Chapter "392" |
Can I Do It?
By the well, I spread out a straw mat and carefully arranged wooden boxes around it.
"Can I do it? Can I not? Hmm, nuu~n..."
"Eh? What’s that song?"
<figcaptionattachment__caption"">Oh my, Serai-san, are you unfamiliar with the grand adventure of the tall alchemist who journeys alongside a valiant divine beast? Well, to be honest, I don’t know the original source material either—just some game parody stuff.
"Dunno. It just slipped out."
"Huh~"
Now, what I’m currently doing is playing at alchemy—mimicking an alchemist.
See, it’s summertime. It’s so hot that everything spoils immediately. And my [Space] skill’s dimensional storage doesn’t come with fancy refrigeration features or anything like stopping time.
Yeah, that’d be a huge waste.
If I took this to Sanada Pharmaceuticals, just how much would it be worth? Well, for all I know, they might’ve already developed medicines with both detox and healing effects. But even so, a different substance with the same effects would still be valuable as research material.
Of course, some of it was immediately stored in Serai-san’s fridge after we got back, and some was bottled and sunk to the bottom of the well for cooling.
But… my dimensional storage still holds nearly a ton of ultra-giant aphid fluids. During battle, I had a "Ah, this is good stuff!" moment and quickly created a storage space, but way more ended up inside than I expected.
So, one option would be to dash back to Tokyo right now and rush it over to Sanada Pharmaceuticals.
But that’d reveal I’m a smuggler with dimensional storage. Plus, if I waste time preparing other containers out of fear and the precious fluids spoil in the meantime, it’d all be for nothing.
Besides, that’s all just counting chickens before they hatch.
The idea that the fluids would fetch a sky-high price is just an optimistic guess—nothing more than "If everything goes perfectly, maybe?" So, charging ahead as if it’s a sure thing seems a bit reckless.
Not to mention, miracle potions are essential for us, given how often we risk injury in battle. So, I don’t want to sell everything either.
When Nina-san and Serai-san defeated the ultra-giant aphid, they gained skills like [Nectar] and [Sugar] through usurpation.
But for now, their healing effects are probably at energy-drink levels. Until their skills level up and provide proper recovery, the aphid’s fluids are our lifeline.
So, I need to find a way to preserve their medicinal effects and prevent spoilage.
That said, I did briefly wonder, "If it’s this effective, maybe it won’t rot as-is?" But there are also torn tissue fragments mixed in, so "Yeah, it’d probably go bad like this."
And so, first thing in the morning, I drove down to the foot of the mountain and hit up a dollar store I found, buying a ton of empty bottles.
Even with my limited chemistry knowledge, I know glass bottles are best for storing chemicals. But that alone wasn’t enough, so I also grabbed a bunch of plastic buckets from the hardware store—the kind used for pickling. The stuff stored in these will just be for fun if things work out.
In any case, I plan to experiment—adding acid, salt, heat, whatever—to create a non-perishable miracle potion.
"Alright, let’s do this. Egetsu’s Atelier is now open!"
""Pipi~!""
<figcaptionattachment__caption"">Yep, yep. A straw mat and wooden boxes—a very humble start.
But in my atelier, even from the beginning, little fairy helpers assist me. So really, it’s as good as done.