Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 99

————– 99/203 ————–

@

Fhidly studied the man riding beside him.

He looked at him more like a blood brother than a subordinate.

Erich von Gustav was that precious to Fhidly.

Without Erich, Fhidly, a child of a concubine, wouldn’t have even considered vying for the throne.

“Erich.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Do you think the merchants know the whereabouts of the griffons?”

“This is the Great Plains. To griffons who haven’t eaten in days while being chased, the horses pulling the wagons would look like very good prey.”

“So they suddenly disappeared to get a meal.”

Fhidly had been chasing a group of griffons for days.

There is only one way to tame the fierce griffons.

From the time they hatch, they need to become familiar with the face of their rider, making them think of the knight who rides them as a parent [imprinting].

To do that, you had to steal the griffon’s eggs from their nest.

Stimulating griffons during their breeding season is very dangerous.

A mistake could lead to a massive loss of life.

Therefore, the principle was to kill the parents after obtaining the griffon’s eggs.

“The one who will become the king of the Akard Empire must not break such trivial principles. Continue to look for traces of the griffons.”

Erich nodded, his face trustworthy.

Currently, there are seven people in Deutschland [Germany] with the right to inherit the throne.

Among them, four were princesses, so in reality, three princes were competing for the throne.

Third Prince Fhidly’s ranking was the lowest. No one thought Fhidly would inherit the throne.

In that situation, a huge upheaval occurred. Fhidly’s younger sister, Princess Katrin, became engaged to Erich von Gustav.

Erich was one of only five Sword Masters in Deutschland. Moreover, he reached that level at the young age of 30.

The young knights who supported him began to pay attention to Fhidly’s actions.

That was the beginning of the tragedy.

Eventually, someone who felt a sense of crisis poisoned Princess Katrin.

They slowly killed her by administering a large amount of mercury through her skin.

If a certain knight hadn’t made a particular dish, Katrin, whom the two men cherished more than their lives, would not be in this world.

“Erich.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Is Katrin doing well?”

“Thanks to your concern, she is doing well.”

Fhidly bit his lip with a resentful expression.

“I thought my mother had died of an illness. And when I found out that Katrin had the same disease, I resented the heavens. But it was all the work of people.”

“······.”

“I heard that it would take one or two years to become so severely poisoned by mercury. If Katrin hadn’t met a knight named Cainchel at the Magic Tower, I would have lost another precious person.”

“Katrin is not only precious to Your Highness. She is also precious to me.”

“······I’m sorry.”

Fhidly’s life was a continuous struggle for survival.

The son of a concubine and 6th in line to the throne, his brothers thought of Fhidly as a thorn in their side.

The actions he took just to survive made Fhidly look like an ambitious person.

When he found out that his younger sister was poisoned by mercury, Fhidly did everything he could to catch the culprit.

But in the end, he couldn’t find out who the culprit was. He could only guess that it was one of his two older brothers.

Without strength and power, you cannot protect precious people.

Fhidly looked at his longtime friend, his right-hand man, and his sister’s partner.

“Wait, I will make you a Grand Sword Master.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

@

“Alfredo of the Edelweiss Merchant Guild greets His Highness Prince Fhidly of the Akard Empire.”

Alfredo, the head of the merchant guild, greeted Fhidly on behalf of the group.

Dealing with royalty from another country is difficult.

It is even more difficult when there is a Sword Master right next to them, glaring with sharp eyes.

With one gesture from Fhidly, his head could fall to the ground.

It felt like having a conversation with a beast.

However, Alfredo, who had been trading with Deutschland for over ten years, responded very appropriately.

Fhidly asked with a puzzled expression.

“Akard Empire? I’m sure Britannia [Great Britain] calls it by a different name.”

“Some people call it Deutschland, but isn’t this the land of the Akard Empire? In other countries, you have to follow the laws of that country.”

Seemingly pleased with Alfredo’s answer, Fhidly stroked his chin and nodded.

“The reason I wanted to meet you was to ask one thing. Have you seen any griffons during your travels?”

Cainchel, who was listening to the conversation between Prince Fhidly and Alfredo from inside the carriage, narrowed his eyes.

He thought it was strange that more than ten griffons suddenly appeared, but it seemed there was another reason.

Alfredo hid the existence of Nimue and answered Fhidly’s question.

“They tried to attack the guild’s horses, so we defeated them with the mercenaries we hired.”

“All of them? That’s impressive for a mere merchant guild.”

“Since the scale of this trade is large, we hired mercenaries who are skilled at dealing with griffons. Thanks to that, we were able to defend ourselves without much damage.”

“It is the duty of the royal family to defeat monsters within the country. I am sorry that I had to entrust it to foreign mercenaries. Hmm. I should repay you for doing what I had to do.”

Then the mercenaries who were gathered separately began to whisper. The word ‘repay’ came out of the mouth of royalty.

Fhidly received a piece of parchment from his attendant and began to write something on it.

After sealing it with wax, he stamped it with the royal family’s seal and handed it over.

“If you show this at the gate, you will not have to pay tariffs on goods purchased from the Akard Empire.”

“T, thank you. Your Highness Fhidly.”

Alfredo bowed so deeply that it seemed like his head would touch the ground.

The more luxurious the goods, the more tariffs you have to pay. Being exempt from that meant that the profits from this trade would increase enormously.

Unlike the rejoicing Alfredo, the atmosphere inside the carriage was unusual.

The knight next to Prince Fhidly kept glaring at the carriage.

Nimue said with a nervous expression.

“That human… what is he? He’s incredibly strong. If I fight him in a place that’s not a forest, I’ll lose.”

“That’s probably Prince Fhidly’s right-hand man, Erich von Gustav. But what do you mean by a place that’s not a forest? Does that mean the result would be different in a forest?”

“Elves fighting in the forest are not alone. The trees, the wind, and the spirits lend their strength.”

Cainchel recalled Abel absorbing mana through the trees.

A pure elf would be even more closely connected to the trees.

He was newly impressed by the elf in front of him.

Sword Master Erich von Gustav. What would happen if he wielded a sword against him?

What kind of swordsmanship would the Brilliant Lord show?

Nimue, who read the fighting spirit in Cainchel’s eyes, said.

“If you want to fight someone stronger than you, shall I join you?”

“…Are you saying you’ll spar with me?”

“I don’t want to cross swords with dirty humans, but you’re okay. I also want to repay you for the delicious food I got.”

“I’d really appreciate it. To be able to cross swords with the first sword of the elves…”

Abel looked at Nimue, who was suddenly being friendly, with a shocked expression.

What on earth happened between the two of them while he wasn’t looking?

@

The place where Britannians and Deutschlanders fight more fiercely than on the battlefield is the dining table.

Alfredo, who had shown a perfect response to Fhidly, made only one mistake.

That was inviting Fhidly to dinner.

“If you haven’t had dinner yet, I was going to grill some meat. Would you like some?”

Meat is precious to merchants who trade.

Serving it is the best courtesy a merchant can show.

“Meat? You don’t mean grilling raw meat that hasn’t even had the blood drained, do you?”

Alfredo’s back became wet as he realized how big of a mistake he had made.

The passion that Deutschlanders show for meat is enormous. As such, their tastes are picky.

“It’s properly cooked meat. It just so happens that there’s someone among our group who’s very good at cooking…”

“Haha! A Brit cooking? You’re telling me some funny jokes. I’d rather fry and eat the shoes I’m wearing than eat food made by people who only eat fish and chips [a stereotypical British dish].”

Erich, who was watching from the side, put his hand on his forehead.

Fhidly had visited Britain several times as an envoy. Each time, he suffered greatly because of the terribly bad food.

Even Erich, who eats anything well, would frown when he remembered the taste of the food he ate back then.

How much more would Fhidly, who is famous for being picky about his tongue, suffer?

“I’ll show you what real meat tastes like.”

Fhidly called his attendant and took out the ingredients he had brought in his dimensional pouch.

It was a pork leg with the skin on, pickled in salt. The Schweinshaxe [German pork knuckle], which was grilled with a sweet glaze, was Fhidly’s favorite dish.

In addition, there were Boorst sausages [a type of German sausage] with whole peppercorns visible and pork ribs for making Riefchen [a German rib dish].

It was a sight that showed his will to eat proper food even in the field.

At that time, someone who no one expected appeared in front of Fhidly.

“Can you judge a dish you haven’t even tasted?”

It was Nimue who couldn’t stand it when Fhidly disparaged the dish Cainchel made and jumped out of the carriage.

Alfredo looked at Nimue with a face as if he was about to faint.

Fhidly’s eyes lit up at the sudden appearance of the elf.

“I didn’t expect to see a child of the World Tree in a place like this.”

“Don’t change the subject. I’ll ask you one more time. Can you judge a dish you haven’t even tasted?”

“I see, I made a slip of the tongue. That’s right. You can’t judge a dish you haven’t tasted.”

Fhidly gave Alfredo a look asking for an explanation. Alfredo chose his words as carefully as possible and said.

“She said she had business at the World Tree in Deutschland, so she was traveling with us for a while.”

He didn’t say that the World Tree in Britannia was in danger.

That was a kind of weakness.

“So she was moving mixed in with the merchants so that it wouldn’t become a diplomatic issue. This was also my mistake, so I will keep it a secret.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“But if an elf is saying that, you must be traveling with a very skilled cook. I’m sorry for changing my words, but I will accept the invitation I refused just now.”

“Y, Your Highness!”

“I’m fine, Erich. I’m just getting a meal. If you’re worried about poison, you can try it first, can’t you?”

“…Yes, I understand.”

Fhidly looked at the merchants with an interested expression.

Just how great is the skill of the cook that even the elf’s taste has been captured?

The elf was right.

You wouldn’t know until you tasted it yourself.

Path of Radiant Glory #3