Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 141

요리하는 소드마스터-141화(141/318)

————– 141/203 ————–

Chapter 43. Unprecedented

It is said that instead of blood, Orichalcum [a mythical metal] flows in the body of a human who becomes a Sword Master.

The abundant Orichalcum keeps the owner’s body in top condition at all times.

‘Gulp.’

Kainchel swallowed hard, looking at Elizabeth, who felt beautiful to the point of being sensual.

Something was off.

Her curvaceous figure was attractive enough to draw attention just by sitting there.

However, it didn’t suit a Sword Master.

Compared to Hector’s sleek body, the difference was even more noticeable.

‘That unusually youthful appearance is also suspicious. How can she not have a single wrinkle around her eyes? It’s not like becoming a Sword Master makes you rejuvenate every year.’

Her origins and what she did before becoming a Sword Master were also shrouded in mystery.

All Kainchel knew was that she had the ability to copy her opponent’s swordsmanship.

Elizabeth cast a bewitching gaze that seemed to melt men just by looking at her and said,

“Are you going to do it, or not?”

“Of course, I will.”

“As you know, this isn’t a sparring match for guidance, right? It’s more like a duel to get what we each want. Of course, I’ll use Orichalcum Blades too. Is that okay?”

“I was actually going to ask you to do that.”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened at the immediate response.

In a duel using Orichalcum, a single mistake can lead to death.

That’s why they usually set restrictions, such as only competing in swordsmanship.

But the young pup in front of her was confidently saying to fight with all his might.

She licked her lips with her slippery tongue.

The young pup she had just met today felt cute.

To the point where she wanted to crush him.

“You’re full of confidence. You must have been born into a great noble family and learned all sorts of intermediate swordsmanship and mana cultivation techniques. You must have heard praises every day about being a future Sword Master and a promising figure to take responsibility for Britannia’s future. But do you know the old saying, ‘A newborn puppy doesn’t know the fear of a tiger’?”

Kainchel chuckled without realizing it.

It seemed she thought he was a Sword Master secretly raised by a great noble.

‘Intermediate swordsmanship and mana cultivation techniques? All I had was a single kitchen knife.’

“Then, I’ll ask for your guidance, ma’am. But can I choose the sparring location and time?”

“Hahaha! Look at this guy. Such a bold pup. Well, fine. I’ll concede that much.”

“Then, let’s make the time two hours from now. And the location will be this auction house.”

“Hahaha! This pup knows a thing or two, doesn’t he? After all, sparring is best when many people are watching.”

By that time, the first part of the auction will be over, and a thirty-minute intermission will begin.

He would fight a Sword Master in front of countless nobles and wealthy people.

Not as Hool, but as Kainchel van Zistad.

Surely, the repercussions would be enormous.

@

‘Alright, then let’s try eating this first.’

Kainchel placed the dragon meat on the kitchen counter where he had made the blood dishes.

Even though he had already eaten some and increased his Orichalcum by about 5,000, about 2/3 of it remained.

This time, he was thinking of making Dragon Wellington.

A dish made by wrapping beef tenderloin with mushroom duxelles [a finely chopped mushroom mixture], ham, and puff pastry, then baking it in the oven.

He would just replace the beef with dragon meat.

‘With that, I can use all of the Jewel Salt and Mimir’s Spring Water.’

Besides, it tastes good.

When Kainchel took out Aegis [a shield associated with Zeus and Athena in Greek mythology] to use as a cutting board, Leman’s eyes widened.

“My lord, isn’t that Aegis, the Shield of God?”

As a vampire who had been running the auction house for a long time, his eye for treasures was remarkable.

“It is Aegis.”

“You’re using it as a cutting board?”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“Ah, no. You’re cooking dragon meat, so you should use the Shield of God as a cutting board.”

“Then, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

Kainchel glazed the Mithril Kitchen Knife and began cooking in earnest.

He was planning to use the halved dragon meat whole for the Wellington.

Large enough to fill a big pan.

First, he had to sear it to prevent the juices from leaking out.

He poured olive oil into the pan and placed the dragon meat on it.

Then, with a sizzle, the outer part began to cook.

‘The smell is no joke.’

He couldn’t afford to waste Orichalcum as he was about to face a Sword Master. Even if the smell of grilling meat spread throughout the auction house, Leman would take care of it somehow.

‘Searing is all about speed. Then, I’ll increase the heat even more!’

He tilted the pan and grilled the meat as if he were frying it in oil.

After searing it, he generously applied mustard sauce.

Then, as the meat cooled, it would subtly absorb the scent of the mustard.

The meat placed on the plate would spread its juices throughout, making it an even softer and more delicious Dragon Wellington.

Now it was time to prepare the duxelles and puff pastry.

Duxelles is made by adding some spices to button mushrooms, shallots, and onions.

However, to bring out a flavor that goes well with dragon meat, he had to add chestnuts and thyme leaves.

The sweet and nutty flavor of chestnuts, when combined with the rich flavor of dragon meat, would create an artistic symphony of flavors.

‘Besides, chestnuts have less oil and more viscosity than other nuts, making them perfect for the inside of a pie.’

He placed the duxelles flavored with mushrooms and walnuts in a pan and cooked it. This would evaporate the moisture and intensify the taste and aroma.

It was about time to check the condition of the meat he had placed aside.

‘Very fantastic. Now, all I have to do is wrap it in duxelles and puff pastry, then bake it in the oven to complete it.’

To do that, he had to cool the meat to make sure it held its shape well.

‘As expected, when I need cold air, it’s Durandal!’

When he took out the sword he had put in the interdimensional pocket, the atmosphere suddenly turned cold.

This was because the cold air he had used while fighting Meliot was still present.

He used it to shape the dragon meat.

The moment when the treasures representing heroes were used as cooking tools.

‘The feeling is very good, it’s going to be a really delicious Dragon Wellington.’

The dragon meat, which contained so much juice that it would burst if touched.

First, he wrapped it in salty Parma ham [a type of dry-cured Italian ham].

Then, he applied the duxelles flavored with walnuts.

Leman, who was watching, wiped the drool from his mouth and muttered.

“I can only eat blood dishes, but this looks really delicious.”

“I’ll bake you a very delicious blood pancake instead. Is that okay?”

He hadn’t even put the meat in the oven yet, but it was already this good. How wonderful would the smell be when he started baking it in earnest?

Kainchel took out the puff pastry dough he had made in advance and placed the meat on top of it.

‘It doesn’t stick and rolls up well because it’s cooled by Durandal’s cold air.’

After wrapping it completely, he trimmed the remaining ends to seal it perfectly so that the meat was not visible.

To make it have a golden sheen after baking, he had to apply egg yolk to the crust.

Finally, he sprinkled Jewel Salt to bake an even crispier puff pastry.

The Dragon Wellington, piled high with light pink Jewel Salt, looked more like a work of art than a dish.

“Now, if I bake this in a 200-degree oven for 35 minutes…”

Surely, the moment it came out of the oven, a fantastic Dragon Wellington would be created that would make you exclaim in admiration.

The dragon meat, wrapped in crispy pastry, was cooking in the oven.

It was cooking very slowly.

@

Someone who was enthusiastically bidding muttered.

“Doesn’t anyone smell meat grilling somewhere?”

“There’s no way someone is grilling meat inside the auction house. You must be mistaken.”

Then, another nouveau riche sitting next to him tilted his head.

“No, take a good sniff. There’s a really amazing smell coming from somewhere.”

“I don’t know… Oh, you’re right. There really is a smell of grilling meat!”

“Damn it, the item I want is about to appear, and my stomach is rumbling like crazy.”

Even at that moment, the auctioneer was shouting out the bids at the top of his lungs.

“70 gold! If the next bidder doesn’t appear, Da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper’ will be sold for a bargain price of 70 gold!”

After saying that, the auctioneer looked at the people filling the wide auction house.

The Last Supper was one of the most expensive antique art pieces. It should have been sold for at least 200 gold or more.

But no more bidders appeared.

“…Then, if there are no more bidders, I will start the countdown! Ten! Nine!”

Then, a person sitting in the front row suddenly stood up.

“Damn it! Where is this amazing smell of grilling meat coming from! I can’t concentrate on the auction!”

“That’s right! I definitely ate a lot for dinner, but suddenly I’m starving!”

“I can’t take it anymore! I’ll pay one gold right now if someone finds out the source of this grilling meat smell!”

“Then I’ll pay two gold!”

“Even if this is an auction house, I don’t think it’s right to auction off something like that? Then I’ll lightly call out five gold here!”

The increasingly strong smell of grilling meat filled the entire auction house.

Surely, this must be a 6-star dish.

People were no longer interested in the auction and were only focused on the smell of grilling meat.

In the meantime, a small bat flew to the auctioneer.

The auctioneer read the note the bat had given him and shouted.

“We will temporarily suspend the auction! After a 30-minute break, we will proceed with Part 2, where even rarer and more valuable items await!”

“The auction is important when there’s an amazing smell of grilling meat right now!?”

That was something the auctioneer agreed with as well.

If there wasn’t a bat watching, he would have run out to find out where the smell of grilling meat was coming from.

But at that moment, the smell of meat that had been filling the auction house disappeared.

“Damn it! They must have eaten it all!”

“I want to eat it too!”

After that, the groans of people in agony echoed for a while.

It seemed that they couldn’t properly enjoy the auction unless they did something about their rumbling stomachs.

“I should go eat something during the break.”

“Let’s go together. I’m suddenly so hungry that it’s hard to sit still.”

A group of people left.

The auctioneer, who had been silently watching the people, cleared his throat a few times and shouted.

“Ladies and gentlemen! During the break, there will be a swordsmanship match between the benevolent Sword Master Elizabeth Metatron and the Free Knight Kainchel van Zistad. We hope you enjoy it!”

Then, the people who were leaving the auction house stopped.

“What, a sparring match between a Sword Master and a Free Knight? It seems Elizabeth has found another pitiful toy somewhere.”

It seemed that this kind of thing happened often, as people didn’t show much enthusiasm.

In fact, if it was a battle between a Sword Master and a Free Knight, wasn’t the outcome of the match too obvious?

But a moment later, what unfolded before their eyes was a sight that no one could have imagined.

@

The dragon meat wrapped in crispy pastry was so delicious that you could die eating it.

If there wasn’t a limit to the amount he could eat at once, he would have eaten the uncooked dragon meat as well.

The audience was still noisy.

It seemed that a small commotion had occurred thanks to the smell that had leaked out while grilling the meat in the oven.

Kainchel bowed slightly to them.

‘I’m sorry for eating such delicious food alone!’

Elizabeth, who was standing on the opposite side, yawned with her mouth wide open. It seemed she had dozed off while waiting.

“If you thought I wouldn’t go all out because the audience might get hurt, you’re wrong.”

Elizabeth smiled so bewitchingly and stretched her hand forward.

Then, a huge mass of Orichalcum burst out of her body.

“Using Hector’s Orichalcum Field like this can prevent the impact of the battle from hitting the audience.”

It seemed she was used to sparring in narrow places like this.

“Now, let’s start right away. I wonder how many seconds you can entertain me. Oh, before that, I need to check what skills our little pup has!”

Kainchel’s figure appeared in Elizabeth’s eyes.

At the same time, the incantation announcing the activation of the skill came out of her mouth.

“――Discern.”

It was an ability closer to magic than swordsmanship.

Using Discern, you can know what skills the opponent has and how much proficiency they have accumulated.

At the same time, you can see the 5 skills used right before.

What skills does he have that allow him to stand so confidently against a Sword Master?

Surprise and shock appeared on Elizabeth’s face as she checked Kainchel’s skills.

“…Cooking, Baking, Tea Ceremony? What kind of Sword Knight has these skills! Just what are you?”

Unprecedented #2