Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 108

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33. Guardian of the World Tree

“I… I’m sorry. I never thought Eirene would want to eat a dish made by Cainchel…”

Nimue apologized repeatedly, her face flushed red to her ears. She hadn’t expected Horizon to be so competitive.

“It’s alright. Opportunities to compete with chefs from other races are rare.”

“But it won’t be easy to win. The plants that have grown under the influence of the World Tree have forms that can’t be seen anywhere else.”

Cainchel recalled the appearance of the World Tree he had seen upon entering Eldrad.

He had just thought of it as a large tree, but it was influencing the entire ecosystem.

‘So that’s why the elves of Britannia, where the World Tree burned down, have declined so much.’

What would happen if the wheat, barley, and potatoes that are responsible for people’s staple foods disappeared?

Cainchel felt like he understood why Nimue was so obsessed with food.

“It’s certainly difficult to cook with ingredients you’ve never seen before.”

“Besides, Horizon has been making vegetarian dishes for a long time. Her skills are considerable. Would you like to see some of these ingredients?”

Nimue took out a strangely shaped mushroom and held it out. As befitting a specialty of Eldrad, it had a shape he had never seen before.

But the scent was amazing. Even though it wasn’t cooked properly, the room was filled with the smell of pine resin.

“It looks like a trumpet.”

“Yes, so it’s called a trumpet mushroom. But the scent and taste are said to be similar to matsutake mushrooms [a type of highly prized mushroom]. And this one here is called a carot.”

When the carot was cut in half, it was filled with pure white flesh. Cainchel’s eyes lit up as he brought it to his mouth.

‘What is this? It’s fluffy and moist, like the dough of well-baked bread?’

That wasn’t all. In Eldrad, wheat and rice didn’t grow from the ground, but from trees.

Moreover, it tasted strangely sweet.

‘If I make paella with plenty of paprika instead of tomatoes to make it spicy, it would be incredibly delicious.’

Nimue fidgeted with her fingers, her face flushed red to her ears. And finally, as if she had made up her mind, she nodded.

“No matter how skilled Cainchel is at cooking, it’s difficult to cook with ingredients you’ve never seen before. I don’t know what you want to ask Eirene, but if it’s okay with me, I’ll listen to you.”

“Ah, it’s alright. I think I can cook with this much. Then I’ll make the best vegetarian dish.”

“But does Cainchel know what cooking means to elves?”

Cainchel shrugged and replied.

“If you eat well-made food, everyone, human or elf, will say it’s delicious. Isn’t that enough?”

Nimue sighed softly. This human doesn’t know anything about elves.

He just likes to cook, so he made delicious food for her.

Even knowing that fact, Nimue’s heart did not change.

Ingredients grown with the blessing of the World Tree were like alter egos to the elves.

That’s why elves only cook for those they cherish.

The reason Horizon couldn’t stand the anger boiling up when she saw Cainchel was for that reason.

It seemed as if a man who confessed his love to every elf he met was trying to lay his hands on the queen.

“Then I’ll make a few vegetarian dishes with this, so can I ask you to taste them?”

Nimue parted her lips, trying to take out the words she had kept in her heart, but stopped.

And she smiled brightly, like a flower blooming.

“Yes, of course! But next time, you have to taste the food I made too.”

“Of course.”

Nimue hoped that the dish she had fallen in love with at first sight would taste delicious to the other elves as well.

@

‘This can be used like an onion. The scent is a little stronger, like saffron mixed in.’

Cainchel analyzed the taste of each of the elf tribe’s ingredients, eating them one by one.

When his gourmet level reached 5 stars, Cainchel’s tongue became even more sensitive.

He could find a drop of lemon juice mixed in 1 liter of water. When he ate a dish, he could even tell what spices were used.

It was an ability close to ‘absolute taste’.

Cainchel stroked the tree fruit that the elves called carot and activated Brilliant Road [his unique skill].

Then, recipes that could be made with carot came to mind.

[Burrito with Spicy Chili and Carot]

[Blueberry Carot Cake]

[Spicy Noodle Dish with Carot]

[Stew with Roasted Carot, Pumpkin, and Smoked Paprika]

Every single dish looked delicious. If he used Brilliant Road, he could make as many vegetarian dishes for the elves as he wanted.

‘But this was called a trumpet mushroom, right?’

Cainchel lifted the instrument-shaped mushroom.

The elves said that they could easily harvest this around the World Tree.

Even though it looked strange, the taste and aroma were unmistakably matsutake mushrooms.

Matsutake mushrooms have a crunchy texture, and their taste and aroma are so strong that they are delicious no matter how you cook them.

However, it was a precious mushroom that could only be cultivated in some regions of the East and was not easily tasted.

‘It would be amazing to grill it over charcoal or boil it in chicken broth.’

In addition to trumpet mushrooms, most of the ingredients used by the elves tasted good. At this rate, he could live on vegetarian food for the rest of his life without getting tired of it.

But a really unique spice caught his eye.

It was the bark of a cola tree with leaves that felt like animal skin.

It had a very unique scent, so he tried using Brilliant Road as a test.

Then he saw something strange.

‘Black soft drink?’

Cainchel narrowed his eyes as he looked at the spice extracted from the cola tree bark.

He felt a strangely big hit of energy. But what’s important now is not that.

Cainchel first gathered the ingredients that he could use easily. And he started cooking according to the recipe shown by Brilliant Road.

First, he took out the inside of the flour fruit and started kneading it with olive oil and cold water.

‘Originally, it was a slightly longer and more complicated name, but I guess it’s okay to just call it flour fruit.’

The flour fruit was perfect for making pasta. It had enough oil that he didn’t need to add eggs, and it was chewy even if he kneaded it a little.

Just in case, he added the yeast he had brought, and it swelled up nicely.

He tore it into bite-sized pieces using his fingers, then put it in boiling water and boiled it.

Cainchel recalled Gordon’s appearance, shouting and explaining how to boil pasta.

― After adding the pasta, add a spoonful of coarse salt and olive oil! That way they don’t stick together!

And the ‘al dente’ texture, where the center of the pasta is slightly undercooked and chewy, is said to be the best to eat.

When he tried putting it in his mouth, he felt a resilience that bounced off his teeth.

‘Alright. The pasta is complete.’

Next, it was time to make the toppings to eat with it. Cainchel placed the trumpet mushroom on the cutting board and activated the Aura Sword [his special sword].

And when he cut it along the grain, a smooth cut surface that made his mouth water just by looking at it came into view.

He started grilling it while applying a sauce made by boiling soy sauce and sweet tree fruit.

The trumpet mushroom, soaked in the salty taste of soy sauce, ripened with a deep pine scent.

‘And finely chop the piaagnol, a root vegetable that tastes like onions mixed with saffron, and stir-fry it in olive oil.’

Add kemin leaves and carot, which feel like boiled broccoli.

Around the time the scent of piaagnol permeates the kemin leaves and carot.

Finally, it was time to mix the trumpet mushrooms and pasta.

Sizzle!

Cainchel’s hand holding the pan danced over the flames.

Sweat poured down like rain, but he wasn’t hot at all. What he is using now are the elves’ ingredients.

He makes a very familiar mushroom broccoli pasta with it.

Gordon Lamboulton said he wanted to create cuisine that transcended borders and even races.

Maybe he’s one step closer to that.

In addition to pasta, Cainchel made a few more dishes.

A salad with maple syrup. Enchiladas made by wrapping vegetables and beans in tortillas.

And lentil pie.

All human-style dishes made with elf ingredients.

‘Yes, this is the conclusion I’ve come to.’

Cainchel took a slow, deep breath. All vegetarian dishes with 5-star perfection.

From now on, the Queen of Eldrad will taste this.

What kind of evaluation will he get?

@

Horizon’s eyes widened at the sight of the food Cainchel had made.

And she groaned with a resentful expression.

“How dare a human make a dish using piaagnol…”

“It tastes surprisingly good when you eat it. If I have the chance, can I get a few to take with me?”

“······Do as you please.”

The other dishes all look delicious.

Even compared to Horizon’s dishes, which have been making vegetarian dishes for decades, the perfection is by no means inferior.

But it was up to the Elf Queen to decide the winner.

Horizon spoke in a voice that was not only polite but even felt affectionate.

“Your Majesty. I have brought a dish made by a human.”

Then the queen, who was sitting on the branch of the World Tree and basking in the sun, jumped down.

“This is the dish that Nimue praised as delicious! I want to eat it soon! Give me a fork!”

Cainchel’s eyes widened at the sight of the Elf Queen. He thought her face was strangely familiar, but it was the elf girl who had gotten snacks from him half a day ago.

In human terms, she would have been in her mid-teens. Her blonde hair and green eyes, shining in the sunlight, even felt refreshing.

She looked younger than Nimue, let alone Abel.

Eirene waved her hand cheerfully and smiled.

“Human! I enjoyed the snacks!”

“I, I’m honored, Your Majesty.”

“Since you’re not even one of our clan, what’s with the stiff ‘Your Majesty’? You can just call me Eirene comfortably.”

“······.”

Cainchel stared at Eirene for a while, speechless at the sight that was so different from what he had imagined.

She asked with a mischievous smile.

“So, when are you planning to get together with Nimue? I don’t like humans, but if you’re the man Nimue chose, I have to acknowledge you.”

Then Nimue, who was looking at the World Tree from afar, ran over.

“Wh, what are you talking about, Eirene! G, get together! When did I say that!”

“You said you fell in love at first sight.”

“Th, that’s with the food! So, I fell in love with the food!”

Eirene giggled.

“Is it really just the food?”

Cainchel looked like he was about to faint after hearing the conversation between the two elves. He doesn’t understand how the situation is going at all.

Even if he is the First Sword, he was being treated with respect by the queen of another tribe.

What on earth is Nimue’s identity?

Eirene gave Cainchel a meaningful smile as she looked at his flustered face.

“Hmm, don’t tell me, Nimue. Are you lying again, saying you’re a hundred years old? Human. Listen carefully. The Nimue here is…”

It was the moment Eirene was about to reveal Nimue’s secret.

An Elven Knight with blackened hair ran up and knelt in front of Horizon.

“First Sword! We are under attack! Mages using explosion magic are burning our precious forest!”

Then the faces of the gathered elves sank coldly.

The atmosphere changed in an instant, as if they had never laughed and talked.

Nimue gritted her teeth with an expression mixed with anger and hatred.

“Don’t tell me it’s the arsonist Antares?”

If so, she couldn’t just stand by and watch. She couldn’t afford to lose Eldrad’s World Tree after Britannia’s World Tree.

She quietly pulled out a bouquet of roses. But Cainchel ran out one step ahead of her.

The arsonist Antares who burned the World Tree in Britannia.

His evil hand, wishing for the resurrection of the Seven Sins, has finally reached this far.

Cainchel, who has tremendous fire resistance, was the strongest move to deal with Antares.

Guardian of the World Tree #2