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CHAPTER 20 - THIS IS DIETHYL ETHER SYNTHESIZED WITH THE BLESSING OF SPIRITS
About a week had passed since the "incident." During this time, Souta had kept himself busy with daytime farming and gathering Camos nuts, evenings spent synthesizing sulfuric acid with Ayahi, and occasionally participating in banquets and hunting magical beast monsters.
On that evening, as well, Souta sat sipping the synthesized concentrated sulfuric acid, working alongside Ayahi to create the substance.
"Hey, I want you to keep this a secret, but poison doesn't affect me."
"For goodness sake, drop it already! I've seen it clearly with my own eyes! You were looking cool at first! It's seriously the worst!"
Ayahi's point was the most valid.
――Of course, I also deeply regret my actions.
"No, it's a really important thing. I have to keep it a secret."
"Alright, I get it already! Just never do something like that again! I was struggling so much to come up with excuses! It was a real pain!"
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I really agonized over it."
"If you pull a stunt like that again, I'll kick you out of the house! You know Mom hasn't come near this room since then, right!?"
――In fact, Asugi-san had tearfully begged me not to die.
Souta scratched his cheek, feeling guilty.
"I'm really sorry about that. Next time, I'll work on something different. With this, we can finally increase the harvest of opium."
"Are you sure about this? Honestly, I think it might not be a good idea to gather so much of that stuff..."
"Yeah, you're right. The villagers have a point. It's not good. But to change a bad situation, we need actions that change the situation. I have a plan for those actions and I'm discussing it with the village chief. So, please bear with me for a little while longer."
"Hey Souta, I'm guessing you used to be a teacher in the capital city, right? Living like this doesn't get to you? Why are you working so earnestly for the village?"
Asked that question, Souta became unsure of how to respond.
――When it's put that way, involving oneself in drug production is a serious wrongdoing, and I'm actively participating in it.
――I can't just say I'm doing it because it's a matter of life or death... there's more to it.
"One day, I plan to run a business in this village that doesn't rely on drugs. I don't want to continue making medicines. If the process helps improve both the village's life and mine, that would be great."
Upon hearing Souta's words, Ayahi let out a small smile.
"I feel a bit relieved hearing that."
"To quit drug production, you need a significant amount of money. You can't just become a wandering bard in the capital city right away either. Unless you resolve the situation with the treatment of elves in the current capital city, won't you just end up dead even if you go there?"
"Yeah, I understand. Let's both work hard to make our dreams come true sooner."
"Exactly, we've already taken the first step. Today is the second."
There were indeed many things to be done.
――Can I really resolve the conflict between humans and other races as the goddess requests?
――To secure a settlement, is that really possible?
――As a premise, can I create achievements that make this village prosper?
――Today is the second step.
Swallowing his anxiety, Souta put on his teacher's demeanor.
"...Ahem, now then, Ayahi-san. Let's start today's lesson. Today, we'll be making Diethyl Ether."
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Lined up on the table from the left were a flask secured on a stand, a tub filled with ice water using the power of spirits, and another tub with regular water.
Inside the ice water tub was a large flask connected to the first flask via a narrow tube. The flask in the ice water tub was also connected to the tub with regular water using a different tube.
"First, we'll add Camos juice distillate and concentrated sulfuric acid into the leftmost flask."
Souta used his Poison Expulsion skill to carefully pour ethanol and concentrated sulfuric acid into the flask through his fingertips, maintaining a specific balance, and then sealed it with a lid.
"What was that just now?"
"You can also expel ingested poison like this. This is a secret even from Asugi-san. Please keep it just between Teacher and Ayahi-san."
"Wh-What?! I get it...! But, is it also off-limits to Mother? You, Souta."
"Let's say, hypothetically, Ayahi-san could expel poison like Teacher. Would you want to tell that to a guy Ayahi-san is interested in?"
"Well, I guess I owe you for taking care of me... I'll keep quiet. Actually, Mother is hiding her strength from you, too..."
――I think she mentioned it before, but is she really that strong... that woman...?
I'm really curious, but since it's during class, I decided not to ask.
"Teachers are very happy to have good students. Now, if you could slowly heat up the leftmost flask, I'd be even happier."
With practiced movements, Ayahi began to heat the flask. She was used to temperature control from bathing. After a week of practice, she could determine the ideal temperature with just visual cues and the voice of the elemental spirit.
"By the way, I believe I told you the name of the substance present in Camos juice before."
"Ethanol, right?"
"Correct. When this ethanol reacts with concentrated sulfuric acid, the sulfuric acid takes away water from the ethanol and forms a substance called Diethyl Ether."
"I remember that. It's the drug for harvesting opium, right?"
"Exactly. Diethyl Ether is highly volatile. That's why we're cooling it down and collecting it using this ice water. Though a little ethanol might mix in."
"At this temperature, water would evaporate into steam as well, right? If sulfuric acid is taking away water, wouldn't water also not evaporate?"
"That's right," Souta nodded happily.
"Ayahi-san, you're really smart. That's a very good question. The way we're heating it now, the upper part of the flask doesn't get too hot. It's not hot enough for the water to bubble or boil. The water will return to liquid and go back to the original liquid in the flask."
"Um, so...?"
Souta pointed to the upper half of the flask, where droplets of water had accumulated.
"See these drops? That's the water you mentioned, Ayahi-san. The same thing was considered by human scientists of the past."
"Amazing... Humans are really incredible."
"Not many people can understand. That's why I think Ayahi-san is amazing for grasping it at this pace."
"I-I see... Really...? Can we really overcome humans?"
Ayahi looked at Souta with a doubtful expression. She was feeling a bit uneasy from being praised too much.
――When someone feels uneasy from excessive praise, it's usually because there's a disparity between the reason for praise and their self-perception. So, if you emphasize praise based on personal qualities or features that they don't normally get praised for, they become even happier.
"On a personal level, you're smarter than most humans."
"Hehe, aren't you praising me too much?"
"Well, from my perspective, your elemental magic is even more impressive. People like me can't perceive elements very well."
"Heh, on the other hand, it must be tough for humans who can't see elemental spirits. My grandfather said that even something as simple as drawing water is difficult if you can't use elemental spirits. In our village, we can do it easily because we use elemental spirits for everyday tasks."
Proudly puffing out her chest, Ayahi was really showing off.
――Oh, she's taking the bait.
Unlike her mother, she doesn't become self-deprecating, so Souta understood that growing up while being praised and recognized was beneficial for her.
"Oops, I noticed something good again. Yes, it's tough. It's normal for humans not to see elemental spirits. They're also bad at archery, and they die just from aging."
"I've heard that they're evil as a result, is that true?"
At first glance, this casual chat seemed unrelated to the lesson, but it was actually a showcase of the teacher's skill.
Taking advantage of Asugi's absence, Souta put on a slightly mischievous expression and lowered his voice.
"Because they're weak, they desperately look for things that anyone can do, just like this. They don't care about appearances, so they might be seen as evil. That interpretation isn't wrong."
Ayahi's eyes sparkled.
"Well then... you know what? Right now, it's us who should be desperate. In a position even weaker than those weak humans."
"That's exactly it."
Souta nodded.
――A good tendency. Few elves grasp this recognition.
"What do you think we should do?"
"There should be people like you who question the current situation. Contact them... and then proceed from there."
Just at that moment, bubbles vigorously rose from the tip of the rightmost bathtub. The source of the bubbles was a thin tube inserted into the bathtub. The sweet scent of fruit spread throughout the area.
"Now, Ayahi-san. The temperature has risen a bit."
"What's this smell? Tell me!"
"It's ethylene gas. This is evidence that the ethanol is running low. Oh no, how should we add more ethanol?"
Unintentionally, his tone returned to its casual form.
Since it's not an experiment, running out of ethanol isn't a simple matter of just ending it there.
"Oh no!"
"You need to open the lid."
"The lid? I'll open it."
"Wait a second!"
Ayahi gripped the test tube, which should have been hot, and opened the lid. She manipulated the airflow to protect herself from the hot vapor of the heated concentrated sulfuric acid, and her hand that touched the test tube was unscathed.
Seeing Souta's surprise, she grinned mischievously.
"It's a little application of elemental magic. Humans tend to avoid touching things that have gotten a bit hot."
"...Next time, ask for permission first. Ayahi-san has a body that's susceptible to poison, after all."
With a sigh, Souta added ethanol to the flask.
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