Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 22

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[You have successfully opened the other party’s heart through cooking.]

[The will to move hearts has been sublimated into the ‘Aura Sword’ skill.]

[‘Aura Sword’ has been created.]

“Ah…!”

Keinzel exclaimed without realizing it. For some reason, things he had forgotten for a while came to mind.

— Kikikik. How can your level not go up at all? Are you slacking off a lot behind the scenes?

— Keinzel is dragging down the class average level.

— Another year held back, I heard. And you’re going to rebuild your fallen family with that?

— I feel sorry for the family who are trusting and waiting for such a fool.

— I’m so ashamed to be in the same class as that kind of guy.

And even the laughter that haunted his ears like auditory hallucinations.

Keinzel muttered quietly.

“Get lost.”

Then, everything that tormented Keinzel disappeared in an instant.

Keinzel smiled without realizing it.

Why couldn’t he have done it until now when it was such an easy thing to do?

What made him the most difficult for the past three years was not the neglect of others.

As his self-doubt grew, Keinzel’s heart died.

Can I really become a knight? Do I really not have even a handful of talent? Was my choice actually wrong?

All of that melted away like snow in front of the four letters Aura Sword.

He wanted to show the people who laughed at him.

That the underachiever they ignored had awakened the Aura Sword! That the underachiever they ignored had become a Sword Knight!

“This is one step closer to becoming a Sword Master.”

Sword Knight is just a process for that.

It’s just a process, but… he was so happy. He was so happy that he felt like he was going to cry. To awaken the Aura Sword that he had dreamed of so much!

Keinzel took a deep breath for a moment and turned his gaze back to Joma Kyung.

There was still something to check.

“Aura Sword.”

[Aura Sword: 1/3]

* Not activated due to lack of experience in moving the other party’s heart with cooking.

“…I still can’t use it.”

Keinzel clicked his tongue.

It’s too early to be happy yet. Like Brilliant Road, Aura Sword was not a skill that could be learned all at once.

‘You can only use Aura Sword if you can move other people’s hearts with cooking.’

Keinzel looked at the two slots needed to fully unlock the Aura Sword.

If he fills only these, he can grasp a star in his hand.

‘But if Aura Sword is this powerful, what is Brilliant Road?’

A skill that requires filling up to 5 slots to use.

Just how monstrous abilities does it have that it is so difficult to unlock?

Thinking that, Keinzel raised one corner of his mouth.

There’s no need to rush. All questions will naturally be resolved as he cooks.

One more thing has been added to Keinzel’s to-do list after the hot season ends.

To grasp the star that he thought he would never reach.

Fill the two empty slots of ‘Aura Sword’.

@

The words ‘delicious’ came out of the mouth of the idiot young lady!

The ripple effect it brought was enormous.

“How delicious is the Honey Butter Sandwich that it opened the blocked speech of Lady Well-ride?”

“I’ve heard a lot of rumors so far… I didn’t think it would be that much. What should I do! I want to try it too!”

“Damn it! How can you say such a thing so easily? I’ve been wandering around the whole city for a week to get one!”

“…It’s okay. Let’s go together from today.”

The honey butter craze, which had been thought of as a fad, grew uncontrollably.

The number of people wandering the streets to buy honey butter sandwiches has more than doubled.

It was other street vendors who took it most sensitively.

The festival is the biggest event of the year.

But the streets are full of people staggering around shouting honey butter.

At first, they thought it was a fire that would soon die out.

Then, when sales fell to 70% of the previous year, they realized the seriousness of the situation.

In the end, the street vendors who couldn’t stand it held a countermeasures meeting.

“Is it that critical to sales with only 200 a day?”

“People only look for honey butter and don’t think about buying other food. Is your stall okay?”

“Fortunately, the main street is still better. But as soon as I hear that honey butter has appeared somewhere, all the customers disappear…”

“Hoo! I’ve been doing business here for 10 years, and this is the first time this has happened. How great is honey butter that it’s causing this chaos?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

“I think it would be good to try it once…”

“How can we get one when it’s such a fuss to buy one!”

“Actually, a clown appeared in front of the store, so I was lucky enough to buy one. Here, this is a honey butter sandwich.”

Saying that, one of the street vendor owners took out a sandwich wrapped in paper from his arms.

“Heo! This is the rumored honey butter!”

“Let’s taste it little by little and come up with some countermeasures. If you look at the name, it seems like it’s made by mixing butter and honey, so why don’t we make and sell something similar.”

“That’s right. We have to ride the trend.”

The street vendor owners’ eyes lit up.

If there is a popular menu, they can just make and sell it.

Haven’t they been doing business like that until now?

“There hasn’t been a food that we haven’t been able to copy until now. Now, let’s taste it.”

The street vendor owners started cutting the sandwich into small pieces and tasting it.

Although it was not a large amount, it was enough to know the taste of the honey butter sandwich.

“…De, delicious.”

“Wh, what is this? Is this a sandwich?”

“Damn it. Damn it. That’s why…”

Desperate groans flowed from the mouths of the street vendor owners.

They only took one bite, but they realized.

This is a taste that can never be copied.

The skills of baking bread and meat, dough, texture, are all on a different level than the street vendor owners.

On top of that, the savory and sweet taste of honey butter is added.

What kind of honey do you use to get this deep taste?

The first to come to his senses was the street vendor representative.

“I can’t do it. Everyone must have felt that this is not going to work… Let’s go with the second method.”

“The second method?”

The vice president next to him said.

“We need to hire mercenaries. Let’s contribute.”

“Yes? Why mercenaries all of a sudden?”

“We need to kidnap the clown Hool and find out the recipe for this amazing sandwich.”

Only then did the street vendors slap their knees.

“Hehehe, that sounds like a good idea. Then I’ll give five silver.”

“I’ll give ten silver. That clown always comes to my area.”

“But Count Well-ride seems to like it. If we touch it rashly…”

“Tsk tsk. Then he would have been hired by the Count long ago. Why is he still selling sandwiches on the street?”

“Ah! That was an unnecessary worry! Then let’s go to the mercenary guild right now…”

So the street vendor owners hired five top-tier mercenaries.

The opponent is just a clown who bakes bread.

There is no way they can beat the worn-out mercenaries.

@

The noble ladies were enjoying their own festival.

They chat elegantly in country houses or social clubs and listen to music played by orchestras.

They invite the artists they sponsor to watch their plays or hold art exhibitions.

Outdoor activities are largely restricted during the hot season. Therefore, most nobles hold meetings indoors, and thanks to this, indoor meetings are becoming more active.

The Citizen’s [referring to the city of Citizen] nobles were elegantly enjoying their afternoon tea time today.

“Ohoho! Madam. Have you heard the rumor?”

“What rumor are you talking about?”

“You know that Count Grexia Well-ride’s daughter is an idiot, right?”

“Of course. I felt sorry for him because he had a lot of money and didn’t remarry, looking only at his daughter. If he had given me a little hint, I would have introduced him to as many pretty young ladies as possible.”

“I heard that the idiot young lady ate food and said it was delicious.”

“Oh! That young lady?”

The eyes of the ladies who had seen the Count’s daughter even from a distance widened.

That young lady spoke?

“What kind of food was it? I’m very curious.”

“It’s street food sold at the festival, and it seems to be quite plausible. Everyone who ate it says it’s worth eating. I heard the name is Honey Butter Sandwich.”

The noble ladies covered their mouths with fans and laughed. To say it’s delicious after eating such cheap food.

“But I heard that the clown who makes and sells it has very interesting talents. He makes cotton candy by hand without any tools.”

“Oh my. That’s amazing.”

“So I decided to invite the clown to my house for a guest performance. It’s so hard to make a reservation because he only accepts one house a day…”

“Ah, I’m sorry, but I just remembered something urgent.”

“Oh! Me too. Isn’t it amazing?”

The noble lady who left the party hall called a servant.

“Sebastian!”

“Did you call me, madam?”

“Bring me the clown named Hool or Whistle right now.”

“I understand.”

The noble ladies were the ones who had to do everything the other ladies did.

That’s how they can sleep comfortably at night.

@

Citizen is a city built along the central boulevard that crosses Britannia and the large Forever River.

It has a large granary to the south, borders the commercial district of Wellin to the north, and crosses the western mountains to reach the industrial district of Krolltra.

The geographical advantage was more enormous than expected.

Citizen has played the role of a link since its establishment, and thanks to this, it has accumulated enormous wealth.

In addition, by paying huge taxes, he was promised independent management by the Emperor of Britannia.

A commercial city is a place where numerous trading companies exist.

If a noble rules, only the trading companies under his influence will remain, and that will eventually lead to the decline of the city.

In the end, all problems were solved by electing a mayor from among the bourgeoisie [middle class] every four years.

Nevertheless, he cannot help but be aware of the many nobles living there.

Citizen’s Mayor Wilson had an amazing sense of money.

Since he became mayor, Citizen’s trade volume has increased by about 40%. It went straight into the pockets of the bourgeoisie and fattened the trading companies.

As a result, he was able to serve as the mayor of Citizen for 10 years.

Wilson listened to his aide’s words in his office, reading a report on the results of the festival.

“Revenue from the performance sector has increased by more than 10% compared to last year…”

“The sales of street vendors have decreased quite a bit. What happened?”

“That’s…”

The aide explained the honey butter craze that had swept Citizen.

“You’re saying that they only sell two hundred a day and created this kind of craze?”

Wilson tapped the desk with his finger after hearing that.

“This is really amazing. If he calculated everything, that clown is not an ordinary person. Wait a minute.”

Suddenly, he smelled a lot of money.

“Honey butter… Aide!”

“Yes, Mayor.”

“What are our city’s specialties?”

“Silk and clothing made from it, and various precious metals.”

“That’s definitely a very profitable business. But the number of people who buy it is limited. But everyone eats food every day.”

“You mean…”

“I wanted to create a food that would symbolize the city anyway. Like German sausages or Marpasino pasta [likely a fictional pasta, but kept for world-building]. Maybe Citizen can play that role with honey butter? If possible, I want to try it myself.”

“That’s, it’s very hard to get, so I haven’t tried it either…”

Bang!

Wilson slammed the desk with his fist.

“I’ll give you three days to bring him in very politely. I have something to talk about regarding business.”

“Ah, I understand!”

The aide ran out, sweating.

From now on, he will wander around the city to find the clown Hool.

Wilson, who was left alone, opened the window and looked outside.

The heat of the festival was vividly felt.

“He’s a man who moved thousands of people with just a sandwich. I really want to have him, Hool.”

The only downside to the festival held in Citizen is that it doesn’t have a specific theme.

Maybe honey butter can make up for that.

“…Maybe we’ll have a honey butter festival starting next year.”

The name Hool smelled very strongly of money.

So mercenaries, butlers of noble families, and aides to the mayor rushed out into the streets to meet the clown Hool.

But they soon realized how difficult it was.

Nothing was known about Hool.

He wears a clown costume, has clown makeup on his face, and is good at making sandwiches.

If he takes off his makeup and changes his clothes, how can they find him?

They shouted at the same time.

“Who the hell is Hool!”
Who the hell is Hool #4