Cooking Swordmaster

Chapter 4: Don’t Look Down on Someone Just Because They Cook (1)

The kitchen is just a short walk across the training ground from the dormitory.

Although it was a time before the sun had even risen, it was a familiar routine for Köinzell.

He had always woken up earlier than anyone else to train his stamina, hoping it would increase his status even a little.

But Köinzell’s level was still 1.

Three years had passed with no reward for such daily efforts.

The only thing he had become accustomed to during that time was the Shoumakyou hanging around his neck.

He still vividly remembered the day he first received it. Being able to know his level and status was astonishing.

Moreover, with diligent training, those stats would increase.

However, for Köinzell, who had neither talent nor money, it was just a cheap ornament.

But not anymore.

Now that he had found a way to raise his status, the situation had changed.

No, he would make it change.

With that resolve, Köinzell looked at the Shoumakyou.

“But it’s about time for the mana to run out.”

The Shoumakyou could be used for a maximum of three days once charged. After that, he couldn’t know how much his abilities had increased until the next update.

Of course, for the wealthy nobles, this was not an issue at all.

They could simply hire a personal sorcerer to accompany them. Incidentally, their daily wage was more than Köinzell’s monthly living expenses.

“…So today is the last day I can use the Shoumakyou.”

Köinzell licked his lips. It was regrettable.

Just when his status had started to rise, he wouldn’t be able to check it for a whole month.

Moreover, there was an unknown entry in the Shoumakyou that had appeared recently.

[Gourmet: ★]

“It must mean the ability to enjoy delicious food, right? It is said that chef Gordon has a high Gourmet Level.”

Just in case, he had tried the fish and chips that were on the menu for dinner last night.

However, no changes appeared in the Shoumakyou.

In the end, he still hadn’t figured out what the Gourmet Level signified even after a day had passed.

“Without the Shoumakyou’s help, it’s hard to figure out what ability it is.”

Today was the limit for that.

Köinzell was now heading to someone who the Shoumakyou evaluated as having a high Gourmet Level.

Hoping to discover even a small clue.

With that thought in mind, he walked and soon arrived at the kitchen.

@

“Don’t look down on us just because we cook.”

That was the first thing Joffrey said to Köinzell when they met.

This startled his fellow chef, Ainkel.

“J-Joffrey-ssi. He’s still a noble… You can’t speak like that…”

Joffrey, who was skinny and looked irritable.

Ainkel, who stuttered and had a plump body.

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Both were commoner-born chefs working in the kitchen. 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. No different from a commoner. Besides, I heard he’s been stuck in the Rookie Class for three years now. Probably too embarrassed to stay in the dorms, so he’s run away to the kitchen.”

“B-but… J-Joffrey-ssi. T-that’s…”

“He probably came thinking he just had to serve food. I wonder if he even knows how to peel an onion.”

Joffrey, with apparent disdain for nobles, kept hurling harsh words.

But such verbal abuse was nothing to Köinzell.

Köinzell nodded and responded.

“Before volunteering for kitchen duty, I went to the library and read several cooking books. They had quite a diverse collection. I haven’t done it practically, but I’ll give it a try.”

“Ah, you must have seen Gordon Rambolton’s collection. In that case, you’ll be fine. Follow me, noble lord.”

It seemed those numerous cooking books were Gordon Rambolton’s personal collection.

Joffrey smirked as he led Köinzell to the food storage.

“Today’s breakfast menu is onion soup. It’s quite a lot, but for a great noble lord like yourself, this should be nothing, right?”

There were five bags filled with onions.

It was far too much for one person to handle alone.

Köinzell seemed to know what Joffrey wanted.

It was to pile on work and make him quit his kitchen duty.

Moreover, making soup with all these onions would probably yield 500 servings. He had likely brought all the extra onions they had.

‘If it’s this kind of harassment, I welcome it.’

Köinzell maintained a poker face on the outside, but he was holding back laughter on the 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 processed all of them.

“Since it will be used for soup, should I finely chop all of them?”

Joffrey was taken aback as Köinzell, instead of being intimidated by the enormous workload, seemed enthusiastic.

“Uh, uh-huh. Do as you please.”

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

Ainkel, who had a soft heart, peeked into the storage.

“N-Noble sir. If it’s too hard alone, I can…”

“It’s fine. And just call me Köinzell.”

“Ah, yes…”

Köinzell recalled the method for chopping onions he had seen in the book.

Maybe it was because of his newly acquired 3-star cooking skill.

Even though he had only seen it in a book once, his body started moving on its own.

The important thing was to leave the hairy root part as it is.

If that part is cut off, it loses its center and doesn’t look nice.

First, he used three fingers to hold the onion as close to the root as possible.

Then he lifted the kitchen knife and started slicing the onion lengthwise as if using the knife’s weight.

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

After slicing, he combined the pieces and started cutting them diagonally. Repeating the action of pushing the blade sideways made it simple.

Then, turning the onion sideways, he cut down from the top, finely chopping it without waste, leaving only the root part.

Swish swish swish-

Chop chop chop-

The onions that were piled up like a mountain started decreasing at a tremendous speed.

How much time had passed?

Joffrey entered the storage to check the progress.

“You better not have made a mess of the onions because it’s bothersome… Huh, huh!”

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

Only about an hour had passed since he had given the task.

But the remaining onions were 3…

No, just 2…?

Köinzell, having finished chopping the last onion, dusted off his pants and stood up.

“I’m done, Chef Joffrey.”

“Uh, uh-huh… Uh, Ahem…”

Joffrey, clearly embarrassed, could only clear his throat.

That’s when Köinzell delivered the final blow.

“Are there any more onions to chop? I still have time and could handle another couple of bags.”

“…”

Joffrey’s face turned pale.

This was a first. Usually, when soldiers were assigned onion chopping as kitchen duty, they would run away in tears and snot.

It was a task hard to do quickly unless one was skilled with a kitchen knife.

Naturally, he thought the same would apply to the failing noble in front of him.

At that moment, a rough voice echoed.

It was Gordon, the head chef of the kitchen.

“Joffrey. What are you doing in there?”

“C-Chief…!”

“What are all those onions? Did you order this?”

“Well, uh…”

“There’s no way today’s onion soup menu needs that many.”

In the end, Joffrey hung his head.

“I’m sorry. I’ll take full responsibility.”

Gordon slammed his fist against the door, shouting.

“How are you going to take responsibility? Are you planning to bring in a cleric to cast a recovery spell? Or do you intend to throw away the leftover onions? You insane bastard! What the hell are you doing in the kitchen?”

“…….”

For several minutes, Gordon hurled all kinds of insults at Joffrey, ones Köinzell had never heard before.

It got to the point where Köinzell, merely observing, started to feel a bit sorry.

Gordon noticed Köinzell cleaning a kitchen knife and asked.

“Did you prepare all these yourself?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm. It seems rumors can’t be trusted.”

Gordon seemed to have heard about the underachiever Köinzell.

However, he was the type to trust his own judgment over rumors.

“You’re quite useful.”

As Gordon seemed to take a liking to Köinzell, Joffrey protested.

“Chief… Surely you’re not considering letting a noble do kitchen duty…”

“You idiot! There are no nobles or commoners in the kitchen! Do you think cooking is a joke?”

Joffrey, hit with his own words, couldn’t respond.

In the end, the remaining onions were turned into hamburger steaks by Chef Gordon.

@

Having finished serving meals, Köinzell sat down for a slightly late breakfast.

“Gordon Rambolton, what an incredible person…”

His passion for cooking, his pride in the kitchen, and his culinary skills—all were undoubtedly top-notch. So why did he usually not work properly, often drunk?

“Let’s give this a try.”

In front of Köinzell was a grilled hamburger steak.

It was a dish Gordon had hastily created to use up the excess chopped onions.

Ainkel mentioned that it was rare for Gordon to actually cook.

“Let’s see how Chef Gordon’s food tastes…”

As he cut into the steak with a knife, rich juices flowed out. How could meat be like this?

The rich aroma of grilled meat made Köinzell’s mouth water.

It was a simple dish with only chopped onions and a few spices, without even a sauce.

“Alright, let’s see…”

As he took a small piece into his mouth, an involuntary exclamation escaped.

“…What is this, is this really a hamburger steak?”

The meat was incredibly tender. The moment it entered his mouth, the rich juices mixed with onions spread throughout.

“…!”

Only then did Köinzell realize why Gordon hadn’t used any sauce.

There was no need. The onions used were of two types.

Some were used raw and finely chopped, while others were sautéed with butter.

The sharp taste of raw onions and the sweet taste of cooked onions amplified the natural flavor of the meat several times over.

“It’s beef! Real beef!”

The inherent flavors of the beef and onions were incredibly vivid.

“I could eat this forever!”

This hamburger steak pushed the taste of beef and onions to their limits.

Compared to Gordon’s cooking, the hamburger steaks Köinzell had eaten until now were like baked mud.

For some reason, the hamburger steak was only given to the chefs and the soldiers on kitchen duty.

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

“This is amazing!”

Köinzell kept exclaiming as he devoured Gordon’s cooking.

“Ah… That was delicious.”

In the end, Köinzell ate all the hamburger steaks that had been piled up like a mountain.

For a moment, Köinzell wondered if it was Gordon who made the Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Considering Gordon’s skill in creating such delicious food, it was likely…

At that moment.

As if it had been waiting, the Shoumakyou started vibrating.