Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 78

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Grexia and Cainchel stared at each other, their faces blank.

Who would have known that such a massive storm would pass by in less than a week?

“To think he would defeat the King of Wolves….”

“To think the Curse of the Seven Deadly Sins….”

The two, having uttered similar exclamations, exchanged bitter smiles.

“First, could you show me exactly where this epidemic is spreading?”

“I’ve marked it on this map here.”

Cainchel began to carefully examine the map Grexia had presented.

It detailed the dates the disease began to spread and its direction.

Grexia added further explanation.

“I’ve connected the places that can be reached within half a day from the villages where the epidemic has passed. Take a look at the result.”

“Pelga, where the ghouls appeared, as well as most of the north. And even Citizen is included within it.”

“Of course, there’s also the view that the epidemic spread along the Central Highway. But that explanation falls apart right here.”

Grexia pointed to a spot on the map. It was a place Cainchel knew all too well.

“The Stanise Knight Academy….”

“The epidemic crossed right through this place and spread to the north. As you know, this is a restricted area. Does anything come to mind?”

What the two were doing was a kind of epidemiological investigation. Most epidemics spread faster than they can be cured.

In the end, it’s necessary to find the cause and characteristics of the disease and block it.

Looking closely at the map, it could be seen that the area included was not the main building of the Knight Academy, but some of the training grounds.

“Containment, first aid, annihilation warfare…?”

Cainchel’s eyes widened in shock. He knew the annihilation warfare training grounds all too well.

It was the very place where his duel with Vincent had been interrupted by the sudden intrusion of Antares.

Just in case, he checked and found that the dungeon where Sirius had been hiding was also within the epidemic’s range.

“….An epidemic showing symptoms similar to a curse. And near the places it’s spreading, there was the Church of the Seven Deadly Sins. Do you think this is just a coincidence?”

“Hmm…. You’re right. If the same thing has happened twice, it’s reasonable to suspect a cause. I’ll also look into whether it’s a simple epidemic or if a curse is really being reproduced.”

Cainchel quietly nodded.

“Do you happen to have a copy of the map?”

“That is the copy. Take it.”

Grexia quietly leaned back in his chair. He felt strangely tired.

Now that it was almost certain that the Church of the Seven Deadly Sins was involved in this incident, measures needed to be taken.

“Are you aware that they were serious criminals imprisoned in Madrian Prison?”

“Yes. I heard that the prison was destroyed during the war with the Seven Deadly Sins, and they returned to the world. And they were moved by the Seven Deadly Sins who saved them and came to worship them.”

This was the information he had gathered after fighting Antares.

The Empire had a prison created to hold those who could not be controlled by normal means.

Assassins, murderers, insane mages, and other criminals sentenced to life imprisonment or more.

The organization they created after coming out was the Church of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Grexia shook his head with a heavy expression.

“There’s one thing that’s wrong. They didn’t betray humanity for reasons like religious belief. They just used the Seven Deadly Sins to justify their crimes.”

“…”

Certainly, Antares exuded tremendous madness. He cast magic by carving magical seals into his body and then destroying them.

Could someone with a sound mind really do that?

‘If I had known this would happen, I shouldn’t have killed Sirius and left him alive.’

Thinking that, Cainchel shook his head.

He’s not the type to teach willingly if asked. There’s no need to leave seeds of anxiety.

“But to think that the first achievement you made as a Free Knight was to eliminate the Church of the Seven Deadly Sins. You’re really amazing. You must have received a huge medal?”

“I did receive one, but I didn’t like the guy, so I returned it.”

When the name Ludwig came out of Cainchel’s mouth, Grexia nodded with an understanding expression.

“Surely that rascal would have tried to end it with just a medal without proper compensation. I’d be upset if we just let this pass, so take this.”

Grexia took out a document covered in gold leaf from his desk and handed it over.

“That’s….”

“Yes, it’s a certificate for a building in Citizen and the right to do business there. You can use it however you want.”

Too big of a gift.

With just this, he could run a proper restaurant instead of a street stall. Moreover, since it comes with a building, it’s a certificate worth at least a thousand gold.

“….Thank you. I’m sure there will be a time when I can use it very usefully in the future.”

Grexia laughed heartily.

What Cainchel had done for him was something that couldn’t be repaid with hundreds of these scraps of paper.

“Don’t be so grateful. This is all a trick to keep you here. You are now officially a resident of Citizen.”

“Of course, I’ll have to pay taxes, right?”

“Of course. When you see how much they take, you’ll think it was better when you were a street vendor.”

Cainchel chuckled without realizing it.

Who would have known that a relationship that started with a sandwich would continue like this?

‘Then I’ll leave the investigation into the epidemic to the Count. Should I focus on cooking for a while? If the Curse of the Seven Deadly Sins starts again, at least a 6-star… no, a 7-star dish will be needed.’

Cainchel took out the jewel salt from his dimensional pocket and showed it to Grexia.

“Oh, is this the salt that you said would raise the level of cooking by one level? It’s really as radiant as a jewel.”

“If you grill with this, a really great steak will be completed. Then, may I ask Miss Frellia to taste it?”

“I should be the one asking. Well, it’s almost lunchtime, so why don’t you grill that great steak?”

Steak was the menu that Cainchel was most confident in.

At the Knight Academy, meat was served every day for the trainee knights undergoing intense training.

The most popular of these was steak.

‘And it’s also the first dish I learned from Gordon.’

At that time, Cainchel, who had received the baptism of fire, gained the cheat skill Fallen Star, which allowed him to know the temperature without touching it.

Since then, Cainchel’s technique, which had grilled hundreds, thousands of pieces of meat, was already at the level of art.

The masterpiece Honey Butter Sandwich was also born because of his meat-grilling skills.

Cainchel, sleeves rolled up, headed to the kitchen,

to serve Frellia the best dish he could make.

***

As Cainchel began to grill the steak, it was the mansion’s staff who suffered the most.

The aroma, so tantalizing, stimulated their sense of smell. They felt as if a rebellion would break out in their stomachs if they didn’t eat meat immediately.

“Ho-hold on! That’s being grilled for Miss Frellia!”

“Even the Honey Butter Sandwich wasn’t this intense… This, this is really unfair…”

In the end, several of the staff couldn’t bear it and had to leave the mansion.

Fortunately, the garden was so large that the smell didn’t spread outside. If it had, what happened in Mino might have been repeated.

Grexia was also taken aback.

He knew Cainchel’s grilling skills were excellent, but he never imagined they would be this good.

Grexia swallowed the saliva that had gathered in his mouth and muttered.

“Gulp… Indeed, a magnificent steak.”

Amidst the staff’s torment and Grexia’s anticipation, two plates of steak were completed.

“I’ve grilled one for Miss Frellia and one for the Count.”

“Th-thank you.”

Grexia received the plate with trembling hands and headed to the bedroom where Frellia was sleeping.

“Wake up, Frellia. Sir Cainchel has grilled a truly amazing steak.”

Grexia sat Frellia on a chair, picked up a knife, and began to cut the meat.

“…Soft.”

The meat, repeatedly infused with juices, was so tender it could be cut with a fork. Moreover, the rich aroma of the meat was better than any steak she had ever tasted.

*Nom*…

Frellia took a bite of the steak, yawned cutely, and opened her eyes.

“…I’ll eat the rest. I’m really happy to be able to have a meal with Father.”

“Hehe, is that so? Then let’s eat together.”

The two began to eat the steak that Cainchel had grilled.

Tears welled up in the eyes of the old butler, Brad, who was watching them.

He took Cainchel’s hands and repeatedly bowed his head.

“This is the first time I’ve seen the master eat with such a happy expression. It’s all thanks to Sir Cainchel.”

An exclamation of admiration burst from Grexia’s mouth as he cut the steak.

“Delicious, truly delicious. Was the steak I’ve been eating until now just shoe leather?”

One didn’t need the Joma Mirror [presumably a magical item that reveals truth or satisfaction] to know that Grexia was satisfied.

‘At this rate, it’s definitely 6-star.’

But the problem was Frellia.

How much of the steak, which overflowed the plate, had she eaten? Frellia put down her fork with a subtly lonely smile.

“Try the potatoes too. They’re really delicious. Hmm?”

“I’m sorry for leaving some. I’m full and can’t eat any more.”

More than two-thirds of the steak remained on Frellia’s plate, a stark contrast to Grexia, who had already devoured all his meat.

“Certainly, you’ve never been able to eat much meat, Frellia. Sir Cainchel, what happens in this case? She hasn’t eaten the entire serving.”

Cainchel was equally taken aback.

The Count had eaten the steak so deliciously. The Joma Mirror also indicated that a 6-star steak had been completed.

But the situation changed when it entered Frellia’s mouth.

‘This is a 5-star dish for Frellia.’

No matter how well-made a dish is, its rating varies depending on who eats it.

Even Cochinillo [a Spanish dish of roasted piglet], which everyone in the Tuskan Alliance drools over, is nothing more than garbage to a desert sultan who doesn’t eat pork.

Frellia looked at Cainchel and smiled brightly.

“I don’t really like meat, but I ate it really deliciously. I’m always indebted to Sir Cainchel.”

Fortunately, it was a 5-star dish that was infinitely close to 6-star.

The ability to undo the curse would also be greater than the 5-star Honey Butter Sandwich.

‘Should I change the menu?’

However, it would be difficult to achieve this level of perfection with other dishes. He seemed to understand why his cooking level remained the same despite making a 6-star dish.

The variety of dishes he could make was woefully limited.

Grexia chuckled.

“Why do you look so gloomy when you’ve made such a delicious dish? Then, let’s have tea time to see how many hours the curse is lifted by the steak.”

“I have so many things I want to hear from you too, Sir. Will you tell me the story of fighting the werewolf?”

Cainchel quietly sighed. The Count was right. The first thing to do was to find out what the effects of this dish were.

And the afternoon tea time lasted for an hour and a half.

“Haa… I’m sorry, I think I should go to sleep now.”

“90 minutes. At this rate, she can barely make it to a social gathering.”

The Count nodded as if satisfied, but this was not what Cainchel wanted.

The sandwich, which contained more vegetables and bread, was fine. But she couldn’t properly eat the steak, which was mainly meat.

‘I couldn’t satisfy the guest with steak. Then…’

He needed a different menu.

Seafood? Fish? Noodles? What kind of dish should he make to satisfy Frellia?

Suddenly, Cainchel remembered when he first visited this place dressed as a clown.

The cotton candy he made as a performance had an unexpectedly good reaction.

He remembered Frellia’s face as she smiled brightly while holding it.

‘That’s it.’

Frellia likes sweet things. Then the next dish to try is…

“…Dessert.”

A gleam appeared in Cainchel’s eyes. He knew a man who made desserts better than anyone else.

Even Sweeter #1