That Time a Shut-in for 300 Years Continued to Make Antiques , but All of It Turned out to Be Cheat-Level Magic Tools - Chapter 59

“No way, I didn’t expect you to harvest it so quickly.”

“I like to get to work right away; it’s my motto.”

Upon seeing the magical herbs and corn I brought that day, Rote’s eyes widened, and he crossed his arms, grumbling thoughtfully.

“If I asked the Adventurer’s Guild for the same thing, they’d make me wait at least two weeks.”

“Is it really that long?”

“Many only collect magical herbs when they feel like it. Plus, right now, those tasks offered by the Doyle Commerce Guild get priority. It’s utterly frustrating.”

From what I heard, Rote and some of the pharmacists are not favorable towards the Doyle Commerce Guild and have not joined it.

“Now that I think about it, the quality of the materials coming in might have deteriorated since we turned down their offer.”

I had recently heard complaints about the poor quality of magical herbs, so it was Doyle Commerce Guild’s doing after all. Quite a cunning move on their part.

“However, all of these corn cobs are in perfect condition. It looks like we can use all of them. Usually, about 20-30% of the material gets spoiled by the time it’s brought to us.”

Well, that’s because I put them in the Infinite Storage Ring. I plan to switch to using Alecto’s magic bag once it’s made, and I intend to maintain a constant internal environment, so there should be no spoilage.

Ideally, if we could adjust the flow of time inside like this ring, it would be perfect, but that might be asking too much.

“Now that the corn has arrived, we need to start working on it right away.”

“May I watch the process?”

“I can’t say no to a monk’s request. But I don’t think it’ll be that interesting.”

“Not at all. Watching a skilled craftsman at work is always inspiring.”

“Well, that’s a good attitude, but… children should be allowed to be children, I think.”

He looked at me intently and said that, but I’m not a child.

“But it’s just as well. Remember when you said to introduce someone if they seemed in trouble?”

“Yes, I did say that.”

“Well, someone did consult me about something. I’ll tell you all about it once we’re done here.”

Then I followed Rote into the workshop, where empty bottles, mortars, and kettles were arranged.

Rote immediately began working. Corn deteriorates quickly once harvested, so it must be processed as quickly as possible, ideally within half a day.

Therefore, the processing needs to be done within a day’s return from towns or villages where a pharmacist is present. Of course, it’s a different story with the magical devices I have.

As I watched Rote work, I realized that he was using an old method to process the corn oil.

Corn is a material that contains a lot of oil. While it’s categorized as grain, it’s not suitable for eating but is valuable for the oil that can be extracted by pressing.

However, this oil contains many impurities. If any impurities remain, the product is utterly useless, so it’s crucial to remove them completely.

But this requires a lot of patience. First, thorough filtration. This must be repeated multiple times, not just filtering but also stirring at a consistent speed while slightly heating.

The temperature must also be precise, ideally maintained at exactly 33.33333 degrees.

This means that summer operations are almost impossible, but that aside, this meticulous process typically takes about three hours each time. Any small mistake during this period can ruin everything.

It’s quite a laborious process, and the final product is silicone oil.

Of course, this is just if done by traditional manual methods. In reality, this process of removing impurities can be done effortlessly and in just three minutes if you use a magical centrifuge.

Yes, if only we had a magical centrifuge! And for the corn, if we had an automatic environmental control cultivator for magic devices, cultivation would be much easier than before.

“Phew, looks like I can take a break now.”

Wiping his sweat, Rote prepared two chairs and invited me to sit opposite him.

“So, how was it?”

“Very enlightening. But it seems like this method is quite labor-intensive and reduces the yield significantly.”

“Well, that can’t be helped. After all that filtration and several more rounds, the other components inevitably decrease. The oil yield from one corn cob ends up being about 5% of what can initially be extracted.”

“It would be great if a magical device could handle it.”

“It can.”

“Really? That’s great news. So, using that magical centrifuge would change the yield?”

“Absolutely. If we used it, the yield would be several times what it is now.”

Originally, 75-80% of a single corn cob is impurities. That’s quite a lot, but a magical centrifuge could completely separate them.

The other beneficial components wouldn’t be wasted at all.

“That’s definitely something I’d like to achieve. For that, we need to brand it, right?”

“Yes. For that, I need to find many people who would want my magical devices. Speaking of which, did you say someone consulted you?”

“Yes, but it’s a tricky case. Even the Adventurer’s Guild is raising prices because they know the situation.”

“That’s exactly what I hoped for. Solving cases that the Adventurer’s Guild can’t handle is where the real value lies.”

“Hmm,” Rote stroked his chin.

“Well, yes. The request is to help procure a Cata-Sugi tree from the Great Eastern Sugis Forest.”

Ah, the Cata-Sugi tree—famous for its hardness and popular as a construction material.

However, its hardness is so extreme that ordinary lumberjacks give up, often leaving the task to strong adventurers.

This reliance on adventurers may have also contributed to the rise of the Adventurer’s Guild.

“But the problem isn’t just its hardness. The pollen released when it’s cut causes a sudden price increase because of troublesome monsters in that forest.”

Hmm, the Cata-Sugi tree’s pollen does cause various symptoms like unstoppable tears, sneezing, coughing, runny nose, sore throat, fever, headaches, nausea, and joint pain.

“So, it’s a tricky case, but what will you do?”

Heh, no need to ask.

“Of course, I’ll take it!”