Chapter 59: Distilled Liquors (5)

The whiskey produced at the Blue Tower was a drink that was only distributed in the north.

It was a drink created to replace wine, as such it didn't even spread to other regions.

In the central and southern regions, wine wasn't that popular, but it also did not hold the same exclusive status as it holds in the north.

In the past, wine may have held a high status, but ever since the introduction of Guinness beer, wine sales have significantly declined.

Since there were also various carbonated drinks like cola and cider, the citizens of the empire became accustomed and didn't found the absence of wine a significant lack thereof.

Theat meant that whiskey, advertised as a wine substitute found no room in the market to squeeze in.

However, everything turned upside down one day when a video was released across the entire empire.

"Wow, are all of that Cola Bears?"

"Wow, that's amazing."

"How on earth did they film that?"

The citizens of the empire gasped in astonishment as they watched the scene unfold in the crystal ball.

It was such an incredible sight.

A video captured hundreds of polar bears converging on the plains from dozens of meters above.

The video gradually got closer to a group of polar bears and eventually captured one specific polar bear.

"What, what is it!?", "What the heck?", "Why is it so big?"

"Is that a polar bear or a beast?"

People swallowed in shock at the sight of a such difference size of the polar bear among its counterparts.

With those massive polar bears attacking the Blue Tower, everyone thought something terrible was going to happen.

Suddenly, a strange sight was caught in the eyes of the those who'd watched the video with such tension.

"Y-Yuri?"

"Oh no!"

The sage of the White Tower, Yuri Grail, who had now became familiar to them, was now stepping forward amongst the polar bears.

However, the more shocking video was something the citizens of the empire could never have imagined.

─Grrrrrr! Oh, it's the best!

─What does it mean?

Whiskey cola is the best drink.

─It's called Fairy Coke.

─...I see. Fairy coke.

A polar bear said that after drinking the beverage made by Yuri, then danced in a way that doesn't suit its size.

"...Is this really happening?"

"Were you not here to engage a war?"

The citizens of the empire, who were unaware that it was an advertisement due to its grand scale, were taken aback by the unexpected turn of events.

Meanwhile, the polar bear that tasted the fairy coke was rubbing the empty bottle of whiskey against its cheek.

"Well, a cola bear going to war is just ridiculous."

The polar bear that got the whiskey bottle looked extremely happy, even to a stranger.

The people who had been tense, wondering if a war might break out, let out a hollow laugh.

Relieved and laughing for a moment, people's attention turned to the whiskey bottle that Cola Bear was holding.

"How delicious must it be for them to act like that?"

"A drink that Cola Bear likes." "Hmm, I want to try it too."

The citizens of the central and southern regions didn't even know what whiskey was.

If it weren't for the people in the north, they wouldn't have had the chance to try whiskey.

They couldn't help but wonder what kind of delicious drink could make polar bears migrate south in such large groups.

And just as that curiosity was reaching its peak, something astonishing happened.

"What, what is that?"

"Huff!"

"Oh, it's a cola bear!"

"There are three of them!"

Three polar bears or cola bears, have appeared one after another in the capital of the empire.

The polar bears, who appeared carrying a house-sized box as if they had come from the North, were headed towards the White Tower.

Reports of sightings of the cola bears continued to pour in from all over the capital.

"No way, polar bears come down this far?"

"These bastards at the Ministry of Magic said that the polar bears can't come down because of their body structure. Were they lying again?"

The Ministry of Magic's predictions have been consistently off lately, leading people to doubt the Ministry's legitimacy and expertise.

In the meantime, when the polar bears, who had said not to worried about because the Ministry of Magic would never come down unless it was midwinter, appeared in the capital, their trust plummeted to the ground.

"I had my suspicions ever since the cola bear lived in the White Tower."

"Last time, didn't they say that without wine, the Northerners would be healthier? They say that was a lie too."

"Just as expected, it's a department that only eats up taxes."

"So then, what's the difference between a land bear and a polar bear?"

"Isn't it possible that the Ministry of Magic arbitrarily divided the same species?"

"Hmm, could they have really gone that far?"

The Ministry of Magic was undergoing an unexpected ordeal, but the reason the polar bears could roam around unharmed was something else entirely.

"...Grrr, refreshing."

"It feels like I've come to a fragrant place."

On the chests of the polar bears, there were magic stones, each removed from a magic cooler.

The cold emitted by these magic stones was keeping the polar bears' body temperature relatively stable.

Of course, even without the magic stones, there wouldn't be a problem.

Contrary to people's prejudices, polar bears were creatures with strong stamina and magic to stay on land for more than a month.

The magic stones was merely a service to accommodate the polar bears.

There was no reason to save on costs except for putting on a performance like this.

And naturally, this performance elicited a passionate response.

"Give me a whiskey!"

"How do you make a Fairy Coke!?"

"Polar bear! Where is the polar bear?!"

"There it is!"

"Whoa!"

Fairy Whiskey, rumored to be a drink even the polar bears acknowledged, was crowded with people from the very first day of its release.

"Ugh, I didn't know you could drink cola like this."

"Wow, what's this? The cola is getting me tipsy?"

The citizens of the empire cheered at the fact that cola could also be consumed as alcohol.

"Did you hear?" They say this whiskey is made with holy water!"

"Ugh, that's the reason why it felt like my throat was burning!"

The good image that holy water has and the promotion of "cola liquor" that polar bears drink. On top of that, the allure of the unfamiliar whiskey they're was tasting for the first time.

To the citizens of the empire, who only knew brewed alcohol, high-proof distilled spirits offered a thrilling new experience.

Meanwhile, the ones who cheered the most at the advent of whiskey were the nobility.

The aristocrats with strong vanity enjoyed flaunting their knowledge, and whiskey was more than enough to satisfy the tastes of such aristocrats.

"The whiskey I brought today is aged in a 700-year-old elven oak cask."

"Oh, the taste was different, so that's why!"

In whiskey, the oak barrel was the key factor that determined its flavor, and in the elf forest, there were countless types of trees.

The ages varied greatly, with oak barrels made from wood as young as a hundred years old and as old as several thousand years.

And the older the whiskey aged in the wood, the deeper the flavor is produced.

Fairy whiskey is not all the same fairy whiskey.

"700 years, huh? It's a shame for such a young tree."

"What on earth did Lord Owen bring...?"

"Can you see the branch mark on my whiskey bottle?"

"Yes, we can see it."

"It's the branch from the World."

"...No, how on earth did you manage to procure that? If the elves find out about this, there'll be a huge uproar."

"Shh, just don't ask it's a secret."

The nobles engaged in fierce psychological warfare over the age and type of the trees.

But in whiskey, it wasn't just the wood that mattered.

"The distinction between a barrel is factory-made or handmade is more important than its age, right?"

"Your Highness, the First Princess. That's from the White Tower."

"Yes, that's correct."

The First Princess Luciela smiled brightly.

The label on the wine bottle she was holding had a white and a blue tower drawn on it.

The fairy whiskey with the mark of the Blue Tower were considered rare items that was difficult to obtain even with money due to its taste and rarity, as it was infused personally with 'magic' by Ayla, the wizard of the Blue Tower, who personally participated in its distillation.

However, the most important thing about fairy whiskey was whether it had the mark of the White Tower or not.

Depending on the presence or absence of the label, the depth of 'maturation' varies in dimension.

"...I'm envious its White Tower fairy whiskey."

The nobles looked at The First Princess Luciela, who held the White Tower fairy whiskey, with envious eyes.

It didn't take long for the whiskey that hit the mark with the aristocrats' tastes to become the centerpiece of high society.

And the nobles liked to attach a plausible background to their culture.

"Did you know that? Whiskey is a drink developed to protect the North from the invasion of the polar bears."

"I was there at the time. It was a moment so tense that it almost escalated into a war between the races."

"Oh, how could I have missed that."

"So, Yuri made the drink with cola because he was conscious of the polar bears."

The background behind the birth of the 'Fairy Coke' was gradually being distorted through word-of-mouth and was heading in a strange direction.

*

"What's wrong?"

"No, it's just that my ear was itching."

I blew on my finger that had scratched my ear.

"Is it all over?"

"Yes, after you just do this one thing."

Aria placed her hand on the barrel.

Wooom~ The magic of the oak barrel writhes and expels out its components.

Whiskey that has been 'aged' like that is distributed with a picture of the White Magic Tower on the label.

What would happen if the nobles found out that the whiskey they are so crazy about is actually made so simply?

"Phew, it's all over."

"You worked hard."

When I patted her shoulders, Aria let out a groan.

"Ah, refreshing."

Aria, who had already infused magic into 40 barrels today alone, looked exhausted.

At that moment, thud, thud. I heard the ground rumbling, and then a shadow passed over my head.

"...Hmm, is it okay to take this?"

"Yes. Thank you Arthur."

A massive polar bear effortlessly lifts the oak barrel.

Arthur.

A polar bear, who introduced himself as Bolitur's younger brother, was moving the oak barrel.

The polar bears were helping with various tasks, from transporting whiskey to clearing barley fields and hunting forest beasts.

'It's amazing, I tell you.'

I clicked my tongue as I watched Arthur move the barrel.

The northern forest 'Tundra' is a dangerous place filled with beasts.

The polar bears turned that dangerous forest into a safe zone in just a month.

It was something I asked for, but I didn't know that subduing the monsters would be this easy.

Thanks to that, my work has also become much easier.

"I'll get up first."

"Are you going somewhere?"

"To pick grapes."

Whiskey was taken care of, so now it was time to get the grapes.