Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 245

6. Rain in the Desert

What Mille-feuille Nabe gave Magnus wasn’t just his lost sense of taste.

From the perspective of an Ancient Dragon who had lived for ten thousand years, humans were, for the most part, insignificant beings.

Of course, there were times when he would humor them on a whim, but those instances were extremely rare. Most of the time, he wouldn’t even care if he killed them without a second thought.

Besides, Magnus was an incredibly talkative dragon, busy enough with his own pronouncements.

Yet, Magnus was listening to Scheherazade’s story with a serious expression.

Of course, he might simply be engrossed in eating the Mille-feuille Nabe, but even that was remarkable.

Magnus held out his empty bowl and exclaimed cheerfully.

“Give me another bowl. I never knew that a dish that highlights the natural flavors of the ingredients could be so delicious.”

“That just means your sense of taste has weakened, Magnus. If you eat medicinal cuisine that isn’t too stimulating, you’ll quickly regain the palate you had when you were younger.”

“So, you’re saying I have to keep eating the food you make? Well, that’s not such a bad condition. But to think that such a young human would restore the joy of eating to an ancient dragon.”

“You flatter me.”

Magnus smacked his lips as he watched Cainchel’s back as he transferred the food to the plate.

“Truly an interesting human. My remaining life won’t be boring.”

Magnus’s hazy eyes seemed to clear, and a strange desire arose.

It was an emotion he had lost thousands of years ago.

While Magnus was eating the Nabe, Scheherazade was able to safely convey the story she had been holding in her heart.

“…Eventually, I couldn’t bring down a single drop without using my ability to summon rain. What can solve that is…”

“Wait a minute. I think I heard something strange. No rain? It was drizzling just a while ago, wasn’t it? If that wasn’t rain, then what was it?”

Scheherazade swallowed hard, realizing that something was going strangely.

“That was rain I artificially created using Ame-furashi [a technique to artificially summon rain]. Not a single drop has fallen naturally.”

Then Magnus’s lips twisted horribly.

“Which bastard messed with the plans of an ancient dragon?!”

“…Plans? What exactly are you talking about?”

“It’s just that even an ancient dragon isn’t that inconsiderate. An enormous amount of mana is needed to keep the gates of the Demon World closed. And the ancient dragon provides most of it.”

As a result, the Ottoman Empire was experiencing the worst drought in its history.

Magnus spread his fingers and pointed to his chest.

“An Ancient Dragon is already closer to a spirit king than a living being. It might be easier to understand if I said I had one foot in the Soul Stream [a plane of existence connected to souls and magic]. Anyway, there are enormous restrictions on all my actions. Whatever I do, I have to pay a price for it. Assimilation is also part of that.”

Cainchel realized why Calliope always talked about contracts and covenants.

If you receive something, you pay it back.

That was a basic principle of action for dragons.

“In the end, in order to absorb a large amount of mana, I had to prepare a way to offset the heat it would generate. The ancient dragon used 10% of its Dragon Heart for that.”

The Dragon Heart, where mana collected for ten thousand years was stored. That alone was enough power to change the climate of a country.

“…So, are you saying that Magnus helped to make it rain?”

Magnus scratched the back of his head and answered Scheherazade’s question.

“Yes. I planted the Dragon Heart right in the middle of the Arabian Desert. In a very deep place where humans can never invade. It was a little small, but I thought it was fine because it was raining well, but…”

‘That, that…!’

Cainchel felt like he had been hit in the back of the head with a large hammer.

The core of the giant golem where the dragon’s mana was felt.

Zoid, the creator, built a workshop in the basement of Byzantium, even taking the life of the former Sultan.

It felt like an empty gear had clicked into place.

“…I think I’ve figured out the identity of the thief. Magnus, is the location where you installed it by any chance in the basement of Byzantium?”

“How did you know? That’s right. I installed a Control Weather magic circle there.”

The 8th circle absolute magic, Control Weather.

Its ability was to freely change the climate within the range of the caster’s mana.

Since the power source was the Dragon Heart, it should have rained all over the Ottoman Empire.

In the end, Scheherazade’s efforts to use Ame-furashi at the cost of her own life caused a huge misunderstanding.

“So, the reason you said you wouldn’t eat the food I made three days ago was…”

“Yeah. I just thought you were complaining that it was raining a little less. Humans always do that. Anyway, a rat dared to steal the ancient dragon’s Dragon Heart, huh?”

Kugugugugung-!

A tremendous killing intent began to emanate from Magnus’s body.

Even if he was an ancient dragon, he would die if he lost his Dragon Heart.

The widespread magic circle, which he had literally risked his life to install, had been rendered useless by a single thief.

Cainchel reflexively activated Meringue to protect Scheherazade’s body.

“Please refrain from spewing out Dragon Fear like that. It’s fatal to Scheherazade, who is defenseless, even if it’s okay for me, a Sword Master, or Abdullah.”

“Ah, sorry.”

“Thank you, Cainchel. I would have fainted on the spot if you hadn’t protected me.”

“You’re welcome.”

His back was soaked with cold sweat.

Even though he protected his whole body with Aura, it was this much. And that wasn’t even the main body he used.

Even though he was old, he was still the strongest Red Dragon.

“Anyway, I can’t stand it. I don’t think I’ll feel better unless I give him a big hit. It’s been a while since I’ve returned to my true form and breathed Kreurara…”

“…The entire Ottoman Empire will be a sea of fire if you do that.”

“Cough, cough. Then let’s do this. If you help me catch that rat, the ancient dragon will give you a sufficient reward. Especially Cainchel, I’ll be in your debt for a while, so I’ll grant you even unreasonable requests. How about it? I think this is a pretty good deal.”

Cainchel’s eyes twinkled. It was a tempting offer, literally.

There must be a huge amount of gold and silver treasures piled up in the lair of the Ancient Dragon who has lived since the age of mythology.

But that wasn’t what Cainchel wanted.

‘Dragon meat is the best meat, after all. Since he’s an Ancient Dragon, his tail must be huge… That’s enough to eat for a month.’

I wonder how much more Aura will rise this time.

“I’ll do it. But the golem is a little too big to catch alone.”

“Hmm, I see. I’ll reward everyone who participated in the operation. Well, there are so many treasures that they’re rotting anyway.”

Magnus didn’t seem to think that Cainchel was after his body.

Then Abdullah’s eyes widened as he watched.

Zoid, who was hiding in the basement of Byzantium, was the one who took the life of the former Sultan.

Not only was he helping to avenge him, but he was also getting a reward from the dragon.

Abdullah, who didn’t know Cainchel’s dark intentions, saw him as a messenger sent by Allah.

“…Cainchel. I don’t know how to repay this favor. Anyway, if you’re okay with it, I’d like to leave right now.”

Abdullah was about to draw his claymore and kill Zoid right away.

But there was something he had to do before that.

* * *

The preparation for Ame-furashi was done in an instant.

It was just using the power of the rain that Scheherazade had. It didn’t need anything grand.

“Then Magnus, please stop absorbing Aura in the desert.”

“Haaam… Alright. The ancient dragon will be sleeping, so wake me up when you kill the rat.”

The reason why Magnus was always asleep was also to minimize mana consumption.

As the energy of the Red Dragon disappeared, the air, which had been so hot that it was suffocating, became quite cool.

The hot heat of the desert is fatal to elves.

Abel, who was sweating so much that his clothes were soaked, stood up.

“Hoo… I think I can handle this much. I thought I was going to die. ”

“Ah, Abel. Are you feeling okay? It’ll be much cooler from now on when it rains.”

“…Rain.”

Cainchel opened the window and looked at the Temple of Allah where Scheherazade was standing.

It was in a high position overlooking the scenery of Byzantium.

Only Jasmine, the chief maid, was by her side. But she wasn’t alone.

Many rainmakers who burned their lives to make it rain were with her.

Scheherazade put her hands together as if praying and spoke to the Soul Stream.

“Clouds, please gather here quickly. From now on, we have to rain on the dry land.”

The change was instantaneous.

The air seemed to tremble, and a tremendous wind began to blow around Scheherazade.

At the same time, rain clouds gathered.

She had rained countless times, but this was the first time there had been such a dramatic change.

All she did was get a little of the Mille-feuille Nabe that Magnus was eating.

But why…?

Magnus, who was about to fall into a deep sleep, squinted and muttered.

“…I didn’t know she would bring more rain than Control Weather. Is this the power of the human heart?”

Shouts mixed with screams of joy erupted from here and there as the sun suddenly disappeared.

“It’s a rain cloud! It looks like it’s finally going to rain!”

“Hahaha! Honey, come outside! It’s raining, it’s raining!”

“Thank you, Allah! Long live Mustafa III!”

Their shouts were vividly conveyed to Scheherazade’s ears. No one was shouting her name.

The rain that was falling now was thanks to the Ame-furashi of the rainmaker Scheherazade. But only a very small number of people knew that fact.

But it’s okay.

“My heart was conveyed to Magnus through Cainchel’s cooking. So someday…”

Ame-furashi is the origin and the embodiment of the heart of the person who wants rain.

It was realized by Scheherazade’s hand.

“…Rain, please come quickly. Not so much that everyone is satisfied. So that everyone’s hearts can be moistened…”

Then, with a pattering sound, raindrops began to fall.

“Kids, hurry up and bring out the jars! We need to collect as much water as possible because we don’t know when the rain will stop!”

But there was no need to do that. The rain continued to fall even after filling the jars.

It wasn’t a huge amount.

But the fact that it was raining all over the Ottoman Empire was important.

The drying land became moist. The completely dried-up oasis was refilled.

The sweet rain fell for about 6 hours until Scheherazade was completely exhausted.

It was Jasmine who caught her body as she collapsed.

“Scheherazade, are you okay!?”

“…I’m just a little tired. But I hope this has helped you all a little bit?”

Abdullah, who had already arrived there, clenched his fist.

“Of course! Now leave the rest to us and rest comfortably, Scheherazade!”

“Thank you, Abdullah. Then I’ll be going now…”

Scheherazade quietly closed her eyes.

She didn’t have the strength to move a single finger, but a small smile was already on her lips.

She decided to save even half of them. She constantly reminded herself that the sacrifices that came with it were inevitable. But a miracle happened and a way to save everyone was created.

How could she not be happy?

“…It’s all thanks to you. Cainchel van Ziss, who came from across the continent…”

Cainchel muttered as he watched the rain falling more than he had expected.

“With this amount of rain, Zoid’s workshop won’t be safe either. Shall we go hunt a drowning rat?”