Following the recent collections, the money the Landmark Family had lent across various sectors began to trickle back in, providing a much-needed boost to the House coffers. By maintaining meticulous ledgers, Ryu Landmark eliminated wasteful spending and stabilized their cash flow. Seeing the progress, Lord Faza felt confident enough to leave the financial management entirely to Ryu and the butler, Sebastian.
Eager to push this momentum further, Ryu approached a local merchant with a proposal. It was the commercialization of a beverage brewed by roasting "Kohin" beans ¹, grinding them into a fine powder, and steeping them in a cloth bag with hot water.
Ryu had discovered the Kohin beans growing wild in the forests of the Landmark estate. After bringing them back and roasting them to see if they were edible, the aroma had triggered a memory from his previous life. "Wait... is this coffee?" he had wondered. He immediately began paying wages to debt-ridden farmers to harvest the beans, while simultaneously convincing them to begin large-scale cultivation.
In his previous life, they were coffee beans. Here, Ryu had a hunch they would become the Landmark Family's newest shinogi ²... a very lucrative side business.
"...At first, the sight of this black liquid gave me pause," the merchant remarked after taking a sip. "But the aroma is exquisite. It has a sharp bitterness, a deep body, and a clean finish. It's quite addictive. I'm curious as to its origin, but... I won't press for details just yet."
Ryu kept the source a secret for now. He had already filed the paperwork with the Merchant Guild Landmark, and a patent was expected soon. Until then, it was a trade secret. Furthermore, this merchant was a new contact, chosen specifically to replace the family's previous partners.
The former merchants had been padding their invoices, preyed upon the Landmark Family's good nature to squeeze them dry. Ryu had reported the fraud to the Guild with evidence in hand, leading to this new introduction.
Trust would have to be built from the ground up.
"As soon as the production line is ready, we'll move to full commercialization," Ryu said. "In the meantime, we'll market this to the nobility and the wealthy."
"The nobility?" the merchant asked.
"Exactly. The upper class is always hungry for the next trend. We'll introduce it at tea parties, offer tastings, and secure the initial capital there."
"So, we use the elite to fund the mass-market expansion?" the merchant replied, a smile tugging at his lips.
"That's the idea," Ryu confirmed.
The real profits were still on the horizon, but if this took off, the Landmark territory - which lacked any notable exports - would finally find its footing. The farmers, once drowning in debt, would flourish. The loans would be repaid, and everyone would win.
But Ryu wasn't finished. If you were running a shinogi, you needed stalls. And if you had stalls, you needed street food!
He went through the list: okonomiyaki, udon ³, pasta. He ruled out takoyaki since they were inland, far from the sea. But udon and pasta were simple and high-margin. More importantly, the food culture in this world was stagnant. Ryu saw a gap large enough to drive a truck through, and he intended to wedge the Landmark Family right into it.
However, Ryu was no cook. He headed straight to the kitchen to consult the head chef.
"...I've never heard of such a thing, Master Ryu," the chef said, looking skeptical.
Despite his pride, the head chef listened as the third son of his employer laid out a bizarre request. Under Ryu's direction, the chef kneaded wheat flour into a thick dough, covered it with a cloth, and - to his utter confusion - stepped on it to develop the gluten. He then rolled it out, folded it, and sliced it into thick strips.
"Is this really correct?" the chef asked. He was baffled by the process, yet surprised by the springy texture of the thick noodles he had created.
"Now, boil them," Ryu instructed.
The chef complied, then drained the noodles and set them on a plate. He took a cautious bite. They were slippery, with a firm, satisfying koshi ⁴.
"This... this is incredible!" the chef exclaimed, eyes widening at the novel texture.
"Now, for the soup," Ryu said, pulling ingredients from his Magic Storage. He handed over wild fowl and spring onions gathered from the forest. "Take these and craft a broth that complements those noodles."
From there, Ryu stepped back, leaving the rest to the chef's professional intuition.
"Leave it to me!" the chef declared, his culinary spirit finally ignited.
After several iterations, Ryu identified the flavor that most closely matched the soul food of his past life. Together, they finalized their masterpiece: "Chicken bone soup udon" was completed.
Summary:
Ryu stabilizes the Landmark Family finances and pivots toward new business ventures. He discovers coffee beans in the forest and sets up a production line with local farmers. To further diversify, he introduces udon to the head chef, sparking a culinary revolution within the estate.
Trivia:
- The Landmark territory currently has no special local products.
- Previous merchants were defrauding the family due to their 'good nature'.
- Ryu is using a 'top-down' marketing strategy by targeting nobles first.
- Takoyaki was explicitly rejected due to geography (no sea nearby)
Character Insight:
Ryu demonstrates his yakuza 'business' mindset by treating trade like a 'racket' (shinogi). The head chef shows a professional's adaptability, moving from confusion to inspiration once he tastes the results.
Behind the Scenes:
The author uses 'Kohin' as a near-anagram/phonetic play on 'Kōhī' (Coffee). The stepping technique in udon making is a traditional method to develop gluten strength.
TL Notes:
1 ↩ Kohin (コヒン): A fictional bean in this world, clearly an analogue for coffee.
2 ↩ Shinogi (しのぎ): Yakuza slang for a source of income or a hustle.
3 ↩ Udon (うどん): Thick wheat flour noodles of Japanese origin.
4 ↩ Koshi (コシ): A Japanese term describing the ideal 'springy' or 'firm' resistance of perfectly cooked noodles.
Notes:
• Sebastian - The family's elderly, white-haired butler who has served since the grandfather's generation. Highly knowledgeable.
• Faza - The Lord of the Landmark Domain. A slender but sturdily built man with red hair and brown eyes.
• Ryu - Formerly Yokohama Ryusei, a yakuza. Reincarnated as the third son of the Landmark family. Has red hair and blue eyes. Possesses memories of his previous life and the ability to see names of objects.