Now that we’d successfully introduced the mincers, I felt it was finally time to launch the stall. But before that, I had one more thing to take care of: I needed to teach the Merchant Guild how to make soy sauce using Decomposition.
"Oh, it was quite an ordeal, I’ll have you know—learning Decomposition in secret, that is."
Luranna-san spoke with a beaming smile. Apparently, she possessed a certain degree of magic aptitude, and she had taken it upon herself to master Decomposition specifically for the purpose of making soy sauce.
It was easy to forget, but in this world, using a magic scroll didn't guarantee you’d learn the spell instantly. Usually, you had to repeat the process over and over, hoping for a stroke of luck to finally grasp it. That meant she’d needed quite a few Decomposition scrolls to pull it off.
However, if someone were to buy a large quantity of such an unpopular magic scroll at the Mage Guild, it would likely raise eyebrows. Since Luranna-san wanted to keep the details of our soy sauce production under wraps, she couldn't afford to be noticed.
To get around this, she’d used tight-lipped adventurers and various connections to gradually buy up scrolls from distant towns, working behind the scenes to avoid detection. Yeah, that definitely sounded like an ordeal.
Her hard work had paid off, though, and Luranna-san had successfully mastered the spell. With that hurdle cleared, it was time for me to explain the soy sauce making process once more.
"That said, the actual steps are the same as before," I said.
I took out the usual ingredients and activated the magic. Since I’d gone through this process countless times while preparing for the stall, I’d become quite proficient at it.
"Sigh... It truly is a sight to behold. I tried it a few times on my own, but I just couldn't get it right..."
I had Luranna-san give it a try herself, but... just like my own early failures, the result was a mushy, multicolored mess of green, black, and gray.
"Hmm, it's not going very well. Luranna-san, what is your dark magic level?"
"It is around level ten, but..."
That was higher than I expected! In fact, it was almost the same as mine.
That meant the problem wasn't magic technique. Was it visualization? Looking at Luranna-san, she seemed focused enough. At the very least, she didn't seem to doubt that soy sauce could be created through Decomposition.
If that was the case, then what...?
Come to think of it, Pearl-san once mentioned that luck values have a massive influence on crafting skills. Perhaps that was the culprit. If so, it was going to be a problem. If no one but me could make the sauce, there was no point in trying to pass on the manufacturing method.
"Hmm. Basically, we just need to encourage the microbes to grow. I wonder if the success rate would increase if the original microbes were already present...?"
"Pardon? Mi...crobes?"
"Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself. For now, let’s try mixing in some of the residue from the soy sauce I made earlier."
The residue that hadn't been sterilized with Clean yet should still contain the microbes necessary for fermentation. I hoped this would do the trick.
My hunch paid off big time! Luranna-san, who had been failing repeatedly until a moment ago, finally succeeded in making soy sauce. After I sterilized the batch with Clean, we had a little taste; the flavor was remarkably close to my own. It looked like we were in the clear.
"It's a success!"
"Is it really?! So mixing in the residue from a successful batch increases the success rate... how curious. Also, Tort-sama, might I ask why you used Clean just now?"
Even while celebrating her success, Luranna-san didn't let a single detail escape her. She seemed curious about my use of the spell. When I’d shown her the process before, I had told her to use heat treatment for sterilization. Her observation skills were terrifyingly sharp.
I debated how to answer. Explaining why Clean worked as a sterilization method required knowledge of microbes. In fact, Decomposition itself was probably easier to handle if you understood that microorganisms existed. It also explained why mixing in the residue worked.
After weighing my options, I decided to disclose the concept of microbes. Since I couldn't prove it, I presented it strictly as a hypothesis. I expected the idea of invisible life forms to be a hard sell, but Luranna-san accepted the information with surprising ease.
"It is certainly hard to believe, and perhaps there are errors in the hypothesis, but if things are going well because of that knowledge, then accepting and utilizing it is the best move we can make at present."
Luranna-san’s usual soft expression was replaced by a smirk—one that felt almost predatory. I suspected this was her true nature. She was likely mentally clicking an abacus, calculating how to turn this microbe knowledge into profit. Not that abacuses actually existed in this world, of course.
"By the way, you mentioned 'fermentation,' yes? With this technology, I feel like we could produce all sorts of other processed goods, don't you?"
As expected of Luranna-san. She was sharp!
Actually, I had already been experimenting with Decomposition on my own. There are all sorts of fermented foods, after all. Since I had a captive audience, I figured it was a good time to show off my results.
Allow me to introduce my recent achievements!
So far, I’d successfully produced two things.
First: liquor made by subjecting sugar water to alcohol fermentation!
This had been relatively easy to produce. I didn't drink it myself, but I’d had Lowell taste-test it for me. Apparently, it had turned into a very respectable spirit. I’d assumed it would be sweet, but he told me it wasn't sweet at all. I suppose that meant all the sugar content had been converted into alcohol. If I could fine-tune the Decomposition, I might be able to make a sweeter liquor, but I didn't really intend to master a craft for something I didn't even drink.
The second was cheese!
Unfortunately, I hadn't been able to buy any at the dairy farm, but I figured if it wasn't available, I’d just have to make it. At first, it stayed mushy and refused to solidify, but after a few tries, I managed to produce solid cheese. A total victory for my visualization skills! With this, I’d be able to offer cheeseburgers in addition to teriyaki burgers.
Since I rarely had the chance to show off to anyone, I was explaining everything with great enthusiasm—until Luranna-san, still wearing that beaming smile, firmly gripped my shoulder. It was strange. Even though she looked happy, I felt an unfathomable sense of dread.
"Tort-sama... shall we sit down and sign a contract regarding those as well?"
"Hiee!?"
A pathetic yelp escaped my throat. I couldn't help it; she was genuinely scary. Afterward, I ended up receiving a stern lecture from her. She told me in no uncertain terms that I shouldn't go around blabbing about information that could lead to massive business opportunities.
I don't really intend to become a merchant, though... I thought, but I kept my mouth shut. It was obvious the lecture would only last longer if I tried to argue.