I Became a Food Developer in Another World

Chapter 30: Zero Cola (1)

‘Zero Cola’ was a drink that was much talked about even in the world of advanced science in the past.

From the unproven safety of artificial sweeteners, to cancer-causing, to gut-wrecking, I’ve even heard that artificial sweeteners can stimulate the appetite and lead to weight gain.

But most of the media’s scaremongering about artificial sweeteners is overblown.

Sugar was a much more dangerous substance to begin with and because of this media scaremongering, people in my former life were forced to become semi-experts on alternative sweeteners, whether they liked it or not.

I know this because I did a lot of research when Zero came out to see if it was really safe to drink.

In the process, I learned about aspartame, the main artificial sweetener in Zero Cola.

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener, not a natural sweetener, but its ingredients are surprisingly simple.

It’s just an amino acid found in soybeans and mammalian milk, mixed with a tiny amount of methanol.

The fear-mongering that aspartame was worse than sugar was an example of how stupid the media thinks people are.

However, the media’s manipulation of the public has come in handy now that I’ve been reincarnated in the other world.

I was able to learn the ingredients that go into aspartame.

Of course, knowing the ingredients didn’t mean I could make aspartame.

The immediate challenge was finding an alchemist to consult.

Ciel didn’t know much in this area either.

So Zero Cola was always at the bottom of my priority list when I was choosing what processed foods to make.

There were plenty of other processed foods I wanted to make that didn’t involve Zero Coke but with the “diet craze,” there was no reason to put it off.

If there was one processed food that could help people lose weight, it was Zero Cola.

At this point, my master was stunned.

“Already?!”

“Yes, I’m working on it.”

“Well, when are you going to remodel our Tower?”

“After this is done.”

“You said you’d do it when you were done last time.”

“This time, for real.”

Sure enough, our Tower still looked the same.

It still had the same open rooms on every floor, and the same old wooden staircase that creaked with every step.

Not that our Tower wasn’t making money.

It was making a ton of money, but the problem was, it was spending as much money as it was making.

MSG stock, Coke stock, Pringles stock, gelato stock…….

The cost of the gems and alchemists to create the “stocks” was staggering.

It was a money-making cycle.

Alchemy is the art of changing money like water.

The main reason for this was that we underpriced our products.

We also spent a lot of money putting crystal balls in taverns across the country to advertise our products.

The Ministry of Magic may have robbed the treasury, but we, the White Tower, had to share in the cost of the advertising network.

Of course, I didn’t make this decision alone.

‘Is it true what they say about money multiplying?’

‘Can you believe it, money can be copied?’

‘Are you sure I can trust you?’

‘When have you ever seen me lie?’

‘I haven’t seen Yuri lie, but this is too expensive…….’

Ranya’s perceptiveness has increased lately, and she’s been careful to double- and triple-check before making a decision.

Clearly, there was a lot of money being made, but not a lot of money in her pocket.

It was all siphoned off by the cost of manufacturing the incoming processed food.

Of course, Ranya cried every day over the money issue.

But even to her, my words sounded plausible.

“It’s a bargain for the initial cost. One commercial will pay for itself.”

“Oh, yeah? That’s how advertising works, right?”

Ranya rolled her eyes at the explanation of how advertising worked, and plowed the Tower’s finances into the crystal ball business.

She laid a crystal ball network in the taverns of the Empire’s major cities.

Our finances were far from abundant at the time.

In the meantime, Ranya was horrified to hear that I was developing a new processed food.

I could see the determination in Ranya’s eyes that said no way.

“…..Cola that doesn’t make you fat? Is that even possible?”

“Yeah, it’s going to be a hit once we get it to market.”

Once again, Ranya’s ears perked up.

“Is it real?”

“Of course it’s real.”

The processed food I brought out was Zero Cola.

Ranya was never a slacker.

*

Potions are one of the most advanced fields in the Otherworld.

Potions to heal wounds or restore health were similar to modern chemistry.

It’s not quite the same as chemistry, but it also dealt with man-made substances.

In some ways, it was even more effective because it was magical.

And the pinnacle of the field of potions was the Gold Tower, a holy place of alchemy.

I was introduced by Ciel to the alchemist who researched the potions of the Gold Tower.

The alchemist, who introduced himself as Gowun, was a very sleepy-looking man.

His bushy hair and deep dark circles under his eyes gave him a geeky look, but he was definitely a skilled alchemist.

“……Hmm, this isn’t sugar.”

Because as soon as he tasted my concoction, he knew it wasn’t sugar but he didn’t seem to take it seriously.

“Well, it’s pretty good for an illusion,” he said.

He was right, it was a fantasy, a ‘fake’.

But

“It’s a real drink.”

“…What?”

Gowen’s half-closed eyes widened.

“You mean this illusion is a real drink?”

“Yes.”

Illusion magic is of two kinds.

The ‘fictions’ that the mage conjures up for himself, and the illusions that actually exist.

Of the two, the actual illusion could even take on specific properties, as long as the memory was clear.

“So this sweetness……”

“It’s artificial.”

“Do you have any evidence for me to believe that?”

“I can tell you the ingredients that went into making it.”

“!”

Of course, aspartame isn’t the only artificial sweetener in Zero Cola. But aspartame is the key ingredient.

The other sweeteners were added to mask the bitterness of aspartame.

Afterward, I showed Gowon the ingredients used to make aspartame.

Legumes, mammalian milk, and.

“…burning ice.”

Burning ice, methane hydrate, used to create fire in alchemy, it was a common alchemical ingredient.

However, I did not know how to extract the amino acids from the milk of legumes.

I had come to the Gold Tower to ask for advice on that.

“Is it possible?”

“Only if this drink is an illusion that really exists.”

Gowen’s eyes twinkled as he shook the glass bottle of Zero Cola.

“It shouldn’t be difficult if I analyze the ingredients and match them to the ones you gave me.”

*

True to his word, it took only a week to create aspartame.

It was an illusion, but it was easy to recreate it with alchemy down to the ingredients that go into Zero Cola.

The surprise was that Gowen had found another artificial sweetener.

“It was sweet, too, and it was easy to mimic because it was similar to sugar.”

‘Is it sucralose?’

Gowon had created sucralose out of sugar.

‘Definitely worth the money.’

The Gold Tower, a mecca for alchemists, was so expensive that it was outsourced to the highest bidder.

It was the Gold Tower that charged three times as much as an alchemist of the same skill level.

It had the advantage of no ‘cheating’ and fast results.

It was definitely not a place to go unless you were in a hurry.

Anyway, once I got my hands on the key sweeteners, aspartame and sucralose, it was a snap to make Zero Cola.

Alchemy was the art of imitation.

“I don’t mind that it’s bland, I just think Coke tastes better.”

That was Aria’s reaction when she tasted the finished Zero Cola.

It wasn’t surprising.

Aria’s reaction was not surprising, as most people who try Zero Coke for the first time have the same reaction.

“It might actually be better if you drink it, right?”

“Oh, no.”

Aria shook her head in disbelief.

‘But if you keep drinking it, you’ll feel differently.’

Some people who only drink Zero Coke say that the sugary cola feels overwhelming.

Sugar or zero is a matter of personal preference.

However,

‘Wow, that’s a lot of lime flavor.’

The zero was lime.

*

“Evan, come on!”

“That’s right, sword straight ahead!”

Evan’s training was still popular in the taverns of the Empire.

Whereas before it was all about physical strength, these days Evan had advanced to the point where he could actually fight a real knight.

“What a waste.”

“As expected, beating a knight is impossible.”

Of course, it was impossible for Evan to win against a knight from the Gerz Duchy.

But,

“What is that?”

“What is he drinking?”

After the duel, Evan leaned against the wall, sipping a cool drink.

“Is that a Coke?”

“No. It’s got a different label.”

The drink was black, but the label was a different color than the cola with the red paper on the outside.

The crystal ball zoomed in and the bartender could see the identity of Evan’s drink.

“Lime?”

The drink had a green lime on the outside with the number zero written on it.

As if to confirm his suspicions, Evan lifted his drink.

“This is my favorite drink for training these days. It’s a cola from White Tower, and it doesn’t contain any sugar, so anyone can enjoy it. The flavor is mildly sweet with a hint of lime……

This was the world’s first drink review.