I Became a Food Developer in Another World

Chapter 28: Advertisement (1)

The Empire was a society without a developed food culture.

The asceticism of the church had made no attempt to develop it.

Naturally, the food was tasteless, and few people wanted to eat many of those tasteless meals.

The slimness of their people was a phenomenon, not a choice.

In a society without a developed food culture, ‘processed food’ appeared.

The rise of processed foods awakened the desire for gourmet food, and a variety of cuisines began to emerge.

With more food to eat, it was only natural that the slim population would gain weight.

The obesity rate has been rising, albeit slowly, since the introduction of cola.

The obesity rate, which had been rising silently, rose sharply with ramen noodles and exploded with wyvern chicken.

The problem was that it exploded in the wrong direction.

[Adele, a gorgeous fat young woman.]

[Poor but fortunate.]

As fatness became a symbol of wealth, books glorifying fatness began to appear in imperial society.

The aristocrats were proud to show off their bellies, as if to show off that they ate a lot of chicken.

As the aristocrats did, the commoners followed suit, and the obesity rate in the empire skyrocketed.

“What makes you fatter, Pringles or ramen noodles?”

“Why would you eat those things? Chicken is the answer.”

“It doesn’t matter what you eat. It’s quantity over quality.”

The popularity of cheap, fattening processed foods has led to the consumption of instant noodles more than doubling.

People began to study how to get fatter, and the shame of being thin was born.

“I can’t go outside because I’m embarrassed.”

There were a lot of fat people, and if you were thin, you looked shabby.

This, in turn, led to the development of the food culture, and the shops smiled as their sales increased.

Everyone was happy, from the livestock farmers and distributors to the merchants.

But there were those who didn’t see it that way.

“…My people are getting fatter by the day.”

“The rumor that it’s healthy to be fat is spreading like wildfire.”

“Yeah, this is a problem.”

They were the bureaucrats of the Ministry of Magic, the brains of the Empire.

While the world was embracing the idea of fattening up, the Ministry of Magic was well aware that it was a myth.

The Empire was a country run by an elite group of one percent who ran the other ninety-nine percent.

As part of that 1%, the Ministry bureaucrats were well aware of the problems that came with being fat but when they talked about it, the people didn’t listen.

After all, they were only one percent of the many, many people.

In an Imperial society where the loudest voice is often the truth, not many were willing to listen to the 1%.

And, much to the chagrin of the Ministry of Magic, the Imperial aristocracy was full of loud voices and poor common sense.

The fashions of the Empire were driven by these vocal nobles.

The problem is that if you can’t speak, you wouldn’t know, but usually if your voice is loud, you speak well.

─If you don’t eat chicken, you’ll live a long time, but then you won’t have much reason to live.

It was a nauseating statement for the Ministry of Magic, but it was enthusiastically supported by the people.

It was a time when fatness was the measure of success.

And naturally, a host of adult diseases followed.

The ‘obesity epidemic’ that began to sweep across the empire also reached the White Tower, where it originated.

Of course, the White Tower was a holy place where the intellectuals of the era gathered, so obesity did not spread, but the severity of the problem was palpable.

“This is not good.”

“Should I care?”

“Not normally.”

I shook my head at Ranya’s question. Whether the Empire was facing an obesity epidemic or a food shortage had nothing to do with me.

The obesity epidemic was a plague brought on by my processed food, but it was the fault of those who ate too much, not the creator.

As far as moral responsibility goes, there’s nothing to say, but I wasn’t a saint enough to care about that.

“The problem with this is that it’s a firestarter.”

“What?”

Ranya, lying on the couch and forgetting about her Pringles, cocked her head.

“If they die from eating them, who are they going to blame, my Tower?”

“Seriously, would they go that far?”

“I would.”

Ranya’s outlook on the world was dark, as befits a wizard who studies only magic in a tower.

But I have seen many times in my past and present lives how illogical people can be.

A similar anecdote from a past life is the “hot coffee incident”.

An elderly woman in the United States was drinking hot coffee and spilled it on her lap, burning her entire body, and sued the company that made it.

Ever since then, hot coffee has been labeled with the warning “hot, be careful”.

Of course, this anecdote wasn’t all the grandmother’s fault, as the company that made the hot coffee didn’t keep it at the right temperature and didn’t compensate her afterward.

The point was that this story could be applied to the White Tower.

When someone is blamed for obesity, the arrow will be pointed at the White Tower, the maker of processed food.

If we want to be free from that arrow, we need to have a “warning sign” about obesity.

So…….

“Let’s do a commercial.”

“An ad?”

“Yes, a diet commercial.”

Creating an advertising medium was also essential to effectively promote the new processed foods that were coming.

We couldn’t just walk around and sell our products forever.

*

My idea of advertising is the promotion through “video” that was often used in the world of my previous life.

There were no televisions in this world, but there were crystal balls.

What if we rented them out to the taverns of the Empire and fed video through them?

‘It’s a great commercial.’

Previously, we had to spend a lot of time and effort promoting processed foods.

Just think of Pringles, when we had to use the Third Prince to capitalize on Thanksgiving.

A crystal ball would solve all of that complexity.

Of course, it’s not cheap to put a crystal ball in every tavern in the Empire……..

“If there’s anything else you need, just let me know, I’m here to help.”

The man in robes eased my anxiety.

He was an official from the Ministry of Magic, the Empire’s third branch of government.

The Ministry of Magic had come to see me for one purpose.

“Are you saying that you want me to help you raise awareness of ‘obesity’ among the people?”

“Yes, your help would certainly be of great benefit.”

The Ministry of Magic had shot itself in the foot with the “obesity epidemic” sweeping the Empire.

To be fair, the Ministry had tried many things to quell the obesity epidemic.

From a once-a-week oil restriction to a “no chicken” ban.

However, the Ministry was left in a quandary when the obesity epidemic was not contained.

It was hard not to notice the lack of progress.

In the worst case scenario, the Minister of Magic would be stripped naked, so the Ministry of Magic was now on high alert.

In the meantime, the thing the Ministry of Magic needed was our White Tower.

I had become, if I do say so myself, a ‘cultural power’ with considerable influence in the Empire.

Not to mention, I was the creator of the processed food that started the obesity epidemic.

It’s no wonder the Ministry of Magic came to me grasping at straws.

‘This is an opportunity to legally raid the treasury.’

Who cares about the treasury if the ministry is naked now?

“If I can have it my way, I’ll take a shot.”

“Thank you!”

The shadowy bureaucrat’s face brightened.

*

The Ministry’s attempts to solve obesity were fundamentally flawed.

Banning white fried chicken and restricting oil won’t stop the obesity epidemic unless people’s perception of “obese” changes.

Obesity used to be a positive image, to the point where the phrase “cool fat guy” was a trend.

Eating delicious chicken makes you a ‘cool young man’, and it was an invincible cheat key.

No ban could stop people from dreaming of being a cool young man.

‘We need to make people realize that obesity is bad, and that will change.’

Of course, that didn’t mean that shouting that dieting was good the way the Ministry of Magic did would change anything.

What I needed was not someone to shout that dieting is good, but a ‘vanguard’ to do it for me.

‘I needed a role model.’

There’s a movie called Top Gun Maverick.

It was a movie made to promote the military because fewer people were joining the military in the United States.

In fact, after the movie aired, enrollment in the U.S. Air Force miraculously increased by 270%.

In other words, what was needed to stop the obesity epidemic was not a ban, but a diet vanguard, an ordinary citizen that everyone can empathize with.

*

Evan was an ordinary but fat young man who loved to eat.

Ever since he was a child, he longed to be a knight, and one day he received an offer from the White Tower.

They offered to train him to be a knight in exchange for his appearance in the crystal ball.

And not just any family, but Gerz Duchy, the famous home of wyverns!

Evan excitedly accepted the offer and was greeted by a clean-cut young man at the White Tower.

“Good to see you, Mr. Evan.”

“Is it true that I can receive knight training?”

“Yes, you will have the opportunity in the Gerz Duchy, provided you agree to allow your training to be publicized in the taverns of the Empire.”

“I will!”

Evan shouted with great enthusiasm.

The desire to become a knight stirred within him.

“Very well.”

Smiling with satisfaction, the young man rose from his seat and pulled back the cloth covering one of the shelves.

“!”

Evan’s eyes widened.

The shelves were stacked from top to bottom with Pringles, ramen, chicken, pajeon, and all of Evan’s favorite foods.

“Let’s eat.”

The young man kindly put ramen water on a cooking pot and unwrapped the red soup.

“We’ll work on losing weight afterward.”

-Gulp.

Evan swallowed dryly as the ramen broth simmered.

“So I can eat all I want?”

“Yes, you can eat as much as you want.”

Evan picked at the food on the shelves.

Pajeon, chicken, ramen, coke, and eggs……

The empty table was quickly filled with food.

“I’ll eat well.”

After making sure the ramen was cooked properly, Evan cracked an egg on top of it.

“Woohoo, woohoo-!”

Evan’s face relaxed happily as he took a large chopstick of ramen, blew on it to cool it, and popped it into his mouth.

“Mmmm.”

Evan nods as he continues to tear into the chicken legs.

The crystal ball on the wall reflects Evan’s face as he takes off his coat and continues to eat.