399 - - 12-49 Alchemist Festival
Jin and his colleagues had just arrived at a place called <
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"Wow, you are doing a lot of things.
"Interesting, isn't it?"
"Interesting."
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About 30 alchemists were displaying various things and giving various demonstrations at their booths.
"Hmm? That smell ......."
Saki's nose twitched, her complexion changed, and she pulled on Jin's sleeve.
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"Jin! This place is dangerous!"
Saki, who had once been experimenting with burning sulfur, inhaled sulfurous acid gas and lost consciousness, was reminded of the memory of that time.
"What?"
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Yes, in the booth in front of her, an alchemist was heating sulfur in a frying pan-like container.
The sulfur in the container had begun to melt, and the smell Saki feared was coming from there.
"Oh, you're worried about sulfurous acid gas?"
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Jin pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, wetted it with condensation, and held it to his nose.
"See, this way, a small amount will work."
Sulfurous acid gas, or sulfur dioxide, is soluble in water, so a wet towel can temporarily protect you if you feel an outbreak at a volcano. Of course, it is not perfect, so we must evacuate as soon as possible.
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Saki's handkerchief is also wetted by Jin. Erza used condensate herself and put the wet handkerchief on her nose.
"......Hmm, I see. ......"
The wet handkerchief made the smell of sulfurous acid gas less noticeable. No, there was hardly any sulfurous acid gas to begin with. It was not burning, but only heating.
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The alchemist in front of me continued to heat the sulfur without hesitation, and the sulfur in the container was completely melted and turned into a candy color.
"Now, if you put this in water ......"
The alchemist grabbed the handle of the vessel and poured the molten sulfur into the water in the vat.
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The viscous liquid flowed into the vat like a thread, cooled in the water, and hardened. The alchemist took it out,
"Look at that! That brittle sulfur can stretch like this!
The alchemist pulled it out and showed it to the audience, saying something along the lines of "Look how that brittle sulfur can stretch! It was as elastic as rubber, and stretched and contracted.
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"......Hey, Jin, that's interesting! I was so amused by the sulfur-burning smoke that turned the petals white that I once fell ill from inhaling it, but that doesn't seem dangerous at all.
"Saki sister, sulfurous acid gas is dangerous ......."
Erza, who had heard Saki's story, sounded exasperated. It seems that even Elsa understands the danger of sulfurous acid gas.
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"But if sulfur can be used to make rubber, it can be used in many different ways!
But Jin denied it.
"I'm sorry, Saki, but that's called
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"...... Is that so? That's too bad. ......"
I was whispering, but the alchemist seemed to have heard me, and he was staring at Jin and the others with a terrible look in his eyes.
He must have been annoyed at being told about the demonstration he was giving.
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Jin and the others hurriedly left the place.
The next booth we looked at was the one where various minerals were displayed. It was similar to Saki's booth.
"Jin, it's beautiful!
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"Yes, it is."
Red, yellow, green, blue, and purple ...... are literally displayed in a variety of colors.
"Well, miss, here is a golden stone."
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The alchemist there showed me a golden stone that I could pick with my fingertips, and then took out a white, flat stone and rubbed it against it.
I expected to see a golden mark on the stone, but instead, a dark line remained after rubbing.
"Oh, it's not gold, is it?
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Saki was impressed.
"That's right. This is the way to distinguish between gold and another stone that looks like gold.
The alchemist boasts proudly.
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Jin and Erza whisper to each other, this time in a low voice that cannot be heard.
"(...... the color of the scar, right?)"
"Yes, that's right. Maybe it's pyrite.")
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It is an experiment often seen in science class. Jin and Erza knew about it, but Saki was interested and had a long talk with the alchemist.
"...... If you know about it, why don't you just tell me?"
"I'm sorry, I couldn't tell you because you seemed to be enjoying the conversation so much.
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Saki had been talking with the alchemist for a while, and when Saki came back, Erza mentioned the
"Saki, I'm sorry.
Saki was angry with Erza, and Erza became upset.
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"But, but, alchemy is a very promising field!
Jin is trying his best to divert the topic.
"It's great that you study things that have nothing to do with magic and can be applied to many different fields."
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"...... really think so?"
He is still a little pouty, but his mood seems to have improved a little.
"Yes, I think so. It's just too bad it hasn't been systematized yet.
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Jin's words seemed to make Saki feel something.
"Systematization, huh? ....... Indeed. Even within the same alchemy, magic theory and magicology are good, but material science is still in its infancy.
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"I'd like to learn more from you and your colleagues, wouldn't you?
"Of course, of course.
I'm looking forward to it.
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When the three of us turned around and returned, a young male alchemist was holding up colored water on the stage.
The colored water was in a clear bottle that appeared to be made of crystal and was purple in color.
"This is the juice from the purple orchid," the alchemist said.
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Purple orchid is a vegetable similar to cabbage, and is purple in color. In short, it is a purple cabbage.
"Drizzle this juice with vinegar and you get ......."
A cheer erupts. The purple juice turns bright red.
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"To this I add the lye supernatant: ......".
The red juice turns purplish, then blue, then green, and finally yellow.
We did not use any magic at all. We are still in the testing stage, but we think it could be used as a dye. That's all.
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The audience applauded generously.
That seemed to be the end of the demonstration.
"That concludes today's demonstration.
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The audience gathered in front of the stage started to leave after the announcement by the committee members.
"Oh, that was fun."
"Jin, I'm going to my booth now.
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"Okay, I'll go to my booth." "Yeah, I'll do the same."
Jin left Saki and went back to his booth. There was a huge crowd of people there.
"Ah! Jin-dono!
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"What? Jin-dono?
"Jin-dono! Tell us more about your mini-craftsman (smith)!
The demonstration was over, and the people who were impressed by Jin's mini-craftsmen (smiths) were pouring in.
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It was the most tiring part of the day for Jin to deal with them.
That was how the first day of the exposition ended.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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"I'm tired.
Jin was leaning back on the sofa in his hotel room. As one would expect, doing something unfamiliar is tiring.
"Father, here is your Persica juice.
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Reiko offered him a glass of Persica juice specially made in Horaijima. Drink it and you will be full of energy and recover from fatigue.
"...... Oh, it smells so good!"
Just then, Elsa came out of the shower room and smelled the sweet smell of Persica.
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"Do you want one too?"
"Yes."
A glass of cold juice is a nice treat for the body after a shower. Elsa drank her juice in a classy gesture, not ...... with her hands on her hips.
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"Thank you for the ...... delicious juice. It was delicious."
"Well, I think I'll go take a shower too."
Jin stood up and Meane offered him a bath towel.
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"Here you go, Jin-sama."
"Oh, thank you."
Jin took a shower as well. Reiko had prepared a change of clothes for him.
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When Jin returned to the living room, Saki had come to visit him. Aaru was with him.
"Good evening, Jin.
"Hi, Saki. What's up?
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"Yeah, I'm bored because I'm in a room by myself. But I didn't want to bother Reinhard and Bertsch, so I came over here to play.
"Ha-ha, that's right."
Jin laughs and agrees, then offers Saki a glass of Persica juice as well.
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"Oh, Reiko, thank you."
Saki thanks Reiko and drinks her juice. Her gesture is a bit gruff compared to Elsa's.
"Saki-sama, please be a little more ladylike," Meine warns her.
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Meane, who couldn't help but notice this, but Saki pretends not to hear her.
"I just heard from Reinhardt that Erza and Meine's return to Japan is going well, isn't it?
"Yes, we got the Emperor's approval during the day. Now we just need to convince Erza's father and the Marquis of ......."
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"Indeed. Those two will be a problem, I'm sure. ......
Saki laughed and turned to Erza and Meane and said with a serious look on her face.
"Elsa, Meene, I'm so happy for you."
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"Thank you, Saki."
"Thank you, Saki-sama, thank you."
And Saki immediately returns to her normal routine.
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"Oh yes, Jin, I couldn't see your demonstration today because I was presenting my paper to the alchemists' association, but I'll be there tomorrow, I'm sure.
Jin grinned when he was told,
"Yeah, look forward to it."
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Jin replied confidently.