What a Bummer

Err, anyway, like you probably expected, I didn't manage to find any

cola.

Or rather, they didn't have any carbonated drinks, to begin with. Due to

their peculiar history of technological development, the very concept of

carbonation didn't exist on Refill IV, or Theta, as the locals called it.

"They told me you have an idea for a new type of beverage, sir. May I

take some of your time to discuss the particulars?"

"It's fine, but I'm not that knowledgeable when it comes to the technical

side of the process, okay?"

We went for a tour of the factory of a popular beverage company here

on Theta, but the tour guide told us they didn't have any carbonated

drinks. That's why I couldn't help but blurt out what was on my mind in

frustration, and as a result, a company higher-up came down to meet

with us. Since there was a possibility of them actually producing

carbonated drinks I can enjoy, I decided to cooperate.

"Well, there you have it. I'll be talking to these guys first, so go ahead

and continue with the tour by yourselves guys."

"I'll accompany you, Master."

"Hm? Alright then."

And so, only Mei tagged along with me while the others continued with

the factory tour... or rather, beverage tasting tour. They were probably

enthusiastic about it because we were just about done with the nonalcoholic beverage section and the next part would be the liquor section

of the tour. After all, three of the remaining four people excluding Mei

and me were avid drinkers.

As for Mimi... She probably won't drink herself senseless, unlike those

three. After all, Mimi also wasn't that good with alcohol. She would

probably reign those three serial alcoholics in, or at least try to.

"Please follow me, sir."

We were guided by the factory higher-up personally this time and were

led to a place that looked like a reception room.

"Uh, basically, a carbonated drink is a beverage with carbon dioxide

added to it. It's an exciting drink that goes down the throat with a crisp

and refreshing feel."

And so, I started telling them all that I knew about carbonated drinks.

Unfortunately, I wasn't really familiar with how carbonated drinks were

actually made in factories. Basically, I think they'd first prepare a noncarbonated stock solution, pour it into a pressurized carbonation

machine, and then inject carbon dioxide into it.

"I think it would be easier to infuse carbon dioxide into the stock

solution if it was cooled first."

"I see, I see."

As he listened to me ramble on, the factory higher-up took notes using

his tablet terminal.

"There are quite a lot of fruit-flavored carbonated drinks. Most soft

drinks you have here are already fruit-flavored, so I'm sure carbonation

would suit them well. Of course, you can also use other flavors, but

that's something I'd better leave to the pros."

"That's true."

"Also, there's dry ice... If you use frozen carbon dioxide gas, you can

probably make carbonated drinks easily. If you add dry ice into your

existing soft drinks, they would be easily carbonated. I think it's

necessary to prepare specialized equipment for mass production

though, but if you want to quickly make some samples, you can

probably use that method."

"This has been an enlightening discussion. By the way, can this process

also work for alcoholic beverages?"

"As far as I know, fruit liquor with low alcohol content and cocktails

with strong fruit flavors were probably carbonated. I think their alcohol

content was mostly less than 9%. Beer, a liquor that's made from worts,

is also carbonated, I think."

"I see, I see."

"Also, due to the nature of carbon dioxide gas when put into an enclosed

space, it's necessary to use containers that won't burst from the

pressure. Naturally, there's a danger of carbonated drinks bursting out

in a Zero-G environment like outer space. It would be pretty

troublesome to clean up the mess as well. In the first place, carbonated

beverages aren't suitable to be consumed in colonies and spacecraft. So

that's why they aren't that well known at present."

"I see. But conversely, it would be alright to distribute the drinks on

planets as long as we pay attention to the durability of the packaging,

correct?"

The factory higher-up was all smiles after listening to my talk. I tried

asking him and found out that the guy was actually from this beverage

company's product development department, and it seems he had

extensive knowledge regarding most of the beverages being sold in

Theta. According to him, carbonated drinks have not been sold on

Theta up until now. I guess he's happy since this could prove to be a

very big business opportunity for them.

On the other hand, I was kinda bummed out. After all, you could say

there was practically no point in me coming for a tour of this Thetan

beverage company factory. What a bummer.

Also, I was given lots of samples of the company's most popular drinks

as part of the payment for providing an idea for a new product. Actually,

I was supposed to be paid money as a reward, but the amount was

nothing but pocket change to me, so I asked for cases of their alcohol

and juice products instead.

We can drink them ourselves or sell them off in a colony somewhere. In

any case, I feel that the info I provided wasn't really worth all that

money, and it was troublesome to draft a contract for something like

this too. I think it was a good decision.

"And that's how it is."

"Hee."

"That's too bad, Boss."

"What a shame."

The reactions of the drunks were as such. They definitely think it was

none of their business. Well, it's not like I can deny that. Or rather,

what's with this number of empty liquor bottles guys? Why are there

more than ten large bottles completely drained?

"Ueee..."

And so, one person among the group of four already got completely

plastered and was currently squealing incoherently on top of my lap. As

soon as she saw me sit down, she immediately sat next to me and

latched on to me like glue.

"Why'd she turn out like this anyway?"

"I just looked away for one moment, and before I knew it, this

happened."

"But she shouldn't have gotten this drunk if she just had a bit of the

liquor."

"I'm sorry..."

The earnestly apologizing Whisker sure was cute. But I was already

quite exhausted by everything that's happened. First, I was confronted

by the unfortunate fact that carbonated drinks didn't exist on this

planet, and when I met back up with the rest, what greeted me was a

completely drunk Mimi. Meanwhile, the other three, who were

notorious drinkers, were downing bottles one after another.

"Uh, sorry for showing you such an embarrassing sight, Lilium."

"No, no, it's alright. Rather, I'm actually somewhat relieved. This makes

me feel that everyone's also just ordinary people like the rest of us after

all."

Lilium, who accompanied us as our guide, replied with an amused

giggle. She went together with Elma and the others but, of course, she

wasn't drunk. It seems she refrained from drinking liquor since she was

still in the middle of work.

"Well, there you have it. My original purpose for coming here fell

through, so we need to adjust our plans."

"Eh? We won't continue going around anymore?"

"We just started with the alcohol sampling tour y'know."

"Um..."

It wasn't only the two hopeless drunks who were protesting. Whisker

also displayed a disappointed expression. You guys already drank this

much and you still wanna continue? Are your livers actually still okay?

"Are you guys seriously planning on drinking more?"

"We're just warming up you know."

"Elven liquors are elegant and tasty, but they don't have much of a kick.

These're no different from juice to us, Boss."

"Um, I want to continue touring around other places a little more too,

big brother."

If even Whisker's saying so, then I guess it can't be helped. Let's just

chalk it up to employee benefits then. Yeah, I better not think of it any

further.

"Okay, I understand. We did come here due to my personal motives

after all. Let's go ahead and continue going around then."

After I announced that, the three alcohol enthusiasts cheered in glee.

You guys really do love your liquor huh? It's not something I can relate

to. Well, I also really adore cola and other carbonated drinks, so I guess

it's mostly the same thing.

"Let's visit an alcohol brewery next then. It's ok even if the fee is on the

expensive side as long as their products are high quality."

"Understood. I'll make the arrangements, so please wait here for a short

while."

Okay then. I better take care of Mimi while Lilium was making

arrangements for our next destination. And I gotta have the heavy

drinker trio prepare themselves for departure as well. C'mon guys. Go

pick up those empty bottles and tidy yourselves up, please. Hurry up

now.

And thus, our first day of touring around Theta ended with alcohol,

alcohol, and more alcohol.

Well, I was just leisurely following the girls around anyway, and doing

something like this from time to time isn't so bad either. The heavy

drinkers seem to be quite satisfied, and Mimi, who borrowed a medpod to get the alcohol out of her system, enjoyed eating the various

local specialties of Theta. I also ate a bunch of things while tagging

along with her and quite enjoyed it.

But this peaceful state of things kinda feels like the calm before the

storm so it seemed a bit ominous. I better keep my guard up.