NOVEL NEXT Chapter 370
A new trend has swept through Kingsland.
It wasn’t strange at all.
Kingsland is a royal property directly governed by the ruler of the Kingdom of Seophone. Trends from the Kingdom of Seophone typically start in either South Coast or Kingsland. As a result, trends have a way of seamlessly following each other.
This time, the trend is none other than Yates-style cuisine.
Originally known as Chinese cuisine.
“Oh my God, this fried meat tastes like eating a thinly coated candy!”
“I can’t believe it. Are vegetables this delicious?”
“Slurp! The sweetness of the vegetables in perfect harmony with the meat!”
In preparation to rake in the gods’ money, the Yates royal family moved as if possessed.
Royal banquets were held even more frequently than usual. The main attraction was the dishes, delayed by decades thanks to the furious Michael. Even the Prince Henry’s ability to slurp down noodles left the guests in awe.
Those who attended the royal banquet requested an audience with Inamark, eager to relive the unforgettable experience.
“A cookbook? Ah, I had forgotten about that. From the next banquet onward, let’s gift it exclusively to the invitees!”
It was slightly different from what they had anticipated.
The gifts prepared to gain the secret (considering they were merely lubricant to look good in front of the king) seemed pale.
While the price for the recipes was to be calculated separately, before measuring anything, Inamark readily announced the same words to all the officials and nobles who appeared as if they had been waiting.
“Are you really releasing the secrets this easily?”
The nobles quickly understood the reason.
“I can’t make it.”
“What do you mean? A spice merchant came by just recently. You can’t make it? Seriously?”
“Yes. I can’t make it!”
A similar argument broke out across Kingsland between the expensive chefs hired from the continent and the employers who had paid handsomely.
Of course, there were dishes that could be made.
However, such dishes were only a tiny fraction of the recipes.
Among the countless substitute ingredients that contained Karem’s efforts written in the Chinese cuisine recipe, they were familiar even in their eyes.
Yet, there were only two.
Soy sauce and Kongarum.
Those two were something they had never seen before.
While skimming through the cookbook again, at the very bottom of the hardcover, written where it usually says “To be continued”,
“Soy sauce and Kongarum will be sold directly by the royal family in the future?”
“Oh my God. So that was it! That was the reason!”
“Is His Majesty planning to rake in the money from our warehouse with a rake!?”
As if they had been waiting, the royal family began selling soy sauce and Kongarum.
“Wait, the quantity is too small!”
Three small barrels every three days of each.
It was ridiculously insufficient for everyone who had the cookbook to be satisfied with enough purchases. Naturally, the price inversely correlated with that quantity.
Initially, many criticized the royal family for the outrageous prices. However, as time went on, the voices of the critics turned into the exact opposite.
“I don’t care how much it costs; just bring me that seasoning!”
The pineapple, a common fruit today.
Yet, just a few hundred years ago, it was a fruit so hard to obtain that one had to offer gold of the same weight to acquire it.
If it was hard to obtain, it meant it was precious.
Having a precious item was a mark of status.
Soon, pineapples became an essential decoration at parties.
It was simply too expensive to eat.
Hence, those who could not purchase pineapples rented them from companies. The rental fee was, of course, expensive, but business was booming.
Parties were essential for socializing and marriage.
Every day, parties were held throughout the city, and as a result, pineapple rental companies raked in the cash.
Soy sauce and Kongarum.
The same went for Yates-style (Chinese) cuisine.
Some could not get it.
Some finally got their hands on it.
Naturally, those who obtained it invited others to parties to flaunt the wealth and influence of their family and their closeness to the king.
In that process, strange dishes like Lemon Mint Cream Jjamppong occasionally emerged. Of course, the nobles, whose palates were trained by overseas chefs, instantly turned their noses up at it.
“Your Majesty, can you possibly increase the sales volume?”
“If the workshop’s production stabilizes rather than producing haphazardly as now, it may be possible.”
“What that means is…”
“Until then, the sales volume will remain the same.”
Once limited edition items are released, their value drops.
However, competition intensified further.
The limited period sparked the pride of those in power.
As the competition heated up, there were others who began to move in different directions.
Though the quantity of seasonings was limited, they were still being produced even at this moment. They were certain there would be a manufacturing method and secret.
Sometimes, the secret can be more precious than life itself.
Naturally, it was not uncommon among artisans and those in power to bribe the associates or related parties of their rivals to get hold of it.
Thanks to Michael, the location of the royal workshop was already revealed.
Agents of suspiciously wealthy individuals approached the workshop staff as they got off work.
“Hahaha. That’s nonsense.”
Things were not going as planned.
Not a single person fell for the temptation.
With so many staff members, despite Michael’s and the royal family’s name, there should have been some who would sway.
“Leave me alone and get out of here.”
“Do you think I’m refusing because of the money? What? Money laundering? You shouldn’t talk like that.”
“I’ve never met you today, nor have I heard anything!”
When things don’t go as planned, more money often resolves the situation.
But sometimes, there are things that cannot be bought with money.
“Michael and Karem warned me just like yesterday. I can’t fall for such a simple statement.”
“I owe the Lord my grace. His grace is with me.”
Faith, belief.
The seed of faith and belief worth thirty-six crowns.
Every day, once a day, Michael leads the staff’s prayers and openly prays to Karem.
If they had caught on to this, there might have been a chance to exploit gaps, but the defenses of the royal seasoning workshop were too strict for an intruder to break in.
Nobles hired thieves.
To break into the royal workshop and learn its secrets.
The hired thieves replied.
“Um… Can’t we just get a refund?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean, Lord Jackson drops by several times a day. Isn’t that way too risky?”
The name of Michael, the workshop’s owner and the nominal chief.
The threat and achievements his title of Swordmaster brought.
While many knights blinded by excessive commissions may have existed, Michael, with his beast-like instincts, had to weed them out one by one and cancel their commissioned jobs.
Michael was furious.
How dare they attempt to steal a divine object personally bestowed by the God!
“Don’t do that.”
“But, My Lord. Those vile creatures are trying to steal your soy sauce and soybean paste…!”
“Before you even interrogate the thieves, just kill them all before knowing who their backers are. Just let it go.”
“But!”
“Even if you knew, it wouldn’t make a difference.”
Several high-ranking nobles managed to avoid danger inadvertently thanks to Karem’s words, who came to supply soy sauce and soybean paste until the start of the workshop operation.
“All this chaos for just one dish.”
Wales could not accept the incredulity of Marta.
“You fool. You’re saying these dishes are tasteless?”
“No, not at all.”
Marta, sitting across from Wales, witnessed the feast of Chinese cuisine spread across the wide table.
It was something she herself had made.
‘Didn’t she say there were dishes she couldn’t prepare due to a lack of ingredients?’
Responding to Wales’s request, Marta served the dishes with the recipe she got from Karem, and she was baffled, but Karem was right.
The remaining two essential ingredients from Chinese cuisine.
Oyster sauce and Doubanjiang.
Oyster sauce, in particular, was a true all-purpose seasoning that, beyond Chinese cuisine and its derivatives, will make your dining table abundant if you have one in your fridge in modern civilization.
The issue was, while soy sauce and soybean paste were manageable, Karem did not know how to make oyster sauce.
Despite trying to create a substitute for Doubanjiang, oyster sauce was fundamentally needed.
So even if they knew it all, Wales’s situation, enjoying Orange Chicken while laughing uproariously, would only worsen, not ease.
“The taste is bound to be good.”
“Then eat it.”
“Won’t the Lord’s share be insufficient?”
“Then it’s your job to make more, isn’t it?”
Wales, who took the plate of chow mein, laughed joyfully.
“Oh, I just thought I’d take advantage of making food while using the nest and rune stones, but it’s great to hear that in two months, I can eat as much as I want.”
“It’s just a hassle for me.”
Marta let out a short sigh.
The reason was simple.
Karem had Mary, and she did not.
It was fortunate there weren’t any unreasonable demands.
Suddenly, Marta sensed the silence. Looking up, she found Wales looking at her with an astonished expression.
“…You fool. You mention it now, but you have grown resolute.”
“This is all because of you and Karem.”
“Are you blaming me for this?”
“Of course.”
Marta’s tail thumped repeatedly against the rare floor.
“How dare you treat a great being like you’re out for a stroll in the neighborhood, and you even accept it!”
“I’ll allow you to praise me for my generous heart.”
“Certainly, I appreciate it.”
Back when she first became the dragon’s slave, Marta was scared.
Dragons were all addicts to extreme pleasure and hedonism.
Becoming an intelligent servant of such beings.
One cannot be free of anxiety.
Marta herself had clearly witnessed the misdoings of the former Succubus Queen Lucia and her kin, who were now dead.
“Can I ask just one question?”
“I allow it.”
“Have you seen the world all around?”
“Huh?”
Wales, who was floating constantly, earning all the glory of eating lemon chicken, tilted his head.
“What do you mean by that?”
“You said all dragons are hedonistic pleasure addicts.”
“I did say that.”
“But you aren’t going out for pleasure.”
“Well, pleasures merely come rolling in.”
Wales laughed heartily and shook his head.
Pleasure rolling in? Rolling around on treasure every day?
“How rude. But I’ll let it pass. I’m talking about that foolish cook.”
“Karem?”
“Correct.”
Marta feigned a confused look, but Wales was being entirely serious.
“That fool comes to offer tribute to me on his own, doesn’t he?”
“So, to interpret it: You don’t have to go out for food since it’s being served to you…”
“That is right. Unless I grow tired of it later.”
In that moment, Marta recalled the dragon’s concept of time.
‘Until Karem grows old and dies, I probably won’t grow weary of it.’
Perhaps even after he grows old and dies, she might not grow weary.
“Most importantly, you fool. Do you think I specifically come out of the nest to eat and sleep?”
“Eh, wasn’t that the case?”
“Have you become so comfortable that you’ve grown rude?”