Chapter 82: Coffee (1)

Coffee is a drink that chases away sleep and brings vitality. As such, it was effective as a morning stimulant.

"Hmm, nice."

Aria closed her eyes and enjoyed the rich aroma of the coffee.

"Ugh, bitter."

─Spit.

Frowning, Ranya poured in milk and sugar.

"The aroma is nice, isn't it? Still, it seems a bit bitter to drink as is."

Zion, though not as much as Ranya, still found it bitter and added water to it.

It was obvious.

What I gave was the first modern-style coffee, espresso.

It was made by applying pressure with high-pressure steam through magic to finely ground coffee beans.

Because it has a stronger taste compared to regular coffee, even in Italy, the home of espresso, people mix it with chocolate or milk during the day.

If you add water, it becomes an Americano, which is American-style coffee; if you add milk, it becomes a latte.

The evaluation of the coffee's taste was starkly divided.

"I think Snoopy is much better."

"I think Snoopy suits my taste better too."

"I like this."

While Aria liked the espresso, Ranya and Zion couldn't understand what the taste of coffee was all about.

That's true; when you first taste coffee made from beans, you usually only taste bitterness.

You have to drink it a few times to be able to taste the various flavors inside.

In the case of someone as sensitive to taste as Aria, they might be able to sense all those flavors even after just one sip.

"It's quite tricky to make, too."

Using magic, it was possible to extract espresso with high-pressure steam, but this method could only be used by wizards.

To manufacture and mass-produce a magical tool that extracts high-pressure steam, a significant initial investment was required.

It was not a suitable method for popularizing coffee.

"This is instant coffee."

It's low-cost, sweet in taste, and just tearing it open, mixing it with water, and stirring it makes it the ultimate instant coffee.

Instant coffee was indeed the easiest means to popularize coffee.

The problem was that whether it was espresso or instant coffee, there were no 'beans' to produce the coffee.

Right now, there was a shortage of coffee beans, so even Snoopy couldn't sell properly.

Even the Snoopy Milk that was being produced would sell out as soon as it hit the shelves, thanks to the rumors about its awakening effect spreading among the wizards.

─We should keep this good thing to ourselves.

Because they feared that if the civilians noticed, it would become difficult to obtain, the Blue Tower wizards were hoarding Snoopy Milk whenever it became available.

Thanks to that, most people in the private sector didn't even know about the existence of Snoopy milk.

Even the small amounts were all taken by the wizards, so there was no way to know.

To promote the widespread use of coffee, it was necessary to first increase the production of coffee beans.

Of course, there was a method I had thought of in advance for this issue.

"I guess I need to get Lilith's help."

Coincidentally, Lilith was staying in the capital.

*

"Okay, Lilith! Try hanging from the horizontal bar in that position."

"Ugh, I don't want to! Why would I do pull-ups..."

"If you do that, we'll release cheese sticks named after Lilith, okay?"

"...!"

"If you don't want to, you don't have to force yourself."

"Ah, no!"

Lilith quickly jumped onto the horizontal bar.

The First Princess, with a satisfied expression, held the crystal orb and peered around Lilith like a camera director.

"...Your Highness, what are you doing right now?"

"Ah, Yuri. Welcome. I was making the packaging for the cheese sticks."

"It seems like it's already out."

We had decided to release the cheese sticks, and it seemed like they were in the process of making the packaging.

Lilith was the model.

I don't know why the First Princess is holding the crystal orb and taking the photos herself.

"You've been through a lot."

I looked at Lilith hanging from the pull-up bar with pity and asked.

"After the shoot, may I borrow Lilith for a bit?"

"It's possible, but it would take some time to finish..."

At the moment the First Princess was about to check the time, Lilith jumped off the horizontal bar.

"What's the matter Wizard?"

"It's not urgent, so I'll let you know once you're done with your work."

"It's okay. Let's go outside and talk for now."

Lilith fled the set without looking back.

I scratched my neck and gave a slight bow to the First Princess.

"I'll finish up quickly and come back."

"There's nothing we can do about it."

With the permission of the First Princess, I followed Lilith and left the filming set.

Lilith was waiting for me at the entrance.

"Just in time, Wizard. I almost got caught by that princess and ended up filming all day."

Lilith let out a deep sigh.

It was a strange sight to see a vampire lamenting the hardships of labor in human society.

"So, what brings you here?"

"Lilith, do you know how to handle bats?"

"Bats?"

"Yes, I need to harvest some coffee."

"?"

*

Coffee beans are from a plant called Coffea, are the seeds of the fruit called coffee cherries.

To obtain coffee beans, there's a cumbersome process of peeling the pulp of the coffee cherries that encase the beans.

Since it was a task that had to be done manually one by one, it was very labor-intensive, and as a result, the production of coffee beans was inevitably low.

Above all, the fact that there were almost no coffee plantations in the empire was also significant.

The only place in the empire where coffee beans could be obtained was the vineyard run by Elf Ior in the Bordeaux region.

However, coffee is labor-intensive, so even the professional farmer, Ior, found it challenging.

"Sigh, when am I ever going to finish harvesting all this?"

Seeing the coffee cherries hanging in clusters on the tree, Ior felt overwhelmed.

She loved coffee, but harvesting coffee beans was a tough job.

"Mr. Gnome, let's do our best today as well."

─Grr!

The boy made of clay smiled brightly and answered.

It was unlikely, but Ior could sense annoyance in the Gnome's face, which was beaming with a bright smile.

─T-te.

'...It must be just my imagination.'

Ior suppressed her rising frustration as she tried to ignore the Gnome clicking his tongue and leaning on one leg.

I was in the middle of preparing to harvest the fruits.

Swish swish.

At the presence felt from behind, Ior turned her head, and her eyes widened.

A familiar young man was walking into her farm.

"Y-Yuri!"

"Hello, Ior."

The person who visited the farm was the wizard from the White Tower who had helped when Ior's vineyard had failed.

Moreover, the place where she supplied grapes and coffee beans was also the White Tower.

Ior, who had a hunch about why Yuri visited, made an apologetic expression.

"Yuri, I'm sorry, but it seems like it will take a few more days to meet this year's coffee bean supply. But since Gnome and I are hanging in there, it will be fine. That's right, Gnome..."

As Ior turned back while speaking, her voice faded.

While they weren't looking, the Gnome was trying to lie down in the shade of the grapevine.

─Grr!

When our eyes met, I let out a sigh inside at the sight of him smiling brightly as if nothing had happened.

"Gnome wasn't like that from the beginning. These days, I've been tired because the workload has increased, but for the past 200 years since I started the farm, Gnome has been an irreplaceable friend to me."

It wasn't crooked.

Just until recently, Gnome was lively.

'It wasn't like this 50 years ago...'

'It will get better soon'.

It was at that moment that Ior, who had tried to reassure herself, when Yuri spoke up.

"It's okay, I thought you might be short-handed, so I came to help with the harvest."

"...Yes?"

"Lilith."

"Go my minions!"

The cute girl standing next to Yuri confidently reached out her hand.

'What the hell is going on?' It was when Ior tilted her head in confusion.

Thud!

The cute bat that looked like a chihuahua, which had been sitting on the girl's shoulder, flew up into the sky.

And then.

Flap flap─!

A swarm of bats, whose whereabouts were unknown, flew to the coffee farm.

In an instant, the swarm of bats settled on Ior's coffee trees.

"Ah..."

ior let out a small sigh at the sight of the bats picking and eating coffee cherries.

But.

"...?!"

The moment the bats that had eaten the coffee cherries took flight again, Ior's eyes widened.

"W-wait the coffee beans...!"

On the branches of the coffee trees from which the bats had disappeared, coffee beans with only the pulp peeled off were hanging in clusters.

*

"What just happened?"

"They're fruit bats."

To the surprised Ior, I revealed the identity of the bats.

Fruit bats.

This creatures are different from ordinary bats.

With its cute appearance resembling a chihuahua and its gentle nature, the fruit bats, which only eats fruit, was the favorite animal of coffee plantation owners.

Fruit bats sit on coffee branches, gnawing only at the coffee fruit and leaving the seeds intact, so farmers only need to harvest the beans that are still on the tree.

Even fruit bats are regarded as excellent coffee cherry connoisseurs for their ability to select only the ripe and delicious coffee cherries.

Thanks to this, in the world of the previous life, there were often coffee farms that used fruit bats to harvest coffee.

Of course, gathering the fruit bats and bringing them to Ior's farm, which was not their natural habitat, was something humans could not do.

"Hey, you. You shouldn't drop that from the tree!"

"Squeak..."

The fruit bat, scolded by Lilith, huddled its wings as if it were being reprimanded by its mother.

Is this what they call a 'Trueborn'?

I looked at Lilith, who was scolding the fruit bats, with renewed interest.

Vampires were a race that could command minions by sharing their blood.

And, the minions that vampires commonly use are bats.

Lilith turned the fruit bats into her minions and brought them to Ior's farm.

As a result, the coffee cherries on the coffee farm were stripped of their flesh in an instant, leaving only the seeds behind.

"Are the beans ready?"

─Goo goo!

The Gnome, who had been resting against the tree, seemed to have gained some energy and suddenly stood up, starting to pick coffee beans diligently.

*

With the advent of cereal, breakfast became prominent, and the empire's morning streets were filled with the comforting smell of baking bread.

This was a sight that until recently was unimaginable.

In the empire, the right to produce bread was held solely by the lords, and in every village, there was a lord-owned oven where bread for the entire community was baked.

However, with the emergence of processed foods, bread was no longer the only source of food, and the lord's monopoly disappeared, leading to the establishment of bakeries on the streets.

More people have started their day with cornbread, cheese, and fresh milk.

It was when people came out to the streets to buy bread as they usually did.

"What is that smell?"

"Wow, it smells good."

Amidst the smell of baking bread, a deep and savory aroma wafted through the air.

The man, who followed the scent, tilted his head as he looked at the new menu written on the bakery's signboard.

"...Americano?"

Americano. It was the moment when American-style coffee made its debut in the capital of the empire.