Chapter 10: The Unattractive Flower (6)
Chapter 10: The Unattractive Flower (6)
Translation: Godtl
The late-night ingredient preparation work didn't finish until late afternoon the next day.
"You've worked hard. Viche, you're always so diligent."
Viche silently waved a limp tentacle in response.
When I placed a candy on her outstretched appendage, she immediately retreated into the bag and zipped it shut as if afraid I'd ask for more.
"I hadn't planned to finish everything in one go..."
But once I started, I couldn't stop. Before I knew it, I'd extracted not just the coca leaves but all ingredients down to their essential oils.
The oil extraction went particularly fast thanks to Viche's expertise—she was quite skilled at it.
The results were now neatly arranged in large bottles on the table: cassia, nutmeg, neroli, vanilla bean, and the purified coca leaf extract.
Through alchemy, we'd not only completely dehydrated them but also pressed them, successfully extracting only the purest essences. We'd even processed them to be water-soluble for easier mixing.
"With this, the flavorings are mostly prepared."
Only one task remained—how to blend these with carbonated water to create "the most convincing cola possible."
This was both the most important and most difficult step.
Thud thud thud!
"Mr. Jurgen! Are you in there?"
A loud knocking came from below. Leaning out the second-floor window, I saw a man roughly pounding on the shop door.
"What—that guy?!"
Rushing downstairs, I flung open the door. "I'm Jurgen. Keep pounding like that and you'll break it. Will you pay for the damages?"
"My apologies. A certain young lady was quite insistent." The postal union worker gestured behind him. "Just need your signature here."
"Hmm?"
Only then did I notice the cart behind him, piled high with sacks of sugar and one additional box.
And standing slightly further back in the shade, arms crossed, was Penelope.
"Mmm, nice."
Today's regular customer Penelope sat elegantly in her usual seat, sipping coffee with refined grace.
The only difference from usual was that she hadn't come empty-handed—she'd brought an entire cartload of sugar sacks.
"Miss Penelope, what's all this?"
"You were whining yesterday about needing sugar. I remembered while I was out."
"You remembered after hearing it just once? You're more considerate than you look."
"Leave out the 'than you look' part."
The timing was perfect. Sugar comprised the largest portion of cola's ingredients.
"Is this blanket also your gift?"
"Correct."
Tucked among the sugar sacks was an expensive-looking wool blanket. Surprisingly light for its size, when unfolded it looked luxurious enough to feel guilty about placing on the floor.
"Since you took it upon yourself to stand guard all night, I had to go through the trouble of preparing a thank-you gift."
"The sugar alone would have sufficed... I wasn't expecting anything like this."
"If you don't want it, throw it in the furnace."
"I'll gratefully put it to good use."
By now I'd learned not to take her words at face value—there was always some back-and-forth. The proper response was to vaguely acknowledge it with a 'seems she's thankful~' and move on.
As a token of gratitude, I refilled her empty cup with a strong espresso.
Penelope sipped the espresso with evident satisfaction before setting the cup down.
"So. How far have you gotten?"
"Ah, the cola?"
"Yes, the cola."
"Just finished preparing the ingredients and extracting the flavors. Your sugar delivery makes the next steps easier—now it's just a matter of blending everything together."
"So you've already prepared all the ingredients in the meantime?"
Penelope showed a genuinely startled reaction upon hearing about the progress.
Indeed, it would have been impossible without the help of his capable assistant Viche and alchemy.
"Does that mean I can drink cola soon?"
"You seem quite obsessed with cola, don't you?"
"What did you say? After all the help I've given, I deserve to get some in return. So when will it be finished?"
"Hmm, I can't say for certain yet. It's hard to predict how much trial and error will be needed. First, we need to mix the ingredients and approximate the flavor."
"What? Didn't you make cola before?"
In truth, he had created the 'original' cola through Material Creation, and was now in the process of reverse-engineering it. But explaining this directly would connect Jurgen to his true identity as 'Han-bin,' so he gave an evasive answer.
"Honestly, I got lucky. It was something I made by chance."
"You didn't even record the recipe? Where is your head at?"
Penelope's face fell, having assumed she'd be able to taste the cola soon. Waiting any longer was exhausting.
Even if it was somewhat incomplete, wouldn't it at least resemble the taste of cola?
"If you need help, I can lend a hand."
"You, Penelope?"
"You said it yourself—you need trial and error. At the very least, I can help with taste-testing."
"Well, that suits me just fine. Would you care to follow me to the workshop?"
Though unexpected, having an extra pair of hands would certainly be helpful. He gladly invited her up to the second-floor workshop.
Despite visiting the shop daily, this was her first time going upstairs.
Penelope was immediately taken aback by the steepness of the staircase, which resembled something one might find on a rock-climbing wall.
"...You want me to go up this? I-It's not going to collapse, is it?"
"Not to worry. Even if you trip—"
"No! Don't even joke about it! Fine, I'll trust you."
Next, she was startled by the staircase's flimsiness, creaking and groaning like the deck of a ghost ship with every step.
"Welcome to my culinary atelier."
Finally, she was stunned by the sight of his workshop.
A desk crammed into the narrow space as efficiently as possible.
On top of it were flasks, beakers, heating apparatuses, and coiled distillation tubes—a rather impressive array of alchemical equipment.
Though lacking any extravagantly expensive tools, it resembled the workshop of an alchemist who had all the fundamentals covered.
"You're an alchemist?"
"Hmm..."
"Oh."
Quick-witted Penelope read much into his silence.
Alchemy was an expensive pursuit.
At the very least, it wasn't a discipline the owner of a ghost-market shop could easily fund.
And yet, this workshop lacked the most crucial (and costly) alchemical plants and reagents.
Once she realized this, the workshop took on a new meaning.
This space was a shattered dream pieced back together—a grown man's earnest attempt to recreate something plausible.
"That was a thoughtless question. Let's just focus on making the cola."
"Right, let's do that."
Penelope, who had brushed off the question unusually tactfully, glanced at Jurgen's expression.
Had her careless words dug into old wounds?
She wasn't sure if she needed to be this considerate, but there was no need to rub salt—or lemon juice—into the injury.
Jurgen, however, didn't seem particularly bothered.
"Ahem. Let's start with this first."
And why would he be?
From the perspective of someone hiding his true identity, Penelope's sharp observation conveniently dulling itself was a blessing in disguise.
Before she could probe further, he hurriedly began his lecture.
"First, regarding the method of making cola, we need to create the base mixture."
As mentioned before, the basic ingredients for cola are simple.
Carbonated water, phosphoric acid, sugar, caffeine, and caramel coloring.
The carbonated water will be made later by injecting carbon dioxide using a modified soda fountain from the coffee machine.
So we'll skip that step for now.
Adjust the sugar concentration to 10 brix to make a sugar solution, then add a small amount of caffeine extract obtained from coffee beans.
Next, add just a tiny bit of caramel coloring to achieve cola's signature black hue, and phosphoric acid for its tangy, sharp flavor.
For reference, the caramel coloring can be purchased very cheaply from a nearby whiskey distillery, and the phosphoric acid from an alchemy shop.
The fact that most chemical reagents are readily available as finished products is one of the few advantages of Britannia, a powerhouse in alchemy.
"How about it? This much is pretty easy, isn't it?"
"..."
Penelope intently observed Jurgen's hands as he demonstrated, stirring with a glass rod.
Just as expected.
His movements were quite skilled, as if he were a first-rate alchemist.
As though he had practiced this countless times before.
This sight only strengthened Penelope's conviction in her speculation.
That he must have once aspired to be an alchemist but was thwarted by the harsh realities of life.
"..."
Suddenly, yesterday's events came to mind.
Jurgen, who must have abandoned his dreams due to unavoidable circumstances.
Penelope proudly demonstrating her alchemy in the Demon Realm.
How must that have looked from his perspective?
Could her boasting have felt like deceit or mockery to him?
Her desire to earn his admiration and uphold noble prestige remained unchanged even now.
But this wasn't the way to do it.
No one understood the despair and sorrow of broken wings better than Penelope.
...Should she offer him just a little comfort?
"Wait just a moment. It'll be ready soon."
"I have something to say first."
"Hmm? What is it?"
Penelope's method of consolation.
It was to reveal her own weaknesses alongside his.
For her, this was already an unusually generous gesture.
"Actually... I wasn't particularly talented in alchemy either."
What should have followed was something like 'So if you keep trying, you could become like me someday,' but...
"Ah, you do seem that way."
"...?"
"But that's alright. Doesn't practice make perfect?"
Penelope's expression, which had softened with vague sympathy, froze as if she'd been slapped across the face.
While Jurgen, oblivious to his blunder, continued blending the flavors in a state of total absorption.
"..."
Penelope's eyes grew as sharp as a tormented hedgehog's.
What was that just now?
She was trying to comfort him out of pity, and he outright insulted her?
Was he jealous because she could do alchemy while he couldn't?
Who was he to say she lacked talent?
For your information, she was a prodigy in her youth.
A pure-blooded alchemist who studied at Albion Royal University through early admission.
And here he was, childishly playing alchemist in a workshop's second floor!
A commoner, no less!
If not for coffee and cola, he wouldn't even dare speak to someone like her...!
This is why you should never be kind to black-haired commoners.
She'd even considered gifting him those basic theory books gathering dust at home!
She'd been willing to spare her precious time to tutor him personally!
All canceled! Completely canceled!
As Penelope, her rare goodwill utterly disregarded, was about to erupt in fury,
"Here, the cola you've been waiting for."
"...!"
Jurgen's signature cola had arrived.
Despite its deep brown hue that bore no relation to appetite, the sight of the bubbling carbonation made me unconsciously gulp down my saliva.
"Huuuuumph..."
Well, the cola itself wasn't at fault.
When I thought about the cola, I could forgive his insolent and tactless behavior once or twice.
"Do you remember the cola you had last time? Just tell me if this one tastes similar."
"Fine."
Finally.
At long last, the cola.
How agonizing had it been to crave this mysterious beverage every night?
As Penelope pressed the glass to her lips, trying to calm her pounding heart—
"Ugh...!"
She nearly sprayed the cola in a spectacular mist.
Had her noble upbringing been any less refined, she might have created a small rainbow on the spot.
It was that horrifically awful.
"Th-this... this...!!!!"
Penelope experienced the most intense emotion she'd felt in months.
How could the cola she'd so eagerly awaited taste like this?!
She could tolerate everything else, but this was unforgivable.
"You! What in the world did you make me drink?!"
"It's cola. Still just a prototype, though. Is it that bad? I'll have to try adjusting the ratios."
"Ugh! You drink it too. Right now. Immediately."
As if refusing to suffer alone, Penelope forcibly pressed the half-finished cola to Jurgen's lips.
"Huuuuumph..."
After tasting it himself...
Even though he'd adjusted the ratios based on careful ingredient analysis, it still tasted terrible.
The carbonation and sweetness were detectable, but that was it.
It was sour, astringent, and left a bitter medicinal aftertaste like swallowing herbal medicine.
He hadn't realized flavor harmony could be this delicate.
Extracting a taste resembling proper cola would likely require hundreds, if not thousands, of trial and error attempts.
For Jurgen, this was an enjoyable challenge.
It fueled his grand ambition to revolutionize Britannia's culinary landscape.
But Penelope? Not so much.
"Miss Penelope, I'm afraid this might take longer than expected. When it's properly finished, I'll serve you some—would you come by then?"
Having received more than enough assistance, it was only proper to politely send her home now.
"How long will it take?"
"I'll complete it as quickly as possible."
"Forget it. I said I'd help, so I will. Give me the next sample."
"Are you truly certain?"
"Do you really think I'd go back on my word over something this trivial?"
Half-expected, perhaps?
Beneath her appearance, she was surprisingly stubborn.
Despite Jurgen's suggestions, Penelope obstinately remained in her seat, sampling every bizarre and revolting cola variant.
"Huuuuurk...!"
"Are you alright?"
"...Doesn't bother me at all?"
Each time, her eyebrows and mouth twitched as if struck by an earthquake.
She might as well have openly admitted the awful taste.
Perhaps she was trying to maintain dignity, but watching her struggle only made bystanders feel unnecessarily guilty.
"Give me another sample."
"Here you go."
"Ughhh...!!!"
Yet despite Penelope's tear-inducing cooperation...
No miraculous discovery of the golden recipe occurred between them.
Truthfully, this was only natural.
If perfectly replicating a modern product with 130 years of refinement were easy, that would be the real miracle.
"I can't drink anymore! I quit!"
Eventually, nearing the experiment's end, Penelope lost her temper and stormed off.
But there was one completely unexpected development at this point...
"Miss Penelope, honestly, I didn't think you'd come today."
"You promised to serve me proper cola, didn't you?"
"It's still not fully prepared, but would you like some coffee instead?"
"Give me the cola. If it's not tastier than yesterday's, you'll have hell to pay."
...was that Penelope returned the very next day to help refine the cola recipe.