At first, grilled moray eel was a delicacy reserved exclusively for the employees of the Strategy Office.
It was primarily provided to those who worked overtime after sunset, and no one ever refused it.
"To provide such expensive food for free. Caesar truly is a remarkable employer."
"This is the sort of dish ordinary plebs like us might taste once a year, if we're lucky."
"Even nobles cannot enjoy this whenever they wish. Yet here we are, dining on it every single day."
And it wasn't just moray eels. There was another food Romans ate to restore their vigor: raw oysters.
The coastline near Neapolis was dotted with oyster farms, which sent enormous quantities of fresh oysters to Rome every day.
To cultivate them, the oyster farmers had constructed elaborate dams, canals, and breakwaters.
They even built heated structures called praefernia to keep the oyster beds warm during winter.
"Demand for oysters seems to be increasing in Rome lately. Should we increase production?"
"We should pay closer attention to the delivery routes as well."
"Just how many oysters does Lucius Caesar eat to justify orders this massive?"
Countless oysters arrived in Rome, submerged in seawater.
And immediately upon arrival, they found their way onto the plates of Caesar's employees.
"A feast like this every day makes a man feel full of strength."
However, this joyful atmosphere did not last long.
One day, two days, a week, then a few months—after eating the same thing every day, even the finest delicacy began to lose its charm.
"Grilled moray eel again today?"
"They added extra spices today. Expensive ones from the East."
"Please, no more... I beg you."
"Well, it's free. Just eat it quickly."
From the most junior clerks in Lucius's enterprises all the way up to Cato the auditor, everyone had reached the point where merely hearing the words 'grilled moray eel' made their faces pale.
Yet, no one dared voice a complaint.
After all, providing such expensive moray eels and raw oysters was something they ought to be deeply grateful for.
An employer who paid generous overtime wages and provided fine meals on top of that?
For the employees to step forward and complain was practically unthinkable.
But eventually, a breaking point was reached.
"Felix, we have a favor to ask of you."
The employees of the Strategy Office gathered and spoke in anxious voices.
"Could you perhaps pass a message to Caesar for us?"
***
"They want something other than moray eels and raw oysters?"
"Yes. It seems they have grown tired of eating the same dishes every day."
"I thought the employees loved them. We spent a fortune on those things, you know."
I looked around the office as I walked alongside Felix.
The insurance business, which had started in a small insula, had grown into a sprawling enterprise that occupied several buildings.
It was no longer just about recruiting members and paying claims; it now involved managing addresses, compiling personal records, and organizing massive archives.
On top of that, to ensure the records weren't wiped out by a single fire, copies had to be duplicated and stored in separate locations.
Needless to say, it required a substantial workforce, and when urgent matters arose, many employees had to work overtime.
To accommodate those unavoidable late hours, I had installed street lamps and provided dinner and late-night meals.
And these were usually... moray eel and oysters.
"I never imagined there would be complaints."
"I would not call it a complaint, exactly. Everyone is immensely grateful for the provisions you provide, Young Master." Felix cleared his throat. "But it seems many of them wish for a bit more variety on the menu."
I skimmed the report Felix handed me. It detailed the monthly expenditures on oysters, moray eels, and the cooks' wages.
"According to this report, the number of employees eating moray eel and oysters hasn't decreased at all."
If they were tired of it enough to make such a request, why hadn't demand dropped?
On the contrary, it was steadily rising.
"Because eating the food you provide saves them money." Felix shrugged. "Most employees eat breakfast at home, but they often have to buy lunch or dinner from the street stalls."
"So they are eating the eels and oysters to save on food expenses."
That explained it.
They were enduring it simply to spare their purses.
"If the employees are tired of it, there is no reason to keep buying costly moray eel and raw oysters."
"Are you planning to end the meal provisions entirely?" Felix coughed lightly. "The employees certainly did not wish for that. Perhaps an alternative..."
"Yes, I have a much better idea," I replied with a smile.
The money currently spent on moray eels and oysters could be put to far better use.
"We are going to build proper mess halls for our employees."
***
"A mess hall... certainly a logical approach."
Felix muttered to himself after leaving Lucius.
The money currently spent on raw oysters and grilled moray eels were more than enough to establish and operate dedicated dining halls at every workplace.
Of course, hiring cooks and procuring raw ingredients in bulk would cost some money, but compared to the monthly revenue, it was little more than a drop in the sea.
Yet Lucius had proposed more than that.
As part of this new 'welfare' initiative, he also planned to help cover rent for employees who lived far from their place of work, allowing them to rent lodgings closer by.
He had even ordered the creation of 'break rooms'—designated areas where employees could rest during meals or between periods of work.
Lodgings near the place of work, with meals provided up to three times a day.
"At first glance, it seems like the proposal of an employer so benevolent he seemed like mercy itself..."
But Felix had seen something remarkably similar to this before. A place built to keep workers close and draw as much labor from them as possible.
The latifundia—the massive agricultural estates worked by gangs of slaves.
"Isn't this practically a cattle pen?"
A livestock pen overflowing with benevolence and grace.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Felix had no choice but to shudder.
***
"Empty, as usual."
I walked down the vacant corridor. The temple in my dreams was, as always, packed with books.
Whichever way I looked, towering bookshelves stretched as far as I could see.
In a brazier in one corner, flames still danced brightly.
It was exactly as it had been when I first met the mysterious woman in this place.
Or perhaps 'goddess' was a more fitting title.
In any case, she was the one who had rewound time and sent me into this world.
"The storm is approaching."
Those were the last words she had spoken to me.
So much had happened since then. The Floralia festival, the Trojan Games, and even the assassination plot targeting Pompey.
How close was the storm now? I wanted to ask the goddess directly, but she was nowhere to be seen.
"But that is not why I came here today."
I turned and stepped into a different aisle.
The layout of this dream library was remarkably intuitive.
I hadn't realized it at first, but if I kept a specific topic in mind as I walked, the library would eventually lead me to the relevant section.
Up until now, I had mostly stuck to books on politics, technology, sociology, and Roman history.
I rarely ventured into this particular area.
[Cooking]
Standing before the shelves, I scanned the titles.
Truth be told, food was one of the first things I found disappointing after being reborn in ancient Rome.
Rome certainly had its delicacies, but it simply couldn't compare to the 21st century.
Having tasted countless varieties of processed foods, sauces, and modern dishes, the Roman diet always felt lacking to me.
"But cooking for myself was not exactly an option either."
Just as Pompeia found painting difficult, and Julia felt ashamed of writing, cooking was simply not something a man of a noble Roman family did. In Rome, cooking was simply not something a man from a noble Roman family did.
"But there's no rule saying things must stay that way forever."
Besides, I had the perfect excuse now.
For the sake of the employees working under me, I needed to introduce a new menu.
This was absolutely not just for my own cravings.
"Hamburgers and hot dogs would be ideal, but hamburgers should be easier to start with."
Even in this era of Rome, people already ate meat with bread. Like my employees, many Romans often bought food from street vendors outside the home.
Street vendors already sold plenty of quick meals built around bread and meat.
"I'll have to have the patties made from scratch. For cheese, I can just pick something suitable from the market. Onions are easy to come by... lettuce and sesame seeds should not be a problem either."
The only things missing were mustard sauce and pickles.
But since mustard seeds and cucumbers were available, I could probably make them myself.
It wouldn't be a 21st-century fast-food burger engineered by state-of-the-art food science, but I could get pretty close.
As I flipped through a modern cookbook, a photograph caught my eye.
"This is..."
Ah, I had forgotten about this.
Alongside pizza, it was one of the dishes that would one day define Italian cuisine.
How would the Romans around me react if they tasted this? I honestly couldn't imagine.
I slowly read the name printed below the photograph.
"Pasta."
***
"Are we all going to be fired over this?"
For days after timidly voicing their complaint through Felix, the employees could not stop worrying.
"Complaining about free food like ungrateful fools..."
"Should we go see Felix right now and try to explain ourselves again?"
Despite their dread, there had been no official reprimand from above, leading them to cling to a faint hope that the matter might simply be forgotten.
"It would be a blessing if Caesar simply forgot about it."
But their relief was short-lived.
Felix summoned every employee who had signed the complaint.
"There is a task Caesar wishes all of you to carry out."
His words made the employees swallow hard. Some were trembling so badly they could barely stand still.
"Caesar has taken your complaint very seriously. Therefore..."
"We can explain! We were fools, blinded by ingratitude..."
"What are you talking about?" Felix tilted his head, looking at the employee who had interrupted him. "Caesar is planning to host a special banquet at his estate soon. He wishes all of you to attend, if your duties allow it."
"A special banquet?"
"Yes, a special banquet. Please keep it to yourselves if possible. He would prefer the matter remain quiet for now."
The employees exchanged nervous glances.
He was gathering the very employees who had complained for a secret 'special banquet'.
When a Roman politician did such a thing, there was usually only one motive.
To quietly pull out the weeds by the roots.
"Please tell Caesar we are deeply sorry. We must have lost our minds for a moment."
"Yes! We were ungrateful fools to make such an insolent request...!" The others joined in desperately.
Seeing their panic, Felix could not help but burst into laughter.
"What in the gods' names have you all been talking about?"