Kate smiled back and then bowed before excusing herself.
“Let’s see… There are just a bunch of recipes for all sorts of things in here…” I murmured.
I tried to focus on reading, but my five-year-old self couldn’t concentrate for very long, and I ended up just flipping through the pages and skimming them.
Huh?
My hand paused when I found a page on “extraction.”
Let’s see what it says…
“Extraction is the process of selectively separating components contained in raw materials, such as plants,” I read.
Oh, this is what I’ve been looking for!
“When extracting components from a solid, it is advised to soak the raw material in water or another liquid, applying heat and stirring as needed. In some cases, the material may be finely crushed beforehand.”
That’s it! That’s where I went wrong!
I hurried to my laboratory with Kate.
“What can I use to crush the plants?” I wondered as I surveyed my equipment.
“Isn’t that a mortar? We use that in cooking too. Or you could use a knife to chop it finely,” Kate suggested, pointing to a ceramic utensil.
“Let’s try both and compare the two!” I said.
“All right, I’ll be in charge of the chopping,” Kate replied.
Since I’d never cooked before, I learned what chopping something finely meant by watching her. You’re a noblewoman. It’s all right that you don’t know what chopping is in the first place, I thought, trying to comfort myself.
First, I ground the healing herbs and magical herbs with the mortar and pestle, then added the correct ratio to the water in the beaker. Next, I placed the beaker on the magical heating device and activated it. Before long, tiny bubbles began to form inside the glass.
Potion
Quality: Normal (-1)
Status: The active ingredients are diluted, but it’s rather bitter.
Still, this was better than my first try!
After more time passed, the bubbles grew bigger.
Potion
Quality: Normal (-1)
Status: The active ingredients are slightly diluted, but it’s very bitter.
Hmm, the bitterness was a problem.
I waited longer and the water turned to a low boil.
Potion
Quality: Normal
Status: The active ingredients are sufficiently extracted. However, it is also quite bitter. Extremely bitter.
They say all good medicine is a little bitter, but no one would want to drink extremely bitter medicine.
Now the water was at a rolling boil.
Potion
Quality: Low Quality (+1)
Status: A portion of the active ingredients has been lost. Less bitter than before.
I took notes on my process on the back of a scrap of paper I found nearby.
“The quality was best before the water was at a full boil, so it seems like a good idea to turn off the heater before that point. I’m not sure what to do about the bitterness, though,” I mused.
At any rate, the experiment with the crushed ingredients was complete, so now it was time to do it again with the finely chopped ingredients.
I put the healing herbs and magical herbs into the beaker in the same ratio as before, then set it on top of the magical heater. Small bubbles began to form inside.
Potion
Quality: Normal (-1)
Status: The active ingredients are diluted, but it is slightly bitter.
Bitter again, huh?
Before long, the bubbles started getting larger.
Potion
Quality: Normal (-1)
Status: The active ingredients are slightly diluted, but it is rather bitter.
I waited a bit longer and the water started bubbling more.
Potion
Quality: Normal.
Status: The active ingredients are sufficiently extracted, but it is also quite bitter.
Still bitter.
Oh, but when I tried it with the crushed ingredients, it mentioned how bitter it was twice. So maybe the chopped formula wasn’t as bitter as the crushed one?
For now, I turned off the burner before the mixture reached a full boil, strained it through a cloth, and poured it into a glass bottle. Even if it was bitter, it was a finished potion for all intents and purposes, right?
“Hey, Kate?” I said. “I was able to make a normal quality potion, but it’s bitter. I’m not sure what to do.”
Kate, who was supervising my experiments, seemed puzzled. “How do you know its quality and what it tastes like when you haven’t even used it, Miss Daisy?”
Oh, right! I haven’t told anyone about my Appraisal skill!
I took my finished-but-bitter potion and left the laboratory, heading toward the parlor to look for Mother.
“Mother!” I called. I found her on the terrace and told her I had a secret just for her and Father to know. She nodded and said that she and Father would set aside some time for me tonight when he was done with work.
“Well? What’s this secret I’ve been hearing about?” Father asked.
The three of us sat on the sofa in his study.
I showed him the glass bottle I held. “This is a potion I made. It’s normal quality, but bitter.”
Mother and Father exchanged glances. The room was silent for a while.
“Darling, is it usually possible for a five-year-old to make a potion on her own after just receiving books and equipment?” Mother asked.
“No, I think it’s normally quite impossible, in fact…” Father cleared his throat to try to hide his bewilderment as he gazed at me. “Did you drink it yourself to try it out?” he asked, but I shook my head no.
“In that case, how do you know the quality is normal and that it’s bitter?” Mother asked.
I couldn’t blame her for wondering. “I spent so much time taking care of flowers that I learned the skill ‘Appraisal.’ So when I look at something, I can tell its quality.”
“What?!” my parents exclaimed in unison, staring at each other in disbelief.
“I can also use Appraisal on people, but I kept it a secret because I thought people might think I was spying on them,” I continued. “I didn’t want anyone to get mad at me for it. But I can only see someone’s status if I try to, so I promise I’m not spying on anyone!”
“Hmm… Well, of course we won’t get mad at you for it. How about trying it out on me?” Father suggested.
I stared intently at him.
Henry von Preslaria
Viscount
Health: 550/550
Mana: 1360/1360
Occupation: Order of Mages Deputy Mage Commander
Skills:
Fire Magic: (8/10)
Wind Magic: (7/10)
Earth Magic: (6/10)
Magic Resistance: (5/10)
Rewards and Crimes: None
Hm? There are more categories on Father’s status…
“Well? What does it look like?” he asked.
There were some things I was curious about, but I read the results of my Appraisal of Father just as he requested.