Nectar of the gods

Distant Wind city, after 9 pm.

Tony and Albert showed up on time, not just for the food, but also to see if Aric was doing fine alone in the house. They had closed their shops and almost came directly to his place after freshening up.

They came and sat in the family room. Tony was accustomed to the place, so he was very comfortable. They had already signed the contract in the presence of an administrative official, so Aric could live here for at least 6 months. There were no early deposits required, and one needed to pay the first month in advance, with rent due at the end of the second month.

Albert looked around, scrutinizing if Aric needed any help, but everything seemed to be in order.

"Aric, are you comfortable here?" Tony asked.

"Yes. Thank you, Uncle, for the help. I know that I am paying you less and both of you feel some obligations towards me. But I can assure you that I am fine and happy," Aric said.

"As long as you are fine," Albert said.

"So, I told you that I will bring something special..." Aric said.

"No, you put a bet with me," Albert corrected him, his jovial nature evident, eager to engage even with a child like a small child himself. Aric found him a bit cute and said, "And I intend to win."

Aric then went to the kitchen and brought out a large plate. On that plate lay a circular food item with rectangular slices evenly cut on it. There was not much explanation required to identify it.

Yes, it was pizza. During his time in the city, he had asked around about what kind of things this place lacked or what the world lacked. He was beyond surprised to learn that there was no pizza—or at least, the people here hadn't seen one. This was almost impossible in Aric's eyes because pizza was one of the oldest foods that people on Earth had come to make. In disbelief, he even asked around if there was any food with a similar structure or bread with cheese, but there was none.

He knew at that moment that he could start right here, right from the stomach itself. Thus he had brought out pizza, which he had ordered in Echorysia. Along with the pizza, he had also brought Coke.

Both Tony and Albert had never seen such kind of food before and didn't even know how to eat them. Aric had to show them as he brought out a slice and started chewing on it while the cheese stretched. The food was from the interstellar civilization where one could almost make any kind of food if one had the required machines. Humans were already very famous in the universe, and even though there weren't many humans in Echorysia, it didn't mean that human food wasn't respected enough.

Human culinary foods were quite popular among all species, and thus pizza was easily found and bought.

And Aric was glad that he did, because both of them were literally gorging after the first bite. The Coke just added flavor. Though most people didn't like it, Coke with pizza was the comfort food of his previous life.

He was glad that both of his new 'friends' were able to enjoy the same kind of bliss that he used to enjoy once. After about 10 minutes of chewing and gulping down four medium-sized pizzas, they rested their backs on their chairs.

"What in God's name was that?" Albert asked as he burped. It was the first time they had ever had Coke, and they burped quite a lot after drinking their first Coke.

"The food is what I call pizza, and the drink is what I call Coke," Aric said.

"Coke... Pizza... Nice names," Tony murmured, still in a food coma and not wanting to talk. He just wanted to enjoy the bliss while continuing his dream of pizza. But Albert was hyperactive now. He could see that the food had bread and meat, but also other items, and he was eager to know what kind of ingredients were used to make it. However, he didn't know if he should ask Aric. He was pretty sure that this food was exclusive to him and his family, and in no way would such a recipe be given to others.

This was a treasure. For a very brief moment, he had the thought of snatching the recipe for himself or making Aric cough it up, but he instantly berated himself for having such thoughts. His late wife and son would be ashamed of him if they ever came to know. He would be judged by Threnos and not allowed to meet his late wife if he ever thought of committing such a crime.

But such good food should be shared, and he didn't know how to convince Aric. It was not his place to begin with. Aric could vaguely feel what Albert might be thinking, so he spoke up first in order to break the awkwardness.

"How much do you think one bottle of Coke would sell for?" Aric asked.

"One bottle? You want to sell it?" Albert's eyes shone when he said that. Even if he didn't get the recipe for the food, the Coke could do the job. He couldn't let this opportunity go away. Aric went back and brought out a cold glass bottle of Coke.

Albert took the transparent glass bottle and weighed it with his hand. It was full of Coke, and Albert was almost tempted to drink it, but that was not important at the moment.

"So, for what price do you think we can sell it?" Aric asked.

"10 copper coins," Tony replied. He was a customer, and thus he knew what the general people would be willing to pay for this 'nectar of the gods'.