Forbidden Curiosity

The manual said it felt like something incredibly Cold dropping down your esophagus right to your bones, as if you were being reborn in freezing snow.

I was curious, but it couldn't be helped.

I wasn't a three-year-old kid, and I didn't need to put everything that piqued my curiosity into my mouth to be satisfied.

There was a reason the WARNING prohibiting sales to those who hadn't received a Level 2 or higher Digestive Organ Durability Modification Procedure was written in bold letters.

An ordinary person like me would have their mouth, throat, and every Skin Cell freeze and necrose the moment they took a sip.

In many ways, it was a drink that was one of the most dangerous poisonous liquors among the cocktails handled at the bar. I didn't even dare to try it.

Besides, I had only made enough for two people, so there wasn't any left anyway.

Because it went through High-Density Compression and cooling processes, even though I poured in quite a large amount of alcohol, the resulting yield was only two shot glasses.

Conversely, that also meant a significant amount of spirits was concentrated inside those small glasses.

One thing was for sure: it wasn't a cocktail that would be good for your health. Though I suppose that goes for all alcohol.

"Haa—. Yes. This is the Cold Heart."

The Troublemaker Detective, who had been trembling with thrill and exhaling white breath for a long while, spoke with his eyes flashing.

"Was the taste to your liking?"

"That's a bit ambiguous to Answer. It's not a cocktail you drink for the taste, you see.

Only a tiny fraction touches the tongue, and even that can't be felt properly, so it's a cocktail ultimately dictated by the sensation of temperature hitting the throat and the body below it. Personally, I even wonder if this cocktail really needs a taste at all."

I agreed with that.

Even as I was making the Base Drink, I wondered if processes like crushing Basil Leaves and adding syrup or mix were truly necessary.

Then Tony chimed in from the side.

"It's a cocktail that hasn't been around for long, but even so, it has a tradition."

"When was it created?"

"Well. Was it 20 years ago? I heard it was made around then. It's a story not in the manual, so you wouldn't know. It's not certain, but it's believed to be the Origin of the Cold Heart cocktail that spread at some point."

At that point in the conversation, as if he couldn't be left out of urban legends and other such tales, the Troublemaker Detective also let out a "Hah!" and spoke.

"I wondered what you were talking about, but it was that story. You must be referring to the story about the death of the Former Valentine Family Head, right?"

"...!"

I Flinched without realizing it the moment I heard that name.

Valentine was the surname of the highest-ranking Noble Family in Dusk City. At the same time, it was the name of a corporation that no city dweller could possibly be ignorant of.

Suddenly, I remembered the ad I had seen on the lift of the Circular Elevator on Monday, my First Day of Work.

It was an ad that kept popping up everywhere since then, to the point where I had practically memorized its contents.

A vast universe unfolded on the Display; the screen zoomed out, and chocolates and candies containing the cosmos appeared,

followed by a Close-up of people of various appearances eating them in one bite—their facial expressions filled with joy...

[A sweet blessing spreading throughout your mouth! A taste sensation, Valentine Candy & Chocolate. New Alpha Centauri Star System Flavor released.]

A narration would roughly go like that. Yeah, it went something like that.

The important thing was the name in the ad: Valentine Candy & Chocolate.

Valentine was a luxury food company dealing in candies, chocolates, jellies, and the like, boasting an overwhelming market share not just in Dusk City, but across The Entire World.

To use an analogy from my Previous World, it would be like one company handling Chupa Chups lollipops, Hershey's chocolate, and Haribo gummies all at once.

Doesn't it sound absurd just hearing it?

It was a Monopoly corporation dominating the candy and Confectionery Market to that extent, a Noble House that had established a Giant Empire in the World of luxury food items.

If there were a Family founded by a 22nd century Willy Wonka, would it be like this?

Not content with Climbing to the top of Dusk City's caste system with just sweet tastes, they were extending their reach far beyond the Food Industry into other areas.

To what extent, you ask? To the point where they overtook 'that' Militia to claim the No. 1 spot in Corporate Ranking Based on Total Capital.

Because of its image as a company that just made Snacks like candies and jellies, its ranking suffered quite a bit of devaluation.

They were disparaged by the ignorant as a Chaebol Family born from the Extortion of kids' pocket money,

or as a Megacorp that only had a lot of money because the scale of the Food Industry was so massive, while their actual power or Force was negligible.

But that, too, was a kind of smokescreen.

A thick veil intentionally set up by the Valentine Family, the greatest Noble Family in Dusk City shrouded in mystery, to hide their massive bulk.

Even though I had played through it casually, having seen the ending of the original work, I knew its true nature.

Valentine was by no means a corporation or Family to be ignored.

And the Former Family Head was the legendary figure who had elevated Valentine from a mere famous food company to its current Position.

To think the cocktail I had just made was connected to the death of such a figure—I couldn't help but be interested.

I focused my eyes and ears on the explanation that followed. Just what kind of story was behind it?

"That Yangban was a massive liquor lover, and at the age of 127, unable to extend his lifespan any further, he requested right before his death that his body be given a Cryogenic Burial using the liquor he usually enjoyed drinking.

Because of that, they spent a fortune to create a Cryogenic Coolant out of that liquor, and the Valentine Family Head was buried in the resulting Alcohol Freezing Coffin to sleep peacefully. It truly is a Romantic Death worthy of being a model for many."

Romantic it might be, but I didn't think it was exactly model-worthy.

When I shook my head with a sour expression, the Troublemaker Detective spoke.

"You must not have known, Watson? It's quite a famous story."

"Well, 20 years ago, I was only two years old. I wouldn't know. Plus, I'm not from this city."

In reality, 20 years ago for me was the distant early 2000s, and not only was I not from this city, I was From Another World entirely.

The Troublemaker Detective, who had no way of knowing that, shouted with a Shocked Expression at my Answer.

"What, you're only twenty-two, Watson?!"

"Yes. Why?"

"Your face doesn't look it at all?"

"..."

I often heard that I looked old... no, mature for my age. Ever since my School Days.

Thanks to that, there was the advantage of looking somewhat plausible when I acted as the Head Chef at the restaurant, but having my Complex poked at didn't feel good. Naturally.

Who would feel good hearing they looked old for their age?

At my stiffly hardened face, Tony burst into a chuckle from the side.

I put on a Cold, straight face and glared at the self-proclaimed Holmes. Should I kill him or not?

"It was a joke, a joke. Why are you glaring so scarily?"

"..."

"Don't look at me like you're going to kill me. Didn't I save you from that Thief earlier? Is this how you treat your benefactor?"

Since there was a cooler right over there, I felt like I could gift the Self-Proclaimed Holmes a Romantic Death just like the Former Valentine Family Head did...

While I was having such thoughts, Tony continued the cocktail story once again.

"They say the Basil Smash was the cocktail that Former Valentine Family Head, Thomas Valentine, loved."

If you take the Base Drink I made earlier for the Cold Heart, add ice, do some Shaking, strain it, and pour it back into a glass full of ice, you get a Basil Smash.

A cocktail created in 2008 belongs to the relatively recent Modern Classification.

I thought the Leader of a Noble Family with a fancy name like Thomas Valentine would unconditionally prefer a Classic Cocktail, so it was Unexpected.

Though by the standards here, 2008 was basically ancient history from over a hundred years ago.

"It's nothing more than a simple story, but they say Thomas Valentine took a sip of the liquid inside the Cryogenic Cocktail Coffin, where he was to be laid to rest, which was a Basil Smash, and said this with extreme satisfaction:

“This truly is a taste that seems to freeze even the heart!” That's how a new cocktail was born, and they say its name became the Cold Heart. I don't know if it's true, though."

If it was true, it was quite a shocking story. To drink a cryogenic Liquefied Gas Cocktail right before dying. I didn't know who he was, but he must have been one Hell of a real man.

Because of that, going through the Process of making a Base Drink similar to a Basil Smash seemed to have become the Standard Bartending Method when making a Cold Heart.

"For an Advanced Cocktail, it's a drink with an unusually fascinating history. That's why I like it, too."

The Troublemaker Detective spoke, trying hard to avoid my sharp glare.

"I don't usually prefer advanced cocktails, but this intense sense of liberation, as if washing my entire body clean with ice, is something I can't feel from any drink other than the Cold Heart.

The moment I down this drink, I suppose you could say I feel the same way Valentine did lying in his cocktail coffin..."

Ah, is that so. You shouldn't already be feeling that way.

Maybe it was because my mature face had been pointed out, but whatever he said sounded obnoxious.

"More than anything, just being able to drink this cocktail makes me think it was a good idea to get a Digestive Organ Modification."

Even now, he was clearly praising the cocktail I had made, but because I was feeling petty, it felt like he was teasing me for not having received a Digestive Organ Modification.

As I continued to scowl and glare at him, the Troublemaker Detective set down his empty glass and spoke.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I was wrong. So stop glaring at me. Your gaze is enough to kill a man. At this rate, you'll saw my hand off, too!"

"...!"