a strong firepower that makes you anxious that the meat will burn in order to taste right.

Kundam muttered with a strangely moved expression.

“Aren’t we literally grilling meat in the center of the dungeon?”

Cainchel began to skewer and grill a chunk of meat almost the size of a person.

Then, an indescribably stimulating scent wafted out.

As the meat cooked, the oil dripped onto the charcoal, creating a sizzling sound and smoke.

If you go down here, monsters from the other dimension will come out.

‘The only ones with noses among the guys down there are werewolves.’

“Now! Block the passage connected to the second floor!”

“Roger!”

As they grilled the meat in the enclosed space, the smoke that couldn’t escape went down to the third underground floor.

Abel screamed.

“T, the garlic smell is too strong!”

Then Kundam, who was already wearing a nose plug, handed over an extra one.

“Thank you… But wouldn’t it have been better to give it to me sooner?”

A tremendous smell that even humans could hardly endure.

How long could a werewolf with a wolf’s nose endure it?

“Krrk… Krrrreeeeak!”

They couldn’t stand it for even a minute and crawled up to the second floor.

In the dark cave, werewolves move relying only on their sense of smell.

It seemed that they were paralyzed by this intense scent and didn’t realize that there were people there.

Cainchel grabbed the sword he had placed next to him and said.

“Döner Kebab is made by cutting charcoal-grilled meat into large pieces and sandwiching it between long breads. If you add onions, tomatoes, and a special sauce, the taste is really amazing. The taste of the meat full of charcoal flavor is really…”

Percival laughed heartily and said.

“We’ll have to defeat the werewolves before the meat is fully cooked. There’s too much to eat just among ourselves. Let’s make one for Baron Mino’s daughter who’s waiting outside.”

“Shall we?”

Cainchel gave a signal, and Abel and Kundam moved to their assigned positions.

The aura gathered at the tip of Abel’s sword trembled uneasily, but it was better than nothing.

At that moment, a wolf with gray fur, who had never shown himself before, walked towards the group.

“What, what is this smell? What crazy bastard is grilling meat in the dungeon!”

He was different from the other werewolves who moved only by animal instinct.

A voice clearly containing reason.

It was Sirius, the Wolf King.

Percival said in an uncharacteristically sarcastic voice.

“The Wolf King who led countless Lycanthropes now has only two subordinates. You’ve gotten old too.”

“Percival? Oh, my god. That pathetic bastard is still alive!”

“The war ended 10 years ago. May the ghost of the past return to the darkness.”

“No! I’m alive! I’m alive!”

Sirius’s eyes turned red, and the muscles in his whole body twitched as if they would burst.

Percival infused aura into the glaive he was holding.

The full-scale battle with the werewolves begins now.

‘First, leave Sirius to the old man and take care of the other two as quickly as possible.’

“Krrgh!”

The werewolf swung its sharp claws at Cainchel.

Cainchel signaled Abel and raised his sword as it was. Although the opponent was a werewolf with great strength, he was able to block it without difficulty by using aura-enhanced strength.

A one-handed sword cannot block the opponent’s attack and attack at the same time.

But Cainchel had a way to extend the blade.

“Onion Swordsmanship!”

The three blades that had increased in number slashed the werewolf’s body.

No matter how thick the werewolf’s leather was, it could not withstand a sword imbued with Aura Sword.

“Kkeuaaaaaaaak!”

Kooong!

‘He screams like a human when he dies. Then, now one more!’

Kundam, who had become a Sword Knight, was also dealing with the werewolf without difficulty. Now, if they take care of that guy, the only enemy left is Sirius.

Sirius, with his eyes turned red, said.

“Are you greenhorns already playing with swords?”

“K, keuheok!”

Percival, covered in blood, was hanging from Sirius’s hand. The glaive was nowhere to be seen.

Sirius licked the blood on his lips with his long tongue and muttered.

“You’re the only one who’s old, Percival.”

What on earth happened while they were dealing with the werewolves? What was certain was that Sirius was several times stronger than the werewolf they had just defeated.

Sirius opened his mouth to bite Percival’s neck as it was.

“Keuk! W, what is this nose-rotting smell!”

Cainchel smiled.

“The smell is a little intense, right? I thought this would happen, so I applied a lot of garlic that was made to have a strong smell all over my body.”

“You little brat! Do you think I can’t do it because of this?!”

Cainchel shrugged his shoulders and replied.

“Do you know about the Fire Fist?”