Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 29

————– 29/203 ————–

10. Teaching of the Wild

Commercial City had undergone tremendous development in the past 10 years.

In the process, reckless expansion led to a maze-like network of back alleys.

Brad, the butler of Count Wellride, and Zeke, a Mithril-class mercenary, were searching those alleys for clues about Hool.

Zeke said with a refreshing smile.

“I really like this city. Thanks to these amazing back alleys, I can do whatever I want!”

“H-Heok! Y-You, you bastard! Do you know who I am! The mercenary guild leader cherishes me the most…!”

“Ah, that snot-nosed kid? I’m the one who taught him tracking, you little punk.”

Zeke took out a pocket watch from his pocket and shook it in front of the other mercenary’s eyes.

The fellow mercenary, recognizing what it was, widened his eyes.

“T-That’s Mithril…? N-No, why is a Mithril-class mercenary doing this to me…?”

These were people you had to pay the price of a castle to hire. A Mithril-class mercenary was a greater expert than anyone else in their specialty.

“Are you ready to answer my questions now? As expected, showing this makes you listen so obediently. Ah, if it weren’t for that stubborn old man, I could do whatever I want.”

“Ahem…”

Old Butler Brad cleared his throat. Zeke continued to interrogate the fellow mercenary.

“I heard you were the last one to see the clown Hool? Explain the situation in detail. If possible, with a plot twist that has a beginning, middle, and end. I really like that kind of stuff.”

“I-I’ll talk! I’ll talk, so please put that razor away!”

In the end, the fellow mercenary revealed everything he knew.

Zeke smiled with satisfaction.

“Very good. So, who commissioned you to kidnap Hool?”

“Y-You know I can’t answer that! If I expose the client, I’ll never be able to work as a mercenary again!”

“I clearly asked who it was, didn’t I?”

Zeke slowly narrowed his eyes.

A tremendous murderous aura, enough to feel a chill, enveloped the fellow mercenary.

“…The Street Vendor Alliance…”

“Very well done. Now, shall we finish this?”

Zeke licked his lips and brought the razor he was holding to the fellow mercenary’s neck. Then he gently cut it.

“T-This is a promise! …Ugh, ugh…”

In the end, the fellow mercenary foamed at the mouth and fainted. Zeke clicked his tongue.

“Your beard is too dirty. I was just going to trim it up for you.”

Swish, swish.

As the hand holding the razor moved, the fellow mercenary’s shaggy beard began to disappear little by little.

Zeke looked at the fellow mercenary, who had become clean-shaven in an instant, and wore a satisfied expression.

Old Butler Brad asked.

“Is it alright not to kill him?”

“Wow! The old man is saying something scary?”

“If the rumor spreads that a Mithril-class mercenary is looking for Hool, it will be revealed that Count Wellride is behind it. The dead tell no tales.”

Zeke smiled brightly and licked the razor he was holding.

“Don’t worry. This razor is a magic tool: the Memorial Cutter. By cutting someone’s hair, you can erase the memories of how long it took for that hair to grow.”

“My goodness… such a magic tool…”

“With that much beard, he must have grown it for at least two months. He’ll have completely forgotten about meeting Hool.”

“Indeed, you carry amazing tools befitting an expert in interrogation and tracking.”

“Kikik. There’s no one I haven’t found so far. Ah, do you know the novel ‘The Sorrows of Young Werther’?”

“Isn’t that a novel by Goethe [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a famous German writer]? It’s a huge bestseller and very popular among young people these days.”

“Recently, I received a request to find Werther, the protagonist of that novel. I got paid, so I have to do the job.”

“…Surely you’re not going to find Goethe himself…? No, Goethe is still writing diligently. Then how on earth did you complete that request?”

“That’s…”

Brad’s back became damp after hearing Zeke’s story.

He had heard rumors that there were many strange Mithril-class mercenaries.

And after meeting one in person, he realized that the one in front of him was indeed strange.

No, he was even worse.

He was refreshingly insane.

Butler Brad cleared his throat a few times and asked.

“But what if Hool removes his clown makeup and hides deep somewhere? How do you plan to find him?”

“Do you think a man with such great cooking skills can just hide without doing anything? He must be cooking somewhere. Don’t worry. I’ll find him within half a year. Let’s leave waking up the princess to the prince, and we’ll just be satisfied with being hunters.”

Mithril-class mercenary Ziegfried smiled really refreshingly.

@

“It’s not difficult to grant your request. Are you sure it’s okay?”

“Of course. Abel also said he wanted to try more of my cooking.”

“That’s true, but… Hmm.”

Abel crossed his arms and pondered for a moment.

However, he nodded as if he had already made up his mind to some extent.

“Alright. I’ll tell Cain that.”

“…Thank you, Abel.”

Kainchel grabbed Abel’s hand and shook it vigorously. With this, all preparations to learn cooking from Gordon were complete.

“Ahem!”

Abel cleared his throat a few times and returned to the dormitory to send a messenger pigeon.

It was a perfect plan, even after thinking about it again.

The Stanis Knight Academy held a very special training session twice a year.

They invited the heads of prestigious families to listen to their heroic tales, watch sword demonstrations, or have light sparring matches.

This time, Kundam’s father and Abel’s brother were invited.

The invited guests had dinner with their families at the academy. The principle was to make whatever they wanted, if possible.

‘Abel will order the dish I made there. Then I can at least get a chance to have Gordon Lambolt evaluate my cooking.’

Recently, Gordon had stopped drinking during work hours like he used to. And he had been going to the kitchen more often.

It seemed as if he had regained his lost passion for cooking.

‘I don’t know why he changed, but at least he won’t ignore the customer’s request.’

An order that specified the maker, not the menu.

How would Gordon react to that?

Kainchel quietly waited for the right moment.

And a few days later.

He was peeling onions when Gordon called for him.

When he went to the kitchen, Gordon was lost in thought with his eyes closed.

The deep wrinkles on his forehead showed that he had not yet made a decision.

“Chef Gordon, it’s Kainchel.”

“You’ve come. I heard that a guest who is being invited here wants to eat the dish you made. Do you have any idea why?”

Kainchel answered with a clueless face.

“I made butter potatoes at the last training session, and I think he liked them. He ate them very deliciously.”

“Butter potatoes?”

“Yes.”

Gordon opened his closed eyes and looked at Kainchel’s face.

It felt like he was evaluating something.

“The chef must try to fulfill the customer’s request as much as possible. But I’ll have to test whether the food you make is suitable for that occasion. Make the best dish you can make by this evening.”

“Yes, Chef.”

Kainchel wore a triumphant smile.

In fact, the important thing was not making a dish for the guest.

It was about getting Gordon to evaluate his cooking in the process.

‘It’s going according to plan. With this, I can find out what’s lacking in my cooking.’

To do that, he had to make the best dish he could make by this evening first.

@

First, he baked the bread using dough inflated with the Fist of Fire [a magical technique].

When the bread was finished, the results were displayed in the Jo Ma Kyung [a magical item that evaluates cooking].

A bright smile appeared on Kainchel’s face when he saw it.

‘Good! 4 stars from the start!’

Next was the main menu.

He decided to use something that could utilize the demi-glace sauce he had made a few days ago.

Boeuf Bourguignon [a classic French beef stew].

A dish made by simmering beef chuck with red wine, bacon, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, tomatoes, carrots, celery, onions, and butter over low heat.

Just before the dish was finished, he added a little demi-glace sauce to add depth to the flavor.

Temperature control was important for this dish, but Kainchel had the Fallen Star [a magical artifact that aids in cooking].

In addition, he made baked fish with butter, spinach salad, and consommé soup with carrots and bacon.

For dessert, he prepared soufflé [a light, baked cake made of eggs].

As expected of a dish made with soul, everything was 4 stars.

Kainchel smiled as he looked at the finished dishes.

This was the best dish he could make right now.

He even thought about including the honey butter sandwich, which was the only dish he could definitely make with 5 stars.

‘…Let’s not. Honey butter sandwiches are made by Hool, not me.’

The course meal that was created in this way awaited Gordon Lambolt’s evaluation.

Gordon came to the kitchen at the exact time, neither late nor early.

“Is this the best you can do?”

“Yes, Chef.”

“What is this dish?”

“It’s consommé soup with carrots and bacon.”

Gordon lifted the bowl containing the soup and smelled it. Then he ate a very small amount and said.

“How did you prepare the beef that went into it?”

“First, I removed the fat and minced it to make the broth as clear as possible.”

“Hmm… Why didn’t you use butter when frying the onions?”

“It’s a dish to be eaten before the Boeuf Bourguignon. I didn’t think too strong of a flavor would be good.”

Gordon Lambolt narrowed his eyes and evaluated the remaining menus in the same way.

“You used to make childish dishes until recently. Now you can make quite decent dishes.”

“…”

Extreme praise that was hard to believe came from Gordon’s mouth.

It felt like his swordsmanship had been recognized by a Sword Master.

But Gordon’s evaluation was not over yet.

“Kainchel Ban Jistard.”

“Yes, Chef.”

Gordon crossed his arms and widened his eyes.

His face had a strange sense of intimidation.

“What you made is definitely a decent dish. But I clearly told you to make a *dish*. What on earth are those *things* that can’t be called dishes?”

Kainchel swallowed.

He clearly said it was a well-made dish, didn’t he?

Besides, most of the evaluations that came out of Gordon’s mouth were compliments.

But he said that what he made couldn’t be called a dish?

“You have a clueless look on your face. How long have you been cooking?”

“…It’s been 3 months.”

“Then you probably haven’t learned the difference between cooking and cuisine yet. There is one very important thing missing to make a bowl of cuisine.”

Gordon came up to Kainchel and grabbed his shoulder.

“The guest will visit in two weeks! Until then, I will teach you how to complete a bowl of cuisine.”

“…!”

Kainchel’s hands trembled. It was the words he wanted to hear more than anything.

“However, you will have to go through very difficult training for that. Is that okay? It will definitely be several times harder than when you learned how to grill steak. If you are prepared to take on that challenge, accept my offer. You can refuse if you don’t want to. You’re just a kitchen assistant, so I can just apologize to the guest and cook myself.”

Kainchel answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“I’ll do it, Chef Gordon.”

Then Gordon grinned.

It seemed like he had been waiting for that answer.

“Then, for the remaining three days until the weekend, don’t eat anything but a loaf of bread and cabbage soup a day.”

“…So you mean to empty my stomach as much as possible?”

“That’s right. That is also necessary to complete a bowl of cuisine.”

Kainchel quietly nodded.

Surely, there must be something connected to intermediate swordsmanship in the ‘bowl of cuisine’ that Gordon is talking about.

He had a hunch that was like a conviction.

‘But what on earth is it that he’s telling me to starve for three days?’

Teaching of the Wild #2