Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 227

“What do you want to say?”

“I’ve been thinking about it. I think it’s right for me to come with you. No, I want to go with you.”

Avel had known for a long time that he couldn’t help Cainchel with swordsmanship.

The gap wasn’t this big when they fought together in the dungeon of Mino territory.

Although a little later than Cainchel, he was able to become a Sword Knight with the body of a half-elf.

Considering that he inherited the blood of an elf who couldn’t handle Aura, it was a great achievement.

Surely, he would be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Cainchel and fight together in the future.

He thought he could remain a friend and colleague.

But Cainchel had become so strong that he received the title of the Seven Virtues in just one year.

How pathetic he was in comparison.

Wasn’t he so weak that he couldn’t even guarantee victory in the fight against Tartaros?

The thought of the Seven Deadly Sins or demons was terrifying.

Eventually, from some point on, he stopped going to the front lines and was only in charge of managing the territory or selling Cola.

Of course, that was something someone had to do.

But Avel couldn’t be satisfied with that. He wanted to be with Cainchel forever.

That feeling had already gone beyond friendship and reached the realm of admiration or love.

Surely, if he missed this opportunity…….

“Thank you, Avel. Were you worried about the Cola bottles? Avel has always been very responsible. And I think the World Tree Yggdrasil [a massive, mythical tree central to Norse cosmology] might be related to the great drought in Osman. If so, Avel’s help will definitely be needed.”

“……Can I come with you?”

“Of course. I’d rather ask you. So, Avel, will you come with me to the Ottoman Empire?”

“……!”

With this, he could be with Cainchel for a while on the way to the Ottoman Empire.

Cainchel’s attitude was strangely off, but he decided to be happy first.

“……Well, that’s Cainchel. Anyway, come with me for a moment.”

Avel took Cainchel to the place where the knights of the Grand Cross were training.

Loengrin is replacing Hector’s vacancy. Perhaps that’s why he wasn’t seen on the training ground.

Nevertheless, the knights’ enthusiasm was great.

The Grand Cross, called the strongest knight order in Britannia.

However, they lost nearly half of their forces without being able to do anything in the fight against Tartaros.

That ignited their desire to become stronger.

“The captain is away! Are you going to be lazy!”

“No!”

“Do you want to be defeated by chimeras again!”

“No!”

“Then swing your swords until your hands bleed! Get stronger, even a little bit!”

Then, a huge cheer erupted at the same time.

Avel felt a strange sense of kinship with the knights.

If he hadn’t settled in the north, he would have been training like that.

“Cainchel. Before leaving for the Ottoman Empire, I want you to see this.”

Instead of his beloved rapier, he had a bow made of wood on his back.

But the energy emanating from it was strangely familiar.

“That bow, is it made of the World Tree Yggdrasil?”

“Correct.”

Elves cannot harm the World Tree.

That was like an instinct they were born with.

The only time they can break a branch is when it is necessary for the World Tree to grow.

The World Tree is also a tree that takes root in the earth and grows.

At least once a year, it needs to be pruned.

And Yggdrasil, which is growing rapidly in Gistad, had a lot of useless branches.

Queen Nymue used it to arm her clan.

“Elves cannot use Aura, but they can handle the power of nature possessed by trees and grass. That is, spirits. And the World Tree contains more spirits than any other tree.”

In the corner of the training ground, there were many targets lined up for archery practice.

Avel aimed his bow at it.

But when he looked closely, the bowstring was shimmering with a light gold color. It was the same color as Avel’s hair, which had grown long enough to cover his waist.

Usually, bowstrings are made of animal tendons. But elves uniquely twist their hair like thread and use it.

That way, it is easier to infuse the arrow with the power of the spirit.

“……I kept growing my hair to make a bow. But what about the arrows?”

“I don’t need them.”

Avel slowly pulled the bowstring. Then, the energy of the wind began to form there.

“It’s the spirit of the wind?!”

A wind arrow made of vivid green light.

It was strangely similar to Aura Blade.

Avel chanted the activation word with will.

“Go, Storm Wind!”

Kukukukung-!

When he let go, the wind arrow began to fly, emitting a shock wave.

It didn’t just penetrate the target, it shattered it.

Even after that, the power remained and created a huge crater on the earth.

It was such a tremendous power that it was hard to believe that it was done by one arrow.

Avel slowly took a deep breath and raised his head.

“How is it, Cainchel? With this much power, I think it will be useful.”

“It’s literally amazing! Why have you been hiding such an amazing skill until now?!”

Avel was using the spirit like an Aura Blade.

He had never heard of this being possible.

“I didn’t mean to hide it. In the first place, it was only a week ago that I received the leaf from Nymue.”

“Hmm. I’ve been a little busy since then.”

It seemed that the name of the bow made of Yggdrasil’s branch was Leaf.

Avel briefly explained the principle of the technique he had just used.

She is a half-elf with human and elf blood. She can handle both Aura and spirits.

The problem was that there was a limit to how strong either could become.

It was Leaf that solved that problem.

“With Leaf’s help, I can handle even lower-level spirits without difficulty. On top of that, I learned mana cultivation from birth, so this is possible. Even my teacher was shocked when I first activated Storm Wind.”

“You mean Elizabeth?”

“Yes. Well, it didn’t seem very pleasant to see a rival getting stronger.”

It was the moment when the first spirit archer in the history of the Elves was born.

The greatness of Storm Wind was not only its explosive power.

The spirit arrow can also be used simultaneously with Enatos Xiphos, as if it were a blade.

In addition, it is possible to shoot a curve, so you can aim at enemies hiding behind obstacles.

It was literally a technique with infinite applications.

Avel slowly took a deep breath and poured out the truth that he had buried deep in his heart.

“I only have three shots now, but I can increase it a little more if I practice. How is it, Cainchel? I don’t think I’ll be a hindrance to you in Osman with this much.”

Cainchel purely admired and grabbed Avel’s hand.

“Avel is amazing as expected. I was really surprised that you were pioneering your own path like this.”

“Wh, wh, what are you doing, Cainchel……!”

Avel had to bow his head to hide his ears, which were red.

But with this, he can be with Cainchel for a while.

It was a moment when he felt the reward of realizing the limitations of being a swordsman and choosing to become a spirit archer.

* * *

The Ottoman Empire is a powerful country that occupies most of the southern part of the continent.

Unlike the north, where territorial wars are constantly taking place, the Ottoman Empire’s borders have remained almost unchanged for hundreds of years.

The reason was very simple.

Most of the Ottoman Empire’s territory is a desolate land called the Arabian Desert.

Of course, it is not a desert of death where not a single blade of grass grows, but other countries did not feel it was worth fighting for while shedding blood.

In the end, the Ottomans were able to maintain their own unique culture without worrying about foreign invasions.

Abdullah admired Cainchel and Avel, who did not change their complexion under the intense sunlight of Osman.

“Aren’t you hot? Even though it’s the entrance to the Arabian Desert, it’s not easy for foreigners to withstand this heat.”

“I’m fine because I have high fire resistance.”

Even in front of a furnace where fire spirits were raging, it was only slightly hot.

This much heat is nothing.

Avel also seemed to be able to endure it thanks to the cool breeze coming from Leaf.

“Still, Miss Avelin will need this.”

Abdullah took out a garment to block the sun from his four-dimensional pocket and handed it over.

It was a cloak so thick that it looked like a blanket.

With clothes that expose the skin of the whole body, you can easily get severe burns if you make a mistake.

In addition, the desert night is very cold because the heat of the ground cools down. You have to wear this kind of clothes to prevent that.

“It’s a little stuffy.”

“But it’s better to get used to it. The men in the desert are rough. I don’t know how they will change if they see a beautiful half-elf like Miss Avelin.”

As Abdullah said.

The androgynous feeling had completely disappeared from Avel, who had long hair.

Now, she had become a girl that anyone would feel lovely.

Even Abdullah, who had lived his whole life serving only the Sultan, sometimes blushed.

Except for a few large cities, there were no gates in the Ottoman Empire.

Inevitably, you have to walk or ride a camel.

“Ahem! To get to Byzantium, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, you have to cross the Arabian Desert. I’ll go to a nearby village and get a camel. I’m out of sheep’s milk, so I’ll buy that too.”

Abdullah returned in less than an hour with three large camels.

The camels had innocent-looking eyes.

Avel, who had a high affinity for animals, as well as Cainchel, were able to learn how to ride a camel without difficulty.

“Then let’s go. I’ll take the lead.”

As they began to cross the desert in earnest, the one human and elf realized the harshness of this place.

The wind blowing in the dry desert without any moisture contains a huge amount of sand.

If you face the blowing wind head-on, your whole body, as well as your mouth, will be filled with sand.

Avel squirmed as if the sand that had entered his clothes was tickling him.

“Ugh, the desert doesn’t suit elves after all.”

The sight was strangely cute, and a smile appeared on Cainchel’s lips.

‘I’m sorry, so let’s watch the troubled look to this extent. He said that he had to ride a camel for at least two days to get to the next village, so should I practice my skills?’

Using the tea ceremony skill, you can change dirty water to a state suitable for boiling tea.

With this alone, you can create fresh water even on the sea.

‘I’m still at the level of being able to make salt water drinkable, but I have to get as used to it as possible before arriving in Byzantium.’

Cainchel focused on the Cola bottle full of muddy water. But the water did not show any signs of clearing.

Abdullah, who was watching it from behind, admired.

“Hmm……, I’ve heard that the clergy of the Deus Church can purify water using divine power and make it holy water. But this is the first time I’ve seen it in person.”

“I’m still far from being able to use it properly.”

It seems that the purification skill was created because of the divine power that Cainchel possesses.

‘Then, in the same way as using freshness recovery……. Oh, it works……!’

Before he knew it, the muddy water in the Cola bottle had turned transparent.

When he opened the lid and drank it, he felt the pure taste of water without any impurities.

Once he realized the trick, it was instantaneous. He hadn’t tried it, but wouldn’t he be able to purify even poisoned water?

Suddenly, a huge sandstorm appeared in front of Cainchel, who was immersed in the fun of raising his skills after a long time.

Even though the weather in the desert is fickle, it was on a scale that was hard to understand.

Abdullah shouted.

“It, it’s a golem! There’s a huge golem in the center of the storm!”

Kukukukung-!

Someone’s voice was heard on the wind.

“Astolfo……! How dare someone who only touches dolls invade Zoid’s domain!”

Cainchel swallowed dry saliva without realizing it.

He never thought he would meet another alchemist in a place like this.

At the same time, Asura’s arm popped out of the four-dimensional pocket.

“――Help!”