Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 276

When Cainchel trailed off, as if he knew something, Sedaniel calmly agreed.

― Yes, I am a Mermaid.

‘I knew it.’

Mermaids were one of the ancient races believed to be completely extinct.

The reason for their decline was simple: their bodily fluids contained the Elixir [a substance with potent healing properties].

Knowing this, ancient races waged wars to enslave the Mermaid clan and claim the Elixir for themselves by any means necessary.

The elixir, which could cure all diseases and even revive the dead, was considered well worth the cost.

But to think that a Mermaid was hiding and living in a place like this.

‘Wait… then the Sea Serpent’s incredible regenerative ability….’

Sedaniel’s previously lively voice suddenly quieted.

It seemed Cainchel’s reasoning was correct.

However, as if finally making up her mind, Sedaniel continued in a trembling voice.

― …Until a hundred years ago, there were nearly thirty of us, but now there are less than ten left. All of them were eaten by the Serpent King….

Cainchel nodded at the mention of the Serpent King. The creature certainly didn’t seem like an ordinary Sea Serpent.

According to Bishop, Mermaids have almost no means to protect themselves.

If they remain still, they will be eaten by the Serpent King.

However, entrusting themselves to other races would greatly increase the risk of their Elixir’s existence being revealed.

Either way, it was the worst possible situation for the Mermaids.

But now, a very suitable trading partner had appeared before them.

‘So, you want the Sea Serpent exterminated.’

― Yes. And to honor the spirits of my dead kin, I want the King’s corpse.

‘Sorry, but that’s going to be difficult. Providing the Elixir is enough of a price for extermination. I can’t just give away such valuable food.’

― Food? You wouldn’t eat the Serpent King….

‘You’re probably imagining the right thing.’

― …Maybe that would be the best revenge. Instead, could you share some with us when the dish is complete?

‘Sure.’

The negotiation with Sedaniel continued for about 0.1 seconds after that.

In the end, in exchange for some unusable skin and the finished dish, they agreed to help with activities in the New World from underwater.

Of course, the Mermaid clan also gets rid of the Sea Serpent, which is a thorn in their side, so it’s not a deal where they only lose.

Having successfully bargained with Sedaniel, Cainchel looked at the mass of light floating in front of him.

‘Then shall I eat the Elixir? Bon appétit, Sedaniel.’

― But stop talking down to me. I am a King… no, a very noble person!

As soon as he thought about eating the Elixir, it was sucked into Cainchel’s mouth.

Even though time was nearly a thousand times faster, a sweet and fragrant coolness spread throughout his mouth.

And it melted and passed down his throat.

Gulp….

[You have tasted ‘Mermaid’s Tears.’ Your Gourmet skill is very high.]

[You have additionally acquired the essence of the Mermaid. Limited skill ‘Regeneration Amplification’ is now available.]

‘…Regeneration Amplification? What is this?’

Before releasing mental acceleration, Cainchel opened his status window to check what the newly acquired skill was.

Then he found out that it was a skill that heals injuries and instantly fills stamina and aura beyond the limit.

It had almost the same ability as the Elixir. And it can be used up to 5 times.

It seems that due to the influence of the Gourmet skill, he can divide and use the Elixir’s energy.

‘With just this, I won’t die even if I have a hole in my heart? This is awesome!’

It was like having an extra life.

Cainchel smiled contentedly and asked Sedaniel to release the mental acceleration.

Then, time, which had felt like it had stopped, began to flow again.

“Then, shall we enter the second round? Of course, it will be a little different from before.”

Cainchel activated three more layers of Aglio Olio, looking at the stream of Aqua Pump water trying to engulf him.

* * *

Kiiiiik-!

The Aqua Pump spewed from the Sea Serpent’s mouth was about to smash everything in its path.

However, it broke through five aura walls that appeared in front of Cainchel, then lost its momentum and subsided.

‘Wow… five layers were enough?’

The sailors, who had been prepared to die from the Sea Serpent’s attack aimed at Lake Marronier, cheered.

“What? How is he still alive…?”

“…Z, Zistard-gong blocked the Sea Serpent’s attack!”

“Oh, my god… Deus be with us… [Latin for “God be with us”]”

Cainchel kicked off the ship and flew into the sky. Now that he knew the secret of the opponent’s regeneration, blocking it was simple.

‘He must have dissolved the Mermaid’s essence, which he had been holding in his body, using seawater as a medium. If so….’

Thanks to the Elixir’s effect, not only his aura but also his depleted stamina had been completely restored.

Cainchel held Durandal and Fragarach in both hands and activated Fish and Chips.

“Go, spirit swords…!”

The seven Fragarachs, which had increased in number, were fired at an invisible speed.

In a fleeting moment that didn’t even last a second, dozens of sword strikes struck the Sea Serpent’s entire body.

It was literally the beginning of a storm of swords.

The Sea Serpent’s tough defense began to crumble little by little due to the continuous strikes that continued at a speed that even blurred the afterimages.

“Kk, Kkiaaaaaak…!”

If I keep getting hit like this, I’ll die!

Feeling the crisis, the Sea Serpent raised its body to jump into the sea. Of course, Cainchel wasn’t going to miss that.

“Where are you going! Then it’s Lasagna…!”

The specially made large noodle wrapped around the Sea Serpent’s head. With its mouth blocked, it becomes impossible to regenerate the body as well as use its strongest attack, Aqua Pump.

Above it, Cainchel unleashed a tremendous series of attacks.

Cut, cut, and cut again.

A tremendous amount of blood gushed out of the Sea Serpent’s body. The entire sea was dyed green in an instant.

Cainchel could only maintain Fish and Chips for about 30 seconds.

And those 30 seconds became like hell for the Sea Serpent.

However, as expected of a monster called the Serpent King, it showed no signs of falling easily.

Koo-oong-!

“Hahaha! This body has arrived!”

Gawain, who had somehow been resurrected, appeared with a hearty laugh.

It seemed that Sedaniel had fed him the Elixir while Cainchel was fighting the Sea Serpent.

Gawain smiled brightly at Cainchel, showing his teeth, and raised his thumb.

“I don’t know what kind of magic you cast, but my body is burning red! Once again, the 9th Form, Overturning the Heavens and Earth… Oh well, I’ll go with Gale Lightning Trust as well!”

Gawain, whose entire body felt as light as if he could fly away, activated another ultimate skill.

Then, a tremendous amount of aura began to pour out of Gawain’s body.

It looked as if he was surrounded by clouds because of the layers of tangled aura.

Koo-roo-roong! Koong! Koo-wuh-uh-oong!

A tremendous explosion began to echo as if lightning had struck right next to him.

Striking down from above, slashing from the side. The ultimate power that had split the Sea Serpent’s body with a single blow continues endlessly.

“Kkieeeeeeeeeek…!”

It was an attack made possible by temporarily gaining nearly infinite aura due to the Elixir.

In the end, the Sea Serpent’s massive body, which seemed like it would never collapse, fell onto the sea.

The Marronier was shaken as if it would capsize due to the impact, but Captain Ahab was competent.

“Be careful of collision on the port side! Full speed ahead!”

And with very quick and accurate command, he turned the ship and easily escaped the range of the tsunami.

“…”

Captain Ahab continued to stare at the Sea Serpent, which had turned into a lump of meat, as if to engrave the tyrant’s end in his eyes, who had sunk countless ships and driven dozens of times more sailors to their deaths.

“W, we won!”

“Woo-ooo!”

“We won! We survived!”

“Damn it! Hooray! Glory to Britannia!”

And a tremendous cheer that was deafening began to echo.

Unlike the sailors who were enjoying the joy of victory, Gawain was excited in a different sense.

“Hehehe. I heard that sea snake meat is so good for men, so this big sea snake must be amazing, right?”

Cainchel shrugged his shoulders and replied.

“Hyung [Korean honorific for older brother or male friend], but your one arm is dislocated and dangling, are you okay?”

“E, eek…! What is this!?”

Even though he had gained tremendous regenerative ability due to the Elixir, it was too much to use two ultimate skills at the same time.

Gawain, who had been flustered for a while, suddenly smiled and put his hand on Cainchel’s shoulder.

“This is nothing. If I spit on it, it will be healed by tomorrow. More than that, what kind of dish are you thinking of making from now on? …No. Don’t tell me. It’s not fun if I know in advance.”

“A dish.”

Even though it ended in a great victory, there were several people among the Marronier’s crew who had suffered serious injuries.

Besides, he had already promised Sedaniel anyway.

“Then I’ll make you the most delicious one.”

“Really? Hooray!”

It seemed that Gawain was genuinely happy to be able to eat ‘sea snake’ dishes.

* * *

Cainchel first skillfully chopped off the Sea Serpent’s sirloin using a mithril knife.

Because it was such a large monster, there was a tremendous amount of even just the best parts.

What kind of dish should I make with this?

Cainchel’s movements, which were habitually trying to use the Brilliant Rod, suddenly stopped.

Believing in the Gourmet skill that had reached 7 stars, he decided to think of the most suitable recipe himself.

Cainchel cut the Sea Serpent meat into small pieces, put it in his mouth, and chewed.

‘Hmm. Sea snake basically tastes similar to duck meat. Moreover, it has less fat and a very strong flavor. If only I could get rid of the incredibly fishy and unpleasant feeling….’

More than a dozen recipes came to Cainchel’s mind and disappeared.

However, in the end, he was able to put together the scattered pieces of the puzzle into one.

‘…That’s it, spinach. Roll the meat and put various ingredients in between….’

If the recipe was decided, there was no reason to hesitate.

Cainchel first finely chopped the onions and began to stir-fry them with garlic in olive oil.

Then, sprinkle salt and pepper lightly to season.

This way, when the meat is grilled, the seasoned juice seeps into the meat, creating an unbelievable flavor.

Cainchel explained the dish he was making to Gawain, who was shining his eyes like a child.

“When the well-stir-fried onions turn brown, I’ll sprinkle a lot of pine nuts. Then the texture will be very good. And if you put spinach in until the pot is full and stir-fry it… well, the aroma is really amazing, right?”

“Ugh, how can such a fragrant smell that makes my brain tingle come from cooked spinach? I haven’t even grilled the meat yet, but my stomach is starting to growl!”

“And from now on, I’m going to put the spinach and pine nuts that have started to wilt together. Eggs or breadcrumbs are good too… but this time I’m going to use feta cheese.”

“Kuh, it’s really amazing….”

Feta cheese has a strong and creamy taste. If stir-fried well with spinach, it will eliminate most of the unpleasant smell of Sea Serpent meat.

“Then it’s time for the well-prepared Sea Serpent meat to appear.”

“Oh, oh! That’s what I’ve been waiting for!”

First, the large sirloin, big enough to come out of Aegis, must be seasoned.

Cainchel split the meat in half and sprinkled plenty of salt. And pepper very lightly.

And then put 4~5 kinds of fillings in here, roll it up, and bake it in the oven.

Cainchel began to apply the spices he had chosen to make the Sea Serpent’s strong meat aroma even better.

“What is that powder? It’s very red?”

“It’s lacquer powder [a spice with a slightly lemon-like flavor, often used in jerky]. It goes well with meat with a strong meat aroma, so it’s mainly used when making jerky.”

If you apply lacquer powder in advance like this, a rich and abundant juice will flow out of the meat.

Now it was time to put the spinach, which had thickened in the pot, between the meat.

After filling it to the brim, be careful not to let the contents escape and roll it up with the skin facing up.

“And if you tie it well with string so that the shape doesn’t get ruined while baking, you’re ready to bake.”

“Haa… I really like the moment before completion.”

“Oh, right, I’m going to season it one more time at the end to make the meat smell even better.”

Before putting it in the oven, grill only the outer part on a pan with olive oil.

Then the oil surrounding the Sea Serpent meat melts and soaks into the ingredients inside.

Cheeeee-!

Gawain, who was watching from the side, couldn’t stand it and trembled.

“Umm, the smell is real… Damn it. I should drink a glass of water.”

When the color of the meat turns brown, it was finally time for the oven to appear.

But a girl he had never seen before was standing next to the oven.

“Is that really Serpent King’s meat? How can you make monster meat smell so appetizing when you cook it? I can’t believe it.”

Although the tone was a little different, it was the voice of Sedaniel Blackanis, a mermaid.

Cainchel’s eyes widened.

Not only himself but also Gawain and the Marronier’s crew were gathered here.

Exposing the mermaid’s appearance was something that should never be done.

But what on earth was she thinking coming here?

Cainchel approached Sedaniel to say something. But what was there was not a mermaid.