Chapter 172 - The Soda, Ancient Artifact?
The instant the black liquid called soda touched his lips and tongue, Ban could not help but widen his eyes in surprise.
The bubbles started popping right inside his mouth, making feel strange, and at the same time, the sweetness and the coldness of the soda invaded his mind.
"Delicious!"
Ban and Emilia said at the same time, making Kuys who was observing them giggle a little.
Eva and the Server Monkey also could not help but widen their eyes in surprise upon tasting the new drink called soda. The Server Monkey even went into a little brain freeze due to the coldness of the drink and it could not help but cover it's mouth for a few seconds before taking another sip again.
It did not take long for all of them to finish their glass of soda.
Server Monkey even dared to get close to Eva and shamelessly ask for her share. And as expected, what it received was only a slap on its face. There was now a palm print of the Server Monkey's face as it hugged Emilia's shoulder with bits of tears forming under it;s huge eyes.
"How's the taste?" Kuys asked them with a teasing look. He was not surprised by their reaction as he was also shocked upon tasting it for the first time a few years ago. Unfortunately, even with the recipe in hand, he was only able to recreate such a tasty drink today.
"It's very delicious grandpa Kuys. How much are you selling for each glass? I feel like this can go up to 1 Gold Coin for each glass…" Ban said.
"Hmm… Delicious!" Emilia nodded her head in approval.
Even Eva and the Server Monkey also gave their approval by nodding their heads several times.
"Indeed, 1 Gold Coin for each cup should be enough! The materials and creating process is also hard…"
The material needed was out of this world and he could only find an alternative. For example, the final material or equipment that was called a 'refrigerator' that can cool the soda drink doesn't exist no matter where he searched for it.
Kuys thought that the refrigerator might be a powerful artifact from ancient times. He also thought the same way towards the other materials. Fortunately, the recipe mentioned the description of each material so he was still able to search for an alternative.
In the end, Kuys decided to use the breath of a battle type Monster that could emit frost in replacement for the powerful artifact refrigerator.
Kuys explained to them. Emilia did not understand what he was saying but all she knew was that creating the drink was really hard so it should not be sold cheap.
On the other hand, upon hearing the term refrigerator, Ban felt that it was vaguely familiar.
He thought hard to recall it but to no avail. He then accessed the Book of Techniques as the Ancient Summoner might have come across it in one of her travels but unfortunately, when he told the System search for that specific term, it only said that it was not recorded in the book.
Meanwhile, in another place unknown to Ban, the male and female silhouette duo could be seen leaning on each other's back while sitting in a lotus position as if meditating.
Previously, both of them had their eyes closed, but upon the mention of the refrigerator, the male silhouette actually exclaimed in surprise.
The male silhouette trembled a little almost like it could not believe what it just heard.
The female silhouette of course did not miss that slight tremble, she kept on pestering the male silhouette if he knew that thing called refrigerator.
Unfortunately for her, the male silhouette had already calmed down. He let out a chuckle and closed his eyes again to continue meditating.
The female silhouette could only snort in displeasure as she also returned to meditating.
The day for them to appear was getting closer, they needed to prepare for that big day.
Back at the Kuys Bar.
As Ban could not recall anything about the refrigerator, he decided to put it at the back of his head for now. It was also very strange to him as the thought of knowing the refrigerator somehow just passed by in his brain before it disappeared altogether.
Just like what Ban had said, Kuys set the price of the soda to 1 Gold Coin per cup.
In comparison, a small bottle of beer cost around 80 Silver Coins and the big one cost around 120 Silver Coin. However, they can be shared by multiple people so the price was barely acceptable.
However, the new drink soda cost 1 Gold Coin each cup that could be finished after a few gulps. Ban wondered if it would sell.
Ban shook his head a moment later as he thought that it would be a disgrace selling the premium drink cheaply. The customers were mostly Adventurers after all so spending 1 Gold Coin each day for a single cup of soda should be enough for them.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Kuys did not waste any time as he clapped his hand quite loudly to gather the attention of the customers.
The Adventurers frowned upon hearing those resounding claps and they looked around them to see who dared to disturb their time in the bar.
However, upon noticing that it was actually Kuys, their face immediately softened and was now full of smiles as they stared at him, almost like they were urging for Kuys to clap more.
"Alright everyone, I have something to announce to you!" As he said that, Kuys took out a cup of black liquid from the big jars and raised it high in the air.
"We have a new drink for sale, it's a premium drink called Soda and each cup costs 1 Gold Coin. Now, now… Before any of you complain about the price, I must tell you in advance that the method and materials I used to create this drink wasn't simple at all. You can rest assured that your Gold Coin will be well spent…"
Kuys' loud voice echoed on the whole Kuys Bar as if he was directly talking in front of everyone.
He paused for a moment before continuing, "And besides, Ban and Emilia have already approved the drink. Look, they're even drinking the Soda with happy faces."
"Oh right, I would only sell this kind of drink once a week and only in a small quantity so try it out now before it's emptied."
There was a momentary pause before the crowd broke into cheer.
"Oh my god, my Emilia actually drank this Soda just now? Don't stop me from now, Soda will be my favorite drink! Owner Kuys, give me two cups!"
"Hah, you dare to claim Emilia when you're only buying two cups? Give me five cups…"
"There should be an end to your dreams. I know you two only got 80 Silver Coins in total today, can you even afford a single cup? Just go to the corner and watch as I take Emilia's hand by buying three cups of Soda."
"Hmpp, so what if I use my savings? I must try this Soda that my goddess Emilia approved…"
One could not underestimate the spending power of die-hard fans, they are even willing to starve for days just to buy a luxurious meal that their idol had only eaten once.
Immediately, they surged towards the counter to order the soda drink.
It was not because of the taste of soda, they hadn't even tried it yet. The competition was all due to Emilia's influence towards the masses.
In fact not only Emilia, a lot of girls may be young and old also lined up to get a cup of soda. They were hoping that Ban might look at them if they tried to buy the soda.
In fact, when the male adventurers were still boasting on how many cups they wanted, the females had already come near the counter and ordered a cup of soda while casting seductive gazes towards Ban.
Seeing them, Ban immediately shuddered as he didn't know how to feel. If it was before, he would surely not feel anything from those gazes as he was not aware of what they implies anyway, however, now that he already got the knowledge about those things, he could not help but shudder upon seeing those old female adventurers looking at him with seductive gazes.
Exclaims and surprise gasp echoed on the bar as the adventurers tasted the drink for the first time. At first, they only bought it due to Ban and Emilia's influence, but now, they all thought it was really worth it. The Gold Coin was really well spent.
"Ban, don't you think they are having weird gazes towards you?" Kuys suddenly asked amidst the commotion.
Ban looked around him and shuddered before nodding his head towards Kuys in confirmation.
"Be careful of them in the future, they might devour you whole!" Kuys said with a straight face.
He then continued, "How about this, you and Emilia should go out for now. You two go and walk around the city, treat this as your little day off and relax. You two have been working hard recently, you deserve a time for relaxation."
Kuys said in an earnest tone as he looked at them. If Ban did not know, he would surely believe that Kuys just thought of this now.
Seeing the slight smile at the corner of his lips, Ban knew that Kuys had already planned this a long time ago. The soda fuss was only the cover for his plan.
If it was before, Ban would surely disagree and try to escape. However, Ban was now a changed man. He now considered himself as a Junior Cultured Man.
He should not disappoint his seniors any longer. How could he miss such an opportunity to take a date with a beautiful and cute girl like Emilia?
However, before Ban could agree, Emilia actually spoke first, surprising both Ban and Kuys at the same time.