Alchemy was extraordinarily versatile, so in theory, the crafting table could make almost anything.
Depending on the item, however, the mana cost could become enormous. In practical terms, there were situations where it was more appropriate to use other alchemical devices alongside it.
For example, when a process involved heating something until it melted, then allowing it to solidify—like the work done by an alchemist specializing in smithing—a device known as an alchemical furnace was commonly used.
It consumed a fair amount of mana, but its ability to heat materials easily made it useful. I’d made a few modifications and converted one into a crafting device too.
“Ta-da! The crafting furnace!”
Well, it was essentially just an alchemical furnace combined with a crafting table.
The furnace was a cube measuring one meter on each side. The front had a slot for recipe cartridges and an opening into which materials could be fed.
It was simple to use. First, I inserted the recipe cartridge for whatever I wanted to make. Next, I placed the materials into the opening on the front. Then I channeled mana through it. The ingredients were heated and melted into sludge, the necessary components were extracted according to the recipe, and the desired item was assembled exactly as designed.
This time, I wanted to make bottles for alchemical potions, so I inserted the recipe cartridge and fed in the raw material—ordinary rock.
Before long, a crystal bottle formed at the top of the crafting furnace. Any leftover material was expelled from the rear.
Yes… The result was a crystal bottle.
I’d originally intended to make glass bottles like other alchemists. But when I experimented with a recipe that extracted the glass components from rock and shaped them into a bottle, they somehow crystallized beautifully into crystal.
Randomly disrupting the crystalline structure to make glass would have required a more complex spell circuit, so I’d carelessly decided, “It came out tougher, so that’s good enough!”
Now then. With the bottle ready, I needed its contents.
“Ta-da! The crafting cauldron!”
Alchemists specializing in medicine often used large cauldrons to prepare alchemical medicines. Since I didn’t make medicine in quantities that large, I used a relatively small one.
That didn’t mean I’d skimped on its convenient functions.
Simply channeling mana into the crafting cauldron made it heat, cool, stir, and pressurize its contents automatically.
Ordinary alchemists apparently performed all of those tasks by hand, so I thought I’d made things considerably more convenient.
This device was also simple to use. I placed the crafting cauldron, filled with distilled water, in the center of the crafting table. Then I inserted the recipe for the alchemical potion I wanted to make. Once the alchemical spell circuit appeared, I arranged the materials around the cauldron and channeled mana into the table. That was all.
The necessary components were extracted from the materials and placed into the cauldron. Heating, stirring, and the other steps were automatically performed according to the recipe, ultimately completing the alchemical potion.
Naturally, I could use a similar process to make alchemical medicines other than potions, such as tablets and ointments.
With this method, I didn’t need to worry much about removing impurities—a constant headache for alchemists—and could maintain consistent quality in the finished product. Of course, some materials had to be ground beforehand, while certain medicines required several separate stages. But even those complications made the work feel more like a crafting game.
The crafting furnace and crafting cauldron would be important devices for my slow life on the frontier, so I’d put a great deal of care into making them.
I’d created all kinds of other devices and tools too. There was something rather satisfying about seeing things I’d made for myself prove useful to other people.
“Still, whoever made this compound magical poison really wanted its victims dead… Use the antidotes in the wrong order, and they’ll send the patient straight to the afterlife. It’s troublesome when I can’t let my guard down for a moment.”
I grumbled as I filled the crystal bottles with alchemical potion.
Magical poisons were toxins produced by plants, animals, and other creatures through magic unique to their species. Snakes, spiders, and similar creatures could make some extremely potent varieties.
Combining several of them made the result even more troublesome. For instance, an antidote for one poison might have an unintended effect on another magical poison, making the mana clinging to the victim’s internal organs even more powerful. It was truly vicious.
That said, I’d already succeeded in treating Resina once. I needed to proceed cautiously, but I didn’t expect any major problems for now.
◆ ◆ ◆
About two months had passed since I began treating the boss.
By now, I was thoroughly accustomed to life at the Cineraria Family headquarters, but I found myself in an extremely awkward position.
“Good morning, Crow… Tsk.”
Yes, that was an extremely obvious click of the tongue.
The attendant responsible was a boy named Hyadal. His full name was Hyadal Something-or-Other Banksia, but it was so long and bothersome that everyone simply called him Hyadal.
Hyadal was the grandson of Chief Administrator Serge, so he normally behaved rather arrogantly. But whenever he tried throwing his weight around with me, Resina subjected him to an overwhelming blast of mana. Apparently, he was currently nursing a great deal of pent-up frustration.
I could understand how everyone felt. I wasn’t part of the family, yet I received preferential treatment. I couldn’t blame them for thinking, “This little brat is getting full of himself. One day, I’ll put him in his place.”
As usual, I woke Resina in the morning, chopped her on the top of the head when she started spouting nonsense, and helped her prepare for the day.
“Crow. Come to think of it, how is Grandfather’s treatment progressing?”
“Pretty smoothly. What I learned while treating you has been extremely useful. The same kinds of magical poison were used on him, so identifying them was easy, and I’ve already finished detoxifying him. From here, we’ll gradually restore the internal organs that were weakened—”
Incidentally, only a limited number of people in the organization knew I was treating the boss.
In other words, while the other attendants worked busily all day, I looked from the outside like a useless freeloader who barely did anything. No wonder people clicked their tongues at me. How sad.
“—That’s about where things stand. The boss’s body is so tough I’m not sure he’s human. As long as we get his mana organ healthy again, I think brute-forcing the problem with mana will take care of his other organs.”
“…As I thought, asking you was the right decision. Even if the chief alchemist hadn’t betrayed us, I can’t imagine him providing the same treatment.”
That seemed like an overestimation. The boss possessed powerful mana, so a large part of my approach relied on his own regenerative ability.
“Perhaps I should raise your salary.”
“…You’re already paying me too much.”
“Hehehe. You’re far too modest, Crow.”
No, really. Two large silver coins a month seemed excessive.
That was equivalent to twenty silver coins. An ordinary commoner’s standard monthly wage was about six, which meant I earned roughly three times as much despite not doing very much.
Resina received one gold coin from the family every month. Since my position technically made me her personal employee, my wages apparently came from her purse.
One gold coin was worth ten large silver coins, so she gave me twenty percent of her income. Getting an allowance for doing housework made me feel a little like a kept man.
We were discussing various things when the other attendants entered her rooms, forcing us to end the conversation.
My duties included food tasting. I had to sample every dish placed before Resina—or rather, pretend to put a bite in my mouth while secretly storing it in subspace and analyzing its composition with a magic tool. If it was safe, I presented it to Resina.
Food tasting was generally considered dangerous and undesirable work, but to me, it was an enjoyable opportunity to eat delicious food safely. The other attendants watched me as though they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
“Sharing from the same plate makes us seem like lovers.”
“That’s one way to put it. A girlfriend who makes her boyfriend taste for poison sounds pretty heartless to me.”
“Does she? I think it would let me feel his love.”
As we exchanged that silly banter, I fed the soup floating inside my subspace into the composition-analysis magic tool.
I see. Monkshood had been deadly poison in my previous world too, but here, it produced magical poison. Still, the method was crude. For a girl with mana as powerful as Resina’s, it would probably amount to no more than, “Oh, that tingles a little,” before she detoxified it instantly. Whoever did this hadn’t put nearly enough thought into it.
“Hmm. When you consider that a food taster actually has to put this kind of thing into their mouth, I suppose it might be a job no one could do without some form of love.”
“Crow?”
“There’s poison in this soup. A fairly powerful poisonous herb was used. Could you have someone call Mr. Serge? It’ll be bad enough if only this bowl was poisoned, but if they put it in the whole pot, we have a serious problem. We need to warn everyone before someone else collapses.”
At my announcement, Resina froze for a moment, then rang the bell in an obvious panic. She usually carried herself with all the dignity of a proper young lady, but apparently, she had no composure to spare now. With a grim expression, she clung to my body as though badly shaken. Why?
“Crow! Crow!”
“What?”
“…I’ll never forgive them.”
“Hm? Hmm?”
Um, please calm down. As she could see, absolutely nothing was wrong with me. There was no need to grab me so tightly with tears in her eyes. I wasn’t going anywhere. It was all right. Please compose yourself.
“They’ve got nerve, putting poison in my Crow’s food. We’ll make them suffer thoroughly, then use them as live bait for goblins… I’ll have them grovel and beg us to kill them. I’ll make them regret, from the bottom of their hearts, that they were ever born into this world.”
As Resina spoke, she kneaded boiling murderous intent into her mana and began releasing an incredibly dangerous aura throughout the room. The attendants around us collapsed one after another.
Um… could you please calm down first?