Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 174

“Ribs?”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened at the unfamiliar word.

“It’s a meat dish where you grill ribs over charcoal.” Kainchel explained. “You place the ribs on a grill over charcoal and cook them.”

“That sounds similar to barbecue. But I’ve never even chopped an onion. Is that okay?”

“You just need to thinly slice the meat, soak it in water to remove the blood, and then marinate it in the sauce. I’m sure you can handle it, Elizabeth.”

Kainchel chose ribs because they didn’t require complicated cooking techniques.

In the port city of Edinburgh, foreign spices were readily available.

Spices were high-value items relative to their size.

That’s why trading ships heading to the East Continent always made sure to stock up on them.

‘With soy sauce, sake [Japanese rice wine], and sesame oil… I can make the best rib sauce!’

“Could you slice the ribs with a kitchen knife? Just cut them as they are, with the bones attached.”

“Oh, just cut them with the bones still attached? I can do that! Alright, then, let’s use Light Wings.”

Kainchel quickly stopped Elizabeth, who was about to summon wings made of aura.

“You can’t use Light Wings! If you do, it won’t be slicing, but shattering. Use this.”

He held out the mithril kitchen knife he wore on his waist.

“Ahaha, I guess so? But this is just a kitchen knife. I don’t know if a kitchen knife can withstand my aura.”

“That’s not a problem. It’s a kitchen knife made of mithril. Oh, right, I’ll lend you a cutting board too.”

Normally, cutting ribs requires skill to slice the meat thinly around the bone. However, with aura, you could cut through the bones entirely.

“And when you hold the kitchen knife, do it like this…”

“Wow, you’ve got the stance down?”

Following Kainchel’s instructions, Elizabeth infused the mithril kitchen knife with aura.

Whoooom…!

The mithril resonated with the Sword Master’s aura, emitting a brilliant light.

When she brought it to the meat, the tough ribs were sliced like tofu.

“I really like this kitchen knife! I want one. I should ask someone to make me a mithril kitchen knife too.”

‘Are mithril kitchen knives going to become a trend among Sword Masters?’

Perhaps it was because of the quality of the knife, but Elizabeth, usually clumsy with knives, was able to slice the meat skillfully.

Elizabeth soaked the blood-drained ribs in cola.

This would make the meat even more tender and infuse it with the unique savory and sweet taste of cola.

Now it was time to make the sauce for the ribs.

“Pour two cups each of soy sauce and water into a large bowl and stir well.”

“This black liquid is soy sauce? It looks really salty.”

“That’s why you mix in one cup each of sugar and sake.”

Sake, also called mirin [a type of sweet Japanese rice wine], was a very sweet-tasting alcohol.

Elizabeth tasted the sake with the tip of her finger and exclaimed.

“This is delicious! So, this is the alcohol I bought at the market earlier. I could drink this all night long!”

“Don’t drink it, because we need to use it for cooking. Next, you need to mince the garlic, ginger, and green onions to put in the sauce. Garlic is an aromatic vegetable, so you need to mince it before cooking to bring out its flavor.”

Mincing garlic wasn’t that difficult either.

You just need to crush the entire garlic clove using the side of the knife, and then chop it as if you were pounding the cutting board.

All of this was what she had learned from Gordon.

“It’s really easy when I do it the brat’s way. Next time, I’ll cook for the brat.”

“……I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Finally, the rib sauce was completed by adding about half a cup of sesame oil.

Elizabeth, having discovered the joy of cooking, asked eagerly.

“What do I do now?”

“That’s it. Now, put half of the ribs in the sauce, and we’ll grill the other half as is.”

“What, what? Is that really it? I just cut some meat and mixed in some spices?”

The simplicity of not requiring difficult techniques was the advantage of ribs.

@

Kainchel took the completed ribs to Astolfo. Astolfo’s eyes widened as he looked back and forth between the ribs and Elizabeth.

“Did the young lady really make this dish?”

“Ahem. The brat didn’t even lift a finger.”

“But this is incomplete! Surely, you’re not suggesting we eat raw meat as is!”

Kainchel lit charcoal in a small brazier.

Then, he held out a plate full of ribs.

“You can grill it here as you like and eat it.”

“That’s outrageous! You have failed! The condition was to present a completed dish!”

“Just try it first. Your tongue will be the judge of whether it’s delicious or not.”

“I’m sorry, but I’ve never grilled meat before! Either it’ll be overcooked and burnt black, or undercooked and I’ll be eating raw meat!”

Kainchel said, looking at the burning grill.

“But isn’t that also part of the charm of ribs? No one is perfect. Sometimes we make mistakes and commit errors, but I think those things accumulate to make us human.”

Vincent, who was the closest to being the most perfect knight when Kainchel was in the training center.

But he carried the guilt of being unable to do anything even after witnessing his mother’s death.

Melchior, a great hero who made numerous contributions in the Seven Deadly Sins War.

In the end, he became a berserker, consumed by the rage of losing his lover.

They all made mistakes. They were just ignoring it and deceiving themselves.

And they realized that fact after eating Kainchel’s cooking.

Astolfo mumbled with a dazed expression, as if he had been struck in the back of the head.

“……Making mistakes is also human?”

It was as if he had accidentally found the answer to a problem that he could never solve no matter how hard he tried.

And he started grilling the meat as if possessed.

Cheeeee-!

The ribs marinated in sweet and savory sauce were cooking on the grill.

Every time the juices dripped, acrid smoke rose, but that was also one of the charms of ribs.

Astolfo couldn’t wait and brought a half-cooked rib to his mouth.

The ribs, full of charcoal flavor, had a sweet and savory taste.

“The, the juices are overflowing! And because it’s undercooked, it’s like sashimi [thinly sliced raw meat]!”

The meat on the brazier gave off such a good smell that his eyes rolled back.

Kainchel held out a lemon.

“It’s also good to eat ribs with lemon juice.”

“Lemon juice on ribs……”

Astolfo lightly sprinkled lemon juice on the ribs, which were still nearly raw, and brought them to his mouth.

The juices, a mixture of sweet and savory sauce and sour lemon juice, danced on his tongue.

“I, I see, so this is the taste!”

The taste of the ribs with the slightly burnt outer part was also special.

There was less juice, but the crispy and rich taste of the sauce was felt so well.

“This time, try grilling onions and zucchini too. It’ll be delicious if you eat it with the meat.”

Astolfo shouted without realizing it.

“Oh, grilled onions and zucchini!”

The taste of the ribs was doubled when eaten with properly grilled onions.

Was it because Elizabeth, who was not familiar with kitchen knives, had cut them?

Some of the meat was unusually thick.

But when he grilled it properly and brought it to his mouth, he could taste the chewy meat.

It felt like his heart was at peace.

“Thick ribs are delicious because they’re thick, and thin ribs are delicious because they’re thin! Goodness, is this really the meat I grilled!”

Many kinds of ribs were born from his hands.

You don’t know what it tastes like until you put it in your mouth. But the grilling itself is enjoyable. This was the first time he had eaten such a dish.

Besides, the combination of salty sauce and zucchini was irresistibly attractive.

“It’s also fun to eat surrounded by the smell of garlic and the smoke of meat!”

Astolfo, who had devoured all the ribs on the grill in an instant, gave a thumbs up.

“I really enjoyed the meal!”

Only after eating ribs until his stomach burst did the train of thought that had been cut off continue.

Doll Master Astolfo’s long-cherished desire was to create an automaton that could think and grow just like a human.

But no matter how hard he racked his brains, all he could create were machines that moved according to commands.

“If it’s delicious even when it’s undercooked, and delicious even when it’s thoroughly cooked, then it doesn’t matter if it’s grilled a little wrong! It’s enough if it tastes good!”

Astolfo modified the automaton to move more perfectly by correcting the small mistakes it made.

But there was no need to do that.

“Yes, the very first imperfect automaton I created was the most complete form closest to a human!”

Astolfo solved the mystery that he had not even come close to solving by grilling and eating ribs.

A bowl of food turned the impossible into the possible.

@

“Young man! Thanks to you, I have taken a step closer to my long-cherished desire! Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Astolfo ran to Kainchel and clung to one of his legs. It seemed like he was trying to give him a hug of joy.

But perhaps because of the height difference, he looked like a cicada attached to an old tree.

“You must have realized it after eating it. Ribs are a dish completed by the customer’s hands. Besides, Elizabeth cooked it. I’m sure it’ll taste the same even if a household automaton cooks it.”

“That’s not important right now! Hahaha!”

Astolfo gestured towards the automatons lined up.

Then, the automatons brought two large coffins from somewhere.

“I will attach artificial joints as promised. But there is one condition. Would you take care of one of these guys?”

“These guys?”

When he opened the coffin, there was a faded ball-jointed doll inside. It was so old that the clothes it was wearing were worn out.

It looked like it would tear even if the wind blew.

“Asura and Rakshasa are the first automatons I ever made! Roughly speaking, they have the intelligence of a ten-year-old human. They are imperfect and don’t listen well, so I have stopped their activities. But perhaps the answer to an automaton that thinks like a human lies within them!”

“An automaton that thinks like a human……”

The one wearing a tuxedo with a tall height was Asura.

The one with the appearance of a beautiful girl was Rakshasa.

Astolfo also didn’t know how many stars they were because they were accidentally created prototypes.

From now on, their operating data would be transmitted to Astolfo once a day.

“Teach these guys how to cook, just like you did to the young lady today. That is the price for providing artificial joints.”

Kainchel pondered.

Two automatons that Doll Master Astolfo created for the first time.

Was it okay to receive this?

The answer came quickly.

“Come to think of it, Gistad needed an apprentice chef.”

In the end, Kainchel decided to receive the automaton ‘Asura’ who looked good in a tuxedo.

“Then please register him as a master. It’s basically set up for household use, so it’ll be difficult to use it in battle.”

But that was something he wouldn’t know until he woke it up himself.

Kainchel also fought a Sword Master using skills he had acquired while cooking.

Following Astolfo’s words, he pressed the switch in Asura’s crotch.

Clank, clank, clank―!

Then, with the sound of gears turning, the sleeping automaton opened its eyes.

Asura staggered for a while and then knelt in front of Kainchel. And he asked in an awkward tone.

“Kainchel, chef……, where, are the ingredients, to be trimmed, today.”

At the same time, Asura’s hand began to spin at an incredible speed.

Kainchel unconsciously picked up a potato he had put in his pocket and threw it.

Whooooong-!

Then, the potato was peeled in an instant. But the peeling was so rough that almost no flesh remained.

Astolfo put his hands on his hips and said triumphantly.

“How is Asura’s ability? He can’t control his strength, so he destroys buildings when he’s cleaning, but please overlook that.”

‘I think I’ve gotten an absurd apprentice chef.’

But the combat power Asura showed for a moment was enormous. If he taught him well, he could be used in various ways.

Asura tilted his head, looking at Elizabeth. And he asked in a voice devoid of any emotion.

“Chef, please, entrust, the kitchen cleaning, to me.”

“What is this, a lump of metal!”

“……Asura, don’t treat Elizabeth like trash.”

“Understood, chef.”

As promised, Astolfo attached artificial joints to Erich’s arms and legs in three hours.

It looked like he had replaced his body with machines.

Erich moved his arm and muttered with an admiring face.

“It’s amazing. It’s definitely a machine, but it moves according to my thoughts. Once I get used to it, it seems like I’ll be able to ride a horse even if it’s difficult to wield a sword.”

Kainchel nodded.

With this, all preparations to leave for Deutschland were complete.

But there was a new problem.

“But what do we do with this guy? It’s hard to take him around because the sound of gears turning is so loud even when he’s just walking.”

Then Asura shook his head, making a creaking sound.

“This body, is object, two-dimensional pocket. Enters.”

A two-dimensional pocket was a magic tool that folded space to store a large amount of items.

“But wouldn’t it be stuffy to be inside there?”

“It’s okay. Activity stop, familiar.”

Kainchel looked into Asura’s eyes, which contained no emotion.

But there was a strange loneliness in his voice.

“I’ll take you out when I have time, Asura.”

“Thank you, overwhelming, gratitude.”

The group, with one more automaton added, arrived at the Deutschland border that night.

There, a man Kainchel knew was waiting for them.

A man who makes the impossible possible #3