Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 84

As his gourmet level increased, Cainchel could now increase his total Aura by eating dishes, in addition to gaining experience.

A miracle impossible without the Mana Cultivation methods passed down in martial families or expensive magic stones.

After diligently eating for a while, he could now use his Aura Sword for nearly three minutes.

An unbelievable achievement for someone who had only been able to handle Aura for three months.

But that wasn’t the only thing he gained from his gourmet skill increasing.

‘…I can now see the completion of dishes.’

As a result, he could see his own dishes a bit more objectively.

Dishes with high completion generally receive good reviews from most customers.

However, the value of a dish isn’t determined solely by its completion.

Cainchel knew the story behind the Coq au Vin [chicken braised in red wine] made by Mrs. Rosemary.

A dish made by someone who had hardly ever cooked in their life. Its completion could never be considered outstanding.

‘Yet Vincent couldn’t forget that taste for over ten years.’

What about the Flambé Lobster Steak he made for Abel?

Looking back now, the sauce he made then was a mess. He failed to control the heat, and it had a slightly burnt taste.

If he were to make it again now, he could create a much more plausible dish.

‘But the course meal I made back then was definitely all 5-star.’

How on earth did that result come about? What on earth determines the value of a dish?

Cainchel quietly gripped his kitchen knife.

If you want the finished dish to be even a little bit more delicious, pour everything you have into it.

That was the best he could do right now.

‘Jewel Ice Cream alone won’t cut it. I need to combine two flavors to aim for a synergy effect.’

Cainchel placed the ingredients, kept at peak freshness with his cooking skill, on the cutting board.

First, he finely chopped the dark chocolate with his kitchen knife. It was sugar-free, so it tasted bitter if eaten as is.

But that bittersweet taste goes really well with ice cream.

He put milk and cream in a pot, then added a very small amount of Jewel Salt.

‘The Jewel Salt going in now will tie together two flavors that don’t seem to go together at all.’

Then, he boiled it until bubbles just started to form. He added the finely chopped dark chocolate. The pure white cream turned into a deep chocolate color, and a sweet and bitter aroma wafted out.

At this point, the cooking was about half done.

‘Now it’s time to put 100g of sugar into the yolks of 6 eggs and whip them.’

The trick isn’t much different from making meringue.

Cainchel picked up the whisk and performed Onion Swordsmanship.

As the three whisks began to stir, foam started to rise in an instant.

He added all of the pre-made chocolate cream and strained it several times.

Then, he boiled it one more time, allowing the chocolate ice cream to incorporate plenty of air.

The ice cream, a combination of rich chocolate’s unique thickness and smoothness, was complete.

Goethe watched Cainchel cook with sparkling eyes.

“So, you freeze that using ice? Chocolate is called the devil’s food because of its unique bitterness and deep brown color. But I like chocolate. If that sweet and bitter taste is the devil’s temptation… how many people can resist it?”

“It will be done soon. Could you wait just a little longer?”

“Is the pleasure to be saved for the moment of receiving the plate? I understand. Actually, I also hate people who read the ending first without permission.”

Cainchel smiled gently.

He was a bit flighty, but he didn’t seem like a bad person.

With a lighter heart, he was able to complete the ice cream for Goethe.

White frost rose from the softly frozen ice cream.

The surface had a smooth sheen like fine silk.

“Here you are. You can sprinkle the accompanying strawberry syrup on it to eat.”

Goethe was as happy as a child as he looked at the finished ice cream.

“So this is that famous dessert. Then, shall I sprinkle plenty of strawberry syrup on it?”

When strawberry syrup was sprinkled on the chocolate ice cream, a red river was created on the black earth.

Goethe stared at it for a while with a spoon in his hand.

“What, is this expressing a world that has been stained black even though countless heroes have shed blood?”

Cainchel wore a dumbfounded expression.

He had simply given the strawberry syrup to eat with it according to preference.

How on earth could it be interpreted that way?

Goethe slowly nodded and took a spoonful of chocolate ice cream to his mouth.

Then, he widened his eyes as if impressed.

“It’s definitely sweet, but not too sweet, and the bittersweet aroma lingers at the tip of my nose, truly like the devil’s temptation. Moreover, the moment I put it in my mouth, it melts away on my tongue. Does that emptiness express life itself?”

Goethe’s expression turned heavy. His hands were moving non-stop, eating the chocolate ice cream, but he seemed to be missing something.

“But humans can’t move with despair alone. It’s definitely an amazing taste, but if it ends with that…”

However, there was a small trick hidden in the ice cream Cainchel made.

After eating a certain amount of chocolate ice cream, the Jewel Ice Cream buried inside revealed itself.

Goethe’s hand trembled with excitement.

“…The, the black earth collapses and pure white hope appears… Wh, what on earth is this…”

The corners of Cainchel’s lips lifted.

From the beginning, he had set up the ice cream to be enjoyed in two flavors. First, he made the Jewel Ice Cream, and then he covered it with chocolate ice cream.

That was Cainchel’s aim.

But Goethe’s reaction was unusual.

“…Hope blooming on land stained with evil… Have humans who constantly strive finally obtained the answer…”

In the end, Goethe, who had finished eating the ice cream, jumped up from his seat.

“Yes, this is it!”

Goethe began to write something on the paper with an excited expression. It was the manuscript for his new work, which he hadn’t been able to write even a single line of for a year.

Cainchel alternated between looking at Goethe and Joma Kyung with a blank expression.

[6-star dessert ‘Chocolate Ice Cream as Sweet as the Devil’s Temptation’ has been completed.]

The word ‘delicious’ never came out of Goethe’s mouth even once.

However, Goethe seemed to have gained new inspiration from eating the dessert he made.

What greater praise could there be?

Cainchel quietly sighed.

He was worried about whether he would be able to get the proper price for the food with Goethe in that state.

@

A few days later, a letter arrived in Verus.

It contained a bill worth a hundred gold along with a short note that said, ‘Devil’s Dessert.’

It said that he had gained inspiration for a new work after eating a plate of dessert.

It was a kind of update, saying that it would be published in Gentleman’s Magazine next week.

It was news that any fans who had been waiting for Goethe’s new work would be excited about and unable to sleep at night.

The word ‘devil’ appears several times in Devil’s Dessert.

It was easy to tell that the new work Goethe was writing was about the devil.

Rather, what excited the readers was the identity of the dessert that had given Goethe such strong inspiration.

“Have you seen Gentleman’s Magazine?”

“Of course, I saw it. They say that Goethe has finally started writing a new work. He said he got inspiration from some dessert…”

“It was said to be so bittersweet and melted sweetly in your mouth that it felt like the devil’s temptation. As I read that sentence, my mouth watered so much that I thought I was going crazy.”

“Goethe is really mean. If he had just written down what kind of dessert it was, we wouldn’t have to search around like this.”

“Isn’t that his charm?”

For a while, there was controversy in Britannia’s high society over whether the expression ‘melted’ was true or an exaggeration.

“Don’t people usually use the expression ‘melts in your mouth’ when they eat delicious food? Surely that’s what it means.”

“If you look at The Travels of Marpasino, a book written by Goethe himself while traveling, there are several scenes of eating food. But he never used exaggerated expressions even once. That literally melted in his mouth.”

“There’s no way there’s such a food!”

Goethe’s fans had a heated debate to the point where the ballroom was hot.

Eventually, it escalated into a fistfight.

A noble young lady in a beautiful dress stepped in to stop their fight.

“There is a dessert that melts softly!”

Then the men who were fighting fiercely shouted with serious faces.

“Wh, what is it!”

“Lady! What is the identity of that dessert that melts sweetly in your mouth!”

The noble young lady fidgeted with her fingers and answered.

“I visited a friend in Citizen a while ago and heard that there was such a dessert. The name was definitely…”

“The name?”

“…It was called ice cream.”

That’s how the name ice cream spread to Briton, the capital of Britannia.

@

Mayor Wilson was so excited that his heart was about to burst.

Citizen had been holding festivals every summer and winter for 10 years. However, the number of participants had been decreasing every year, which was quite a difficult situation.

But an opportunity came along that could overturn that in an instant.

“Ehehe, really? The nobles with heavy butts sent letters saying they would attend this winter festival?”

“They say everyone has high expectations for the ice cream that Goethe praised so much.”

“Go to Verus right away and tell them this news! It looks like it will sell much better than expected, so tell them to make plenty!”

“I understand.”

Dozens of great nobles were saying they would visit Citizen.

People who hadn’t even given a proper reply when he begged them to come just once were saying they would come first.

“I knew it would be this big. Besides, unlike those lousy street vendors, they pay their taxes regularly. They said ice cream is made with ice, right? We need to expand the ice storage even more.”

Mayor Wilson had one wish. Citizen was a commercial city that hadn’t been around for long. Of course, there were no specialty products to represent the city.

If the popularity of ice cream continued, that wish would surely be fulfilled.

That’s how the winter festival, where three types of ice cream would be revealed, was approaching.

However, not everyone welcomed the popularity of ice cream.

Gilbert, the leader of the street vendors, slammed his desk with a crumpled face.

“What happened to stealing the ice cream recipe!”

“I, I’m sorry. But that owner is quite perceptive. If you try to sneak in to spy, he notices like a ghost.”

“We must obtain the ice cream recipe before the winter festival no matter what. I guess it can’t be helped. Let’s ask Algedi for help.”

“Y, you mean that member of the Seven Deadly Sins?”

Gilbert smiled with a confident expression. The reason why the street vendor alliance could be so rampant in Citizen was because there was someone backing them.

“Yes. I didn’t want to receive their help if possible. But if we back down now, it will be difficult to operate in Citizen in the future.”

Gilbert quietly opened the birdcage and let the crow fly away. That would convey their news to Algedi through the darkness.

Like the countless restaurants they had ruined so far.

Verus would also meet the same end.

Midwinter Ice Cream #3