Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 150

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The inauguration was particularly notable due to the presence of one individual, causing quite a stir.

Aslan Pendragon, the 16th Emperor of the Holy Britannia Empire, was breaking his long seclusion and appearing before the public.

“How long has it been since His Majesty the Emperor appeared in public?”

“It must be almost three years.”

Aslan mostly remained within the palace, sending Hector in his stead for most external events.

“Does this mean the matter is that important, or is he trying to show off his health…?”

“Is that the problem now? Quickly, get the ceremonial robes ready. We must establish a connection with the man who will become a Sword Master at all costs!”

Not only nobles seeking to connect with Cainchel, but also merchants hoping to make a fortune, flocked to Britannia.

However, they couldn’t meet Cainchel.

Because he was in a completely different place than the nobles expected.

“Heh heh, to eat twenty plates of this huge pasty while sitting down….”

Cainchel shrugged and handed a silver coin to the street vendor.

“The taste is amazing. Give me ten more plates.”

Pasty was a type of pie filled with meat or vegetables and baked. [A savory baked pastry, often filled with meat and vegetables.]

It was a common food found at street stalls along with hot dogs and paella.

‘Rather than being harassed by nobles in the royal palace, it’s better to raise experience points.’

Who would have thought that a Sword Master about to be promoted would be leisurely eating food at a street stall?

“Interestingly, you put beef tallow in the pie crust.”

The street vendor was surprised and said.

“That’s right, usually we use lard. But using beef tallow makes it crispier and more flavorful. Originally, pasties were meant for miners to eat easily while working….”

Cainchel listened to the street vendor’s story with one ear and put the pasty in his mouth with one hand.

“What, why is the kid who should be in the royal palace eating pie here?”

He turned around at the sudden voice.

A woman wearing revealing clothes was giving off an enchanting smile.

“Lady Elizabeth?”

“What are you eating so deliciously? Give me some, Tristan here will pay for it.”

A man wearing a bearskin approached with an awkward expression.

“Only you, sister, would pass the bill to a mercenary.”

“Know that it is an infinite honor to buy a meal for a beautiful lady like me.”

The man shook his head with a truly disgusted expression.

“Lady? Did all the culture and manners die while I wasn’t looking?”

“You little brat, you’re acting up because you haven’t been hit lately? Do you want to have a conflict with your sister?”

“Let’s do it. Can I use Aura Blade?”

“You’ve become all muscle-brained from hanging out with barbarians. What freezing Aura Blade? Are you going to blow up the royal palace?”

The man who was fighting with Elizabeth like a child was Tristan, the Sword Master of Loyalty.

‘…Surely, he’s the one who became a Sword Master from a barbarian mercenary, right?’

In the end, Cainchel decided to pay for the food.

Tristan laughed heartily and emptied twenty plates of pasties in an instant.

Of course, Cainchel ate thirty plates in the same amount of time.

“Ooh, what a great appetite! My food fighter instincts are boiling up after a long time! Hahaha! Let’s have a serious match next time if we have the chance! I just had lunch and I’m full right now.”

“Don’t set your sights on the kid. I’ve already called dibs on him. Right?”

“Ah, is this the Sword Master-to-be that this guy was talking about yesterday? His name is….”

“Cainchel.”

“Oh, right. Nice to meet you. I’m Tristan.”

No further explanation was needed.

Because Tristan was the guild master who commanded thousands of mercenaries.

“If you ever want to be a mercenary, come find me anytime. I’ll give you whatever signing bonus you want and make you a mithril-class right away.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I have a territory to rebuild.”

“Tsk, is that so? Then there’s nothing I can do.”

In fact, Cainchel still had a mercenary badge for disguise in his possession. But he decided to keep it a secret.

Because he felt like he would be caught if he said the wrong thing.

Elizabeth ate ten plates of pasties demurely.

Wiping the grease from her mouth, she said.

“Kid, I heard you did a great job this time? But how did Meliot die? I’m asking because it doesn’t seem like you killed him like the rumors say. Tell this sister everything.”

After a moment of consideration, Cainchel told Elizabeth the story, except for a few things he couldn’t say.

He was able to fight Meliot on equal terms thanks to Elizabeth.

Cainchel, whose swordsmanship became stronger when he cooked, lacked combat experience.

It was the sparring with Elizabeth that filled that gap.

Elizabeth sighed with a bitter expression.

“Yeah, I knew it. Meliot was really a fool who only knew how to do one thing. Swordsmanship, love… Well, let’s stop with the depressing stories! Nothing is eternal in this world, so let’s enjoy the present.”

“Hey, who’s going to take that crazy woman.”

“Anyway, Hector and Loengrin will definitely attend this inauguration. Who else is coming?”

“Meliot is dead, Gawain can’t be reached, and Morgan… Well, it seems like it’s just us.”

“If you see Morgan, tell her I’m not kidding, I’ll kill her with my own hands. Anyway, congratulations, Tristan.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Since Meliot is dead, the lord of Crollatra must be selected from among the Sword Masters. Hector and Loengrin are Aslan fanatics. That leaves only you.”

“Sister, please stop calling His Majesty the Emperor by his name. You’ll be executed for treason.”

“Try it if you can.”

“And why only me? You’re here too, sister.”

“Hey, even if I have a head, it should be where it belongs. Are you going to entrust such an important territory to someone as capricious and lazy as me?”

Tristan rubbed the back of his head as if he had a headache.

He looked at Cainchel as if asking him to do something about Elizabeth.

“Do you like butter potatoes?”

“Ah, I’ll eat that!”

“Are you going to bake potatoes here? There’s no fire….”

Cainchel received a standing ovation from Tristan for baking potatoes with his bare hands.

‘Is that person Kundam’s teacher? He seems like a surprisingly decent person?’

He was a man with a strangely similar atmosphere to Ian.

@

Seven seats were lined up around the throne.

It was a place prepared for the seven virtues that protect the Britannia Empire.

But there were only four people sitting there.

Cainchel knelt on one knee and looked at them.

Hector still had an inscrutable face, and Elizabeth was yawning with a bored expression.

Tristan, flustered, poked Elizabeth in the side.

It was a scene that showed the relationship between the two well.

Finally, the person sitting on the outermost side was Loengrin, the captain of the Royal Knights ‘Grand Cross’.

A man more knightly than anyone else in this place.

Cainchel swallowed hard with a nervous expression. The thought that he might be sitting in that seat soon crossed his mind.

But what was important now was the existence of Aslan, the Emperor of Britannia.

The Holy King who led the War of the Seven Deadly Sins to victory with the seven virtues.

But the man who defined gastronomy as a sin and drove countless chefs to their deaths.

How much does he really know?

Perhaps Emperor Aslan is….

The nobles who saw Cainchel’s appearance whispered.

“Is that the next-generation Sword Master from the Free Knights who beheaded Lord Meliot?”

“He’s about to become a Sword Master at such a young age; he must have great talent.”

“Wait a minute. Now that I look at him, isn’t he the one who became a Free Knight last year! To think he would grow so much in just one year… Damn it, I should have made a connection with him back then!”

“……Who would have thought that a Sword Master would come out of the Free Knights. And he’s unmarried.”

“Is that true? He’s certainly still young to get married. If only I could make him my son-in-law….”

It seems like Cainchel looks like a full-course meal without an owner.

But their conversation did not last that long.

“His Majesty the Great Holy King Aslan is here!”

With the servant’s cry, a large shadow walked from beyond the banner installed behind the throne.

The nobles lined up, and Tristan, who came from a mercenary background, knelt down.

Cainchel and the Royal Knights paid their respects as knights.

Only Elizabeth bowed her head slightly.

“Raise your heads.”

Following the order, Cainchel raised his head and was able to see Aslan’s face for the first time.

‘Is that Aslan? No, before that, is he even human?’

How old is he, maybe in his early 30s?

The brilliant blonde hair, which is a characteristic of the Britannia royal family, had already turned white.

A face that contained nothing, as if all desires and emotions had been removed.

‘It’s empty….’

That was Cainchel’s first impression of Aslan.

The Holy King Aslan went straight to the point without any rhetoric.

“Elizabeth will take over as the lord of Crollatra.”

Elizabeth, flustered, stood up from her seat.

“Yo, Your Majesty. That position is not suitable for me. Tristan next to me is much more….”

“Are you refusing? Then I will order you according to the 『Oath』. From now on, Elizabeth is the lord of Crollatra.”

Elizabeth trembled like a mouse in front of a cat and knelt down.

“……I will obey that word, Your Majesty Emperor Aslan.”

The ceremony to appoint the new lord of Crollatra proceeded in an instant.

Elizabeth, who had been burdened with a heavy burden in a time when she couldn’t even drink a cup of tea, muttered with a look of disgust.

“……I’m screwed.”

Next was Sword Master (to be), Cainchel’s turn.

Aslan said without even turning his head.

“Baron Gistard, Cainchel.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I will promote your title to Count and bestow a new fiefdom instead of the fallen territory. Tell me if there is a territory you want.”

The nobles lined up were shocked.

If you become a Sword Master, you can receive the title of Marquis instead of Count.

But Cainchel is not yet a Sword Master.

Although he will soon cross the wall, he was still a Sword Knight.

Besides, he said he would give the territory he wanted as a fiefdom?

If he wants a port city like Edinburgh or the capital city of Britain, the political situation of Britannia itself will change.

Even if he defeated Meliot, it was an extraordinary treatment.

But the words that came out of Cainchel’s mouth were even more surprising.

“As a new territory, I would like to receive the Gistard territory in the north and the surrounding area.”

The north has no commercial value.

Besides, a huge number of monsters are appearing in the north.

Because the sleeping White Dragon has awakened.

Literally, it was hard to eat and a waste to throw away the Gistard territory. [The Gistard territory is considered undesirable due to its location and monster activity.]

Aslan answered with a still expressionless face.

“From now on, Cainchel van Gistard, succeeding the former lord, is declared the new owner of the Gistard County.”

“Thank you for Your Majesty’s grace.”

That was not the end.

Aslan looked at Hector, who was kneeling, and said.

“Hector, if Count Gistard reaches the realm of Sword Master, appoint him as the new Seven Virtues. You decide what title suits him.”

“I will follow Your Majesty’s orders.”

Elizabeth becoming the new lord of Crollatra was an event that would shake the entire empire.

But the appearance of the new Seven Virtues!

“Then I look forward to your performance in the future.”

Aslan rose from the throne. Seeing that, Cainchel screamed inwardly.

There was still something he wanted to ask him.

Was the War of the Seven Deadly Sins really over with the victory of mankind?

Isn’t the war still going on?

At the same time, an amazing thing happened.

Aslan, who was about to leave the throne, turned around and looked at Cainchel.

Emperor Aslan smiled and nodded.

It was as if he was answering Cainchel’s question.

Leaving only such an unknown message.

Cainchel became the owner of the Gistard County.

@

Cainchel prepared to leave the royal palace, organizing what he had to do in the future.

‘Blue Mountain and Nimue, who left Crollatra, have decided to help rebuild the territory. With their power, they can quickly rebuild the buildings.’

In the north, it snows for more than 9 months of the year.

But if there is Mimir’s Well, the World Tree can take root even in such barren land. [Mimir’s Well and the World Tree are mythical elements that can bring life and prosperity to barren lands.]

But there was someone who stopped Cainchel from leaving.

“What, are you leaving already? Wait a minute.”

Elizabeth approached Cainchel in a friendly manner and said.

“I have something to propose to the kid. You won’t lose anything by listening.”

That was true.

It was literally a proposal with extraordinary conditions.

People gathering in the north #1