It might sound a bit strange to say, but I've eaten steak quite often.
'I used to go to chain restaurants all the time back in Japan.'
Not that I cooked it myself, but I went frequently while working at my company.
Why?
'Because those were the only kinds of places I could take the VTubers to eat.'
As the producer responsible for the VTubers' meals, I often took them to restaurants that had separate contracts with the company.
This was a matter related to the VTubers' "red pill"—their real-life identities. Fans would often try to deduce where a VTuber lived just from a simple story about "eating with so-and-so."
Because of that, we frequented family-style chain restaurants that specialized in steak or hamburger patties.
"Producer! Let's try this place next time! I've already booked a private room!"
One of the VTubers at my company loved steak, so I would sometimes go with her.
She was extremely cautious about her identity being revealed, so there were times we'd pay a little extra to book a private room and dine on high-end steak.
Now, if you're asking whether I paid for it with my own money, that's a different story, but I've had my fair share of Wagyu back in Japan.
Dragon steak?
"I'm assuming it won't taste strange, at least. If you're trying to feed me some bizarre concoction, I'll make sure all future hamburgers are from a convenience store."
"In that case, I'm even more confident. Dragon steak is delicious. More so than you can imagine."
Rasian, who was drawing a teleportation circle, replied while humming a tune, clearly excited by the mere thought of it.
Seeing her this delighted, maybe dragon steak really was that amazing.
"Is dragon steak a common dish? In this world?"
"Not at all. In fact, it's incredibly rare. Hunting a dragon is no ordinary feat."
Ah.
I understood why she was so excited.
'It's because she gets to talk about this world.'
The reason Rasian wanted to become a VTuber was, after all, to share stories about her world.
In that case, as someone who understood the ways of society, it was my basic duty to humor my investor and keep her happy.
"If dragon steak is sold despite it not being an ordinary thing, doesn't that mean you have to pay an exorbitant price for it?"
"That's right. A single meal is so expensive it could burn through not just a monthly salary, but someone's entire annual income, and still not be enough."
"...And you're treating me to a meal like that?"
"Yes. I have more than enough money. It's just a bit difficult to use on Earth."
I was envious.
Truly envious.
While I'd made a decent amount of money myself, enough that you could say I'd "cashed out," I suspected the scale of Rasian's wealth in this world was on a level I couldn't even fathom.
There had to be a reason she hadn't told me yet why she chose to live on Earth instead of in this world.
"That's incredible. But is it really okay for me to just accept?"
"Please think of it as payment for ordering ten extra hamburgers."
"Well, I don't know what to say."
What could I do when my benefactor was offering such a generous treat?
I was curious about this world, and broadening my horizons could be helpful for my work later on.
'Like for Project Isekai.'
When planning a VTuber project team, having background knowledge of this world's lore would be a huge help in creating their debut setting.
VTubers who debut as a group don't usually have a deeply detailed world setting, but showing that kind of unity can at least signal to the viewers that they're putting in a lot of effort.
And most importantly, it would be a massive help when Rasian eventually debuts.
By knowing the content of her stories from this world beforehand, I could gauge what was appropriate and prepare for the audience's reception.
Dragon steak was a perfect example.
"Who makes this dragon steak? Is it some master chef in the countryside? Like one of those hidden restaurants in a pocket dimension that you find after opening a random door?"
"It's not the kind of place where a chef prepares an omakase course for you the moment you walk in. It's more like a top-tier, exclusive restaurant in Seoul—a chef's restaurant in the capital."
The magic circle was complete.
"Let's go."
"Can we just show up without a reservation?"
"I have something like a lifetime free pass. Though I've never used it."
"...Is it okay to use it?"
"Yes. He told me to come and eat whenever I wanted."
Rasian tapped the magic circle with her staff, and I stepped onto the spot she indicated, just as she instructed.
"It's something of a reward I received after skewering a dragon that was trying to destroy the empire with my magic."
"...Huh?"
Wait a minute.
"What did you just—"
"Teleport!"
Flash.
The magic circle flared, and the moment Rasian grabbed my wrist...
Crackle.
With the bizarre sensation of my entire body dematerializing and rematerializing, my surroundings transformed into a completely different space.
"Where is this...?"
It was a nobleman's mansion, the kind you'd often see in fantasy stories.
There weren't many flashy gold decorations, perhaps due to the owner's taste, but the elegant fabrics and wallpaper looked expensive at a glance.
"My house in the capital."
"...House?"
"Yes. As an officially recognized member of the White Magic Tower, I needed to establish a base of operations in the capital."
Snap.
Rasian snapped her fingers, and a door down the hall opened, revealing something approaching.
[Welcome, Master.]
White dolls that looked as if their bodies were made of glass.
Their most notable feature was that they were all wearing maid outfits.
"...Hey, Rasian."
"Yes. These are the very magical dolls I take great pride in..."
"Can I take a picture of them?"
I pulled out my smartphone and asked for her permission.
It had no service, effectively making it a digital camera.
"...Taking a picture is fine, but why do you want to photograph the dolls? Ah, is it because they resemble me?"
Rasian walked over to the glass doll at the front and stood beside it.
"Of course they do. I modeled them after myself. What do you think? We're identical, right?"
"Yeah. You are. It's like seeing you in a maid outfit."
"Ahem. It wasn't difficult. This, too, is the power of magic. ...But why do you want to take a picture? Do you perhaps want to see me in a maid outfit?"
"Hmm, that's not it."
I adjusted the camera angle, framing the subject in the lens.
"I was thinking it would be perfect reference material to provide before the rough design drafts are made, when I create a VTuber with a doll-maid concept."
"...."
"Oh, no, wait. Since your face is on it, this would be excellent material for when we create a maid outfit avatar for you later."
"Th-."
Rasian, looking somewhat dumbfounded, pointed at her doll, and then at the numerous other domestic dolls behind it.
"This... no, never mind. You're right. If it helps with work, then that's a good thing. Yes. In that case, I'll make the call right away."
"Are we going right now? To the restaurant? I know you said we don't need a reservation, but..."
"Going there ourselves is one way, but since we have the opportunity, I'll have him use that method."
Rasian pointed at my smartphone, then made a phone gesture with her hand and grinned.
"I'll have him come here and cook for us personally."
"...Come here? Personally?"
"Yes."
Rasian lifted her chin, as if it were no big deal, yet with a hint of pride, and placed a hand on her chest.
"I am an archmage. I am of that caliber."
"...."
I understood.
But still.
"For dragon steak, you need to procure dragon meat. For a course that costs tens of thousands, it seems unlikely they could prepare the ingredients on the spot. Is it a place that always keeps dragon meat on hand?"
There was a part of this that my Earthling common sense couldn't grasp.
"No matter how top-tier a chef Rasian acknowledges him to be, I doubt he keeps things prepared so that anyone can eat dragon steak at any time..."
As someone who had to make reservations at least a few weeks in advance to eat top-grade Wagyu or tuna back in Japan, this was incomprehensible, even for another world.
"Do not worry about that."
Rasian smiled as if there were no problem at all and gestured toward the dolls.
"All you need to do, Producer, is sit down, enjoy the meal, and then we'll return together. Yes."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
If you were to ask who the greatest chef in the empire was...
The world would name many different people, but a man named Marcopier Gordon was likely the most brilliant chef in this world.
"Ugh..."
However, he had recently fallen into a slump of sorts.
"No progress, no development."
He wished for some new inspiration, but his attempts to develop a new menu had hit a wall.
No.
Perhaps this was just stagnation.
An era of peace, forged by the great archmages.
After the Great War ended, the nobility and the wealthy began to indulge in lavish lifestyles, and naturally, Marcopier provided them with dishes to match their demands.
Countless dishes, served in courses.
Serving meals made from all sorts of fantastical ingredients, utilized to their absolute limit, had always been a new challenge for him, a never-ending path of creation.
While tastes could be subjective, about 99% of those who tried his food universally acclaimed it as 'delicious.'
But that had been the case for several years now.
Since the dawn of this peaceful era, numerous chefs had appeared, and the apprentices who had studied under Marcopier began to strike out on their own, opening their own restaurants.
—Every restaurant is a Gordon restaurant.
And so, one by one, the restaurants in the capital began to adopt Marcopier's recipes.
To be precise, his apprentices, having learned and honed their skills in his restaurant, began to modify or create their own versions of his recipes to sell.
It wasn't a bad thing.
His recipes hadn't been stolen. If cooking was considered a technical profession, then it was a joyous occasion for an apprentice who had learned their master's techniques to create new dishes tailored to their own strengths.
But as a result, Marcopier found himself inadvertently competing with his own students, who, one by one, began to use various methods to become more famous than their master.
Things other than cooking.
Inviting celebrities to dine and leaving their autographs at the front of the restaurant, or drawing in crowds with so-called 'challenges'.
"Hah. Should I also bring in some celebrity and hang up a picture of them enjoying a meal?"
Compete on cooking alone?
He had let go of that pride long ago.
Having witnessed firsthand how his apprentices' actions were greatly benefiting their restaurants, he didn't think using such methods was particularly bad.
As long as they didn't resort to things like hiring people to deliberately slander a competitor's food or trying to ruin a food supplier.
"Ugh, in my circle of contacts... huh?"
While he was lost in thought.
"Marcopier."
"Wh-what...?"
A doll clad in a white robe had appeared.
"N-no way...?"
"A dragon steak course for two. You alone will come to my home and cook."
"Lady
"The dragon meat."
The archmage, the
"I will procure it myself within the hour. In the meantime, you are to plan the course and prepare the ingredients. The kitchen can be used as it was last time."
"...."
"Is this difficult? I suppose such a sudden request would be troublesome. If you find it difficult, I could ask the one from the kingdom—"
"I will do it."
Marcopier clenched his fists.
"Because I am the only person in this world who has ever cooked a dragon steak, and that is how it will remain."
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