Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 46

Wearing his clown costume, Cainchel left the Nine Cats Inn and headed to Count Wellride’s mansion.

He left the rest of his luggage at the inn, but carefully took the box containing the levain [a sourdough starter].

Zeke, seeing this, asked,

“Is that the secret weapon that makes honey butter sandwiches even more delicious? For some reason, seeing a box like that makes me want to open it.”

“It’s natural levain that the Count got for me. From now on, I’m going to use this to make Cuban bread for the sandwiches.”

“Aww… I thought it was something like a human head inside. Like you knew some legendary cooking method and magically kept only the head alive…”

Cainchel ignored Zeke, who was following him, and quickened his pace.

‘How could he even imagine a human head inside a box?’ he wondered.

“Hyungnim! Wait for meeeee!”

Arriving at the mansion, the old butler Brad bowed politely.

“Welcome, Hool. Everything is ready for making honey butter sandwiches. The Count is very excited that you’ll be making even more delicious sandwiches from today.”

“Then shall we start right away?”

“Yes. Please let me know if you need anything else.”

Until now, he had been using baguette bread for the honey butter sandwiches. But with properly made Cuban bread, an even more delicious sandwich would be born.

The beginning is the same as a baguette. Use the levain to make the dough and let it ferment.

However, Cuban bread dough uses lard made from pig fat.

‘Melt it well in hot water and use it instead of butter. Then you’ll get very rich bread, which will elevate the taste of the honey butter sandwich,’ he thought.

To bake Cuban bread, you need an oven with a higher temperature than when baking baguettes.

While the dough was rising, Cainchel learned from Zeke how to become a more convincing clown.

“If you’re a clown, you should at least know how to do pantomime! You have to be able to prove you’re a clown with just your gestures! You have to be able to fall in the empty air to become a true clown!”

Learning the art of disguise from Zeke allowed him to perform even more convincing mercenary and clown acts.

After finishing the lesson, Zeke wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“Now your amateur mercenary and clown performances are almost perfect. However, your vocalization is still lacking. This is hard to improve with just practice. In crowded places, you always need to listen carefully to how people speak. Ah, it seems like the dough has risen enough, so shall we do the rest next week?”

Zeke sat down on a chair in the corner of the kitchen and lowered his head, indicating he was going to rest now that he had finished his work.

‘He really has it good,’ Cainchel thought.

Cainchel sighed and began to make honey butter sandwiches in earnest.

The lard-filled Cuban bread becomes incredibly crispy when honey butter is applied and baked.

‘Besides, mojo pork [a type of marinated pork] made with pork and lard-filled Cuban bread go really well together. Alright, let’s finish this!’

The speed was much faster than when making sandwiches at the street stall. This was due to his increased cooking level and stats.

[5-star dish ‘Honey Butter Sandwich with Amazing Flavor’ has been completed.]

‘Something has changed!’

Usually, when a dish with certain characteristics is made, a prefix is attached like this.

Zeke, who had been dozing off, woke up from the smell of the honey butter sandwich.

“Is this the improved version? Wooow! The smell is really amazing! Hyungnim, Hyungnim! Can I have a bite? Don’t say no. I’ll eat it even if you say no!”

Cainchel chuckled and handed over the well-baked honey butter sandwich. He had prepared plenty anyway.

The only thing that changed was the bread.

The lard-filled, glistening bread is baked once more on an iron plate.

Then, a honey butter sandwich with a flavor that cannot be compared to a baguette is completed.

Crunch-!

“Wooooooo! The bread and pork are stuck together like a loving couple! And with the addition of sweet honey butter, this, this is a honeymoon… ?”

Ziegfried had been eating one honey butter sandwich made by Cainchel every week.

But what he ate today was on a different level than what he had eaten so far.

Tears streamed down Zeke’s eyes.

“Is it that delicious?”

“Ah, no. I just remembered my ex-girlfriend who I broke up with a long time ago…”

“…Zeke, you had such a past too.”

“Yes. She ran off with a rich merchant, and I dealt with him myself.”

“Let’s just stop there.”

Ignoring the strangely excited Zeke, Cainchel made honey butter sandwiches for Frelia to eat.

She needs to eat three a day, so she needs a total of 21 a week.

‘I want to make her other foods, but this has the highest probability of being made with 5 stars, so I can’t help it.’

He wanted to make her other dishes when his cooking skills improved a little more. She would definitely enjoy it very much, right?

@

Count Wellride spent most of his day in Frelia’s bedroom. In other words, this place also served as the Count’s office.

In the meantime, Frelia’s condition had improved quite a bit.

Was it because she had been eating honey butter sandwiches steadily?

The time she was conscious had doubled from 5 minutes to 10 minutes.

“But it’s still too short… It’s really cruel that she can only come to her senses for 30 minutes a day…”

And Frelia had developed a small hobby: reading storybooks.

When she fell asleep, most of her previous memories disappeared.

So the Count collected as many books as possible with short stories.

The amount she could read in 10 minutes was limited.

“…If only she could stay awake for at least an hour, she could do so much more…”

Taking a walk in the garden with flowers blooming in the warm sunlight, or having tea time with other young ladies – there were so many enjoyable things in this world.

But what was given to Frelia was really small.

– It’s okay, Father. I’m happy enough with just this.

It was as if the sleeping Frelia was saying that.

Knock knock.

“Count, Hool has brought the honey butter sandwiches.”

“You may come in.”

Then Cainchel, dressed as a clown, came into the room with honey butter sandwiches.

“It smells much better than usual.”

“Yes, Count. I made Cuban bread by adding lard to the dough using the levain you got me last time. I brought one for you too, so please taste it first.”

“Hmm. Cuban bread. Where…”

As soon as the Count put the Cuban honey butter sandwich in his mouth, his movements stopped.

Clearly the ingredients inside were the same, but just changing the bread made it surprisingly delicious.

“I think even I’m going to get addicted to this. Frelia will definitely like this too.”

The Count held the sandwich to Frelia’s mouth.

“Yawn…”

Frelia finished the sandwich in an instant and opened her eyes with a cute yawn.

Then, she quietly bowed her head towards Cainchel.

“Thank you for always making such delicious sandwiches, Hool.”

Frelia’s smile was so beautiful it could charm anyone at first glance.

Cainchel, trying to appear nonchalant, placed a hand on his hip and said,

“I am even happier that you enjoyed it, Lady Frelia.”

“But I would also like to try other dishes you make soon. I’m sure they will be delicious too, right?”

Cainchel glanced at the Count, who nodded with a warm expression.

The Count was a man who would smile even if it meant giving up the merchant guild he had built his entire life for Frelia.

“Then, Frelia, I’ve gathered a lot of books that you can enjoy today. You might want to read a longer story, but please bear with this for now.”

“Yes, thank you always, Father.”

Then, an amazing thing happened. It was well past her usual bedtime, but Frelia’s eyes were still sparkling.

“I think I can read a longer story today.”

“Oh, oh. F, Frelia… To think you can stay awake this long…”

In the end, Frelia stayed awake for a full hour.

After reading plenty of the storybooks she wanted, Frelia fell asleep with a satisfied expression.

The Count stroked Frelia’s hair and said,

“Frelia is waking up for longer periods of time. But she was awake for an especially long time today. It must be because of the modified honey butter sandwich you made.”

“Perhaps that is the reason.”

“Hmm… It’s amazing no matter how many times I see it. What you’ve done is something that couldn’t be done with any magic or divine power.”

Cainchel smiled quietly. There was someone who was so happy to eat his food. That gave him tremendous satisfaction.

“Count, you said before that you would grant me anything I wanted.”

“I did.”

“Do you still feel the same way?”

“I am a merchant before I am a noble. If I don’t pay the proper price when buying something, it’s hard to do business with that person for long. What you are offering me is Frelia’s time, which cannot be exchanged for anything. I don’t think a few gold coins can measure its value.”

Cainchel nodded silently.

“I have a proposal rather than a request.”

“A proposal?”

“It means it’s a deal that will also benefit you, Count. Lady Frelia’s sleeping hours will surely decrease further in the future. Then, wouldn’t she also need a guard knight?”

“Hmm… That’s true. I can’t stay by her side forever.”

“I know a trainee knight who would be a perfect fit for Lady Frelia.”

Then, Count Wellride’s eyes changed. Perhaps it was because he heard the words ‘a deal’ instead of ‘a request’.

He had reverted to the eyes of a merchant, not a father.

Count Wellride stroked his chin and said,

“If Frelia can continue to stay awake for three hours, she will be able to go to social gatherings and balls. Is the trainee knight you are recommending someone who can escort a lady to such places?”

Cainchel nodded silently.

“Sword Knight potential?”

“At the earliest, next year. And at the latest, within three years.”

“Haha. You know a truly amazing person. I wonder if a trainee knight of that caliber would work for the daughter of a mere merchant, and not even a noble.”

Becoming Frelia’s knight meant that his path to promotion would be blocked for life.

However, what Abel wanted was a life *with* someone, not power.

“Yes. I’m sure he will be very happy.”

Count Wellride groaned. The conditions were too good, which made him even more worried.

Moreover, there was one last thing that bothered him.

“This is a concern as a father, not as a merchant. Frelia sleeps for most of the day. No matter how much of a knight you recommend, wouldn’t it be a bit much to have a strange man by my daughter’s side?”

“You don’t have to worry about that. The trainee knight I’m going to recommend is… a eunuch.”

“What?”

“…It means he is sexually incapacitated. You can think of him as a castrato [a male singer castrated in boyhood to retain a soprano or alto voice].”

Cainchel quietly made a gesture of cutting something with his finger.

The Count’s face turned white as he realized what it meant.

Wouldn’t that be a terrible thing to even think about for a man?

“…”

Of course, he hadn’t been physically castrated in that way.

However, it was a very appropriate action to make Abel’s condition understood.

Count Wellride, having finished his calculations, held out his hand.

It meant the deal was done.

“If there is such a person, I would like to hire him even if I have to give him a thousand gold coins. When can I meet him?”

“There is one condition. Please apply to the Stanis Knight Academy to interview a trainee knight named Abel Carters. And I hope that the schedule can proceed when Abel Carters wants it.”

“That’s not difficult. Besides, Carters is from the famous Nine Blades family, isn’t he? And if he is a eunuch, I can entrust my daughter to him with peace of mind. Haha… To think I would find a knight who meets all the conditions I want so easily…”

Cainchel smiled.

Now, all that’s left is to match the day when Hector and the Inquisitors of the Sacrifice Fire visit the academy and send Abel here.

‘With this, the worry that Abel’s identity will be revealed has disappeared. Moreover, with a patron, Abel’s position will rise, making it easier for him to advance to the Chevalier [knight] class.’

What Abel wanted was Frelia.

And Abel had what Frelia needed.

A connection created by a piece of sandwich.

“And there is one more thing. This time, it’s a request.”

“I will grant you anything as long as it’s not asking for my daughter.”

Cainchel took a slow, deep breath. The real important bargaining was about to begin.

@

The White Dragon Nagnifa woke up from a long sleep and slowly opened its eyes.

“Krrwaaaaa!”

A short sleep period that lasted about 10 years.

However, it still needs about three more months to fully wake up.

And when Nagnifa enters its active period after three months, the neighboring countries surrounding the White Mountains will face a state of emergency.

First of all, monsters who want to be protected by the dragon flock to the White Mountains.

Moreover, the White Dragon Nagnifa is still young. Yet, for some reason, it was not being protected by its parents.

An ideal prey for those who dream of becoming dragon slayers.

Nagnifa’s awakening sound echoing in the White Mountains was like a military song announcing war.

And the Zistad Barony adjacent to the White Mountains.

Once again, many people’s attention began to focus on the place that had collapsed due to the aftermath of the Seven Sins War.

Ogre Sword #1 (Free serialization ended)