Chapter 2
Chapter 2. Quitting Everything to Sell Cola (2)
In Britannia, there exist four great Demon Realms.
The Deep Sea Demon Realm of eastern Operin.
The Spirit Demon Realm of western Westforest.
The Jungle Demon Realm of southern Carcagne.
And finally, the Labyrinth Demon Realm of northern Nortaris.
Once, the Demon Realms were catastrophes to humanity by their very existence.
Monster hordes that would be summoned at all times if one didn't enter the Demon Realms to reduce their numbers.
High-grade monsters that would interfere when attempts were made to subjugate them to prevent this.
Ah, how many heroic spirits had nobly perished to prevent those terrible disasters?
However, this too has become a thing of the past.
Over approximately 5 years, the Britannia Kingdom conducted a national project called the 'Great Subjugation' to subdue the Demon Realms.
From 'Disaster' class to 'Destruction' class, they dried up the seeds of high-grade monsters within the Demon Realms.
What does this mean?
It means the Demon Realms became mines where all kinds of resources respawn semi-permanently.
Afterward, the Demon Realms became the center of new industries.
The sight of multinational adventurer groups flocking to the Demon Realms after catching the scent of money could be called a fantasy version of the Gold Rush.
'Nortaris City', where the northern Labyrinth Demon Realm is located, was also one of the beneficiaries of this Gold Rush.
"Damn it... This subjugation was a bust too. We even hired an Alchemist with expensive money but couldn't even break even!"
"Party going to the 4th floor Orange Reward Room! We're recruiting an Alchemist! A 2nd Rank Knight is on standby! We welcome many applications!"
"Don't spare money for extra lives! Lara Atelier's finest Magic Potions for just 2 crowns!"
The vigor of adventurers gathered from all over the world for a big score.
The competitive hawking of merchants running busily among them, shouting at the top of their lungs.
"Hmm, peaceful today as well."
Hanbin quite liked this city.
It didn't have the organized feel of the capital Albion, but you could sense the dynamic vitality unique to a growing city.
Hanbin left his lodging and passed through Lichfield Square, which was bustling from early morning, then escaped into an alley.
If you walk for about 30 minutes using the fountain where street artists perform as a reference point, you can quickly realize the mystery of commercial districts.
That's right.
Where there is light, shadows exist.
If the 'Lichfield Square' from earlier was a golden commercial district that rakes in money...
This 'Brellum Shopping Street' is a ghost commercial district where general stores and antique shops that can't afford expensive rent gather.
The general store where Hanbin started his new life as Jurgen also occupies one corner of Brellum Street.
—Ding-a-ling
The general store he entered with the doorbell ringing behind him.
Looking again, the interior was very cramped.
Was it only cramped? The facilities were also crude.
The floor with peeling wax creaked like a haunted house with every step.
At least there was a show window providing good lighting, which was the only consolation, but because of that, the heat retention was terrible.
Without lighting the wood-burning stove, his nose would sting from the early winter's chilly air.
Compared to the Minister of Internal Affairs office that was so spacious it echoed inside and was decorated with fresh flowers year-round, the expression 'alley shop' couldn't be more fitting, but...
"Mmm, I missed you. Did you sleep well through the night?"
Jurgen looked at the shop with purely loving eyes.
He swept the display shelves clean with a feather duster and operated the coffee machine he had made by hand next to the counter to brew thick espresso.
The coffee aroma that washed away early morning drowsiness was his daily routine for starting the day.
"This is life."
It had been about 3 months since he drank the Polymorph Potion and fled from the Royal Castle Albion to launder his identity.
These three months had been like the sweetest vacation ever.
There was no Lily pressuring him about work deadlines, no Lily bringing overtime work, and no Lily bringing bothersome paperwork that he didn't even want to handle.
Although everything hadn't gone according to plan, his self-realization of 'spreading new cuisine to Britannia' was also progressing steadily.
He had no regrets about his escape from being Minister of Internal Affairs.
"Sorry about this, Secretary Lily."
He felt a bit guilty thinking about Lily having to navigate the work hell alone...
But he believed Lily would handle it well.
Wasn't she the kingdom's finest elite administrator that Jurgen had acknowledged?
Cheer up, Lily!
"It should be about time for her to come..."
After finishing business preparations and leisurely sipping coffee.
—Ding-a-ling
As if on cue, the brass doorbell rang heavily.
"Welcome."
"Same old deserted and shabby shop."
"Miss Penelope, for saying that, you've had perfect attendance for several days now."
"Consider it an honor that I consistently visit a deserted and shabby shop."
The regular customer who entered the shop with a haughty expression was Penelope.
A young lady who always wore rose-red dresses.
It wasn't just her clothing.
Her beauty also brought to mind a single luscious rose.
Her straight nose bridge and delicate features were elegant like a rose in full bloom, and so radiant that you could feel arrogance.
This was even more so considering her upturned eyes brought thorns to mind.
If you stopped a passerby and asked 'What kind of person does that young lady seem like?', nine out of ten would answer 'A villainess young lady'.
"Hmm?"
One of Jurgen's eyebrows rose questioningly as he looked at Penelope.
Somehow her attire was becoming more splendid day by day.
Until a few days ago, he had thought it was just his imagination, but today made it certain.
Although she had always maintained expensive-looking attire, today was the first time she wore an outfit suitable for rushing out to a ballroom right away.
In the first place, Brellum Street wasn't a street to come to dressed like this...
Is she going on a date afterward?
At Jurgen's suspicious gaze, Penelope met his eyes with rose-red pupils and spoke sharply.
"What? Do you have something to say?"
He couldn't understand why, but there was a strangely expectant feeling.
"Not particularly. Should I prepare the usual?"
"...Can't do business and have no sense? If it weren't for your coffee, I wouldn't have had any reason to come to this kind of alley."
Penelope sat in her designated seat, clicking her shoes sharply as if displeased.
She placed a silver coin on the table as usual.
"Fold some napkin origami while you wait. I'll prepare it right away."
"I won't. Such childish things."
You could say her personality matched her appearance.
Regular customer Miss Penelope was always sharp like broken crystal shards.
Like a mimosa that shrinks at the slightest touch, she sensitively snapped back at every small joke.
While Jurgen didn't particularly mind her words and actions (and even found them somewhat entertaining), objectively it would be hard to consider her a good customer.
Nevertheless, Jurgen was very favorable toward the unsociable regular Penelope.
Because she always added tips worth several times the coffee price.
"......"
No.
Let me be honest.
He wasn't in a position to choose between good and bad customers.
After all, Penelope was the only customer of Jurgen's General Store.
There's a behind-the-scenes story to this heartbreaking tale.
Right after Hanbin arrived in Nortaris and started his second life as Jurgen.
The grand starting point of his mission to spread cuisine was a 'cafe franchise'.
You might think 'What kind of cafe is that when you're supposed to spread cuisine?' or 'Is coffee even food?' but it was a calculated beginning.
What Jurgen needed to change was culture.
It was the task of changing perceptions, habits, and concepts that had taken root even in the unconscious over the foundation of massive history and accumulated time.
It was a completely different level of difficulty from simply beating up monsters.
He thought this task had to start by creating small cracks, like bringing down a massive dam.
Now, let's look at that plan.
Step One.
Coffee exists in the Britannia Kingdom too.
However, this is close to bean water that merely steeps roasted beans.
Here, only Jurgen would create coffee machines and start a coffee business.
Espresso, Americano, and cafe latte extracted from state-of-the-art coffee machines would spread by word of mouth with their revolutionary aroma.
Step Two.
Word of mouth begins and nearby shops show interest.
Jurgen supplies coffee machines to nearby shops and leads the cafe-ization of Nortaris retail stores.
Starting from that point, he also spreads not just coffee, but desserts that double the taste when paired.
Awakening primitive curiosity about cuisine.
After that, there were Steps Three, Four, and Five, but...
At this point, they weren't particularly meaningful.
'I ordered a cup of coffee. What's this small cup?'
'Ptui! It's disgustingly bitter! You brought this, and called it coffee?'
'So how much is this coffee machine? What? 6 crowns? Are you kidding! There's a limit to scamming! Bah! Don't need it! What's the point of being able to make thousands of cups of such trash!'
'Shopkeeper, this machine on display doesn't seem like it'll sell anyway, so can I buy it as scrap metal? I'll pay well for it.'
That plan died gloriously at Step One.
It was still frustrating to think about.
The plan itself wasn't bad.
The attempt to gradually spread culinary philosophy starting from relatively less resistant beverages.
The prediction that coffee, which also served as a stimulant, would have demand among adventurers doing rough work.
The expectation that the spatial characteristics of cafes would be efficient for cultural dissemination.
These were all valid advantages once they passed the minimum line of taste.
He had overestimated the taste buds of Britannia people.
Anyway, after the plan to 'become the founder of otherworld Starbucks' failed spectacularly.
What remained now were the increasingly dangerous account balance, 12 coffee machines decorating the display shelves, and...
"...Don't you know that staring at a lady's face is the height of rudeness?"
"I truly didn't know that."
"Be careful next time. It's only because it's me that it ends with just this warning."
...just the ill-tempered regular young lady who had been complaining for no reason.
Here I ask myself.
Should I give up?
I cannot.
I absolutely cannot.
If I were going to give up over such minor setbacks, I wouldn't have fled from the royal castle.
Lily, who was sacrificed to cruel work in place of Jurgen.
For her sake too, I must achieve some kind of gain.
Otherwise, I wouldn't have the face to meet Lily, who willingly sacrificed herself for lofty ideals.
Therefore, immediately after facing difficulties in the coffee franchise business, I prepared the next plan.
Fortunately, there are plenty of references.
Didn't numerous beverages that changed history exist on Earth, my former home?
"Miss Penelope."
"What?"
"I'm grateful that you always visit our shop."
"Out of nowhere?"
"What kind of disappointing words are those? I'm always grateful. So I've prepared a special service."
Jurgen poured his second business item into a glass.
For someone from Britannia, she was truly unusually interested in cuisine.
Curious eyes circled around the glass.
"What's this? The color is similar to coffee but the aroma is completely different. It's even cold."
"Try drinking it once. You won't regret it."
"You didn't put anything strange in it, did you? Some suspicious bubbles are rising up. Let me tell you in advance, such tricks are meaningless and they don’t work on me."
"...Do you usually enjoy novels or movies?"
"Hmm, what's its name?"
This time I'm confident.
This beverage is the second weapon that will change Britannia's food culture paradigm.
Officially sold in about 200 countries on Earth.
With an average of 1.9 billion cups sold daily, competing not with other beverages but with water.
Enchanting even the reddest communists whose ideologies were at opposite ends.
Considered a symbol of capitalism beyond being a luxury item.
The ultimate king of popularity that led trends, changed lifestyles, and finally settled as culture.
"It's cola."
Cola.