Chapter 4:
Fizzy Tasty Taste
ONE AFTERNOON, I realized I hadn’t drunk a particular beverage since coming to this world. It doesn’t exist here, obviously, I reflected. So, what can I do…?
As I sank into thought, my part-time employee Vivi poked me. “Reiji, what’s wrong?”
“Uh…actually, you might be able to help out with this, Vivi.”
“Really? I’d love to, if I can!” Vivi took a deep breath. She seemed delighted that I was going to rely on her for something.
“So, my problem is…” I tried to pick the words to explain the drink properly.
Vivi lit up. “Oh, that? Yeah, it exists!”
“Oh? I knew I could count on a real lake fairy.”
“I’m a lake spirit, darn it! How many times do I have to tell you?” She frowned at me.
Sorry, Vivi, but I’ll keep doing that as long as you keep having fun reactions. But it wasn’t like I was going to say that out loud.
“That stuff’s deep in the mountains, though, Reiji. Getting there will be really tough,” Vivi warned.
“Can’t you help me?”
“Nope.” Then, something seemed to occur to Vivi. “B-but you won’t fire me just because I can’t help, will you…?”
“Of course not. That’d be awful. I don’t recall becoming that kind of crappy boss.”
“Thank goodness.” Vivi sighed in relief.
She and I could afford to chitchat like this, since things weren’t particularly busy today. Heck, Noela was even sleeping on the counter.
Noticing this, Vivi shook Noela to rouse her. “Wake up, Noela! You’re supposed to be working!”
The werewolf girl kept napping soundly. “Groo…”
For the record, Kirio Drugs wasn’t busy every single day. Sometimes, it was just Annabelle visiting for her daily potions, followed by a few other folks, and then nobody else would come for the rest of the day. Today was like that.
“Shall we close the drugstore early?” I asked Vivi.
“Huh? B-but I was looking forward to today’s shift! I-It’s already over?”
Vivi commuted to the drugstore from a mountain lake. She didn’t get to interact with people often, so she really seemed to look forward to shifts here.
“Let’s go look for the drink you said was in the mountains,” I suggested. “We’ll ride Griffy to cut down on travel time.”
“Gr-great!” Vivi pumped her fist in the air.
Noela finally rose from her slumber. “Garroo? Master, what happen?”
“We’re going to go look for something.”
“Some thing?” Noela tilted her head. Since she’d been asleep, she hadn’t heard any of my conversation with Vivi.
Anyhow, I got ready to head out, explaining the situation to Mina.
“Does that kind of thing really exist, Mr. Reiji?” she asked.
“Mm-hmm. I promise you’ll be shocked when you have some.”
“Is it dangerous…?”
Incapable of even imagining the beverage, Mina simply seemed bewildered. I didn’t blame her; I remembered being shocked the first time I had some too. Just imagining her reaction nearly made me burst out laughing.
“Watch the shop for me, okay, Mina?”
“Of course! Not that I expect any customers to drop in.”
Even if there were some emergency, Mina knew how to handle things. She was excellent at both chores in the house and managing the store, and I couldn’t have been more grateful to her for that.
Mina hurriedly made us sandwiches so we’d be fine even if we came back a little late. After packing necessities in my bag, I was ready to go. I pulled Griffy from its stable, and Noela, Vivi, and I got on its back and rode off into the sky.
✦ ✦ ✦
We had to travel deep into the mountains Vivi had told me about, even though this drink was something that any old vending machine on Earth would’ve had on hand.
“You really think we can find some around here?” I asked Vivi.
“I don’t think it’ll be worth coming all this way for,” she responded.
This spirit totally doesn’t get it. Although I figured it was true that, by itself, the thing I wanted wasn’t particularly tasty.
“Groo? Arroooo?” Noela peered at Vivi and me, confused. “No secrets, Master. Tell.”
“We’re here to look for tasty tastes,” I replied.
“Perfect.”
That’s that. Explanation complete.
We hiked across the pathless mountain, following a small river to our destination.
Vivi pointed at a spot where water was welling up. “That’s it there, Reiji!”
At first glance, it looked like she was pointing at ordinary water. If she said it wasn’t, however, she was probably right.
“Water, Master!” Since I told Noela we were looking for “tasty tastes,” she seemed annoyed at Vivi’s discovery.
Maybe I set the bar too high… I quickly touched the rising water. Yup, this’s the stuff.
“It’s really not all that good,” Vivi warned.
“Different from tasty taste?” Noela inquired.
As the pair beside me spoke, I poured some of the water into the grape juice I’d brought.
“Reiji, that juice is good because it’s so concentrated,” Vivi objected.
“Yeah, but if you put some of this water in…” Then it should become…
I sipped the new mixture.
“Ah! This is it!” The grape-flavored liquid in my mouth fizzed. “Delish!”
“Garooooo?! Tasty taste? Tasty taste?!” Noela demanded, eyes twinkling.
“Give it a try.” I handed her the container.
She took a sip immediately. “Arroo!” Her eyes were wider than ever; she seemed astounded. Gulping, she opened her mouth with a look of deep concern. “Garoorrooo! Mouth hurt, Master! Bad!”
The fizzing sensation must’ve been so strong that Noela thought something happened to her mouth. “You won’t get hurt drinking something carbonated.”
“Car-boon-ate-ted?”
“Carbonated.”
When Noela passed Vivi the sparkling grape juice, the lake spirit was skeptical. “Is it that good?” Nonetheless, she took a sip. “What the—?! It’s delicious, but it’s all fizzy…! I could get used to this stuff.”
“Right?”
Deciding to take a break, we sipped the carbonated grape juice and indulged in the sandwiches Mina made us.
Noela was warming up to the new product. “Master! Noela want more tasty taste right away!”
Coming all this way was a bit of a pain… Ah, wait! I’m so stupid! Why didn’t I think of this from the get-go? “I can make it myself!” I muttered. “At the lab.”
“Garoorroooo! Go home! Make now!”
“I’ll help too, Reiji!”
The three of us hopped on Griffy and flew home.
Mina came out to greet us. “Welcome back!” she called. “That didn’t take long.”
“Yeah, well, I realized I could make the stuff myself, so I’ll give it a shot,” I explained.
I headed to the lab with Noela and Vivi in tow. The process wasn’t complex enough to need their help, so I decided to have the fluffball and lake spirit serve as taste testers.
Sometimes you just need a carbonated drink, you know?
I followed my medicine-making skill’s instructions, and bam! It was done.
Sparkling Grape Juice: Grape-flavored carbonated beverage. Sweet and delicious.
“Noela. Vivi. You’re up.”
I handed them each a bottle. They chugged the carbonated juice down.
“Fizzy tasty taste!”
“This is so good!”
I also took a sip. Yeah—it’s even better than what I made up in the mountains.
I brought Mina some so that she could try it as well.
“Mmmm!” she gasped.
Ha ha ha! She’s blown away.
“M-Mr. Reiji, what is this? It’s like grape juice…but it’s different!”
“It’s carbonated, my dear.”
“It’s shocking. But I liked it!”
Good. Mina’s on board.
I made a few test bottles of sparkling grape juice and had customers try the beverage the next day. At first, I sold people who liked it a bottle or two, and they spread good word-of-mouth around town. Soon, the carbonated juice became a household item.
I’d been wise to make the sparkling grape juice inexpensive enough for children. Kids started popping in nearly every day to buy a bottle. The sparkling juice came to be even more popular than the potions.
As for Noela, she wound up confirming that she truly preferred the latter.
“Mmm… At end of day, potions best.”