Raising the Elf’s Genius Slayer

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Chapter

Capri headed toward the kitchen.

A cute pink apron was wrapped around her gigantic frame.

It was a sight that seemed to encompass the chaos between rationality and irrationality, causing Enok to blink in a daze for a moment.

“What are you staring at? Is this your first time seeing cooking?”

“…Just.”

He was here for a reason, so he let it go for now. Enok scratched his head and stood beside Capri.

“You said it’s food that elves like. And food that girls like. Something along those lines, right?”

“Yep.”

“Even so, I realize that my sensibilities are quite different from an ordinary girl, so I went around asking people myself.”

Capri skillfully laid out the prepared ingredients.

Most of it was greenery.

As Enok stared at it, Capri began explaining.

“Elves primarily have a plant-based diet, right?”

“Not really.”

Rionne likes meat too.

At that, Capri seemed a bit flustered and scratched her head.

“Uh… do you dislike greens?”

“I don’t dislike them.”

“Well, then that’s good enough.”

With a flick, the knife in Capri’s hand glimmered.

It looked like she was about to chop someone up.

“Naturally, if it’s food that elves like, food that girls also enjoy, and something you can easily make without any cooking experience, it’s gotta be salad.”

“Is that even cooking? It’s just a pile of greens, isn’t it?”

“You’re mistaken. There are many varieties, and the cook’s skill does matter to some degree.”

“Hmm.”

For now, Capri was relatively the expert.

Whatever she was going to chop up, she surely had more experience than Enok, so he just nodded.

“Okay, then watch closely. It’s nothing special, really.”

Various greens were laid out.

Capri placed them on the cutting board and started chopping with practiced precision.

“Whoa…?”

She’s better than expected.

It wasn’t the brutal chopping of someone about to slay a person, but rather the skilled technique of a housewife.

“Unexpected.”

“I did have a phase when I took lessons to be a priestess.”

“Priestess lessons…?”

Enok had to lift his head high just to see her face, and her body was packed with muscles that looked harder than rocks.

Her appearance seemed a bit more beastly than human, and hearing about priestess lessons made him feel like he was peering into something indescribably complex.

“…Isn’t that a bit much? I’m at the age where I should be thinking about marriage.”

“Hmm.”

“You shouldn’t make fun of how someone looks like that. Isn’t that bad?”

There was no rebuttal to the logic.

True.

Rionne always said similar things.

“Sorry.”

“Well, it’s fine. Honestly, I think that way too.”

As Capri giggled, she transferred the neatly chopped vegetables into a cute patterned bowl.

Then, in another bowl, she mixed various unidentified sauces, adding salt, pepper, and then squeezed half a lemon for good measure.

“Um, this is good.”

After tasting the dressing, she nodded in satisfaction and poured it generously over the salad.

It looked like she just threw it on, but somehow a really fancy-looking salad was completed in no time.

What is this? Can she actually cook well?

As Enok stared blankly, Capri offered a forkfull of salad to him.

“Here, give it a try. Capri’s special bulking salad.”

“Bulking?”

“One bite of this and that night will be… Ahh…! Well, just try it.”

Nom, Enok munched on the salad she handed him.

Before long, his eyes widened.

“Whoa…?”

What is this? Why is it tasty?

It tasted like the craftsmanship of a professional chef.

[What the heck? This kid is reacting like that? Let me try!]

The hidden Undine suddenly popped out and snatched the salad.

“What, what are you doing!?”

Capri jumped in surprise, but the spirit paid no heed and stuffed its face full of the salad.

[Whoa, whoa…!]

With sparkling eyes, Undine patted Capri’s head repeatedly.

[You! Human! You’ve got talent in cooking, right? You should quit being a mercenary and become a chef! Hone your skills and you’ll hit Grandmaster status!]

Grandmaster in cooking, huh.

Capri narrowed her eyes at the absurdity of it all.

“Hey, Enok. What’s up with this spirit? Is it yours?”

“No, it’s Rionne’s spirit.”

With the salad plate still in one hand and munching, Enok thumped his chest.

“Eri. Try it. It’s delicious.”

But there was no response.

Ever since the monster wave, she had been quiet; it made him worry that perhaps it was too much for her.

“Rionne? That name sounds familiar.”

“Yep, Swordmaster.”

“Swordmaster? Oh, that Swordmaster?”

Capri slapped her palm into a fist as if she knew the name.

Then a moment later,

“W-Wait, Swordmaster!?!?”

There was a brief commotion.

*

Enok diligently learned the salad recipe from Capri.

However, there were a few problems.

“Ah, no! Why would you put that in there!?”

“I thought it would taste good?”

Enok had zero talent in cooking.

“Wait! Don’t use sword energy on the knife! You’re burning the veggies!”

“Why? It cuts well.”

“If I say no, then just don’t do it!”

A darkened vegetable was drenched with a twisted purple dressing.

“Why, why did this color come out? Did you put something weird in it?”

“No? I just added a bit more of this.”

“Chocolate? No way that would do this…?”

After many twists and turns, a single plate of salad was finally completed.

It was the best version he managed to pull off after the 43rd attempt.

“…Can we just not do anything weird and follow the recipe exactly?”

“Hmm, strange. It usually turns out well.”

“What on earth…?”

“Whether it’s martial arts or magic.”

Whenever something popped into his mind and he sliced or cut, something new would burst forth, but salads seemed to be in a whole different dimension.

Well, new things did show up, but no matter how he looked at it, they held no positive meaning.

Capri pondered seriously as well.

“Is this the law of conservation…?”

Had he dumped all his talent into battle-related abilities, to the extent that he’d utterly fail at cooking?

No, considering this little monster’s prowess, having a despairingly low talent in cooking wouldn’t matter.

Cooking?

Why bother doing it yourself?

Just threaten the chef with a knife and let them make whatever he wanted.

“Anyway, I have the recipe right here, so don’t forget it. Please don’t unleash your creativity here, okay? Let’s just do as we’re told.”

“Okay.”

“You’re not thinking of poisoning the Swordmaster, are you?”

Would Rionne truly be harmed by something so trivial?

He figured she could take a shot of even the deadliest poison without blinking.

But since the goal was to serve a delicious meal, he decided to concede.

“Got it.”

*

[When did you prepare something like this? You weren’t expecting to fight Rionne, were you?]

“Just when I came by last time.”

He had prepped some things, thinking Rionne might like it if he did something for her.

He didn’t expect to be utilizing it this way.

[That’s surprising. How commendable.]

Ignoring Undine, who kept patting him on the head, Enok gathered electricity to his toes.

‘The recipe is… safely tucked in my pocket. Gifts are ready too.’

He had ensured that the quality of the gifts entrusted to Capri for purchase was properly checked, so nothing was missed.

Nodding with determination, Enok stomped the ground.

Boom—!

A purple streak crossed the sky.

Enok, having completed his runaway adventure, finally returned home.

*

“En-Enok…!”

An elf rushed in with tears streaming down her face.

In a fleeting moment, Rionne, being a Swordmaster, swooped in and embraced him.

“I’m sorry, sis…! I was too harsh, wasn’t I? I won’t do it next time!”

It was bewildering.

He had wanted to apologize first.

Glancing subtly at Undine, she was holding her head in dismay.

[That’s what you call a contractor…?]

Rolling his eyes, Enok met Rionne’s tearful gaze.

He had thought he would be in for a good scolding upon his return.

But seeing her like this made him genuinely feel sorry, leaving him unable to stand still.

“…I’m sorry too. I won’t do it again.”

Enok hugged Rionne back.

A gentle, tight embrace made Rionne gasp.

“Ah…! Enok…!”

What a cute, kind, lovely, and commendable child this is…!

Surely, history would record this.

An unparalleled model son who grew up under the care of an elf!

“No, you were at fault, sis! I won’t talk so sharply next time…!”

“No, I was wrong from the start.”

While Enok clung onto Rionne, swaying like a leaf in the wind, he pulled out a box he had been holding tightly.

“…What’s this?”

“A gift. It’s not what I originally prepared it for, though.”

Rionne trembled as she took the box with shaking hands.

It was a neatly crafted wooden box.

Unlocking the latch, Rionne slowly opened the lid, and her eyes trembled in excitement.

“En-Enok…”

Tears streamed down Rionne’s cheeks.

Suppressing the urge to shout it from the rooftops, she gazed into Enok’s eyes.

“It’s nothing special…”

The way she shyly averted her gaze was irresistibly adorable.

Everyone…! Look at this…! Our Enok is this cute…!

Rionne stood up shakily, like a drug addict resisting their cravings, and looked up at the sky.

Now, she felt content even if she were to die.

She had everything she could ever want.

Just as her mind began to ascend, Undine slapped her with a splash of water.

Smack—!

[Get yourself together, you idiot!]

“Heh, hehehe…”

[Hiiik…!]

Undine, taken aback, hurriedly backed away.

Rionne didn’t even think to fix her disheveled smile as she threw herself into Enok’s arms.

“Enok, shall I read you a book after so long?”

It seemed she had completely lost her senses.

[What the heck…! What did you watch in my absence…!]