The Republic of Yuren was the most advanced state on the continent.
Yuren was a "republic" with an elected nine-member High Council and 50 citizen representatives who met to discuss state affairs.
As a result of its openness, Yuren was home to the largest population of alchemists.
It was also the home of the Gold Tower, a holy place for alchemists.
Yuren was also the country with the most resources, which were essential to the creation of processed food.
"I'm Charlotte Weasley."
The citizen representative of the Republic of Yuren visited the White Tower.
"Charlotte Weasley" was a businesslike beauty, neatly dressed in a suit.
"I'm Yuri Grail."
"It's an honor to meet the famed Sage of the White Tower."
"...I'm not the sage, but my master, the Lord of the White Tower."
"Ah, in case you didn't know, we in Yuren call you Sage as well."
Charlotte smiled mischievously.
"The Sage of Gluttony."
Glutton and sage didn't go together, but it seemed appropriate as a description of me.
It was no secret in the Empire that I was a glutton for processed foods.
Anyway,
"I hear you want to buy Coke."
"Yes, well, more accurately, I'd say I want to 'attract' it rather than buy it."
Charlotte pursed her lips wistfully.
"As I'm sure you know, Yuri, it's very difficult to distribute cola from the Empire to Yuren."
It was a long way from the Empire's capital, where the coke was produced, to Yuren, a distance of three months.
And every time they traveled from city to city, they ran the risk of encountering monsters or bandits.
It was simply not feasible to distribute a product as fragile as cola.
So, "attracting" means.
"You want me to build a cola factory in Yuren."
"Yes, we can provide the necessary expenses and alchemists in Yuren, though not all of them."
Charlotte said, placing the relevant papers on the table.
"I don't think that's a bad offer for the White Tower."
It wasn't just a good deal, it was a huge "win-win".
The government would pay for the cost of setting up a production plant in another country.
Moreover, all of the profits from the plant would go to the White Tower.
Get development money, build a factory, expand the market, and get alchemists....
It was an attractive offer that we couldn't refuse.
But it was unlikely that Yuren would have come up with such an outrageous offer just to bring in a single Coke.
"There must be other conditions, right?"
"You're sharp."
Charlotte smiled.
"That's right, we in Yuren want the White Tower to develop a new 'drink' for Yuren."
A request to develop processed food.
"Of course, we'll talk about the contract and compensation for that separately."
That's what Yuren wanted from the White Tower.
I was about to accept Charlotte's offer when I realized that I had already gotten permission from the tower's owner.
Then I suddenly remembered my promise to remodel the tower.
'There it is.'
Yuren said they would pay for it, but building a factory is not cheap.
Add in the gems needed for food development and the fixed costs of paying the alchemists, and it was hard to make the remodeling happen.
But I didn't think much of it.
'Whatever.'
I couldn't pass up this great opportunity, but I also couldn't postpone my remodeling appointment.
Finishing my thoughts, I nodded.
"I'll take it."
"Good thinking."
A pleased Charlotte held out her hand as if to shake mine.
"But I have a condition."
"What is it?"
"Thirty million gold."
"...What?"
"No less."
Charlotte's outstretched hand trembled slightly.
*
Yuren accepted my request for 30 million gold as expenses.
With the money to pay for the remodeling of the tower and to invest in Yuren, I began preparing another 'advertisement'.
'Hamburgers' and 'fries'.
And a Coke.
The burger combo was the menu item I would promote this time.
If I had introduced the vegan burgers to elves, now it was time to introduce traditional burgers made with meat to the people.
Of course, to promote it, I needed a model who looked appetizing while eating it.
"But why me?"
Unfortunately, I have no talent for eating with gusto and even if I could, I couldn't even keep up with Aria's taste.
'Because whatever she eats looks delicious.'
Aria had a magic way of making even mint chocolate look delicious.
She could even make mint chocolate look appetizing but Aria vehemently refused to appear in the crystal ball.
She was surprisingly shy and didn't like to be in front of people.
"...We could use someone else. Anise seems to like coming out, and there's Mr. Evan."
"They can't because they eat badly."
"Then I eat well?"
"Yeah."
Aria's eyes widened in disbelief.
"It's all for the sake of our Tower, you have to understand."
"What do you mean?"
"We don't have any money."
"...What? What do you mean? You made a lot of money from Zero Coke."
"We spent it all."
"What...?"
Aria blinked her fair eyes in confusion for a moment.
"...You just spent all of your ten million gold?"
"Yep."
"And it's only been two days?"
"That's right."
All the money from Zero Cola was supposed to go toward the cost of setting up a cola factory in Yuren.
The contract had already been drawn up.
"So we need to make money."
After hearing the explanation, Aria opened her mouth in confusion.
"...Is it really okay for a person to be this unprepared?"
"There is a solution, you know."
I glanced back and forth between the burger and Aria.
*
Chaaaahhh─
The fries, dropped into the yellow oil, fry with an appetizing sound.
The golden brown fries fly into a paper bag.
─Hamburger, nya!
Tuduk, tuduk, tuduk.
A sesame-studded bun, three thick beef patties, cheese, and fresh veggies are stacked one after the other to create the big burger.
-Waaaah!
A cheerful girl with short hair exclaimed as she saw the finished burger.
She slices the hamburger in half with a knife and shows us a cross-section.
The juices from the patty oozed out as she pressed down firmly with her white fingers.
Then a hamburger the size of the girl's face disappears into her tiny mouth.
It was an art form that I couldn't believe how it was done.
─Mmm, delicious!
The girl exclaims with a cheerful expression and lifts up the remaining half of the burger.
The melted cheese and juicy patty glistened in the crystal ball.
With that, she disposed of the rest of the burger and dipped the fries in red ketchup.
-Gulp.
"Wow, I want to try that."
"It looks really good."
"...What is it? The cola looks delicious too."
The girl's appetite was whetted by the delicious advertisements, and everyone in the tavern forgot about the chicken they were eating and stared into the crystal ball, swallowing hard.
"Hey, boss, don't you have hamburgers here?"
"I want some of those fries!"
The food seemed simple enough, so the tavern chef quickly copied what he saw in the video.
But,
"It doesn't taste like this!"
"Give me what that girl is eating!"
Maybe it was the mood, but the burgers they made didn't taste as appetizing as the girl's.
Eventually, people knocked on the door of the White Tower in search of the burger that the girl in the crystal ball ate.
And the "hamburger sauce" that was the secret to the hamburger in the video was selling like hotcakes.
*
Aria's burger video became a huge hit, and Laura's sauces were sold across the empire.
Ketchup and mustard, special soy sauce for grilling the patties, barbecue sauce and mayonnaise.
The release of these unpopular sauces brought money into the empty coffers of the White Tower.
At the same time, the promised aid from the Yuren Republic arrived.
'They wanted me to make a soft drink.'
Yuren was a country so rich in potions that it was known as the 'Potion Republic'.
Surprisingly, however, the country hadn't developed a potion-like beverage.
This is because no self-respecting alchemist was interested in 'food'.
Meanwhile, the people of Yuren, accustomed to drinking potions, were thirsty for variety.
This is where cola came into the picture.
Coke was such a superior beverage that even the alchemists, who often neglected staple foods, were interested.
It was for this reason that Yuren set their sights on cola.
With the introduction of cola, Yuren wanted to expand the variety of beverages available and commissioned the White Tower to create a new 'beverage'.
It wasn't a bad idea, even for me since I had a drink I wanted to make.
'Let's make cider.'
Cider, the eternal rival of cola and the granddaddy of sodas.
I decided to give Yuren a cider makeover.