Ch.239239. Dessert

Sweetness.

Considered one of the most universally preferred tastes among most living beings, this preference is deeply connected to unexpected biological factors.

Sugar, one of the main sources of sweetness, is high in calories and easy to digest. Additionally, among substances that taste sweet in nature, relatively few contain toxins, making them safe to consume.

As a result, ancient organisms evolved to prefer sugar for survival advantages, developing a high preference for sweetness that encouraged them to consume sweet-tasting things whenever they encountered them.

This preference for sweetness applies equally to the living beings in this fantasy world.

Particularly, beastfolk often crave sugar due to their higher caloric needs compared to humans, and some races even love sweetness despite not actually needing to eat.

Despite this widespread preference for sweetness, throughout the world, sweet flavors were typically considered the exclusive privilege of the wealthy.

For people who struggled to earn enough for a single meal, seeking sweetness was a luxury, especially since most sweet substances in this world were quite rare.

Sugar, mainly extracted from sugarcane, required extensive labor for cultivation. While relatively accessible in southern regions, it became an increasingly precious import the further north one traveled.

Most wild fruits tended to be sour or bitter rather than sweet, and even sweet fruits still carried a distinctive “fruit sweetness” rather than pure sweetness.

Even honey, which people could obtain relatively easily, could be deadly to harvest without proper skill due to bee venom, and in cities, it was generally considered an extravagant luxury.

Therefore, it was common knowledge that even in southern regions, while fruits might be cheap, sugar remained quite expensive—but that was now a thing of the past.

After the emergence of the Dawn Empire, the new hegemonic power of the western continent, various new technologies began to appear in rapid succession as the empire generously supported technological development.

Unlike traditional breeding techniques that relied on farmers’ experience and trial-and-error methods, knowledge about genetics received through divine oracles transformed breeding into a theory-based discipline.

When this was combined with the existing technology of extracting sugar from sugar beets, a new variety of sugar beet was born. Thanks to these new sugar beets, which were five times sweeter than the original, sugar was no longer a luxury but had become a common seasoning available for everyday consumption.

Furthermore, the magic university’s chemistry-alchemy research team in the Dawn Empire discovered a new synthetic substance that, with the right equipment, could be produced cheaply and tasted a hundred times sweeter than sugar.

It could be considered a type of saccharin analog, but this new substance differed significantly in that it was a product of magic.

With the emergence of these substances that could produce sugar’s sweetness, foods heavily influenced by the sweetness of sugar naturally developed in the Dawn Empire.

Predictably, these foods were primarily desserts.

All kinds of baked goods that required sugar and butter emerged through the advancement of confectionery and baking techniques: cookies, scones, muffins, tarts, crepes, meringues, cream puffs, and various cakes.

Add to that imported chocolate and recently developed treats like pudding and ice cream.

For those who loved sweetness, the empire was nothing short of paradise, and the restaurant district of Dawn City gathered all these imperial eateries in one place.

Being between lunch and dinner hours, the streets weren’t crowded, but there were still a fair number of people moving about.

‘Even at this hour… there are quite a few people?’

A girl(?) dressed in fashionable outerwear popular in the Dawn Empire was thinking this as she observed the unexpectedly large crowd.

With reddish-brown bob-cut hair and blood-red eyes, a cute appearance that drew the attention of passersby, a subtly assertive figure wrapped in expensive-looking outerwear—

She looked every bit like a young lady from a wealthy family, but surprisingly!

‘…To think I need to transform just to have a meal.’

Her true identity was none other than Lisa Raeldotir, the Imperial Regent and acting Emperor of the Dawn Empire. This highest authority of the Dawn Empire had gone out to dine without drawing attention.

Of course, despite her high status, she—being fundamentally an undead vampire—had no need to replenish energy through meals.

For high-ranking vampires of the Noble Blood class, drinking blood wasn’t like having a meal; it was merely an act to maintain their unstable spiritual and physical form as undead.

So the reason she had concealed her identity and gone out for a meal was simply to savor the taste and enjoy the atmosphere of consuming food.

Even as an undead, those of Noble Blood were treated similarly to spirits or fairies as closely related species. While they couldn’t feel fullness, they possessed normal taste buds and could enjoy fine cuisine.

In any case, she tended to relieve the stress accumulated from her overwhelming duties through culinary pleasures. Normally, she would have ordered whatever food she desired from her personal chef, but…

There were days like today when she particularly wanted to dine outside, which was why Lisa had disguised herself and come out to the streets, looking around.

Although she had already lived for several centuries, her mind remained in her twenties, so she inevitably felt uncomfortable with the gazes of those who viewed her as some absolute and eternal vampire bloodline.

So while looking around in disguise to find a place to eat, Lisa’s nose caught the fragrant scent of well-baked pastries and bread.

‘Sniff sniff… Is it over there?’

Following that enticing fragrance as if enchanted, she walked for just a few minutes and arrived at a dessert restaurant.

It must have been established recently, as Lisa had no memory of this restaurant, but judging by the smell, she was confident in the chef’s expertise.

*Ding-a-ling*

Without a moment’s hesitation, Lisa opened the restaurant door and could confirm her intuition by the number of customers in the hall.

Seeing most of the tables occupied, she was inwardly convinced this must be a good restaurant. While observing the customers, who were mostly women or couples…

“…??”

Lisa happened to spot a familiar face among the patrons.

Someone with a happy expression completely unlike her usual strict and serious demeanor, with cream on her cheeks, devouring various cakes piled high on the table.

Having just devoured a piece of chocolate cake with apricot jam in one bite, she was a mature-looking woman with wavy, long brown curly hair and striking olive-green eyes.

But her true identity, impossible to guess from such a carefree appearance, was the highest commander of the Imperial Air Cavalry and recipient of the title “Spear of the Dawn Empire.”

She was Helena Valerinus, a war hero of the empire.

…Though one wouldn’t know it from her happy expression that completely disregarded formality, she was a Half-Demon at least several hundred years old and a high-ranking warrior.

While Lisa was staring at Helena with a slightly disgusted expression…

“…??”

Perhaps sensing the gaze directed at her with her excellent intuition, Helena tilted her head and made eye contact with Lisa, who had been staring at her—

‘R-Regent! Why are you here?!’

‘I came out for a break. Then I smelled something delicious. May I join you?’

‘Of course! What kind of relationship do we have anyway?’

Having exchanged opinions through mere eye contact, the two naturally sat together and began chatting while eating cake.

To an outside observer, it might have seemed like an extremely awkward meeting between a superior and subordinate in a private setting, but that would only be the case for mortal nobodies who struggle to live beyond 100 years.

For these two who might know each other for at least hundreds or thousands of years to come, they had naturally worked to narrow the gap between them and had become something like the closest of friends.

Anyway, while physically devouring the pile of premium cakes, they were actively using magic to communicate with each other mentally.

‘Oh, Regent, have you heard about the rebellion that broke out in the neighboring empire?’

‘Yes, of course. What’s wrong with that country? They never seem to have a peaceful day.’

The topic of conversation naturally shifted to the Dawn Empire’s neighbor, the Empire of Humanity.