Chapter 3
Chapter 3. Quitting Everything to Sell Cola (3)
Penelope's full name is Penelope Rosemore.
She is indeed the third daughter of the Rosemore Count family, a wealthy prestigious family that had commanded Nortaris from long ago.
For a noble young lady of high birth to frequent the shabby Brellum Shopping Street was behavior that went against propriety, and Penelope herself was aware of this.
Nevertheless, she continued to visit Jurgen's General Store at the same time every morning.
It had already been three months.
There were various reasons for this.
'This coffee, why is the portion so small? Stop joking around and serve it properly.'
'How about you taste it first before saying anything?'
'Hmm...?'
First, because the coffee at the shabby general store she had visited out of curiosity was more delicious than she had imagined.
The 'espresso' served in a small cup was a style of coffee she had never tasted before.
The initial bitter taste was so unpleasant that her brow would naturally furrow, but the concentrated flavor that spread afterward boasted an amazing aroma.
Penelope was very fond of his coffee.
So much so that she was half-seriously worried about what would happen if the shop that no one else visited suddenly went out of business.
However, that alone wasn't sufficient reason.
There was a more ultimate reason for this diligent perfect attendance.
'Penelope? That's a pretty name.'
'Miss Penelope, if you keep frowning like that, wrinkles will form on your pretty face.'
'My, even a tip today. Thank you so much. I hope to see you again tomorrow.'
'You ask if you remind me of anything? Hmm, well... Perhaps a single rose?'
Perceptive people might have already guessed.
Actually, from the moment Penelope first met Jurgen.
And even when they exchanged various conversations afterward, she always thought.
That feeling, far from diminishing day by day, was growing stronger.
Even at this very moment.
'Just how long is this person... planning to speak casually to me?'
That's right.
The second reason for visiting the general store daily was to restore the dignity of a noble.
No one in Nortaris behaved like this clueless shopkeeper.
Even if they didn't know Penelope's name, upon seeing her noble attire and dress that could easily buy a villa with a swimming pool, they would naturally bow their heads.
Yet Jurgen, who appeared only slightly older, had naturally spoken down to her from their first meeting.
'That can happen.'
At first, she thought it was a momentary mistake.
Penelope's attire had been particularly modest at the time.
He seemed to be a naive merchant who had settled from afar and didn't know the ways of the world.
To threaten him here with 'Do you know who I am? I am Penelope Rosemore of the Rosemore family. Bow your head!'...
Right.
That would be exactly the kind of vulgar behavior only third-rate nobles would do.
Who is a noble?
A noble is one who reigns.
One who reigns does not demand bowing.
They only inspire awe from all people through their innate dignity and charisma.
Therefore, Penelope decided to forgive the commoner who failed to recognize nobility at first sight.
Just as clouds cannot forever hide the sun, he would surely notice in time.
It also became a pleasure to imagine the moment when Jurgen, upon realizing the truth later, would change his attitude and fluster with 'I failed to recognize a noble person!' and 'A mere lowly person dared to commit a mortal sin against the young lady!'
However.
Even after a month passed and two months passed, Jurgen didn't notice.
Even when the impatient Penelope generously handed over tips to show off her wealth.
'Oh! Thanks for the generous tip.'
Even when she came dressed in more expensive clothes and accessories.
'Why do you always come to the coffee shop dressed like that? Don't glare at me. I'm just saying because you look uncomfortable.'
Even when she tried her hardest to show off noble authority.
'You always have such an angry expression. Drink this and cheer up.'
Jurgen still didn't notice.
It was reasonable to wonder, 'Has he already noticed but is gritting his teeth and pretending not to know?'
With things going this way, Penelope also became stubborn.
That stubbornness led to the goal of never revealing her identity with her own mouth and making Jurgen look up to her no matter what.
"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."
Therefore, when he mentioned service and brought something, she inwardly cheered.
Ah, he's finally recognized my nobility and is offering tribute to make up for his past mistakes!
"Hmm, what's its name?"
"It's Cola."
Penelope's pretty brow furrowed once again.
Seeing him still speaking casually, it seemed her expectation had been spectacularly wrong.
"This time I tried making my own creation. I'd be grateful if you could taste it and give me your impressions."
"...A truly infuriating request."
"Hmm? Are you perhaps angry?"
Penelope became even more displeased for no reason.
Originally, the human heart becomes more upset when hope is raised and then frustrated.
But showing that would be too unseemly behavior.
She quietly loaded harsh criticism in her mind.
No matter how delicious this cola or whatever was, it would be meaningless.
She planned to squeeze out a few tears from him with thorny harsh criticism as revenge.
—Gulp
Penelope casually swept her light blonde hair behind her ear and put her lips to the glass.
At that moment...
"Huh?"
First, dense and tight carbonation bubbles tapped her lips.
The cold liquid that penetrated between her teeth and the thick sweetness that intuitively hit her tongue tip.
The faint caramel scent flowing within.
A whirlwind of all kinds of freshness spreading faintly while mixed together.
While Penelope was bewildered by this sensation she had never felt before in her life.
The carbonation that filled her mouth came into contact with her warm and soft tongue.
—Hissss!
And caused a small explosion.
The cool refreshing feeling that couldn't be expected at all from the heavy-looking brown liquid.
After the explosion of bubbles ended and mysterious vanilla-scented foam remained in her mouth, the tingling refreshing feeling spread through her esophagus to her stomach.
Even the subtle lime-scented finishing touch that delicately covered and completed everything.
"Huht... Haah..."
Penelope, who had been holding her breath at the thrilling sensation, finally exhaled a faint sigh.
How should she express this sensation?
Right.
That would be good.
It was the pleasure of drinking a sweet night sky embroidered with stars.
The suspicious beverage he had brought out as service.
Without a doubt, it was a mysterious beverage she had never drunk even once in her life.
"Th-this is what exactly...?"
"Didn't I tell you? It's Cola. Looking at your reaction, it seems it was pretty good. How was it?"
"It's not bad."
"Would you like to try another glass?"
"......!"
In the end, Penelope could not carry out her will for revenge.
"Ahem, just one more glass..."
"Here you go."
"Um, you know. Just one more... wouldn't that be okay?"
"Of course!"
"It's fine but... I think I need to drink a little more to understand the taste?"
"Uh, um... I, I see."
And so Penelope was served five glasses of Cola in succession.
—Ding-a-ling
"Come again!"
"......"
When she left the shop with her stomach bloated from carbonation.
She wore a dazed expression as if walking through a dream.
The trivial plan of getting revenge with harsh criticism had already disappeared to the other side.
What remained in her memory was the taste of Cola that the expression 'ecstatic' was insufficient to describe.
Only the addictive sound that pop pop reached her ears when cold bubbles burst in her mouth.
"I can't believe it..."
How could such a beverage exist in the world?
Who exactly was Jurgen that could create such a miraculous beverage?
She didn't know.
But she made a resolution.
Tomorrow she would definitely visit the general store again to drink cola.
***
"Come again next time!"
Watching Penelope stagger out in shock, Jurgen was quite satisfied.
Even when she first drank coffee, her reaction hadn't been to that degree.
"It definitely looks more promising than last time."
Although only one bottle of Cola remained due to her unlimited refill requests...
Thanks to that, he could be certain.
The intuitive taste of Cola that didn't discriminate by age or gender.
If he spread that widely, he could bring innovation to this culinary wasteland of Britannia.
Unfortunately, it wasn't something he could do immediately.
Because he didn't have enough quantity to bring about innovation.
The Cola that Penelope drank today was created through Jurgen's unique alchemy, 'Material Creation'.
The dedicated catalyst 'Dice' consumed in Material Creation costs beyond imagination to produce.
Even so, the Cola that could be created with one Dice was only a 355mL * 6 bottle bundle.
It seemed the cost was high because he had to 'create' across time and space.
Considering the production cost of Dice, even if a bottle of Cola cost dozens of crowns, it wouldn't be profitable.
The solution to this was simple.
"I just need to make something similar."
He already had a perfect Cola sample in hand.
He could use his previous life's career and alchemist experience to create Cola using materials from this world to lower the unit cost.
It could be called a kind of reverse engineering.
The process itself was familiar.
He had experience doing similar things several times when he was Minister of Internal Affairs.
Disinfectants for water supply filtration, chemical fertilizers used in farming, and antibiotics were all created and distributed this way.
"The first step is material collection."
The Labyrinth Demon Realm was the Demon Realm where the most food ingredients respawned among all Demon Realms.
This meant most ingredients could be farmed in the Demon Realm, and it was also the reason he chose Nortaris as his starting point after fleeing.
However, rarely.
There were ingredients that couldn't be obtained even in the Labyrinth Demon Realm, a treasure trove of natural resources.
"Coca leaves."
The starting point of the most powerful cola brand, Coca-Cola's recipe.
An ingredient that still goes in even at the current point after several recipe modifications.
Coca tree extract was indispensable to recreate perfect Cola.
The solution Jurgen came up with for this was simple.
He recalled the continental map in his head and stroked his lips.
Where was the nearest cartel?
"The Montagra Cartel."
That was the closest.
Jurgen packed a large travel bag and headed to the airship dock.
***
Penelope is a noble young lady.
You might think she's a ruffian without proper manners due to the arrogance she exudes like breathing, but this is far from the truth.
Those born as nobles polish their manners and culture from the moment they take their first steps.
Table manners that require the use of a fork and knife even when eating bananas.
How to walk elegantly and smoothly like a swan so the dress hem doesn't become disheveled.
Even the position of everyday gazes and chin tips are subjects for correction.
Through such efforts, nobles who reach adulthood possess refinement that cannot be approached by clumsy imitation.
That difference makes nobles more noble.
Making innate nobility even more noble.
"Why did I do that?"
Therefore, yesterday's mistake came to Penelope as a painful dark history.
According to upper society norms, there are rules even when requesting tea from a host.
A second refill is possible as a compliment meaning the tea is excellent.
If you're a bit closer, up to 3 cups is fine.
Because it means 'the tea you served is truly excellent'.
No matter what, yesterday's request for 5 refill cups was inexcusable.
It was shameless misconduct that only uneducated market commoners would do.
"Why did I do that!!!"
However, who was she?
A noble young lady who knew to be ashamed of her own faults.
An enlightened young noble who sought to correct her wrongs even if the other party was merely a commoner.
Penelope Rosemore.
She prepared a small gift as an apology for past rudeness and as a token of gratitude.
The sachet in her hand was it.
It was a luxury linen pouch filled with various herbs that Penelope had personally picked and made.
"This should be enough."
Again.
This gift was to correct a mistake.
It was absolutely not because she was embarrassed to ask for more Cola empty-handed.
"......"
Dangle dangle Penelope held the handmade sachet and hid in an alley near the general store, glaring at the display case.
However, even though 30 minutes had passed since the shop's opening time, his figure was still nowhere to be seen.
"What, I came all this way."
Penelope grumbled dissatisfiedly while clutching the sachet.
It was somewhat awkward to enter as usual, so she planned to pretend it was a coincidence and enter the shop together.
But even while lurking in the alley, not even Jurgen's shadow could be seen.
The long wait reached an hour.
"Forget it. I'm stopping this."
Penelope, whose patience had reached its limit, finally gave up.
If she tied even a handkerchief to the door handle, even the dullest shopkeeper would realize his mistake.
Hadn't he made his regular customer, who should be properly served, make a wasted trip?
After that, for a full week... no, that's too long, about three days, she wouldn't visit the general store.
She would endure both coffee and Cola a little.
If Penelope, who used to visit daily, stopped coming, he would wither away, tormented by guilt for neglecting his only regular customer.
This was noble ruthlessness.
The cruel and merciless punishment imposed on Jurgen.
"...? What's this."
Penelope, who had been striding toward the shop while making wicked plans, discovered a sign hanging forlornly beyond the shop's glass door.
A bit belatedly.
[On Vacation]
"Oh, really!"
The sachet she had lovingly made all night was thrown to the ground.