Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 197

Before leaving for Britannia, Kainchel stopped by Astolfo’s workshop to repair Asura, which had been completely wrecked in the battle in Mikhail’s territory.

Astolfo let out a sharp scream when he saw Asura’s condition.

“Ugh! Did it get collectively trampled by giants doing the tango or something?”

Astolfo’s surprise was understandable.

Asura’s appearance was similar to that of a ball-jointed doll, but its interior was made of super-alloy.

Moreover, its power to smash a large castle gate in one blow was not exactly suitable for domestic use.

“It happened while fighting a monster called Erebus. Can you fix it?”

Astolfo’s eyes welled up with tears as he looked at the doll’s remains.

“Uwaaa, Asura…! How did you get so hurt! Kainchel! Asura, my first doll, is like my own child! I entrusted my precious child to you, believing in you, but why did it come back like this!”

“Of course, I’ll pay for the repairs.”

Kainchel held out the gold coin pouch he was wearing on his waist.

Astolfo opened it and flashed a bright smile, as if he had never been in tears.

“Hehehe! As long as the memory storage device is intact, I can repair the body made of gears and cogs as much as you want.”

An enormous amount of money is spent on making dolls. Moreover, Astolfo, who is wanted for national treason, had few ways to earn money.

Besides, what was in the pouch was too much to refuse.

“Fortunately, you brought all the broken parts, so I can fix it quickly. If you wait half a day, I’ll make it sparkle.”

Kainchel recalled Asura’s appearance when fighting Erebus. It changed its arms into blades and recklessly charged at the enemy.

It was clumsy movement that seemed like something an infant would show.

Clearly, if it could use proper combat techniques, the result would have been different.

Astolfo smiled meaningfully as he entered the repair room.

“Asura is currently like a blank slate. What you draw on it is up to Kainchel. An automaton that can become a god or a demon. That is Asura. I look forward to your good teachings in the future.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Kainchel drank the tea that the doll had brought and waited for Asura’s repairs to be completed.

At that time, an unexpected visitor arrived.

“Abel…? And Calliope too? How did you find out I was here?”

“It’s been a while, Kainchel. I asked my teacher where you were, and they told me you were here.”

The only person Abel called teacher was one person.

The Sword Master of Philanthropy, Elizabeth Metatron, strangely liked Abel.

So, she took him as a disciple and taught him various combat techniques.

When Kainchel raised his fist, Abel crossed his arms and sneered.

“You’re still the same even after becoming a Sword Master. Well, that’s why I like you more.”

Then, as if he couldn’t help it, he reached out and bumped into Kainchel’s outstretched fist.

Abel had been in charge of selling Cola while Kainchel was away.

His eyes were dark from dealing with orders pouring in from all over the country.

“It’s not like Cola’s popularity has waned in the meantime, so what’s going on?”

“To be exact, it’s not me, but Miss Calliope has something to say. I told my teacher in advance.”

Calliope was still staring blankly into the air. The only thing that had changed was that she was holding one of Abel’s hands tightly.

“You’ve gotten very close.”

“I took care of her meals while you were away, and this is what happened. It feels like I’m walking around with a big dog.”

Abel was the only half-elf who treated a White Dragon like a dog. Kainchel was sure of that.

It would take a lot of time to get a proper answer from Calliope.

Inevitably, Abel explained instead.

“When I first heard this story from the young lady, I doubted my ears. Who would have known that there was a gate to the Demon World in the White Mountains, and that a dragon was blocking it with its body.”

Kainchel sighed.

‘How much better it would have been if he had told me sooner if he had known,’ he thought.

The moment the gate to the Demon World opens, the avatars of the Seven Deadly Sins, which had been sealed with great difficulty, would be resurrected.

In the worst case, the main bodies of the Seven Deadly Sins themselves could be transferred.

“If that happened, the world itself would be eaten by them.”

In the end, he had to lock the gate within the next three months.

But there was a problem.

“Miss Calliope is so weakened that she can’t even return to her true form. It will take her fifty years to recover enough to perform the role of a sealing stone.”

“…So that’s why you asked me to cook for you?”

Calliope, who had been casting a hazy gaze at Kainchel, nodded.

“Kainchel eat, mana recover. Then, can sealing stone.”

“Not me, but my cooking, right?”

“Yeah, right. Cooking.”

If he had known about this, he would have paid more attention to the meals. He was grateful that she had told him even now.

‘Since there’s not much time left, I’ll have to prepare the best meals every time. After all, I’ve already agreed to pay the price with my body later.’

Once Calliope regained enough strength to return to her true form, he was supposed to share her tail, teeth, and blood.

If so, nothing would change.

He just had to take her with him and cook for her from now on.

‘I’m glad I learned how to make noodles from my teacher. Noodles are at least 6-star level. And if I can put my heart into it, I can expect up to 7-star level.’

In the end, they decided to eat noodles made with Cheonhajaeil [The best under the heavens] noodles together for dinner tonight.

@

What fills the plate is all noodles made of one strand.

Moreover, the taste was also excellent.

Elizabeth, who had returned after completing her report, ate almost 4m of noodles in one bite.

“Elizabeth. You’re supposed to cut that up before you eat it…”

“Ahaha! Then would you like to have another bowl? The noodles flavored with sea bream broth were delicious, but this is a different taste? Especially when you dip it in the spicy sauce, it just keeps going in.”

“That’s right. Besides, there’s no butter or eggs in it, but the chewiness is amazing. Elves will be able to eat this without any problems.”

Calliope was also eating noodles with a happy face.

“Amazing. It’s like the essence of Mother Earth is contained in this. The combination of wheat, beans, and herbs provides an unbelievable amount of mana.”

In the end, Kainchel’s title conferment ceremony was confirmed to be held in two weeks.

It was a later progress than expected, and the reason was thanks to his performance in El Aqaad.

The birth of a new Virtue alone was an event that would shake the entire Britannia.

But what if the person in question had caused numerous upheavals even before receiving the title?

In the end, not only El Aqaad but also the surrounding countries applied to participate.

For them, it was held with some leeway.

Elizabeth, who had eaten five bowls of noodles, patted her stomach and said.

“Usually, they announce it about a month in advance, but this is the fastest schedule possible. By now, the gates on the border must be a mess because of immigration screening, right?”

“I see. Then, now that you’ve eaten your fill, shall we do some post-meal exercise?”

“Exercise?”

“I would like to ask you for a sparring match. I want to gain as much practical experience as possible during the remaining two weeks.”

“Heung, is that why?”

There is no official ranking among the Virtues.

In the first place, the characteristics of the Aura Blades they have are different. It is meaningless to compare each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

However, when there are many strong people, humans want to know their ranking.

Kainchel had also won several ranking matches in the training center and had his skills recognized.

Something similar exists among the Virtues.

“Of course, we don’t just fight recklessly. If we shoot our wings indiscriminately, there will be nothing left.”

Light sparring is one thing, but being able to properly cross swords is only possible when a new Virtue is born.

The person who receives the title can apply for a match against the opponent they want.

There is a gap even between Sword Masters.

There has never been a case where a rookie who has just started handling Aura Blades has won.

So, a reward is given to the rookie who wins through the possibility of one in a million.

‘The authority to give one order to the person you defeated… Even mercenaries don’t do that,’ Kainchel thought.

However, shouldn’t we use what we can use?

“I applied to Old Man Loengrin. He wasn’t an old man back then, though. I didn’t like him because he seemed to be showing off his Celestial bloodline. But after spending time with him, I realized that his face was just like that from the start.”

For reference, the duel between the two ended in Loengrin’s victory in one minute.

However, through that, he acquired Loengrin’s Aura Blade, the Wings of Light, so it was not a bad result for Elizabeth.

There was one more thing needed to close the gate to the Demon World.

To know where it is, you have to defeat one of the Virtues.

After finishing the meal, Kainchel went down to the open space in the basement of the workshop with Elizabeth.

It was a space created to test the performance of dolls.

Abel followed the two, muttering.

“A sparring match between Sword Masters is worth watching.”

A bow made of the branches of the World Tree, his new weapon, was hanging on his back.

This was because he realized that his swordsmanship was no longer helpful to Kainchel.

Swords are not the only thing used in battle.

Rather, a bow that can attack from a long distance is often more useful.

Recently, he had been practicing putting Aura into his arrows. It was an art that only a half-elf could do.

“Then, thank you.”

“I’ll give you the first move. Attack first.”

Kainchel had won consecutive battles against strong enemies. But at the same time, he realized his limitations.

‘If I hadn’t made a dish with dragon meat, I would have died to Adolf. Besides, it was a fight against many, but I was pushed back by Erebus and had to use Dracula’s blood,’ he thought.

He gets stronger by cooking. As such, he lacks practical experience.

In particular, he has had very few experiences using Signature and Noodle Making skills properly since he acquired them.

To make it completely his own, he will need bone-cutting training in the future.

‘If I use noodles and jelly, I can attack in a way that the opponent never expects. But as such, I have to hone my sense of battle,’ he mused.

“I’ll go first! Jelly… !”

“Ah, isn’t that sticky stuff cheating?”

Elizabeth grumbled, but lightly moved her feet to get out of the jelly’s range. Even if her feet were caught, she could explode her Aura and burn it away.

She had fought Kainchel several times and knew how to deal with him.

“It will be a little different this time!”

Kainchel instantly made Tataki [a dish of lightly seared fish or meat] and shot it at Elizabeth’s legs.

“Isn’t this exploding bubbles? I’m not Tartarus, so I won’t be hit by such a simple attack… Kyaak!”

The Tataki followed Elizabeth’s movements as she dodged to the side as if it had a thread attached to it.

When she opened her eyes wide, she saw a thin strand of noodles attached to it.

He was continuously swinging Tataki using elastic noodles.

“You’re cheating in a mean way! If it’s a sparring match, use a sword!”

“Winning is all that matters!”

He was planning to spar with Elizabeth until he collapsed from exhaustion for the next two weeks.

Kainchel’s cooking skills will develop one step further through her sparring.

If his stamina runs out, he can share and eat dishes made from monsters. With that, he can quickly recover his energy.

Cooking, sparring, cooking, sparring…

It was such a terrible schedule that Abel, who was watching, got tired and fell out.
Moon #2