Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 85

Unlike the outside, the mansion felt fresh, as if spring had taken residence within its walls.

This was largely thanks to Abel, the half-elf, who often leaned against a tree in the garden with his eyes closed.

Since returning from the north, Abel had spent most of his days in the mansion’s garden.

The Count had specifically created this space for Abel, understanding his elven nature.

And at an astonishing pace, Abel gathered Aura and was finally able to manifest a perfect Aura Sword.

Kainchel admired the bushes that had grown lush in what seemed like no time.

He had only planted small saplings a week ago, yet they had already grown so much.

“So this is the power of an elf. Truly amazing.”

“Technically, a half-elf.”

“Ah, sorry, did I wake you?”

“I’ve told you countless times, I wasn’t sleeping, but practicing Mana cultivation. I hope you don’t misunderstand and think I’m slacking off.”

His serious expression emphasized that he wasn’t simply avoiding work.

Kainchel chuckled and nodded.

Abel took out a Mana Stone from his pocket and shattered it.

The crystallized Mana spread out and began to be absorbed by the nearby trees.

The blue leaves sparkled with renewed vitality.

“After accepting the blood of an elf, I became able to absorb the Aura of trees. It’s no wonder elves are called the strongest in the forest.”

As long as trees existed, elves were nearly invincible.

If they had properly used that power, they wouldn’t have been so helpless during the War of the Seven Sins [a devastating conflict against powerful demonic entities].

Having become a Sword Knight, Abel seemed even more elven. The freshness of the forest seemed to emanate from him as he moved his slender limbs.

However, his eyes were still distinctly Abel’s.

Only a month after defeating Sirius, Abel and Kundam returned to the south.

During their travels, they had rescued an elf who had been enslaved.

“She told me that there are still some elves remaining in the Green Mountains, though their numbers are dwindling.”

During the War of the Seven Sins, it was the elves who stopped the Seven Sins from overwhelming Britannia at a terrifying pace.

They built an impenetrable defense line centered on the Green Mountains.

Eventually, the Seven Virtues [holy warriors opposing the Seven Sins] had time to gather.

It was then that humans, who had been individually defeated, had a chance to counterattack.

“Surely, the Green Mountains are…”

“Yes, they were all burned down and disappeared.”

The Seven Sins, unable to cross the Green Mountains, resorted to treachery, using humans. They had a man pretend to be injured and beg the elves for help.

Then, dozens of large-scale fire magic spells incinerated the elves’ forest.

Due to that incident, most of the thousands of elves perished or were scattered across the continent.

The moment Kainchel heard the name of the traitor, he was greatly shocked.

“The arsonist, Antares…”

“The blood of an elf flows in my veins. But I wanted to live as a human. However, hearing that the enemy of my people is still alive, and feeling this anger boiling up… I guess half of me is still an elf.”

Abel sighed quietly and lowered his head. Then, he spoke in a heavy voice.

“I’m sorry, Kainchel. Thanks to you, I became a knight of Frelia as a human. Nevertheless, as an elf, I want to take revenge on Antares. If you happen to find out any information about him, would you let me know?”

“…Yeah.”

The Church of the Seven Sins was lurking in the shadows of Britannia, plotting something.

Wasn’t Antares’s attack on Hector also to eliminate obstacles?

If so, similar incidents were likely to occur in the future.

The arsonist Antares, who freely wielded powerful fire magic by self-harming.

Even a Sword Knight would likely be reduced to a charred corpse in front of him.

To face him, one would have to block the fire magic itself with an Aura Blade, or possess a natural resistance to fire.

‘In the end, I have to keep cooking to increase my fire resistance and eat delicious food to increase my Aura.’

“Let’s have some tea first. No matter how busy we are, we should at least make time for a cup of tea.”

“Well, I’ll take ice cream over black tea. Ice cream in the middle of winter is a real treat.”

Kainchel smiled gently.

The tea time he spent with Abel was the only time he could truly relax and unwind.

@

Frelia had a delighted expression as she ate the ice cream.

“Huwah… The strawberry ice cream I had last time was delicious, but this chocolate ice cream is also the best!”

She was completely captivated by the taste of the ice cream that Kainchel made.

If it were just a sweet dessert, she would quickly tire of it. But with the Jewel Salt ice cream, she could eat as much as she wanted. The taste was simply divine.

‘Ideally, they would all be 6-star…’

The ice cream Kainchel made was a mix of 5-star and 6-star quality.

The ratio of 6-star ice cream was about one in ten.

But the effect was remarkable.

“It’s already been four hours since I woke up. To be able to stay awake for this long feels like a dream. Oh, I’ve finished it…”

Frelia put the spoon in her mouth with a regretful expression. It seemed like she wanted to eat more, but there wasn’t much 6-star Jewel Ice Cream left.

So, she had to save it for special occasions.

“Still, this is enough for me to attend the ball. The Bakery Alliance’s inauguration ceremony is already next week, right?”

“Yes! It’s all thanks to Sir Kainchel. Thank you so much.”

Frelia suddenly approached Kainchel, grabbed his hands, and shook them enthusiastically.

As a subtly pleasant fragrance enveloped him, Kainchel turned his head away, slightly embarrassed.

Count Wellride, who had been drinking tea with a pleased expression, suddenly spat out the tea through his nose.

“Puh, pu-hu! Frelia! Even if you’re close, it’s rude to grab a man’s hand so casually!”

“Huh? He’s not just a man, he’s Sir Kainchel! He always makes delicious food for me, so this much gratitude…”

Count Wellride shook his head with an expression that suddenly made him look like he had aged ten years.

“…I’ll have to get her a tutor starting tomorrow. To be so clueless…”

It seemed like Frelia had a long way to go before she would be ready to attend the ball.

In the end, Kainchel had to move to the opposite side of the table to avoid Frelia, who was trying to cling to him.

“But are you really going to attend the ball for Frelia’s sake?”

“Of course, I have to. To be exact, it won’t be me, but the ice cream that will be the main attraction. I also want to see Abel in his uniform.”

“Haha, I’m really looking forward to that too. If you want, you can wear a dress. I think it would suit you much better.”

“…I would hate that more than death.”

The ball to be held next week was nominally to celebrate the founding of the Bakery Alliance.

But in reality, Frelia, who was making her social debut, was the main attraction.

Surely, nobles who wanted to win Frelia’s favor would send countless gifts.

Kainchel was planning to unveil three new flavors of ice cream at the ball.

It would surely be the best debut stage in many ways.

But before that, there was something he had to take care of.

The rats who were after the ice cream recipe.

Kainchel had already set a trap to catch them.

@

Joffrey made Kainchel create meringue until he thought he would die, insisting that foaming was the basis of making desserts.

First, Kainchel used 15 eggs to make a large amount of meringue to learn the basics.

It was a more difficult task than he had anticipated.

If even a trace of yolk got in, it wouldn’t foam properly, and if the timing of adding sugar was off, lumps would form in the meringue.

He had to turn the bowl upside down over his head without the meringue falling to pass the test.

‘If I didn’t have Onion Swordsmanship [a technique that enhances dexterity and control], I would have definitely failed.’

When he finally succeeded, Joffrey began to explain all kinds of meringue techniques he knew with a satisfied expression.

Depending on the timing of adding sugar, completely different meringues could be created.

And that wasn’t all.

Meringue made in a bowl chilled with ice had a slightly softer texture.

‘There was also meringue using pre-boiled sugar syrup.’

In that method, the egg whites would be slightly cooked by the heat of the sugar, creating very firm bubbles.

Meringue made in that way was mainly used for cake decoration.

Enormous passion was needed to make even one meringue.

Kainchel learned it all as if he were a sponge absorbing water.

And finally, that effort paid off.

It was on the third week of making desserts in earnest.

Kainchel gained another cooking skill.

[Your foaming skills are excellent.]

[The skill of making meringue has been sublimated into the ‘Aura Bubble’ skill.]

[‘Aura Bubble’ has been created.]

It was a completely different type of skill from Flambe, which infused fire into Aura.

He could release bubble-shaped Aura from his body and use it in various ways.

‘Well, since it’s a skill I learned while making meringue, I’ll just call it Meringue.’

Kainchel quietly activated Meringue. Then, bubbles made of Aura floated from his fingertips.

After wrapping one arm in Meringue, he swung the dagger he was wearing on his waist.

Clang-!

A loud noise like hitting steel armor echoed.

Of course, not even a scratch was left.

‘The ability to strengthen the body is the same as ordinary Aura. But Meringue is…’

After creating another Meringue, he blew it away.

Then, a barrier of Aura was created on the cutting board in front of him.

‘…I can protect other things in this way.’

Sword Master Hector blocked Antares’s fire magic by creating a barrier of Aura.

Using Meringue, something similar becomes possible.

Right now, he was exhausted after creating only three Meringues.

But if he increased his proficiency, wouldn’t he be able to handle more bubbles?

Besides, Meringue had another use.

Kainchel looked at the shadow that had infiltrated Verus.

He had begun to rummage through the kitchen to steal the ice cream know-how.

“Tch, there’s nothing. What kind of alchemy is it that they’ve hidden it so tightly?”

In the end, the shadow, who had found nothing, neatly erased the traces of his visit and left Verus.

‘Now’s the time!’

Kainchel, who had been hiding inside the ceiling, blew Meringue towards the shadow.

It slowly flew and touched the shadow’s left foot, and exploded with a soft pop.

For about 10 minutes, his left foot would be protected by Kainchel’s Aura.

‘But that’s my Aura for now. I can detect it with Fallen Star [a skill that allows the user to sense their own Aura].’

Meringue could be used as a kind of tracking magic in that way.

Of course, the detection distance was incredibly short compared to magic, but it was better than nothing.

Kainchel quietly sighed.

It was time to start hunting the rats in earnest.

Midwinter Ice Cream #4