Chapter 246: What a Bummer

Err, anyway, like you probably expected, I didn’t manage to find any cola.

Or rather, they didn’t have any carbonated drinks, to begin with. Due to their peculiar history of technological development, the very concept of carbonation didn’t exist on Refill IV, or Theta, as the locals called it.

“They told me you have an idea for a new type of beverage, sir. May I take some of your time to discuss the particulars?”

“It’s fine, but I’m not that knowledgeable when it comes to the technical side of the process, okay?”

We went for a tour of the factory of a popular beverage company here on Theta, but the tour guide told us they didn’t have any carbonated drinks. That’s why I couldn’t help but blurt out what was on my mind in frustration, and as a result, a company higher-up came down to meet with us. Since there was a possibility of them actually producing carbonated drinks I can enjoy, I decided to cooperate.

“Well, there you have it. I’ll be talking to these guys first, so go ahead and continue with the tour by yourselves guys.”

“I’ll accompany you, Master.”

“Hm? Alright then.”

And so, only Mei tagged along with me while the others continued with the factory tour…… or rather, beverage tasting tour. They were probably enthusiastic about it because we were just about done with the non-alcoholic beverage section and the next part would be the liquor section of the tour. After all, three of the remaining four people excluding Mei and me were avid drinkers.

As for Mimi…… She probably won’t drink herself senseless, unlike those three. After all, Mimi also wasn’t that good with alcohol. She would probably reign those three serial alcoholics in, or at least try to.

“Please follow me, sir.”

We were guided by the factory higher-up personally this time and were led to a place that looked like a reception room.

“Uh, basically, a carbonated drink is a beverage with carbon dioxide added to it. It’s an exciting drink that goes down the throat with a crisp and refreshing feel.”

And so, I started telling them all that I knew about carbonated drinks. Unfortunately, I wasn’t really familiar with how carbonated drinks were actually made in factories. Basically, I think they’d first prepare a non-carbonated stock solution, pour it into a pressurized carbonation machine, and then inject carbon dioxide into it.

“I think it would be easier to infuse carbon dioxide into the stock solution if it was cooled first.”

“I see, I see.”

As he listened to me ramble on, the factory higher-up took notes using his tablet terminal.

“There are quite a lot of fruit-flavored carbonated drinks. Most soft drinks you have here are already fruit-flavored, so I’m sure carbonation would suit them well. Of course, you can also use other flavors, but that’s something I’d better leave to the pros.”

“That’s true.”

“Also, there’s dry ice…… If you use frozen carbon dioxide gas, you can probably make carbonated drinks easily. If you add dry ice into your existing soft drinks, they would be easily carbonated. I think it’s necessary to prepare specialized equipment for mass production though, but if you want to quickly make some samples, you can probably use that method.”

“This has been an enlightening discussion. By the way, can this process also work for alcoholic beverages?”

“As far as I know, fruit liquor with low alcohol content and cocktails with strong fruit flavors were probably carbonated. I think their alcohol content was mostly less than 9%. Beer, a liquor that’s made from worts, is also carbonated, I think.”

“I see, I see.”

“Also, due to the nature of carbon dioxide gas when put into an enclosed space, it’s necessary to use containers that won’t burst from the pressure. Naturally, there’s a danger of carbonated drinks bursting out in a Zero-G environment like outer space. It would be pretty troublesome to clean up the mess as well. In the first place, carbonated beverages aren’t suitable to be consumed in colonies and spacecraft. So that’s why they aren’t that well known at present.”

“I see. But conversely, it would be alright to distribute the drinks on planets as long as we pay attention to the durability of the packaging, correct?”

The factory higher-up was all smiles after listening to my talk. I tried asking him and found out that the guy was actually from this beverage company’s product development department, and it seems he had extensive knowledge regarding most of the beverages being sold in Theta. According to him, carbonated drinks have not been sold on Theta up until now. I guess he’s happy since this could prove to be a very big business opportunity for them.

On the other hand, I was kinda bummed out. After all, you could say there was practically no point in me coming for a tour of this Thetan beverage company factory. What a bummer.

Also, I was given lots of samples of the company’s most popular drinks as part of the payment for providing an idea for a new product. Actually, I was supposed to be paid money as a reward, but the amount was nothing but pocket change to me, so I asked for cases of their alcohol and juice products instead.

We can drink them ourselves or sell them off in a colony somewhere. In any case, I feel that the info I provided wasn’t really worth all that money, and it was troublesome to draft a contract for something like this too. I think it was a good decision.

“And that’s how it is.”

“Hee.”

“That’s too bad, Boss.”

“What a shame.”

The reactions of the drunks were as such. They definitely think it was none of their business. Well, it’s not like I can deny that. Or rather, what’s with this number of empty liquor bottles guys? Why are there more than ten large bottles completely drained?

“Ueee……”

And so, one person among the group of four already got completely plastered and was currently squealing incoherently on top of my lap. As soon as she saw me sit down, she immediately sat next to me and latched on to me like glue.

“Why’d she turn out like this anyway?”

“I just looked away for one moment, and before I knew it, this happened.”

“But she shouldn’t have gotten this drunk if she just had a bit of the liquor.”

“I’m sorry……”

The earnestly apologizing Whisker sure was cute. But I was already quite exhausted by everything that’s happened. First, I was confronted by the unfortunate fact that carbonated drinks didn’t exist on this planet, and when I met back up with the rest, what greeted me was a completely drunk Mimi. Meanwhile, the other three, who were notorious drinkers, were downing bottles one after another.

“Uh, sorry for showing you such an embarrassing sight, Lilium.”

“No, no, it’s alright. Rather, I’m actually somewhat relieved. This makes me feel that everyone’s also just ordinary people like the rest of us after all.”

Lilium, who accompanied us as our guide, replied with an amused giggle. She went together with Elma and the others but, of course, she wasn’t drunk. It seems she refrained from drinking liquor since she was still in the middle of work.

“Well, there you have it. My original purpose for coming here fell through, so we need to adjust our plans.”

“Eh? We won’t continue going around anymore?”

“We just started with the alcohol sampling tour y’know.”

“Um……”

It wasn’t only the two hopeless drunks who were protesting. Whisker also displayed a disappointed expression. You guys already drank this much and you still wanna continue? Are your livers actually still okay?

“Are you guys seriously planning on drinking more?”

“We’re just warming up you know.”

“Elven liquors are elegant and tasty, but they don’t have much of a kick. These’re no different from juice to us, Boss.”

“Um, I want to continue touring around other places a little more too, big brother.”

If even Whisker’s saying so, then I guess it can’t be helped. Let’s just chalk it up to employee benefits then. Yeah, I better not think of it any further.

“Okay, I understand. We did come here due to my personal motives after all. Let’s go ahead and continue going around then.”

After I announced that, the three alcohol enthusiasts cheered in glee. You guys really do love your liquor huh? It’s not something I can relate to. Well, I also really adore cola and other carbonated drinks, so I guess it’s mostly the same thing.

“Let’s visit an alcohol brewery next then. It’s ok even if the fee is on the expensive side as long as their products are high quality.”

“Understood. I’ll make the arrangements, so please wait here for a short while.”

Okay then. I better take care of Mimi while Lilium was making arrangements for our next destination. And I gotta have the heavy drinker trio prepare themselves for departure as well. C’mon guys. Go pick up those empty bottles and tidy yourselves up, please. Hurry up now.

And thus, our first day of touring around Theta ended with alcohol, alcohol, and more alcohol.

Well, I was just leisurely following the girls around anyway, and doing something like this from time to time isn’t so bad either. The heavy drinkers seem to be quite satisfied, and Mimi, who borrowed a med-pod to get the alcohol out of her system, enjoyed eating the various local specialties of Theta. I also ate a bunch of things while tagging along with her and quite enjoyed it.

But this peaceful state of things kinda feels like the calm before the storm so it seemed a bit ominous. I better keep my guard up.