Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.6 - Chapter 7

Brewing and Recovery Potions

“You have brewing class this afternoon, milady. Let us hurry and get you changed into your brewing clothes,” Rihyarda said.

Just as riding gear was worn before mounting one’s highbeast, brewing clothes were worn prior to making a potion. This was my first time wearing them, since I would always brew in my priest robes in the temple. These somewhat resembled the work clothes of scholars in that the sleeves weren’t long and frilly, and there was barely any lace that might get in the way of one’s duties. The biggest distinction, however, was the lack of a cape. Students instead wore scarves of their particular duchy’s color and fastened them in place with a brooch.

Once I was changed, I checked to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything and then headed over to Philine, who was going to be attending the same brewing class as me. “Is everything ready?” I asked.

“Yes, Lady Rozemyne.” Philine pinched up her skirt and gave me a gentle smile. Her brewing clothes were hand-me-downs that Rihyarda and Ottilie had managed to source from among their acquaintances, but they were so well-made and so nicely embroidered that nobody would have guessed. “I’m happy to have such pretty brewing clothes. Everyone taught me how to mend them. I think I’m a bit better at sewing thanks to my time in the castle.”

“You certainly work hard at all that you do, Philine.”

“You should work on your embroidery like Philine does, milady,” Rihyarda noted.

“Indeed. On the fateful day when Dregarnuhr the Goddess of Time weaves our threads so...” I replied. It was a breezy response that essentially meant, “Maybe one day.” I cared more about transcribing books than embroidery, and I cared more about reading than transcribing.

I made my way downstairs.

“Apologies for the wait,” I said. “To the Small Hall we go.”

This was going to be my first time brewing in class, but I already had some experience making rejuvenation potions, so I was largely familiar with the whole experience. For the most part, I was just amused to hear Wilfried talking about how excited he was to brew for the first time.

Brewing in the temple consisted of preparing ingredients at Ferdinand’s instruction, cutting them up, throwing them into a pot, and stirring them all together with mana. I had not yet been allowed to make the high-quality rejuvenation potions that I used myself, so I had been making lower-quality ones and selling them to Eckhart and Angelica. This was basically work to me, so it was hardly something to be excited about.

“I have already been taught how to make rejuvenation potions by Ferdinand, so this is far from exciting to me. I would at least like to brew something else,” I said. My retainers nodded in response, already aware that Ferdinand was educating me, but Roderick widened his eyes.

“You’re already brewing, Lady Rozemyne?!”

“Ferdinand has been training me, since it is apparently an issue that I cannot brew my own rejuvenation potions. At the moment, I can brew four blends.”

In an instant, all of my apprentice knights shot me strange looks. “Wait a moment, Lady Rozemyne. There are four blends of rejuvenation potion?!” they exclaimed. It seemed that only two blends were taught in the Royal Academy: the basic kind used by laynobles and mednobles, and the higher-quality kind used by archnobles. Only a research-obsessed mad scientist like Ferdinand would go beyond these, which explained why Eckhart and Angelica requested to guard me when I was making them and purchased them from me on the spot.

“I have learned to make a potion that replenishes a small amount of my mana and stamina, a potion that replenishes a larger amount of my mana and stamina, a potion that replenishes much of my mana and almost none of my stamina, and a potion that replenishes almost none of my mana but a great amount of my stamina,” I explained.

Although, if we include the ones that Ferdinand makes, there are seven in total. There’s the ultra-nasty potion that sacrifices flavor for effectiveness, the kindness-enriched potion that tastes better, and the divine potion made with blenrus from Haldenzel. I wasn’t sure whether I should openly speak about those, however, so I kept them to myself.

“Seems like Uncle makes coming to the Royal Academy kind of pointless...” Wilfried muttered.

“Perhaps in regard to lessons, but one must still attend the Academy to acquire one’s schtappe and become a noble,” I said.

“Plus, one can hardly socialize with other duchies outside of the Royal Academy. It is something of a shame, really, because the onus is quite exhausting...” Charlotte added with a sigh as she made her way to her written lessons in the auditorium. It seemed that the upcoming socializing season had made her really want to return to Ehrenfest. I understood how she felt; socializing was a pain.

“It’s not all bad, you know. I’m looking forward to meeting old friends and making new ones,” Wilfried said, emphasizing the fun parts of socializing. His supportive words brought a smile back to Charlotte’s face. I couldn’t let him beat me here; as Charlotte’s older sister, I needed to cheer her up too.

“Wilfried is correct,” I agreed. “Coming to the Royal Academy is the only way to access its extensive library and make friends with fellow bookworms. Not attending would come at too great a cost.”

“Rozemyne, try to think about something other than books and the library...” Wilfried said with a sigh. Charlotte nodded hard in agreement, but they were being unreasonable; what else would there be in the world if you took away books and the library?

“Sylvester has told me to make this year as peaceful as possible. You do not want me putting my all into socializing.”

Everyone had endured chaos last year due to my forming too many connections with royalty and top-ranking duchies. It was better for me to focus this year on maintaining those connections while peacefully dedicating my efforts to the Library Committee.

“In that case, I shall do all that I can to help you read your books,” Charlotte said.

“What a lovely and adorable thing to say! But fear not, Charlotte—as your older sister, I will strive to work hard with socializing as well.”

Charlotte’s eyes widened in surprise. “But, er... Sister... Why?” she asked. “You can go to the library while here.”

I nodded and then patted her arm comfortingly. “Do not worry, Charlotte. I am the child of an archduke, and your older sister. I shall fulfill the duties assigned to me.”

I couldn’t just hide away in the library and force all this painful work on my gallant little sister—that was why I would do my best to socialize as much as was necessary. It was a decision that I had just come to.

We entered the Small Hall to find that things were set up differently than in our previous lessons, no doubt so that we could brew properly. The frontmost wall was covered with a broad cloth, in front of which was a stand. Nothing was written on it yet. There were several tables, the frontmost of which had six modestly sized brewing pots set equidistant from one another. It seemed that we would be preparing our herbs in front of the professor, and given the limited number of pots, it seemed that whoever finished cutting first would win. The other tables were laid with boards, and at the center of each one was a measuring device reminiscent of balance scales.

We would simply be measuring out our herbs for the rejuvenation potions, cutting them on the board, and then mixing them in the pots. There was absolutely nothing hard about it, so I expected that everyone would pass right away.

“The brewing shall now begin,” Hirschur said.

Hirschur went on to explain how to use and clean the tools, among other things. I nodded along as she spoke, but Ferdinand had already drilled this information into my head, so my attention was instead focused on the cloth at the back of the room—the magic tool she was using. It was the one that Ferdinand had repaired. She touched it, and on its surface appeared the herbs we were going to use, how much of them we were going to need, and what we were going to do to make our potions. Judging by the shocked reactions from the other students, this magic tool was not especially common.

“I will only be using this magic tool for the first lesson,” she said. “Take care to write down the names of the herbs, their required quantities, and the brewing process. Those who finish may weigh the herbs and subsequently morph their schtappes into knives to cut them.”

With that, the other students all started taking notes. Wilfried and I didn’t need to write anything down, since this information was already covered in our study guides and such. Just seeing the herbs and their quantities listed on the cloth was enough for me to realize we were making the simplest rejuvenation potion.

I gestured toward the scales, prompting Wilfried to go first. He nervously measured out his herbs and then morphed his schtappe into a knife. I started measuring my own herbs when he was done, but when I glanced over to see how he was doing, my heart practically leapt into my throat.

“You’re about to cut off your fingers!” I cried, gasping when I saw his knife about to miss his herbs entirely. He was even worse than my male classmates back in my Urano days.

He blinked at me several times, then grinned. “Nah, it’s fine. You’re forgetting that this knife is a schtappe,” he said. Since schtappes were made out of one’s own mana, a knife made from a morphed schtappe couldn’t harm its owner—that is, unless they were cutting with the intent to harm themselves. I had been confused as to why we bothered to morph our schtappes when we could save our mana using a regular knife, but now I understood.

On second thought, it was fairly obvious. This class of archnobles and archduke candidates was basically a gathering of uber-rich boys and girls who had never sliced anything themselves before. It was easy to assume that most of them would stumble over something as simple as cutting herbs.

“It still makes me uneasy, even knowing that it won’t actually hurt you...” I commented.

“If you’re that scared, how about you go first? You’re an expert brewer, aren’t you?” Wilfried said, pursing his lips. At his words, all eyes gathered on me. I had drawn unwanted attention once again, but at least it wasn’t for anything serious this time. I could just show him how to cut herbs properly.

“I am hardly an expert; I am simply used to brewing rejuvenation potions,” I replied. Ferdinand was the true expert there. I pushed the scale for measuring herbs to the center of the table, took out my schtappe, and then chanted “messer” to transform it. “If you hold the knife like so and use your other hand to hold down the herbs, you need not fear cutting into your fingers.”

After offering some advice on the claw grip, I provided a demonstration. The onlookers oohed and aahed at my swift handwork, but it really wasn’t impressive at all; commoners did this basically every day while cooking.

“Cutting the herbs into similarly-sized pieces makes them melt into the mana at a more even rate,” I explained once I was done. I chanted “rucken” to revert my schtappe and then brought my freshly cut herbs over to the brewing pot. Wilfried came along, as did the other students at my table; they were presumably curious about the actual brewing stage of making a potion. “Professor Hirschur, may I use the brewing pot?”

“I am a bit surprised at how exceedingly fast you were, but yes, you may. I imagine you know the washing methods, Lady Rozemyne?”

“Yes, Professor.”

“That will save me a bit of time, then. Attention, everyone! Lady Rozemyne will now be providing a brewing demonstration! Those of you who have never seen brewing before or do not feel confident from just writing down the process, step forward and watch!” she called, spurring the students to gather. I absolutely deserved praise for not shouting out, “You’re a teacher; don’t try to save time by foisting work on me!”

Knowing that everyone was watching made this especially difficult, but I was beyond the point of no return. I set my board on the table, took out my schtappe, and then chanted “waschen” to clean the pot. No longer did my spell flood the entire room with water; I was in perfect control of my mana.

“Perfectly done. Now the brewing...” Hirschur prompted.

After dumping the herbs on my board into the pot, I took my schtappe out again and chanted “stylo” to create a pen. I drew a circle around the edge of the brewing pot and then started to add a variety of sigils. Despite their name, magic circles came in plenty of shapes, whether they be triangles, hexagons, or something more complex; what mattered was the unique sigils representing the gods within them.

“Rozemyne, what is that magic circle?” Wilfried asked.

“It helps speed up the process,” I explained as I reverted my schtappe to its original form and then chanted “beimen” to turn it into a mixing stick. I had already learned to match my stick to the size of the pot, so it was the perfect size. All I needed to do now was stir the concoction until its surface flashed and the rejuvenation potion would be complete.

“Lady Rozemyne, I don’t believe time-cutting magic circles have been taught in class yet,” Hirschur noted.

“Oh, my apologies. It’s simply a force of habit now,” I explained. My arms always got tired from the endless stirring, so Ferdinand had taught me the secret trick of using time-cutting magic circles to speed up the process. Now that I thought about it, today’s lesson hadn’t actually involved such circles, but it was too late for me to erase it.

“The magic circle Lady Rozemyne drew saves time by amplifying the mana pouring twofold, but those not accustomed to brewing will end up failing if they attempt the same. Everyone, pour in your mana at your own pace,” Hirschur said. She then reduced her voice to a mutter. “Good grief... Are you not a bit too used to brewing potions, Lady Rozemyne? It is abnormal to use magic circles to accelerate the process, especially during one’s first brewing lesson.”

“Ferdinand taught me so that I could make my own potions,” I replied. “That said, I am still unable to make the ones I need.”

“As always, I find it hard to tell whether Ferdinand has a heart of stone or gold. A normal noble would not teach others potion recipes of their own creation simply out of goodwill...” Hirschur replied. She dripped a few drops of the rejuvenation potion I had made onto a magic tool that would measure its quality. I knew this because Ferdinand had used the same kind of thing before. “You pass in terms of both quality and effectiveness.”

Alright!

I spent the rest of class teaching Wilfried the trick to brewing while almost having a heart attack whenever I saw a nearby student cutting right next to their fingers.

“Rozemyne, what’s the trick to spreading your mana out equally?”

“Simply refrain from weakening the flow. It will decrease naturally as you tire, so either start with a weak flow or use magic circles to shorten the time as I do. I must warn you, though—using the time-cutting magic circle will drain your mana all at once, so I cannot recommend it to beginners.”

I could tell the nearby students were listening in on our conversation, but it would be improper for me to give them help unsolicited. And as I pondered the situation, the bells signifying the end of class rang. I was the only student to pass. Mixing while spreading mana equally was surprisingly hard, it seemed, and nobody had brewed a rejuvenation potion that met the expected standard.

After dinner, we archduke candidates met with our retainers and began forming a list of questions concerning Drewanchel and socializing in general. Wilfried wrote to Sylvester, I wrote to Ferdinand and Elvira, and Charlotte wrote to Florencia. We were all covering the same things, more or less, but Charlotte had suggested we send them separately to get more perspectives.

The knight guarding the teleportation hall was going to send our boards back to Ehrenfest. I gave them to our apprentice scholars, and as they went to deliver them, a wave of exhaustion washed over me.

“It’s all over now, Sister. How are you feeling?” Charlotte asked.

“I’m more concerned about how you’re feeling. Will you be well tomorrow? If you do not rest enough, you may collapse midway through the walk,” I warned, recalling my own experience.

Tomorrow, the first-years would be traversing the Farthest Hall to obtain their Divine Wills. They were going to have their written lessons in the morning as a result, which meant our written lessons had been moved to the afternoon. We would instead spend our morning attending our practical lesson.

Charlotte giggled. “I would not lose consciousness over something as small as a bit of exhaustion.”

“Still, archduke candidates have to travel a lot farther than laynobles,” Wilfried noted. “You should get as much rest as you can, Charlotte.”

She readily nodded at his advice, despite having acted so tough with me. Somehow, I feel as though I don’t wield the dignity and authority expected of an older sister. This seems quite dire.

As I paused to consider how I could reacquire my lost glory, Charlotte peered down at me. “Are you feeling unwell after all, Sister?” she asked.

“I’m still quite fine. Now, on a more important note—as your sister, I need to—”

“I would very much like you to get some rest,” Charlotte said, her indigo eyes practically dripping with concern. “At once, if possible.”

Rihyarda put her weight behind Charlotte, stating that I should not be worrying my little sister, and so I was forced to retire for the night without any opportunity to resist. The holes in my canopy had evidently been sewn up while I was in class, as they were now nowhere to be seen.

I must have fallen asleep while thinking about how to regain my sisterly dignity, as the next thing I knew, it was morning.

We were going to be spending today’s practical lesson making armor from feystones. It was closer to a protective bodysuit like a bulletproof vest than the full suits of armor knights wore that covered their entire bodies, but it was crucial nonetheless. We would put ourselves at risk in times of danger without them, apparently.

“Rozemyne, do you reckon I should think up some really cool armor, like how I thought up cool schtappes?” Wilfried asked.

“The armor we make today is to be worn under one’s clothes; I don’t believe coolness will serve much of a purpose.”

“R-Right. Good... Good point,” he said, slumping over in almost excessive disappointment. His shoulders were drooping so much that I felt compelled to cheer him up. He must have been really invested in making cool armor, and while I didn’t really understand the fixation, it was much too awkward to leave him so depressed.

“Ah, but, erm... Fashion is about putting thought even into the unseen, so I think there is some merit in considering the appearance,” I said hastily.

“Putting thought into the unseen, huh?” Wilfried repeated. “I like the sound of that.” He cheered up in an instant and immediately started talking about cool armor. It seemed that he had come up with a few designs already, but none of them were able to be worn underneath clothes, so he needed to start from the ground up.

For once, I wasn’t the first person to finish our practical lesson—Hannelore was. She was apparently used to making bodysuits, since the people of Dunkelfelger wore them at all times. The archnobles of her duchy received passing marks soon after.

Getting the feystone to cover my body and then harden was simple enough, considering that it was the same technique as when one makes a highbeast. And since I wasn’t too fixated on its appearance, I passed in no time. Wilfried was still trying to decide on a design, which was fair enough. As far as I was concerned, he was free to take as long as he needed.