MTLNOVEL Chapter 473
Mari’s first impression upon seeing the cola was that it didn’t look very tasty.
It was like a suspicious black liquid resembling soy sauce, filled with dubious bubbles.
Forget about it being delicious—was this even safe to drink?
Though she had grown accustomed to carbonated drinks by watching Serena drink beer every day, Mari still didn’t enjoy alcohol that much.
She occasionally drank the sweet cocktails Kurt made for her…
Of course, she no longer doubted his cooking skills.
Surely, it wouldn’t taste bad.
But at the same time, looking at that suspicious black liquid, she couldn’t help but wonder:
Was it really worth all the trouble for just a drink, not even a main dish?
Swoosh
To think she suffered for a whole month just for that one glass.
She didn’t exactly resent Kurt now, but she couldn’t help feeling a bit dissatisfied.
So, for a moment, Mari considered not drinking the cola at all.
But that thought was fleeting. She let out a small sigh and picked up the glass of cola.
“Ah, it’s cold…”
The chilly sensation of the cola in her palm.
Startled by the coolness, Mari carefully lifted the cola.
How long had it been?
She hadn’t felt this nervous since before eating Kurt’s cooking.
The appearance of cola was that alien to her.
But that was all.
The trust she had built with Kurt over time wasn’t so easily shaken.
Gulp
“!! Kyah!?”
The moment she took a sip of the cola, Mari let out a small scream without realizing it.
“W-was that supposed to sting my throat!? Kurt, is this really safe to drink!? I’m not going to get sick, am I!?”
She was shaken.
And in response to Mari’s reaction, Karina and Serena quickly reacted.
“W-what’s wrong!?”
“What!? What happened!?”
Now it was clear—the two of them, no, including Pepper, all three of them had been waiting to see Mari drink the cola first.
They had clearly planned to drink it only after confirming she was fine.
Mari felt a small sense of betrayal.
As the three of them made a fuss, Kurt chuckled and reassured them.
“Did you really think I’d give you something you couldn’t drink? Just try it.”
“Sniff… okay.”
With that, Mari, still sniffling, trusted Kurt and continued to drink the cola.
Gulp
Swoosh
The first sip was just as strange as when she had briefly tasted it earlier—the carbonation felt sharp and stinging.
The carbon dioxide bubbles dissolved in the cola separated, creating a sensation that continuously irritated her throat.
It was somewhat similar to the cold beer Serena drank every day, but the carbonation in cola was on a whole different level.
Mari never really enjoyed alcohol to begin with.
For her, tasting cola for the first time, it was an unfamiliar and uncomfortable sensation.
The first sip.
But soon, the intense carbonation passed.
“…Huh? It’s gone?”
Finally, the taste of the cola hit her.
The first taste was sweetness.
It was an intense sweetness from sugar that she could never have imagined from the cola’s appearance.
It was a taste she never expected while drinking cola.
A sweetness stronger than any beverage she had ever tasted.
In this world, where tea and alcohol were the norm for drinks, the sweetness of cola was closer to that of desserts like cake or cookies.
But if you asked whether cola was just cold, black sugar water…
It wasn’t.
Gulp gulp
Despite being incredibly sweet, it somehow didn’t feel heavy to drink.
By now, Mari was a seasoned foodie in her own right.
She quickly realized why.
The carbonation.
The strange bubbles she thought were just rising were actually sparkling in her mouth and throat, stimulating her senses and lightening the weight of the cola.
Swoosh
And then there was the aroma of cola filling her mouth.
It was definitely a new scent.
Sweet yet spicy.
But not the warm spiciness you’d feel when eating hot food—it was a cold, refreshing spiciness.
Strangely, even though it was her first time experiencing this scent, she didn’t feel any aversion.
In fact, she already felt herself starting to like it.
And soon, a slightly bitter aroma touched her tongue and passed.
The bitter aroma and sweet taste of cola harmonized, making the sweetness stand out more while suppressing any aversion from the bitterness.
It was just like the first time she had eaten chocolate.
The bitterness of cocoa made the sweetness of sugar more complex, deepening the flavor, just as the aroma of cola made its sweetness more diverse and intricate.
As she savored the complex aroma of cola, a refreshing acidity passed through.
It was the acidity of citrus fruits.
The freshness from lime peel wiped away all the complex flavors of cola.
Leaving only a refreshing sensation in her mouth.
Gulp gulp
Swoosh
The tingling, cool sensation of countless carbonated bubbles bursting as the cola slid down her throat felt entirely new.
It was as if she could feel every inch of her esophagus as the cola passed through.
Gulp
After all the flavors of cola had passed down her throat…
Mari couldn’t help but shiver at the realization that all those complex flavors had unfolded in just one sip of a drink.
“…It was worth it.”
“Huh? Mari, what do you mean?”
“What? Is there something wrong with the cola?”
As Mari, still stunned by the shock of the cola, sat dazed, Karina and Serena approached her worriedly.
Though they had essentially used her as a test subject, Mari couldn’t bother with such trivialities.
“It was worth it!! It was worth three months of suffering!!”
Mari had realized.
She had fundamentally changed from the person she was before drinking cola.
“T-this, this cola!! It’s incredibly delicious!!”
“Ha! Told you!”
Kurt responded with a bright, satisfied smile.
Even though she had doubted whether it was worth tormenting her comrades over just a drink when Kurt was so obsessed with cola…
“Kurt!! You should’ve told me earlier!! You never said cola was this delicious!!”
“If I spoiled it, the impact of your first taste would’ve been less, right?”
“That’s true!! Thank you so much!!”
Mari bowed her head to Kurt and, as if entranced, lifted the glass again.
Watching this, Karina, Serena, and Pepper, who had been staring blankly, cautiously lifted their glasses as well.
It didn’t take long for their skeptical eyes to widen in surprise.
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.
.
Swoosh
Gulp gulp
“Pwah!”
In a short time, Mari had reached a level where she could even enjoy the carbonation’s impact. She drank the cola to the limit, then let out a hearty exhalation as she pulled the glass away, unable to withstand the pressure of the carbonation.
Without anyone teaching her, Mari was already enjoying cola as if she had been drinking it for years.
Her body absorbed the maximum amount of carbonation it could handle before she pulled away from the glass, exhaling with a gasp, feeling the carbonation absorbed into her body. It was as if she wasn’t just enjoying cola with her mouth but with her entire body.
After finishing the glass, Mari muttered in amazement as she looked at the empty cup.
“How is this so delicious?”
In her mind, cola was something that theoretically shouldn’t taste good.
The rising bubbles looked like black-inked beer.
And the ingredients used were more like those for medicine than for cooking.
Carbonated water, known as medicinal water and used as a digestive aid, coca leaves used as a painkiller, and even exotic coca fruits said to be tonic—all went into it.
In her common sense, medicine was supposed to be tasteless.
And cola was packed with medicinal ingredients.
In other words, cola was theoretically a mix of tasteless things.
“…How can this be delicious? Looking at the ingredients, it’s closer to a medicine recipe than a beverage…”
But as always.
Kurt had once again made something delicious.
It was truly a miracle.
But Mari stopped thinking deeply about it.
How many times had Kurt made delicious dishes?
She had something more important to prioritize than such trivial doubts.
“Kurt!! Another glass of cola, please!!”
That was enjoying cola right now, in this moment.
But before Kurt could refill her glass upon her request, he dropped a shocking revelation.
“By the way, Mari, did you know?”
“Know… what?”
“Cola actually tastes even better with fried food.”
“W-what…!!!!!!!!!!”
Mari was stunned by the shocking news.
So much so that her exclamation marks multiplied several times over.
And to steady herself from the shock, Mari had no choice but to brace her trembling heart and grab the leg of the fried three-legged fowl.
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