F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 335: Culinary Benefits

"Nice! Kill it!"

In the next moment, a piercing, silver hurricane shot to the skies, piercing past blue feathers.

[You have obtained 41,000 Experience Points!]

[You’ve leveled up to 68!]

The heavens wept blue, but Daru ignored the droplets that got on him, running full speed in a race against freefall.

Armor clanged.

"You could’ve taken the chance to grab a few advantages for yourself, you know? ...Touch a gorgeous young lady in slightly inappropriate places yet still be praised for it. Oh, and nice catch, by the way." Elara commended as she got herself off Daru’s arms.

Daru, however, only shook his head.

"Who would actually do something like that?" he murmured.

The princess shot him a strange look, though she decided not to say anything afterwards, slightly wincing as she cleaned herself of viscous, half-avian blood.

Daru, meanwhile, froze, eyes narrowed as he shifted a majority of his focus on hearing.

"It’s peaceful..." he muttered. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Elara listened, too, inwardly agreeing.

It seemed that the Savage Avian Riot had ended once more, and that Stormcrest Jayari, the clear toughest among the three types of half-avians they’d encountered, was their last hunt.

Above them, the skies were starting to dim, even though there was no sun.

The source of that accurate copy of sunlight was another mystery they had no power to solve.

"This princess suggests that we make our evening preparations. This is our first night in this...lively place, after all. Who knows what kind of nightlife the dwellers here have?"

Daru nodded in agreement.

He, too, did not want to stay out at night without observing first. The fairly elevated and hidden hollow Elara managed to luck out on was a blessing from the gods and goddesses.

’Her Luck stat must be good...’ he mused, then sighed. ’Unlike mine.’

"You go back first, perhaps prepare a meal early so we’re done eating by nightfall. I’ll make some preparations so we can both rest soundly..."

The self-proclaimed princess’s brows rose.

"Oh? And how will you achieve that, I’m curious? Actually, can this princess go with you? After all, it would be safer to go together, no?"

Daru thought for a bit and agreed.

It wouldn’t take too much time, anyway, and it’s indeed safer for them to go together.

The two walked two dozen meters south of their hollow — Elara with a slight bounce in her steps, clearly enthused about learning of his method.

Soon, they reached a spot that seemed satisfactory for Daru.

He began climbing a beech, to the princess’s further curiosity, and then planted some small, dark, wiggly eye that was too distasteful for her regal self to even touch in one of the low branches.

It vanished from Elara’s sight a second later.

"Eww! W-What is that?"

But Daru didn’t explain yet, focusing on descending the tree before responding:

"Ah...right. I obtained four Dark Sentries from killing Harlowe. Since you helped me back then, you can have two."

He then began retrieving two from his inventory. However, before he could, the picky princess stopped him.

"N-No! Gods...no...they’re yours. I don’t want them..."

Daru frowned.

"You’re being illogical. These things are invisible and would notify you of danger, allowing you to sleep soundly at night. You know we’ll rarely work together, given we’re from different guilds..."

"Hmph!" Elara snorted in response. "Since when have gorgeous young women like me been logical, anyway? We’re proud creatures of intense emotions and beauty. Such a distasteful thing...I’ll find something more suitable, so there’s no need to worry about this princess."

He wanted to insist, but with her taking logic out of the equation, Daru suddenly felt there was no chance to convince her.

In the end, he only sighed, shaking his head as he stored the Dark Sentries back in his inventory.

"Fine, suit yourself..."

Daru then began walking towards another direction, this time to two dozen meters east of their hollow.

Elara followed with a faint smile, strangely satisfied at the advantageous deal she secured for herself.

Around ten minutes later, he had secured all four directions.

Daru felt the strange feeling of the Dark Sentries connected to his mind. It was as though he knew exactly how large an area they covered, even though there was nothing in the description.

He can ensure that nothing will be able to attack them with his current placements.

Soon, the two returned to their hollow, and Elara took out her Portable Mess Kit.

Daru gave her meat, and she added some from her own inventory.

She went all out, even taking out a few consumable herbs this time to add to the saucy dish she was cooking, utterly flabbergasting Daru as she added a bottle of Life Sap.

"Why are you being wasteful?" he asked.

"Hmph! You clearly don’t know anything about cooking, so be quiet and just wait for food."

Realizing that he had possibly offended Elara by questioning her skills in her hobby, he clarified:

"I am genuinely curious. Does adding certain herbs and potions to meals help?"

This time, the princess smiled sweetly, endless enthusiasm lighting up in her dreamy silver eyes.

"Of course! If prepared properly, the effects would not only stack up, they would even produce new ones, such as a five-percent boost in strength for a duration, for example."

Daru was astonished.

That...was indeed greatly helpful.

"I see...so that’s why the restaurants in the Myriad Sword Realm are quite famous, too..."

"Correct," Elara confirmed. "Cooking here is not as simple as on Neo-Earth, though, because the ingredients require a different set of knowledge. Incompatible ingredients can even reduce or completely cancel out each other’s beneficial effects. This is why there are restaurants specializing in taste and ones specializing in effects. Oddly enough, both are equally famous. I once saw in a MyTube video someone daring to actually add a forty percent experience-boost tonic to a meal. You should’ve seen the cook’s face when she tasted her stew! Hahaha! It was probably more bitter than burnt garlic..."

But then, in the next moment, a look of slight, bitter regret appeared on her face.

"Regrettably, as a Bladeborn specializing in combat, this princess had only so much free time to study recipes..."

Daru only listened, watching Elara as she stirred the saucepan. He sensed that she was a bit saddened.

Unfortunately, he was not qualified to give her advice, as he sucked at having hobbies, so Daru opted to simply be ears instead.

The princess was extremely hardy.

Rarely did her negative moods last, and by the time she finished cooking, she was happy again.

"Food is ready, dear husband!"

Daru sighed and shook his head, somewhat starting to get used to her antics. He didn’t even have the energy to correct her.

The two chatted casually as they ate.

Around twenty minutes later, they were done.

"Ah...what an amazing meal. I feel refreshed and full of energy..." Daru complimented generously with a nod, bringing out a wide, sweet smile from the princess’s gorgeous face.

Outside, dusk was settling, and Elara found herself in a playful mood again, about to respond mischievously when, suddenly, the leaves on one of the low branches of the nearby pine rustled.