I Became a Food Developer in Another World

Chapter 23: These are indeed beans (5)

The world was in a state of transition in terms of food culture, with processed foods changing everything.

Dozens of new foods came and went every day.

It was not uncommon to hear rumors of the arrival of a new food, and people would travel far and wide to try it.

Then came the heavenly dish of tofu.

This fantasy dish is said to be made from a mysterious soybean that only grows in elven forests.

In fact, there was more than one strange thing about it.

If a mysterious bean grew in the Elven Forest, it would have been talked about long ago, and there was no way that a food called tofu would not have been rumored by now.

It was a food that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and even its authenticity was uncertain but the people of the Empire had already experienced this uncertainty once before.

MSG, the mythical seasoning that could make anything taste better.

As long as MSG existed, there was no reason why tofu shouldn’t exist.

The uncertainty of tofu was wrapped up in its mystique, which fanned a huge fire of romance in the hearts of the people.

“Let’s go to the Elven Forest!”

“Let’s go and taste tofu!”

Like a wildfire, the wave began to spread, and people began to head to the forest.

*

I had just finished making soy sauce when a bureaucrat from the Ministry of Food came to visit me.

“…So, you made tofu for the elves to keep them away, and now your people are doing the opposite and heading to the forest to eat it?”

“Yes, it’s becoming fashionable among people to head to the elves’ forest.”

The bureaucrat’s words left me speechless with disbelief.

This was all a division caused by a single book.

[A Feast of Fairies, Savoring Heavenly Dishes]

‘What kind of person wrote a book like this?’

The title was bad enough, but the contents were even worse.

A mysterious bean that only grows in elven forests?

A flavor that makes you forget all the cares of the world with just one bite?

I laughed out loud when I remembered the platitudes in the book.

It was a crappy novel with no glorification.

The problem was that it set people’s hearts on fire and so many of them ventured into the Elven Forest.

This caused havoc for both the Empire and the Elves.

Not surprisingly, many of those traveling to the forest included the sons of high noble families.

The Empire is said to be on edge, fearing that something might go wrong.

The elves, on the other hand, are troubled by the indiscriminate influx of humans.

I shake my head as the bureaucrat explains.

“Elven villages are off-limits to the unauthorized, aren’t they?”

There is an ancient mystery in the Elven Forest.

Outsiders who are not invited by the elves never reach the village, but only roam the fringes of the forest.

Hermann, the author of A Feast of Fairies, was lucky enough to stumble upon an elven village, but it’s a rare and fortuitous occurrence so for the elves, it didn’t seem like a problem but then…

“Well, the people who couldn’t find the Elven Village are stuck in the forest.”

“…The forest?”

“Yes.”

The official let out a deep sigh, as if he himself was astonished.

“Hah, they set up camp in the forest, saying they would not return until they found the elven village.”

“That’s a little unexpected, but is there a problem with camping out?”

“Normally, it wouldn’t be a problem, but there are over a thousand people camped there.”

“……are you saying there are a thousand people?”

“A thousand was an estimate from a week ago. The Elven Forest keeps getting more people, so it may have reached two thousand by now.”

Two thousand people…….

My mouth gaped open in disbelief.

No, he was talking about two thousand people flocking to a single tofu…and that number was still growing.

The Elven forests were vast, but two thousand people setting up camp would be a problem even for the Elves.

Camping requires cutting down trees and foraging for food, and harming the flora and fauna is not something the Elves would stand for.

“What do the elves say?”

“They’re adamant that they don’t have beans for themselves, so they can’t give us the tofu.”

“I guess so.”

It might seem like we could just feed the humans tofu and be done with it, but it’s not as simple as it sounds.

The tofu was proposed as a solution to the problem of young elves escaping into human society.

What would happen if tofu spread to human society?

‘There would be no reason for young elves to stay in the forest.’

For this reason, the elves were reluctant to allow the tofu to spread to human society but that doesn’t mean that the humans, who have established themselves in the forest, will leave.

To the elves, they were like a band of marauders, only without swords.

To solve this problem, we must satisfy both factions, the humans and the elves.

‘Difficult.’

I thought for a moment, but the solution was simpler than I thought.

In exchange for releasing tofu to humans, I can introduce a new ‘processed food’ to the elves.

It was a give-and-take, one for each side.

“We should have a demonstration.”

I decided to demonstrate the processed food in front of the elves and my people.

*

[The elves have decided to unveil ‘tofu’!]

The news of the unveiling of tofu from the Imperial Food Department reached the people camped in the Elven Forest.

“Folks, we did it!”

“We can finally taste tofu…!”

“Hahaha, we’ve been waiting for this moment!”

People shouted and cheered at the news of tofu’s unveiling.

Their eyes widened as they read the flyer held by the person who brought the news.

“…Yuri?”

“Why is Yuri’s name here……”

The list of those releasing Tofu included the names of White Tower and Yuri Grail.

“He can’t be the one who made the tofu……!”

“Huh!”

Of course, Yuri wasn’t the only one on the list; the list also included the names of officials from the Imperial Food Department.

The list disclosed was literally just a list of names of people who helped the elves introduce tofu to the empire.

It didn’t mean they were developers.

But because Yuri Grail’s name was on the list, people assumed that he had invented tofu.

Yuri was a wizard who revolutionized the food culture of the empire.

It was no exaggeration to say that every innovative food that had ever appeared in the Empire had been created by Yuri.

“Yuri? Yuri?”

“I wonder if the rumors about tofu were true!”

Even those who hadn’t believed in or cared about tofu before were intrigued to see Yuri’s name on the list.

The name “Yuri” was a “cultural power” in the empire.

The people speculated about whether or not Yuri made tofu.

Yuri was actually an elf, he invented tofu on his own, the elves consulted him, etc.

The stories varied, but the common thread was that Yuri must have been involved in the development of tofu in some way.

But no matter how much they talked about it, speculation was pointless unless they heard the truth from the source.

Only Yuri Grail could satisfy people’s curiosity.

The day of Tofu’s unveiling arrived in time.

The capital’s great square, the place where the elves and humans celebrate their unity, was packed to the brim with people who had gathered since early morning.

The crowd was so much larger than expected that the officials who organized the event were overwhelmed.

It was, well, almost like Thanksgiving.

“Yuri, don’t be nervous, you’ll do fine. Okay?”

“Yeah, don’t worry.”

In the waiting room before I went onstage, Ranya took care of me and gave me advice.

She was both proud and nervous that her student was going to be in front of the public.

After all, I was the one who proposed the event, and it was only made possible because both the Empire and the Elves agreed to it.

Naturally, I was the one who proposed the event, and I was the one who was going to unveil the tofu in public.

I pulled out the script card the bureaucrats had prepared for me, double-checked it, and readied myself.

“I’ll be there.”

“Yeah, good luck!”

Ranya waved me out of the waiting room.

I stepped onto the podium and swept the square.

Tens of thousands of pairs of eyes were on me.

“Before I introduce the tofu, I’d like to express my sincere gratitude that so many of you have come.”

I mouthed the words that I’d practiced with the officials.

“My name is Yuri Grail, a mage from the White Tower, and I am in charge of unveiling the tofu.”

It was a script I’ve seen and memorized dozens of times over the past few days.

“It is an honor to represent the unity of the Elves and the Empire.”

I didn’t even have to look at it, the words popped into my head automatically.

“The ‘tofu’ we will be serving today is a dish made from soybeans, a staple food of the elves.”

However, being on an unfamiliar stage, my eyes naturally turned to the script card.

It told the story of ‘tofu’ and the message of unity between elves and humans.

It was written with my consent and I didn’t question it until I was on stage but when I saw it, I didn’t like it.

I knew why, the officials knew why, and everyone in the square knew why.

They weren’t here for the unveiling of the tofu, or to reconcile with the Elves, so I looked away from the card.

“Yes, you are right.”

I admitted coolly.

“I’m the developer of Tofu.”

In the next moment a thunderous roar enveloped the capital’s great square.

*

“Mr. Yuri, did you have to admit it all of a sudden?”

Bureaucrats from the Food Department rushed toward me as I entered the waiting room.

“Whatever, it’s true.”

I was already paying the price for my fame, and an extra tofu wouldn’t make a difference.

“But I see some people who weren’t called.”

I glanced around the waiting room.

The rows of chairs were filled with familiar faces.

“I came because they said you were introducing a new processed food.”

Leon, the Third Prince, crossed his arms.

“I’ve been watching.”

Saint Yusefine waved.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.”

The Marquis of Hughes, now Commander-in-Chief of the Southern States, sat solemnly.

I recognized the old nobleman as well.

“The Duke of Gerz.”

Marquis Hughes, sensing my gaze, introduced me.

“I’m just here to observe, so don’t mind me.”

I looked at the young, handsome women seated across from them and asked.

“Do you mind?”

“We don’t mind if we can get some new food.”

The pointy-eared men were the elders of the Elves, including Heindel.

“Very well, then, let’s get started, Laura.”

“I see, Nya.”

Laura, now confidently speaking in her Miao dialect, mixed the white dough over the prepared vegetables.

Then she spread it out on the heated cast iron pan.

-Chuahhhhhhhhhh!

The sound of oil splattering echoed through the waiting room as the hot oil met the vegetable dough.

The appetizing aroma of oil filled the waiting room.

When one side was fully cooked, Laura skillfully flipped the dough over.

A golden brown color appeared on the other side.

-Gulp.

Elves and humans alike swallowed their saliva as they watched the dough cook in the cast iron pan.

A glaze drifted down the top of the golden roast.

“This is something.”

Elder Heindel asked, swallowing hard.

“It’s ‘pajeon.'”

A snack that everyone, regular and vegan alike, raves about.

This is a food that foreign vegans get angry at when they see it and ask why we didn’t tell them about it and just ate it among ourselves.

Pajeon, the ultimate vegetarian dish, had arrived.