Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 250

The soldier pinched his cheek, his face suggesting he might faint from shock.

“Ugh! It hurts! No way… Damn it! What did those Argonian barbarians do to get a dragon…!?”

“Get the captain of the guard—no, the mayor—right now!”

“A dragon attack! Damn it! We’re all dead!”

Having heard the news, Mayor Wilson arrived at the castle walls with surprising speed, almost as if he were rolling.

He could see the dragon leisurely circling in the sky.

“D, d, dragon, r, r, really a d, d, dragon…!?”

The captain of the guard, who had arrived a little earlier, gripped his halberd and asked,

“Mr. Mayor, what should we do? Should we get the archers ready?”

“Are you out of your mind? You couldn’t even handle a wyvern properly, and you’re going to fight a dragon?! One breath and the entire Citizen, defenses and all, will be turned to ashes!”

“…Th, then…”

“It’s a relief that it doesn’t seem hostile. I’ve heard that dragons rob wealthy cities of their treasures, but to be subjected to it in my lifetime…”

As Wilson muttered, the captain of the guard, who had been staring blankly at the dragon, nodded.

“At this distance, the Citizen is well within the dragon’s range. The fact that it’s not attacking must mean it has a purpose in coming here.”

“…I guess I don’t have to prepare my will.”

At that moment, the dragon began to descend slowly. It seemed to have been searching for a place to land.

Whoosh-!

A tremendous heat, as if facing a volcano, blasted outwards, and the shadow that had been blocking the view disappeared.

Then, the voice of someone Wilson knew well echoed.

“…Magnus-nim [respected title]. Weren’t you supposed to hide your appearance with magic? What are all those people gathered over there?”

“Ahaha, was I? I forgot because I came in such a hurry.”

“I, is that Duke Cainchel…!? Don’t tell me you came riding a dragon now?!”

Cainchel sighed and nodded. It seemed that cleaning up this mess would be quite a headache.

“Mayor Wilson, I’m sorry for the sudden visit. I should have sent a letter in advance, but you must have been very surprised.”

Wilson, who had been the mayor of a commercial city for over 10 years, quickly grasped the situation.

“Oh, no. I heard that you were dispatched to the Ottoman Empire, but are you back now?”

“Yes. I wanted to test something here first before going to Britannia.”

Wilson glanced sideways at the red-haired man yawning behind Cainchel.

He was a scruffy-looking man, but given the circumstances, he had to be the Red Dragon.

“I’m late with the introduction. This is Magnus-nim, the emergency food… no, the Red Dragon I met in the Ottoman Empire.”

“I, I see. Haha…”

The rumor that Cainchel had appeared riding a dragon would probably spread throughout the Britannia Empire in an instant.

“Then, could you please send a letter to Britannia that I have returned?”

“I understand. Scribe!”

Then, a man who had been as stiff as a statue startled and shouted,

“Yes, yes!”

He was like a herbivore in front of a beast.

Magnus, unable to watch any longer, smacked his lips and said,

“Don’t worry too much, pig. This dragon doesn’t bite or harm just anyone, even if they look plump and delicious.”

“Yes, yes!”

But it didn’t seem to get any better.

Cainchel watched the scribe rushing toward the city hall and asked Wilson,

“But Mr. Mayor, what happened to Citizen that the castle walls are all broken down?”

That was why he had been flying over the city with Magnus for a while.

The city was burning in places, as if there had been a siege.

Mayor Wilson sighed softly and told him about what had happened a few days ago.

“…There was an enemy raid a few days ago.”

“An enemy raid?”

“Yes. It’s still at the level of a local war, but if it continues like this, I’m afraid it will turn into a full-scale war.”

‘War… There were no signs of that when I left Britannia.’

Moreover, thanks to Cainchel’s efforts, Britannia had gained a strong ally in El Acard.

Who in their right mind would wage war on the strongest power in the north?

“I thought so too. But ta-da, there’s no such thing as absolute. And to think it would happen from across the vast ocean…”

“Are you talking about the United States of Argon in the New World [the Americas]?”

“That’s right. Dozens of green-skinned wyvern riders attacked, dropping large rocks. Fortunately, Tristan, the Sword Master of Loyalty, who had just returned from a mission, was able to drive them back…”

A rock dropped from a high altitude would have several times the firepower of a catapult used in a siege.

It was understandable that the Citizen’s proud and sturdy castle walls had been half-destroyed.

“…It’s fortunate that Citizen is far from the coast, so it ended like this, but the port city of Liverpool suffered almost complete annihilation.”

The New World.

It is the third continent discovered by the explorer Christopher [Columbus] a thousand years ago.

A remote area where many different races and monsters coexist.

However, a unique culture developed by the people who left in search of a new world, and it has come to this.

To get to the New World, you have to take a boat across the vast ocean.

Therefore, except for merchants seeking a fortune, there is little traffic.

But why would a warrior from the United States of Argon attack Britannia?

‘A green-skinned warrior… I can’t help but worry about it. There’s no way a goblin could have tamed the lawless wyverns of the sky, so what is it?’

The answer came from an unexpected place.

“If it’s a green-skinned warrior, it must be an orc.”

“An orc?”

“Also called Uruk, but orc is probably more familiar. Anyway, they are a very warlike race. After ten years from birth, they become powerful warriors. Moreover, they strengthen their bodies with magic using special drugs, and if a warrior is properly prepared for battle, three or four human knights will be torn to death without being able to do anything.”

“…”

“Maybe they would have become the ruler of the New World if the evil god Daimon hadn’t disappeared? Well, it’s just a meal for this dragon.”

Moreover, it was understandable that they were attacked without being able to do anything because they were attacking from the sky on wyverns.

“Mr. Mayor Wilson, then have they completely retreated?”

“I’m not sure about that…”

Originally, he was going to leave Pharaoh’s embalming fluid at the Magic Tower and head straight to Britannia.

Cainchel narrowed his eyes and looked at the people who were frantically repairing the castle walls.

They were working hard, sweating profusely, but it would probably take at least a month to complete all the work.

‘Citizen has the Magic Tower and even Gordon Lambolton staying there. This is a place that must never be captured.’

Mayor Wilson bowed to Magnus and rubbed his palms together feverishly.

“Magnus-nim, do you need any gold or jewels? We are quite wealthy, you see.”

“Sorry, but I already have a prior engagement for a guardian dragon contract.”

“Wh, where is it with…?”

“Near the Gistad Territory in northern Britannia. So, there’s no reason for this dragon to protect Citizen.”

“…I see. I understand.”

Besides, he doesn’t have the strength to do so. Magnus will not be able to return to his true form for a while.

Of course, he wasn’t stupid enough to reveal his weaknesses.

“Mr. Mayor Wilson, I’d like to borrow the central square for a while.”

“Yes? Ah, don’t tell me…”

“I can’t fix the castle walls directly, but I can make a dish that will increase the stamina of the workers.”

Besides, wouldn’t it be possible to test the embalming fluid at the same time?

* * *

“Oh my goodness… Duke Cainchel is cooking in the central square and giving it to the people working on the castle walls!”

“Is that true? I can’t miss this! Let’s go see it right now!”

“A dish made by a Sword Master…! Damn it, I want to eat it too! Ah, that’s right! Should I apply to be a worker repairing the castle walls from the afternoon? Then… Ehehe!”

The rumor that Cainchel was cooking for the workers spread throughout Citizen in an instant.

Men armed with vigor and appetite joined the repair work immediately.

This was a feat that Mayor Wilson had never imagined.

“Mr. Mayor, then please take care of the supply of ingredients. For stamina, beef stew with plenty of meat would be good. About a thousand people have to eat, so the amount needed is…”

“I’m sorry, but the logistics situation has not been good for the past few days due to the wyvern rider attack. You can find some scrap meat if you search the guilds.”

The weather is still hot as summer has not completely ended.

Raw meat spoils easily, so most of it is smoked and distributed as ham or bacon.

“Then… Ah, do you have lentils?”

“Of course! It will be piled up in the warehouse!”

Cainchel’s eyes lit up. And he asked for a large amount of bacon, potatoes, onions, carrots, sausages, and cabbage.

“Please wait a moment. I can eat Duke Cainchel’s cooking for free, so I’ll be back like the wind.”

“I didn’t say I’d do it for free? I’ll bill the city hall later.”

“Ah…”

Wilson let out a strange sigh and quickly gathered a huge amount of ingredients.

He just brought what he had prepared for the workers’ meals in the first place.

“But can you really make a stamina-boosting dish with these common ingredients?”

“Of course. That’s what’s so great about a chef.”

“As expected, Duke Cainchel’s cooking skills are really reliable. Ah, of course, so is your swordsmanship!”

Cainchel shrugged his shoulders and began to cook in earnest.

Then, a chef from the city hall appeared with a kitchen knife.

“Duke Cainchel, I came to help you prepare the ingredients. Please give me instructions without hesitation.”

“It’s okay. This is enough for me to do alone.”

“Yes? I, I misheard? You’re going to prepare this huge amount of ingredients alone?!”

The process of cooking all becomes Cainchel’s experience. He had no intention of passing it on to others.

“Then, onion swordsmanship…!”

As the skill was activated, the mithril kitchen knife multiplied into seven.

As it moved at a speed that didn’t even leave afterimages, the skin of the potatoes peeled off, revealing their white flesh.

The chefs who came to support from the city hall screamed.

“Is this real?! How can you prepare ingredients at that speed…!”

“At this rate, it will take two hours… no, it will be over in an hour?”

Even so, Cainchel had a dissatisfied expression as if something was lacking.

‘Seven is too slow. I can pull out one more if I push myself a little, but that consumes too much aura… I still have to master onion swordsmanship to the extreme.’

But now was the time to focus on cooking.

Cainchel first put the beans in a large amount of water to remove impurities. And while the beans were soaking, he finished preparing the other ingredients.

The dish he was going to make now was lentil bean stew, Erbsensuppe Eintopf [a hearty German lentil soup].

A healthy tonic made by simmering lentils, bacon, pork fat, sausage, potatoes, etc. like a stew.

It is a food that workers who have to do hard labor in Deutschland [Germany], which is now El Acard, enjoy eating.

‘Then, shall we apply an effect amplification to the beans?’

Eating lentils not only increases muscle mass but also speeds up recovery after high-intensity physical activity.

Literally the best stamina food!

A huge amount of aura poured out of Cainchel’s body and wrapped around the mountain of ingredients.

‘Hmm, very perfect and wonderful.’

Now was the time for the lard made from Gorgon fat to come out.

Put it in a large pot and melt it slightly, then start frying the bacon in it.

There are two scents in bacon.

One is the inherent scent of the meat, and the other is the scent of the wood used when smoking it.

Therefore, the taste of bacon varies depending on the material of the wood used.

In particular, the deep fragrance that comes from baking with apple wood is enough to make your mouth water just by smelling it.

“Kuh, isn’t this bacon made with apple wood…! The sweet wood scent is really amazing!”

“In particular, this scent is fat-soluble, so it stays in the bacon and comes out with the oil when grilling. So it leaves a deep flavor in the dish. It’s a little expensive, but it’s worth using apple wood.”

“But that alone doesn’t explain this deep and rich flavor?”

“I’ll just say it’s my own know-how.”

When the scent of bacon melts into the Gorgon oil and becomes stronger, start frying the carrots and onions.

Then the vegetables soak up the oil and become soft, which tastes really fantastic.

“And when the onions become transparent…!”

From now on, it was a race against time.

Cainchel put all the remaining ingredients into the pot and sprinkled a little sour apple cider vinegar. This will make the flavor of the bacon even stronger.

When it is well fried and the sourness is gone to some extent, pour water so that all the ingredients are submerged, and add a little dried vegetable powder.

‘Now, if you simmer it thoroughly so that all the oil from the vegetables and bacon is absorbed into the lentils, it’s complete.’

50 servings per pot. Repeat this twenty times.

Before Cainchel started boiling Erbsensuppe Eintopf in earnest, he took out the jar he had been carefully keeping.

‘Then, shall we test how well Pharaoh’s embalming fluid preserves the taste and aroma?’

When he sprinkled some of its contents on the boiling beans, something surprising happened.