Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 296

The grotesquely swollen muscles that made him seem less than human were still there. However, the monster-like skin that covered his entire body had mostly returned to normal.

Abhim groaned at the sight, unable to believe what he was seeing.

“Keuh, keuh… Are you saying that the change happened just from the smell of baking bread? Does that mean if I eat that savarin…”

“We don’t know yet. How they accept this dessert is entirely up to the guest who eats it.”

“…By the way, would you mind if I tasted some? I can’t stand being so concerned about whether the dough turned out well.”

“Of course. I made plenty for that reason. But I’d like you to feed this to James.”

Abhim’s eyes shook violently at that. But he nodded, as if he had made up his mind.

“I understand. If it leads to saving the clan, I would gladly offer my own heart.”

“It’s just that he’s too big, and my hands can’t reach his mouth.”

“…Ah, yes.”

Of course, it was a blatant lie.

Abhim had even given up his revenge for the sake of the clan. He was a perfect example of ‘Germa Krash,’ a phrase that symbolizes the Orcs [likely referring to their resilience or self-sacrificing nature].

Kainchel was trying to ensure that his heart was conveyed even better with a little arrangement.

‘The food that my mother fed me when I was so young that I don’t even remember becomes that person’s soul food. That savarin will definitely cause a huge ripple in James’s soul.’

Abhim looked at the savarin in front of him. A silver cup filled with custard cream, topped with pound cake soaked in rum syrup.

That alone was enough to make even an Orc, who rarely ate sweets, drool.

It was carefully glazed with apricot jam and topped with rum-soaked raisins.

It was so beautiful that it was almost a shame to eat.

Surely, if you cut it into small pieces and put it in your mouth, it would melt away.

Abhim had recently become accustomed to sugar and various spices.

“Then, I will enjoy this.”

He reached out with his fork and cut it in half, revealing the moist dough soaked in syrup.

He scooped up a generous portion and brought it to his mouth.

“Keuheum… !”

He couldn’t help but exclaim at the taste of the rum raisin savarin, which he was tasting for the first time.

A moist and soft texture, as if he had put a cloud in his mouth. It was something he had never felt in any bread he had ever eaten.

And the subtle aroma of rum that spread the moment he put it in his mouth.

The intensely flavored raisins, soaked in the rich taste, glided across his tongue, becoming even sweeter.

And the soft custard cream further enhanced the flavor of the raisins and cake.

What made the savarin particularly attractive was the mellow scent of the alcohol infused within.

“…Surely, rum is an alcohol made by fermenting the residue left over from making sugar, isn’t it? I’ve had it a few times, but all I remember is the terrible hangover, not this wonderful flavor.”

“That’s right. Rum is an alcohol made from the residue left over from making sugar. It’s cheap and gets you drunk quickly, so sailors who travel the rough seas enjoy drinking it. Isn’t it amazing? That completely unsweetened bitterness goes so well with raisins and bread.”

Abhim realized why Kainchel had used rum.

He thought of himself as the crushed heart, the residue left after the clan was wiped out.

That there was nothing he could do for the clan.

That he was just living day by day according to Talmus’s orders.

But Kainchel had taught him the charm of cooking. He had made him the main player in saving the clan from its stigma.

For him, rum was no longer just a residue alcohol.

It was the best ingredient to make the savarin stand out more than any other high-end ingredient.

Kainchel nodded with a satisfied expression as he saw Abhim’s eyes reddening.

Argonians have monster factors in their bodies.

Even if Andras’s agent disappears, there is no telling when it will pop out again.

Of course, Kainchel couldn’t possibly cook for all of them alone.

That’s why he taught Abhim how to put his heart into cooking.

‘Orc-made bread will soon spread throughout Argon. Then, won’t there come a day when the monster factor completely disappears from the bodies of all Argonians?’

Abhim nodded as he looked at the plate containing the savarin.

There was the same dessert on it that he had just eaten.

He picked it up and brought it to James’s mouth.

“Hmm…”

James began to gobble down the savarin as if he had been waiting for it. And for a moment, his body trembled.

“…Bitter. But sweet and delicious.”

James, who had muttered taciturnly, ate everything on the plate in one bite and held out his hand.

“More?”

Kainchel shrugged and handed him the savarin that had just finished plating.

In the end, James was able to finish his meal with a satisfied expression after eating five plates.

[7-star dish ‘Rum Raisin Savarin of Forgiveness’ has been completed.]

[Apprentice Chef Abhim’s baking level has greatly increased due to the collaboration.]

[Proficiency in Aura Blade greatly increases.]

….

…..

[Baking level has increased.]

Kainchel’s eyes widened. This was the first time he had made a 7-star dish with the help of someone else.

But the reward was more surprising than he had expected.

First of all, the baking skill, which had not changed even after baking so much bread, became 6 stars.

Was that all? As a bonus, Abhim’s level also increased.

He would have to check the details to be sure, but it seemed that he could trust and entrust the training of other Orc chefs to him.

Kainchel looked at James, who had returned to human form as if he had shed his skin.

It was finally time to get to the main point.

* * *

James was the first to speak. He looked at Abhim, who had a complicated expression on his face, and said.

“But I can’t believe it even after experiencing it myself. That I, who had turned into a monster and lost my reason, have returned to my original form. And that I’m still alive. Don’t you think?”

“…I only did what I had to do for the clan. Don’t forget. I could have killed you at any time.”

Then James’s mouth twisted grotesquely.

“I know.”

“Wha, what?!”

“Although my mind was trapped inside the monster’s body, strangely enough, I could hear the voices around me very well. Thanks to that, I know very well what happened to this body.”

“…It’s convenient that I don’t have to explain it separately. But I still hold the knife. So answer all my questions.”

James and Abhim’s conversation was a bit rough, but it was progressing relatively calmly.

“Before that, I want to say that you are amazing.”

But the peaceful atmosphere ended there.

Abhim’s anger exploded at James’s eyes, which seemed to be prepared for death.

“Keuek! If you’re going to keep spouting that nonsense, I’ll cut off your tongue first! After all, writing is enough to explain!”

Blood flowed from between his clenched fingers because he was clenching his fist too hard.

If Kainchel hadn’t been there, he would have taken out his axe and struck him down.

“No, what I said just now is sincere. You did what I couldn’t do. I pay my respects to your nobility for aiming the blade at your enemy’s neck and then withdrawing it for the sake of the clan.”

“…What on earth are you talking about?”

“It’s a short story, would you like to hear it?”

“I understand.”

James began to speak with a sullen face.

“A long time ago. More than twenty years ago, there was a noble lady. She wanted to help the abused Orcs. She couldn’t think of them as mere slaves because they could communicate to some extent and lived in tribes.”

“Are you perhaps talking about Lady Karen?”

Abhim also knew the name.

The Crushed Heart Tribe held a memorial service to honor her until just before its destruction.

“That’s right. She was the only woman in Oakland who was so kind and beautiful. But she was brutally murdered by a runaway Orc.”

He was speaking in a calm tone, but James’s face was contorted with pain.

“I heard that she was definitely a concubine of the former Hampshire Lord…”

“And she is also my mother. Do you understand now why I hated Orcs so much? I couldn’t stand the fact that there was such an ungrateful race that repaid kindness with enmity. So I treated them thoroughly as slaves. That’s all. I won’t make excuses. The fact that I killed all of the Crushed Heart Tribe does not change.”

“…And the fact that a warrior of the clan killed Lady Karen does not change either.”

Kainchel realized that James and Abhim had strangely similar faces.

In the end, Abhim accepted James to save the clan.

James ate all of the rum raisin savarin that contained that heart.

They were each other’s enemies.

And that fact will never change.

But that’s why the war between humans and Orcs will never end.

In the end, all that will be left is mutual destruction.

“But I am the Lord of Hampshire before I am Lady Karen’s son. At least until I catch the guy who planted the monster factor in my body, I hope we can cooperate.”

“I was going to do that anyway.”

“And if we succeed in defeating the Monster Lord. I will set up a new negotiating table in the name of the Lord governing the Hampshire Autonomous Territory.”

Then Kainchel quietly approached James from behind and licked his neck.

*Chomp-*

“Wha, what on earth are you doing!?”

“Hmm. At least you’re not lying. I guess there’s a precedent.”

“…You have a strange talent.”

Kainchel had to keep tasting his sweat because he couldn’t completely trust James.

It was a bit disgusting, but he couldn’t help it.

“Then, now that the long introduction is over, let’s get to the main point. You have several monster factors planted in your body. Do you have any idea? Perhaps there was a sudden change in your emotions.”

“Hmm. Are you talking about something like a lump forming deep in my chest, as if I had swallowed hot lava?”

“…It seems that’s definitely it.”

According to James’s explanation, he had not lived his life entrusting himself to hatred from the beginning.

He hated the runaway Orc who killed Karen, but that was only about the individual.

“It happened a few years ago. I came to cooperate with the cowboys of the Oakland region to defeat monsters. It is the duty of the lord to reclaim undeveloped land.”

By defeating monsters, they expand their territory and ensure the safety of the territory’s people.

That’s why the United States of Argon runs in the form of an autonomous territory.

“But I was injured when one of my arms was torn off by a monster that attacked from outside the range of Bullet Time [a skill or ability]. At that time, someone gave me an ointment, saying it was good for the wound.”

When he applied it, James’s injury healed in an instant. But from then on, he couldn’t stand his anger towards the Orcs to an unusual degree.

Could it be that the reason why he seems like a different person after eating the savarin is because of that?

Kainchel swallowed hard and asked.

“Who on earth is that person?”

As if the memory of that time was vivid, James answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“Marcus, the branch manager of the Oakland Cowboys. It must have been that man.”

“…? !”

Kainchel’s eyes widened.

It was the name of the person he had met several times while working as Gray.

The contractor of Monster Lord Andras.

The moment the agent’s identity was revealed.