I Became a Food Developer in Another World

Chapter 6: This is the real deal (3)

When the cola epidemic hit the imperial capital, not everyone was happy about it.

The Third Prince Leon was one of them.

He thought the popularity of cola was “bizarre.”

Think about it.

The empire had seen many waves of fashion over the years but never before had the empire been so energized by a single beverage.

The popularity of cola had an uncanny tendency to overheat.

In the eyes of the Third Prince, ‘mania’ didn’t even begin to describe it but no one else seemed to find it strange. Everyone was busy singing the praises of Coke.

As if they were ‘mesmerized’ by it.

The Third Prince then came up with a terrifying hypothesis.

“It’s black magic,” he thought, “there’s no way anyone could fall in love with Coke like this without black magic.”

It may have been a wild delusion, but the mood of the empire had become too heated to accept it without some sort of substitute.

The devil’s drink is spreading through the Empire.

It would be reasonable to think so.

That would explain the bizarrely overheated atmosphere.

The appearance of the coke lent credence to his reasoning.

“Donovan, look at this boiling black liquid, doesn’t it look like a bubbling pond at the bottom of hell?”

“Hmm, it certainly looks ominous, but I wouldn’t call it black magic based on this alone……”

The Third Prince found it hard to accept that such a thing was becoming fashionable in the Empire but the idea that cola is a product of black magic is only speculation.

In order to obtain evidence to support his theory, the Third Prince had a vial of cola stock, the raw material of cola, smuggled away and had its contents examined.

The results were shocking.

“I can’t figure it out.”

“…You say.”

The old mage, the imperial court mage and teacher of the Third Prince, had failed to analyze the contents of the Cola Stock.

“It looks like the White Tower Master has put a lock on the stock…Hmph, why would she do such a stupid thing……”

The old wizard added that the White Tower Master herself had placed the lock on the coke stock, but the Third Prince didn’t listen.

He was in no mood for that.

‘There is black magic in the Empire……!’

The truth he had arrived at was too terrible and he shuddered with fear.

The cola had already spread throughout the Empire.

If this was the work of someone with malicious intent against the Empire, then…….

“…Emergency, emergency.”

The Third Prince immediately informed the Church but the Church, which should be the first to react to black magic, was silent.

‘Why isn’t the Church doing anything?’

The third prince’s heart was in the right place, but the Church insisted on waiting until they had a clear picture.

The Church response was uncharacteristically taciturn.

The Third Prince decided that if the Church would not act, he would have to take matters into his own hands and solve the black magic problem.

That was the reason for the third prince’s visit to the White Magic Tower.

*

‘A den of devils.’

The third prince was nervous as he visited the White Magic Tower.

The strangely dilapidated appearance of the tower, the mages eating bizarre snacks he had never seen before.

At first glance, it was an ordinary scene, but when black magic was added to it, it couldn’t be more eerie.

The wizard munching on a Pringles was embarrassed as the third prince stared at him.

“D, would you like one?”

“Yes. What is that?”

“Uh, it’s a new product from the tower called Pringles.”

“That looks unusual. What are they made of?”

“It’s a snack made from potatoes.”

I see.

The third prince nodded inwardly.

Potatoes are a typical devil fruit that grows on the ground.

The Third Prince had never heard of potatoes being used for food anywhere on the continent.

‘They’re trying to spread potatoes to the empire.’

The Third Prince looked back at his escort and asked.

“Do you still think my words are a leap of faith?”

“Hmmm, well, I was skeptical at first, but I think it’s……”

Donovan, the Third Prince’s bodyguard, trailed off.

At first, he thought the Third Prince was exaggerating things.

The Third Prince was always prone to suspicion and tended to blow things out of proportion.

He’d thought it was more of the same and hadn’t thought much of it.

However, when we arrived at the White Tower, the third prince’s words sounded convincing.

Not only that, but every wizard in the White Tower who passed by was carrying a bag of Pringles, as if they were organizing a group effort.

“Hmph, hmph. This is the sweet mayonnaise flavor…….”

“I like the buttered popcorn…”

Wizards were also spotted muttering strange, unintelligible words as they ate their snacks.

Sweet Mayonnaise, Butter Popcorn, Donovan had never heard of it before.

It was like…

Yeah.

It was like being at a drug party.

The third prince’s claims of black magic shook Donovan’s mind, especially when they said the snack was made from potatoes.

“…This may indeed be black magic, Your Highness.”

“Finally, your lordship understands my mind.”

“I apologize for all my doubts.”

“Good enough.”

The Third Prince smiled, glad he had brought Donovan with him.

“Now all that remains is to find and capture the warlock.”

But finding the warlock proved surprisingly easy.

“Uh, what can I do, Yu, Yuri is out of town right now……Oh, there he is!”

The White Tower Master, who had been pacing the lobby in a panic, pointed to a mage who had just entered and left the tower.

“There he is! He’s the developer of Coke!”

‘Ordinary.’

The developer of Coke that the White Tower Master pointed to was an innocent-looking young man.

He didn’t look like a warlock who had made a pact with the devil but that made him all the more suspicious.

I’d heard that warlocks were skilled at hiding themselves.

‘I don’t know how you managed to escape the eyes of the Church, but my eyes are not deceiving.’

The Third Prince vowed to unmask the wicked devil.

*

“…Yuri Grail, I greet His Imperial Highness, the Third Prince.”

“No need.”

I started to kneel, but the Third Prince held up a hand to stop me.

“I heard you made coke.”

“That’s right. Is that what you came to see me about?”

“At first, yes, but since I’ve been here, I see you’ve developed something else. Pringles?”

“You mean Pringles.”

“Yeah, I think that’s what it was called.”

‘What is it?’

I scratched my head.

The third prince looked at me with his eyes narrowed.

‘Did he catch me trying to leave?’

“There is one thing I would like to ask you.”

“Go ahead.”

Leaning toward me, the Third Prince rested his chin on the back of his hand.

“There are many crops in the Empire.”

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the parlor changed to that of an interrogation room.

“Of all those crops, is there any particular reason why you chose the ‘devil’s fruit,’ the potato, to make your confection?”

“There’s no particular reason.”

“Then why did you use it?”

“Because it’s delicious.”

The third prince twisted his lips.

“You can’t tell me.”

“…What?”

“How did you invent Coke and Pringles?”

“Well, I got an idea and-”

“Don’t try to deceive me by saying you came up with the idea yourself.”

“…….”

I was a little surprised.

What, what does he know?

“I heard that all the food there is deceptive.”

It was true that processed foods were all deceptive.

‘…Do you really know?’

I was feeling nervous at the strange words.

“Perhaps your products are also infused with black magic from the demon world.”

“…….”

I realized then that the third prince was firmly mistaken about something.

Somehow, I hadn’t seen it coming from the start.

“Your Majesty, this is not black magic. It’s an alchemical stock food.”

“You’re trying to argue that it’s not a devil’s food because you used the devil’s fruit?”

“Potatoes are not the devil’s fruit.”

That’s so mean, calling a perfectly good crop the devil’s fruit just because it’s ugly.

“You’re going to keep saying that.”

The third prince asked, tired of the wizard’s evasive demeanor.

“Very well. Then tell me, what is this cola made of?”

“Well, that’s…”

“I see you still can’t tell me.”

“I’m not supposed to share information about the stock.”

The third prince looked back at Donovan, his escort.

“The wizard is right. It is illegal to pry information from the stock, Your Highness.”

“Hmm.”

Speechless, the Third Prince was silent for a moment.

But that was only on the surface, as Donovan and the third prince were conversing through magic.

─Donovan, how did he look?

─He seems to be hiding something.

─I see. That’s how I saw it too.

Donovan was a knight, but he was also skilled in psychoanalysis.

While the third prince was talking to the wizard, Donovan had been analyzing the wizard’s expression the whole time.

What the wizard was hiding was probably ‘black magic’ but even knowing this, it would be difficult for the princes to reveal the wizard’s identity.

The empire was a nation based on evidence.

No one, not even the Emperor, could put pressure on the wizard of the tower without hard evidence.

‘Then we’ll have to dig a little deeper.’

“If I can’t reveal the contents of the stock, I’ll try to eat the stock myself. Is that even possible?”

“I’m sure I can, but are you sure you’re okay with that? Eating the stock yourself would be very stimulating.”

“Okay, give me some.”

“I warned you that it would be highly stimulating.”

The Third Prince ignored the warning and popped two sticks of Coke and Pringles stock into his mouth in one fell swoop.

Because he was a strong man who had mastered the Sword Aura, no amount of stimulation would work on him.

‘Hmm, not much for a warning-‘

The thought trailed off.

“…Your Highness!”

Donovan picked up the collapsing Third Prince.

“I told you not to eat like that.”

I clicked my tongue, the unconscious Third Prince’s body twitching.

“Was it black magic after all……?”

“Don’t worry, he’ll wake up soon, he was just knocked unconscious by a strong stimulus.”

True to my words, the Third Prince regained consciousness shortly afterward.

“…Mmm.”

“Your Highness!”

“Donovan, you’re too close. Move away.”

“Yes.”

Donovan stepped back, and Third Prince Leon looked at me.

The look on the Third Prince’s face was sobering, I asked curiously.

“How was it?”

“…Ecstatic. I felt like I was on the back of a dragon, cruising across the continent with the wind at my back.”

That’s a pretty specific flavor description.

“What do you call these?”

I pause, about to say stock. That’s not the answer the Third Emperor wants.

“They’re processed food.”

“Processed food…….”

After muttering the word processed food under his breath, the Third Prince left the Tower with a promise to come back.

*

The entire carriage ride back to the imperial palace, the Third Prince said nothing.

The Third Prince’s head was bowed, his eyes fixed on something, until finally he spoke.

“Donovan.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“It seems I was mistaken.”

“Mistaken about what……?”

“It is not black magic.”

What the White Tower spread was not black magic.

“It’s more than that.”

Black magic could never make him feel this way.

For a brief moment, the Third Prince felt as if he had truly ascended to the heavens and looked down upon the continent.

As he pondered what it was all the way back to the imperial palace, the Third Prince finally had an answer.

“It seems that the White Tower has developed a new magic.”

“!!”

Donovan’s eyes widened.

New magic……!

As a knight, he was no stranger to magic, but he knew what new magic meant.

Magic branches off and derives from the one magic that is its root.

The birth of a new magic meant the birth of a new ‘root’. These were called ‘schools’.

It had been more than a hundred years since a new school had appeared in the Empire.

The Third Prince was not shy about stating that a new school had emerged in the world of magic.

“As soon as we return to the imperial court, tell them to raise funds for the White Magic Tower.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

After speaking, Third Prince Leon looked out the window and muttered to himself.

“……Foods, labor, and money worthy of processing.”

*

The White Tower has been allocated ‘state aid’.

The problem was, it didn’t say what it was for and neither the department in charge nor the Tower owner knew why.

However, a card from the imperial court was tucked away in a filing cabinet.

[Congratulations on the birth of new magic. ─ Third Prince Leon Hitzhark]

“…What is he really doing?”