I Became a Food Developer in Another World

Chapter 1: There’s No Coke in This World (1)

I was hit by a truck and reincarnated in another world.

At first, it was all good.

I was born a nobleman here, whereas in my previous life, I died a pauper with nothing.

Is that all?

“This child will surely become a great sorcerer in the future.”

I was so talented in magic that the Magic Tower Master came to scout me out as an apprentice.

Reincarnation of a nobleman, apprentice to a master.

My life in the other world was solid from the start, there was no room for complaint but I soon realized the otherworld’s fatal flaw.

I’m not talking about things like the internet or smartphones.

Those things are inconvenient at first, but after a while you get used to living without them. The sanitation was magical, so it was bearable.

But there was one thing I couldn’t get used to.

“It’s so dirty and tasteless.”

Otherworldly food tasted like shit.

It was either completely unflavored or insanely salty, and even the flavors that were edible were usually crammed with spices.

That’s not to say that I’m a gourmet or that I expect great food, because I was an unemployed person who could be satisfied with just staying at home and eating processed foods.

I’m just a worm who will eat anything you give me.

It was a problem because they didn’t even meet that standard.

The Otherworlders were a bunch of tasteless people who thought food was good as long as you put salt on it.

Sure, there were the occasional delicious dishes, but they were expensive and unappealing.

And worst of all.

“Oh, I want a Coke.”

There was no Coke in this world.

*

Technically, what I wanted was not food, but “processed food”.

Things like instant, sweets, drinks.

But there was no way I could get processed food, the flower of modern chemistry, in a world that didn’t even have the basics of science.

That was impossible no matter how much I was a disciple of the Magic Tower Master and had memories of my past life.

“Why don’t I make it myself?”

The thought crossed my mind, but I quickly gave it up.

I’d only eaten it, not made it, and processed foods don’t come with recipes.

Just because I remembered the flavor didn’t mean I could make it.

And even if I did know how to make it, there’s a problem.

A lot of processed food needs secondary and tertiary processing, and the world didn’t have the manufacturing technology to do that.

Without modern technology, processed food was impossible.

I don’t know how I can take a little bit of imagination and turn it into reality.

‘No, wait.’

“Turn it into reality?”

I jumped out of my seat.

“Why didn’t I think of that?”

There is a kind of magic in this world that brings the imagination into reality.

Its limitations are clear, and it’s treated as a useless juggling act, but….

“It’s worth a try.”

If it doesn’t exist, I’ll make it.

I spent the next few days locked away in the storeroom of the tower, considering the possibilities.

And I concluded.

“…this could work.”

*

“No!”

A girl with snow-white hair and amber eyes shouted firmly.

“Why?”

“You know Yuri, we don’t have any money.”

Ranya McDowell.

“If we don’t do well this year, the imperial government will cut our budget.”

This girl who cringed endlessly in front of money was the owner of the White Magic Tower where I belonged.

Of course, I knew the reason for her behavior.

‘We don’t make magic that makes money.’

The White Magic Tower was a tower that developed and explored folk magic that was useful in real life.

And magic that is useful in real life is usually useless or trivial.

As a result, the White Magic Tower was always short on funds because of its poor budget.

“What do you mean, you’re suddenly going to develop food?”

“Let’s make some money while we’re at it. We have to produce results.”

“But Yuri can’t even use a knife properly!”

Ah, another painful memory.

In the past, I once tried to cook and ended up cutting my finger while holding a knife.

After that incident, my nickname was the Red Sea of the White Tower for a while.

No wonder Ranya was distrustful of the idea of a guy like me developing food.

But I was confident.

This is an item that can be sold, right?

It would be a paradigm that would change the world’s food culture once and for all.

“Trust me, I’m going to make our tower rich.”

“It’s not that I don’t believe in Yuri, but our deficit is……”

Ranya hesitates, but doesn’t give in easily.

Finally, I pulled out my special move.

“If I don’t succeed this time, I’ll learn whatever magic the Tower Lord wants.”

“Really…!”

For a moment, Ranya’s amber eyes sparkled like stars. If she had a tail, it would have wagged.

Ranya was very proud of her magic.

[White Sage]

Ranya, who had such a nickname, was a great mage proficient in the art of materialization.

However, Ranya’s magic was so esoteric that no one in the White Tower wanted to learn it.

Even I, her apprentice, refused.

When I showed off my confidence Ranya wondered.

“What the hell do you want to make?”

“Coke.”

“Coke…?”

“Yes.”

I nodded confidently.

Fast forward to today, the 20th and 21st century, the king of carbonated beverages that captured the hearts of the world.

It was the first processed food I was going to make.