Chapter 45 Angel's Kiss
In the blink of an eye, the time came to September 22nd, 8 days had passed since Raven plunged into the workshop.
During this period, Raven didn’t even return to Eagle Castle. He occasionally took a break, which was to make do in the office of the workshop.
It's not that he doesn't want to go back, or that he's addicted to being a craftsman, it's actually because he encountered a problem - alcohol.
To prepare alcohol, you need to distill the wine.
And this must control the temperature of the heat source between 80-100°C, otherwise it will only be able to distill out some solid impurities in the wine, and it will not be able to increase the alcohol concentration at all.
The problem arises here.
The alchemy equipment Raven purchased cannot control the firepower at all. After all, there are no gas stoves in this era.
At first, Raven's idea was to only take the first half of the distillation.
The boiling point of alcohol is much lower than that of water. Doing so can significantly increase the alcohol content of the distilled solution.
However, this method soon reaches a bottleneck. When the alcohol concentration reaches about 50%, no matter how distilled, the water content cannot be further reduced.
But this concentration is far from reaching Raven's requirements.
Poirot came up with a stupid idea: when the heat is about to boil, immediately remove the fire, and then move the fire source after a while.
In order to verify the reliability of this plan and for the sake of confidentiality, Raven had to take turns guarding the still with Poirot.
In the morning light, in the workshop, with bloodshot eyes, Poirot removed the stove from the flask for the last time: "My lord...it's done!"
Raven nodded, took a sip of water, walked to the front of the stage, and took off the flask with Poirot. The strong smell of wine cheered him up: "Maybe it can work this time!"< br>
Taking out a beaker with a graduation, Raven poured 200 ml of the newly distilled liquid into it, used a pair of tongs to pick up a piece of red-hot coal, and placed it on top to shake it gently.
Mars flying.
With a bang, the bright yellow flame suddenly burned, and black scorch marks suddenly covered the wall of the cup.
When the flame went out, the beaker had turned completely black.
Raven stepped forward, covered his hands with a thick cloth, grabbed the beaker and poured the liquid into a clean beaker.
As the dark brown liquid flowed into it, cold sweat poured down Poirot's face.
When the last drop of water fell into the beaker, a satisfied smile appeared on Raven's lips.
It’s done!
The water in the beaker is only less than 20 ml. Of course, part of it is evaporated during the flame burning process, but even if it evaporates more, it can burn to this extent, and its concentration is at least above 75%.
"It's not in vain that I spent so many days." Lei Wen sighed and patted Poirot on the shoulder: "5 gold coins as a reward, I will do what I say! If you have similar ideas in the future, as long as it is useful, I will Give me all the money.”
Poirot touched his chest excitedly: “Thank you for your generosity, sir!” He took out the small glass bottle containing essential oil.
Eight days have passed, and nearly half of the essential oil inside has been stored, about 10 ml, showing a luxurious golden color.
Leaven placed the funnel on it, carefully scooped a small amount of distilled alcohol and poured it in. When it was about full, he sealed the lid tightly and shook it gently.
"Poirot, go bottle the alcohol and remember to put a label on it." Raven ordered: "If it is distilled in the future, it must be sealed and stored as soon as possible."
Alcohol of this concentration needs time to be stored. If it lasts a little longer, it will evaporate quickly.
At this moment, there was a knock on the door, and Denise's voice came: "Raven, are you inside?"
"Wait a moment." Raven signaled. Poirot continued, then went to the door and opened it.
Denise was startled by the sight before her.
Raven was wearing a dirty white coat, and his originally smooth, polished hair had become greasy and messy. Although his eyes were clear, there was lingering fatigue between his brows.
How does this look like a baron?
Thinking about Raven staying in this workshop for eight consecutive days, Denise was furious. Just as she was about to reprimand, she saw Poirot who was busy.
The latter quickly put down the things in his hands and saluted: "Mrs. Denise!"
The anger on Denise's face disappeared, and she said in a cold tone: "You continue to do your business, Lei Wen, come out, I have something to talk to you about.”
Walking out of the door, Raven took a deep breath of fresh air in the morning light: "I'm sorry, I really can't do anything these days."
Hearing what he said, Denise's anger immediately disappeared. Half of it, seeing his tired face again, it was even more... He couldn't even utter a word of rebuke: "Raven, after all, you are a baron, not a craftsman. No matter how busy you are here, you should go to Eagle Castle to show your face."
"I I know, not anymore." Raven shook his neck: "No. But it seems that the Eagle Territory is running well now, and nothing seems to happen if I leave for a few days."
"That's what you think." Denise glanced at him: "A lot of things will happen if you are not here. The backlog has been reduced, although it has not yet resulted in actual It's a qualitative loss, but..."
At this point, Denise couldn't go on. She looked at Raven helplessly: "Can you listen to me carefully? Do you have to cause irreparable damage? Will you repent of your losses?”
"Of course not." Raven said with a smile: "I just found that you look good without makeup."
Denise's face suddenly turned red, her chest heaved and her brows furrowed: "Raven , I’m not kidding you.”
“I’m not kidding you either.” Raven opened his palm and filled it with essential oil and alcohol. The bottle of the mixture was handed to Denise: "With this, you will definitely become the most attractive woman in the entire Men'en City."
Denise was a little confused: "This is also used to improve Tears of Angels?"
Raven did not answer, but said softly: "Stretch out your right hand."
Denise raised her wrist hesitantly, but Raven did not touch it as she expected. Instead, he opened the cork of the bottle, turned it upside down, put a little liquid on his fingertips, and smeared it on her wrist. .
A slight feeling of coolness came, and Denise was stunned: "This is..."
Raven raised his wrist and put it on the tip of his nose, and raised his eyebrows again.
Denise followed the same action, brought her wrist closer, and sniffed lightly. Her eyes suddenly lit up, as if there were stars twinkling in them.
The rich fragrance of roses filled her nose, warm but not pungent, making Denise feel as if she was standing in a rose field.
"It will almost never go bad when sealed." Raven leaned into her ear and whispered: "I stayed here for 8 days just for it. I named it 'Angel Kiss' '! "
"Angel's kiss..." Denise said in a tone that was almost chanting: "It's like the kiss mark left by an angel in sleep, leaving no trace, but still making people feel. Clear taste, what a good name.”
"How much does it cost?"
Leaven smiled hoarsely, and his first reaction was to ask about the price. Denise was indeed a qualified businessman: "2,600 roses, all in this bottle. "
"Hiss -" Even Denise was stunned by the amount: "Not counting labor, it costs 2.6 gold coins. Leave it to me, Raven, it will definitely sell for a sky-high price. ”
"Okay, I just want to use your name to hold a 'press conference'."
"Launch... conference?" Denise read this unfamiliar word: "What does it mean?"< br>
Leaven explained: "It is to summon the wealthy merchants and nobles from Nord Province to Goldsmith Town, and then sell our products in front of them."
"Oh, it's just a show purely commercial purposes reception." Denise understood and summarized Raven's words, and raised a new question: "But we can't sell this kind of luxury goods on a large scale."
" Hmm, so my purpose is not just to promote it," Raven said: "The real protagonist is the repackaged Angel's Tears, and this Angel's Kiss is just a supporting role."
"One of them?" Denise keenly captured the information in Raven's words: "Then what is the other one?" "What have you been using to wash your face in the past two days?" Raven asked.
Denise suddenly said: "Oh, you mean the scented soap you sent someone to send?"
Raven nodded: "Yes, I named it, 'Angel's Embrace'."
"Cost?"
"The scraps of Angel's Tears and Angel's Kiss."
"Output?"
"Based on 200 grams per piece, the output can be more than 3,000 pieces per month."
< br>Denise’s eyes were shining with the light of gold coins: “Then The next thing is left to me. A piece of scented soap like Angel's Embrace should be sold for at least 2 silver coins. You should use some good-looking molds."
"Hmm, no problem. , I will leave all the power to you to act as my agent." Raven said with a smile.
"Whether it's Angel's Tears, Angel's Kiss or Angel's Embrace, I can completely hand over the sales rights to you." Raven said.
Denise looked overjoyed, but was not carried away. She asked a little warily: "What about the conditions?"
Leaven raised an eyebrow and smiled: "The condition is, Fei Dro Business is completely integrated into the Eagle Territory system, and the proceeds are deposited into the Eagle Territory's treasury, and you have the right to transfer no more than 20% of the gold coins in the treasury each year without my consent."
Raven needed a deeper community of interests.
With the development of the Eagle Territory, there will definitely be more and more things encountered in the future, and it is impossible for Raven to cover everything.
A person's energy is always limited, and he needs Denise to help him share the pressure of business matters.
As a member of the Griffith family, Denise has experienced both prosperity and loss with him, and she has enough motivation to manage it all.
And Raven is also confident and has the balance of old Gordon. He is not completely letting go. Denise is unlikely to cause any trouble.
Denise also thought of this. After weighing the pros and cons, she said: "I can promise you, but from now on I will actually serve as the financial officer of the Griffith family. Every income and All expenditures require my approval."
"No problem, but the final decision is still in my hands," Raven said.
Denise stretched out her hand: "Then wish us a happy cooperation?"
Raven politely held her smooth fingertips: "Happy cooperation."
"Then I Let’s go back to the castle first, Lord Baron.” Withdrawing her hand without leaving a trace, Denise said, “I hope my appointment letter will be issued as soon as possible.”
Looking at her back, Raven shook his head and chuckled. , turned around and returned to the workroom.
At noon of the same day, Raven returned to Eagle Castle and immediately issued an order to recruit workers. The requirements were that they must be smart and handy, and preferably have a chef background.
After all, the closest thing to a chemist in this world, other than alchemists, is the only cook.
After a deep sleep, Lei Wen woke up refreshed and began a very regular life.
After breakfast every morning, a routine meeting is held to deal with various matters; in the morning, magic is practiced in the inner courtyard of Eagle Castle until lunch; after lunch, the army camp and workshop are inspected, and practice begins after returning. Horsemanship and swordplay until dusk; after dinner, he shut himself in the study and studied Elvish for two hours, and then read the books brought back from Lux for two hours; he meditated every night while sleeping.
Among them, practicing magic was a bit fresh at first, but it started to become boring after a few days.
A magician cannot cast spells only by possessing magic power and affinity with elements. Spells, gestures and magic power routes are all indispensable.
Only when all three are consistent, a spell can be completed. Otherwise, you will only see a person dancing and talking nonsense, but nothing happens.
Leaven has been dancing like this a lot lately, and it looks like Subject 3.
In the beginning, Raven could not succeed even once dozens of times. After a few days, the success rate gradually stabilized at 30%. If he wanted to improve, he could only make efforts.
On the contrary, he read with gusto the books he thought he would doze off on: "Nothing But God", "The Way of the Mage", and "The Self-Cultivation of a Knight".
In addition to some insider gossip, it also details the different practice methods of each profession.
The magician has to pray devoutly to the Lord of Light. It is said that when you reach level 7 or above, you can even see the figure of the Lord of Light while praying.
Mages use meditation as the main way to increase their magic power. They can also increase their meditation efficiency relatively quickly by consuming magic crystals. Generally speaking, this can increase the magic power of the magician by about 17% before level 3. speed.
Knights or warriors are the most alternative ones. In addition to daily physical exertion, they also need to rely on external objects. They must consume minerals or plants with extraordinary energy that match their attributes. Absorb the energy in it, so that you can improve your rank.
And it was also emphasized that magic core cannot be used as raw material, because all knights and warriors who rely on magic core to practice will eventually go crazy. This situation is called "animal transformation".
When he saw this, Raven couldn't help but think of Eric. He had served in Eagle Castle for more than ten years, and his accumulated salary should have been 800 gold coins instead of 1,000. He was still at level one now. I don’t know where the money went.
Reading is half a pastime and half a way to increase your knowledge. It is a good leisure activity.
But the one thing Raven loves most is meditation.
Leaving the study and returning to the bedroom, Petty withdrew with a gloomy expression, and Raven began today's meditation.
He took off his clothes, sat cross-legged on the bed, his hands met in front of his lower abdomen, hung down naturally, and gently closed his eyes.
According to the description on the scroll, Raven began to consciously adjust his breathing, and the rhythm became slower and lighter, until the rise and fall of his chest became insignificant.
There was darkness in front of him at first, and then it became bright. Raven seemed to be in the infinite starry sky, and his eyes were filled with colorful stars.
Brown represents the earth, blue represents water, red represents fire, cyan represents storm, white represents light, black represents darkness, in addition, there are many wonderful light spots mixed with these colors.
Here, Raven has no form, just a silver mist.
He used his thoughts to drive himself closer to a star. Soon the star turned into a ball of light. As soon as he came into contact with Raven, he was sucked into the silver mist.
The light group slowly became smaller and finally disappeared without a trace, and Raven's magic power also quietly increased.
Magic power itself has no attributes, but when a mage meditates, he usually only absorbs elemental light groups with higher affinity. The absorption efficiency is higher, and the affinity of the corresponding element can also be slightly enhanced.
But Lei Wen is different. He has affinity with the four elements of earth, water, fire and wind. He absorbs each type of light group at the same speed. He does not need to be too picky, so his efficiency is much higher than that of ordinary mages.
Although there is no comparison, after rough calculations and a simple experiment, Raven confirmed that his magic power growth rate is about 1.6 times that of a mage of the same level.
As the rooster crows outside the window, Raven also ends this meditation and feels that his magic power has increased a bit.
This feeling of no pain, no gain, is why Raven likes to meditate.
And it can replace sleep.
After getting dressed under Petty's service, he had breakfast with everyone. Before the meeting could begin, Mosingan strode in:
"Report to the Baron, deployment The citizens have arrived in Goldish Town. We are short of manpower and hope to mobilize new troops to maintain order.”
< br>Old Gordon glanced at him with a slight dissatisfaction: "It's only 600 people. Do you have to trouble the Baron even with this?"
"No, it's not a matter of quantity..." Mossing swallowed. Spit: "...I can't tell clearly, Mr. Gordon, you'll know when you see it with your own eyes."
"The Fox family is too much!"
......
(End of this chapter)