Craze

As it turned out, Rainer's operating strategy was quite successful.

How could people of this era have ever withstood the assault of advertorials? Nor had they ever seen a food piece as distinctive as The Solitary Gourmet. Almost that very night, more than half the households in Priest that subscribed to the newspaper silently added a late-night snack.

And on the second day, when Warren got up early, before he even had time to read yesterday's Daily Priest, he discovered that the entrance to his shop was already packed with customers wanting to taste that legendary mysterious drink, Cola. He soon felt rather glad that he had previously placed another order of one hundred bottles with Antoine.

After tasting Cola the other day, Warren had already added to his order. At the time, he had thought that even if this Cola could not be sold, keeping it in the shop and slowly drinking it himself would not be a loss at all. How could he have known that, after only two days, this drink would already be known in every household in Priest?

The moment he opened the shop, Warren Potion Shop was packed full of people. In front of the counter, whether nobles or merchants dressed in formal wear, or commoners in ordinary clothes, whether ladies with heavy or light makeup, or tall, burly men, they were all repeating the same sentence—give me a bottle of Cola!

"Don't rush, don't rush. Everyone line up. I have plenty in stock here."

Warren shouted at the top of his lungs, gradually turning the clamoring crowd into a ragged line.

"Three copper coins. Only three copper coins. To make sure everyone can get a drink, each person may only buy one bottle."

With no past experience like this, Warren said it according to his instincts. He knew Cola was not expensive, and some nobles might simply toss over a gold coin, so in order to expand its influence and let more people try it, Warren made that rule.

Happily, the people who had learned about Cola through Daily Priest were quite well-behaved. Money changed hands, goods changed hands, and there were no disputes.

Mr. York had only gotten up early to buy this drink from the article because his wife had asked him to. He himself did not have the habit of reading, and he did not have much goodwill toward the black liquid in his hand either.

But when he saw the intoxicated expressions of the people around him as they opened the caps and drank Cola in one gulp, he was somewhat moved as well.

"Just one sip. I'll have a taste."

Opening the bottle cap, York let the cold black liquid flow down his throat.

Pfft—

A strong, stimulating sensation spread through his mouth, like a furious storm beating against the tip of his tongue. Very soon, before that intense feeling had faded, a gentle, sweet flavor followed right after it, carrying a refreshing taste that made York lose himself in it.

When he came back to his senses, York found that he had already finished the drink in the bottle.

"Crap."

He could not afford to offend his wife. He hurriedly wanted to buy another bottle, but Warren's rule of only selling one bottle per person cut off York's thoughts. Just as he was caught between two choices, a woman beside York suddenly cried out in surprise.

"Hey, what is this? One More Bottle!!?"

She waved the bottle cap in her hand, which had the words One More Bottle written inside.

The woman excitedly squeezed to the counter and showed Warren the bottle cap in her hand.

"Oh, this lady is very lucky. She has received the chance to get one bottle for free."

Warren took a bottle of Cola from the icebox and handed it to the woman, while also taking back the bottle cap.

The whole process made everyone extremely envious. This was simply a pie falling from the sky.

"Everyone, if you open your bottle cap and find the words One More Bottle inside, then you can come to me to exchange it for one bottle."

Warren said this, causing those who had previously thrown their bottle caps into the trash to hurry over and try to rummage through it, terrified that they had missed the grand prize.

For one instant, York's heartbeat sped up. He slowly lowered his head and looked at the bottle cap in his hand that he had not yet thrown away. The metal-sheened bottle cap had never drawn his attention so strongly before. It was as though it were the supreme Truth, the hope of the future.

Slowly turning the bottle cap over, the instant York saw the sentence written on it, his heart suddenly clenched.

"One More Bo—uh, thank you for your patronage?"

Without a doubt, he had not won.

Dozens of miles away, in Antoine Alchemy Workshop, the alchemical arrays were operating continuously. Bottles of Cola were swiftly packed into crates, neat and efficient. Three production lines developed in parallel, raising efficiency to its highest level.

Feedback from other places had yet to return, but the order from Priest was already the second one. The magical drink known as Cola seemed to be quite popular there.

Antoine had not subscribed to Daily Priest, so naturally he did not know Rainer's operating strategy. He only knew that, relying on this drink called Cola, perhaps he might really be able to make a fortune.

Sitting on the sofa, Antoine sipped a cup of warm coffee. The bitter taste spread over the tip of his tongue, helping him focus.

Just then, there came a knock on the door.

Antoine stood up, picked up a wooden club for self-defense, and opened the door, only to discover that it was an unfamiliar young man.

"Sir, would you like to learn about our product—"

"Go away, go away! I'm not interested in these sales pitches!"

Antoine immediately waved the club, intimidating the other party.

"Don't be like that, sir. This is a brand-new product. You only need to spend five minutes, and you'll fall in love with this product just like I have—"

The other party spoke in rather inauthentic Common, extremely persistent, and seemed not to be afraid of Antoine's club at all.

In the end, after wasting five minutes listening to the other party's explanation, Antoine angrily shut the door, lamenting that another five minutes of his life had been worn away.

"Mm, I'd better mail this batch of goods first... Huh, did I pack one bottle less before?"

Looking at the wooden crate by the window that was filled with Cola, Antoine confirmed with slight confusion.

Outside the window, Sanderson was drenched in cold sweat. He held the bottle of Cola he had just stolen, not daring to breathe aloud.

That salesman just now was someone Sanderson had hired to draw attention. As for Sanderson himself, he had stolen a bottle of Cola through the open window, preparing to take it back to Pilam.

"Honestly, the weather has been getting hotter and hotter lately."

Antoine muttered to himself. He picked up a basin of cold water and simply poured it out the window, trying to make the air a little cooler.

And that basin of water landed perfectly on Sanderson's head. The unlucky fellow was silently drenched through just like that, yet he did not dare say a single word in protest, holding his breath as he hid.

Only after Antoine left the window did Sanderson creep out of the backyard and climb over the wall to leave Antoine Alchemy Workshop.

Although he was soaked from head to toe, as Sanderson looked at the cold black liquid in his hand, he felt that he had not disgraced the task Lord Pilam had given him, and his heart was filled with joy.

"One day, sooner or later, I'll definitely make that bastard Antoine get down and lick the mud off the soles of my shoes—achoo!"

Before he could finish speaking, Sanderson sneezed. He shook himself, said nothing more, and walked toward the exit of Old Street.