Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 269

“Everything I said is true. You don’t think I’m going to lick the sweat I shed to analyze the salinity, do you? Hehe. Did you say that’s the taste of lying?”

“……Ugh!”

Citri smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners, and flicked her tongue. Cainchel felt a wave of dizziness from the sheer sex appeal radiating off her.

He managed to regain his composure only after taking a deep breath and picturing her chopping potatoes.

‘Potatoes are the best, after all. And long live onions.’

If Citri were human, he could have judged the truth of her words by tasting her sweat.

However, he wasn’t sure if that logic applied to demons.

The best course of action was to investigate later, when he had the time.

“Not so?”

“……Citri, I’ll make you a dish. All you have to do is eat it. Simple, right?”

If he forcibly broke the agent contract and took over her body, it would revert to its original state.

But Citri’s reaction was surprisingly enthusiastic.

“Oh my, is that really true? I’m so happy to be able to eat Cainchel’s cooking……!”

Even this might be a cleverly planned trick. Cainchel called Brad and asked to use the kitchen.

Brad nodded, looking deeply moved.

“I remember when you came to make me a honey butter sandwich. I almost fainted when you conjured sugar clouds from your palm without any tools.”

“You mean cotton candy. Should I have worn a clown suit, after all?”

“Haha……. I nearly fainted when I found out Hull was Duke Cainchel. I wonder if I was ever rude?”

It’s been several years, but Butler Brad says it’s as vivid as yesterday.

The moment Cainchel first held a kitchen knife, a string of lucky encounters began to unfold.

Prelia’s stopped time began to flow again after meeting Cainchel.

But to think that Citri, who could be considered the catalyst, would now dwell in Prelia’s body.

Cainchel headed to the kitchen with a stiff expression.

Citri followed him like a baby duck following its mother.

“So, what are you going to make?”

“It’s nothing too fancy. It’s a Britannia home-style dish that I’ve made several times. Just think of it as a simple beef pie. However, it contains some special ingredients.”

“Hehehe……. I’m really looking forward to it.”

With that, Cainchel began to cook in earnest.

First, he had to make the filling for the pie.

When he started slicing and stir-frying three onions with godlike knife skills, the maids who were watching from the corner gasped.

“Ah! That’s the famous Duke Cainchel’s onion swordsmanship! I’m seeing it for the first time!”

“Yeah. I heard he used that to subdue countless demons, like peeling onion skins.”

Citri smiled brightly as she looked at the maids.

Her smile was faint, but an enormous sense of intimidation emanated from her.

It was as if she was declaring her intention to monopolize Cainchel’s cooking.

“……Ah, come to think of it, there’s still laundry to do!”

“I have to clean the drawing room……!”

In the end, the maids couldn’t stand it and retreated to their workplaces.

Cainchel was completely immersed in cooking and didn’t notice the small commotion.

When the onions turned brown and a sweet smell began to rise, he added a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.

For a fragrant scent, he finely grated fresh rosemary leaves and 3 cloves of garlic and added them to the mix.

“Add plenty of butter here, slice 2 stalks of celery and 2 carrots, and boil them together. Oh, and don’t forget the mushrooms.”

“It’s like stew.”

“Because it’s a meat pie.”

Cainchel, after throwing a generous amount of meat into the pot, went down to the basement warehouse of Wellride Mansion.

There, a large wooden barrel was filled with the dark beer that Count Wellride enjoyed drinking.

“Hmm……. This is the first time I’ve encountered such a strong-smelling dark beer. This will make a very delicious pie.”

Citri’s eyes widened when Cainchel added dark beer and beef stock to the pot.

“……Are you perhaps making that dish that completely eliminated the curse of the Seven Deadly Sins in Britannia?”

“As I said, I’m making a meat pie, not a stew.”

Cainchel put the pot in the oven and started making the pie crust.

“I’m going to wrap the stew with puff pastry, which has multiple layers of dough and has an excellent crispy texture.”

“Hehe……. I’m looking forward to it.”

Citri seemed reborn the moment Cainchel started making the beef stew.

Perhaps that’s why her eyes, watching him cook, were filled with so many emotions.

Puff pastry is a notoriously difficult bread to make in hot weather. Both the countertop and the dough must be kept cold.

Otherwise, the butter will melt, and no layered structure will form.

“But if you use this, you can solve that problem very easily.”

Cainchel drew his holy sword Durendal and activated Sherbet [a skill that lowers the temperature]. Then, the temperature inside the kitchen plummeted to midwinter levels.

Puff pastry needs air to enter between the thin layers.

It needs to be rolled out several times with a rolling pin to make it crispy when baked.

It used to take almost 20 to 30 minutes.

Cainchel set Durendal, which was emitting cold air, in the corner of the kitchen, and then drew Fragarach [a holy sword known for its precision].

He attached a rolling pin to the front of it and used his cooking skills.

“Go, Sword Control Technique……!”

Then, a perfect puff pastry dough was created in an instant. As expected, Fragarach is best for repeating simple tasks.

Moreover, after coming out of the Tower of Trials, the Sword Control Technique had become even more refined.

It seemed like he could assign it slightly more complicated tasks now.

“When making puff pastry dough, you have to keep alternating between a layer of butter and a layer of flour and water to maximize the crispness and tenderness.”

“……You are perfectly using two holy swords as cooking tools. It wasn’t like this before……. What on earth happened in the last half year?”

Cainchel shrugged in lieu of an answer.

She didn’t know that he had experienced a thousand deaths in the Tower of Trials.

When he cut the finished dough with a knife, he could see the distinct layers.

Cainchel took out a lovely pie dish from the shelf.

After carefully laying the dough in the dish, he sprinkled plenty of cheddar cheese on top.

When the pie is cooked in the oven, the cheese will melt and create a fantastic taste and aroma.

Then he brought the stew, in which the thoroughly boiled beef had become so soft it melted in his mouth.

“Now I’m going to pour this into the pie dish. The scent is really amazing, right?”

“……I want to eat it soon.”

She was just like Prelia, excited to see the food.

Perhaps something had rubbed off on her while she had been dwelling in her body?

Cainchel brought the Mithril Kitchen Knife to the pie. The unbelievably crispy crust cracked, and the stew inside flowed out.

When he put it on a small plate and handed it over, the rich aroma of beef and the savory smell of pastry wafted out.

“……Is this the stew that has made so many people happy?”

“It’s a slightly different dish from that. But this will definitely be delicious, too.”

“Then I’ll eat it!”

Citri first brought a small fork to the pie crust.

The pastry was so delicate that it barely resisted the fork.

She decided to save the stew, with its concentrated beef flavor, for later and eat the crust first.

Citri swallowed the saliva that had gathered in her mouth and brought the pastry to her lips.

Crunch-!

The taste of the rich butter was felt at the same time as the unbelievably crispy crust.

“Ah……”

Even though it contained stew inside, it wasn’t soggy at all. Every time she chewed, hundreds of layers of crust crumbled, and the scent of butter filled her mouth.

Moreover, perhaps because he used the highest quality butter, the savory and salty taste made her want more.

This time, it was time to eat the stew, which contained the taste of meat and various vegetables.

Citri carefully picked up a finely sliced piece of thoroughly cooked beef and brought it to her mouth.

She felt a soft texture, as if it would melt and disappear in her mouth right away.

“It’s very soft, right? Dark beer makes the meat tender and removes any gaminess. Moreover, the unique aroma permeates it, making it really delicious.”

The thick stew was full of the savory taste of meat and spices.

And the soft, mellow carrots that had absorbed all that flavor?

It felt like her body was melting away as she put a mouthful of tenderly cooked beef in her mouth and chewed.

She wanted to express her impressions, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

“……Hoo.”

She just let out a happy sigh as the meat in her mouth disappeared.

Moreover, the generous amount of cheese was adding a savory depth to the stew. Only then did Citri realize.

This is not a dish to be eaten separately; the crust and stew must be eaten together.

“Then, here…….”

This time, she brought the pastry to her mouth with plenty of meat stew on it.

The rich juice of the beef permeated the crust, creating an unbelievably intense taste.

Thoroughly boiled beef and soft, fluffy carrots. Moreover, the still-crunchy parsley complemented the lacking texture.

“……Ugh. It’s so delicious it’s annoying. Can I have one more piece?”

“You can eat as much as you want. It’s all food made for Citri.”

“Yes!”

In the end, Citri, who had eaten half of the large dark beer pie, put down her fork with a satisfied face.

“……But strangely, my heart feels a little sad. Is this the stew that brings happiness? Something feels different…….”

Cainchel didn’t answer.

The guest must discover for themselves what the dish contains.

At that moment, something unbelievable happened.

Drip…….

Something dripped from the eyes of the demon duke Citri.

“This is, tears? Huh? Why am I……?”

It was then. Tears continued to pour out as if a dam had burst.

“Sniff……. Sniff……. Waaaaaaah…….”

Citri couldn’t stop crying.

She couldn’t even understand what was happening to her body.

Cainchel patted Citri, who was sobbing, on the shoulder and said.

“Citri, I will accept the alliance proposal I made earlier. The fact that you ate that and cried means that you are also a part of Prelia. Or maybe it’s the other way around.”

Citri, who had been crying for a while, raised her head without even thinking of hiding her messy face.

“Duke Cainchel……. W-What on earth is th-this dish……. Why do I feel so sad…….”

“That dish is.”

Thump, thump, thud!

With the sound of someone running in a hurry, the door to the dining room burst open.

“Huck, huff……. I’m sorry, Duke Cainchel. I’m a little late.”

Count Grexia, the owner of the mansion and Prelia’s father, stood in the doorway.

It seemed that he had rushed over after hearing that Cainchel had visited.

Count Grexia looked back and forth between the dark beer pie on the table and Citri, and then widened his eyes.

“This is perhaps……. I knew this day would come someday, but it seems you came to cook for ‘that child’ after all.”

Citri pretended not to know and said.

“Father. What are you talking about? That child? I am…….”

Then Count Grexia shook his head.

“You can stop imitating my daughter now. I know everything. Did you think I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference just because you look the same? I’ve been pretending not to know because it seems like you don’t have any intention of harming her.”

“…….”

Citri looked at Grexia with a shocked face.

She was imitating Prelia in her tone, behavior, and everything else.

But how on earth did he realize that she was a different being?

Count Grexia looked at the dark beer pie with a strangely nostalgic look and opened his mouth.

“I think you’re curious about what this dish really is, so let me explain.”

With that, Count Grexia began to reveal a secret that he had not even told Prelia.