Chapter 27
“You said before that you wanted to come here, remember?”
Uh… Did I?
Elshunain tilted her head in confusion.
“Huh? I did?”
“Yeah. Don’t you remember?”
“Umm…”
She almost reflexively blurted out that she didn’t think so, but quickly shut her mouth.
‘Eek. Is this a leading question?’
To spring this kind of sneak attack out of nowhere!
Panicked, Elshunain hurriedly stuffed a cream puff into her mouth and stepped into the greenhouse.
“Haha! Not really sure, but since we’re here, let’s go in!”
One way or another, Elshunain entered the greenhouse, walking side by side with Killian like they were getting along just fine.
‘Did Ashray hide somewhere in the meantime?’
Before leaving the mansion with Killian, she had quickly scanned the room, but hadn’t seen even a strand of silver hair—he must’ve been hiding very well.
‘Anyway, did he really bring me here as a surprise attack? Then again… maybe not…’
Elshunain stole a glance at Killian walking beside her.
He still had a faint smile at the corners of his lips. That made her nervous.
‘He’s been acting weird lately.’
He never skipped tea time with her anymore.
He always came to see her before going anywhere.
‘It’s like we’ve gone back in time… to when we used to be close.’
More precisely, it all started after the New Year’s Festival.
‘Could it be…’
Elshunain’s pupils trembled slightly.
‘That woman who disguised herself as me… I heard she was found dead in the Church…’
Is that why he’s in a good mood?
He’d wanted to kill someone who looked just like her, and conveniently, she died?
As they got closer to the greenhouse, Elshunain’s delusions only grew bigger.
In truth, Killian’s attitude had changed the moment Elshunain said she missed him—but she had no way of knowing that.
After all, she still believed Killian loved Arwen.
From the very day Killian met Elshunain—long before Arwen had ever awakened—the original story had already started to crumble. But Elshunain remained unaware.
That misunderstanding created a large rift between them.
One that wasn’t visible on the surface.
“How is it, staying at the mansion?”
‘Is that your way of asking if I’m doing okay despite being a prisoner?’
“Oh, it’s so great! The food is delicious, the room is super cozy, and, um…”
“Is that so? Then I’m glad.”
Elshunain glanced at the gentle curve of Killian’s lips and asked,
“K-Killian, how do you feel about me being here?”
Her voice shook slightly without her meaning to. She knew he disliked her. Still, deep down, she hoped he’d be at least a little happy to see her again—thinking about all the time they’d spent together.
Was that selfish of her?
In truth, Elshunain wasn’t afraid of giving up her life for Killian.
If he could find happiness through her sacrifice, she would gladly accept it.
And in a way, she already had—she chose his happiness over her own life, effectively putting an expiration date on her existence.
What truly frightened her was the thought of Killian being consumed by dark magic and losing himself completely.
That he’d become truly unhappy—that was her greatest fear.
Elshunain swallowed hard and waited for his answer.
Instead of words, what she got was a single flower.
Killian held it out to her.
‘Huh? What’s this flower?’
There was a vase near the entrance filled with flowers for visitors to take.
The one he handed her was red—red like Killian’s eyes.
Elshunain slowly accepted the flower.
“Let’s go back now.”
“Mm-hm.”
He gave her the red flower and said nothing more. They made a loop around the greenhouse in silence and then headed back toward the mansion in a slightly awkward atmosphere.
After they left, the table in the greenhouse sat quietly.
Beneath the vase containing the red flower Killian had handed her, there was a small placard.
On it was the name of the flower—and its meaning.
I’m glad you came back.
It was his answer.
An answer he gave, never imagining that she might disappear within a year.
Meanwhile, in the basement of the Golden Tower, three business partners gathered once again.
“Ahem. Just as you ordered, sister, I’ve secured the top ten most popular restaurants in the Imperial capital.”
“Oho, really? Well done, Chirahan.”
“Hehe. The number one spot held out for a bit, but in the end, they couldn’t resist your proposal.”
This prince, who normally spoke in a perfect accent when discussing business, giggled while shaking his cotton candy-like hair. Then Gold, who had been admiring the shape of the dragon’s claw nearby, suddenly chimed in.
“Well of course! Who’d say no to making more profit without spending a single coin?”
A food delivery business.
It was a project heavily influenced by Elshunain’s past life experience before she transmigrated into this novel.
In Korea, food delivery existed individually through restaurants, but services like Xmin’s Nation or XgiYo that consolidated them didn’t exist yet in this world.
The key to success in such “everyone-thinks-it’d-be-nice” businesses was always capital.
“The initial investment is huge, after all,” Gold continued.
“Right. Just like Gold said, we won’t be seeing any profits for a while. We’ll even be operating at a loss.”
Sitting across from Gold, Elshunain flipped through her notebook, then tucked her pen behind her ear and spoke.
“But unless we invest upfront, the bees won’t come swarming, will they?”
Three key elements were essential for a successful food delivery business:
-
Food (the product)
-
Delivery riders
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Customers craving the product
Elshunain figured there was more than enough appetite. More specifically, the appetite for convenience.
‘Nobles have private chefs, but commoners don’t.’
The average working hours for commoners here far exceeded Korea’s.
As a result, people often ate very late—or skipped meals entirely. Some brought lunchboxes, but that only went so far.
With dual-income households on the rise, people wanted to spend less time cooking—but couldn’t.
Elshunain’s target demographic was the working-class.
She compiled a list of restaurants those people would love and reached out to them.
At first, they were hesitant about this unfamiliar business idea. But just like Chirahan said, they all eventually agreed.
‘Of course they did.’
Gold muttered.
“They’re getting someone else to sell their product for free—who wouldn’t want that?”
Exactly.
Until the business was established, Elshunain had no intention of charging service fees. Even delivery charges would be covered on their end.
“Don’t worry. There’s an old saying.”
Gold tilted his head at her confidently firm voice.
“Money calls to more money.”
Gold found himself nodding along. After all, Elshunain had secured a massive investment from him by leveraging Ashray’s dragon claw.
And her prediction came true.
What kind of people are we?!
This slogan, printed in bold at the center of a massive white banner, now had something new beneath it:
A nation of gourmets!
With big, bold letters, the answer was impossible to miss.
Citizens who had long been puzzled by the mysterious banner were overjoyed when they saw the new slogan.
“I feel like I’ve been wandering in the desert and finally found an oasis!”
“Yeah! So this is what it meant by ‘what kind of people are we?’”
“I mean, we are kind of a nation of gourmets, aren’t we?”
With their curiosity now satisfied, they memorized the words “nation of gourmets” and the white mask symbol below it.
And from that day on, the “Nation of Gourmets” business officially launched.
“That place always has such long lines—I never bother going there anymore. Ugh.”
On his way home late from work, a young man shook his head while pointing to a crowded shop.
“Same. I just want to eat in peace after work. That place is too noisy, and what if I bump into my boss?”
“But eating at home takes too long to prepare…”
Then a middle-aged man who’d been silently listening chimed in.
“You guys haven’t heard of the Nation of Gourmets?”
“Huh? What’s that?”
Several pairs of eyes turned toward him as he proudly replied,
“Those kids over there.”
He pointed to several children dressed in neat uniforms scattered around the streets.
“Oh, those kids! I’ve been seeing them around wearing matching outfits.”
“Yeah! They used to be beggars, didn’t they?”
The man shrugged.
“Well, now they’re riders for the Nation of Gourmets.”
“Riders?”
“Yep! They deliver whatever food you want!”
The men’s eyes widened.
“What?!”
“Is that for real?”
“Geez, you guys are really out of the loop! Everyone knows this!”
They laughed awkwardly, scratching their cheeks.
“I’ve even used them myself!”
Someone else straightened his shoulders and added,
“Just tell those kids the food you want and your address. You’ll get it within thirty minutes. By then, you’re already home relaxing.”
“Whoa! That fast?”
“If it’s that convenient, I wouldn’t mind paying a delivery fee!”
“Right, right!”
Then the boastful middle-aged man added with a cough,
“Ahem! And I heard they’ve even brought in teleportation mages!”
“What? Teleportation mages?!”
“Yep! They’re stationed right outside restaurants partnered with White Mask. The riders use them to teleport the food. So the only actual wait time is how long it takes to cook!”
“Ooooooh!”
Amazing!
The public response to the “Nation of Gourmets” business was explosive. So explosive, in fact, that some restaurants converted into delivery-only operations.
A month later, requests from other restaurants hoping to sign contracts flooded in.
Backed by Gold the Moneybag and Chirahan the food insider, Elshunain leaned on her newly acquired CEO desk in the Golden Tower’s basement and grinned.
“Well then. Everything’s ready. Let’s go, guys. Time to rake in the cash.”
“Kuoo!”
“Yes, Sis!”
