Research (12)
We left the city first thing that morning, heading out to scour the surrounding area for materials I could use in my alchemy.
"We'll stick together for now. Once we find a good spot to forage, we can split up."
"Understood."
I wonder if there's anything useful out there at all.
Even if I make more ointment, I have nowhere to use it… If the chance comes up, I should try out that poison I brewed last time.
Traveling light made the journey remarkably easy. We'd rented the inn for a full seven days and already had the keys, so we'd left our luggage stored there.
I'd kept the valuables on me, of course—my coin purse, magic tools, that sort of thing. Even so, the difference between hauling a bag stuffed with odds and ends and going without one was enormous.
Together, we entered the forest.
The woods around the city walls were exactly as I'd expected. Anything that looked even remotely useful had already been stripped bare.
"Just as I thought…"
"What do you mean by that?"
"It means anything edible or medicinal has already been pulled up."
People looking for odd jobs, anyone hoping to scrape together a few coins, had swept the place clean.
No matter how fast herbs grew, once you wiped out the seeds, nothing came back. That was clearly the state of this forest.
"We'll have to push farther in."
Had we been walking for about an hour? We'd passed through the forest and were already climbing into the mountains. Looking back, the city was still visible between the trees.
"It really is a big city."
The distance had opened up enough to take in the whole skyline.
"We've already come this far."
Over an hour of travel, and not a single thing to show for it. In the unexplored woods beside our village it might have been different—but in a forest this thoroughly picked over, finding anything worthwhile was nearly impossible.
"The paths are all cleared out, too. This is basically a walking trail."
So many people had passed through that the grass underfoot was trampled flat, and there was barely any fallen leaf litter around us.
"You're right about that."
Not even animals wandered through… It was genuinely dull. Still, I combed the mountain as thoroughly as I could.
And what I found was…
"A few herbs, some poison plants, and a mountain of useless Foam Grass…"
Since it's come to this, maybe I should try using Foam Grass in a formula? If I can harness the properties of that foam properly and make a detergent or soap, it could actually be groundbreaking…
"Wandering around any longer doesn't look like it'll get us anywhere. Let's head back."
"You're not going to search a little more?"
"No. I just want to try working with that Foam Grass."
It's a weed famous for being completely useless—but if, just if, I managed to turn it into something proper? I could rake in a fortune.
"Isn't that the plant notorious as a deadly poison herb?"
The foam that plant produced would strip the flesh right off your hands if you touched it bare. Extremely dangerous stuff.
"That's exactly why I want to try it."
I should still have some of what I foraged last time. Time to put it to use. We came down from the mountain and re-entered the city.
"Back already?"
The same guard who'd seen us leave called out as we returned.
"Yes. As expected, there wasn't much of anything nearby."
"Haha. The villagers have already claimed anything worth taking."
"Keep up the good work."
I offered the guard a polite farewell and we stepped back into the city.
"Anyone need to stop somewhere?"
Everyone said no, so we went straight back to the inn. Before long, all of us had gathered in the four-person room.
"Am I really all right being in here?"
It was the women's room, and the young master was clearly reading the atmosphere, unsure whether he belonged.
"What does it matter? When we camped out, you slept in the same tent with us just fine."
"Ahem!"
The young master cleared his throat, face flushing with embarrassment.
"You said you wanted to watch me do alchemy, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did say that…"
Still, he clearly hadn't expected I'd be doing it right here in the room. I couldn't exactly put on a demonstration for just anyone, so there was no helping it.
While Sister Mary—who had volunteered herself as my assistant—set up the tools, I pulled out my materials and finished products to take stock.
Antidotes… poison pellets… ointment… and a few failures, too.
"All right, then. Time to really think this through."
Foam… I don't know how much of my past life's knowledge will apply here, but soap in this world and soap in my previous one both produce foam when they meet water. That soapy foam is mildly alkaline, and I remember the pH and base properties working to kill bacteria and keep things clean.
The reason Foam Grass is so excessively toxic is probably because its pH is far too high.
Touch a strong alkaline liquid with bare hands and your skin melts. So how do I salvage this Foam Grass?
Lower the pH…
If I can bring it down to just the right level, Foam Grass could become soap.
So—how do you lower pH?
That's where it starts.
I strained to dredge up what I'd studied in my past life. Methods for lowering pH!
Acids neutralize bases. For something alkaline, you add acid.
"But is that actually easy…?"
Lemon juice was acidic, I think…
Time really is a terrifying thing. My memories are so fuzzy.
"What's troubling you?"
"Oh, nothing much. Now that everything's set up, I'm just stuck on how to proceed."
Water is neutral, so adding it would lower the pH somewhat. But I'd need an enormous amount of water for that to work.
"Ah, whatever. Let's just try it."
I gathered the Foam Grass and minced it fine until foam began to form. I put a little of it into a pot, dumped in a generous amount of water, and attempted the combination.
At first the foam, water, and Holy Power began to mix. For a moment it almost looked like soapy water was forming…
"Failed."
The telltale signs of failure appeared. I kept pouring in Holy Power and stirring anyway, right up until the process fully collapsed.
"You said it failed—why are you still combining it?"
"Because failure matters too. I have to be certain this approach is wrong before I can move on to the next one."
"I see."
After about ten minutes of combining, the result of the failure appeared: a thick green jelly.
I scooped the failed product into a suitable dish and tried again. This time I increased the water by half.
Result: failure.
I increased the water again… failure.
Failure, failure, failure.
"Changing the amount of water doesn't seem to work…"
Should I try an Attunement Agent? Except I don't have any.
"Maybe I need to go fetch some sand…"
"Do you need sand, the way you did last time?"
"Ah—yes. I thought I might try it."
"I'll go get some."
"I'd appreciate that."
I should have brought sand from the start… While the young master went to fetch it, I tried combining with a different approach.
Lots of water, and mix in regular herbs along with the Foam Grass.
It'd be nice if this one worked… Unfortunately, the result was another failure.
I really should try an Attunement Agent, shouldn't I?
"Is there anything I can help with?"
Maybe I'll ask for help once I start making the Attunement Agent? Though we were short on tools for combining, too.
"I'd love to have you combine something, but we don't have the tools for it."
We had spare pots, sure—but only one magic tool for heating them.
Outdoors I could have combined things over a campfire, but indoors that wasn't an option.
I took a short break and gathered up the failed products.
"These could be dangerous, so please dispose of them carefully."
"Yes, leave it to me."
I decided to rest a little until the other two returned.
"Aren't you bored, Emma?"
The young master and Sister Mary had been watching everything I did with keen interest, constantly looking for ways to help. Emma, on the other hand, had only lent a hand during the initial setup and then completely checked out.
"Mm. Meditating."
I'll just leave her to it.
The young master returned before Sister Mary did.
"You're back?"
"Yes. I wasn't sure how much you'd need, so I brought plenty."
He'd filled an entire leather sack with fine sand.
"That might be too much…"
"I figured better too much than too little, so I packed it well."
"Thank you. I appreciate it."
"It was nothing."
Watching him look bashful and pleased at the same time, I thought I ought to praise him more often in general.
I worked hard at making Attunement Agent until Sister Mary returned. I'd produce a big batch and use it gradually.
After making a hefty stock of Attunement Agent, I decided to rest. Even with my abundant Holy Power, I'd used a great deal of it.
"Whew. I've still got reserves, but I need a break."
"How much power do you actually use?"
"Hard to say? I can't really put it into exact terms."
I asked if he wanted to try it himself.
"I'd like to give it a try."
I've used up all the sand, but I still have some herbs—maybe those?
"Then let's combine a simple ointment."
I measured out the proper ratio of herbs and water into a pot, then channeled power into the magic tool to heat it.
"Now just pour mana into the water while you stir."
"That's all?"
"Yes. Don't inject too much at once—keep it moderate."
He's skilled at handling mana, so he'll regulate it fine on his own. As time passed, the contents melted together into a thick mixture. Then, with a shimmer of rainbow light, the ointment was complete.
The young master stared at the finished ointment with wonder in his eyes.
"So anyone with mana can use this."
"Yes. Incredible, isn't it?"
"A technique that could change the world, depending on what you make with it…"
Speaking of which, where has Sister Mary gone to be this late?
"I'm back."
Sister Mary had clearly disposed of the waste properly—her hands were empty… or rather, they weren't.
"Mary? What's that?"
A magic-tool brazier?
"I-it's a brazier. I thought if I had one of these, I could combine things too…"
When did she take money from the purse…? A brazier couldn't have been cheap… Part of me winced at the cost, but I decided to respect her intentions.
"Mm. All right."
In that case, we combine at double speed!
I carefully adjusted the amount of Attunement Agent and set about combining.
The results…
"All failures."
We'd steadily increased the quantities as we combined. With two people—no, three—we'd adjusted the ratios without rest. But every result was the same.
"Are you two all right?"
We'd taken turns combining, but they still seemed to be struggling with the drain on their power.
"Aren't you tired at all, Miss Julian?"
"I'm fine, more or less…"
I still have more than half my Holy Power left.
"A-as expected of the Saintess—your Holy Power is overflowing."
"Ahaha…"
Time had flown by while we combined, and before we knew it evening had arrived. I cleared off the table.
That's enough experimenting for today…
Still, I'd used up nearly all the Foam Grass I'd had on hand.
I really will need to make a different version of the Attunement Agent…
But what should I use to make it?
I'd have to think on that a little more.