When they finally became used to it, the wielders of powerful magic conducted the desired experiments on yellow, blue, red, and green slime. Beside them, Lucia and Idaea tried the same with their lesser magic. Before long, the bench was piled high with heaps of grains, from fine to pebble sized. In this workshop where aristocrats and commoners alike intermingled, there was a fervor in the air. There were those who were tense but endeavored to succeed, those who anticipated delving into the unknown, and proud noblemen with personal stakes in the outcome.
By the time things settled back down, the darkness of night was already descending. The executives of the various guilds called their servants to handle affairs and cancel dinner plans; their schedules had gone right out the window already. However, out of an abundance of consideration, they did so in the hallway, and the others did not notice. Never panicking, never making a fuss, and always graceful—such was the nobleman.
Eventually, the experiments had been completed and the results were in:
Yellow slime: Regular enchantment on high-grade powder resulted in a cloth that was somewhat resistant to blades and the shock-absorbing material—what Dahlia had made before in the Green Tower. Strong earth enchantment on any grade of powder resulted in fine beads suitable for cushions and furniture—the first new material that had been made in this workshop today. Strong fire magic enchantment resulted in fine beads that, for whatever reason, felt nearly identical to the ones created by earth magic, except that they were red-brown in color. They caused no burns or other negative effects when exposed to bare skin. Strong and weak water enchantment resulted in pale green grains that became finer in proportion to the strength of the magic. They were strangely tender and easily crushed, making them likely unsuitable to supporting the body. Closer examination into their characteristics was required. Air enchantment produced no reaction, unfortunately.
Blue slime: Regular enchantment on any grade of powder resulted in waterproof cloth. Elemental enchantments other than ice turned the liquid cloudy but otherwise produced no reaction. Ice enchantment froze the mixture but produced no reaction otherwise. Further monitoring and reexamination after thawing were required.
Red slime: As it was the least commonly encountered among the four types of slime, the powder was available in only a single grade. The samples used today had been denatured of their corrosive properties as well as completely detoxified of their irritancy to skin.
Strong water enchantment resulted in grains that were warm to the touch. They were coral-red and semitranslucent. Each was the size of a bird egg and had the texture of one too; combined with their slight warmth, Dahlia couldn’t help but see them as little hard-boiled red slimes, as bad as that sounded. “What is this material good for?” Fire crystals were much more efficient for heating things up. She rubbed her cheek as her light bulb remained dim. Bernigi then touched everyone’s hearts by suggesting that it could be used not to raise temperature but to maintain it, for cribs in the winter or for transporting the infirm outdoors. This material also required further research.
Green slime: Fire enchantment on any grade of powder did not produce grains but rather a single ball of green fibers. Said fibers could then be smoothed out and flattened, but they produced no breeze, unlike the zephyricloth. Their low tensile strength made them obviously unsuitable for fabric, much to the chagrin of Forto and Lucia. They seemed to have no real purpose and were set aside, and by the end of the experimentation, when they had dried out, Ivano had a terrible time trying to scrape them off the workbench. The fine fibers formed a paperlike sheet; alas, it was green, and the cost of the mixture was prohibitive.
But that was true of the other materials they had produced too—they needed to be affordable for them to see widespread adoption. Could less mixture be used? Could some of the ingredients be omitted? There was more testing to be done. The biggest problem of all, though, was the magic required. Powerful mages could be hired to create these materials, but that would make them very expensive. Mass production would also call for numbers and time.
Lucia poked at the edge of the cushion. “More of these beads would be nice, but making lots of them takes lots of magic too...”
The fine cushion beads were the most promising of the materials so far. They didn’t seem to require delicate enchantment; rather, they seemed to fairly explode out of a burst of strong magic. Dahlia did some poking as well. “I wonder if we could get everyone to blast it at once and make a whole bunch of them.”
“Dahlia!”
“Chairwoman Rossetti...”
“Chairwoman...” They all turned to her with terrifying looks on their faces.
Oops. Shoulda kept that to myself.
“As they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Jonas?”
“Yes, sir.”
Bernigi and Jonas approached the workbench, and without so much as a count-in, they synchronously struck the little plate of mixture with their powerful magic, instantly turning it into fine beads. They somehow even nodded at the same time. “Jonas, could you lend me a mana potion? I should like to give it my all.”
“It is yours for the taking.” He began distributing bottles to the others as well. Bernigi drank his without any hesitation, and Augusto took his, seemingly understanding the implications: everyone was to have a full tank of gas for this next challenge. Dahlia took hers too. Marcella grimaced as he knocked it back—partially because of surprise and panic, but also, of course, because of the astringency. All of these potions were icky, frankly; surely the alchemists could make some improvements.
“Master Dahlia, would you be so kind as to concoct more of the liquid mixture?”
“Of course. I’ll get on it right away.” She did as Bernigi asked, making as much of the stuff as there was powdered kingsnake shed available. Leone lent a hand too; he was as quick as any active magical toolmaker, shocking her a third time today.
Then, all parties made their way to the rear of the manor. They covered the ground with waterproof cloth, placed the excessively large basin—almost a bathtub, really—on top, and dumped buckets of the mixture in. Directing was Guido, around whom were a few mages standing by. He explained that they were there in case healing magic was required, contrary to Dahlia’s assumption that they would be providing the necessary fire or earth magic; she felt terribly sorry.
“If we are all ready, then let us begin!”
Augusto, Marcella, Bernigi, and Jonas—all wielders of much magic in their respective elements—took astonishingly little time to coordinate themselves. Perhaps the pair of earth magic wielders were particularly affinitive, but even so, it seemed like even their expressions were awfully similar—so thought Dahlia as she watched over the enchanting. The four men pointed their palms toward the basin, matched each other’s breathing, then called forth their power. The immense blast of magic enveloped its target in a hazy shimmer, and moments later, a screaming explosion of pellets erupted in the direction of the magic blast, naturally peppering the four enchanters and even the observers standing a distance away as well.