Chapter 48

Good morning from the underground room. Today is January 8th. Yes, it's the day of the Fertility Seminar. I'm Herman. After finishing my morning routine of a cold bath and having breakfast, I am now in my room. I have finished the simple embroidery and am thinking about doing proper embroidery, or real embroidery. I have started the real embroidery, but it doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon. The sapling of the spirit tree for my magic wand is growing well and has exceeded 1 meter. The part that will become the handle isn't thick enough, so it looks like my wand will be long and thin. I'm looking forward to it. Since it still has leaves, it's not finished yet, so I don't know what it will be like when it's done.

I have been attending the lectures of the Iron Welcome School every day since then. ...However, I still can't last for 3 hours straight and end up fainting. I still need more training. I don't plan to join the Iron Welcome School, but the training is indeed beneficial. I need to build up my stamina for the Magic Realm.

Well, since it's my first seminar, I'm a bit early, but I've come to room 0304 in building 5. The time is 1:40 PM, 20 minutes early. Well, without Melanie, things might get complicated. I guess I'll go in and wait.

"Excuse me."

"Yes. Oh, you're a new face. Come in, come in."

I think she's a dog beast, and she led me to an empty seat... Melanie isn't here yet. It would have been nice if she were, but I guess it can't be helped. I'll just stay quiet like a borrowed cat. There are 9 people in the room, and more will probably come since the seminar hasn't started yet. ...Is she coming? Is she coming?

It's 2:00 PM. Melanie really came at the last minute. The look on her face, as if to say, "Oh, you're here," is strange. She's the one who invited me, you know? Well, it's fine. More importantly, it's time. There are 15 people here, including me, 6 men and 9 women. There are more women, but I don't know if they consider gender. As the words "it's time" were spoken, a man started talking.

"Well, it's a gathering for the new year, but there are new faces. It's rare to have new faces in the new year, but let's do introductions. I am Bruce Campbell, the leader of this seminar. What's your name?"

"Yes, my name is Herman. I was introduced by Melanie Cassel and I'm a first-year student."

"Hmm, a first-year student, that's quite rare. Melanie, did you explain what kind of seminar this is to him?"

"Well, I did briefly. I told him it's a seminar focused on crops that can be harvested all year round, spices, and water management. I invited him because his approach as an alchemist seemed to align with this seminar."

"Well, if you explained it, there's no problem. I understand that you didn't invite him without explaining the content of the seminar. ...It's rare for a first-year student to have a clear approach as an alchemist, but what do you want to use alchemy for?"

"I want to use alchemy to enrich our diet."

"Hmm, to enrich the diet, that's not far from the theme of this seminar. Miss Serena, is it okay to add him?"

"Sure. Still, enriching the diet... I thought about growing crops, but I've never thought about it in terms of diet, not even in other seminars. But I think the content of the Dawn School's doctrine includes diet."

"Then, with Miss Serena's approval, and since there are no objections... Herman, welcome to the Fertility Seminar. You can stay and research here or go out and spread it. There are various ways to be an alchemist, and I won't restrict you in that regard."

"Yes, thank you."

"Then, if anyone has new or ongoing projects to report from last year, please do so."

"Then, can I start... I'll start."

I'm listening to everyone's research. From difficult things like water management methods, efficient waterway creation, and reservoir utilization, to various things about creating crop seeds and the characteristics of crops being grown. Listening to this, it seems like alchemy can do anything, which is scary. Various people presenting various things for about 4 hours. Even I, who was just listening, had a great time, and the 4 hours passed in a flash. I also thought, "If such crops exist, why aren't they being popularized?" For example, potatoes that can grow in winter would be great. Potatoes can be steamed, baked, and used in various ways. ...I haven't tried steamed dishes yet.

After a while, the conversation turned to me, even though I haven't done any research yet!?

"Herman, you said you want to enrich the food culture. Are you dissatisfied with the current diet? I think the commoner's diet is quite edible, regardless of the nobles'."

"I haven't eaten the nobles' diet, but I understand it's a lot of spices and expensive dishes, right? I heard from Melanie."

"Yeah, it's terrible. It hurts your mouth and the smell is strong. I wish they would adjust the amount a bit."

"That's right. Spices can be delicious if used properly, but they are expensive and not part of the commoner's diet."

"Spices can be harvested all year round, but I think they are only made for the nobles. I think commoners don't eat much because it hurts and is too spicy."

"Well, I can understand why they don't want to eat that. The taste is too strong. It's good for preservation, though."

"For beastmen, strong smells are inherently strong. Even a small amount can be too much."

"Also, flour hasn't been popularized among commoners. Do you know how flour is made now?"

"Flour? I think it's made when making bread, right? I think it's crushed by a golem, right?"

"Yeah, I think the dorm's cook borrowed a golem?"

"Maybe another seminar did that? I heard it's troublesome to do it by hand."

"Melanie, can I borrow the magic manipulation device we used in class?"

"The practice box? Sure. Can I bring it here, Bruce?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

"With this, I'll make something like this. I'll carve grooves in the middle of these cylinders, extend the supports, and make it like a wheel. When you turn this, the grain will go into the holes of the cylinders, be crushed by the grooves, and come out as flour. I think undead can be used as the power source. Undead don't require maintenance, right?"

"True, even a weak undead can turn it. ...But will it grind so easily? Is it more efficient than the current golem? Let's try it in the lab. ...Oh, right, you're still a first-year student, Herman. Can you explain it in more detail? Let's try to make it together."

So, we ended up making a human-powered... actually, undead-powered stone mill, not a wind-powered one. I thought they would be more receptive than I expected. If this can be popularized, commoners can easily make flour. So, I explained in detail. Things like making the grooves face the opposite direction and making the upper cylinder bowl-shaped to make it easier for the grain to enter. After about 30 minutes of explanation, we went to the lab. The one behind us seemed to be off-limits, so we went a bit further and started modifying the building with wands. They were throwing magic mushrooms and magic stones and drawing alchemy arrays with magic while using wands, doing something I couldn't understand. It was amazing, but I couldn't put it into words. I wish I had a better vocabulary.

"Alright, we've made what Herman described. Let's try putting in some grain. I'll use my undead. Does anyone have grain?"

"I have some grain."

"Then, Herman, put the grain in and see."

So, the undead-powered stone mill, made with mysterious power, was completed. ...Alchemy is too fast. It's too convenient. I hope it works well.

The undead are turning the mill on the upper level. It seems four of them are enough. I poured the grain into the bowl-shaped part. ...If I leave it, the grain should come out as flour. ...It came out. The experiment was a success. The flour collection point is also tilted, so it's gathered in one place. I'm putting it in a storage bottle for now, but this is my flour. What should I use it for?

"Is it ground? ...How efficient is it?"

"I don't know. I don't know the efficiency of the golem."

"Should we call someone from the cafeteria? The Clear Water Dorm is the closest from here."

"Please, go as fast as you can."

So, we waited for about 30 minutes. The flour is still being produced. I'm happy to see so much flour in the storage bottles. I want to make pasta. Are eggs sold at the store? I hope they have ingredients.

"They're here. Sorry, but can you check this? We're grinding grain into flour with this. How efficient is it compared to the golem?"

The cafeteria person is silent. Are they thinking it's bad?

"What's wrong? If it's bad, just say so."

"Unbelievable! What is this? The efficiency is incredible! It's tens of thousands of times faster than the golem. It's so fine, and with this, we can make as much bread as we want!"

"Is that so? That's great."

"When will this be implemented?"

"Well, it can be implemented immediately, but we need the help of the Spirit School. After all, it can be powered by undead. It would be better to get their help."

"Then I'll go. There are people who have a lot of undead, and according to the cafeteria person, it would be good to implement this in other cafeterias and dorms."

"Then, let's implement this in each dorm. ...It needs a name. Herman, what should we call it?"

"Uh! ...How about 'flour mill'?"

"Flour mill? ...That's clear and good. Let's make three flour mills in the vacant lots near the third cafeteria of each dorm for now."

"Understood."

So, it's turning into a large-scale project. The beginning of a food revolution. With excess flour, it can be used for cooking research. Come on, chefs. I hope you can serve delicious dishes in the dorms. Noodles would be nice. How will it turn out? But, immediate implementation, quick action is wonderful.

"Well, it might be a heavy burden for you, Herman, but I'll report to the Alchemy Academy. I'll include your name, so don't worry."

"What will you report?"

"I'll go to the Alchemy Academy's academic library and submit a detailed drawing of this building. If it's considered useful, copies will be delivered to each alchemy guild for dissemination. Your name as the developer of this will be recorded. A reward will also be given, but half will go to the Fertility Seminar. I should have explained this, but I didn't expect to create something with such an impact today."

"Hehe, it exceeded the seminar leader's expectations. But I'm happy. We haven't made anything that needs to be reported in a while."

"Right. It's been 25