Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 23

Gregxia clutched his head in anguish.

Before his eyes, his beloved daughter, Frelia, lay asleep.

As she stirred, her long silver hair cascaded softly down her back.

Hair that had once been short enough to brush her ears had grown so long.

Frelia, who had been a young girl of eight, had blossomed into a beautiful young woman over the past decade.

However, she had to spend most of her days asleep due to the ‘Curse of Sloth’.

Even when she was awake, she would listlessly stare into the empty air.

“…Was the voice I heard back then just a dream?”

Gregxia had done everything he could for the past ten years. He had poured in enough gold to buy several castles.

He thought the results were finally starting to show… but the curse was still gnawing at Frelia’s mind.

Knock, knock.

With a knock, Brad, the old butler who had served Gregxia for a long time, entered the bedroom.

“Count, I have acquired the honey butter sandwich you requested.”

“You brought it faster than I expected.”

“Yes. I offered a reward of ten gold, and twenty people knocked on the mansion’s door. Most of them were trying to scam me with fakes, so I punished them with a whip. Only one was genuine.”

“Well done, Brad. Next time, try cutting off a few fingers.”

“Yes, Count.”

Gregxia was known for his very decisive personality.

He severely punished those who cheated by misrepresenting the weight or origin of the goods they traded.

This greatly contributed to enhancing the credibility of the Edelweiss Trading Company.

“By the way, would you believe it if I said that the dish weakened Frelia’s curse?”

“…I’m not sure. However, the Curse of Sloth was not lifted even with the Stone of Life created by the Black Tower Master, nor did it improve with the blessing of the Archbishop. That it’s in a sandwich…”

“That’s right. I think so too. But a father wants to do anything possible for his daughter.”

Soon, it was Frelia’s mealtime.

Gregxia brought the honey butter sandwich to his daughter’s lips.

Chew, chew.

The sandwich slowly disappeared.

And the moment the last piece vanished, another miracle occurred.

Frelia looked at Gregxia with sleepy eyes.

“…Father, wh-where is this…? O-on the bed…? So, I’ve been asleep until now? I had a scary dream… A dream of falling into a very deep sleep from which I could never wake up… But seeing you like this… Haaam… It, it’s strange. I feel like I’ve slept for a very long time, but I’m sleepy again…”

“F, Frelia!”

Gregxia grasped his daughter’s hand.

It was as cold as touching ice.

Gregxia’s warm body temperature was transmitted to Frelia through their clasped hands.

The time Frelia could maintain her sanity was very short, less than a minute.

There was something he had to say within that time.

“…Yes, Father…”

“The Curse of Sloth that is gnawing at you, I will lift it no matter what! So, rest assured and sleep well, Frelia. I love you…!”

“…”

Once again, Frelia fell into a deep sleep.

However, there was no longer any sign of anxiety.

A smile even appeared on her lips, as if her father’s embrace was very comfortable.

Gregxia laid Frelia on the bed and rose from his seat.

“Did you see that?”

“…Yes, it’s, it’s amazing. How can a sandwich have such power…?”

“I trust you, Brad. So, this must remain known only to you and me.”

The war was over, but still, thousands of people were dying from the curses of the Seven Deadly Sins.

What would happen if it became known that a sandwich had the power to break that curse?

Brad quietly nodded. Clearly, a great dispute would arise among the nobles over Hoool.

“If I had known this would happen, I should have given thousands of gold to keep Hoool here.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m not blaming you. I didn’t know Hoool had such abilities back then either. But now the situation has changed. No matter what, we must recruit him into the Edelweiss Trading Company. Do you understand? And absolutely no one must know that I am looking for him.”

“I will keep that in mind. But…”

Brad explained that other nobles, stall owners, and even Mayor Wilson were looking for the clown.

Then Gregxia’s anger exploded.

“These, these bastards! Are they trying to trample on the clue to breaking the curse of the Seven Deadly Sins for the sake of vanity and a few coins?”

“We must move immediately to recruit him. Other nobles have already deployed many private soldiers.”

“How many Mithril-class mercenaries can we currently mobilize?”

“Only Zeke.”

“Then I’ll attach that guy and three more Gold-class mercenaries. No matter what, Hoool must be secured without a scratch.”

“Understood.”

Suddenly, the Count recalled an old legend.

The content that food made with sincerity has the power to make the person who eats it happy.

He never imagined that it would contain such a meaning.

Count Gregxia Wellride, the owner of the Edelweiss Trading Company, rose from his seat.

He wished he could mobilize all the manpower of the entire trading company, but he was frustrated that he couldn’t.

“If we take even one wrong step, Hoool’s abilities may become known to the world. We must move with the smallest elite force possible.”

“Yes, sir!”

In that sense, Zeke had a very suitable ability for this mission.

His swordsmanship was mediocre, but he was a man skilled in tracking, capable of catching even a fleeing unicorn.

@

Keinzel patted his bulging pouch and smiled happily.

“You really have to deal with nobles to make money.”

He could earn four shiny gold coins for giving a one-hour performance.

Until last year, he had barely enough coppers and had to eat only hard barley bread with water for a month.

“With this money, I can put cheese on my barley bread… No, I’m rich now! I’m going to order everything on the menu at the finest restaurant!”

Of course, it would all be converted into experience points, so he wouldn’t regret it at all.

In fact, he hadn’t only eaten food sold at street stalls.

He had often gone to decent restaurants for meals.

‘But the level of the food that comes out is lower than I thought.’

A place where you have to prepare silver coins to eat a meal only dealing with nobles.

But the level of the food that came out was at best 3 stars.

It did raise his experience points, but it was better to buy a lot of street food.

‘After Saint King Aslan defined gastronomy as a sin, the level of restaurants overall has fallen… I didn’t know it would be this bad.’

Gordon, who casually creates 4-star dishes, was thought of as amazing again.

‘He must have worked as an imperial chef because he has that much skill. Can I ever become like that?’

The dishes Keinzel makes are mostly 3 stars.

Being able to make the 5-star Honey Butter Sandwich was close to a miracle.

“Haa… How can I coax Gordon into teaching me his cooking skills?”

Keinzel pondered several plans.

“First, let’s change clothes and go eat.”

He couldn’t reveal his identity on the main street where many people pass by. Keinzel headed into the back alley.

‘Hmm.’

And he sensed that someone was following him.

It was the ability of Fallen Star that he had activated just in case.

‘There are five of them. They all have knives. Very close.’

Keinzel quickened his pace. He was a trainee knight. Before becoming a formal knight, he wanted to avoid unnecessary disputes.

Tatatak!

As Keinzel ran, the five pursuers also began to move quickly.

And after a bit of chasing, Keinzel realized that the road was blocked.

‘Wilson or whatever, why did you organize this area like this!’

Keinzel cursed the mayor in his mind and leaned his body against the wall. This way, he could at least prevent being surrounded.

The opponents were mercenaries wearing leather armor.

“Hehehe. Where are you going in such a hurry, clown, when a guest has come to visit?”

“Brother Rex. Can we really get five silver for catching that skinny-looking guy?”

“That’s right. Hmm, as long as his mouth is safe, it’s okay to treat him a little rough.”

“I’ve been having a little trouble because there haven’t been any requests like this lately, so let’s quickly take care of him and drink a lot.”

Sreung-!

The mercenaries drew their swords.

Something dark red was smeared on the blade. It seems they had already worked one shift.

“Hehe! The clown kid is really scared. Usually, in this case, wouldn’t you ask the purpose of the attack? Of course, I wouldn’t answer! Euhahaha!”

It had been three weeks since he started selling honey butter sandwiches.

It was time for guys who wanted to monopolize the honey butter sandwich to come out as it had caused a huge sensation.

“It looks like it’s time to end it, unfortunately.”

Keinzel smiled at the mercenaries.

“What! What’s he going to do if he smiles!”

“Let me ask you one thing. Is there anyone among you who can use Aura Sword?”

“What nonsense are you talking about! If we had that, we could get a better request than wandering around in this dirty back alley!”

“That’s right. Well, I guess that’s obvious. They wouldn’t use a Gold-class mercenary to chase after a clown.”

Those who can use Aura Sword are called ‘Sword Knights’ and can receive a knighthood.

However, among them, there were those who became mercenaries because their personalities didn’t match or for other reasons.

Usually, they receive a Gold rating and become Gold-class mercenaries.

Basically, it means you have to pay 1 gold per day to hire them.

Keinzel drew the sword he had hidden in his baggy pierrot clothes.

He hadn’t used a sword for a while, so it was itchy, and it seemed like it would be good exercise before the Second Season.

“Swo, sword! Shibal [a mild curse]! What is that bastard!”

Keinzel stepped on Jingak [a martial arts footwork technique] as the mercenaries were flustered.

As he swung his sword, a very clean strike cut off one of the mercenary’s hands.

“Kkeuaaaaak!”

And he immediately changed his stance to Fiore [a historical European martial art stance].

Aiming the tip of the sword at the opponent and holding the handle with both hands, he held it close to his chest.

It was a useful stance for both offense and defense as it could be quickly converted into various stances.

‘My body is light. Is this, Beginner Swordsmanship 10 stars!’

Keinzel can only use basic movements without mixed variations. However, perfectly honed basics are sometimes stronger than anything else.

Puk!

The mercenary who was stabbed in the shoulder threw the sword he was holding and ran away.

“Th, th, this bastard…”

“I blew off one person’s hand and pierced another person’s shoulder, so shall I blow off the middle leg this time?”

Then the opponent naturally took a stance to defend his lower abdomen.

Keinzel chuckled.

“Sorry, it’s a lie.”

He ran straight in and used Zuken [a straight punch] to knock the opponent’s sword aside.

“What kind of power is this!”

“Ah, this? If you don’t eat without being picky and eat your vegetables well, you can become like this.”

As he cut open the opponent’s stomach, there was a sound of a water bag bursting and a shower of blood.

“Now two people. Do you want to continue?”

“Th, th, th!”

The mercenaries disappeared somewhere, taking their injured comrades with them.

Beginner Swordsmanship 10 stars.

It means the basics honed to the limit.

‘There were people who became Sword Masters with only Beginner Swordsmanship. Of course, I don’t intend to do that.’

Keinzel leaned his back against the wall and took a deep breath.

The sensation of cutting someone was clearly left on his fingertips.

‘Damn it. It feels much dirtier than cutting beef.’

He took off the pierrot clothes he was wearing, lit a fire with a flint, and burned them.

As he erased the makeup remaining on his face, the clown Hoool disappeared and only the trainee knight Keinzel remained.

“Too bad. I thought I could make a few more days.”

If he continues to sell honey butter sandwiches, these attacks will continue.

Of course, as long as Fallen Star is there, there is almost no possibility of being caught off guard by the opponent.

But he had already earned a lot of money.

He wouldn’t have to worry about food ingredients for a while.

‘There’s no need to continue doing business with the risk.’

Thus, the clown Hoool, who had heated up the entire Citizen with honey butter sandwiches, disappeared into the darkness.

“Shall I develop a new menu during my remaining time? Now I can buy as many ingredients as I want.”

Keinzel left Citizen without looking back.

Leaving behind a level and status that had risen to an incomparable level compared to three weeks ago.

Keinzel’s long hot summer was over.

The Second Season #1