“Fine,” she sighed.
Miina, as kindhearted as she was, agreed to start over from scratch. When she was done, we had a fresh batch of damp white powder spread out on a tray to dry overnight.
The next morning, it finally looked ready.
Starch
Classification: Food
Quality: Normal
Status: A powder that acts as a thickener in foods. May be applied to the skin to give it a paler appearance, but only offers minimal coverage.
Feeling: Perfectly safe even for a baby’s rash! Safe to ingest, too!
Miina took a bit on her fingertip and spread it across the back of her hand. “It really does make your skin look lighter,” she said.
But it wasn’t quite right yet. “It’s too translucent, I think,” I said. “There’s not enough coverage.”
It may have been safe, but we still had a long way to go.
The next day, Katya told me she’d obtained some interesting materials, so I headed to the commerce guild. There was no one better than Ana when it came to minerals, and she was my mentor, so I asked her to come along after explaining the situation. I also brought along a jar of the starch Miina had made.
I introduced myself politely at the reception desk on the first floor. “I’m Daisy von Preslaria, and this is Anastacia. We’re here to meet with the guildmaster…”
“Oh, yes! We’re expecting you; the guildmaster sent word. Please, come this way.” Before I could even finish explaining, we were ushered into a spacious meeting room upstairs.
Oliver and Katya were already there. Several long tables were lined up in the room, covered in all sorts of materials and white powders. Some were in their raw state, while others had already been ground.
“That’s quite a collection. I’d expect nothing less from the commerce guildmaster,” Ana said. She examined them one by one, apparently recognizing each.
“And who is this, Miss Daisy?” Oliver asked.
“This is Anastacia, my Alchemy mentor,” I said. “She knows a lot about minerals, so I asked her to join us.”
“Goodness! We’re terribly sorry to trouble you with our mistakes, but thank you for coming,” Oliver said, taking a bow. Katya followed suit.
“Well, when my dear apprentice Daisy told me she wanted to help a friend who’d been so kind to her, I thought, What kind of teacher would I be to refuse?” Ana said with a gentle smile as she looked between us both. “I’m just an old woman, and my body doesn’t work like it used to, but I’ll share whatever knowledge I have.”
Katya’s stiff expression softened a bit. “Daisy… Thank you!” Tears welled in her eyes as she ran over and threw her arms around me. “I was so scared. I made such an unforgivable mistake, but the king showed mercy and gave me a chance to make it right. But I don’t know where to start, creating a product from nothing! I couldn’t see a way out of this, and I was so scared.” Her hands trembled as she hugged me.
I hugged her tightly in return, rubbing her back to soothe her. “It’s okay. I’m going to figure this out with you. We’ll find a solution together, okay?” I took a handkerchief from my pocket and gently wiped her tears.
“You’re a merchant, right?” said Ana, patting Katya on the back firmly. “You should think bigger. Create something worth much more than what you imported by mistake, so much that you’ll end up exporting it right back! Keep your head up!
“And if you can manage that, you’ll grow our industry, create jobs, and bring in more revenue. That kind of contribution to a kingdom is worth celebrating. A first failure is nothing but a scratch!” Ana continued, giving Katya a kind smile.
“I’ll do my best!” Katya wiped her eyes and nodded, smiling.
“Thank you!” Oliver said, bowing deeply. He stood back up with resolve.
“All right, let’s get started,” Ana said.
I held out the jar of starch. “This is a sample of a white powder we extracted from potatoes called starch. It’s not quite light enough for our purposes, but since it’s made from a common food, it’s perfectly safe to put on skin. It’s supposed to be good for babies’ rashes.”
The three of them gathered round to have a look. Ana unscrewed the lid, dipped a finger into the powder, and spread it across the back of her hand. “You’re right, it doesn’t have as much coverage as the powder everyone has been using. But safety is a strong selling point right now.”
Oliver nodded thoughtfully.
“Let’s put this on the list of base powder candidates,” Ana said.
The others agreed, so we set the jar on the table next to the other samples. Then we went through all of the laid-out materials.
Whiteflower Seeds
Classification: Plant seeds
Quality: Normal
Status: Little girls often use these seeds as play makeup. However, eating the seeds or roots can cause vomiting, stomach pain, and severe diarrhea.
Feeling: Don’t play with me too much!
Well, I could see why someone had the idea, but who brought this in? I suppressed a sigh and looked further down the lineup. Then something caught my eye.
Hm? What’s this?
It wasn’t the shiny ore itself that grabbed my attention, but the white powder that clung to its surface.
Zinc Oxide
Classification: Pigment
Quality: Good
Rarity: B
Status: A compound formed when zinc is exposed to air. White in color. Also has antibacterial, odor-reducing properties and helps prevent sunburn.
Feeling: I’ll make you fairer and protect you from the sun while I’m at it!