I Became a Food Developer in Another World

Chapter 31: Zero Cola (2)

Evan’s review of Zero Cola was simultaneously beamed through crystal spheres in taverns across the Empire.

─……It tastes great, and it doesn’t make me gain weight, so I’ve been drinking it a lot.

And Evan’s review of Zero Cola was a hit.

“It doesn’t make you gain weight?”

“This is a miracle, such a magical drink!”

“Alas, is it the White Tower after all?”

In a nation where diets are being reevaluated, Evan’s statement that “you don’t gain weight” caused a stir.

“Where can I buy Zero Cola?”

“Father, please bring Zero Cola to our estate!”

The young ladies, who were on a diet for beauty purposes, began to search for Zero Cola.

“Zero Coke! I want to place an order for Zero Cola!”

“Get out of the way, we have to go first!”

After seeing Evan’s review, the merchant councils of each province rushed to the White Tower to place orders for Zero Cola.

“Wow, the orders are already over 10,000 bottles!”

Aria was amazed at the explosion of orders.

It was a huge amount of publicity for just one review.

It was a far cry from the days of walking the streets and introducing the product to aristocrats.

Of course, many people who tried Zero Coke were disappointed that it tasted bland compared to cola, but the “no weight gain” advantage made even that seem trivial.

In the first few days of its launch, Zero Coke sold like hotcakes.

At one point, security forces had to forcibly disperse the crowds that gathered late into the evening.

But Zero Coke’s unstoppable popularity was short-lived.

“Senior, the other towers are spreading rumors about Zero Cola.”

“Rumors?”

“They’re inciting the nobles to say that it’s ridiculous that Coke doesn’t make you fat.”

Aria furrowed her brow in disbelief.

She had been involved in the creation of Zero Coke and knew that it was sugar-free.

But the competitors were making false claims about the fact that Zero Coke was sugar-free.

It was a false claim with no evidence, but surprisingly, it was working for the people.

She was right, because the technology to extract sweetness without sugar didn’t exist.

Artificial sweeteners were just as revolutionary. But I wasn’t surprised by Aria’s words.

I’d kind of expected this to happen.

In my previous life, when Zero Coke was launched, there were a lot of urban legends.

It gives you cancer, it makes you fat, it raises your blood sugar, etc.

Most of them were wrong, but people accepted them as truth.

It was the same in my previous life, when science was more advanced, but in this world, we could do more, not less.

Suspicion of Zero Cola began to grow among the people.

“Mr. Yuri made it, but how can it taste sweet if there is no sugar in it?”

“Sugar is sugar, but I can’t believe I’m not getting fat.”

“But it’s the White Tower, so why would they lie?”

Because of the image that the White Tower had built up over the years, people were skeptical, but otherwise, no one would have believed in Zero Coke.

Meanwhile, competitors capitalized on this atmosphere and continued to propagandize and misrepresent Zero Cola.

From stories of people losing their hair after drinking Zero Cola to the fact that it made them sleep at night, the stories were childish.

“Senior, are you going to stop this?”

“What if I don’t?”

“Then I’ll have to go over there and give them a hard time.”

“Leave them alone, they’re not worth talking to.”

Aria grumbled in frustration, but I didn’t care.

I didn’t need to respond to rumors like that.

There was no point in telling them no, as long as they were determined to push through.

It’s not like we had to answer to them in the first place.

It wasn’t the competition that mattered, it was the people who would buy our products.

If we owe an explanation, we owe it to them, not to our competitors.

And I was already aware of a similar precedent.

‘Devil Fruit Eating Show.’

In the past in England, tomatoes became notorious as the ‘devil fruit’ after many people died after eating them.

The tomato’s notoriety traveled to the United States, where a man declared that he would eat it in public.

People traveled from all over the country to see him eat the “devil’s fruit,” which was said to kill you if you ate it.

Even doctors said the man would die, and people had even organized his funeral.

The man then went on a crazy eating spree, eating 24 kilograms of tomatoes on the spot.

It was the first “food show” in the U.S. It was the most effective way to clear up the misconceptions about Zero Cola.

Of course, I didn’t have to do the show.

We had a volunteer.

─Her Highness, Marquise Anise, is here.

“Let her in.”

The volunteer arrived just in time.

*

It wasn’t just the White Tower opponents who had doubts about Zero Cola.

The White Tower’s claim that Zero Cola had no effect on weight was too radical.

The majority of the nobility accused us of “hype” and “false publicity.”

Anise Somernut was one of the most vocal critics of the White Tower.

The eldest daughter of the Marquis of Somernut, Anise Somernut was a fashionable young lady of society.

Her influence among the young nobility was immense, as her words could change the fashions of the Empire.

It was she who was responsible for the “cola diet” that had recently become popular in social circles.

Having been so affected by the Coke Diet, Anise had a negative view of Zero Coke.

“There is no such thing as Zero Coke,” she says.

“It doesn’t make sense that you can lose weight by drinking something so sweet.”

Anise’s words resonated with many people and contributed to the growing suspicion of Zero Coke.

It was around this time that Anise was contacted by White Tower, the makers of Zero Cola.

[If you don’t believe it, come and test it yourself.]

If it hadn’t been for this, Anise wouldn’t have sought out the White Tower.

She would have seen it as a ploy to bribe her.

But

[If you can prove a correlation between Zero Cola and weight, I’ll reward you with a million gold.]

‘!’

One million gold was a lot of money, even for Marquise Anise.

In Coke terms, it was the equivalent of “10 million drinks”.

Even if she couldn’t prove it, there would be no harm done to her.

Unable to believe it, Anise visited the White Tower and asked again.

“You’re really willing to give me a million gold if I can prove it?”

“Of course. Here’s the contract.”

Anise looked at the contract the young mage gave her with wide eyes.

‘Really!’

Anise prided herself on her erudition, but she didn’t see any toxic clauses in the contract.

The offer of one million gold for proof was true.

Of course, it wasn’t without strings attached.

“All experiments must be conducted within the light of the crystal ball.”

“Understood.”

“You must not leave the White Tower. If you agree to this, please sign.”

Anise signed the contract without the slightest hesitation.

The fact that her image would be beamed across the Empire was something she welcomed.

After all, it was her appearance in the crystal ball that had catapulted Evan from nameless to Imperial celebrity.

A little ‘recognition’ was a deal Anise had nothing to lose.

“I hope you enjoy your stay, then.”

The wizard left the parlor, leaving Anise with a copy of the contract, and then.

-Woo.

The crystal ball embedded in the wall glowed blue, illuminating Anise.

Thus began Marquise Anise’s quest for one million gold.

*

The taverns of the Empire have been crowded lately, not just in the evenings, but during the day as well.

At lunchtime, people would gather in front of the crystal ball to watch someone.

“Oh, she’s the same!”

“She’s not losing her hair!”

Inside the crystal ball, a strikingly beautiful young lady was locked in solitary confinement, drinking nothing but drinks all day.

Marquise Anise, the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Somernut and a woman of great prestige in the Empire.

The tavern was packed with people eager to see her, and the chicken was selling like hotcakes.

Whether or not Zero Cola increased weight was not on the people’s minds.

They were entertained by Anise’s various experiments.

She boiled Zero Cola and regular drinks at the same time to see if there was sugar in them and to record her weight changes by changing the drinks at each meal.

Of course, her weight was never published to protect her privacy.

“…… looks like she’s lost some weight, don’t you think?”

“Really? She looks like she’s losing weight.”

People could tell that Anise was losing weight just by looking at her.

Other myths about Zero Coke have also been debunked by Anise.

If you drink too much, your hair will fall out, your skin will turn puffy, you’ll gain weight, etc.

The people didn’t notice any side effects from Anise, who always wore full makeup and appeared in front of a crystal ball.

*

In fact, the hype wasn’t the only reason Anise didn’t like Zero Coke.

The bland flavor compared to traditional cola was another reason she didn’t like it.

But over the course of the experiment, Anise’s opinion gradually changed.

‘…Why does this taste good?’

As she drank more and more, the tartness of Zero Coke turned into refreshment, and the hint of aspartame became a luxurious sweetness.

In fact, the chewy, gritty taste of conventional cola became a burden to drink.

“I thought you didn’t like Zero Coke?”

“I did, but I don’t think I do now.”

Anise admitted that she had been misled about Zero Coke.

“So that’s the end of the experiment, then?”

“Yes, I was wrong.”

Anise tilted her head toward the crystal ball.

“Everyone, you can rest assured that Zero Cola will not make you fat.”

And just like that, the million-gold experiment came to an end after eight weeks.

And with Anise as its spokesmodel, sales of Zero Coke began.

After proving that it didn’t make you gain weight, Zero Coke became a huge hit.

The merchants who had been out of the loop knocked on the door of the White Tower again.

“Isn’t Zero Coke better than Coke?”

“What are you talking about, are you trying to pick a fight with me?”

The comparison to the old powerhouse, Coke, divided people into two camps: those who liked Zero Coke and those who believed in Coke.

“Doesn’t Coke make you fat?”

“I’d rather gain weight. Even God doesn’t drink Zero Coke.”

In church, there was an argument among priests over whether Zero Coke was apostolic or not.

“…I realized the secret. The answer is to mix the two.”

“An 8-to-2 ratio makes it easy to drink, and it tastes great!”

In some circles, the eccentric taste of mixing the two became a trend.

Before long, Zero Cola’s first month’s sales were released.

The Tower family stood frozen for a moment in front of the sales sheet.

“……Senior, there’s something strange.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Profit!”

Net sales of 11 million gold.

Everyone’s jaws dropped as their eyes popped out of their heads.

It was more than twice the amount of money the White Tower had ever made but the good news didn’t end there.

“Hey, Lord Tower! We’ve got a call from the Republic of Yuren! They want to buy some cola……!”

Coke was going international.