I Became a Food Developer in Another World

Chapter 2: There’s No Coke in This World (2)

The first cola was created by a pharmacist.

The story goes that he was trying to come up with a headache cure, and the name “Coca-Cola” is an acronym for the two main ingredients, the coca tree and the cola tree.

Anyway, the recipe for Coca-Cola was kept in a top-secret vault, so there was no way I could ever know what it was.

‘But I remember the taste.’

The fizzy, caramel color, the fizzy fizz on the tongue, the sweet, refreshing crispness.

Sight, smell, and taste.

As a former Coke drinker, I ‘remembered’ all of that information.

And they were my ‘recipe’.

In the other world, there was a magic that could manifest memories into reality.

It was a crazy world where you could make cola without coca and cola trees.

Of course, there were a few more steps beyond that, but I decided to think about that later.

Once I had a rough plan, it was all about recreating the flavors.

“Mmm, was it this flavor?”

I’d think of the flavor of the cola, add it to the water, try it, and see how it tasted…….

It’s called “memory recall.”

Even if my memory was clear, I couldn’t say that the flavor was perfect.

In total, it took me about half a year to get the flavor right.

I probably drank thousands of cups of water in the process.

But as much as I’d love to be able to say, “Voila, Coke!” when it’s done, magic isn’t a cure-all.

Coke was just the beginning.

‘Next, alchemy.’

Imagination is a volatile thing, so I needed to bring it to life.

The step of reproducing the imagination into reality is called ‘alchemy’.

A pseudoscience located somewhere between magic and science and the ultimate weapon of the Western occult.

The otherworldly pseudoscience represented by the saying that stones can be made into gold.

To make Coke, I need a process that involves grinding up that otherworldly pseudoscience.

Of course, I’ll lose money in the process, but…….

I decided to let our master take care of that part.

“My lady, you’re going to need a lot of money to pay for an alchemist…….”

I felt sorry for her as she fidgeted with her fingers, trying to calculate every penny, but I held my tongue and looked away.

Once Coke is developed, all of Ranya’s worries will be solved.

“Have you thought about who you’re going to use as your alchemist?”

It was hard to find a good alchemist in this world.

Anyone who was cheap could be a quack.

Therefore, it was common knowledge that when looking for an alchemist, it was best to look into their history.

Ranya knew this, so she made a subtle suggestion.

“If you can’t find one, how about I find one for you?”

I laughed because I could see the cute way she was trying to save money with her connections.

Any other time, I might have let it slide, but not this time.

“No thanks.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, I had someone in mind.”

I thought of an alchemist I’d seen in the paper the other day.

“Who is he?”

“Ciel Portman.”

“Ciel?”

Ranya shook her head, as if she didn’t know who he was.

For good reason.

Ciel wasn’t a famous enough alchemist for Ranya to know but she was an alchemist whose abilities met my needs.

‘I didn’t know anyone in this world knew how to make artificial sparkling water.’

Ciel Portman was the first alchemist in the Otherworld to create artificial carbonated water.

*

The sparkling water of the Otherworld was of poor quality and could not be used for drinking.

Sparkling water was a cheap ingredient used only in restorative potions.

It was so poorly handled that it was only used occasionally in the lowest-grade potions.

Ciel Portman succeeded in creating carbonated water artificially.

The same artificially carbonated water we use to make soda today.

Ciel’s artificially carbonated water was free of impurities and could even be used in high-grade potions but it was a useless endeavor.

─Why use sparkling water when you can use magic powder?

In an alternate universe where there was an excellent alternative, Ciel’s artificial carbonated water was completely ignored.

What she didn’t realize was that it could be “edible.”

In this world, carbonated water was not meant for human consumption and inventions usually come from serendipity like this.

“I’m Ciel Portman, the alchemist.”

The term alchemist usually conjures up images of dreary, dark, workshop-bound figures, but Ciel was a tall, big-hearted woman.

However, strangely, one side of her head was turning white, so I asked her why that was.

“Oh, you know what? I drank something wrong when I was researching before and it leaked out. It’s not a big deal, don’t worry about it.”

‘Oh, it’s not a big deal…This is alchemy.’

Her lack of crisis awareness made her seem dangerous to be around, but I thought, “Oh well.”

If she can make me a Coke, I’m all for it.

“Did you bring sparkling water?”

“Here it is.”

I stood up and checked the sparkling water Ciel had brought.

‘Yay!’

I popped the cap and heard the refreshing sound of carbonation.

“Well, at least it sounds good.”

“What?”

“That’s the sound of passing.”

“…Ah, yes.”

Real carbonated water tastes just as good as it sounds.

‘It doesn’t look bad either.’

The sparkling water Ciel had brought was as clear as water.

The quality was different from the otherworldly sparkling water that was cloudy like dirt.

“How did you filter out the impurities?”

“It’s not filtered. It’s artificially made by injecting carbonation into ordinary water.”

‘Right.’

Ciel’s carbonated water was the same as the artificial carbonated water used to make soda.

‘Still, I should check it out.’

I took the sparkling water Ciel had brought and gulped it down on the spot.

“No, it’s……!”

Ciel looked embarrassed, but I didn’t care.

‘Oh, this is real.’

I shuddered at the exhilaration of real sparkling water, the first time I’d had it in twenty years, in this life and in my previous life.

Call me crazy, but it didn’t feel like it had been magically conjured.

I found it, carbonation!

The corners of my mouth twitched as I felt like I had the world at my feet.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“No, how can you drink sparkling water……”

Ciel looked dumbfounded that I could drink soda and still be fine.

She was right, too, because otherworldly sparkling water gave me severe stomach pains.

I was in and out of the restroom dozens of times a day.

I didn’t want to know how she knew that.

“So you’re saying you want to make a drink with my sparkling water?”

“Yes.”

Ciel looked puzzled at my mention of making a drink with sparkling water.

“Uh…but carbonation is a potion ingredient, right?”

“As long as it tastes good.”

Ciel looked at me like I was a mad wizard conducting some sort of human experiment.

I suppose that’s a common reaction in this world.

I handed Ciel the coke I’d magically conjured.

“You’ll see when you try it.”

“…Are you sure it’s okay to drink this? It’s black in color.”

“It’s not weird, so you can drink it with confidence.”

Even when I say things like this, people usually find it distrustful, but Ciel quickly brought the cola to her mouth.

“Yuck!”

Ciel’s eyes widened as the tangy texture of the fizzy drink hit her mouth.

“This, this……!”

She stared in disbelief at the Coke in her glass.

“Are you telling me this is really a drink you made up?”

“Yeah, well.”

Coke shouldn’t be imaginary, but in this world, there was no Coke.

It was a world where soda didn’t exist in the first place.

So I could only say that Coke was a drink that I imagined.

“Oh my God….This is going to sell! No, this is just awesome!”

Ciel’s reaction to her first taste of Coke was intoxicating.

“Ha, can I have another one?”

“Well, I don’t mind if you do……”

I looked at the many empty cups on the table.

“Aren’t you drinking too much?”

“Oh.”

Ciel’s face flushed as she realized what she’d been drinking.

“I’m sorry, it tasted so good, I just kept drinking without realizing it.”

“No, I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”

I looked at Ciel, who shrugged, and I was satisfied.

Ciel’s mindless drinking was a sure sign that Coke works on otherworlders.

“Can you make it?”

“Mmm, I suppose I could, but this is the first drink of its kind I’ve ever tasted, and I don’t know how……”

Ciel stared wistfully at the empty glass, trying to remember the taste of the cola.

“I don’t have the ingredients, so it’ll take me at least a year to replicate the flavor, if not more, though it would be faster if I had any real ingredients…….”

“Um, I don’t.”

Even if there are coca trees in this world, I don’t know where they are, so all I could offer was this imaginary coke.

At least I had carbonated water, which would have doubled the time.

“…It’s going to be difficult, but I’ll do my best, because I really want to make this.”

“Please do.”

I’m not an expert, so I decided to leave all the details to Ciel.

It’s the designer who comes up with the idea, but it’s a shared responsibility, right?

“Don’t worry, we’ll pay you as much as you want, and we’ll support you generously.”

All I need is a good working environment.

“Just let me know if you have any problems at work.”

“Oh, by the way, can you get me a magic water cooler? It’s summer and it’s hot.”

“Of course, I’ll call someone later today.”

I could see Ranya crying, but it wouldn’t matter.

As long as the coke was done right, everything would be fine.

After all, Coke was the drink of choice for 21st-century dopamine junkies.

To the salted otherworlders, it would be the equivalent of dropping a tactical nuke on the ground.

What could go wrong?

*

It was a year later that the prototype cola was born.

“Mr. Yuri, I’ve finally, finally finished it!”

What Ciel brought was a square, brown stock that looked like a sugar cube.

Stock, the essence of an alchemist’s craft.

“Is that what you call cola?”

“Yes, if you add this to sparkling water now……”

-Chiiiiiit.

The stock dissolved in the sparkling water, and white bubbles boiled up. And in an instant, cola appeared.

“Oh. That’s interesting.”

I tasted the alchemized cola on the spot.

The refreshing taste of the cola swirled in my mouth with the tang of carbonation.

Ciel, watching from the sidelines, asked nervously.

“What do you think?”

I gave her a thumbs-up in response.

“Ciel, you did a great job. It’s perfect.”

“Yay!”

Ciel cheered.

Otherworldly Coke, ready to go.

I went to Ranya with the finished Coke prototype.

And when she saw the finished Coke, our Demigoddess, Ranya, said…….

“Hey, what is this?”

She began to shiver all over and deny reality at the sight of the cola’s dark color.

“…Oh.”

“Is it because you’re so happy?

I asked, bringing her back to reality.

“That’s right, Cola.”

“Seriously, did you spend all that money on this?”

“It was kind of expensive.”

Hiring an alchemist was more expensive than I’d expected. They were high-class laborers.

A single Ciel alone cost more than a single veteran knight.

It was worth it, though, because she was worth the money.

“My, my money……”

Ranya was stunned.

“We’re screwed.”

When Ranya woke up, she squatted down in the corner and started sobbing about the failure of the tower.

“Drink this and calm down.”

“Hmph, do I look calm now! It’s my money, my bloody money……gulp gulp gulp.”

I handed her a drink, and she gulped it down in spite of herself.

“Hey, what’s this?”

“Coke.”

“What?!”

Ranya’s eyes grew wide as she stared at the frothy liquid.

“Uh, ah, ah…”

Ranya was so surprised that she forgot what anyone was saying.

I smiled with satisfaction.

“I told you, we’re going to be rich.”

*

The Trion Company is a trading firm that controls all distribution rights in the imperial capital.

With a bit of exaggeration, it’s even joked that you can’t sell anything in the Imperial Capital without going through the Trion Company.

The owner of the Trion Company and a noble of the empire, Count Trion, was now facing a gift sent by the White Magic Tower.

It was a mysterious beverage that the White Tower had sprinkled on him, one that was rumored to be secretly in vogue in social circles.

Count Trion had heard the rumors, so when the White Tower had sent him a gift, he had expected it.

“Black…water?”

The drink called ‘cola’ that the White Tower had sent was a black liquid that was so thick you couldn’t see through it.

‘Isn’t this demon water?’

When people think of black water, they think of demonic water that springs from the ground.

Because of the black color of the cola, Count Trion naturally thought of demonic water.

Does this mean that this devil’s water is now in vogue in social circles?

“Count, you must not drink it!”

“Chef, what are you serving the Count right now?”

The frightened vassals shouted at Count Trion as he tried to drink the coke.

Count Trion had the same idea as the vassals. But the chef, who had tasted the cola beforehand, was convinced.

“You’ll think differently once you try it.”

“Hmm, is that what you’re saying?”

Count Trion took a sip of the Coke, skeptical at the skillful chef’s assertion, and then.

“Off.”

“Count!”

“Wizard, get the wizard!”

As the vassals, frantic at Count Trion’s strange reaction, searched for the wizard, Count Trion, clutching his throat, muttered.

“…Make a deal.”

“What?”

The nearest vassal was puzzled, and Count Trion snapped his head up and shouted.

“Sign the contract now, now, now!”

*

The Black Water appeared in the capital of the Empire.

The black water spread from the nobles to the entire capital in an instant, creating a pandemic wave.

“Do you still drink lemon tea?”

“I drink lemon tea, then what do you drink?”

“Tsk, tsk, barbarian.”

“What? You bastard!”

Suddenly, anyone who didn’t drink the black water was treated like an outcast who had gone out of style.

“This is the devil’s excrement!”

Some pious priests were quick to call black water “devil’s excrement” and warn that it would lead the empire to ruin, citing its unholy color and addictive properties.

But despite their warnings, black water’s popularity did not wane.

In fact, young priests would gather in secret places, away from the prying eyes of bishops, to drink the black water.

“Lord, forgive me.”

“This, this tastes like…!”

They drank the black water with white hoods over their heads to prevent God from seeing their impiety, and the practice spread like wildfire until it became common practice for nobles to wear white hoods over their heads and avoid looking up at the sky when drinking black water.

“If this is the devil’s excrement, I will gladly worship the devil.”

There were even devil-worshiping lunatics among the congregation, causing the papacy to reel.

Within a month of its appearance, the black water had blackened the capital of the Empire.

The people called it something else.

‘Coke.’