Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 4

————– 4/203 ————–

Don’t Disregard Me Just Because I Cook

The mess hall was a short distance from the dormitory, across the parade ground.

It was a time before sunrise, but Cainchel was used to it.

He had been waking up earlier than anyone else to train his body, hoping to raise his stats even a little.

However, Cainchel’s level remained at 1.

Three years had passed with such unrewarding days.

The only thing he had become accustomed to was the Joma Mirror hanging around his neck.

The day he first received it was still vivid in his mind: to be able to see his level and stats.

Moreover, they would increase if he trained hard.

But for Cainchel, who had no talent or money, it was nothing more than a cheap ornament.

But not anymore.

Now that he had found a way to raise his stats, the situation was different.

No, he would make it different.

With that, Cainchel looked at the Joma Mirror and steeled his resolve.

“But the magic power is running out soon.”

The Joma Mirror could be used for up to 3 days on a single charge. After that, he wouldn’t know how much his stats had increased until the next update.

Of course, this was not a problem for wealthy nobles.

They could just hire a personal sorcerer and take them around. For reference, their daily wage was more than Cainchel’s monthly living expenses.

“…Is today the last day I can use the Joma Mirror?”

Cainchel licked his lips. He was disappointed.

To not be able to check the stats that had just started to rise for a month.

Moreover, an item of unknown origin had appeared on the Joma Mirror.

[Gourmet : ★]

“It must mean the ability to enjoy eating something delicious? I’m sure Gordon Chef had a high gourmet level.”

Just in case, he tried the fish and chips that came out for dinner yesterday.

However, no change occurred in the Joma Mirror.

In the end, he had not been able to figure out what the gourmet level meant until today.

“It’s hard to figure out what kind of ability it is without the help of the Joma Mirror.”

Today was the limit for that.

From now on, Cainchel would go to the place where the Joma Mirror evaluated someone as having a high gourmet level.

Hoping to find even a small clue.

Thinking that, he arrived at the mess hall before he knew it.

@

“Don’t disregard me just because I cook.”

That was what Joffrey had said to Cainchel when they first met.

Then, Ainkel, a fellow chef, was taken aback.

“J-Joffrey, Mr. H-He’s a noble… T-To speak like that…”

Joffrey, skinny and neurotic.

Ainkel, plump and stuttering.

Both were chefs from commoner backgrounds working in the mess hall, but they exuded completely different vibes.

“What? You don’t have to be so intimidated either. He’s just a fallen noble without a proper title anyway, no different from a commoner. Besides, I heard he’s been stuck in the rookie class for 3 years. He must be too embarrassed to stay in the dormitory, so he ran away to the mess hall.”

“B-But… M-Mr. Joffrey… Y-Your words…”

“He probably thinks he can just serve food. I wonder if he even knows how to peel an onion.”

Joffrey was spewing harsh words as if he had some kind of grudge against nobles.

But this level of abuse was nothing to Cainchel.

Cainchel nodded and replied.

“I went to the library and read a few cookbooks before coming to support the mess hall. They had quite a variety. I’ve never actually done it, but I’ll give it a try.”

“Ah, you must have seen Gordon Lambton’s collection. Then there’s nothing to worry about. Come on, follow me, noble sir.”

He thought it was strange that there were so many cookbooks, but it seemed they were Gordon Lambton’s personal collection.

Joffrey grinned and took Cainchel to the food storage.

“Today’s breakfast menu is onion soup. There’s quite a bit, but this much is nothing for a great noble like you, right?”

There were five sacks full of onions.

It was too much for one person to handle.

Cainchel seemed to know what Joffrey wanted.

To make him quit mess hall support by giving him a lot of work.

Moreover, it seemed like they could make 500 servings of soup with the onions here. He must have brought all the extra onions they had.

‘I welcome this kind of bullying.’

Cainchel maintained a blank expression on the outside, but he was holding back laughter inside.

The enormous amount of onions in front of him all looked like experience points.

He wondered how much his swordsmanship level would rise if he handled them all.

“Should I dice them all since they’re for soup?”

Joffrey was taken aback when Cainchel showed enthusiasm instead of being intimidated by the enormous workload.

“K-Khum. Do as you please.”

Left alone with 500 servings of onions, Cainchel picked up a kitchen knife.

The kind-hearted Ainkel peeked into the food storage.

“N-Noble sir, if it’s too hard for you alone, I can…”

“It’s okay. And just call me Cainchel.”

“A-Alright…”

Cainchel recalled how to dice onions from the book.

Was it because of the level 3 cooking skill?

His body began to move on its own, even though he had only seen it once in a book.

The important thing was to leave the hairy root part intact.

If that part was cut off, it would lose its center and the shape would not be pretty.

First, use three fingers and place them as close to the root as possible.

Then, lift the kitchen knife and start slicing the onion lengthwise.

‘It’s easy if you use the weight of the kitchen knife.’

After putting the cut onions back together, start cutting diagonally this time. It’s easy to repeat pushing the blade sideways.

Then, turn the onion sideways and slice down from the top again, and the onion is finely chopped, leaving only the root part without waste.

Swish, swish, swish-

Chop, chop, chop-

The mountain of onions began to decrease at an incredible rate.

How much time had passed?

Joffrey came into the storage, perhaps to check on the progress.

“You shouldn’t make the onions rags because it’s annoying… H-Huh!”

Joffrey’s eyes widened for a moment. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Only about an hour had passed since he had assigned the work.

But the number of onions left was 3…

No, 2…?

Cainchel, who had finished dicing the last onion, got up from his seat, dusting off the dirt on his butt.

“I’m done, Chef Joffrey.”

“K-Khum… K-Khum…”

Joffrey only coughed, perhaps embarrassed.

Then Cainchel delivered the final blow.

“Is there any more onion to dice? I have time left, so I think I can do one or two more sacks.”

“……”

In the end, Joffrey’s face turned white.

This was a first. Usually, when a soldier who came to support the mess hall was asked to dice onions, they would run away crying.

It was a difficult task to do quickly unless you were familiar with handling a kitchen knife.

Of course, he thought the same would be true for the inferior noble in front of him.

Then a gruff man’s voice was heard.

It was Gordon, the chief of the mess hall.

“Chef Joffrey, what are you doing there now?”

“C-Chief…!”

“What are these onions? Did you order them?”

“T-That’s.”

“There’s definitely not that much needed for today’s menu, onion soup.”

In the end, Joffrey bowed his head.

“I-I’m sorry. I’ll take all the responsibility.”

Gordon slammed his fist on the door and shouted.

“How are you going to take responsibility! Are you going to bring a priest and cast a recovery spell! Or are you going to throw away the leftover onions after using them for cooking! You crazy bastard! What the hell are you doing in the kitchen!”

“……”

Gordon hurled all sorts of insults at Joffrey for several minutes, the likes of which Cainchel had never heard before.

Cainchel, who was watching, felt sorry for him.

Gordon found Cainchel wiping the kitchen knife and asked.

“Did you handle all of this?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm. I guess you can’t believe the rumors.”

Gordon also seemed to have heard about the inferior student Cainchel.

But he was the type to judge for himself rather than believe the rumors.

“You’re good enough.”

Joffrey protested when Gordon liked Cainchel.

“Chief… You’re not going to use a noble for mess hall support…”

“You idiot! What’s the difference between a noble and a commoner in the kitchen! Do you think it’s easy just because we cook?”

Joffrey, who was attacked with the same words he had said, couldn’t say anything in the end.

And in the end, the remaining onions became hamburger steaks through Chef Gordon’s hands.

@

Cainchel, who had finished serving the meals, was eating a slightly late breakfast.

“Gordon Lambton, he’s amazing…”

Passion for cooking, pride in the kitchen, and even cooking skills. He was undoubtedly the best chef in every way. But why doesn’t he work properly when he’s drunk?

“Let’s try this first.”

In front of Cainchel was a grilled hamburger steak.

It was a menu that Gordon had hastily made to dispose of the minced onions that had been made too much.

Ainkel said that it was rare for Gordon to cook.

“I wonder what Chef Gordon’s cooking tastes like…”

When he cut the steak with a knife, thick gravy flowed out. How could he do this with minced meat?

The rich, meaty aroma unique to grilled meat made Cainchel’s mouth water.

It was a dish that didn’t even have sauce, just minced onions and a few spices.

“Here goes…”

When he cut it into small pieces and put it in his mouth, he exclaimed without realizing it.

“…What, is this a hamburger steak?”

The meat was unbelievably tender. The moment he put it in his mouth, the rich gravy mixed with onions spread throughout his mouth.

“… !”

Only then did Cainchel realize why Gordon didn’t put on the sauce.

There was no need to put it on. There were two kinds of onions in here: raw minced onions and onions fried with butter.

The pungent taste of raw onions and the sweet taste of grilled onions were amplifying the original taste of the meat several times over.

“The meat… it’s beef!”

The original taste of beef and onions was felt so vividly.

“I can eat as much of this food as I want!”

This was a hamburger steak that brought the taste of beef and onions to the extreme.

Compared to Chef Gordon’s cooking, the hamburger steaks Cainchel had eaten so far were like baked mud.

For some reason, hamburger steaks were only given to chefs and soldiers who came to support the mess hall.

There was quite a bit, so each person could eat three pieces.

“I-It’s amazing!”

Cainchel kept exclaiming and ate Gordon’s cooking.

“Haa… It was delicious.”

In the end, Cainchel ate all the hamburger steaks that were piled up like a mountain.

At that moment, the thought that Gordon might have made chicken soup for the soul flashed through Cainchel’s mind.

If Gordon, who has the ability to make such delicious food, surely…

It was then.

As if waiting for it, the Joma Mirror began to vibrate.