I Became a Food Developer in Another World

Episode 54

“After all, I’ll have to come back to pay anyway.”

I muttered to myself as I watched Ayla dash out without even settling the bill.

“Hey! You need to pay before you leave!”

As expected, Ayla had to be led back to the tavern by the staff.

After hurriedly finishing the payment, Ayla tried to leave again, but

“If you go out now, you won’t see my face again.”

“!”

Ayla froze at the threshold of the tavern due to Aria’s warning.

“What are you doing? Sit down.”

Aria’s face was flushed, clearly intoxicated.

Ayla, realizing this, sent me a look that seemed to plead for help, but I pretended not to see it.

I didn’t want to get involved in someone else’s family issues, and honestly, it was better for me if they reconciled.

‘Since I need Ayla’s help to make distilled liquor.’

In the end, Ayla had to sit awkwardly across from us.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Let’s have a competition.”

“A competition about what?”

“Making potions.”

Ayla looked surprised as she glanced at Aria. But this wasn’t just drunken nonsense.

Aria’s eyes were fixed on Ayla with an intensity I had never seen before.

“Fine.”

Ayla finally nodded seriously.

‘Potions’ were a fundamental skill that wizards from the Blue Tower needed to master.

They could use potions to save or even kill people.

From pain potions to healing potions and even death potions, the Blue Tower had all kinds.

Ayla was one of the top wizards in the Blue Tower when it came to making potions.

‘Impressive.’

The magical energy released from Ayla took the shape of a stream and filled the empty glass.

I could immediately sense the incredible density of the magical energy in that liquid.

If she made a poison, it could kill someone instantly, and if it was a healing potion, it could heal wounds in an instant.

‘If her magical energy could influence the “Potion That Prevents Sleep,” the contest results might have been different.’

Ayla’s manipulation of magical energy was top-notch.

But then—

“Don’t hold back; do it properly.”

Ayla’s hands paused at Aria’s words.

Then the density of her magical energy increased even more.

“Please pour me some alcohol.”

“Oh, sure.”

I poured the wine I was drinking into the glass filled with Ayla’s magical energy.

As a result, only the pure alcohol began to boil and form a liquid shape in the air.

Ayla emptied the glass containing the impurities of the wine and mixed the filtered alcohol with her magical energy.

‘She seems capable of making distilled liquor too.’

With that level of magical manipulation, she could probably filter out water from alcohol to increase the alcohol content.

She could aim for a purity of up to 98%.

Ayla was truly like a ‘human distiller.’

I had only thought about the Blue Tower’s alcohol, but now I realize Ayla was the key. Even the dwarf brewers couldn’t keep up with that.

‘What high-proof liquor is there?’

While I was lost in watching this human distillation scene, Aria suddenly spoke up.

“Senpai, I want some alcohol too.”

“Oh, okay.”

I reflexively poured wine into Aria’s glass as well.

‘It’s all empty now.’

My glass was completely empty, but I didn’t mind.

It was such an entertaining competition to watch.

Alcohol began to evaporate from Aria’s glass and form in the air.

‘This is basic magical water manipulation.’

The potions they were making were pure ‘magical water’ with no effects.

A mixture of ‘alcohol’ and ‘magic.’

This was the base for potions, similar to raw alcohol before dilution.

Depending on what you mix in, the type of potion would change entirely.

It was like whether you added instant coffee to water or soup seasoning to ramen, the results would be completely different.

However, Aria’s magical manipulation skills weren’t as good as Ayla’s.

I could tell just by tasting that Ayla’s potion had a higher density and purity of magical energy.

No matter how excellent a person is, they can’t surpass a distiller.

Of course, Aria’s talent was different from that.

“Here.”

“Am I the one evaluating?”

“There’s no one here to evaluate other than you, Senpai.”

That was true, so I accepted Aria’s magical water.

It wouldn’t be objective if they drank their own and evaluated it.

What mattered in magical water was the density and purity of the magic and how well the alcohol was refined.

So naturally, Ayla’s should be better, but…

‘They’re similar?’

That was my honest impression after alternating between the two magical waters.

While Ayla’s magical density was superior, Aria had other skills beyond that.

It was hard to say which one was better.

“Who’s it?”

“Which one is it?”

“……”

The two pairs of purple eyes urged me to choose.

I felt like choosing hastily would lead to trouble, so I pondered carefully.

After much deliberation, my choice was as follows:

“I think Aria’s is a bit better.”

“…What?”

“Gotcha!”

The expressions of the two sisters flipped.

Aria, with her flushed face, clenched her fists, and Ayla looked at me in disbelief.

“Why do you think Aria’s is better? The density of the magic is completely different!”

“It’s faster to understand by tasting it than by my explanation.”

“?”

Ayla, puzzled, took a sip of Aria’s magical water.

And then—

“Ah!”

Ayla’s eyes widened in surprise.

“T-This magic…!”

“Yes, I infused a quality into the magic.”

While Aria’s magical density might be lower, it was different from ordinary magic.

Aria’s magic manipulated a person’s ‘five senses.’

It induced ‘illusions’ that made the drinker feel as Aria intended.

If a person believes they are injured, they can actually end up with a wound on their skin.

Aria’s magic maximized this ‘illusion.’

‘It’s different from my imagination manifestation.’

This was an ‘illusion’ targeting a single individual.

It was one of the reality-manipulating spells from the White Magic Tower’s master, Ranya. Aria was a genius who had nearly perfected it.

Of course, if it were only this, I would have given Ayla a better score, but…

“Ah, I taste Snoopy in the magical water.”

“Yes, I chose Aria’s because of the ability to infuse ‘taste’ into potions.”

The ability to give a potion the desired ‘taste’ was an incredible advantage.

Just a slight deviation in the ingredients could drastically change its effects.

Thus, it was common for potions to be tasteless.

However, Aria’s magic could freely impart the desired taste without altering the potion’s ingredient composition.

Of course, it wouldn’t create a permanent change in taste.

‘She’s improved even more.’

I never expected she could induce taste as well.

Unbeknownst to me, Aria’s skills had advanced significantly.

If applied well, she could create and launch a ‘flavored drink bottle.’

‘That was a huge hit.’

People were excited about drinks that tasted like something other than plain water.

“Senpai.”

“Yeah, I’ll just go to the restroom for a moment.”

Noticing that Aria seemed to have something to say to Ayla, I discreetly excused myself.

Sisterly matters were something they needed to resolve together.

*

Ayla, who was taken aback and speechless, was staring down at her glass.

“Can you really do something like this?”

“……”

There was no immediate response, but Aria continued with her words.

“You can’t learn this at the Blue Tower. That’s why I went to the White Magic Tower.”

Aria didn’t want to be seen as having run away from the Blue Tower.

So she wanted to show this.

That she had grown so wonderfully at the White Magic Tower.

“So, don’t misunderstand and think it’s just an illusion.”

So please don’t take it the wrong way.

“It’s not your fault, sister.”

Leaving the Blue Tower was ultimately her choice.

The feelings she had kept bottled up for over ten years flowed out, not as beautifully as she intended.

But after letting it all out, she felt relieved.

Ayla, who had been staring blankly at her sister, soon smiled warmly.

“Yeah, I think I misunderstood.”

“Just knowing that is enough.”

Soon, the empty fruit wine was refilled, and food was served.

For a while, the sisters shared stories that had been left unspoken.

*

After leaving the tavern, I took a long walk in the breeze.

Since it had been over ten years since the sisters had talked, there were bound to be many stories to share.

‘What would be good for distilled liquor?’

As I walked through the chilly streets of Union, organizing my thoughts about distilled liquor, I was surprised to see something and widened my eyes. Then I let out a small laugh.

“They’ve already made up.”

The two, who had been keeping their distance, were now sitting together and chatting warmly.

It was such a friendly sight that it made me think of how they must have been in their childhood.