A Familiar Yet Unfamiliar Taste
"Hmm... Nothing really catches my eye..."
Sitting on a bench, he munched on coin-shaped bread and gold coin-like chocolate, then took a bite of a not-too-sweet macaron. Reaching for another snack, a crinkling sound pricked his palm.
...What the hell. When did all this trash pile up? Thinking someone had dumped it, he checked and realized it was all remnants from his own snacks. My goodness. Did I eat this much? Is this some April Fool's joke?
"Hmm... It's ordinary, but somehow strangely addictive."
You have to stay sharp when passing food stalls. Take your eyes off for a second, and suddenly you've racked up unexpected expenses. Get swept up in the atmosphere and splurge on pricey snacks, only to be disappointed by the mediocre taste. Money gone, mood sunk.
But this place feels different. Is it the bold flavors? Or the overall high quality? It's definitely ordinary. Flavors you recognize the moment they hit your tongue, tastes you could predict blindfolded—yet you devour them mindlessly. Why?
"Crack this secret, and it'd boost sales for sure..."
It's not just one stall; most of them give off this vibe. What pulls that subtle charm from such plain tastes?
"...Stuffed."
Too many snacks, maybe? His breath felt heavy. Snapping to, his throat felt packed solid, like food crammed all the way down. Not exactly full in the belly, but stuffed inside... more like bricks than a meal.
...Time to rest a bit and move on. Sun's still up.
...A little later, he booked a room. Decent value. Small, but plenty for one person. No extra luggage, so just wash up and crash.
"What's the secret to that taste? It was so ordinary."
Familiar flavors, familiar visuals. Even in this remote dimension, it wasn't far off from his usual meals. Prices ran a bit high, but unlike Dimension Central with its interdimensional supply chains balancing ingredient costs, this place was self-sufficient. A premium was tolerable.
"Where's the charm hiding in that plain taste..."
Ordinary. Yet addictive. Something separated plain from compelling. The gap was tiny. A hair's breadth, 1%, a single grain. Just what?What makes food this addictive...
"...Guess it's that method after all."
He'd spotted a convenience store on the way. When you want a dimension's true flavor, surprisingly, nothing beats a conbini. The ingredients stocked there are what locals know best. Pin that down, and the subtle charm unravels itself.
"A bit ordinary..."
...or so he thought, stopping by—only to find it surprisingly mundane. Nothing special. Same as anywhere. Ah. They sell wine and whiskey here. That's unusual...
"Hmm... Lots of snack varieties. This one's ramen?"
Checking the shelves closely: dozens of similar chips. Seasoned chicken flavor and chicken flavor, soy chicken and soy flavor, seasoning flavor, chicken broth flavor... What's the difference? Wall-to-wall similar tastes. Just this brand? Puddings, jellies, crackers, hot bars, hot dogs, sausages, jerky... safe, everyday snacks. Familiar ones too.
Hmm. Hard to grasp this place's uniqueness like this... Huh?
"...This?"
After circling the snack aisle, chip section, and daily goods a few times, a low shelf by his ankle caught his eye. Salt, sugar, flour... Huh?
"This is..."
What? Powder? Pills?
"Suspicious..."
Can a convenience store even sell this? Why's it with the seasonings? He flinched, setting it down.
"...But intriguing."
What the hell is it? Why's it like that? Quick internet search. And the revelation.
"Ah. Artificial seasoning. So that's it."
Artificial flavoring. Makes sense. He'd seen stuff like this. System Industry distributed basics: salt, sugar, pepper sets. They'd tried beef or kelp artificial flavors once, but real beef and kelp broth was twice as cheap, leaving them as toxic stock. Extracting artificial taste cost dozens to thousands times more than simmering meat and bay leaves with salt. Barely marketable. And even then, reviews said it couldn't match slow-simmered originals.
Memories trickling back. What could you do? For the same price, who'd pick 10g artificial over 35kg slow-concentrated meat? Way tastier.
"...Cheap."
But here, artificial seasonings were dirt cheap. Coin-shaped? Powder? Liquid? Varied forms.
"Might grab some."
He bought a few chips, ramen packs, instant foods, and artificial seasonings. Even like this, the price was... This dimension's costs were baffling.
Back at the hotel, hunger stirred faintly. Someone once said stomachs for meals and snacks were separate. Spot on now. Too many snacks to feel empty, but craving a proper bite. Perfect timing. Plenty bought; time to sample.
Ramen over chips. Room had a coffee pot. Boil water, pour into cup ramen...
"Hm?"
Opening the cup ramen revealed a packet just like the artificial seasoning he'd bought. Instructions: mix with soup powder, add hot water. Ramen with artificial flavor. Eh. He'd tried similar before. Not dying for it—
"This is it!"
My goodness! What is this taste? Rich! Heavy! Delicious! This ramen wasn't much different from usual. If anything, half a step down. Stimulating, but not natural. Natural-ish, but slightly less so... How to describe?
But delicious. Felt several times tastier than normal. Tongue sensation identical. Base even inferior. So why several times better? Where'd this unnatural result come from?
"This, then."
The difference: artificial seasoning. This powder type? He gingerly lifted a tossed packet, sniffed. Artificial beef scent. Like forcibly dried-and-powdered meat—unnatural.
...But appetizing. Unnatural, yet harmonious. How? How do clashing scents blend in one packet?
A bit of powder remained inside. Dipped chopstick tip, tasted: thick. Ambiguous if flavorful. Thick, vague sweet-salt... No, got it. That's it.
This was taste itself. Taste as a pure concept, hyper-concentrated. Too-strong sweet turns bitter; intense bitter or spicy hurts. Heavy bitter makes everything after taste sweet; strong salt makes bland seem salty. Concentrated flavors overwhelm and confuse normal taste buds.
"Diluted, then. That's why it hits so bold?"
Diluted, yet intense. Pale but rich. The contradictory taste he sensed. Confusing. But now understandable.
Delicious! Nothing else to say!
"Messy. But an unexpected haul."
Local artificial seasonings: cheap. Factoring shipping and storage triples it, but still dozens times cheaper than discontinued ones. And tastier by tens, hundreds. Meaning: far better concentration.
This could rival giant clan beef.
"Ingredients themselves seem pricey, though..."
Maybe that's why they developed this. Dimension Central: ingredients too abundant, no need. Here: expensive ingredients spurred artificial flavors. Fits.
"Plus great shelf life. Competitive with real stuff."
Forms: powder, liquid, compact solids. In apocalypse survival, one pill beats dozens kilos meat. Or great for camping, lightening loads.
"Remote dimension, yet uncovered a surprise product."
He slurped the rest. Natural vs. artificial. No clear winner. The chaotic mouthfeel was their even clash.
That familiar-yet-off charm? This explained it.
...Or maybe the guilty thrill of late-night cup ramen. Confusing taste, confused tongue. His mind swirled too.
In a good way.