Chapter 76
Chapter 76. Chicken is the Future (2)
Lichfield's golden commercial district, the tavern street.
Y&P Trading Company had recently purchased a three-story stone building in the most prime spot among them.
The first floor housed a kitchen, small tables for those wanting a quick meal, and a pickup deck for takeout customers.
The 2nd and 3rd floors were the main dining spaces where one could enjoy a leisurely meal with Cola and drinks.
A fairly large establishment capable of accommodating around 150 people in total.
This was none other than CCC Store No. 1, which would herald the grand beginning of the Culinary Revolution's Second Move — Korean-style half-and-half chicken.
"Came out nicely."
Jurgen stood with arms folded, gazing up at the freshly installed sign with a satisfied expression.
A white crown logo on a red background, made by a hired designer.
The sign bearing a white crown logo on a red background was well-designed to catch the eye of passersby.
"J-Jurgen, is it really alright to put a crown logo on the sign?"
"It's Crispy Crown Chicken — it can't very well go without a crown, can it?"
"But…… won't we get arrested for treason?"
Serena, who had been standing beside him looking at the sign, asked while trembling.
But there was no problem.
Jurgen was well-versed in kingdom law from his career experience.
While commercial misuse of royal symbols was prohibited to protect the dignity of the royal family……
"Look carefully. The crown design is different. The official Britannia crown has a closed-arch form, does it not?"
"That's right?"
"Our logo has an open form with no arches."
"T-that's enough?"
"Indeed."
Such loopholes existed, it turned out.
"Let's head inside for now. We have things to wrap up too."
Jurgen and Serena went into the store.
The store interior, having been refurbished in preparation for opening, had been designed with the motto of being pleasant and clean.
"Even looking at it again, it's spotless. I'd believe it if someone said it was a hospital."
It was a basic matter, yet not one that was well-observed in Britannia.
As this tavern street was frequented by Demon Realm adventurers, it was hard to call it hygienically clean aside from a few upscale establishments.
Creaking chairs, tables soaked through with the smell of alcohol, plates with chipped edges here and there.
Adventurers were accustomed to such conditions, so there were no particular complaints coming in — but a true expert knew to find points of difference in small details precisely at times like these.
"Doesn't a pleasant dining experience bring customers back?"
"Would it really make that much of a difference?"
"The influence a space's atmosphere has on people is powerful. A rough and rowdy tavern, a high-end establishment where one must be stiffly formal. We're providing 'a third space — comfortable yet refined' in between the two."
An atmosphere that not just adventurers, but family-unit customers could visit.
Separating the main dining space into the 2nd and 3rd floors had been done for that purpose as well.
As a side note, Penelope had stood out in creating the space.
"That table goes over here, and the chairs go there."
Having hotel management experience, she demonstrated the creation of a 'comfortable space' by delicately adjusting the spacing between chairs and tables — even the positions and angles of the lighting.
Penelope, who had finished issuing instructions to the newly hired staff and completed the final inspection, noticed Jurgen and approached.
"Did the sign go up alright?"
"No problems. Are there any other things to check inside the store?"
"I personally saw to it myself — how could there be any problems?"
Serena promptly took one step back and observed the encounter between the two.
Serena had not forgotten the shock she'd received after Penelope's declaration of 'We're not a couple, you know?' during the last vacation.
"Miss Penelope, would you tilt your head down for a moment?"
"Hm?"
"The rose on your hat seems slightly crooked. Is this a real flower? Oh my, it is a real flower."
"Is it really that crooked?"
Jurgen adjusting the flower decorating Penelope's hat.
It was hardly a surprising scene for him to look after others.
What was truly surprising was the scene of that arrogant Penelope obediently bowing her head and waiting quietly, like a deer waiting to be petted.
"Hmmmmm……."
They're not a couple? If you're going to lie, at least do it properly!
That's what she wanted to say, but……
Serena, having observed the two throughout the remainder of their vacation, was able to see that the two truly were not in a romantic relationship, just as Penelope claimed.
The two didn't act lovey-dovey with each other, and there were no moments of them getting caught by Serena secretly holding hands.
Throughout the entire trip, without any attempt to be alone together as a couple, whatever they did, they included Serena and did it as a trio.
They were genuinely not dating!
Serena, a veteran of romance, arrived at her own answer regarding that sweet, tingly, pheromone-oozing scene.
'Ohh, they're in that nice phase~'
It was simply giving up on thinking about it.
Sometimes when faced with an overly complicated problem, instead of racking one's brain over it, one should just go with the flow.
If things worked out later, there'd be wedding invitations going out; if the relationship fell apart, Y&P Trading Company would split into two.
"……Who would I have to go with then……."
Of course, the latter was something she'd stop at all costs — if nothing else, so she wouldn't have to experience the 'do you want to live with mom or dad' situation.
At that moment, a guest arrived.
"Ho ho, it feels rather awkward stepping into a place with only young people."
It was Baron Keystone, who had been persuaded by Jurgen and became a comrade of the Culinary Revolution.
The moment Serena saw Baron Keystone, her shoulders flinched.
"What brings you all this way without notice?"
"Are you telling an old man to get lost?"
"It's been a while. Baron Keystone, did you enjoy your vacation?"
"Oh, Lady Penelope. How very considerate. Even after all this time, your beauty hasn't faded."
"You flatter me."
Penelope bowed her head politely.
Though there was once a time they had competed fiercely over beverage market share, there were no permanent enemies or friends in this world.
Right now, he was handling the Bottling Partner License for the Northern Three Cities while simultaneously being an important investor in the chicken venture.
Without him, they couldn't have so easily obtained fresh whole chickens of consistent size.
"Now then, I brought a fine bottle of spirits to celebrate the opening."
"That looks quite expensive."
"Of course. It's one of the most precious pieces in my collection. You have no idea how happy I've been lately thanks to you all. I knew Cola would sell well, but I didn't know it would be to that extent."
"We'll gratefully accept it."
Baron Keystone, who had exchanged warm greetings with Penelope and tossed jokes laced with teasing at Jurgen, made eye contact with Serena.
"Ah, hello…… Baron Keystone……."
"Right, you were here too."
Serena bowed a full 90 degrees.
Keystone, with a completely different frosty air, gave only a slight wave in return.
'Why is it only me he……'
This was the reason Serena had tensed up the moment Baron Keystone walked in.
It was Renoir Workshop that had provided the technical transfer of the bottling process during the Bottling Partner License business.
And it was Baron Keystone who had written Serena's recommendation letter for the Viscountcy.
Yet strangely, Baron Keystone would sigh every time he saw Serena.
He would click his tongue as if displeased, or mutter 'what a waste' quietly to himself.
Of course, Baron Keystone's sighs were less about personal ill feelings toward Serena and more along the lines of 'what does that blasted love matter……' — but there was no way Serena could know that.
All she could think was 'You already gave the letter, just let it go already — what a lingering grudge!'
Baron Keystone, having naturally joined their company, asked Jurgen.
"So what are you planning to do?"
"What do you mean, do?"
"Obviously I'm talking about this Chicken Franchise business. I trust that you have a brilliant idea. You've sorted out the advertising, I presume?"
It was no coincidence that Baron Keystone asked specifically about advertising.
To put it plainly, they had been lucky with Cola.
Expanding that luck into 'premiumization' had been Jurgen and Penelope's doing, but ultimately the beginning had stemmed from the coincidence of Bellaby.
It was a question checking whether Y&P Trading Company had properly mapped out its marketing strategy.
"We have this pretty store, and the chicken is excellent — do we really need advertising?"
Serena, wanting to maintain a cordial relationship with the powerful Baron Keystone, casually tried to join the conversation, and——
"Young lady, the idea that a well-made product brings people in is the kind of nonsense that craftsmen spout. Those people eat off the reputation their forebears built and claim 'a good product needs no advertising.'"
"Y-yes……."
She ended up worse off than before and shrank back into her timid state again.
"I haven't done any advertising in particular."
"You haven't?"
"I plan to start today."
"Today is opening day?"
"That's right."
Baron Keystone made a dumbfounded expression.
It was the reaction of someone who had left things alone trusting they'd be handled well, only to get blindsided.
Baron Keystone let out a sigh.
At Keystone Company, they had tried making this and that to boost livestock product consumption.
Despite spending astronomical amounts on marketing costs, the results had been a dismal failure.
He knew firsthand how difficult the F&D business was in Britannia.
"What were you thinking, my friend. It's not an exaggeration to say everything hinges on the early-stage marketing……."
"I didn't say I wasn't doing marketing."
But Jurgen had a plan for everything.
"What good would it do to describe in words a food no one has ever tasted? And this is Britannia, no less."
In the modern era, various high-quality video media stimulated consumers' appetites, but that level of advertising quality was impossible in Britannia.
Then how could one make everyone's attention turn to something as commonplace as chicken?
How could one capture the hearts of people who had no particular interest in gastronomy?
The answer was simple — just have them try it once.
***
"Good work. Today's haul was modest, so the pay is a bit short."
"Not at all. I'm grateful for whatever it is. Please call on me again next time."
Having settled his payment, the porter Thomas looked gloomily at the silver coins in his palm.
1 shilling.
That's 100 pence.
Far too little money for the wages earned from hauling heavy loads through the Demon Realm over two nights and three days.
As porters were typically paid on a percentage basis — settled from the party's earnings rather than a fixed wage — things like this happened occasionally.
"Tch, nothing's going right. Absolutely nothing."
The long-awaited summer vacation was over, and post-vacation blues had set in.
This expedition had come up empty-handed too, so not only was there no money, there was nothing to show for it.
The weather was still muggy and oppressive.
Dragging his heavy feet along, Thomas looked longingly at the Night Market 'End of the Galley.'
Under normal circumstances, the highlight of his life after an expedition would have been to eat something at End of the Galley with a cold Cola……
"How miserable. Just miserable."
Today, he was completely broke.
He'd at least catch a whiff of the smell.
Thomas was flaring his nostrils diligently when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"……What's that smell?"
It seemed to be the smell of frying, but there was an indescribably subtle sauce scent mixed in that stopped him in his tracks.
Looking back toward the Night Market entrance, he could see people lined up in a long queue.
Looking more broadly around, he could also see people clutching bright red food in their hands and wolfing it down in a hurry.
"Hey friend, did a new restaurant open or something?"
"Don't think about cutting in line and get in the queue."
"No, I'm asking if a restaurant opened."
Thomas spoke to a sailor waiting at the very back of the line.
"They say a chicken restaurant did open, but not here. I heard it's over there on the tavern street."
"Then why are you queuing here?"
"They say there's a complimentary tasting to celebrate the opening — they're handing out one piece per person free of charge up ahead."
"Free?!"
Thomas got into the line immediately.
Free food?
Well, it was just one piece of chicken — it probably wouldn't even register, but still, in tight financial circumstances, beggars can't be choosers.
On top of that, the reactions of those around him who had received the chicken were striking.
The first reaction from most was negative.
"What kind of restaurant are they setting up just for chicken…… Isn't that just a side dish for Fish and Chips?"
"Is this actually fried chicken? What's all this bright red seasoning slathered all over it? Fried food is supposed to be dipped in salt and vinegar. Tsk tsk."
"They said they were handing it out for free so I took one but…… the color is too hideous. It looks like it was dipped in blood and pulled out……"
"Ugh! It's incredibly sticky, isn't it?"
"Mom, can we eat that too?"
"No! You'll get sick eating junk food like that!"
Truth be told, Thomas felt similarly.
Between the bright red appearance and the fact that it was chicken — something he ordinarily paid no mind to.
If it weren't free, he wouldn't have given it a second glance.
But the reactions of those who actually ate the fried chicken were different.
"Oh! Oh oh! This taste is……?!"
"It's sweet……? Wait, hold on, it's spicy? But it's sweet too……?"
"Oh my……! It's tangy as well! Strange…… it's strange, but saliva keeps pooling in my mouth. It's delicious!"
"H-how is chicken this incredibly tender?"
"This is…… what on earth is this……? Why does chicken taste like this……?"
"Truly!!! An inhumane flavor!!!!"
"What's it called? Seasoned Chicken?"
The fussy reactions of those around him, the irresistible smell wafting over.
Above all, the added element of 'free' meant the queue at the tasting stand was growing ever longer.
Like standing before a Reward Room, a heart aflutter with faint anticipation.
After a long wait, Thomas was finally able to receive one chicken drumstick.
"Sssip, it's a bit of a concerning thing, this."
Just as the people around him had said.
Chicken covered in red, sticky sauce that made one wonder if it was safe to eat.
Somehow the drumstick also looked a bit smaller than the chicken he normally ate.
But with a pleasant smell rising gently from it, just smelling it made the base of his tongue tingle and saliva surge.
"It's not going to kill me."
Thomas took a big bite of the drumstick.
And……
"Oh! Oh oh! Oh oh oh!!!!!"
He had caught a sickness.
A dreadful sickness that meant he couldn't sleep unless, every time he finished settling payment and headed home, he stopped by CCC and took home a whole order of Seasoned Chicken……
A terrible affliction that would be with him forever from here on out.