Sweet Collaboration!

Collab bread! Bang! Bam! BAAANG!

"This is actually... pretty good? The lemon jam inside is incredibly bright and refreshing, so it tastes really delicious."

As soon as I pointed at the tiny madeleine, Lee Eunbyul, the chief of staff, picked it up and chewed thoughtfully.

"Mm... yes, it is quite good. It’s so soft I’d never believe it was bread that’s been sitting around for some time."

"Pretty tender and moist, right? This one is definitely good enough to sell."

Tasting each of the ten breads one by one and judging their value was harder than I’d expected.

If I were being honest, the development chief wasn’t the development chief for nothing; everything here felt like it could go on sale without a problem.

"Miss Seah, have you tried this strawberry pastry over here?"

"Ah! I did try this bread, and... the flavor is really fine. But if people eat it expecting a pastry, they’re going to be disappointed right away."

Lee Eunbyul took another ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bite of the strawberry pastry, carefully cutting off a tiny piece with her fork.

"Certainly... if you call it a pastry, many people will expect a crisp texture, but this bread is rather far from that."

"Right? If you ask whether it tastes good, then yes, it does. But the gap between the name and the actual product is just begging to get it roasted."

The development chief nodded as if he understood my point.

"Miss Seah, you do state your opinions very clearly."

"Uh... was I too blunt?"

"Not at all. It’s certainly the kind of evaluation a consumer might give. That is why choosing a product’s name ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is such an important part of the process."

"It doesn’t taste bad or anything."

But it’s not a pastry.

Even someone like me, who wasn’t exactly a dessert connoisseur, could feel that instantly after one bite; there’d definitely be people online ready to trash it.

It was a collab bread, so flavor wasn’t necessarily the most important thing, but there was no need to sell something that was basically “tastes good enough to complain about.”

"In that sense, this chocolate roll cake is perfect."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I pointed at the bread with the wonderful quality of something you’d never believe cost only 2,000 won.

"And this isn’t just chocolate, right? Cookies and cream? Isn’t that it?"

"Haha, that’s right. It’s a roll cake filled with that kind of cream."

"Wouldn’t it be better to put that in the name? Anyway, this one is genuinely delicious, so along with the madeleine our chief of staff already ate two of, let’s definitely include it."

Was I already locking in two items?

All the other breads were also uniformly decent, which somehow made the selection even harder.

"What do you think of this melon Danish?"

"Ah... wait a second?"

I shoved the tiny Danish into my mouth and chewed diligently.

"Mmph... what’s inside this?"

"Ah, I think this one will split opinion quite a bit."

"It contains jam made from melon flesh...?"

"Mmph... for something made with fruit flesh, it smells and tastes more artificial ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠than even Melona, doesn’t it? It’s not really like that at all."

Lee Eunbyul hurriedly drank some lemon soda, then nodded.

"It tastes like syrup for children."

"Exactly, exactly! That’s the taste! I can imagine some people liking it... but once you add the texture of the fruit flesh, the whole thing gets a bit chaotic."

"Goodness... there was a researcher who was pushing this with confidence, and now they’re in a bind."

The development chief tossed out the joke with a laugh.

"Oh, come to think of it, were you able to prepare the slice cake I mentioned?"

"Of course. We also properly reviewed the video you referred to."

"W-wait... you saw that story video too?"

That was honestly a little cringe-worthy.

I had gotten excited and said I wanted this premium cake to recreate the original as closely as possible...!

But if they actually went and watched the story summary video, that’s so embarrassing?!

"This is the cake our development team made. Please take a look."

"Oh... this... this is a cake, right?"

The slice cake held out in front of me looked, at first glance, like a perfectly respectable slice cake.

But anyone who had eaten cake even once in their life would instantly know it wasn’t cake.

What do I mean? There was fluffy white whipped cream piled on top, but the bread beneath it wasn’t cake sponge at all!

It was more like a heavy, golden... castella.

"Even to me, this doesn’t look like a cake. I think it’s a somewhat different dessert."

"Even to the chief of staff?"

"Yes, that’s correct. Strictly speaking, this cake is not a typical cake. You’re probably thinking of a sponge cake, aren’t you?"

"Ahhh! Hearing the name makes it click! Right! The bread part is supposed to be sponge-like, isn’t it?"

This cake was a world away from that kind of sponge cake.

Wasn’t this also exactly the sort of thing people would look at and go, "Boo, scammer!"?

"But when we took the video you sent, Miss Seah, into account, this method seemed like the best one."

"...Ah!"

I clapped without realizing it.

If I tried to explain the story behind this in detail, I’d absolutely get hit with a "who asked?" reaction, but it couldn’t be helped.

This was a collaboration product!

"There’s a story behind it?"

"Of course there is! There’s a story! On the Star Train, you see, the first planet the player explores is a planet where Ragnarok has been going on forever. So the player meets Seré and Brünnhilde there, goes through all kinds of events, ends Ragnarok, and brings spring to that planet for the very first time!"

I rambled on, getting more and more excited.

"To celebrate the first spring brought by everyone’s effort and sacrifice, Brünnhilde gives Seré a cake, right? Ah, ah! That’s right! Because this planet had been trapped in eternal winter for so long, all the fruit was monopolized by the nobles in the castle. So Brünnhilde makes a cake so she can share that fruit with Seré, who’s from outside the castle."

"But ironically, Brünnhilde, who lives in the castle, doesn’t know how to make cake. And Seré, who’s from outside the castle, doesn’t know how to make sponge cake like we do. The two of them end up vaguely imitating the cake people made long ago to celebrate birthdays, don’t they?"

"Exactly! You really watched it closely?! So this is the cake they make! It’s topped with fresh strawberries and delicious blueberry jam, but the bread itself ends up being... right, this was a pound cake, wasn’t it?! It’s a complete mess of a cake, but because they made it to celebrate each other, it was really touching, you know?"

Lee Eunbyul let out a soft snort of laughter.

"Then this cake would be a cake that recreates the emotion of that story very well."

"Exactly. And in practice, there are kiwi, oranges, fresh strawberries, and blueberry jam piled on top too, so it doesn’t seem like there’s a problem."

"Since it’s a premium cake, we did our best to develop it so customers wouldn’t feel like they’d been cheated."

"That’s thoughtful. This can stay as it is."

I cut into the cake with a fork and took a bite, and sure enough, the taste was different from the ones I already knew.

But the dense texture of the pound cake and the whipped cream went surprisingly well together.

And with the fruit properly piled on top, the sweet-tart freshness came through beautifully, making the whole thing feel like a win.

"Then, since spring is the theme, how about trying this cherry blossom cream bread?"

"Oh..."

Where the development chief pointed was a very appetizing cream bread, overflowing with raspberry jam energy.

"I’d been thinking the shape was a little unusual, but it was designed to resemble cherry blossoms?"

"As Miss Seah said, it also symbolizes the arrival of spring. Brünnhilde and Seré will make good packaging, too."

Without commenting on the oddly suggestive impression it gave me, I took a plastic knife and cut off one petal-shaped piece.

When I put it in my mouth and chewed, I could feel the softness of the bread and the sweet-tartness of the raspberry jam.

"This... mmph... the bread itself has soaked up some of the sauce, so it’s pretty sweet too."

"Yes. The flavor is on the stronger side, but since this isn’t something we’ll be selling long-term, I don’t think it’s a major issue."

Come to think of it, these collab products would only be sold for about a month or two at most.

They weren’t like the standard cream buns or red-bean buns you see in convenience stores, the kind designed to be broadly pleasant so people keep coming back for more and more.

"If you look at it that way, this bread is honestly a hit. It tastes super fruity and the cream flavor is strong, so I really like it. Everything about it is great, really, truly, but..."

I wasn’t sure if I should say this, but I was a “girl,” so it should be fine, right?

No, honestly, I had to say it.

"Doesn’t this shape look a little too much like... that?"

"That?"

"You know, a woman’s private part. The shape."

"...Cough! M-Miss Seah."

Lee Eunbyul coughed pathetically.

"Ah... dear me."

"Couldn’t you change the shape somehow? I’m pretty sure everybody’s going to say the same thing when they see it."

I wasn’t being obscene—any ten-year-old kid would say the same thing.

No, seriously, it really did look exactly like that.

"Well... it was made to resemble cherry blossoms, so if we change the shape of each individual piece..."

"So, in the end, you’re saying it has to be this shape if you want to keep the taste?"

"...Yes, that’s correct. And since it’s a food product, there probably won’t be that many people thinking in that direction anyway..."

The development chief didn’t know what he was talking about.

This was absolutely the kind of thing that would get one hundred percent innuendo the moment it was released.

Did it matter? As long as it wasn’t chocolate, maybe that was all that counted.

"Then please release it in this shape, and make the bread as close to pink as possible. You can do that, right?"

"Ah, of course. We were already adding a little coloring. In fact, with the raspberry in it, it’ll naturally come out pink."

"...Miss Seah? You’re making it pink on purpose?"

...Women really are surprisingly quick to catch sex jokes.

"Yes, I’m selling this knowing exactly what it is. What’s the problem? Like you said, the people thinking like that when they look at bread are the perverts, right?"

Anyway, collab products like this are going to get all kinds of sexual jokes no matter how you release them.

Nothing was going to happen just because I nudged the board a little!

"Oh, and as for the packaging... Seré would be good."

That part was my own selfish preference, too.

* * *

"So what I’m checking right now is the final quality, right?"

"That’s correct, Miss Seah. There’s still a little time left, so if there’s anything you dislike, please let us know."

The first external collaboration for the Star Train was still in my hands.

"How many are you planning to produce, Mr. Jinsoo?"

"He says he’s taking a conservative approach this week and will produce a total of 100,000."

"100,000, huh..."

Would they be able to sell all of them? Still, with stickers included, maybe they could move them all over the two-month period?

My heart pounding, I moved my fingers.

"All right, let’s do this. Honestly, I think this’ll sell a hundred times better than that potato chip collab from last time."

I threw the dice with everything I had.