Several days had passed since I’d picked up the weapons I commissioned from Master Zardan. As of yet, I hadn't found an actual opportunity to use the Light-Blade Dagger. I was still in the middle of my apprenticeship under Pearl, learning the intricacies of Medicine Making and medicinal cuisine, not to mention the frantic preparations for the upcoming cooking contest. It was a busy stretch, but that hectic routine was finally drawing to a close. I had mastered the basic recipes for medicine, and as of tomorrow, the preparations for the contest would be behind me.
That was because today was the day: the Cooking and Arms Contest was finally being held in the Royal Capital!
While the Arms Contest functioned more like a formal exhibition and appraisal, the cooking side of things wasn't much different from running a standard food stall—though the sheer number of customers was on a completely different scale. Our task was to hand out wooden tokens engraved with the shop’s name to everyone who bought food. Customers could then vote for their three favorite shops by submitting those tokens before the contest ended. I wasn't entirely sure how they planned to enforce the three-vote limit. Were they just relying on the honor system? Without some kind of specialized Magic Tool, it seemed like strict oversight would be difficult, though I didn't know if the organizers cared enough to go that far.
I had entered as the representative of my own hamburger shop. I planned to officially add the "Special Burger" we were serving today to our permanent menu starting tomorrow. Hamburgers remained as popular as ever, and we were widely considered the front-runners for the win. However, a new rival had recently emerged and was gaining ground fast: a soft-serve stall.
Technically, I was the one who had developed the prototype for the soft serve, and the people running the stall were Halfa and Spira. In essence, it was like we were managing two different locations. Since the hamburger shop was registered in my name and the soft-serve stall was under Halfa’s, there were no issues with our participation.
The idea for the soft serve had come from wondering how to put Spira’s ice attribute powers to good use. In my previous life, I remembered seeing a toy—a ball you filled with ingredients and surrounded with ice. Rolling the ball around would churn the mixture into ice cream. Based on that vague memory, I’d managed to piece together a method.
The ingredients were simple: fresh cream, milk, and sugar. I actually had everything on hand already. To be honest, the fresh cream had been a happy accident; I’d left some milk sitting out, and the milk fat had separated on its own. Now that I knew how to get it, I could start incorporating cream into more dishes. I didn't have many recipes off the top of my head, but I figured I could probably manage crepes.
I’d placed an order with the Zardan Workshop for a Magic Tool to handle the constant stirring of the ingredients. That had happened even before the weapon commissions. Since it involved food, the Dwarf artisans had been giddy with excitement while they worked on it. Interestingly, until the tool was finished, Lowell had been forced to stir the mixture by hand at Spira's request. Being a big brother is a heavy burden.
"Tort, it's a showdown to see which of us takes first place!"
"Our soft serve is incredibly popular, you know!"
As I was setting up the stall, Halfa and Spira arrived to officially declare war. Spira seemed to have grown accustomed to the crowds; she looked positively radiant.
"Well, my new burger isn't going to lose either," I countered.
"Waf!"
Shiroru let out a sharp bark as if to punctuate my declaration. I intended to have Shiroru work as my stall's mascot for the day. Lowell was also supposed to be helping me, but since I’d also tasked him with managing our ingredient logistics, he might not have much time to actually stand at the counter. Both my stall and the girls’ stall had their supplies stored in Storage Rings; Lowell was supposed to monitor our stock and replenish things as needed.
Just then, the sound of a bell echoed through the capital. It was the Third Bell—roughly ten o'clock in the morning by my reckoning. Today, it also served as the signal for the contest to begin.
"Halfa-chan, it’s time!"
"Right! We have to get back!"
The two of them scurried off to their own stall. As it happened, our stalls were located quite close to one another. Apparently, this wasn't due to any favoritism from Luranna-san, but purely a coincidence. In fact, she’d been nursing a headache over the arrangement. With both the hamburger and soft-serve stalls being so popular, having us in the same spot was bound to cause crowd-control issues. For us, though, it was a blessing, since it made restocking materials much easier.
I turned back to my own preparations. A line was already forming, and as I’d predicted, Master Zardan was at the very front. Surely he had things to do at the Arms Contest appraisal, but I suppose that wasn't my concern.
"Oi, Tort! That burger looks damn good! Give me ten of 'em!"
"I can't do that, Master. There’s a limit of three per person!"
"Guh...! Fine, then!"
The Master had tried to place a massive order right out of the gate, but I couldn't allow that during the contest. Since each person only had three votes to cast, selling too many to one individual would effectively waste my potential vote count, not to mention we had a limited supply of ingredients. So, I’d instituted a strict three-per-person rule. It meant people couldn't buy for their friends, but if I didn't set boundaries, the Dwarf customers would probably buy me out in minutes.
For this version, I’d stuffed the hamburger patty with cheese—a proper cheese-stuffed patty. I’d also made several refinements to the Teriyaki Sauce.
Since I lacked rice, I couldn't make mirin, but I’d discovered I could produce starch syrup from maltose. Adding that to the mix gave the sauce a much more authentic teriyaki flavor. As per usual, I’d produced the maltose by using the Decomposition spell.
To be honest, I’d only tried it on a whim, but it worked. I assumed the spell had broken the starch down into maltose... though I didn't really understand the science of it. However, I was certain it wasn't the same thing as rotting. Perhaps Decomposition wasn't about decay so much as it was a spell that accelerated the activity of microorganisms or enzymes.
Using maltose also helped the bottom line, as it allowed me to use less expensive sugar. It meant I could keep the price affordable. Between the soy sauce and the cheese, the cost wasn't exactly dirt cheap, but it was manageable. I was selling them today for one Large Copper Coin and two Copper Coins.
Naturally, I’d reported the discovery of maltose to Luranna-san and signed a proper commercial contract for it. If I hadn't, I would have been in for another lecture.
"Here you go!"
"Hah! Much obliged! This smells incredible!"
I traded three Special Burgers for his payment. The Master stepped to the side and immediately dug in.
"Delicious! This blows the standard Teriyaki Burger right out of the water!"
As the Master bellowed his approval, the Dwarfs waiting in line let out a collective, hungry gulp. The glint in their eyes was a little intimidating. Come to think of it, as far as I could see, my line was composed almost entirely of Dwarfs.
Are every single one of these guys going to buy three?
I definitely made the right call with the quantity limit.