Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 181

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Keinzel pulled a cola bottle out of his dimensional pocket. It was filled with blood drawn from a cow.

Perhaps because it was put into the bottle and sealed immediately after being drawn, the blood was a vivid scarlet color.

Blood exposed to air coagulates rapidly.

To use it in cooking, it needs to be gently scalded and made into a pudding-like consistency.

He added water to a large pot, sprinkled in bay leaves and gem salt, and poured in about a cup of cooking wine.

Once the water starts boiling, it’s important to reduce the heat.

This is because *seonji*, the ingredient for *seonji* soup [a Korean blood sausage soup], is made by solidifying liquid blood.

‘If you put it in boiling water, bubbles will form inside, making the texture tough. Besides, the outside will be hard and the inside will be undercooked. To cook it gently and thoroughly, you have to boil it very slowly.’

Keinzel spent 30 minutes gently simmering the cow blood to make *seonji*.

Well-cooked *seonji* has a reddish-brown exterior, and when cut, it shows a slightly greenish reddish-gray color.

And when touched, it has the elasticity of custard pudding.

‘This is the best way to check if the *seonji* is well-cooked.’

“Lehmann.”

Then Lehmann, who had been hiding somewhere, came running.

He was covering his nose and mouth with both hands, his face showing that he was forcibly suppressing his desire to eat.

“How does it look? Do you think it’s well-cooked?”

“······Kuh-huh! Just kill me! The fishy smell when boiling *seonji* is unbearable!”

Keinzel roughly cut the well-cooked *seonji* into chunks and put them in a small bowl.

“It seems like you’re the one who should taste it.”

“Ooooh!”

Lehmann grabbed the *seonji* with both hands as if he had been waiting for it and brought it to his mouth.

The fishy taste that smoothly passed down his throat!

It was a blissful feeling, as if his body would melt away and disappear.

“It’s so delicious······!”

“That’s a relief.”

Many stories about King Chronos and Vlad the Impaler have been passed down in Deutschland [Germany].

In particular, the romance with Princess Leia is so popular that countless clowns are still performing it.

Keinzel recalled a play he had seen by chance on his journey to Eldrador.

― Vlad the Impaler, who had obtained everything, eventually left her side! Princess Leia, left alone, spent her whole life longing for him. Why did Vlad the Impaler leave Princess Leia’s side? The reason has not been revealed even after a thousand years! This concludes the play ‘The Day the Flower Was Shot Down.’ Thank you for listening to the story of Vlad the Impaler and Princess Leia!

Among Vlad the Impaler’s many stories, the most popular was ‘The Day the Flower Was Shot Down,’ which lamented his end.

Of course, the flower refers to Vlad the Impaler’s lover, Princess Leia.

She is the sister of Emperor Chronos and has a passionate love with Vlad the Impaler.

However, after the empire was built, Vlad the Impaler left her side.

In the end, the day the flower was shot down ends in tragedy.

That is why many people still shed tears over their love story.

“······Your Highness. In the end, the reason Vlad the Impaler left Princess Leia’s side was because his true identity was a vampire who sucked human blood.”

Fiedler, who had been watching Keinzel simmer the *seonji*, lowered his head.

“Then why didn’t the Archduke tell her the truth? Could it be because I am a descendant of Princess Leia?”

“Perhaps that’s the case. Even now, Vlad the Impaler probably thinks it was his fault that she died lonely. But there is a hidden story there.”

“A, a hidden story! Please tell me!”

Perhaps because it was the oldest tragic story passed down in Deutschland?

Fiedler was eager to hear the truth hidden behind it.

“I understand. Anyway, to put Princess Leia’s heart into the dish I’m about to make, I need Your Highness’s help.”

“······If there is anything I can do, I will.”

Keinzel told the truth about what happened on the day the flower was shot down.

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“King Chronos drove out the Huns, who occupied most of the continent, and built the empire. Princess Leia and Vlad the Impaler helped him do that.”

“I know. I grew up listening to their heroic stories since I was young.”

“Vlad the Impaler fell in love with Princess Leia while fighting alongside her. But they couldn’t be together.”

“In the end, the cause of the tragedy was the difference in race······.”

“There’s more to the story.”

Fiedler closed his mouth and listened intently to Keinzel’s story.

In the end, Vlad the Impaler Dracula decided to leave Princess Leia’s side.

But he couldn’t.

He had already fallen too deeply in love with Princess Leia.

Vampire and human.

Their love, which could never be, was left with a final choice.

Vlad the Impaler decided to leave it in Princess Leia’s hands.

― Princess Leia, I am a vampire who sucks human blood. I’m sorry for hiding it all this time. But I love you. If you accept my love, I will no longer suck human blood.

And Princess Leia was so shocked that she shed hot tears.

Vlad the Impaler bit his lip.

He wanted to pull out all the sharp fangs, the symbol of a vampire.

But even then, the cursed bloodline would not disappear.

He couldn’t bear to hear a word of rejection from Princess Leia’s mouth.

Then the only thing left was to convey his feelings through action.

― If you accept me, cook me porridge with cow’s blood. And if you resent me, mix your blood into it. Then I will never appear before you again.

Princess Leia wiped away her tears and nodded. Then she ran to the kitchen and quickly cooked a delicious-looking blood porridge.

A mess of a dish that was funny to even call blood porridge.

But Vlad the Impaler accepted it and ate it all in an instant.

“And after realizing that Princess Leia’s blood was mixed in there, he left the castle.”

“In the end, Princess Leia couldn’t accept the fact that Vlad the Impaler was a vampire. I understand. That is······.”

“This is what I heard from Lehmann. After that, for some reason, he couldn’t suck human blood. And he built a monster farm here.”

Fiedler shed hot tears at the tragedy that ultimately failed to overcome racial differences.

“Kuh-huh······!”

“Ah, Your Highness. I’m sorry, but I’ll take some of your tears. To convey Princess Leia’s heart, I need Your Highness’s tears.”

“······My tears?”

“Yes.”

Keinzel collected Fiedler’s tears in a small bottle.

It was a small amount, not even a few drops.

‘Now I have all the ingredients to make *seonji* soup with tears. Now, let’s start cooking in earnest.’

The tragedy that happened on ‘The Day the Flower Was Shot Down’ was sung by minstrels and acted by clowns.

The truth of that day that I heard through Lehmann.

‘But nowhere was Princess Leia’s heart contained. Did she really resent the Archduke who hid his identity? Was she terrified and burst into tears when she heard he was a vampire? No, none of that is true. That’s definitely······.’

Of course, nothing is certain.

It’s been a thousand years since the past.

The empire, which was defeated in the territorial dispute, was demoted to a kingdom. The stories of the heroes have also been forgotten in people’s memories.

What Keinzel is doing is simply recreating Princess Leia’s heart.

How Vlad the Impaler will accept it depends on him.

“I’m just going to make the best dish with Princess Leia’s heart.”

That was the path that led to the 7-star dish that would perfectly undo the curse of the Seven Deadly Sins.

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Vlad the Impaler’s eyes widened as he received the completed dish.

The earthenware bowl contained spicy *seonji* soup.

“The Huns thought that drinking horse blood was the secret to eternal life, so they cooked porridge with it. But I’ve never seen it in this form before.”

“It’s called *seonji* soup. It’s a dish made by adding *seonji*, which is made by solidifying blood from beef bones, and simmering it with various vegetables.”

The *seonji* soup had such a strong blood smell that it made his head spin.

‘Originally, I would add pepper or garlic to reduce the bloody smell, but I took it all out. The smell will be amazing.’

Of course, Dracula, who has power close to a demigod, is not even injured by sunlight.

Even if he eats garlic, he just frowns a little.

But there was no need to add ingredients he didn’t like.

Vlad the Impaler’s expression softened as he smelled the *seonji* soup. To make such a delicious-looking dish?

It was a skill that made his confident attitude understandable.

“But what are these sprouts?”

“They’re called bean sprouts. If you plant soybeans without planting them in the ground and just give them water, they grow like that. If you blanch them lightly, they’re crunchy and very delicious.”

“I’ve never seen these ingredients before.”

“That’s probably because we haven’t started cultivating them in earnest yet.”

As long-distance navigation began to develop, intercontinental trade began in earnest.

But the problem was scurvy, which sailors often contracted.

Starting with lethargy all over the body, they eventually vomited blood and slowly died.

Hundreds of sailors died of scurvy every year.

“Then one day, an unnamed chef discovered a cure for scurvy.”

“Not a priest or an alchemist, but a chef?”

“Yes. He said that on a rainy day, he saw roots growing from the beans he had stored and cooked them because he didn’t want to throw them away. At that time, he shared it with a sailor who had no money, and he happened to be a scurvy patient.”

And the sailor’s illness was cured as if washed away with water.

It was the moment when the existence of vitamin C was first revealed.

“In the end, the cause was food. After that, it was revealed that scurvy could be cured with fruits such as apples, lemons, and strawberries, or fresh vegetables. But there was nothing like bean sprouts.”

Bean sprouts can be easily grown even on ships where water is scarce, and they are full of nutrients that cure scurvy.

In the end, the chef’s curiosity saved the lives of many sailors.

“Then please try it.”

“Hmm.”

Vlad the Impaler groaned and brought the *seonji* soup to his mouth. The slowly simmered *seonji* was soft yet had a strange elasticity. When he chewed it, he felt a strong blood taste filling his mouth.

Delicious.

No, it was so delicious that it felt like his body was melting away.

But he could taste an ingredient that should never be in *seonji* soup.

Bang-!

Hot anger filled the face of the old man, whose emotions seemed to have weathered over more than a thousand years.

Vlad the Impaler glared at Keinzel with red eyes and said.

“To dare feed me human blood······! Even if you are Richard’s master, I cannot forgive you! I will kill you and feed you to the monsters!”

Feeding Vlad the Impaler human blood was like touching his reverse scale [a dragon’s weak spot].

An enormous murderous aura was emitted that even Elizabeth, who was far away, could feel.

“E, benefactor?! What’s wrong all of a sudden!”

“Master!”

“Kid!”

The surprised people drew their swords and rushed into the room. They swallowed hard as they saw the angry Vlad the Impaler.

What on earth happened that made the senile vampire so angry?

Keinzel was the only one who remained calm in this place.

“It seems like there was a bit of a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding?! What are you talking about! This dish contains human blood! Did you think I was foolish enough not to know that!”

“No, what’s in the *seonji* soup isn’t human blood. It’s just cow blood and a little seasoning.”

Keinzel took out the bottle containing the seasoning from his pocket.

The Secret of the Akard Empire #4