Grind… Grind… Grind…
I applied mana as I crushed the ingredients into powder. Once they were properly pulverized, I put them into the pot with the remedy.
“Next, I need to mix this thoroughly and add the collagen to give it a gelatinous state. Okay…time to mix!”
Swirl, swirl… Swirl, swirl… Swirl, swirl… And…!
Good, it looks well-mixed. The color’s pretty grotesque, though… It’s kinda purplish. Do I have any coloring agents lying around…?
I dug out some white coloring agent and added it in, making a color that wouldn’t look bad when you rubbed it on.
“Now to add the collagen…”
Here in Wisty Air, collagen came from the fruit of a Collag tree. Back in my past life, you could extract it from other things but here, the fruit’s insides were all you needed.
I added it to the mix. Now, all that was left was the final touch. I poured in mana and stirred, stirred, stirred… It turned out this took quite a bit of mana, so I drank a restorative as I kept at it.
Stir, stir, stir… Stir, stir, stir…
Poof!
“Yes! It’s finished!” I poured the finished heat rash medicine into glass jars.
It ended up making enough for five jars. But just giving the knights this would’ve been a bit lackluster, so I decided to include a snack. There were about thirty knights on wall duty, so I figured I’d make something I could make heaps of, like cookies or scones. Then again, if I make something that’s too big, it’ll be less of a snack and more of a meal…
I decided to go with the safe option—cookies—and went down to the second-floor dining hall kitchen to get started. The ingredients were wheat flour, butter, sugar, and eggs. I added the sugar and eggs to the melted butter and mixed them all together. I incorporated plenty of mana into the mixture since it made them a stamina restorer. But since this wasn’t alchemy, the mix didn’t glow or poof.
Once I was done mixing, I sieved the flour and added it in. I then stirred the mixture until the flour lost all its powdery texture. Once it cooled and hardened, I spread it out to an oblong shape and cut it into small, bite-sized pieces.
While the mixture cooled, I heated up the oven and, after setting the pieces onto a large plate, I put them in the oven to bake. While they baked, I relaxed in the kitchen, flipping through Grandma’s medicine recipe book. As I did, an appetizing smell wafted up.
I ended up making more cookies than I’d initially planned. But I decided I’d store some of them on the top shelf for when Renge would show up! I also decided to keep a separate batch for Lord Revireus, who also had a huge sweet tooth. He had a bad habit of pilfering snacks from our storehouse, which I’d only find out about when I needed something and found it gone.
As I flipped through the book, I happened upon a nice recipe for red-hand-curing cream. I had all the ingredients in my storeroom and considered making some ahead of winter. I can imagine the women handling the laundry would be pleased to have it! Oh! I could set up a large jar for everyone to use for free! And if someone uses it a lot or really needs a cure or preventative for red hands, they can just buy some hand cream from me!
“…I wish I could set up a storefront,” I said wistfully.
So far, when people here asked me for something, I’d made it on demand. But after three years of living at Fort Deshmel, I was well aware of what people needed on a daily basis. There was an unused storeroom on the first floor, near the west gate. Mister Giyaga always said it was a waste no one was using it. But maybe now’s the time!
If anyone else wanted to set up a store there, we could let them… If it took off, we could have them pay rent. If they caused trouble, we could have them evicted and so on and so forth… I could ask Mister Giyaga and Sirius to help us draft a contract…
But before all that, we’ll need to clean up the block, so it’ll be usable to set up stores in…
Who could help me with that? Hmmm….
Ding, ding! said the internal timer in my head as I suddenly smelled cookies. “Oh!”
They were ready. I opened the stone oven and took out the freshly baked cookies. Once they cooled, I put them and the medicine in a basket and headed to the knights’ guardroom by the walls. I saw Nelt outside and approached him.
“Hello! I’m sorry it took me awhile,” I said. “I made you the heat rash medicine and some cookies as an extra treat!”
“Goodness!” he said. “You made it so soon? That’s a huge help, thank you! And thank you for the cookies too!”
“I’m not sure I made quite enough,” I admitted, “but a merchant should be passing by soon. Once I have the ingredients restocked, I’ll make more.”
“Thank you. We’re not quite done reorganizing our forces just yet. But I was elected as the representative for the time being. I’ll distribute the medicine to the more severe cases.”
“Oh yes, go right ahead!” I said, handing him the basket.
Severe… Gosh, severe heat rash sounds really miserable. I hope they get well soon…
“Also, I’ve received word from De Marl. Worshippers of the Gods of De Marl are asking to see you, Holy Woman,” Nelt said.