Chapter 27: Just a Word

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us in the celebration of my daughter's birthday. To stuff yourselves not only in memory but also physically, we prepared some new dishes that might suit your taste buds. Please enjoy yourselves."

After the socialization, we continued the celebration until we got to the buffet. Mother just used a microphone-like magic tool to amplify her voice throughout the Great Hall.

Clap, clap.

After Mother clapped twice, the double doors connecting the kitchen opened widely. Food carts are coming out of the kitchen and being pushed by our female servants and hired servants from a manpower company.

We have many kinds of dishes that we prepared for our guests tonight. Some of them are the dishes that I recreated for this world.

"Ohh!"

After the servers completed the table arrangements and served the dishes on each table, the guests marveled at the unfamiliar dishes.

"What is this? It looks like a steak, but it gives off a nice smell. Is this ground meat?"

(It's the alluring and mouth-watering hamburger steak, gentleman.)

"Hmm. Is this bread? And what is this cream-like stuff? It's sweet."

(Thank you for your compliment, lady. That was a cupcake, by the way.)

"Is this fried food? Oh, it's chicken, and coated with something."

(It's my all-time favorite battered chicken.)

"This is fried food too. Hmm! The insides have various meats and cheeses."

(Behold! Savour the greatest of the cordon bleu!)

The guests have already given positive feedback on the new dishes. Common standard foods in my previous world already have great recognition in this world. But that's not the main character of this event.

Without giving us a warning, the doors opened once again. Unlike the carts that entered before, only one is currently pushed by a man in a suit. The size of the cart was entirely different from the ones before. But the cart wasn't the thing that the guests paid attention to.

"What is that enormous thing? Is that a type of pastry?"

"That size is sufficient to feed everybody in this hall."

"Its size indicates that it is too tasty and want it to be devoured by everyone."

"If that's the case, that should be the main dish."

The guests started to speculate about what kind of food was on the cart. They were right that it is the main course of this buffet. It has a cylindrical shape and is coated in white. The main course is an enormous three-layered cake.

I recreate cake in this world just to be served on my sister's birthday. I want her debut to be extra special and memorable.

"This is a new baked product that was developed by our son, Raphael. It is called a cake. Louise, if you may."

"Yes, Mother. It is a pleasure."

After being asked by Mother, my sister took a cake slice. She approached the cake and stood in front of it. With the cake slice in her right hand, she slowly sliced the first layer of cake and cut it exactly the size of the cake slice.

"Oh! So it was baked goods. It was so soft that the knife easily went through."

"Based on the cutting, it is definitely softer than bread. I can't wait to get a taste of it."

Seeing the toothless cake slice go through the cake without sawing it, the guests came to the conclusion that the cake is softer and tastier than the bread.

All of a sudden, my sister sped up her cutting. She sliced the cake swiftly and cut it into equal slices, more than enough to serve all the guests.

"That was fast. And she sliced it evenly with precision."

"As expected of the child of the Sword Saint."

The crowd was awed by the fast cake slicing of my sister. She's better than me in sword, so it was just a "piece of cake" to her. Using the cake slice, she scoops a piece of cake and places it on her plate.

"Now that the cake is sliced, everyone can now have a taste of it."

The guests, one by one, stood up from their seats with a plate to have a slice of cake. I heard a positive response again, along with satisfaction painted on their faces.

As I am serving myself a slice of cake, I bump into someone that I know.

"You made something delicious again, Raphael."

"Yeah. It's for my sister's birthday. I am glad to see you again, Sophia."

"Me too."

This girl, who is the same age as me, is Sophia Raeven, our cousin and my childhood friend. She is the only daughter of our Mom's older brother. And she is someone to whom I have opened my eyes.

She is a raven-haired beauty like Mom and Sister. But unlike them, who had amethyst eyes, Sophia had a beautiful emerald green gaze. Her body had begun to shape and emphasize her curves greatly compared to the girls of our age. must be in their lineage.

"You looked so lovely in white. It compliments your lustrous black hair and jade eyes."

"Thank you."

"Hello there, Raphael! Looks like business is blooming."

"Long time no see, Mark."

A young man suddenly joined our conversation with a plate of cake in his hand. He is Sophia's older brother and a cousin of mine. He is a twenty-year-old young adult.

He is tall, around five foot nine, and has a pretty face. His hazel-brown hair and green eyes increase his already high charisma to the peak. He is well dressed and behaves with great confidence.

"Say Raphael, would you like to have an accomplice for selling this thing you called cake? Our company is always open for you." he asked while eating his cake.

"I know you would say that, but I have a bigger picture in my mind."

"Oho?"

I had anticipated that he would ask me about the cake from the start. But I really want to have a discussion with him about the ideas that I want to implement.

"Well, I still have many ideas in my mind that I want to implement. Food recipes, magic-powered items, establishments... and even a new transportation system."

"Uoooh!" Both of them are in a state of fascination, as I whispered about the latter.

The mode of transportation in this world was animal-drawn carriages and wagons. That's meant an unstable and uncomfortable trip if the road was bumpy.

Stone or brick-paved roads exist in this world but are only available inside cities. Having more paved roads is more convenient, but it requires a large sum of money and enormous manpower to build.

"That's why I want your company, which has branches all over the Empire and a few in other countries, to be the one to promote and sell the products that I think of. Of course, we will share the profits."

"It seems to be a long discussion. But I am looking forward to it!"

"Me too. The profit is real!" we exclaimed as we gripped our hands.

I want to promote some products and technologies from my previous life in this primitive world. To make it happen, I have to secure a connection with an influential organization to spread it throughout the world.

Our Mom's family owns a business, and it's not just a store but a big company. They had branches that spread out all over the Empire that granted them a surname. The company's current president is Steville Raeven, our uncle, and we have his son Mark as his successor.

I have been working with them for some time to mass-produce and sell the products that I made. And I am willing to negotiate with them in the future.

"As for the advanced payment…" he said then held Sophia's both shoulders, "how about having my little sister?"

"?!"

"B-brother?!"

Sophia yelled while I opened my eyes in shock in response to Mark's suggestion.

"? What's the problem? It is mutual, right?"

"B-but…"

"…"

Sophia tried to explain, but nothing came out of her mouth. I fell into silence as Mark put more oil on the fire. Not just Mark but both our families knew about our relationship status.

Four years ago, our family went to the Imperial Capital to celebrate Mark's fifteenth birthday. The moment I laid my gaze upon the little Sophia, I was instantly captivated by her charm. 

I don't know how it happened since I am not a lolicon but I felt a natural force that made me fall for her in an instant. 

Since we met, we've been spending our time together talking and playing. Then we visited them every summer. During last year's summer visit, I discovered that my feelings were not one-sided, which made my sister more annoying.

"Can we talk about that later? Sophia is almost at her limit."

"Oh. Well, I guess I have to go now. See ya later." Mark rushed out of the scene with a wave.

"Then, would you like to eat some desserts? I will serve you some."

Sophia nodded, as she was as red as a beet out of embarrassment. She must be aware of what her brother meant to say.

We haven't talked for a while since then. I, too, was embarrassed by what Mark had said. I don't mind her being my partner. She has the qualities of a woman that I need.

Like I said before, she is a raven-haired beauty like Mom and my sister, which was my preference. If I can't have my mother or my sister, why not have someone in the gray area?

We are cousins? Marrying a cousin is common in nobility to preserve the bloodline. Even some countries in my previous world allowed it. Genetic problems caused by inbreeding? My Ultra Skill Monarch of the Night can fix that. In conclusion, cousin is just a word.