Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Voyage of the Discovery

The cooking points obtainable from one person are up to a maximum of 5. Whether course cooking or single dish, that number didn't change.

After obtaining points, the cooldown is 3 hours. Until realizing this simple rule, I experienced quite a lot of trial and error even in my previous life.

The people invited to this opening ceremony were roughly 70.

Half were Mr. Henry's business partners or politically close gentry, and the rest consisted of celebrities Mr. Henry trusted.

The reason was just one, word of mouth.

Early 20th century, in this modern society the means to obtain information were only newspapers and word of mouth. In an era without media like SNS, blogs, or YouTube, the only marketing I could do was borrowing the mouths of high society influencers like writers, painters, musicians, and scientists.

I can't promote by paying money like in my previous life. Above all, an era where romance and dignity were valued. If you told them to sell their pride for a few pennies, getting angry first was the gentlemanly act of this London.

Let's make the celebrities naturally visit the restaurant and spread positive opinions.

That was my intention. No matter how luxuriously you do the interior, who would readily step into a restaurant selling unfamiliar food? Moreover, the price isn't cheap either.

Mr. Henry was convinced that just opening a Chicken and Chips specialty restaurant would definitely succeed, but I didn't think the upper class would accept without any prejudice the food that laborers ate by holding in their hands and tearing.

As an example of that, the reaction to the gamjajeon put out as dessert with Chicken and Chips was lukewarm. So I immediately removed gamjajeon from the menu.

Anyway, we desperately needed word of mouth. If we invite celebrities and have them spread rumors in high society, customers will naturally flock.

However, no matter how much I thought, the only opportunity to naturally invite celebrities was the opening ceremony. A strategy of somehow feeding them my Chicken and Chips to captivate their tastes, and after that competing with skill. This was also the part Mr. Henry agreed on.

On the day of the opening ceremony, I called even Dad and Emily to the kitchen and asked for help. They seemed briefly intimidated by the splendid restaurant interior they were seeing for the first time, but there was no time to be immersed in trivial impressions now.

I had a few newspaper sellers recruited from around Baker Street disguised as kitchen assistants and assigned miscellaneous tasks, and I fried chicken like crazy and devoted myself to decoration. Food for the upper class of this era, decoration was life.

Fortunately, it seemed my intention worked well. I wiped my nose stimulated by the oil vapor while looking at the points rapidly accumulating by 5s. Damn, the kitchen's ventilation system wasn't working as well as I thought. Damned modern society technology.

The anomaly started from then. While floating the status window and observing people's reactions, I noticed that the points were suddenly increasing exponentially from some point.

"Huh? What? Why are the points suddenly increasing like this?"

The maximum points I expected were about 350. Since until now there was no one in London who ate my Chicken and Chips and didn't give 5 stars, I thought that would be enough.

In my previous life, because they were foods that were too familiar, there were many times I received 3 or 4 stars occasionally, but in this era 5 was the basic. Just how tasteless were the dishes they usually went around eating.

But my points suddenly jumped sharply from the 200s to the 400s.

【 Acquired 7 Cooking Points. 】

【 Acquired 10 Cooking Points. 】

【 Acquired 8 Cooking Points. 】

"What, suddenly?!"

My heart started pounding. Because in over 10 years including my previous life, I had never seen this phenomenon even once.

The reason was soon known.

【 General Quest: Impress celebrities with special food (1/99th cycle) - Success 】

【 Due to first quest achievement, 'Wonder Points' are opened. 】

【 Wonder Points are bonus points obtained when granting a new taste experience to the target. 】

【 Bonus points acquired from quest achievement: 7,000 】

Just one line of message that appeared before my eyes.

"Quest?! There were quests here?!"

Several important pieces of information were contained in just one line of sentence.

First, that this is a general quest. It means higher grade quests like advanced or special grade might also exist.

Second, the word 'cycle'. This meant it was a repeatable quest.

Third, the fact that the message appeared only after the quest succeeded. Usually quests are announced before they start, but this suddenly appeared without prior notice. From now on, other quests won't even be known to exist until completed, and that means all conditions have to be guessed by feel.

Lastly, Wonder Points. Very important information that additional points can be obtained by providing a new taste experience.

"Man... My head hurts suddenly. So this is how it comes out?"

Looking at the content, the condition is to satisfy celebrities. But with just that information, I couldn't even know whether I had to satisfy how many people at once, or if accumulating the number of satisfied people would do.

In fact, the people gathered this time were no different from Mr. Henry almost rolling up his sleeves and gathering them. In high society, they still didn't like the occupation of banker very much.

Traditionally, the gentry occupations preferred in high society were about large landowners or factory owners who contributed to industrial development. Bankers who rolled money had many gazes viewing them negatively like treating the Jewish Shylock. It worked to some extent because Mr. Henry's father was a renowned Conservative Party politician.

But I had to clear the quest no matter what. It wasn't simply because it gave a lot of additional points.

【 Additional reward for quest achievement: Spin Spin Random Box x1 】

"Spin Spin Random Box...?"

I just read the message without any thought—

Thud.

A small box fell in front of me. An object I was familiar with from my previous life.

"It's a delivery package?!"

A box tightly wrapped with box tape that could never be seen in modern Britain. I hurriedly tore it open, and was astonished seeing the object inside.

"A t-tumbler?!"

No doubt. That thing I easily obtained and rolled around carelessly in my previous life. It came even just buying coffee sticks, and I received it just by drinking coffee. Even in our house alone, there were over ten unopened tumbler boxes piled up.

"But here, even if you sleep and wake up, you absolutely can't obtain it."

In my previous life it was an ordinary object everyone carried around, but inside it was no different from the concentration of modern civilization's metal smelting technology.

Even the stainless steel inside would take decades more for the metallurgy technology of this era to make. Moreover, the vacuum layer for insulation and cold retention is at a level unimaginable with this era's technology.

I was madly happy. The tremendous possibility implied by the fact that a tumbler came out of the random box.

It means that now from my point shop, I can summon not only ingredients but other modern items too!

And there was exactly one modern item desperately needed for the current me.

Asthma medicine to give to Mom! In this era where quack doctors prescribe aspirin as a panacea, at a point where penicillin hasn't even been developed yet, the only hope I can rely on is this!

"Jean? What are you doing there? What's that in your hand? It sparkles and is pretty?"

"Uh uh? It's nothing. But why? Finished cleaning up?"

"Yeah! Uncle Henry called for Jean for a long time! He says we're going to have a party from now!"

When Emily's voice was heard from behind, I reflexively hid the tumbler behind me. Fortunately, she showed no particular interest in the tumbler.

I thought the coated surface sparkling would catch the eye. To quickly divert her attention, I decided to show another magic.

"Tada! What is this?"

"Eh? Eeh?! It's chocolate!"

【 Exchanged 10 Points for 'Hershey's Chocolate Bar'. 】

"Take it, it's a gift."

"Jean! Thank you so much! I love you!"

"By the way, what party suddenly? I thought we'd disperse after finishing the cleanup."

The one commanding the kitchen was me. There was no food specially prepared for a party, and I thought everything was over?

"Uncle Henry said today's reaction would be too good, so he planned a celebration party in advance secretly from Jean!"

It was as those words said. In the middle of the empty restaurant where the invited celebrities had all left, the staff who worked hard today and Mr. Henry were all gathered, and in the center various foods I didn't make were set out.

Pudding with lots of cream on top, apple tart full of apple and cinnamon scent, a bottle of high-quality champagne, and even warm roasted lamb with remaining heat. When on earth did he prepare something like this?

"Jean! All this success is thanks to you! In honor of the eternal prosperity of our company and the grace of His Majesty Edward VII, the new king of the British Empire, I hope you all enjoy the food I prepared separately here!"

The tip of my nose tingled for no reason. I had only thought of using Mr. Henry and this place for my happiness and stability.

So I decided to confide the ultimate move I had prepared to Mr. Henry.

"Mr. Henry, I have something to say for a moment. Please look at this briefly."

I unfolded the morning newspaper I received this morning from my bosom. What I brought was the front page of the newspaper.

"Discovery Expedition? It's an article I also read, what about it?"

"It's important. For the development of our restaurant. By any chance, could you connect me with the people linked to this project? As far as I know, Barclays Bank also sponsored this business."

Right now no one knows, but in 1901 British history, an event that becomes a quite important turning point occurs.

Robert Falcon Scott. A figure who will fiercely compete with Norway's Roald Amundsen over the conquest of the South Pole for the next few years.

The *Voyage of the Discovery* he published in 1905 after finishing the Antarctic exploration caused a tremendous response throughout Britain. How great that influence was, to the point where later the American space shuttle was named 'Discovery'.

At a point where the map of the whole world was almost completed, Antarctica was the last remaining unknown territory. A national hero story born from the adventure, courage, and exploration that took place there. There was no way the British wouldn't get excited.

In fact, if the book wasn't fun, it would have been hard to exert that much influence. The content of the book was tremendously fun enough to fully inspire the pride of the British. Of course I've never read it. I just saw it that way on a wiki I happened to read later.

Just recalling that point roughly is a considerable feat. My memory is outstanding enough that I still remember most cooking methods from my previous life.

Seeing the news in the newspaper I read in the morning that Scott's Discovery ship would set sail for Antarctica in a few months, I suddenly realized. That this was a big opportunity.

So I planned to put one spoon on it in advance while thinking of it.

If possible, so that our name can also remain in history together.

And so that these people naturally promote my Chicken and Chips throughout Europe!