Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 167

The food served at Britannia’s tables is mostly greasy.

When grilling meat, they lavishly use butter and cream, and potatoes are fried in oil.

It’s no wonder that the most famous and popular dish is fish and chips.

Consequently, many people suffer from severe indigestion.

Even when they eat delicious food, the enjoyment is only temporary.

They suffer from poor digestion, feeling bloated all day, and in severe cases, their daily lives become difficult.

Abel glared at the mountain of purchase orders.

No matter how much he said the supply was insufficient, dozens of them arrived every day.

“But who would have thought that cola would be a miracle cure for indigestion?”

“To be precise, it’s the effect of the carbonation. It promotes stomach movement and helps with the secretion of digestive fluids.”

Knowledge poured out of Cainchel’s mouth.

Elizabeth, who had been leaning back in her chair, widened her eyes.

“How do you know all that?”

“I heard it from Bishop.”

In fact, he was still spouting related knowledge in real-time.

Bishop is the best partner, but he’s too talkative.

When connected to the neural network, he can force you to listen to his voice even if you cover your ears.

It’s almost as if he became a symbiotic partner with that in mind.

“Hmm, he certainly used to rattle off strange words like protein and fat. I thought they were terms used in alchemy.”

To be precise, they were terms related to food nutrition.

To make proper medicinal cuisine, not only the efficacy of the ingredients but also the balance is important.

Elizabeth covered her face with both hands and muttered.

“But I feel like my skin has been looking better lately. Is that also because of the cola?”

“I think it’s because you haven’t been taking care of yourself. Considering your age, shouldn’t you pay more attention to your diet?”

“Then you can take responsibility for my meals from now on, little one.”

And like a feline predator, she purred and wrapped her arm around Cainchel’s shoulder.

Abel’s expression hardened as he watched.

He knew that Elizabeth had a liking for Cainchel.

But this looked almost like a couple.

Cainchel replied as if it were natural.

“If you’re here as a guest, then certainly.”

“Hmph. A guest, you say. It seems like if I want to get closer to you, little one, I’ll have to do something about that title of ‘guest’.”

Elizabeth then looked at Abel and licked her lips.

And suddenly, she stood up and began to touch Abel’s body.

“······Elizabeth, what are you doing all of a sudden?”

“Hahaha! Don’t be so scared. I’m not going to eat you or anything.”

“······.”

“Hmm. Your body is closer to an elf than a human. But your sense for handling Aura is considerable. Abel, was it? Would you like to train under me?”

An expression of astonishment appeared on Abel’s face.

He had received an offer to become a disciple of a Sword Master.

“I’m a half-elf. Is that okay with you?”

Even though elves and humans look similar, their origins are different.

A half-elf, with the blood of both races, had limitations in becoming stronger using either method.

Abel had received the blessing of the World Tree and was infinitely closer to an elf.

But human blood still flowed in his veins.

Elizabeth smiled brightly and whispered in Abel’s ear.

“Actually, I’m a hybrid too. My father wasn’t human.”

“H-Hybrid······.”

“Don’t go around telling people. Oh, and that’s not a suggestion, it’s an order? Well, I’m a bit of a special case, so I can also reproduce.”

Abel’s face darkened at the word ‘reproduce’.

As Abel hesitated, Elizabeth delivered the final blow.

“If you keep standing still like that, you’ll have your beloved taken away.”

“H-How did you know······!”

Abel’s ears turned bright red, he who had maintained his composure in any situation.

She had found out that he harbored feelings for Cainchel beyond friendship.

And by the worst possible person.

“Well, a one-sided fight isn’t fun.”

In the end, Abel decided to receive instruction from Elizabeth.

For a while, he would be so busy that he wouldn’t even have time to eat.

“Then, while we’re at it, shall we go see your skills?”

Elizabeth picked Abel up and headed to the training grounds.

A bolt of lightning struck Cainchel’s mind as he watched.

Both of them were people who had given Cainchel an Aura Blade slot.

“Most of the people gathered here have undergone some kind of change after eating my cooking. In other words, if you think of the Gistad territory itself as one entity······.”

He felt like he had finally found a clue to the Aura Blade.

There were still some elves and dwarves who hadn’t tried Cainchel’s cooking.

If he could make a dish that they would all eat and be satisfied with, could he fill the 9th slot?

He had plenty of ingredients to make soy meat.

He could also get vegetarian recipes using Brilliant Road.

It was worth a try.

As he was thinking about what dish to make, Loengreen came to visit this time.

It seemed he had something to say about the cola.

“Duke Cainchel. I discovered something amazing while drinking the cola I had been saving.”

“Something amazing?”

“Well······. A small amount of the Aura I had consumed was recovered.”

“······Is that true?”

“Why would I lie? Ahem! So, I was wondering if I could get a few more bottles? I would like to replenish the Aura I consumed in this battle.”

Cainchel’s eyes widened.

‘Wait, why is his Aura recovering from drinking cola? Does Loengreen also have a Gourmet skill?’

You need a Gourmet skill to absorb the Aura contained in food.

Bishop, who was connected to the neural network, spoke.

― That’s unlikely. He hasn’t had this effect when eating other foods, has he? Wait a moment. I’ll analyze the ingredients from now on.

Cainchel nodded and handed Loengreen a box full of cola.

“I’m sorry for always getting freebies. I’ll buy it next time.”

How long had it been since Loengreen left? Bishop’s voice was heard after finishing the ingredient analysis.

― Bingo. It seems that the World Tree’s energy contained in the cola tree has dissolved. It has been transformed into a form that humans can absorb in the process of refining the sap.

‘T-Then······.’

― Of course, the amount of recovery is really small. But unlike magic stones, even people who don’t know how to use mana cultivation can recover Aura.

Aura is life force.

In other words, drinking cola can restore lost stamina.

Of course, it wasn’t enough to use in battle.

But there was someone else who needed it.

@

The Minister of Finance of Britannia sighed as he looked at the never-ending documents.

“I’ve been up for three nights straight, and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to end.”

What was even more frightening was that he might have to stay up for several more nights.

Dark circles were under his eyes, and his skin was rough.

No matter how good the food he ate, the fatigue from overwork did not easily disappear.

The Minister of Finance forced his eyes, which seemed to be closing at any moment, to stay open and decided to take a break.

“I’m sure I received a drink that Mr. Goethe praised as a gift. I should try drinking that.”

He called a servant and had him bring the cola that had been stored in the underground cellar.

Touching the cool cola bottle made him feel refreshed.

Cheee-!

The sound of the cork popping echoed, making him feel refreshed. The Minister of Finance drank the cola in one gulp with a satisfied expression.

“Kuh······! Good. Really good.”

The intense stimulation of the carbonation stimulated the tip of his tongue.

The sweet and cool taste made him forget his fatigue.

The Minister of Finance took out another bottle of cola and drank it, just in case. Then, the fatigue that had been weighing down his whole body disappeared like snow.

“······What, what is this? I’m not tired at all?”

Strangely, his whole body was full of energy.

Thanks to the cola, the Minister of Finance was able to handle the accumulated overwork in one go.

And he ordered two more boxes through his regular trading company.

The rumor spread quickly among high-ranking officials.

“Have you tried cola? I heard it’s so good for relieving fatigue.”

“Haha! Of course. These days, it’s hard to work without it.”

“Who would have known that a drink would have such an effect? I wish I could pile it up and drink it. But I heard that the supply will only come in a few days, so I’ve made a reservation······.”

As the popularity of cola increased day by day, people began to try to find out the recipe.

Lukas, the head of the Baroque Trading Company, even hired an alchemist to analyze the ingredients of cola.

But the results were not satisfactory.

“I’m sorry, Master. I found out that it is made by refining carbonated water and adding sugar and various sweeteners, but some ingredients are impossible to figure out······.”

Lukas shouted.

“The tangy taste is because of the carbonated water, and the sweetness is because of the sugar! I can say that too!”

“······I’m sorry. Instead, I made carbonated water flavored with orange juice. Would you like to taste it?”

Lukas, who received the bottle handed by the alchemist, shook it slightly.

It looks decent enough to eat, just looking at the appearance because it is made with carbonated water.

But the taste was not good at all.

“Damn it, this is just tangy and has no taste! You useless bastard! Do you know how much I spent hiring you!?”

“······.”

Many people put their heads together to make cola, but they couldn’t even make proper carbonated drinks.

He wanted to kidnap the producer and find out the recipe.

But the one who made the cola was a war hero who had defeated the Sword Master of the enemy country.

In the end, they had to run to the north to get even one more bottle of cola.

And they were able to get what they wanted only after giving away a lot of hard-to-find raw materials.

The acting head of the Baroque Trading Company muttered as he moved the box containing two thousand bottles of cola.

“······The scary thing is that I’ve only secured a month’s worth of supplies. Count Gistad has created something ridiculous. Literally a devil’s drink······.”

@

Cainchel decided to supply Edelweiss Trading Company, which had helped him in many ways, with three times the amount of other places.

It took three days to sell all of the first batch.

But the second batch was sold out in 3 minutes.

The acting head of the Baroque Trading Company handed over a bag full of gold coins, saying that he wanted to contract for several months’ worth of goods in advance.

But Cainchel refused outright.

Abel shook his head with a disgusted expression.

“If we trade like this every month, there will be a cola road to the north.”

“It’s them who are desperate anyway. It’s better for them to be able to get the necessary items cheaply from time to time.”

It had been quite some time since he had settled in the north. Several villages had sprung up in the Gistad territory, which had nothing.

The World Tree planted by Nimue had grown to over 2 meters.

Wouldn’t it be as big as Eldrad’s World Tree in 3 years?

At that time, the blessing of the World Tree would descend on the entire Britannia.

But there was still a deep divide between the elves and dwarves.

“Call Nimue and Blue Mountain. I’ll make a dish that both elves and dwarves can enjoy.”

“W-Wait, little one, what are you talking about? There’s no dish in this world that can satisfy both elves and dwarves!”

Dwarves who love meat and beer.

Elves who can only eat vegetarian food.

They were like water and oil that could never mix.

Cainchel was sure.

If he could make a dish that both races could enjoy, he could fill the 9th slot of the Aura Blade.

It was a breeze, but it turned out to be a typhoon #3