I should probably mention the dungeon thing, at least.
We'd arranged to gather at the lab today—morning, specifically.
Seemed like good timing, so I headed over.
Hiyarn was already there. A rabbit in a white lab coat, sitting on a chair.
"You're here."
"Good afternoon. Looks like Riv isn't here yet."
"Seems not."
"Are you done analyzing the energy drinks?"
After we'd returned, I handed Hiyarn the energy drinks I'd purchased.
Six of them, if I remembered right. The idea was to have the lab analyze them and display their ingredient lists.
Well, the cans already had the ingredients printed on them, but Hiyarn couldn't read them.
Plus, analyzing them would store the data in the lab's archive.
That way, the energy drinks could be reproduced.
Honestly, that was probably the real goal.
Hard to believe, but this lab's resources were nearly infinite.
That said, it couldn't craft just anything.
"Infinite" was a generous word—the resources were simple materials.
It couldn't produce special materials.
So special items—elixirs, for example—couldn't be made here.
But I can make potions.
And that means I can make energy drinks too.
"So I went ahead and tried reproducing each one."
Six cans of energy drinks are lined up on the lab's stark white, sterile table.
These are the energy drinks I bought on the immigrant ship.
"You even reproduced the can labels."
"Of course. The contents are the same too."
I pick one up.
It's a blue can. In large yellow lightning-bolt lettering with black text, it reads "Inazuma."
I don't recognize this energy drink, but just from the label I can more or less imagine the taste.
"Oh... Riv... is here."
"It's been a while here too, hasn't it?"
"Well now. So that's the new drink."
"It's not in bottles, huh."
Riv. And also Lupinus, Pakira, and Bid.
The "Tri-Etum" has assembled.
"Oh, oh, this is truly splendid!"
Hayarn, clearly delighted.
"What brings all three of you here?"
"We were invited."
"It looked like fun, so I came along."
"Said there were some unusual drinks to try."
"Like, you know... general... testers..."
"I see."
That made six of us. One pick each.
I explained how to open the cans, and we went for what was technically not a taste test but a drink test.
I chose that one called "Thunderbolt."
I took a gulp, and electric sparks crackled through my body!
"Whoa, whoa, this hits hard...!"
Strong carbonation paired with a fizzy tingle.
No, seriously, this was exactly "Thunderbolt."
"Now this has quite the bold flavor."
Lupinus, who had picked the red can, pressed a finger to her lips and blinked rapidly.
Her long pointed ears — an elf trait — had drooped down.
Incidentally, her butler, the "Shield of Calm," wasn't with her today.
Apparently it was getting maintenance at Werent's shop.
If it was a shop the witch herself endorsed, there was nothing to worry about.
"Hmm. Sweet."
Pakira was sipping hers little by little.
With each sip, the cat-eared catkin's ears twitched slightly, and her long-and-short white tail swayed gently back and forth.
"Is it sweet?"
"Mm, yes. A fruit-like sweetness, that is."
Pakira gave me a quick glance and answered awkwardly.
She was still keeping her distance over the figurine thing. I pressed on anyway.
"How about the carbonated ones?"
"What is carbonated?"
"Oh, it's the fizzy feeling on your tongue."
"If that's what you mean, it surprised me a bit, but the sweetness wins out."
The can Pakira had been drinking from was pink.
Berry Smash...? Yes, that was written in red alongside a picture of berries.
"Is it to your liking?"
"Not bad, no."
Not a bad reaction.
"This one kinda tastes like a potion, y'know?"
"A potion?"
Next up was Bid, drinking from a green can.
Green Cola... Cola, huh. What kind of cola is "green," exactly?
"It's got this weird potion taste that fizzes on your tongue."
Bid stuck her tongue out with a bleh.
Combined with those Holland Lop ears, it was adorable.
"Don't you like it?"
"Hmm, not really. I can drink it."
"How about the carbonation?"
"This sensation is interesting."
She seemed to like it.
The three of them were having their first experience with carbonation, so they seemed fine.
"But there are people who really don't handle carbonation well."
"Yeah, that's true."
Hiyarn, who was drinking from a black can, nodded.
What was she drinking? The white text read "Dark Empire."
Dark Empire — what the heck was she drinking?
"Nn… I guess… I can't complain… but… carbonation… should be sold… without it too…"
Even Bloody Cola, the hardcore carbonation fanatic, had to concede this point.
"Let's sell it. We can adjust it by removing the carbonation."
"Actually, why don't we mass-produce these and put them up for sale?"
I said the obvious thing nobody wanted to hear.
Well, I'd already tried them all, gotten everyone's impressions, and that was good enough.
"Hmm. From a business standpoint, that would probably be the right move."
"Nn… Riv agrees too…"
"There aren't really any rights to speak of at this point, and we get to enjoy six varieties."
"That's true, but..."
Hayan hesitated for some reason.
"Something bugging you?"
"It's not that. I'm all for releasing all six varieties as-is. But I do kind of want to make at least one original, you know?"
"............"
I noticed myself already nodding along.
"I've analyzed all six and figured out what they are, so it's not like I can't make one. There shouldn't be any failures like last time, at least."
"That's true, but..."
"Wof. I am an alchemist. An alchemist is one who seeks truth. This energy drink is also a truth. As an alchemist, I want to create an original energy drink unique to this world."
"Mm... Riv is... totally on board..."
"You absolutely should do it."
"Aye. Nothing wrong with a bit of a challenge."
"Sounds fun! I'm in too!"
"Mm... everyone... making it... together..."
Honestly, I wanted to make one too.
"Alright then, let's go all out and make something amazing!"
If we're making one anyway, it might as well be the ideal energy drink.
No compromises. No cutting corners. Not a single one.
Let's do this! That's what I was fired up about when—
Without any warning or preamble, I vividly recalled a memory from a past life.
Oh, right, right, right, that was it.
Come to think of it, I did that back in high school.
At first it wasn't a family restaurant — it was a shop at the large supermarket nearby.
I couldn't help but chuckle at the memory.
"Wof?"
"So anyway, I know this is out of nowhere, but how about something special to drink?"
"Something special, you say?"
"There's such a thing?"
"I wanna try it for sure!"
"Hmm... drink..."
"Does such a thing even exist?"
Haiyan tilted her head to the side.
"It does. A special energy drink. It's all six of these combined."
"All of them... what are you talking about?"
"That's right — you mix them. All six energy drinks together."
"Huh?"
"What!"
"Excuse me?"
"Hmm...?"
"Hm?"
I got the "what is this guy even talking about?" reaction in perfect unison.
I managed a wry smile.