Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 213

Morgiana groaned softly when she heard what Kainchel was going to cook.

“Beef steak…? Isn’t that a bit… ordinary?”

For her, this was a matter of existential importance. Her desperation was understandable.

Kainchel shook his head.

“A plain beef steak, perhaps. But the dish I’m planning is… an evolving beef steak.”

At this, both Morgiana and Marquis Beast exchanged glances, silently demanding an explanation.

Of course, neither doubted Kainchel’s abilities.

He had even lifted the curse of beastification with a single dish.

Surely, he could work another miracle.

“Duke Kainchel,” Marquis Beast said, “Goethe is a renowned writer and a famous gourmet with a discerning palate. If we aim to win him over, wouldn’t it be wise to use the finest ingredients possible?”

“Indeed,” Morgiana added. “Beef isn’t exactly considered a high-end ingredient in Britannia, or even Gaul.”

Beef, she implied, lacked the nuanced flavors of other meats.

While the cut mattered, that was generally the case.

Kainchel pulled out a piece of beef jerky, his emergency ration, from his two-dimensional pocket and chewed on it.

Tough and rather bland.

Yet, it was essential sustenance for long journeys.

“The reason beef often lacks flavor is simple,” Kainchel explained. “The cattle aren’t primarily raised for consumption.”

Cows differed from pigs or geese. They were more often seen as labor animals than food sources.

They were typically slaughtered for meat and leather only when they became too old or sick to work.

Naturally, the meat suffered.

However, beef was the most accessible meat for those who couldn’t afford to raise other livestock.

It was familiar and readily available.

Kainchel himself had once automatically thought of beef when he thought of meat.

“Then why choose beef?” Morgiana asked. “In Gaul, wouldn’t goose dishes be more impressive? Especially foie gras sauté; the rich taste when you dip it in sauce… Surely there are goose farms near Marseille. Why not ask the Marquis…?”

“Foie gras is undoubtedly a luxury ingredient,” Kainchel conceded. “Properly prepared, it’s far more decadent than beef. But the ‘delicacy of despair’ isn’t suitable for this occasion.”

“The delicacy of despair?”

Kainchel briefly described how the fatty goose liver dish, foie gras, was produced.

Geese were force-fed oily grains through funnels.

This caused their livers to swell, increasing in size nearly tenfold.

Morgiana’s face paled as she listened.

“But… doesn’t that make the geese sick and die?”

“That’s why they’re usually fattened for only about three weeks before slaughter,” Kainchel said.

“I… I didn’t realize foie gras was such a cruel food…”

Wild geese are migratory birds that spend the winter in warmer climates. Every year, they fly to the northern part of the Ottoman Empire.

At that time, they gorge themselves on figs to prepare for the long journey, which was the inspiration for foie gras.

“The pursuit of delicious food has often been relentless. And in Gaul, cattle farms dedicated to meat production have been increasing recently.”

Morgiana trembled slightly.

“T-these demons… Are they doing something like foie gras to cows, too…?”

If the owner of a foie gras farm had been present, she might have drawn her sword.

Kainchel chuckled and shook his head.

“Cows don’t accumulate fat in their livers to that extent. Instead, they focus on enhancing the meat in other ways. And I believe the farm is not far from here.”

Gaul, the land of gastronomy, boasted numerous farms raising various livestock.

Most raised animals that provided eggs or fur in addition to meat, like sheep or chickens.

But some farms specialized solely in raising cattle.

Ultimately, Kainchel, Morgiana, Bathory, and even Marquis Beast decided to visit one such farm.

* * *

The farm owner trembled at the sight of the imposing nobles who had suddenly arrived.

He was relieved he hadn’t realized three of them were Sword Masters.

Otherwise, he might have collapsed from fright.

“Hahaha! I didn’t know nobles were so interested in beef! Please, look around as you please.”

“I’d like to slaughter and take home any that catch my eye,” Kainchel said.

“Of course, that’s possible. But did you know? Slaughtering and eating it immediately doesn’t maximize the flavor. Besides, slaughtering is harder than it looks. You’d be better off dining at a restaurant that has a direct contract with our farm…”

The farm owner clearly mistook Kainchel for a young nobleman seeking unusual entertainment.

The remark was so presumptuous that even Bathory frowned.

However, Kainchel understood it stemmed from the man’s passion for his cows.

“That’s because of aging, right? Don’t worry; I know exactly how to prepare beef for maximum deliciousness.”

He then proceeded to detail various beef preparation methods, cut by cut.

The farm owner’s eyes widened as he listened.

He even exclaimed in admiration at the mention of extracting gelatin from cowhide to make jelly.

Finally, the farm owner realized the young man possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of meat.

“I deeply apologize for my earlier rudeness,” he said.

“It’s alright. It all comes from your love for your cows,” Kainchel replied.

“Hahaha…” The farm owner scratched the back of his head, as if Kainchel had read his mind.

He then led them safely onto the farm.

Morgiana muttered with concern, “…Surely the cute calves aren’t trapped in narrow cages and force-fed, are they?”

The shock of the foie gras explanation clearly lingered.

The farm owner laughed. “We would never do that on our farm. We put our heart and soul into ensuring the animals are happy.”

As they entered the farm, they witnessed something unexpected.

Raising cows on the vast prairie was similar to other ranches.

But someone was diligently massaging the legs of a cow who looked tired from running.

And the cows were drinking beer.

“Cows… cows are drinking beer?!”

The farm owner smiled at Morgiana’s astonishment. “The cows here eat grains and drink beer. We massage them to make them feel good, and sometimes we even hire musicians to play for them. This ensures that, despite moderate exercise, their meat is richly infused with fat.”

He explained that the fine distribution of fat within the lean meat was called marbling.

“The more marbled the meat, the more umami [savory flavor] it possesses, and the softer the texture. The cows raised here are purely for food, not for labor.”

Moreover, each cow was given a name.

Cows were intelligent; they recognized their names and would come when called.

Kainchel realized the farm owner viewed his cows not as mere livestock, but as his own children.

The farm owner brought out a chunk of beef that had been slaughtered and was undergoing aging.

A strange light flickered in Kainchel’s eyes.

Dense fat was interspersed throughout the meat like frost, and a subtle sweetness emanated from it.

It was perfectly aged.

Everything, from the meat’s elasticity to the fat’s sheen, was flawless.

“This would be incredible grilled as a steak,” Kainchel said. “The marbling will melt into the flesh, creating an explosion of umami. With meat this delicious, you won’t even need a sauce.”

Morgiana’s mouth was already watering. She dabbed her lips with a handkerchief.

“I definitely had lunch, but I’m hungry again…”

Kainchel turned to the farm owner, who was proudly showcasing his farm.

“But I heard the farm is in the red.”

“Haha… yes, that’s true. I suppose it’s because the price per head is so high that they don’t sell easily.”

“How expensive is it?”

“It’s ten times more expensive than cows from other farms… no, almost twenty times more expensive.”

The meat was worth it.

But how many people would pay several silver coins for beef?

They could eat far more luxurious dishes for the same price.

Kainchel held out a pouch filled with gold coins, an amount that appeared to be at least 500 gold.

“I really admire this farm. Would you allow me to make a small investment?”

“I… investment!?”

“I’ve never seen such excellent meat. I anticipate using it frequently in the future, so I’d like to acquire a small stake.”

“Oh, Deus [God]…”

The farm owner’s expression was one of finding an oasis in the desert. He reintroduced himself as Saloman.

Kainchel was no longer just a guest, but a fellow farm owner and investor.

Kainchel purchased about ten of the farm’s cows that were ready for slaughter.

They had been raised with such care that their fur gleamed, and their eyes were full of life.

Morgiana, who had befriended the cows, began to sob.

“Those cute children… I don’t think I’ll be able to eat meat for a while.”

“You’ll think differently when you see it prepared. All the meat you’ve eaten so far was obtained in the same way. If you dislike it, you should only eat vegetarian food like elves. Anyway, I’ll do my best to cook it so that it tastes as delicious as possible.”

“Please kill them as painlessly as possible.”

“Of course.”

Kainchel recalled what he had learned from Percival and slaughtered ten cows in an instant.

He then selected the one with the finest, most tender meat, with fat delicately marbled throughout the muscles, and a clear contrast between the bright red and white.

“Normally, beef is lean and somewhat tough, but this has beautiful marbling like a floral pattern, right? Let’s grill it lightly.”

“…gulp.”

Morgiana smacked her lips, seemingly forgetting her earlier sorrow for the cows.

The meat looked that delicious.

Kainchel produced a large iron plate that he always carried in his two-dimensional pocket.

The meat’s flavor was so rich that simply grilling it wouldn’t do it justice.

It needed to be grilled on a hot iron plate until the fat melted completely.

As he placed the simply seasoned meat (salt and pepper only) on the iron plate, an unbelievably cheerful sound filled the air.

Sizzle-!

The aroma of the cooking meat spread instantly, drawing the farm workers closer.

He didn’t even use onions or butter, wanting to showcase the pure taste of the meat.

But the flavor was unbelievable.

Morgiana gazed in awe at the meat sizzling on the iron plate.

“I… is this really beef? It can’t be. How can beef taste like this…?”

“Try it and see.”

Kainchel used Fragrach to place a piece of the perfectly cooked beef, its fat slightly melted, into Morgiana’s mouth.

In that moment, she felt as if struck by lightning.

“T-the more I chew, the more unbelievable umami floods my mouth… what is this…? I… I’m so overwhelmed by the deliciousness that I might collapse…”

“If you make a steak with this, even Mr. Goethe, with his famously picky palate, will fall in love, right?”

“…I don’t know about Goethe, but I think I’ve already fallen in love. Please grill me a steak right now.”

“Let’s postpone that for a while. If we eat it all here, there won’t be any left for Mr. Goethe.”

“W-what do you take me for!? I’m…”

She was about to protest that she didn’t eat that much, but she stopped herself.

If Kainchel’s skills were combined with meat of this quality, the resulting dish would be extraordinary. Could she truly resist eating it all?

The answer was no.

Kainchel shrugged, observing Morgiana squirming with desire for a steak.

“We still need more ingredients. Let’s head to the port city next.”

“Isn’t this meat enough? What kind of dish are you planning…?”

“Goethe wanted to write a novel that would be considered a masterpiece, like Shakespeare’s works. So…”

He paused, then finished his thought.

“I’m going to show him that masterpieces exist in cooking, too.”