Once Tiana decided to prepare the drinks, she stood and moved her hands with a light flourish. A teacup and a tool with a peculiar shape appeared, followed by a massive bouquet of flowers that spanned over a meter in length.
"...Flowers?"
"Yes. In terms of flavor, it’s quite similar to black tea. You can think of it as tea brewed from flowers rather than leaves."
As she spoke, she held a mysterious device—a collection of interconnected transparent cylinders—over the bouquet. The massive arrangement was drawn into the device as if by a vacuum.
Though the cylinders seemed far too small to house such a large bouquet, the flowers compressed into a tiny sphere the moment they were pulled inside. Tiana then attached the cylinder to something resembling an extractor. When she tilted it, a pale pink liquid poured into the cup.
It felt incredibly sci-fi. The aura radiating from this unknown beverage was intense. It wasn't brewed with hot water; instead, it seemed as if the bouquet itself had been compressed and transmuted directly into a liquid.
"Here you go."
"Thank you. The scent definitely reminds me of black tea... It doesn't really have a floral aroma."
"Ah, given the technological levels of this world and your birthplace, this likely seems quite foreign. To put it in terms you might understand, this is an Atomic Conversion Device; it alters properties through atomic conversion. Simply put, it restructures the bouquet's entire composition. You might think the starting material wouldn't matter at that point, but by incorporating specific quantum laws and space-time chemistry, we can transform it while still retaining the original essence of the object."
"I-I see...?"
"Hehe, well, it is a bit difficult to grasp, isn't it? For now, you can just think of it as a mysterious power that turns flowers into tea."
This was light-years beyond any culture I knew—tea produced through incredibly advanced technology. Even if she gave me a detailed explanation of the principles, I’d likely remain clueless. As Tiana suggested, it was probably for the best to just accept it as a product of "mysterious power."
I decided to take a sip. Picking up the cup, I examined the liquid. There was no steam rising from it, and it lacked a perceptible scent. The color resembled a rosé wine, making it difficult to judge the flavor by sight alone.
The tea was roughly body temperature—pleasant and easy to drink—and a refreshing aroma instantly bloomed across my palate. Though I had barely smelled anything from the cup, the flavor exploded in my mouth, the fragrance wafting up through my sinuses with such intensity that I wondered where it had been hiding.
It had a hint of sweetness and acidity, finishing with a crisp, clean aftertaste. It definitely tasted like black tea—specifically, something akin to a fruit tea.
"It tastes like fruit tea. It’s delicious. The way the aroma expands the moment it touches my tongue is incredible—I've never experienced this level of refreshment before."
"The compressed fragrance expands all at once, making for an interesting sensation, right? I tried to pick a flavor that would be relatively familiar to you, Kaito, so I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"It really is delicious. The novelty of it is quite fun, too."
"If you're happy, I’m happy. Please, have some sweets as well."
"Thank you ve— Sweets?"
Tiana presented a plate covered in colorful spheres. Honestly, they looked like nothing more than marbles or bouncy balls. Were these the sweets? Were they candies? Or perhaps some kind of jelly?
"In terms of this world's snacks, the closest comparison would be... ah, cookies."
"Huh? C-Cookies!?"
Taken aback by the unexpected word "cookies," I picked one up. Judging by its glossy sheen and the way it felt to the touch, it seemed like a solid piece of glass. Nevertheless, I trusted her word and bit down cautiously. With a light, crisp snap, the unmistakable flavor of a cookie flooded my mouth.
Oh, wow. This was amazing. The visual impression didn't match the texture or the taste at all. It felt undeniably hard in my hand, yet it was delightfully crunchy once I began to chew. It was a complete cognitive disconnect; I couldn't fathom how that appearance and feel resulted in this specific texture and flavor.
"This is quite something. It feels like a glass marble in my hand, yet it’s perfectly crunchy the moment I bite into it... It’s so mysterious."
"This ingredient is designed to change its hardness based on specific conditions. It stays hard when held, but it softens the moment it's placed in the mouth and bitten."
"It feels like such a fresh, mysterious experience. And the taste really is just like a cookie—it’s delicious. I’m still a bit confused by the discrepancy between how it looks and how it tastes, though..."
"It feels like an 'other world' experience, doesn't it? Many of my world’s ingredients are unknown to you, Kaito, and some of them wouldn't even register as having a flavor to the biological senses of this world. Of course, I’ve chosen these carefully with both flavor and safety in mind, so please don't worry."
It stood to reason that in another world, there would be ingredients that defied my common sense. Experiencing them firsthand was simply fun.
Part of that was likely due to Tiana’s gentle aura and how easy she was to talk to. She had gone out of her way to bring things tailored to my palate, and I was sure she had used her omniscience to select items that were perfectly safe for me. That knowledge allowed me to enjoy the unknown delicacies without a shred of anxiety.
Me-o: "Um, excuse me, could you tell me a bit more about that part...?"
Serious-senpai: "Back off, you Baby Castella Devil... Don't you dare crawl out of the woodwork just because you sense a 'new possibility'!"