Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 277

Thin arms and legs stretched out from the worn cloth. From head to toe, she appeared completely human.

However, her appearance was striking. Her light cobalt-colored hair was damp, giving it a lustrous sheen.

The face framed by her hair was not only beautiful but also held an air of mystery. She looked young, barely past fifteen, certainly not twenty. Yet, her deep blue eyes held a profound and somber depth, like the abyssal sea.

“…You’re Sednael Blackanis, right?”

Sednael grinned, briefly revealing her pristine white teeth.

“Yes, I’m a mermaid. Oh, and please look at my face when you talk to me. I sacrificed my hearing to get this.”

“Is it a kind of mimicry?”

“Similar. I still breathe through gills, so I always have to stay wet.”

Sednael stroked her hair, which was still dripping. Then, where her ears should have been, fins covered with delicate membranes appeared.

“…?!”

Some animals change their appearance to evade predators.

It seemed mermaids had developed such an ability to survive in the harsh seas.

However, Sednael’s aura was strangely reminiscent of the Elf Queen Eirene.

It seemed her claim of noble birth wasn’t just a joke.

Kainchel had many questions, but he decided to focus on finishing the dish.

“I need to put the meat in the oven, so could you move aside for a moment?”

“Eeeung…”

Sednael let out a soft moan, as if displeased.

She seemed to be trying to curry favor with Kainchel by emphasizing her unusual appearance.

However, Kainchel was far more interested in the dish before him.

“If you bake this in the oven for about an hour, the inside will be pink and very tender, and the outside will be crispy. Plus, the aroma of spinach and pine nuts will infuse it, making it incredibly delicious.”

If you cook the meat for too long, all the juices will evaporate, leaving it dry and tough. It’s a delicate balance to achieve.

Especially with sea serpent meat, which he had never cooked before.

However, after several attempts, Kainchel had found the ideal temperature and time.

‘It’s truly perfect.’

After putting the meat in the oven, it was time to prepare a side salad.

At that moment, Gawain, who had been fiercely shooing away the crew, approached.

“Oh, you’re even making a salad? I’m starting to wonder if we should be eating such a proper meal out here.”

He didn’t ask about Sednael, who had suddenly appeared.

It seemed he’d received a brief explanation of the situation when he took the elixir [a magical potion].

“For strong-flavored meat, a cucumber salad with plenty of refreshing yogurt is the best.”

Gawain muttered in admiration.

“I was wondering why you brought so much stuff we couldn’t even eat on the ship, but you foresaw all of this.”

He sprinkled plenty of yogurt and fresh mint leaves on the finely chopped cucumbers, then drizzled maple syrup over them.

When the sweet juice began to seep out, he grated lemon zest to add more freshness.

“If you mix this well, you’ll have a sweet and sour cucumber salad.”

“Wait a minute. I don’t think that’s the main issue right now? The smell coming from the oven is incredible! The scent of spinach with pine nuts is making the sea serpent meat even more irresistible…!”

He said it grandly, but simply put, he wanted to eat it quickly.

Sednael chimed in, not wanting to be left out.

“I want to eat it quickly too. Mermaids are fine with raw meat, so can’t we just eat it like that?”

They had only met a short time ago, but they already had great chemistry.

‘Well, one of them is a mermaid, to be exact.’

In the end, until the sea serpent roast with spinach and nuts was finished,

Kainchel had to endure Gawain and Sednael’s nagging.

* * *

“F, finally!”

Gawain stared at the dish on the table with teary eyes. He had endured this long voyage just to eat this.

The sea serpent meat had been tied with string before cooking, leaving a delicious grid pattern.

Slice, slice…

Even though he had only cut off one piece, he could tell it was packed with flavor.

The light brown meat looked crispy, and it gave off a rich, savory aroma even without sauce.

It must have been perfectly baked in the oven.

The bright green spinach and yogurt salad nestled beside it made his mouth water.

“Hmm… I’m sorry to the waiting crew, but I’ll eat first. Haha, if you’re upset, you should become a Sword Master too.”

Gawain didn’t even bother with a knife, picking up the sliced meat with his hands and shoving it into his mouth.

A vulgar way of eating that even a second-rate mercenary in the back alleys wouldn’t do.

However, no one was there to call him out.

“Ugh, ugh… This is, really…”

As he bit into the tender meat, he could taste the rich juices and savory oil spreading across his tongue.

Instantly, his mouth was filled with the taste of meat.

Gawain had eaten monster meat in the field several times. Most of it had a strong, gamey smell and a foul taste, so he had to force it down to survive.

But with Kainchel’s touch, it had transformed into a gourmet dish unlike anything he’d ever tasted.

The taste of spinach, with the faint spiciness of the herbs and the richness of the pine nut oil, was simply divine.

At the same time, the satisfaction of eating the monster that had tormented them for nearly a month spread through his body.

For the same reason, Sednael couldn’t bring herself to touch the meat for a moment. She just stared at it with red eyes, without a word.

The sea tyrant Serpent King, who had killed countless of her kind for decades. The fact that his end was this didn’t even bring her satisfaction.

Then, as if she had finally made up her mind, she grabbed a fork.

“Hmph, this is just food, after all. Enough to enjoy it. …Well, I’ll savor it.”

Sednael put the meat in her mouth and chewed. And she was shocked.

“…What, what is this? That tyrant became this moist and tender meat? I, it can’t be…”

It seemed she truly appreciated Kainchel’s cooking.

Gawain, who had already devoured all the meat, now eyed the yogurt salad.

“Okay, let’s try this now.”

He brought the cucumber, with its refreshing minty scent, to his mouth.

He tasted a sweet flavor with a subtle tang. It refreshed his palate, which had been coated with the richness of the meat.

The satisfying crunch as he chewed made him smile.

“Kuh, with just this, I feel like I can eat as much rich meat as I want.”

In the end, Gawain pulled a large chunk of meat towards him and began to eat again.

The crew members waiting for their turn looked disgruntled, but they couldn’t voice their complaints.

There was plenty of meat anyway. Even just the choicest cuts would take days to finish.

‘Then, what kind of effect does the sea serpent have…’

[The guest who ate the 6-star dish ‘Special Barbecue with Sea Serpent Characteristics’ is very satisfied.]

[The guests are temporarily in a Dragon Ascent state.]

‘…Dragon Ascent?’

Fortunately, there was a very suitable guest in front of him to test the effects.

Kainchel watched the changes in Gawain with an intrigued expression.

“Oh, s, suddenly I really want to swim? I feel like I could swim to Britannia right now!”

Gawain suddenly tore off his shirt and plunged into the sea. He began to cut through the water at an incredible speed.

“Uhoho, hehaha…!”

He soared into the sky, propelled by the water, living up to the name Dragon Ascent.

‘Roughly, stamina increases almost infinitely, and the speed of movement becomes incredibly fast.’

Unfortunately, the sea serpent meat had a slightly different effect than Gawain had hoped for.

‘Well, he looks happy, so that’s good.’

Kainchel smiled contentedly as he watched Gawain swim for an hour, effortlessly slicing through the waves.

* * *

The next day.

Captain Ahab and the crew of the Marronnier decided to return to Britannia with regret.

They were apologetic until the moment they departed.

“What are you going to do when you return, employer? We have plenty of food anyway, so we’ll wait.”

“Even if it’s safe now, you never know when another monster like the Sea Serpent will appear.”

“It’s okay. I was prepared to die from the moment I left Britannia.”

“I’m not okay. I’m not going back until I finish what I have to do, and I can’t have baggage.”

At the word baggage, Captain Ahab nodded with a convinced expression.

It might seem harsh, but it was also understandable. Captain Ahab was just a grumpy old man unless he was on the sea.

“If you need anything, send a letter anytime. Three weeks… no, I’ll come to pick you up in two weeks.”

“That’s very reliable.”

And so, Captain Ahab returned to Britannia.

In the end, only Kainchel, Gawain, and Sednael were left in the New World.

Gawain looked at Sednael with a dumbfounded expression and asked.

“Why isn’t the Lady Mermaid returning to the sea? The contract was clearly completed yesterday.”

He had been swimming all night, so he seemed strangely calm.

If it had been the old him, he would have called her Mademoiselle and promised to pluck the stars from the night sky for her.

Sednael shook her head with a sulky expression.

“Thanks to you, I was able to get rid of the Overlord who threatened my safety. It’s all thanks to you two. I can give you more elixirs if you want.”

Gawain inhaled sharply without realizing it. He had experienced the elixir himself, so he knew how valuable it was.

It was literally like carrying an extra life with him.

Kainchel, who noticed something odd in Sednael’s words, asked.

“But can you just make elixirs like that? Um, is it because they’re tears, so you just have to cry?”

“…H, how did you…?!”

Sednael looked at Kainchel with such surprise that she seemed about to faint.

It was a poorly kept secret that the elixir was derived from a mermaid’s bodily fluids. But only the mermaid knows exactly what that means.

But how did he find out about it?

Kainchel shrugged.

“Don’t ever gamble. You’re at the level where you’re wearing your thoughts on your face.”

The fact that the elixir was tears was something he learned because of his Gourmet skill [a skill that allows the user to understand the properties of food and ingredients].

But wouldn’t it have been obvious even if he had just asked?

Sednael, who had been flustered, sighed heavily and pursed her lips.

“Hoo… That’s right. The elixir is a mermaid’s tears. Of course, not all tears become elixirs just because you cry. Only tears shed from genuine sadness give you the power of absolute regeneration. It has to be about the death of a relative or a partner you’ve sworn to be with for life.”

Sednael possessed several elixirs. Kainchel could only imagine the depth of her sorrow.

“Anyway, thanks to your efforts, the Serpent King was safely eliminated. But there’s still the ‘Monster Road’ [a pathway that allows monsters to travel between dimensions] left. Surely a second and third Serpent King will appear. To prevent that, we have to get rid of the Monster Road.”

This time it was Kainchel’s turn to be surprised.

“…Wait a minute. How do you know about the existence of the Monster Road?”

“That? That person told me last night. That the Demon Duke’s client is the cause of everything.”

Kainchel glared at Gawain, who was whistling and pretending to be busy. It seemed he hadn’t just been swimming all night.

In the end, Gawain lowered his head.

“I, I’m sorry! I think I was possessed by something. I’ve been strangely excited since I ate the Sea Serpent dish yesterday. Euha, eu hahaha, eu hahahaha…”

In the end, for the safety of the mermaid clan, they had a common enemy called the Demon Duke.

Sednael got up from her seat and walked to Kainchel’s side.

“I’ll cooperate in the fight against the Demon Duke. Even though I look like this, I’ve lived in these waters for nearly half a century. I know more about the Argon Federation than most humans.”

Kainchel shook his head. He was grateful for Sednael’s offer, but it was too dangerous. She was a mermaid who created the peerless elixir, but she had no direct combat ability. How could she help fight the Demon Duke?

“Odin.”

Caw-

When he called his name, a crow flew from somewhere and landed on Kainchel’s shoulder.

“I can gather enough information through this guy.”

“Heung? A magical creature?”

He couldn’t directly name the demon Sitri. Kainchel had no choice but to invoke the name of the Dragon Lord, who was probably taking a lazy nap.

“Sir Magnus, the guardian dragon of Gistad Territory, lent it to me.”

“…You even know dragons. What the hell are you? But there are a few more things I can do besides gather information. Don’t regret it after you see it.”

“What can you do?”

Sednael gestured and stood Gawain up, who was sitting next to her.

Then, she took one of her scales and stuck it on Gawain’s forehead with a snap.

“Now, don’t be surprised and watch carefully. This is why the mermaid clan was able to survive against so many natural enemies.”

As Sednael closed her eyes and muttered something, something amazing happened to Gawain’s body.