Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 184

Thanks to being soaked in mandrake leaves, the meat had no unpleasant odor at all.

I bit into the meat, which was generously coated with a spicy-sweet sauce.

Immediately, I felt the crispy batter and the tender flesh inside. Savory juices flowed out with every chew.

The contrast between the bright red sauce on the crispy skin and the pure white flesh was dazzling.

In the end, Bluebeard had to admit it.

Even if he had more knowledge about monster cuisine, Cainchel’s cooking skills were several levels above his own.

Elizabeth was equally surprised by the taste of the seasoned chicken.

“The sea pie made from giant sandworm meat was delicious too, but this seems to be on a different level of cooking. Ugh! Why is everything he makes so delicious! It’s unbearable!”

She reached for the fruit wine that Bluebeard had brewed and began to drink it as a snack with the seasoned chicken.

First, she poured a glass full of the fragrant fruit wine and gulped it down. Then, she felt an intense burning sensation in her throat.

“Keuh, this is stronger than I thought? Well, I can just blow away the intoxication with my aura anyway, so it should be fine to drink it all, right?”

And she began to drink the fruit wine with the seasoned chicken as a snack.

The tingling sensation as the alcohol permeated her tongue went well with the spicy-sweet seasoned chicken.

“Strangely, this makes me want to drink beer. Hey, Bluebeard, do you have any beer?”

“The only alcohol I can make with monsters is fruit wine. Oh, I have basilisk snake wine, would you like that instead?”

“Even if I like alcohol, that’s a bit…”

Elizabeth said, looking at Bluebeard.

Then, she brought her lips close to his ear and whispered.

“You’re an incubus, aren’t you?”

“……”

“There’s no use pretending you don’t know. Well, you don’t seem to be a pure demon. At this point, you’re a half… no, a quarter, maybe.”

Cold sweat ran down Bluebeard’s cheek.

It seemed she had hit the nail on the head.

“…H-How did you know?”

Incubi live by seducing human women and absorbing their energy.

If they neglect this even a little, they age very horribly.

He must have been a very handsome man with a beautiful voice originally.

“Tsk. You should have pretended a little longer. If I were an Inquisitor [an official of the Inquisition, tasked with suppressing heresy], you’d be burned at the stake right away. Anyway, you asked how I knew your identity, right? That’s because…”

Bluebeard’s eyes widened at the words that came out of Elizabeth’s mouth.

“…It’s a secret from the little ones. Got it?”

“Yes! I’ll keep that in mind. I’m sorry for not recognizing you. I’ll treat you like my older sister from now on.”

Bluebeard’s attitude towards Elizabeth changed to an unusually respectful one.

@

While Elizabeth and Bluebeard were having a strange war of nerves,

Cainchel was using his 6-star Gourmet skill to analyze the seasoned chicken.

Closing his eyes and savoring the taste, he could tell what ingredients were in the batter.

That was within the range of what a 5-star Gourmet skill could do. But now, he could even tell the amount of spices that were used.

He had finally reached the point where he could be called an absolute gourmet.

‘It would be better to make the seasoning a little stronger. Anyway, it’s delicious. But it’s still missing something. First of all, it’s hard to eat.’

A cockatrice [a mythical beast with a rooster’s head and a serpent’s tail] is too big compared to a chicken.

When fried in the same way, it became a strange dish where you had to hold one leg with both hands to eat it.

‘Then, let’s debone the meat and then coat it with batter and fry it. That would be much easier to eat.’

And he was thinking of making some changes to the batter as well.

The cockatrice and mandrake were surprisingly compatible.

What if he put the leftovers from filling his stomach into the batter?

Monster cuisine has a form that suits it.

If he made the seasoned chicken properly, it would trigger a completely different effect than the sandworm meat.

“Alright! I have to try it right away!”

Cainchel infused his mithril knife with aura.

And he began to debone the leg meat, which was especially firm and chewy.

The batter, which had finely chopped mandrake leaves added to it, had a subtle floral scent.

With near-perfect skill, Cainchel began to coat the cockatrice meat with batter.

When he put it into oil heated to 170 degrees, an indescribably good smell wafted out.

Bluebeard, seeing Cainchel start cooking again, asked.

“Cockatrice meat cut into bite-sized pieces, batter with mandrake… Could it be that you’ve improved the seasoned chicken in that short amount of time?”

“I just thought it would be much easier to eat this way.”

“Cainchel! You’re a genius of cooking!”

The improved seasoned chicken piled up on the table.

Cainchel called Phidely to check the effects of the dish.

“This is a dish I’ve never seen before. Is this also made from monsters?”

When he thought of monster cuisine, he thought of hard-to-eat dishes like roasted lizardmen.

But what Cainchel made looked so appetizing that it could be sold in a high-end restaurant.

“It’s seasoned chicken made from cockatrice. The taste is probably decent.”

“Well, then…”

The moment he put it in his mouth, he felt the taste of the crispy batter and the spicy-sweet sauce.

“T-This taste is!”

And then Phidely’s eyes rolled back.

He quickly ate all the seasoned chicken piled up like a mountain and blushed.

“…I’m sorry. It was so delicious that I couldn’t help myself.”

Elizabeth giggled with an understanding expression.

Once you start eating Cainchel’s cooking, it’s so addictive that you can’t stop.

Especially the seasoned chicken, the degree was severe.

And Joma Kyung informed him of the effect of the seasoned chicken.

[The guest who ate the 6-star dish ‘Seasoned Chicken with Cockatrice and Mandrake’ is very satisfied.]

[The guests are temporarily granted the Vajra Body state.]

“Vajra Body?”

It was a strange word whose meaning he could not understand at all. Elizabeth, hearing Cainchel’s cry, lit up her eyes.

“What, you become indestructible if you eat seasoned chicken?”

“Do you know what that is?”

“Roughly. It means an invincible body that can never be destroyed, but I just heard it, so I don’t know exactly.”

Phidely swallowed dryly without realizing it.

It was an unbelievable ability.

“Then does that mean my body is as hard as steel right now?”

“Heehee. We have a good test subject, don’t we? If you’re curious, let’s test it with your body. If it’s the Vajra Body, it should be able to deflect any attack that doesn’t have aura in it. Then take off your clothes first.”

“…Please be gentle.”

Phidely took off his top according to Elizabeth’s words.

His entire body was glossy as if he had applied oil to it.

When tapped, a sound like ringing a bell echoed.

Deeeeeeng-!

Elizabeth muttered with an admiring face.

“It’s as hard as a body enhanced with aura? At this level, a knife wouldn’t even leave a scratch.”

“Oh, my god…”

When the Vajra Body is activated, the durability of the body rises to the limit that a human can have.

If aura is added to that, it becomes a body that can literally never be destroyed.

Phidely, realizing the value of the seasoned chicken, shouted excitedly.

“Benefactor! With seasoned chicken, we can defeat Tartarus! No, Adolf!”

After giving him a meringue that blocked a fatal wound once, his morale soared beyond recognition.

But the seasoned chicken is not just a one-time thing.

You have an indestructible body for as long as the dish’s effect lasts.

‘I hit the jackpot from the start.’

Cainchel learned a few more monster handling methods from Bluebeard.

And a large amount of mandrake and twenty cockatrices.

Finally, he received a giant sandworm and returned to Potsdam.

It was an amount that a hundred soldiers could not eat all week.

@

Hearing about the power of the seasoned chicken, Marquis Nicholas got up from his seat.

“Are you saying it’s an indestructible body?”

“It’s not quite that level, but it’s true that the body becomes incredibly hard.”

“Then isn’t that the same as a Sword Master!”

“Sorry, Marquis. Those two are a little different.”

Elizabeth gave a supplementary explanation to the shocked Nicholas.

Even a Sword Master does not directly increase the durability of the body.

It’s just that the aura surrounding the body is protecting it.

“Of course, it happens as naturally as breathing, so it looks like you have an invincible body. But if you consciously cut off the flow of aura…”

Elizabeth rolled up her sleeves and revealed her pure white wrists.

It was a slender and beautiful arm that didn’t seem like a Sword Master.

She took out a dagger hidden in her thigh and made a cut on her fingertip.

Bright red blood flowed down.

“See? You get hurt normally like this. But if you eat seasoned chicken like this…”

Elizabeth picked up the seasoned chicken on the table and ate it.

Marquis Nicholas, who was very nervous about how deliciously she was eating, even swallowed his saliva.

“Then Phidely. Stab me with the sword you’re holding.”

“How could I possibly stab Lady Elizabeth…”

“It’s okay, I ate seasoned chicken.”

Phidely nodded as if he understood.

“Then I’ll do it.”

Did he have a lot of pent-up feelings towards Elizabeth?

Phidely used all his strength to drive the blade into Elizabeth’s stomach.

Elizabeth’s body, which had withdrawn its aura, was so weak that it could be injured even by a small dagger.

If the effect of the seasoned chicken did not activate, she would die with her stomach pierced.

Marquis Nicholas shouted.

“I can’t watch!”

Deeeeeeng-!

But what was shattered was Phidely’s sword.

Elizabeth proudly showed off her belly glistening with oil.

“Heeheehee! See? There’s not even a scratch.”

Marquis Nicholas muttered with a pale face.

“It was true… I’m glad that Lord Cainchel is on our side. If he were an enemy…”

“Adolf would have already taken over the throne. So, Marquis, we must recapture Weimar as soon as possible. Prepare for an all-out war.”

“I will obey your command.”

Marquis Nicholas knelt before Phidely.

Then, several nobles dressed in formal attire lined up next to the Marquis.

They were people who had come to help after hearing the news that Phidely had recaptured Potsdam.

“Raise your heads. I am proud. Most of the nobles did not even resist Adolf’s tyranny, but you bravely stood up. I will never forget this emotion.”

“Your Majesty’s grace is boundless.”

Adolf beheaded those who did not follow his orders. A river of blood began to flow in Weimar.

If he ascends the throne, only destruction remains.

But Adolf is the strongest man with the power of a Sword Master and a dragon. Everyone had to kneel before him.

But now the situation has changed.

They tasted the sweetness of victory for the first time in Potsdam, and the meal is just beginning.

Phidely found the knights stationed in the Potsdam territory.

And he showed them the majesty of the seasoned chicken.

“Listen! The throne is already as good as Adolf’s! But I still have seasoned chicken left!”

A body as strong as steel that won’t even get a scratch even if cut by a sword or hit by an arrow!

The soldiers cheered.

“Long live His Majesty Phidely!”

“Long live Captain Cainchel!”

“Long live Seasoned Chicken!”

Elizabeth, who was listening to it, shook her head as if she was dumbfounded.

“They haven’t even eaten it yet, if they’re like that, won’t they be looking for Chimen [a mythical, chicken-like creature] while praying later?”

Cainchel was horrified because it seemed like it would really happen.

The Majesty of Seasoned Chicken #3