"Thanks for waiting! Tonight’s dinner is curry!"

"Curry... I’ve never heard of such a dish. It has quite the striking color. Is it truly delicious?"

The curry wasn’t the kind made with roux but rather retort pouch curry.

With the recent level-up of my Outdoor Shop ability, the range of products available for purchase had greatly expanded. Among these, instant foods and retort foods stood out significantly.

I had suspected this would happen ever since instant soups became available during the last level-up, but the variety of instant and retort foods exceeded my imagination.

"This dish is meant to be eaten with the white rice underneath. It might be a little spicy, but it has a unique spice flavor that makes it very tasty."

Recently, outdoor shops have been selling something called alpha rice, an instant food that can be prepared simply by adding water or hot water.

It’s convenient for hiking and camping and can also be stored long-term as emergency food for disaster preparedness.

For tonight, I used hot water to prepare white rice from alpha rice, then heated the retort curry and poured it over the rice. There were various flavor options, but I chose medium spice this time. It’s been quite a while since I’ve had curry.

"Ah~ It’s retort, but this is definitely curry!"

It felt like ages since I’d tasted food from my original world. While the food in this world isn’t bad, nothing beats the familiar flavors of home. Even if it’s just retort food.

"Oh! This is a strange flavor unlike anything I’ve ever had before, but it’s incredibly delicious! It has such a complex, lingering taste that you’d never guess from its appearance!"

"In the country where I come from, this white grain is called rice. It’s a staple food, much like bread here. By itself, it doesn’t have much flavor, but when paired with strongly flavored dishes like this, it becomes truly delicious."

It’s been a while since I’ve tasted rice. There’s just something about it—Japanese people are rice people through and through!

And modern retort foods are surprisingly good. They could easily pass for regular meals!

"Ah, I’m so satisfied. Curry really is justice!"

"Justice, huh? I don’t know about that, but it was very delicious."

Lilia responded earnestly. In my original world, curry, ramen, and sushi are all forms of justice.

Since it had been so long, I ended up eating two portions. Now I found myself craving some pickled vegetables, like fukujinzuke or rakkyo. If I’m going to keep enjoying curry, it might be worth trying to make some pickles in the future.

"Since Lange is likely visiting tomorrow, we should discuss which products to sell."

"Hmm. This curry will undoubtedly sell. And this convenient rice, which can be made by just adding water or hot water, is sure to be popular as well."

Selling the curry might be tricky without the silver retort pouches for packaging, but the alpha rice, which is easy to prepare with just water or hot water, would definitely be useful for adventurers.

Moreover, this alpha rice isn’t just plain white rice. It also comes in three other varieties: seasoned rice, chicken rice, and seaweed rice. Like the instant soups, these would surely be a hit among beginner adventurers.

"On top of that, this alpha rice should last for several years, making it a great emergency food supply as well."

"Wow, that’s amazing!"

Alpha rice is essentially cooked rice that’s been dehydrated. Its long shelf life makes it an incredibly handy product.

"And that’s not all. There are sweet treats available this time, too!"

"Sweet treats, you say!?"

Yes, this time, I could purchase items that could be considered sweets. I cut bite-sized portions of yokan and laid them out on a plate, placing it on the table.

"These are yokan and chocolate bars."

Outdoor shops in my original world often stock high-calorie snack foods for climbers.

"Yokan and chocolate bars... those names are new to me."

As expected, Lilia had never encountered yokan or chocolate before.

"...!? This is incredibly sweet! The roasted fruits we had the other day were delicious, but these two have a different kind of sweetness altogether!"

Indeed, yokan and chocolate bars provide a sweetness distinct from fruits.

While sugar exists in this world, azuki beans or chocolate are not sold here. Though primarily meant as high-energy snacks, in this town, these items could easily be considered fine sweets.

"Plus, these are compact and provide a good amount of energy, making them great as lunch substitutes for adventurers."

Naturally, these foods still excel in their original purpose as energy-rich snacks.

"This is amazing, Tetsuya! These will definitely sell to adventurers!"

"Exactly. They’ll appeal both as sweet treats and for energy replenishment. They’re small, too, and can be purchased for just two copper coins each. Packaging them in sets of three might be the way to go."

As always, my ability doesn’t provide packaging, so like the instant soups, I’ll likely need to sell these with containers. Selling the curry, on the other hand, might still be challenging.

"With so many new items available, let’s carefully consider what to sell!"