Steel and Mana

Chapter 65 – Alchemy?

Coming into the throne room, I saw the little vials on the Minister's desk first before I noticed the nervous girl standing there. She was letting Merlin take notes and examine the products, mumbling to himself. I remembered her face because she was one of the more interesting shop owners, questioning many things with a purpose and not just to show interest. She was asking for explanations to better herself, showing that she had a curious mind, which I was glad to see.

"My Lord!" Merlin exclaimed excitedly, waving me over hurriedly, "This is something outstanding!"

"It... is not... really..." The woman murmured in response. What was her name... ah, yes. Marca. "It is an accident, if anything."

"Not all accidents are bad." I answered with a smile, taking the vial from Merlin's hands and smelling it before passing it to the girls. It reminded me of lilac. The others loved it the moment they got their hands on it and managed to use it up by the time the bottle was returned to the table. "Do you plan to sell them?"

"I thought about it, yes." She answered, her fingers constantly fiddling with the edge of her clothes, not knowing where to look, trying to avoid my gaze, thinking it would be rude to look directly into my eyes.

"Don't sell it cheap." I chuckled, glancing at Merlin, who was nodding rapidly. "Luna."

"Yes?"

"Please, go and bring us some snacks and refreshments."

"On it!" Her maid reflexes immediately came to the forefront, and by the time we sat down, she was back with more maids, serving us a complete afternoon snack party.

"I have an offer for you, Miss Marca."

"Ah, My Lord... you... you remember my name?"

"I have a good memory," I answered with a smile, taking a cookie away and munching on it while looking at the others. I saw Sasha nudging Merlin, who returned to being a kid, wanting to eat all the sweets at once, already making a mess on his plate. Yuri was mainly focused on her tea, keeping one eye on Marca, and I could tell she was ready to intervene if anything happened, however unlikely it was. "What I want to say," I continued, "Is that I could use them. I needed something I could sell to other nobles, and you came just at the right time."

"R-really?" She asked, looking excited, happy, and proud at the same time.

"Yes. How many can you make, and how hard is it to produce them?"

"Producing it isn't that hard. I was trying to reproduce the glue Your Lordship has made."

"Are you trying to reverse engineer it?" Merlin asked, going really serious for a moment, scaring Marca. She just realized that it was probably not a good idea, especially without asking for permission for it first. It was made by the royal family, after all.

"It's fine." I chuckled, raising a hand. "It is not a state secret or anything. Please continue."

"Well... um..." She fidgeted, taking a sip from her tea, moistening her suddenly dry lips and throat, "I was thinking that beasts are hard to come by, so I could replicate it and make it more readily available. I knew multiple plants growing in abundance around these parts that could produce some sticky residue after being smushed enough. I managed to create glue, but it was unlike Your Lordship's. It is much more sticky and thicker. Also, it smelled weird and was dark green..."

"How sticky is it?" I asked, getting even more interested than before.

"Very. I glued two pieces of wood together; they came apart only after breaking it. The problem is that it hardens really fast, so if I leave it in a bottle, it becomes unusable in an hour or so. I have yet to produce any dissolving solutions, so they are less usable than yours, My Lord. With Your Lordship's glue, if the bottles are returned, I can wash the sticker off and apply a new one. It saves me a lot in expenses! I always tell my customers that they can buy the next potion a bit cheaper if they return my bottles!"

"Good thinking." I chuckled, appreciating that she caught onto it so quickly. "I am also interested in your version. When you have some, please forward it directly to my Prime Minister."

"Yes, My Lord! I will produce its recipe because it is best to make it fresh!" She nodded her head so fast that I thought it would fly off at any moment.

"How did you turn glue into perfume?" Sasha asked, wanting to hear more, enjoying its aroma. It wasn't something that would disappear after a few minutes. Sitting next to my wives made me feel like I was having tea in a beautiful garden surrounded by blooming flowerbeds. This wouldn't be some cheap knockoff in my previous life, either.

"That happened when I was trying to make the glue more malleable. I went overboard, and the result was something that was no longer that sticky, but it became very stinky. So stinky, it made it hard to stay within my workshop, in fact, ahaha..." I couldn't help but follow suit and also chuckle, seeing her nervous and embarrassed expression, "So when I tried to create a solution that would dissolve it and deal with the stink, I managed to make this. It was an accident because I added the wrong amount of fruit oil to it, and... well, this happened. I was surprised at how strong its smell became and how long it remained within my shop! I immediately knew it was something good!"

"Oh, it is, it is!" I nodded, unable to wipe the smile off my face. Maybe I am facing my future Alchemist, huh? I could call her a biologist, chemist, or something similar, but alchemy sounds more fun. We already have magic anyway. "Can you write up the procedure you did when producing them?"

"I already have it, My Lord!" Merlin interjected, passing it over me, turning red in the face when he noticed the paper's edges were filled with chocolate stains and dark fingerprints.

"Wonderful." I nodded, not mentioning it, scanning the names and steps and sighing within my head.

I understand precisely zero of it. The plants' names? No idea. It probably has multiple ones that were not even available in my previous life. The mixing of the solutions? Beats me. My glue was nothing serious either; I just realized while dissecting beasts to prepare the meat for the soldiers that besides some gold-colored paint, I could get this sticky substance from their liver when I mixed it with cold water. With melted snow, in fact. That was it. There was nothing big behind it at all.

Marca here was a born chemist, no... Alchemist. She had experience with the local plantlife and had been working with them since she was young. While pretending I was analyzing her recipes, I was thinking about what to do with her. She had to be promoted in a way, and I was thinking where to put her. I could make her serve under Mikan, but I said she won't have any power under her, and if Marca develops some healing potions, that would be counted as a potent force. So that was out of the question. Well... until Marca develops a bit more and maybe becomes a minister herself, I will put her under Zita, my Minister of Agriculture.

"Excellent, Miss Marca!" I spoke up, putting the paper on the table, smiling at her, "I will notify Minister Zita; from now on, you will report to her. You will be obligated to show any new inventions to her, presenting them in a written format, just like this recipe. Through the ministry, you will get the support of the state. We will permit you to harvest any type of plants, and any new discoveries will be yours to name."

"R-r-really?!" She asked, inhaling sharply, almost sounding like she was squealing.

"Yes. I need them written down, named, and cataloged because when you have enough material, we will print it out as a book, and Merlin will introduce it into the curriculum. Miss Marca, you are going to be my first Alchemist."

"Alchemist?" The others asked, looking at me. Only Luna was unsurprised, tilting her head and adding with a thinking voice.

"Alchemists in the Capital usually serve noble families. I only knew a few of them. They usually created tonics for health or made some kind of weird, exploding bombs. They are a weird bunch..."

"Ahaha, hopefully, Miss Marca won't blow us up!"

"Never! I would never!" She panicked, waving her hands around like a windmill.

"Relax, Miss Marca, I was just joking, ahaha! For now, your title will remain unofficial. I need more products, recipes, and proven solutions to make it official. After that, we will talk about the future expansion of your shop and title, maybe even setting up a guild around it. For now, please focus on creating more perfumes. I need more of it, and we will pay you well."

"I will not fail, My Lord! Promise!"

"I only ask you to do what you are good at, Miss Marca. Success will come if the effort is there."

We continued with some small talk after that, and when the cookies were gone, Luna and Yuri escorted her out while I remained behind with Merlin and Sasha, telling them my honest thoughts.

"It is a good idea." My wife hummed after thinking it through, "Her knowledge of plants seems deep, and if she compiles it, it will be easy to teach the children and discover similar talents!"

"Yes, I am already interested in her recipes!"

"Is there something that you are not interested in, Merlin?" I grinned, ruffling his hair and making him laugh sheepishly. "You too." I added, leaning in and kissing Sasha, "Your brain triumphs mine. You learn just as quickly as Merlin... is this some kind of magical advantage?"

Of course, none of them could answer me, and I didn't need to know. I was just happy that that was the case. I felt happy. In my old life, I was just as swarmed with work, no matter where I was. There was no stopping, whether on the battlefield or back in civilian life. But... right now? I was enjoying it. I felt alive. I felt as if I could take on any problems, and when I woke up, I didn't moan or groan, cursing the sun for sending me on another run in the hamster wheel of life.

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As we headed more into spring and the weather was clearing up more and more, we also spent more time outside. Sometimes, I visited the site of the outer walls, seeing them being built, or looked at where the temple would stand. I did notice the voices, some against the idea, some indifferent to it, but nobody has protested to stop it yet. No wonder because going against a noble's orders was always punishable by death. Even if I had no motivation to enact it. I don't know if this is good, that my decisions rarely get any pushbacks, or if it's something I should be worried about... haaah it does make me a bit uneasy, not knowing if I was doing well or not. As one of my exes once said to me when we broke up... It is complicated.

Oh well, time will tell; it always does. What a neat little ability, Mister Time. Anyway, I didn't have too much time, no pun intended, to get paranoid as my focus shifted once again. It was time to begin building the water-purifying castellum. I was only present with its planning, drawing up the primary blueprint. From then on, it was Rennar and Paxon's job to function together and direct their subordinates so the work would go smoothly.

Sasha was occupied with the purifying formation that would go into it, performing together with Merlin to refine it and create new prototypes for testing as the two had some renewed ideas while making it. Yuri was accompanying Oleg as the first batch of officers and soldiers were ready to enter service while Luna... well, Luna was either lazing in my room, reading, masturbating, or sleeping. I did catch the little perv once doing it on our bed, arching her back like a little kitty-cat, so I made sure she accompanied me for the rest of the day without panties on.

"Where are we going?" She asked, holding down her skirt with two hands, not wanting any sudden winds to lift it up.

"We are visiting the forge," I answered, walking ahead of her, "Kraus's disciples are waiting for me as they finish my new coin's first prototypes. I just need to choose which one it will be."

"Not... Kraus?"

"No, he is out, working with the rest on the purifiers. They are also fitting the first heating pipes onto it while building, and he is one of the site directors. Minting coins were left to his chosen disciples. I like how he operates; my guess is that he will remain my Forgemaster for a long time."

"Master... slow down... you are walking too fast!" She moaned, trying to catch up with tiny steps.

"You had no problem with it before!"

"I have no panties on! Bully!" She cried, then looked around, hoping nobody heard her.

"I know." I answered with a grin, pulling it out from my pocket and waving it around my index finger as I continued walking.

"Not faaaaair! Masteeeeer! Hauuu! Don't do that!"

"Come, come! If you can't keep up, I will make you wear it on your head!"