"I apologize for the delay," Elyra said as she presided over the taste testing on the third floor of the tree, complete with dim lighting, a quiet atmosphere, and luxurious tables, chairs, and cutlery, with everyone, including Kit and Daisy, participating. "There were significant complications with the merchants and the subsequent acquisition of ingredients, but I am happy to announce that my first menu has been completed."
On the table were a dozen covered dishes, the aromas mingling into a sublime blend of seared richness, ocean-fresh sharpness, and deep savory warmth. Underneath it all lingered the scent of toasted batter, caramelized glaze, and slow-simmered broth, cut through by the soft steam of seasoned rice and lightly charred edges. Interwoven throughout were delicate hints of cream, vanilla, and chilled sweetness, rounding the air with a lingering indulgence. Even before a single lid was lifted, the scent alone was enough to make everyone lean forward in anticipation.
"For the first dish, sushi," Elyra announced as she lifted the lid on one of the dishes.
On it were simple, sliced, uncooked fish of an unusual black hue like raw liver, placed atop blood-red rice mixed with vinegar, giving the dish a macabre appearance. It looked exactly like regular sushi, except the color palette was completely wrong, or so everyone who had already tried sushi from Kit's website thought.
"This is Rank 2 Royal Abyss Tuna from the Kingdom of Waves, their finest catch, traditionally eaten raw due to its natural medicinal properties that prevent parasitic contamination. It is topped on Rank 2 Red Rice from the Kingdom of Grains, which has been seasoned with Seraphina's Rank 2 rice vinegar," Elyra said proudly. "Please, enjoy."
Kit and Daisy held back, as they had certain visual expectations that weren't met, but Bastion and the others dug in without hesitation. They reached out with their hands, picked one up, and ate it with relish.
"This is delicious!" Lilia complimented. "It's such a buttery taste, complemented by the acidic rice."
"Mmmm…" Ariel simply sighed with pleasure, eyes closed, mouth slowly chewing to savor the delicate balance of flavors.
"I could die now," Seraphina said as she enjoyed the unmistakably Japanese taste, enhanced even further by the ingredient's ranks.
"This is excellent, Ely," Bastion complimented.
"Thank you, Master," Elyra said with a bright smile.
"Can I eat yours?" Seraphina asked Kit, who still hadn't touched his share.
"What? Um… no…" he said as he reached out and took one before placing it in his mouth, a literal explosion of flavors wracking his mind. "What… is this?"
"That is a Rank 2 version of your food," Bastion said. "That is the difference between your little website and what you need to accomplish. To really convince the entire kingdom to elevate their standard of food and complete the Goddess's mission, you'd need to make Rank 3 versions of this. But even Elyra can't pull that off by herself in just over a month, so you have your work cut out for you."
Kit took on a contemplative look as he truly understood Bastion's words. This was beyond anything that could have been made on Earth. Ranks in ingredients were like a multiplier of taste profile without the overpowering aspects that made too much of anything disgusting. This was a pure and simple elevation of flavor, and he would have to become a talented chef to truly make his cheap dishes match it. It was no wonder he hadn't had many Rank 1 customers.
"It's okay," Daisy said as she ate her piece.
"What do you mean it's okay?" Kit exclaimed with a genuinely confused expression.
"Ranks have limits above and below the current rank. So only those between Rank 1 and Rank 3 can truly appreciate the flavor of this dish, while Apprentices like Daisy will only be able to enjoy the Rank 1 version and below," Bastion said before turning to Elyra. "Ely, do you have a Rank 1 version?"
"For this dish, Master? No. The merchant who sold me this in bulk didn't have the Rank 1 version of the Royal Abyss Tuna, as he wanted to maximize his profits. I do have a Rank 1 version of the next dish, however."
Upon lifting the cover, they were presented with plain white rice onigiri wrapped in dried seaweed and topped with small flags. There were five flavors: tuna mayo, grilled salmon, spicy cod roe, kelp, and pickled plum.
"The tuna mayo is made from Rank 1 Celestfin Tuna, which has a creamier taste when cooked. The grilled salmon is from Rank 1 Aurora Salmon. The spicy cod roe is just roe from Rank 1 Volcanic Cod that has a naturally spicy taste due to its mineral-rich environment. The kelp is shedding from a Rank 2 Kelp Horror. And the pickled plum is just plum that was pickled in Seraphina's Rank 2 cider vinegar. As for the rice, it's Rank 1 Golden Rice wrapped in Rank 1 Sun Seaweed."
"Oh! I like this one!" Daisy exclaimed as she tried the onigiri with the tuna mayo flag on it. "It's so creamy and delicious."
The taste testing continued with the rest of the dozen dishes, which included takoyaki made from Rank 2 kraken, okonomiyaki, tonkatsu, fatty steaks sourced from the most well-fed cattle in the kingdom, omurice, and assorted flavors of ramen, mochi, cheesecake, regular cakes, and ice cream. These were all Elyra could come up with within a month, each dish crafted at Rank 1 or Rank 2.
"That… was the most amazing meal of both my lives," Kit said, patting his bulging belly.
"Same," Seraphina said, sitting in the same relaxed position, nursing her heavy stomach.
"Ely, how much did you spend, and how long would you be able to keep the restaurant running with the supplies you managed to purchase, assuming you had the same number of customers as Kit's restaurant?" Bastion asked.
"I spent about 10 magic crystals on ingredients," she replied, causing Kit's eyes to widen in absolute surprise at the raw expense. "All the ingredients were purchased in bulk, so the expenditure was quite high. As for how long these ingredients would last, about a month or two."
"Hm… Given the novelty, your rank, the taxes, and the diminishing returns from competition and the market's reaction, we are looking at an income of about 300 magic crystals this year."
"What!? That's insane!" Kit exclaimed.
"Not really," Bastion said, shaking his head. "The key is that this will be the profit for just this year specifically. Next year, the prices of ingredients will fluctuate given the brand-new demand from this kingdom. Then the nobles will want a slice of this one way or another, so they'll compete for the ingredients for personal consumption or experimentation."
"The steak, ice cream, and maybe the cakes won't take long to copy," Ariel pointed out. "If there's anything this kingdom is good at, it's their expertise with beef, milk, butter, and cheese, so don't expect to have a monopoly on those for more than a month. You can also expect to be outdone by next year."
"Demand will naturally lower," Bastion nodded as he continued. "And by the end, it'll be about 50 next year, and probably about 20 the year after that. The price will balloon again once Elyra finishes a new menu, though. I bet we can milk this for the next decade before the market is saturated."
"Wait! What about me and my business?" Kit complained.
"You have something they will never have," Bastion said. "You have a plethora of inspiration to draw new menus from. Even after a century, you'll still have plenty more ideas to pick through with all sorts of variations once you become proficient enough to read the market. Meanwhile, we will work to get you proper, reliable cooks to support you. That way, Elyra won't have to continuously come up with new menus, and we can finally leave. We're on a journey, you know."
"How long will it take you to train a cook of your caliber?" Lilia asked Elyra.
"A few decades to reach my caliber," Elyra said with a hint of pride. "But if it's just to familiarize themselves with higher-ranked ingredients, devise cooking methods for them, and elevate the resulting taste from an inferior rank, about 5 years if they start shadowing me at Rank 2."
"We'd better start looking then," Bastion said. "A team of 3 cooks should be more than enough to come up with a new menu every year. What do you think, Ely?"
"More than enough, Master."
"Excellent. Looks like we have a plan."
"Why can't we just use my servers?" Kit asked. "They're loyal, and even if they aren't slaves, they'll still stick with me through thick and thin."
"The problem is their rank," Lilia pointed out. "Sure, you can perhaps bet that they'd remain loyal even if they're constantly tempted with tons of luxuries, power, and status to betray you, but if they have to be brought up from Apprentice Rank, that would be time they're spending out of the kitchen making you money. If they were already Rank 2, however, you only need to worry about their loyalty, which slavery in this kingdom can fix easily."
"I'm surprised you aren't against slavery anymore," Seraphina commented. "You used to be such a saint."
"They don't really have the bad kind of slavery here, more like indentured servitude that they sign up for themselves since they get paid handsomely by the end of it. Not to mention the strict regulations for their treatment and wellbeing. Speaking of which, where are we even going to find Rank 2 slaves?"
Apprentice Rank slaves were the most common because they often needed capital to start any trade, and were frequently bought for housekeeping. Rank 1 slaves, who already had some power under their belt, were used as guards for homes and dungeon runs, and cost significantly more. Rank 2 slaves, however, were simply unheard of, given that they were powerful enough to achieve their own desires. Only those running a con or truly desperate would ever bother becoming slaves at Rank 2 when the world was ripe for their taking.
"I think I may have an idea of where to find them," Ariel chimed in with an excited smile.
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