Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 33

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Count Gregxia Leccaard was frustrated. The Mithril-class mercenary Siegfried’s tracking skills were remarkable. He would soon find a clue about Hwool.

However, if possible, he wanted to hear Prellia’s voice even a day sooner. It had been ten years since she had fallen into a deep sleep. It was such a long time.

“Beastly bastards······.”

Gregxia gnashed his teeth and began to tear up the letters on the table.

All wedding proposals sent by different nobles.

Prellia was the only daughter of Count Wellride, the owner of the Edelweiss Merchant Guild and possessor of immense wealth.

If one could marry her, all of that would be in their hands.

Was that why?

Nobles with bouquets visited the mansion every day.

Eventually, they even sent these wedding proposals.

They were filled with all sorts of flowery language praising Prellia’s appearance.

But to Gregxia, they all seemed like cursed insults.

Gregxia knew what others called Prellia.

“Idiot Prellia.”

Damn it, how dare they call my kind, beautiful, and pure daughter that way······.

In the end, Gregxia couldn’t stand it and burned the letters.

Then, he leaned back in his chair. He felt like he had aged ten years just from reading a few letters.

Knock knock.

“Count, it’s Brad.”

“······Come in.”

The old butler, opening the door to the study, bowed and said,

“May I give you an interim report on the search for the clown Hwool?”

“Hmm. It seems you haven’t found any major clues yet.”

“I apologize. First, we found the mercenaries who last saw Hwool.”

Gregxia stroked his chin and listened attentively to the old butler Brad’s report.

Surprisingly, the investigation was progressing quite well.

Hwool, surrounded by mercenaries hired by the Peddlers’ Alliance, escaped using incredible swordsmanship.

And every morning and evening, a carriage that appeared to be carrying Hwool was seen at the gate.

In addition, they were able to obtain some additional information.

“I didn’t know the clown Hwool was so good at swordsmanship. And the fact that he was seen at the gate every morning and evening means he lives somewhere other than this Citizen [referring to the city or district].”

“Yes. Zeke said the same thing. Currently, we are searching around Citizen, focusing on places that can be reached within half a day.”

“That would be the commercial district of Wellin and the industrial area of Crolltra.”

“Yes. But those two places are so vast······. We need a little more time and budget.”

The old butler Brad bowed his head.

There is nothing more difficult than asking a merchant for money.

But Gregxia in this place was not a merchant, but a father.

He would give up the entire Edelweiss Merchant Guild with a smile if it meant healing Prellia.

Gregxia handed over a pouch full of gold coins.

“This should be enough for this month.”

“T, too much.”

“Money is always needed. Damn it, I should have just given him 4 gold and made Hwool a member of the guild······.”

Gregxia had even been dreaming lately about Hwool appearing and offering to work for 4 gold a day.

Every time, he would break out in a cold sweat.

“Still, Zeke is really good at his job. But didn’t he tell you the story of finding Werther?”

“Yes. He was a very interesting fellow.”

Werther is the protagonist of a novel written by the young playwright Goethe [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a famous German writer].

The story is about a young man who loves his friend’s wife, Charlotte, and meets a tragic end.

Zeke, who was asked to find Werther in the story, solved it very simply.

First, he found a man named ‘Werther.’

Then, he hired a beautiful woman and had her use the name ‘Charlotte’ and approach him.

And very slowly, he made the two fall in love.

Then he appeared and claimed to be Charlotte’s husband.

In that way, Werther, who only had the same name as the protagonist in the novel, was left with a wound that he would carry for the rest of his life.

“It took a year to bring the Werther in the story to life. He should be able to find him sooner than that. Hwool is a real person, after all.”

“Yes, I will search diligently.”

Knock knock knock!

Someone was banging on the study door with tremendous force.

The managers of the mansion were all vassals who had served the Count for generations. There was only one reason to commit such rudeness.

“What is it?”

“C, Count. It’s, it’s Hwool!”

“Hmm. It seems Zeke has found some clues. I told him to report to Brad first.”

“Not that. Hwool himself!”

“What?”

Gregxia jumped up from his seat.

And without even noticing that his slippers had come off, he ran to the front gate of the mansion.

There stood a man in heavy clown makeup and baggy clothes.

“······Y, y, you!”

The clown Hwool whom the Count had been searching for so desperately.

He politely bowed his head and placed his hand on his waist.

His etiquette was so perfect that it even felt like a display of swordsmanship.

Hwool smiled and said,

“Perhaps you need an encore performance?”

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The Count pondered.

How much should he trust the clown in front of him?

He was running a guild. He had met countless people who approached him for money.

Wasn’t Hwool just like them?

Prellia was a hostage. He would have no choice but to give up the entire guild if asked.

Negotiation is like a card game. You have to hide the cards you have as much as possible and read what the other person has.

Gregxia narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth.

“Why did you suddenly come here?”

Keinchel, disguised as the clown Hwool, paused for a moment.

Then, he used Fallen Star to check the other person’s hostility.

Keinchel licked his lips.

Fortunately, there was no hostility towards him.

However, anger towards someone unknown was burning in the Count’s heart.

‘I have to be careful even with a single word so that anger doesn’t turn towards me.’

Whether this place will be a tiger’s den or a treasure ship depends on the negotiations from now on.

The other party is the owner of a huge guild.

A hasty lie could make the situation worse.

Keinchel decided to tell only the truth and opened his mouth.

“I was reminded of the sight of Lady Prellia smiling and saying that the honey butter sandwich I made was delicious. Aren’t clowns those who live by eating the smiles of their customers?”

Then Gregxia laughed heartily.

“Haha! Yes, Prellia is really pretty.”

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason he came here.

When Prellia ate the honey butter sandwich, an ‘Aura Sword’ was created.

However, the remaining two slots were still not filled.

If he made Prellia a sandwich again, could he find a clue?

Besides, being able to use the Aura Sword meant that he would soon gain the qualifications to become a knight.

‘It wouldn’t hurt to have a relationship with the Count. Especially if he has goodwill towards me.’

Gregxia stared at Keinchel for a while without saying anything.

His eyes were filled with deep sadness.

Gregxia was also thinking the same thing as Keinchel.

To get perfect cooperation, he had to show all the cards he had.

An act that a merchant should never do.

But Gregxia decided to act as a father.

“······My daughter is cursed with sloth.”

Keinchel’s eyes widened. He didn’t expect him to get straight to the point like this.

‘That means I’m that important.’

“You mean Belphegor’s curse [Belphegor is one of the seven princes of Hell, representing the sin of Sloth].”

“If you know, it’ll be a quick story. Yes, Prellia was cursed by the sloth demon king Belphegor ten years ago.”

Gregxia explained the situation at that time with a distant look.

Keinchel couldn’t say anything for a while after hearing the terrible story.

“······To curse his daughter as punishment for supporting the military······.”

“Since then, for ten years, I’ve done everything I can to break the curse of sloth. And the first time Prellia came to her senses······. Was when she ate the honey butter sandwich you made.”

“······.”

He had guessed to some extent, but the shock was great when he actually heard it.

‘Did the 5-star dish I made weaken the Seven Deadly Sins curse that was placed on the person who ate it?’

Although it was only a brief moment of lucidity that lasted less than a few minutes.

But it was something that even countless wizards and archbishops could not do.

A miracle created by a piece of sandwich.

“Did you know?”

“I didn’t know.”

“Yes, I didn’t think it made sense at first either. So after you disappeared, I got another sandwich. But why is it so popular? It was so hard to get.”

“I didn’t know it would be so popular either.”

“Anyway, I even called the Black Tower Master and the Archbishop of the Deus Church to investigate the sandwich. To see if there was any secret hidden in the seemingly ordinary sandwich.”

Keinchel swallowed.

“Surprisingly, this is what they found. They said it was a very well-made sandwich. They drooled, wanting to take a bite, so it was hard to get it back.”

The honey butter sandwich was a dish that contained everything Keinchel had.

As such, most of it was completed with 5 stars.

But it was just a well-made dish.

Why was there a power to break the curse in it?

“First, I will make the sandwich again. Can you prepare the ingredients?”

“Yes, Brad! Get anything Hwool asks for, even dragon eggs.”

“Yes, Count.”

In that way, preparations for making honey butter sandwiches began again, following the heat wave.

Brad was a skilled butler. He would get anything you ordered in an instant.

“Then I’ll make it.”

Then, a slit-eyed man waiting in the hallway entered the kitchen.

“Is this the famous honey butter sandwich? Can I watch?”

It was the Mithril-class mercenary Siegfried.

Gregxia was about to chase Zeke away, but paused for a moment.

He thought of a way to use that guy very usefully.

The old butler Brad conveyed Gregxia’s intentions instead.

“The Count has allowed you to watch. And he said he has something to say to you when the cooking is finished, so please stay.”

“Hoo! Are you going to give me one too? You’re the best, Count! You’re so cool!”

In that way, the Count, Brad, and Zeke watched Keinchel make honey butter sandwiches with shining eyes.

He skillfully kneaded the bread and grilled the meat at the same time.

The surprised Count exclaimed.

“What is it? It hasn’t even been a month since then, but the movements of cooking have become much smoother.”

Zeke was also surprised.

“Wow, what kind of magic do you use to make the bread rise so quickly? Heuk······. The smell of grilling meat is amazing too!”

Keinchel finally placed the finished sandwich on the grill and began to bake it.

Then the people watching swallowed.

First, he decided to make only one for Prellia to make it quickly.

Keinchel transferred the finished honey butter sandwich to a plate.

The Count’s eyes widened when he saw it.

“The finished sandwich looks much more delicious than before. The color of the bread that was baked one more time looks even artistic.”

“Thank you, Count.”

Keinchel smiled and bowed.

It seemed that the level of decoration had been created, which further increased the perfection of the dish.

“But why two? Isn’t Prellia going to taste it first?”

“It’s to see what kind of ability is in the sandwich I made. One was made with great care, and the other skipped some processes in the middle.”

“Hmm.”

They looked similar on the outside, but there was a crucial difference between the two sandwiches.

4 stars and 5 stars.

‘This will clearly show whether the curse was weakened by eating the honey butter sandwich, or whether the 5-star dish was the cause.’

“Then, may I ask you to taste this sandwich first?”

“If something becomes clear with this, I’ll do it as much as you want.”

“Thank you for not asking for the detailed reason.”

“I’ve met a clue to break the curse for the first time. I can even give you my liver.”

The Count brought the hand holding the 4-star honey butter sandwich to Prellia’s mouth.

Everyone held their breath as they watched Prellia’s lips open.

Prellia slowly began to eat the sandwich.

Nom······.

Prellia #3