Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 146

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“My lord! The kitchen is this way!”

Lehmann, who had been lurking in Krolltra for a while, had a perfect grasp of the castle’s layout.

Following him, I could easily reach the kitchen.

But it felt strange.

The entire castle felt empty, devoid of life.

Abel, who was watching the situation outside the inner gate, said,

“Since there’s a battle going on outside, they must have taken refuge somewhere.”

“I hope so.”

Kainchel bit his lip.

Count Algedi was cooperating with the Church of the Seven Deadly Sins.

And his subordinate, Shadow, also had magical imprints on his body.

The worst weapon, ‘magical imprints’ [a form of forced magical control], used as a medium for magic regardless of the opponent’s will.

Perhaps the people living in Krolltra Castle were also victims of it?

If so, I had to hurry and complete Meliot’s Soul Food.

Nimue placed Meliot in a spot where Kainchel’s cooking could be easily observed.

Meliot’s severed arm had already regenerated.

“It’s unbelievable recovery power. If it weren’t for Draupnir [a magical binding artifact], we wouldn’t have been able to capture him like this. But is this bat really okay?”

“Don’t worry, Mademoiselle! I, Richard von Frèreman, am a gentleman among gentlemen! I never suck anyone’s blood without permission!”

A greasy tone, as if he had consumed an excessive amount of butter.

Besides, Lehmann was cooperating with Kainchel because he desired a dish made with Abel’s blood.

Nimue felt uncomfortable just being in the same space as him but decided to endure it for Kainchel’s sake.

Kainchel placed the cooking tools and ingredients he had brought on the counter.

Then Nimue, who was watching silently from the side, asked.

“What kind of dish are you thinking of making, Kainchel?”

“I’m going to make chicken soup with noodles.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to have something a little more fancy and delicious than that?”

“In Britannia, chicken soup is made for people who are sick or injured. It’s enough to warm the soul.”

“Ah, then······.”

“Here, Meliot made chicken soup for his sick lover. If I can recreate that feeling, I can save Meliot’s soul, which is stained with anger.”

Kainchel stroked the stained pot in the corner.

A size that could only be used to cook porridge or soup for one person at most.

It was covered in dust, as if it hadn’t been used for a long time.

‘This is it. Meliot must have used this pot to make chicken soup for Lucia.’

Meliot’s love was felt in the metal pot.

Kainchel washed it clean, added water, and started boiling it.

In the meantime, he trimmed other vegetables.

First, peel the potatoes, onions, and carrots and cut them into bite-sized pieces.

He paid a little more attention to the celery and broccoli so that their unique textures could be felt.

‘Onion Swordsmanship!’

As the cooking skill was activated, the five knives moved at an incredible speed.

At the same time, the trimmed vegetables piled up neatly on the cutting board.

‘The first dish I ever made was this chicken soup.’

At that time, I couldn’t even peel a potato properly, so I had a lot of trouble.

‘He must have been cutting potatoes with unfamiliar knives and clumsy hands, hoping that Lucia would enjoy the chicken soup.’

Meliot was staring blankly at Kainchel cooking.

“Right? Meliot.”

“Ugh, ugh······.”

“When making chicken soup, you can add peppercorns and bay leaves to get rid of the fishy smell of the chicken. And if you want to make it a little richer, you can use the chicken stock you made in advance.”

“······Lu, cia.”

Kainchel cooked, explaining to Meliot how to make more delicious chicken soup.

“And while the chicken is boiling, melt butter in a pot and lightly stir-fry the finely chopped onions. The smell is really good, right? Next, the potatoes and carrots that don’t cook well······.”

The vegetables, which have been transformed into the best condition due to freshness recovery and Mimir’s spring water.

The smell of them cooking made Abel, who was watching Meliot, drool.

“If it’s like this already, it’ll be amazing when it starts boiling in earnest.”

The broth with the chicken removed is boiled with vegetables full of butter flavor.

When the carrots, potatoes, and onions are cooked until they are soft, turn off the heat first.

Now, add the shredded chicken breast and noodles and boil it thoroughly so that the taste of the chicken permeates the entire soup.

Chicken is cooked with vegetables in a small pot.

The smell was not as intense as a great steak.

A very familiar smell.

But there was something so longing that I had forgotten for a while.

Something hot poured out of Abel’s eyes as he watched the cooking.

“······What, why is this happening? It’s like my soul remembers the smell of chicken soup.”

The 6-star dishes that Kainchel has created so far have been so delicious that they have fascinated many people.

But the chicken soup that is boiling now was different.

Kainchel imagined what the chicken soup Meliot had cooked for the first time would look like.

Since Meliot, who had picked up a knife for the first time for Lucia, made it, it must have been a mess.

The ingredients that went in were cut strangely enough to make you laugh, and maybe the seasoning wasn’t even right.

But Lucia must have eaten it more deliciously than any other food.

Because it contained Meliot’s heart, hoping that his lover’s illness would be cured.

After that, Meliot made chicken soup for Lucia every day.

Until the moment he went to the Seven Deadly Sins War, not a single day was missed.

Kainchel looked at the chicken soup boiling in the pot.

“Your heart is in here, Meliot.”

In that way, the smell of chicken soup cooking spread throughout Krolltra Castle beyond the kitchen.

@

Count Alejandro Auguste von Algedi was embarrassed.

The reason was that he had not been in contact with Shadow for an hour.

Could it be that Meliot, the closest being to the Grand Sword Master, was defeated?

A white-haired old man next to him opened his mouth.

So many tattoos were engraved on the old man’s body that it was impossible to know what his original skin color was.

“Don’t worry, Count. I’ve already implanted ‘magical imprints’ on the bodies of everyone in the castle in preparation for this situation.”

“Damn it, it’s only been a month! If I had only one more month, I could have harvested immortal cells from all over Britannia!”

“Anyway, if we have Gordon to cook, we can get immortal cells again. Now is the time to escape.”

“Shut your mouth, Vega! If you hadn’t wasted time unnecessarily improving the magic imprints, we could have eaten the full course of immortal cells long ago!”

“The person who couldn’t even win over an old chef is talking big.”

Vega was researching how to brainwash people by improving the magic imprints and engraving tattoos.

Immortal cells, which can be said to be the flesh of the Seven Deadly Sins.

In order for humans to handle it, it must be cooked and eaten with a high degree of perfection.

However, the chefs who were kidnapped from all over Britannia could only make 3-4 star dishes at best.

In order to achieve perfect immortality, a person who can make at least 6-star dishes was needed.

That’s why Gordon Lambolton was so hard to find.

Gordon, a former royal chef, was the man closest to a 6-star chef than anyone else.

It was good to have Gordon Lambolton in hand.

However, no matter how much he coaxed and persuaded him, he did not follow Count Algedi’s words.

A dish that turns humans into immortal monsters.

Gordon argued that he would rather die than make such a thing.

In the end, he was even tortured, but his steely will could not be broken.

Before he knew it, the inner gate guarded by Meliot was breached, and even the final line of defense was subdued by the Holy Cross.

“Keuh, have you come this far already······. I’ll leave the rest to you, Vega. As you said, we must survive first to obtain true immortality.”

Before he knew it, numerous paladins were flocking to the throne where Count Algedi was sitting.

Vega, a member of the Church of the Seven Deadly Sins, was sitting on the throne, not Count Algedi.

He muttered with a mean smile.

“Kikikik! You’re too late! I’m sorry, but this will be your grave!”

At Vega’s gesture, people hiding in the corners popped out.

“P, please. Save me!”

“I’m a maid working here! Sir! Please!”

“Ugh, ughaaaaak! It’s going to explode! It’s going to explode!”

They were people who worked at Krolltra Castle.

They were begging for their lives with faces distorted by fear.

“Stay where you are! No one will get hurt if you don’t move!”

But the people’s condition was strange.

They were engraving tattoos of unknown origin on their bodies.

Lion, who had faced magic imprints several times, groaned.

“Could it be that all of those people have magic imprints on their bodies······.”

“Ehehehehe! Correct! Correct! Then I’ll show you a very fancy fireworks show from now on! Explode, Explosion!”

The body of the man who was wailing with a frightened face swelled up and exploded.

It was a signal flare to announce the activation of the magic imprints.

“Damn it, everyone scatter! And protect your body with shields!”

At the same time, a huge explosion covered the gathered paladins.

The bodies of several paladins who failed to cope properly became charcoal.

Lion’s face contorted.

The Holy Cross suffered enormous damage from just two magic imprints being activated.

But what’s even more frightening is that the number of people gathered in the room is almost 50.

If all of them have magic imprints on their bodies······.

“Kehehehet! I’ll give you a very special way to prevent the activation of magic imprints. Cut off the head of the person it’s engraved on. You can’t activate magic imprints with a corpse!”

“You devil······.”

The magic imprints are engraved on the bodies of innocent people.

But to survive, they had to kill them.

Lion seemed to have made up his mind and shouted in a voice full of strong will.

“We are paladins who serve Deus [God]! We cannot sacrifice innocent people to survive!”

“That’s why it’s so easy to deal with paladins! Kihihihi! Then burn to death happily!”

Vega disappeared into the secret passage used by Count Algedi, giggling at how happy he was.

“······Damn it.”

Does this mean that Count Algedi and the remnants of the Church of the Seven Deadly Sins will have to be let go right in front of their eyes?

The paladins, who were prepared to die, quietly made the sign of the cross.

Believing that Deus would save them.

“Ah.”

At that time, the smell of chicken soup cooking wafted from somewhere.

It was the exact same smell as the soup that his mother had made for Lion when he left for the temple to become a paladin.

Chicken soup that seemed to resonate with the soul.

Lion abandoned his family as well as his family to become a paladin. But deep in his heart, the taste of the chicken soup his mother had made was engraved.

The buried longing burst out like an explosion.

“······Mother.”

It wasn’t just Lion who was crying.

The paladins of the Holy Cross, as well as the people who had magic imprints on their bodies, were sobbing at the overwhelming memories of longing.

Chicken soup was not just a simple food for them.

The very taste they had when they were young, Soul Food.

A very warm dish made for a precious person.

――Chicken soup for the soul.

It reminded the people in this place of the precious things buried deep in their hearts.

Lion lowered his head. Before he knew it, the floor was soaked with the tears he had shed.

“······Ah, Deus. Do you really want me to die as a human, not a paladin?”

But something was strange.

Enough time had passed for the magic imprints to be activated.

But they were still alive.

At that time, an enormous sword energy split the place where people were gathered.

“Rose Bouquet!”

And what appeared was Nimue, a blonde elf as clear as if she had absorbed the brilliant sunlight.

She frowned, looking at Lion, who had a blank expression on his face.

“What are you doing, human! Gather all those with magic imprints on their bodies in one place!”

“Nimue?”

“We have to remove it while Kainchel’s cooking is slowing down the activation of the magic imprints!”

“S, surely you can remove the magic imprints?”

“It reacts to human desires. It won’t activate while you’re feeling longing through ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’. We have to purify them all before that. Hurry, we don’t have much time.”

“Ah, Deus······.”

Nimue was so beautiful.

Lion felt like she was a savior sent by God.

And finally, the soup that Kainchel was boiling was completed.

[7-star dish ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ has been completed.]

[Proficiency of all cooking skills greatly increases.]

Breaking Mountains and Dividing Rivers #1