Michae looked at the well-seasoned, extremely crispy chicken that he just devoured. It was completely different from the fried chickens he had consumed even in his previous life. Something about it was more exotic and therefore more novel in his tongue.
ChatJK4, can you scan this chicken and find out why it's so finger-licking good?
[Alright. Scanning chicken…]
A few seconds later, a visual projection of text boxes appeared in his vision, with each box corresponding to a different part of the chicken.
[Poultry chicken – Produced naturally, and most probably brought up and farmed personally by the owner.]
[Oven baked – Cooked using vegetable oil at a brisk 170 degree Celsius]
[Spices – A combination of native spices emulated the same texture as fried chicken. However, there seems to be one ingredient added in the cooking process that is not in the recipe database for this type of meal.]
Can you figure out what it is?
[The spice that is used is called Dragon's Whiskers, which despite its name, has no connection to the demi-human denizens of the Draconian Empire.]
A visual image of Dragon's Whiskers appeared in Michael's vision, showing him a thin green herb that strangely curved down to the root and back up, creating an illusion of a gentleman's mustache.
[Dragon's Whiskers]
— A rare herb found in the forestry region in the Queens region.
— This particular type of plant has adapted and mutated to have a defensive mechanism to ward off humans or animals consuming it. Upon consumption, the herb will release a particular chemical that reacts with the natural mana found inside the consumer.
— For some animals, consumption will result in an allergic reaction. But for humans, consumption will result in a mild, almost burning sensation to the tongue, stimulating the mana inside their cores.
Just like how peppers mutated to become spicy to taste for regular humans, this Dragon's Whiskers mutated to become spicy to taste for magically enhanced humans—magic capsaicin, if you will.
Most evolved and magically capable humans like Michael barely felt the spiciness of peppers in this world, especially those who practice Physical Art spells that enhance their body's durability.
This new discovery came with a new sensation!
He couldn't believe that such a delicious piece of chicken was being served at a run-down restaurant with barely any customers, if any!
He looked towards the kitchen area, where the rugged middle-aged chef and his little boy worked together to fry their chickens in the wok.
"Excuse me," he called out to them.
The chef looked at Michael, finished his cooking, and walked over to him after wiping his hands in his apron.
"Something the matter?"
"Did you cook this yourself?" Michael pointed at the already half-eaten chicken on the plate. The Rebornians were just munching on the food continuously.
"Yeah. Family recipe," the chef replied. "My grandfather taught it to me."
"What do you use? Dragon's Whiskers?"
The chef was surprised Michael was able to figure it out. "Yeah. That's what you magicians will taste on the chicken. I heard it's extremely pleasant to eat."
Meanwhile, his kid hid behind his legs and peeked out at Michael, who seemed to only be a few years older than him yet looking so matured.
"Your chicken is the best food I've had in a while, no exaggeration," Michael praised the chef genuinely.
"Thanks. It pays enough for my little boy here to go to school," he said, ruffling his son's hair.
Michael found it quite a shame that such a delicious piece of food wasn't getting enough attention here in Angora City. But then he realized, this world was at the age where information was scarce and hard to propagate.
There weren't any online review sites that could spread the good news about this undiscovered gem of a restaurant. There was only the word of mouth and that's it.
The only reason Michael was able to spread the word of the Reborn products was because he had a lot of money to burn. He could hire newspapers, town criers, and everything else.
But this place didn't even have enough money to replace the broken chairs in the room.
Although the food was good, it didn't matter in the end if no one knew about it.
"I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Michael," he reached his hand out to the chef.
"Tony," the chef replied. "And this is my kid, Remy."
Michael shook his hands with Tony. "I want to offer you a deal," he said.
"What deal?"
"The kind that could change your life. I see that your restaurant has the potential to become one of the biggest restaurants in the world, one that would serve thousands and thousands of people everyday."
Remy's eyes glistened as his imagination soared from Michael's words. Yet, his father was not so easily swayed.
"Are you kidding me?" Tony said with a self-deprecating tone. "Don't you see there's no customers here? Unless you have the money to force people to look at this place, then you won't be able to help us."
It was at this point that the Rebornian Engineers all looked at Tony. "Chef, don't you recognize who you're talking to? This is our boss, Michael! He's the owner of Reborn!"
Tony looked at Michael with a different gaze now. Although he didn't get out much and spent most of his time in the kitchen, even he had heard of the Reborn company. Practically everyone in Angora City knew about their name and their accolades.
Previously, he thought Michael was just talking big. But now that he knew that he could back it up, Tony considered Michael's offer more seriously.
"What would a large company like yours want with my little restaurant? There's no upside for you."
Michael disagreed. "I'm not doing charity here," he said. "I truly believe that your restaurant could become one of the biggest food businesses in the world—at least, with my help.
If you become a subsidiary company of Reborn, then we can help you expand your small rundown eatery into a large restaurant in the center of a city."
In truth, Michael didn't have to offer Tony this lucrative deal. After all, ChatJK4 could very well reconstruct the chicken recipe by himself once he had a taste of it. He could sell it as his own and create another large subsidiary next to Reborn.
But that was bad business practice. He didn't want to be like that.
"Is that even possible?" Tony muttered to himself. He had already let go of such lofty dreams while he was a kid, and now Michael was promising him the very same thing.
"Of course. Once you are under my company, then I can give you all the resources you will need to further expand your business."
Michael could see Tony's eyes start to light up. But then, he controlled himself. "I don't want to become a large restaurant company," he said. "I just want to earn enough money for me and my kid to live as we want."
The father and son hugged each other.
"If that's what you want, then alright. We will take control of your company and give you a portion of the income. And not only that, but if your kid wants to join Reborn, then he can take his rightful place as the owner of this subsidiary."