Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 153

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It was Cainchel, wearing unfamiliar clothes, who held the bottle.

‘A tuxedo? No, it’s a bit more refined than that.’

The Brilliant Road [Cainchel’s unique skill that allows him to understand and improve recipes] reveals the countless possibilities that ingredients can create.

Among those possibilities were creations that seemed to transcend time and space.

Seasoned chicken, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall [a complex and highly prized Chinese soup], shabu-shabu [a Japanese hotpot dish], and blood sausage soup were undeniably foreign foods.

Perhaps this black drink was something similar?

He tilted the bottle, pouring the liquid into a glass with a refreshing, effervescent sound.

Then, he added finely chopped ice.

‘It’s made from cola nuts, so I guess I can just call it cola.’

Cainchel used the Brilliant Road on the cola tree once more, seeking to optimize the recipe.

However, the recipe for cola, which he initially thought would be simple, turned out to be surprisingly complicated.

“What is this? It’s made by adding caramel, citric acid, sugar, and other ingredients to the extract from the leaves and stems of the cola tree, and then adding carbonated water?”

Carbonated water could be obtained from the natural carbonated water veins in the White Mountains.

However, extracting the cola extract or creating the specific sweeteners required was beyond Cainchel’s current abilities.

‘This isn’t cooking; it’s alchemy.’

It seemed he would need the Magic Tower’s cooperation to produce cola on a larger scale.

In the end, the question remained: was cola worth all that effort?

The answer wasn’t hard to find.

“Cola is a drink made in a way that has never existed before, right? This will definitely be a bigger hit than honey butter sandwiches and jewel ice cream.”

Cainchel remembered the success of his honey butter sandwiches and jewel ice cream.

Both were dishes that made slight improvements to existing concepts.

But cola was like creating something entirely new from scratch.

The Brilliant Road even showed Cainchel admiring the cola as he drank it.

‘This is the first time even a tasting scene has appeared. That means it’s an amazing drink.’

Moreover, unlike sandwiches that had to be made and sold immediately or ice cream that was difficult to store, cola had better prospects.

It could be distributed in large quantities in wooden bottles, like alcohol.

The recipe shown by the Brilliant Road suggested a glass bottle with a concave waist.

But glass was expensive.

‘No, if I could mass-produce glass bottles at this opportunity….’

Cainchel was already planning to start making wine in earnest after replanting the World Tree.

Cola would become a major export item of the Gistad territory, alongside the wine made by the elves.

@

The first thing Cainchel did after settling in the north was to open a gate that provided passage to Citizen [a major city].

Even with the title of Count, he couldn’t have a private gate without special permission.

He used a privilege granted to him by the Deus Order [a religious organization].

The Order had awarded Cainchel the title of ‘Sword of Deus’ for stopping Count Algedi’s evil deeds with the Holy Cross.

It was a kind of honorary position.

Unless he acted against the Order’s policies in the future, he would be treated the same as a Paladin [a high-ranking member of the Deus Order].

Caroline, sitting beside him and sipping the black tea Cainchel had brewed, spoke.

“Britannia has several systems in place to help the Deus Order spread its religion. One of them is allowing the construction of gates in places where there are churches of a certain size or more. But where did you hear about that?”

Cainchel recalled the face of Saint-Germain, to whom he owed a debt of gratitude, and replied.

“…There is a very talkative priest I know. I heard it from him.”

‘And the Archbishop is given the authority to establish and manage new branches.’

Cainchel built a small church in the north under the guise of his Paladin status.

Then, he asked Caroline to manage it.

Caroline was overjoyed and readily accepted the offer.

“Northern Britannia is a barren land that has received little of Deus’s blessing. Moreover, it has been devastated by the Seven Sins War [a major conflict]. To be able to help rebuild it… of course, it’s something I should do, but I’ve been hesitant. Thank you so much. Thanks to you, I was able to make up my mind.”

With this, Cainchel secured Caroline’s help and a gate in the north simultaneously.

Moreover, Paladin Lion was always by her side.

This would become a significant asset for the Gistad territory, which wasn’t yet properly equipped with troops.

The only one who opposed it was the vampire Leman, who was said to be incompatible with the church.

However, after hearing that the church was quite far from the Gistad territory, he relented.

The environment was much better than Edinburgh, where the Order was right around the corner.

“But it seems that Sir Cainchel’s skill in brewing black tea is getting better and better every day.”

“I’m glad it suits your taste. Oh, I baked some madeleines and muffins; would you like some?”

“Really? Wow! I’ll enjoy them!”

It seemed that tea time with Caroline would continue in the future.

After Cainchel obtained the title of Count, he had many opportunities to meet nobles.

Each time, the tea ceremony skills he had diligently honed came into play.

‘My tea ceremony level became 5 stars, and even the aroma of the black tea changed.’

The tea brewed by the man who would soon become a Sword Master.

The nobles who received it widened their eyes.

And they were shocked by the taste.

Did they feel some kind of connection with the tea?

Negotiations with the nobles concluded in a positive atmosphere.

Caroline said, munching on a cookie.

“But I never thought Sir Cainchel would be a Hejusa Hwool [a legendary chef].”

“Hejusa?”

“Ah… it’s a nickname given because of the incident in Crolltra. Eating the curry he makes weakens the curse of the Seven Sins.”

And he disappeared just as they were trying to recruit him into the Order.

‘Roughly when I fought Meliot.’

Cainchel’s face darkened as he recalled his end.

Then Caroline, misinterpreting his expression, said.

“Don’t worry. I swear to Deus that I will keep that secret forever.”

Cainchel responded with a smile.

He had scoured Britannia with the help of the Edelweiss Merchant Guild, but there were hardly any 5-star chefs left.

Most of them, like Gordon and Einkel, were victims of Count Algedi.

‘I can’t just keep making 7-star dishes like honey butter sandwiches, so I have no choice but to keep eating 5- or 6-star dishes.’

Cainchel, who had been staying in Britain until a few days ago, spread a rumor.

The rumor was that Hwool was in the Gistad territory.

Soon, many people would hear that and flock to the north.

But a week ago, someone he didn’t expect came to Cainchel after hearing the news.

It was Elizabeth, the new lord of the industrial district of Crolltra.

@

“Hey, kid. This is a fair body-to-body trade. You know?”

Elizabeth smiled like a child in front of a toy and stood close to Cainchel.

Many dwarves had already left Crolltra and settled in the north.

More technicians leaving posed a threat to Crolltra’s very existence.

Elizabeth made a huge offer to Cainchel, who was even prepared for a territorial war.

She demanded Cainchel’s presence in Crolltra for four days a week in exchange for him staying in the Gistad territory for two days a week.

She knew that Cainchel had amazing cooking skills.

‘In the end, my identity as Hwool was discovered by the Insight skill.’

After a fierce negotiation without resorting to violence, they decided to provide each other with what they wanted one day a week.

Elizabeth kicked a stone on the ground, grumbling.

“Tch, who would have known that you would hold out until the end when this Elizabeth is helping you? Instead, you have to be responsible for three meals a day while I’m here.”

It seemed she particularly liked the potatoes Cainchel had baked.

“Of course. I’ll make you a dish that’s much tastier than butter potatoes.”

“Really?”

“Then, let’s go subjugate the Lizardman colony lightly as a pre-meal exercise.”

“Let’s do it.”

Due to the influence of the White Dragon Calliope, many monsters flocked to the north.

That had to be resolved somehow for the sake of the region’s security.

‘Besides, there is a natural carbonated water vein under the Lizardman colony. If I want to make cola, I have to get that first.’

The person who had attracted the monsters in the first place was sitting with a blank expression, waiting for Cainchel to return.

Like a baby bird waiting for its mother to bring food.

Cainchel, who suddenly had to raise a dragon, sighed.

‘But since it’s a dragon, it can eat lizardmen, right?’

The amount of food Calliope ate every day was enormous.

Even then, she asked for more every time, as if it wasn’t enough.

Even though her appearance was that of a girl, her essence was that of a White Dragon. He must not forget that fact.

“Grrr… grrr!”

“Grrr!”

The lizardmen, sensing something strange as Cainchel and Elizabeth approached, emerged with weapons.

Elizabeth twirled one arm and said.

“There are about a hundred of them. You can just watch for a while, kid. I’ll finish them off in one shot.”

Before he knew it, wings made of aura appeared behind her back.

The aura overflowing from her body materialized in the shape of wings.

“Howl, Light Wings!”

Kwakwakwakwakwang-!

With Elizabeth’s cry, feathers of light poured from her body.

They literally roasted the bodies of the lizardmen who were entrenched.

A wave of heat spread faster than the air burned.

The snow that had been piled up to her waist melted instantly, revealing the brown earth.

“….”

It was an absurd display of power.

Elizabeth, who had wiped out half of the lizardmen in an instant, gave a mischievous smile.

“How is it, amazing, right? This is the variable aura blade, Light Wings.”

A technique to create a highly compressed aura sword, ‘Aura Blade’. However, it didn’t necessarily have to take the form of a sword.

It’s just that the image that comes to mind when you think of a weapon is closest to a sword.

“Whose technique is that?”

“Look at this guy, you’re accusing people of stealing skills?”

“That’s right.”

“Keek. This is Loengreen’s Aura Blade. One pair of wings per 10,000 aura you have. It’s really convenient when dealing with multiple people, so I use it a lot. For reference, I can pull out this much.”

Then she held up three fingers.

‘An attack worth 30,000 aura.’

It was certainly flashy, but the efficiency was questionable.

According to Elizabeth, she used different types of aura blades depending on the skills and tendencies she was learning.

‘…What will my aura look like when it is realized?’

To confirm that, he had to fill the remaining two slots.

Cainchel checked the area where Elizabeth’s Light Wings had swept through.

Pieces of what used to be lizardmen were scattered around as if there had been a big explosion.

‘It’s going to be hard to cook like this.’

Cainchel said to Elizabeth, who was rotating her other arm as if she hadn’t warmed up yet.

“I’ll take care of the rest. If I leave it to you, Elizabeth, it will be in a state where I can’t cook at all.”

“Are you thinking of eating lizardmen?”

“They’re quite edible.”

Then Elizabeth shook her head as if she was fed up.

“Do whatever you want. I was going to leave the rest to you anyway. It’s boring if I take care of everything by myself. Ugh…. Damn it, I’m going to think of the lizardmen’s sparkling eyes every time I eat meat.”

Cainchel closed his eyes for a moment and focused his mind on Durendal [Cainchel’s sword].

He calculated how much aura he would have to mobilize to freeze all the remaining lizardmen.

‘After all, the best way to store meat is to freeze it.’

Five stars #1