Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 133

“Here it is.”

Following Rolf, the shaggy-haired man, we climbed the mountain for quite some time until a small cave came into view.

At the entrance, a man with a bamboo spear glared, his eyes wide. Seeing Rolf approach, he raised his spear.

“Rolf, what’s going on? It’s not time for your shift yet.”

“It’s not a shift change. I’ve gone mad.”

The man’s hand tightened on the spear. A drop of sweat trickled down his cheek, betraying his tension.

“Y-you’ve gone mad?!”

“But luckily, I’m cured.”

“H-how did that happen? Explain it to me in detail!”

Rolf glanced back as if seeking permission from Kainchel. When Kainchel nodded, he began to speak.

“You might not believe it, but it’s all true.”

“…Good heavens. You’re saying you went mad, but you were cured by eating the food that man made?”

Inside the cave the man was guarding, men with bloodshot eyes were chained up.

The number of them seemed to be nearly thirty.

Zeke, who had been watching with shining eyes from behind Kainchel, spoke up.

“People who go mad are taken to the guardhouse and never return, right? So, they’re keeping them here like this and even have someone guarding them.”

Zeke was wearing clumsy clown makeup.

He was planning to work as Kainchel’s assistant here as well.

In the gold rush mines, young men dreaming of striking it rich were working.

And the Curse of Rage was spreading among them at an incredible rate.

The bound men glared at Kainchel, emitting murderous intent.

“Kkeuek! Y-you human… I’ll k-kill you!”

“Kill him! Kill him!”

“Eeeeeek!”

It seemed impossible to feed all of them with the food they had brought.

“Is there a stream nearby?”

“Ah, there’s one right behind us. Don’t tell me you’re thinking of cooking right here?”

“It would be troublesome if we were caught by the guards while dragging them around.”

Kainchel reverted his speech and mannerisms to normal, only keeping the Hool makeup on.

Acting as a clown was very tiring.

‘Come to think of it, isn’t it enough to just not expose my bare face anyway?’

It had already been more than a day since Rolf had eaten the 6-star dish. If it were the Curse of Sloth, he would have fallen asleep already.

“Rolf, do you suddenly feel angry or want to kill someone?”

“Not particularly… Could it be that the madness isn’t completely cured?”

Kainchel quietly nodded, and Rolf bit his lip with a heavy expression.

The reason he had chosen him as a guide was to find out the duration of the dish’s effects.

However, he showed no signs of turning into a berserker again.

‘It’s much weaker than the curse that Prelia had. But to be sure, I need to observe the progress for at least a week. But why are so many people in Gold Rush afflicted with the Curse of Rage?’

According to Zeke’s investigation, most of the curses found in Krolltra were the Curse of Sloth.

Moreover, they would sleep as if dead for a while and then suddenly jump up.

The recent duration of Sloth was about a month.

‘Until three months ago, it was only a week at most. The curse is definitely getting stronger.’

There was no more time to delay.

Kainchel quietly rose from his seat and drew the Mithril knife and Aegis [a shield associated with Athena and Zeus in Greek mythology] from his waist.

“Then let’s start cooking.”

Zeke, who was standing behind him, nodded with a strange smile that was neither laughing nor crying.

@

Unlike the Curse of Gluttony, Sloth and Rage are not contagious.

Yet, the fact that they occurred so frequently in the same place meant there was some kind of medium.

‘In the end, I have to make a dish that everyone in Gold Road can eat.’

Then a course meal won’t do. The best is something that can be made in large quantities and served leisurely.

Stew immediately came to mind, but that wouldn’t be filling enough.

The grade of the dish is determined by the satisfaction of the person who eats it.

‘A dish that can be made in large quantities at once, with plenty of meat, and goes well with rice or bread…’

As Kainchel pondered, a flash of inspiration struck his mind. A recipe he had seen while organizing spices came to mind.

A dish made by combining numerous spices to create a roux [a mixture of flour and fat used to thicken sauces], adding meat or vegetables to taste, and simmering it.

‘…Curry.’

Cumin, pepper, cloves, turmeric, coriander seeds, nutmeg, cardamom, saffron powder…

Curry was made by mixing those spices.

It is eaten with chapati [a type of unleavened flatbread] baked in a fire pot or rice.

‘By changing the combination of spices and the ingredients, you can create hundreds, no, thousands of different flavors. With this, they won’t get tired of it.’

The recipe included a mixed spice called masala [a blend of ground spices used in Indian cuisine]. But it was impossible to get it now. In the end, he decided to make curry using the spices he had.

‘First, the rice.’

Dwarves mainly eat basmati rice, which has long, slender grains.

It is not suitable for making rice cakes or brewing alcohol because it lacks stickiness, but the rice made from it is soft and fragrant.

Kainchel washed the rice in ice-cold water.

This prevents the rice from sticking to the pot and makes it light and fluffy when cooked.

After putting the rice in the pot, he added a few ginger seeds and star anise. That would make the flavor of the rice deeper and richer.

‘After adjusting the ratio of rice to water well, lightly season it with salt and pepper…’

In an instant, the preparation for cooking rice was complete.

At the same time, curry was being made in one corner of the counter.

‘Okay, let’s use Giant Sand Worm meat for the ingredients in the curry.’

It doesn’t go well with stews because of its strong taste and chewy texture.

However, it will show off its unique presence in curry, which contains many spices.

And Sand Worm meat also had the effect of temporarily increasing the stamina of the person who ate it.

A dish that a miner doing hard work would want to eat even if they had to pay silver coins.

When Kainchel took out a large chunk of meat from his interdimensional pocket, Rolf tilted his head.

“What kind of meat is that? It looks a bit black and very chewy.”

“This? It’s Giant Sand Worm meat.”

“Haha. You cook with such strange ingredients.”

It seemed he thought it was a joke.

Kainchel shrugged once and then began to take out and slice various spices.

Lemongrass, which smelled like lemon, chili, ginger, garlic, lime.

After finely chopping them, he put them in a stone mortar and crushed them. When he added cinnamon powder, a strong aroma that stimulated the nose began to spread.

A scene like watching an orchestra where many instruments gather to create a beautiful melody.

Rolf, who realized what Kainchel was making, widened his eyes.

“Are you going to put all those spices in?”

In Britannia, spices are only used to enhance the taste of ingredients.

But curry, which used them as the main ingredient, seemed like magic, not just strange.

“Sometimes a supporting actor can exert a stronger presence than any leading role.”

He poured olive oil into the pot and began to stir-fry the Sand Worm meat and onions.

As the meat cooked, an intense aroma wafted through the air.

At the same time, he added the curry paste that he had made in advance.

Then an indescribably fragrant and intense aroma began to spread.

It wasn’t just Rolf who was excited by it.

“Rice, rice? Riiiiice!”

“Oh, where is that delicious smell coming from! Oh, oh… What am I doing here….”

The power to temporarily return even the berserkers who had given themselves over to murderous intent to their original state.

Curry did not have any water added separately. To create a richer flavor, he used tomatoes, coconut milk, and chicken stock. As a finishing touch, a little lime leaf and soy sauce.

Then a curry with a rich and deep flavor was completed.

There are two main characters in this dish. Sand Worm meat and curry paste. Unique ingredients were combined into one at Kainchel’s fingertips.

Rolf, who had been watching from the side, wiped away the saliva that had gathered and muttered.

“Haa… The smell… Really… What should I say, it’s hard to express.”

“Try tasting it first.”

“C-can I really?”

“I made a lot anyway.”

It was enough to feed thirty people until they were full.

Kainchel took out the snow-white rice from the pot and piled it high on a plate.

The rice, with its glossy sheen, looked so delicious. Each grain of rice felt as light as a feather.

When he poured the curry with plenty of Sand Worm meat on top, a wonderful dish was created in an instant.

“There are so many people waiting, I don’t know if I should eat first…”

“It’s too hot to eat with your hands tied anyway. It’ll have to cool down a bit, so fill your stomach before that.”

A faint red glow had already appeared in Rolf’s eyes.

Evidence that the curse was beginning to consume his body again.

‘So, the effect of the dish lasts about a day.’

A 5-star or 6-star dish cannot completely undo the curse at once. But if you eat it steadily, it will gradually weaken.

A day will become a week, and a week will become a year.

‘I can’t completely eliminate it, but that’s enough to not interfere with daily life.’

Fortunately, the Curse of Rage is not a type that uses duration as a weapon.

Rolf picked up a silver spoon and scooped up a generous portion of curry and rice.

A very simple appearance with only rice, curry paste, and meat. But would the taste also be ordinary?

“Hmm, it’s spicy!”

The Sand Worm curry also contained plenty of chili. But it’s not just spicy.

The aroma and taste of the curry permeated the soft rice grains.

The more you chew, the more various flavors fill your mouth. A curry that is spicy, fragrant, and sometimes has an intensely pungent aroma.

Rolf stared at the plate with a dazed expression, as if struck by lightning.

It was a treasure chest full of countless flavors.

And what about the meat soaked in curry? It has a strange chewiness that goes well with the rice and curry, which can be a bit bland.

Rolf emptied the bowl and let out a sigh filled with the aroma of curry.

“Hoo, that was delicious. The cod dish I ate yesterday was also delicious, but this is really… What should I say…”

“Then I’ll ask you to feed the curry to those people.”

“Leave it to me! I feel energized after eating delicious food!”

Rolf bowed with an impressed expression. Zeke skillfully put rice on a plate, poured curry on top, and handed it out.

The berserkers who ate it regained their sanity as if it were natural.

They alternately looked at the empty plates and the chains binding their bodies with wide eyes.

“R-Rolf? Huh? Why am I tied up here?”

“…Could it be that we went mad?”

“But what is this thick food? It’s incredibly delicious?”

Rolf cried out, choking back tears.

“It’s okay now! It’s all okay! Let’s go home! We can go home!”

Thus, they were able to return to their families.

It was exactly three months since madness had engulfed Gold Rush.

@

In just one week, Kainchel’s curry stall became the most popular restaurant in Gold Rush.

In the evening, a long line formed in the central square to eat the curry made by Kainchel.

No matter how busy they were, people visited the stall every other day to eat curry.

It not only cures madness but also tastes great.

The one with plenty of meat was a bit expensive, but there was also vegetable curry for those times.

[Completed a dish using aromatic herbs!]

[Poison resistance slightly increased (+0.1%)]

‘With this, my poison resistance has exceeded 70%.’

Kainchel looked at the status that appeared in the Joma Mirror with a satisfied expression.

Now he could even eat pufferfish roe from the spawning season with a smile.

If 70% is this much, what will happen if it goes up further?

‘Maybe I can swim and laugh inside the Green Dragon’s Poison Breath.’

When you become a Sword Master, most physical restrictions disappear. If you also have poison and fire resistance, there is nothing to fear.

That wasn’t the only harvest he had gained in fifteen days. Kainchel looked at the railroad tracks that ran through the center of Gold Rush.

The mine where most of the young men here work.

There is a medium that spread the Curse of Rage there.

Reincarnation of the Legend #4