『I’ll be holed up in the alchemy room to make a cotton candy machine!』
When I said that, everyone gave me a look like they had already guessed it.
Mizera, on the other hand, tilted her head in confusion, muttering “Eh? Eh?”
「Um, my lord. A cotton candy machine… that’s the thing Aina mentioned, the one for the festival, right?」
「Yeah, that’s right」
I’d already explained it during dinner yesterday. No one objected, and everyone seemed willing to help out.
「Lord and the festival. I’m looking forward to the stall」
「Same heressu! I never thought we’d get to run onessu!」
「Then I’ll prepare meals that are easy to eat while working」
「I’m counting on you. Oh, Mizera, you’re coming with me. Watch carefully and try to remember as much as you can」
「Eh, ah…yes! Understood!」
「Good. I’ll leave the rest to you all」
With that, Mizera and I entered the alchemy room and immediately began preparing the materials.
「So, um… when you said to watch and learn… does that mean I’ll end up making one too?」
「That’s right. You’ll need to know how eventually, so I want you to learn now. I’ll leave behind the recipe, but actually watching the process will help you understand」
「I see… yes, understood. I’ll study hard」
With a determined look, Mizera clenched both fists in front of her chest.
Such a serious apprentice. A good one indeed.
「Alright… Aina and the others already bought the base materials this morning, and the sugar should arrive later today. Time to get started」
It was midday now. I wanted to finish before dinner if possible.
A cotton candy machine… when you think about it, the principle is simple.
You put granulated sugar in, heat it, let the melted sugar shoot out through tiny holes using centrifugal force, and then it solidifies in the air into threads.
So what we need is: a rotating cylinder with small holes, a heating device, and a large basin to catch the candy.
The basin is easy, so I quickly made one about the size of a wash tub.
Alright.
For rotation, of course I’ll use the rotating sphere.
For heating, I’ll need to process a fire magic stone.
First, I worked on the rotating sphere.
The issue here was the hole size.
If they’re too big, the sugar will just spill out in liquid form.
If they’re too small, it’ll clog, burn inside, and turn bitter.
To adjust for that, I decided to make several versions of the rotating unit.
I shaped a piece of metal about palm-sized into a small bowl, drilled holes into it, and attached a thinned rotating sphere to the bottom.
Testing it, I raised the speed with magic until it was fast enough to flick my fingers away, and checked that there was no distortion. That was one unit done.
Then I made a second and third, and moved on to the heating device.
「You told me to watch and learn, but… you’re moving way too fast!」
「It’s fine, just grasp the general idea for now. Besides, these are still prototypes. I’ll need to do a lot of adjustments after everything’s built. For now, just getting the shapes done is enough」
Taking a sip of the tea that had been prepared at some point, I moved on to the heating unit. This one had to be built with adjustable temperature.
Without understanding the details, it meant I would have to research until I did, which was a hassle.
Now, for the heating device, I debated whether to attach it directly to the rotating unit or to warm it like a heater.
But blowing hot air at a spinning unit would cool it too quickly, so making it a single integrated piece seemed best.
First, I processed a fire magic stone and formed a circuit, attaching it to the underside of the rotating device.
After activating the device, I checked whether it rotated and heated properly.
Once that was confirmed, I completed several versions with different hole sizes.
「This heating circuit is spiral-shaped this time. The one for the iron plate was a lattice pattern, wasn’t it?」
「Ah. The iron plate one was designed that way to prevent uneven heating, and so I could adjust different areas separately. I divided it into three zones that could even be used for keeping food warm. But this one doesn’t need that, so I made it spiral and boosted the power.」
「I see… but in that case, wouldn’t it be better to flatten the fire magic stone instead?」
「That would make the magic power consumption too high. If you can get the desired effect, conserving resources is important too.」
Alright.
Next, I’ll try it with the sugar crystals inside the basin part.
「So, it’s finished?」
「Yeah. At least this prototype is. It was quicker than I expected.」
「I suppose… but you didn’t notice when Wendy-sama came in, did you?」
「…I didn’t notice.」
It felt like an hour had passed, but had more time slipped away than I thought?
Drilling the holes took some effort, but aside from that… oh, maybe I got carried away with the inner structure of the rotating cylinder.
The roughness bothered me, so I kept polishing it until it was smooth.
「Also, Meira-san came and dropped off all the sugar crystals she had on hand. She said you could use them for testing. She added that it was a service, as an apology for the unreasonable request. But she’ll still be charging for the extra batch needed for the festival.」
「…So Meira came too.」
The free service was helpful, but she could have at least said something to me directly.
「But wait, you can speak with me normally, Mizera?」
「Well….yeah. You answer my questions. Why?」
「How… maybe because you’re my disciple?」
「Does that have anything to do with it…?」
Hmm. Maybe it was just good timing.
She probably spoke to me right after a stage of the process had ended, so it was at the point where my concentration had already broken.
「Nngh, nnngh….ah, I’m starving…」
「But you were snacking on the food Wendy-sama brought while you worked… They say dinner’s ready now, so let’s go eat.」
「Ah… I see. So it’s that late already. You must be hungry too, Mizera.」
「I’m not particularly—」
Just as she said that, Mizera’s stomach let out a small growl.
Her face immediately turned red, and she looked down in embarrassment.
「Alright, let’s go. By the way, how was it? Do you think you’ve managed to memorize the process?」
「Hmm… I understand the structure, but I think I’d stumble during the shaping part… I still can’t process magic stones or the rotating sphere yet.」
「That’s fine, that’s fine. Then we’ll start practicing shaping from now on. Being able to change things into the shape you want is very useful.」
「You make it sound so easy, milord… But what you did today isn’t something an ordinary alchemist could do. …Not that I know much about other alchemists.」
「Nah, I bet they could. They just don’t. Alchemists tend to be eccentric, so they’re probably not interested.」
Rotating spheres are so convenient and fun, though. At this rate, I might even be able to make motorcycles or four-wheeled vehicles. The only issues are magic power consumption, magic stone storage capacity, and weight.
-0-
Alright, dinner’s done. Time to start the experiment!
I won’t show it to everyone until I’ve made the perfect cotton candy!
First, I’ll test the one with the larger holes.
I’ll adjust the temperature as needed.
I can’t add too much sugar at once, so I’ll divide it into smaller portions and put in just the right amount each time.
I activated the rotation and heating devices and added the sugar.
But the holes were too big, and the sugar just spilled out.
Even when I raised the temperature, no threads formed.
The large-hole version was a failure.
So now I’ll try the smaller-hole version.
Adding the sugar and running the machine the same way, this time a little came out.
But because the temperature was too low, it came out brittle and crunchy.
It looked like cotton candy, but the texture was closer to hard candy, without the soft fluffiness.
On top of that, sugar had clumped inside, throwing the balance off, and the device started making noise.
「This is tasty enough as it is…」
「No… cotton candy is supposed to be much, much tastier than this…!」
While Mizera licked the bits of cotton candy off her fingers, I struck the ground with my fist in frustration.
Cotton candy’s potential isn’t supposed to be limited to something like this!
This time I raised the temperature.
Now it came out softer, but…
「This one is soft.」
「But it doesn’t have any bounce… And when I wrap it up it doesn’t fluff out enough… One more try!」
I don’t even know how many attempts it’s been at this point.
Each time Mizera said it was delicious, and each time I was frustrated.
After repeated adjustments, I even refined the way I wrapped it.
And finally, it was complete.
-0-
It was large and round, springing back when pressed with a finger, yet not hard, soft and fluffy at the same time.
Clearly different from everything before. The perfect cotton candy at last!
「Mizera! Try it!」
「Yes, yes. I’ll have some.」
Honestly, the taste isn’t any different, so I feel a little guilty.
But this one is the best! This is the masterpiece!
Mizera held the big puff of cotton candy, tore off a piece, and put it into her mouth.
Even though I’d seen it countless times already, my heart still pounded with anticipation as I watched.
「…Yes. This is delicious.」
「Right?! Nnnngh! It’s finally complete!」
That delicious wasn’t the same as before, it was a different kind altogether.
I took a bit from Mizera’s cotton candy myself, and I could feel it.
This batch was nothing like the others.
This is it!
This is real cotton candy!
「I’ll note down the heating and rotation speeds… Alright, now all that’s left is for everyone to taste it and to teach them how it’s made! Nnnngh, I’m exhausted!」
I leaned back hard into my chair and stretched as far as I could.
「Yes. Good work.」
「Nnnngh!! You too, Mizera! Sorry for dragging you into this.」
「Not at all. Watching the master at work is a disciple’s duty. It was a good lesson.」
Even as she said that, Mizera poured me a drink and handed it over.
The tea was a little bitter, but with the sweetness still in my mouth it actually balanced out perfectly.
After that, we rested for a bit and savored the sense of completion.
When I called everyone over and served it as dessert, they were all astonished and delighted by the taste.
At the same time, I began teaching them how to make it.
I explained how not to add too much sugar, how to keep the stick rotating, and everything else carefully so no one would make mistakes.
With that, we were finally ready to face the day of the festival.
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