Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 208

The Beast Marquis’s eyes widened at the sudden mention of cooking.

However, the strong conviction in Cainchel’s eyes stirred something within him.

“Even if it’s not to break the curse, I would love to taste Duke Cainchel’s cooking. So, what do you plan to make?”

“I’m thinking of making a dessert. Something so sweet that it melts your entire body away.”

Every flavor has its own power to captivate the human heart.

The bitterness of alcohol, drunk to forget pain, is so alluring.

Or what about food so spicy it brings tears to your eyes? Eating it can make you forget any hardship.

Besides, without saltiness, even food made with the best ingredients tastes bland.

However, no other flavor can match the healing power of sweetness in comforting the heart.

The Beast Marquis stroked his chin and muttered.

“Indeed, love, happiness, and joy are all described as sweet. Perhaps dessert is the best elixir for healing the human heart.”

“Do you happen to know why desserts developed in Gallia [a fictional country]?”

“Isn’t it because nobles favor things that are rare and precious?”

“It’s the opposite. Rather, it’s because they stopped seeking sweetness in everything else that various desserts came into being.”

Centuries ago, sweetness was the exclusive domain of the nobility.

This was especially true in Gallia, where noble culture was highly developed. So much so that they liberally added sugar and honey even to main dishes.

There was even a saying that drinking wine plain was something only commoners did.

Then, with the rise of intercontinental trade, the situation changed. The prices of spices like sugar and pepper became much cheaper.

“As a result, people began to focus on the inherent flavors of the ingredients. Instead of strong spices, methods of adding flavor with bay leaves or thyme emerged. Butter came to be used more, and the concept of sauces also changed in various ways.”

Then, a strange thing happened.

A cuisine specialized in sweetness, made as sweet as possible with sugar alone, began to develop separately.

“That’s the beginning of dessert, you say.”

“Thus, the basic system of Gallian cuisine was completed, where the main course is seasoned only with salt, and dessert is completely independent. In the end, it was proven that sweetness is not a display of wealth, but a flavor desired by the human soul.”

The Beast Marquis nodded. Certainly, eating sweet food makes you happy.

But what does the beastification curse have to do with eating dessert?

When asked about this, Cainchel smiled and asked the servant to purchase some ingredients.

“Sweet desserts heal the human heart. And food made with someone’s heart is the only key to breaking the curse of the Seven Deadly Sins… Perhaps I’ve been taking the long way around, leaving the easiest path untouched until now.”

Cainchel was able to safely arrive at the mansion’s kitchen with the Beast Marquis’s guidance.

And he immediately began preparing the dish.

“I’ll be using my special chocolate for today’s dish. It’s made with cocoa beans, cocoa butter, vanilla, sugar, and egg yolks. Would you like to try some?”

As he handed over a small piece of chocolate, the Beast Marquis took it and put it in his mouth.

“…The more you chew, the sweeter it gets, but it has a bitter taste as it melts in your mouth. But the moment it goes down your throat, there’s a nutty aroma and it’s clean.”

Clearly, the dessert made with this will be fantastic. The Beast Marquis nodded with conviction.

“Duke Cainchel! I bought very fresh eggs from the farm. Are these good enough?”

The servant was panting, showing how urgently he had run.

“Let’s see… Very good. It looks like we can make the best chocolate cake.”

It’s a dessert that can be eaten very commonly in Gallia, made only with chocolate, eggs, flour, sugar, and butter.

As the ingredients are simple, the quality of the ingredients has a great influence on the taste.

‘The finest flour I received as a gift from Marquis Nicholas. Chocolate praised by Goethe [famous German writer] himself. And with these eggs, I can make an amazing cake.’

Cainchel carefully applied melted butter to the ramekins [small dishes] used when making soufflés. This is to prevent the baked cake from sticking.

‘And if you sprinkle sugar on the surface, it turns into a crispy caramel shell after it’s done. This is really perfectly wonderful.’

Add butter and chocolate to a double boiler and melt, then add two eggs, three yolks, and sugar and start whipping.

The completeness of the cake depends on how well the cream is whipped. Cainchel used jelly to make a whisk.

He firmly fixed it to the front of Fragarach [his sword] with thread. Now it will automatically whip without being touched.

— It seems like you’re just making me do all the work. But I’ll put up with it since it looks delicious.

Thanks to the automatic whisk Fragarach’s efforts, a milky and thick cream was completed in an instant.

Once the chocolate and butter have melted, stir well to combine.

Then, add the egg cream little by little in several additions.

“This makes it even sweeter and smoother.”

“It’s certainly irresistible just mixing them together. I can’t imagine what it will be like when it’s properly baked.”

After confirming that the batter was well mixed, Cainchel gently added the flour last. Now, it needs to be baked ‘improperly’ in the oven to be complete.

‘Sometimes miracles are born from failure. Surely this lava chocolate cake will heal the hearts of two people who have lived regretting their whole lives.’

The lava cake is named because the inside flows out like lava because it is not fully cooked.

So the balance is important. If it’s too undercooked, the batter will completely collapse when you take it out of the mold.

If you cook it enough, it becomes an ordinary chocolate cake.

Cainchel checked the state of the lava cake in the oven and waited for it to cook to the ideal form.

‘If it’s this size, 12 minutes. No, 13 minutes is appropriate.’

And a sweet smell, so sweet that it felt like his whole body was melting, began to emanate from the oven.

* * *

“Sigh, the harvest isn’t good these days, so it’s a big problem. I wonder if we’ll have to starve this winter too.”

“Hey, have you heard the rumor? The lord is releasing potatoes at a very low price in the market. How about buying some of that and stocking up?”

“That witch? I don’t know what she’s up to… She recently opened a free clinic for the sick, so what is she trying to do… Huh? But don’t you smell something very sweet somewhere?”

“You’re right. It’s like it’s melting my soul…”

“Ugh. I suddenly feel hungry. Did you say potatoes are cheap in the market? Let’s go buy some. Let’s make soup with plenty of potatoes and bacon for dinner tonight.”

The coldly frozen hearts of the people melted.

“Oh, by the way, have you heard that the security in other territories has gotten really bad since the end of the civil war? There are so many robbers that it’s hard to go outside the village. Marseille [the territory] is really a good territory to live in.”

“There’s no such thing as a good territory to live in from the start. Maybe Countess Bathory…”

Then, some people began to realize Bathory’s efforts, which they had taken for granted until now.

“Hey everyone! Have you heard the news that the real witch who framed the lord has been caught!”

“What are you talking about? Framed?”

“That’s what I’m saying…”

The sweet smell of baking chocolate cake spread out. As if it had changed people’s hearts, a gentle breeze began to blow in Marseille.

However, Bathory and the Beast Marquis did not have the luxury of paying attention to that.

After smelling the chocolate cake baking for 10 minutes, they felt like their whole bodies were melting.

“How can such a smell come from just making a dessert…”

“I, I can’t stand it. Please, give me the cake… the chocolate cake…”

“It’ll be done soon. Please wait a little longer.”

“…Ugh.”

The cake needs to rise and the top needs to start cracking to be complete.

Originally, it should be baked for 5 more minutes, but now is the best time to eat lava cake.

Cainchel checked the internal state with Fallen Star [his skill] and then opened the oven.

Whoa-!

Then, an even stronger sweetness covered the people gathered. Even Morgana, who had been waiting with a calm face, was writhing.

“I see why Elsa always follows you around. If you eat this every day, you won’t be able to eat anything else.”

Cainchel sprinkled finely ground sugar on the lava cake. White snow piled up on the black mountain made with plenty of dark chocolate.

“Haa…”

Bathory shook the hand holding the fork with a flushed face. She looked like she would bite him if he didn’t hand over the cake willingly.

Cainchel divided the finished dessert into several plates and handed them out to the waiting people.

“It’s chocolate lava cake. Please enjoy it before it cools down.”

Lava? Where is the lava?

Bathory received the plate and split the cake in half with a fork, and only then did she understand why.

Black chocolate flowed down like hot lava.

“This is…”

She wanted to ask if it was undercooked. However, she couldn’t possibly say such a thing to Cainchel, who was like a benefactor to her.

Cainchel smiled and said.

“Yes. It’s supposed to be undercooked. In fact, you could say that cake is a complete failure.”

“…What does that mean.”

She was about to say what do you mean, but she closed her mouth. Clearly, this cake is not properly baked. But it was so tempting that she wanted to put it in her mouth right now.

Cainchel smiled.

“Please try it first. Then you’ll understand why I made such a dish.”

Bathory first cut off a small piece of the outer part of the cake and put it in her mouth.

The sugar sprinkled on the mold had melted and turned into a crispy caramel. It melts softly and disappears the moment you put it in your mouth.

Along with the bittersweet taste of chocolate, she felt an unbelievably ecstatic feeling.

“Mmm, mah-shuh-yoh…”

Her tongue had already melted and disappeared, and she couldn’t even speak properly. But the sweetness of the lava cake was just the beginning.

Bathory steeled herself and this time took a generous amount of the melted chocolate and put it in her mouth.

“… !”

How could he have created such an intense taste? The rich chocolate melted the moment she put it in her mouth and spread throughout her body.

And what remained was a sweet feast that felt like a dream.

Cainchel handed over hand-brewed black tea.

The lava cake is so sweet that the tip of your tongue goes numb. Drinking this slightly astringent tea together can change the taste.

Bathory washed away the sweetness remaining in her mouth with black tea and ate the cake.

“Hoo… I think I can feel the softness of the chocolate cream even better now.”

“It’s also delicious with grapefruit. In that case, it’s better to be undercooked. The sour taste makes the sweetness of the lava cake feel even better.”

Every time she put the lava cake in her mouth, Bathory screamed with a blissful expression.

How could a failure be so sweet and delicious? Everything was just amazing.

Looking at the plate that had become empty before she knew it, Bathory licked the fork as if she was sad. It was as if she had thrown away the dignity of a countess somewhere far away.

“Well. Did you have a happy dream for a while?”

“…Yes. It was really delicious. It was so good that I was worried about whether I deserved to be this happy.”

But the cooking is not over yet. It is only complete when the heart contained in it is conveyed.

“Countess Bathory. Your efforts to save the beastly marquis have failed. But there are miracles that are completed because they have failed.”

Cainchel put the rosary he was wearing around his neck into his clothes. There was no need to check. This lava chocolate cake contains Bathory’s heart.

[7-star dish ‘Lava Cake That Melts Your Heart’ has been completed.]

[Proficiency in Aura Blade has greatly increased.]

Cainchel gestured to Bathory, who was tilting her head with an uncomprehending face.

“It seems that the Beast Marquis has eaten all the cake too.”

“Ah. I’m sorry. It was so delicious that I…”

It was that delicious of a cake. It was so sweet that it felt like his whole heart was melting.

Bathory inadvertently turned her head to look at the Beast Marquis.

There sat a man with a familiar face.