Chapter 68

Thank you to those who have reported typos. I really appreciate it.

It's nice that the page views have increased, but with that, there are more typos to be found. I should be revising them, but...

Good morning from room 0304 of building 5. It's June 13th, the day of the seminar. I'm Herman. After that, I thought about high-concentration alcohol, but my thoughts didn't coalesce. It's a shame I couldn't make something like perfume. However, I think it would probably have a scent if mixed with hair wash. ...It takes about four hours to make essential oils. It seems like the scent is more important than the effort. ...I brought a distiller, thinking it was necessary for the explanation. I don't need another one even if I'm asked to make one. If I were to sell essential oils, I would need many, but I have no plans to sell them.

While waiting, I feel the gaze of the beastmen. ...Is the scent too strong? The concentrated scent of the Life Herb has seeped into me. ...Please bear with it for a little while. It's not that strong for humans. It's a strong scent when you get close, but it's not so bad from a distance. ...Maybe my nose is just too accustomed to the scent of the Life Herb.

With that, it's time for this month's Fertility Meeting. Serena has arrived last, and the meeting for this month is starting.

"Alright, let's start this month's Fertility Meeting. I don't have anything special to say, but I looked into the Roolterhi matter. It seems to be a proper noble family, so there shouldn't be any problems. Things should go smoothly. ...The materials might leak a bit later, though."

"It's fine if it goes smoothly. It's out of our hands now."

"That's true. ...Is there anything else anyone wants to say?"

"Yes!"

"Kerry, what is it?"

"Herman's scent of the Life Herb is abnormally strong. I think something happened."

"...Doesn't everyone have the scent of the Life Herb? At least you have the obligation to deliver basic and advanced potions, right?"

"It's not a gentle scent! It's like the Life Herb has been shoved up my nose and rubbed in!"

"...Is it that strong? To me, it just smells like regular Life Herb. What about Laura and Martha? They're also beastmen, right?"

"Indeed, it's a strong scent. I think something happened. Even the Everbright Sect doesn't have such a strong scent."

"That's true. It's not a bad smell, but it's not that strong. The scent of the Life Herb is a good scent, but it's not usually this strong."

"Right, it's a good scent for humans too. ...So, Herman, do you have anything to say about the scent?"

"Yes, well. I extracted oil from the Life Herb. This is the real thing."

I put the essential oil vial on the table. Melanie snatched it and opened the vial. The concentrated scent of the Life Herb can be smelled even from this distance. ...I think it's not that strong for humans, but it seems different for beastmen.

"⁉ It's an even stronger scent! It's several times stronger than Herman's!"

"It's making my nose run. It's a good scent, but it's too concentrated."

"I can smell it even with my nose pinched."

...I wish you wouldn't say I smell. Well, beastmen have noses several times stronger than humans, so it must be too strong for them. Even for humans, it's a strong scent if you smell it directly.

"Hmm, is it that strong? It's strong, but... Is it the difference between humans and beastmen?"

"I like the scent. Maybe it would be nice to have this scent in the room?"

"Maybe it's just right for dryads? I think it would be too strong for beastmen. With such a strong scent, you can't smell other people."

"...Herman, is this another alchemical item for women?"

"No, I didn't use alchemy for this. ...I used tools to extract the essence of the Life Herb. I extracted it as oil."

"Did you make a tool? What kind of tool is it?"

"Can I put it on the table? ...This is the tool."

"...You made another strange thing. I don't understand how it works. Explain it from the beginning."

"Sure. You put water here and the thing you want to extract the scent from here. In this case, the flowers of the Life Herb. You pack them in and heat them with slime fuel. The scent oil turns into steam and goes up. If you put water in this tank, the steam goes through this narrow tube and cools down. The water and oil flow through here. You collect the water and oil here. Since water and oil don't mix, the oil floats. So you drain the water from the bottom."

"I see. ...Can't you make it smaller? It's quite large."

"I think it can be made smaller. The water tank for heating with slime fuel is too large, so it can be made smaller. The water tank can also be made smaller by making the narrow tube a bit wider and reducing the size of the spiral. The space for the thing you want to extract the scent from can be made smaller, but it might reduce efficiency."

"The size and efficiency are future challenges. ...But can you extract the scent from anything?"

"I don't know. I think you can't extract anything without oil, but I think things with a strong scent contain some oil. ...I tried with magic stones, but it didn't work. I think things without a scent are impossible, but the Life Herb was the only thing I could use in large quantities without any issues."

"How many Life Herb flowers do you need for one vial of potion?"

"About 2000. Only the flowers, so the stems were used for the potion, and the flowers became dye. Unlike alchemy, the flowers remain, so they can be used as dye. They also became color claw fluid."

"I see. ...So, what do you call this scent oil?"

"For now, I've named it refined oil, or essential oil."

"So, why did you make this?"

"I made it because I could. I didn't have any specific use in mind. ...If you mix it with hair wash, I think the scent will stick to your hair."

"Your hair will smell like the Life Herb? What do you think about that?"

"It's not suitable for beastmen. The scent will stick to your whole body."

"Maybe it's better to use other flowers? I just used the Life Herb because it was convenient."

"Other flowers, huh. ...What about rosel?"

"Would your hair smell like rosel? ...That might be nice."

"...Maybe it's better to be scentless. Beastmen don't like having various scents from different people."

"...It will make it even harder to distinguish between humans, who are already hard to distinguish."

"Beastmen have it tough. I want my hair to smell like the forest. Maybe I should mix various scents?"

"Maybe you could mix them after extracting them? I think it's better to mix them later."

"Hey, this might take a long time for the women. ...Is this only for extracting scent, essential oil?"

"Technically, it can also extract the essence of alcohol. I think it would make strong alcohol."

"Alcohol! Strong alcohol is good. Herman, where do you put the alcohol?"

"If you want to make strong alcohol, you don't need the part for the scent. Just fill this part with water, and strong alcohol will come out here. ...Is there no strong alcohol? I wanted strong alcohol without any scent or taste..."

"There's ale made from barley and wine made from fruit. ...I've heard of fire wine from the northern border lord, which is a strong alcohol that can ignite, but it's a secret technique."

"I don't know how they make fire wine, but I think this can make it."

"Another secret technique is leaking... You always bring complicated things."

"...I'm sorry."

"It's not something to apologize for. We just need to keep it between us."

"Right, right. Fire wine can't be found in the capital. Making a little won't be noticed."

"Kevin, do you like alcohol?"

"Yeah. Dwarves generally like alcohol. There might be some who don't, but I don't know any."

"Scale dragons also like alcohol. Well, it's one of the few pleasures they have. Most plays and bards are repetitive and boring."

"Well, this device should be kept secret. We can't afford to clash with the border lord."

"Right. ...It's fine for personal use, right?"

"Sure, as long as it doesn't leak."

"Alright, I'll try to make a larger one. More alcohol is better."

"Hmm, I'll make one too. How big should it be?"

"Maybe it's better to make more of them. The taste of the alcohol will vary."

"What‽ ...More. Should I build a house outside?"

"Building a house for alcohol... Are you going to make a brewery?"

"A brewery... But I can't just leave it. Hiring people would compromise the secret... Hmm..."

"Is alcohol that much of a problem?"

"People have different pleasures."

The men are talking about alcohol, and the women are talking about essential oils, but I can't join either conversation. I've sworn not to drink alcohol, and I don't have essential oils. I realized I don't have enough alcohol to make perfume, and there's no medical alcohol because of potions. Different civilizations have different cultures and products. Sometimes the things you want aren't conveniently available. For now, it's good to know that the alcohol culture isn't as advanced. There's no particular topic, and no one is stopping the conversation. It seems to be a day with not much to report. Well, there are days like this.

Whether you found it interesting or not, I appreciate your feedback. If you could leave a review, I would be grateful. If you could point out any issues in your comments, I think I can reflect them in my writing.

...Probably.