Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 144

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Chapter 44: Chicken Soup for the Soul

Melchior Sandalphon became a berserker because of a curse.

Moreover, Count Algedi implanted immortal cells in his body.

A knight who literally cannot die.

He couldn’t be defeated without borrowing the power of a dragon, the ultimate life form.

“However, Melchior reacted to the curry I made. Cooking is the only thing that can save his soul trapped in the abyss.”

Abel, who was drinking the black tea Keinzel had brewed, tilted his head.

“Then, wouldn’t honey butter sandwiches, jewel ice cream, or even more curry work?”

“I’ve tried it. Forcibly feeding him doesn’t work. He has to eat it on his own.”

Prelia, who was under the curse of sloth, also opened her mouth and ate the sandwich on her own.

To achieve that, simply making delicious food isn’t enough.

“That’s why I’m trying to find soul food.”

The taste of the soul from childhood.

Just like Vincent searched for the *coq au vin* [chicken braised in wine] his mother made for ten years.

Melchior must also have such soul food.

‘Food containing memories with Lucia… If I can perfectly recreate it, I can definitely move his heart.’

However, first, it was necessary to uncover the truth of the incident that occurred twenty years ago.

There must be a hint of soul food within it.

Abel muttered, watching Keinzel’s troubled expression.

“…Soul food.”

Soul food made with longing, with the taste of memories. Abel had never experienced the warmth it held.

“Do you have any idea what it could be?”

“No, when I think about it, I don’t have any food that could be called soul food. My mother passed away less than a year after giving birth to me. Cain burned all the paintings of her face, calling them evidence of lust. If I had stayed in the family, I would have been killed by him.”

Eventually, Abel ran away from home and entered the knight training academy.

“For me, food was just a means of survival. I could eat rotten meat with a smile.”

“…Abel.”

“The first thing I ever tasted that I thought was delicious was the butter potato you baked. After that, you cooked for me several times. Hearing the words ‘soul food’ suddenly reminded me of that time.”

Something hot was trying to burst out of his throat.

The food he made just to improve his cooking skills.

It had such a great meaning to Abel.

“Next time, let’s ask Nimue about your mother if we have the chance. She will surely tell you stories all night long.”

“Come to think of it, the Queen and my mother were sisters. I forgot for a moment because she looks so young.”

Before he knew it, a soft smile appeared on Abel’s lips.

Meeting Nimue was also thanks to the food Keinzel made.

A friend, a comrade, and…

Abel’s ears turned red with embarrassment as he muttered in a small voice.

“Keinzel, you are my soul food.”

Ding!

[You have created a new meaning of existence for the guest through cooking.]

[The power of containing the heart has melted into the ‘Aura Blade’ skill.]

[Aura Blade: 7/10]

Keinzel’s eyes widened as he looked at the sudden message from the system.

‘No, why is this popping up here all of a sudden?’

It was the same message as when he made blood dishes for Lehman.

However, the difference was that he hadn’t made any dishes this time.

‘…Did the food I’ve made so far cause some kind of change in Abel’s heart, and he realized it after hearing the words ‘soul food’?’

A change enough to fill one slot of the Aura Blade.

Keinzel couldn’t bring himself to ask what it was.

Because the words that came out of Abel’s mouth contained very intense emotions.

“Abel, I have some butter left. Shall we make butter potatoes for the first time in a while?”

“That sounds good. But isn’t it hard to make a bonfire here?”

“It’s butter potatoes made with steamed potatoes, not baked potatoes. This is also very delicious.”

Abel, who had finished his black tea, got up from his seat.

After eating butter potatoes, he was thinking of sparring for the first time in a while.

The gap between him and Keinzel had widened tremendously, but that didn’t mean he was going to stand still.

The time left until the fight with Melchior was two days.

He had to get stronger, even if only a little, by then.

@

Using Lehman’s ability to turn into mist, they could sneak into even the most heavily guarded places.

Zeke whistled as he watched the tightly closed castle gate open.

“Whew, Brother. Aren’t you too cool?”

Before he knew it, the title had changed to Brother.

Lehman didn’t seem to dislike it very much either.

“Of course, this body’s abilities are not perfect either. I can’t get close to places where holy water has been sprinkled or where there are crosses.”

However, Krolltra didn’t even have the Deus Church temples that were so common.

It was literally a solo stage prepared for Lehman.

Zeke, who had sneaked into Krolltra Castle, first kidnapped a few servants who had worked there for decades.

“Oop! Oop!”

“Brothers. Don’t look at me with such pitiful eyes. I promise I won’t hurt you and will only ask you a few questions. There aren’t many people in this world as innocent as me.”

“You’ve done this more than once.”

“Ehehe, ehehehe…”

Perhaps because he had a chance to show off his skills after a long time, Zeke’s face lit up.

“Then, Brother, I’m counting on you!”

“Hmm.”

Lehman’s red eyes flickered in the darkness.

Perhaps because he was touching old memories, a strange groan flowed from the servant’s mouth.

“No, no! Miss Lucia!”

“Lord Melchior! Please calm down! Miss Lucia is already…”

“Ugh, ugh! S, save me! M, monster! It’s a monster!”

Lehman, who had read all the servants’ memories, waved his hand.

He had lived for hundreds of years, but this was the first time he had heard such a bitter story.

“Brother. Did you find out what happened 20 years ago?”

“Of course. It seems like there are still a few fragments missing, but with this, I could roughly tell what shape it had.”

Melchior met Lucia at a ball celebrating the birth of a new Sword Master.

And the two fell in love at first sight.

“Up to that point, it’s a common romance. The problem starts when Lucia, who was engaged to Melchior, contracts an unknown terminal illness.”

It was an era without the curses of the Seven Deadly Sins.

It was literally an unidentifiable disease.

Melchior, who already loved her so much that he couldn’t live without Lucia, nursed her with utmost devotion.

Five years passed, and the Seven Deadly Sins War swept through the Britannia Empire.

Lehman pointed to the unconscious old butler and said.

“The story I’m about to tell you is from that man’s memory. He happened to hear this and hasn’t told anyone until now.”

Count Algedi said this to Melchior, who was leaving to fight the Seven Deadly Sins.

— Melchior. My beloved son-in-law. Listen carefully. If you have the flesh of the Seven Deadly Sins, you can save Lucia.

— I, is that really true?

— Why would I lie to you? The flesh of the Seven Deadly Sins is the best medium that will give countless humans the immortality they desire!

Melchior fought bravely. Thanks to his efforts, he was able to defeat two of the Seven Deadly Sins.

However, what greeted him upon his return was Lucia’s cold corpse.

“He is said to have howled like a wounded beast for a week. And he is said to have rampaged as if he would destroy everything. In the end, Count Algedi fed him unfinished immortal cells to stop him. You know the result.”

Zeke groaned strangely, as if something was bothering him.

“Hmm…”

“It seems like the story is almost complete. The Lord will be very happy. I should ask for a special blood sausage soup as a reward.”

Lehman danced on his shoulders, happy that things had ended sooner than he thought.

Zeke, who had been deep in thought for a while, clapped his hands.

“If you only listen to that, it’s not much different from Miss Prelia’s story. It’s just that the means were a little extreme. But is that really the end of it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Melchior is a hero and a Sword Master. But would he be made a berserker just because he was sad and rampaging? There must still be some sticky and vile tragedy left. Oh, by the way, you said there was a gardener who worked there twenty years ago, right?”

“Unfortunately, he died. His family found his decapitated body floating in the river.”

“Then what about his family?”

“He has a son. He still lives in a nearby village, working as a leather tanner.”

“We have to go meet him. He must have the last fragment.”

@

In the end, Zeke and Lehman, who had left for Krolltra, returned in two days.

Abel groaned as he heard the shocking truth that came out of his mouth.

“So, Melchior fought so bravely all for the sake of curing Lucia.”

Keinzel also bit his lip with a heavy face.

It is said that Melchior, who returned after 5 years, was holding the flesh of the Seven Deadly Sins in his hand.

With this, he could save the dying Lucia.

But what greeted him upon his return was the cold body of his lover.

How great would the anger and frustration he felt at that time have been?

But Zeke’s story was not over yet.

“Lucia, when she was healthy, loved flowers so much that she spent more than half of her day tending the garden. Naturally, she was close to the gardener. But one day, the gardener turned pale and returned home.”

The gardener tells his son.

He accidentally made a lot of money. Let’s take it and leave Krolltra.

“The son was embarrassed. He was already working as a leather craftsman’s apprentice and was learning the trade. Nevertheless, the gardener urged his son to leave as soon as possible. And after the night passed, he became a corpse.”

“…He was murdered.”

“He must have seen something. The money he had was probably to silence him. The soldier who was guarding the castle gate at that time is now the captain of the guard. According to his memory, men wearing turbans entered and exited the castle for a while, carrying something in wooden boxes.”

And according to the maid’s memory, the Count never visited his daughter’s room, even though his daughter was suffering from illness.

He would only send porcelain spices, saying they would be good for the disease.

Melchior is said to have burned it very diligently, hoping that Lucia would get better even a little.

Keinzel’s face was distorted with anger.

“Don’t tell me the terminal illness that Lucia had was not a disease?”

“I’m not sure. There are just a few circumstantial evidence. But all the circumstances prove that she was not sick but poisoned.”

Zeke took out a broken piece of porcelain from his arms and held it out.

“The maid who was cleaning the room accidentally broke the porcelain. She was trembling, afraid that her head would be cut off, but Melchior smiled and stroked her head. He said that the porcelain can be replaced with another one, but the wounded heart of a person can never be healed.”

And this broken piece of porcelain became the maid’s treasure.

Keinzel, who received it, licked the inside of the porcelain.

If what was in here was just a simple spice, it would just be a common tragedy.

But if….

The Gourmet skill instantly analyzed what was on the porcelain.

[Debilitating Poison]

* A special purpose poison created with great care by a sorcerer of the Ottoman Empire.

* Made in the form of a spice and is poisoned by inhaling the scent. Because it is made by combining numerous herbs, it can never be detoxified by ordinary methods.

* Its effect is extremely weakened by a special combination method. The effect will not appear unless it is used steadily for at least 3 years.

Keinzel clenched his fist without realizing it.

Count Algedi poisoned his own daughter himself in order to use the Sword Master as his tool.

Without knowing it, Melchior was tricked into giving poison to his lover, saying it would be good for her body.

Abel, who was listening to the story next to him, quietly sighed and leaned back in his chair.

“…That’s too much. It’s really too much.”

“But with this, I found out what Melchior’s soul food is.”

It is said that Melchior personally made chicken soup for the weakened Lucia.

What it contained was the heart to wish that his lover would be healthy again.

If only he could recreate it again.

“With this, we can end the tragedy that has lasted for decades.”

Chicken Soup for the Soul #2