The inspection by the commercial guild continues.
“Oh, there’s some talc. This might be good for a base,” Ana said, so I became interested and went over to see. There were several talc stones and their powder there. They are minerals known as “chalk,” used for writing on slate boards.
[Talc]
Classification: Pigment
Quality: High quality
Rarity: B
Details: A clay mineral. When finely ground, it becomes a white powder that blends well with the skin.
Feeling: Makes the skin look white!
[Talc]
Classification: Pigment
Quality: Low quality
Rarity: B
Details: A clay mineral. When finely ground, it becomes a white powder that blends well with the skin.
Feeling: Makes the skin look white! But sorry, my powder contains a substance that can cause malignant tumors when inhaled…
“What does this mean?” I asked Oliver.
“It seems that only one of these ’talcs’ contains a harmful substance for the body, but depending on where they are produced, they may contain dangerous substances that cannot be used. We don’t have any staff with the rare [appraisal] skill, so we can’t establish a checking system,” Oliver said, shoulders drooping.
“Oh, really? If talc is no good…do we have mica or phlogopite?” Ana said, looking around. Kachua then guided us to a place where there was phlogopite.
“Phlogopite is over here. We also have its powdered form available.”
[Phlogopite]
Classification: Pigment
Quality: High quality
Rarity: B
Details: A clay mineral. When finely ground, it becomes a white powder that is rich in oil and blends well with the skin.
Feeling: Makes the skin look white!
“This is so pure white and blends well with the skin!” I said, taking some of the powder with my fingertips and spreading it on the back of my hand.
“Yes, the phlogopite mined in the mountainous regions in the north of our country has a high purity and is extremely white. It also has a reserve that is suitable for export,” Ana said, nodding approvingly.
“The phlogopite powder mixed with a small amount of ‘zinc oxide’ would be the base for the ’new white powder’ with deodorizing and whitening effects due to its sunburn prevention. It’s better for beauty than the previous ‘white powder,’” Ana said, satisfied with her overall plan.
“If we exchange the ‘old white powder’ for the ’new white powder’ with better beauty effects, we will be able to recover the sold ‘white powder’ as well!” Oliver said, relieved that progress was being made in the other issue of ‘recovery.’
“But how can we mass-produce ‘zinc oxide,’ which is a powder that can only be produced in small amounts when zinc is exposed to air?” Kachua asked, looking puzzled.
“Well, that’s where the alchemists come in. And it’s the job of you merchants to watch how it’s done and come up with a method for mass production,” Ana said, grabbing my shoulder with one hand and pointing at Kachua and Oliver with the other.
◆
The four of us arrived at my atelier in the commercial guild’s carriage with some zinc.
“Welcome back,” Mina and Marcus greeted us.
“We’ll be using the laboratory with four people now, so please continue to take care of the shop,” I said, declining their offer. We then entered the laboratory, and arrived at the alchemical pot.
“Daisy, it gets really hot, so make sure you wear gloves and an apron,” Ana warned me, so I put on gloves and an apron and grasped the stirring rod. Ana then began explaining what we were going to do next.
“Everyone knows water, right? When the temperature is low, it freezes and becomes solid, when it gets warm it melts and becomes water, and when you heat it with fire, it evaporates. Well, metals are the same. You may only have the image of them being solid lumps, but if you heat them up, they melt, and if you heat them up more, they turn into steam. However, unlike water, the temperature is very high, so we need to use ‘magic’ to do it,” Ana explained.
“Eh?!” the three of us exclaimed in surprise.
…Well, I understand that they can melt since I’ve made alloys before, but I’m surprised that they can turn into steam!
“Daisy, don’t just stand there daydreaming. You’re the one who’s going to do it,” Ana said, tapping my back.
“Yes!” I straightened my back as I was tapped.
I put the zinc lump into the alchemical pot and inserted the stirring rod into the pot.
“Daisy, use the stirring rod to heat up the alchemical pot really hot. Don’t be surprised even if it boils,” Ana instructed me.
“Yes!” I channeled magic into the stirring rod from my body and arms, and heated up the inside of the alchemical pot really hot. I felt a large amount of magic being taken away. Then, the zinc melted and started to boil with a bubbling sound. As I continued to heat it up, the amount of liquid zinc decreased, and finally disappeared. Then, white powder started to fall into the alchemical pot. The whole process took place inside the alchemical pot.
“What is this…?” Kachua, Oliver, and I murmured as we confirmed the whole process. After all, the zinc disappeared somewhere, and only the white powder remained.
…Why does it disappear when it evaporates? And what is this white powder that appeared?
“When zinc evaporates and becomes a gas, it combines with air to become ‘zinc oxide’,” Ana explained.
[Zinc Oxide]
Classification: Pigment
Quality: High Quality
Rarity: B
Details: A compound made when zinc comes in contact with air. A white pigment that has deodorizing effects due to its sunburn prevention and sterilization properties.
Feeling: Makes the skin white and beautiful. It also has sunburn prevention effects!
As Ana said, the zinc had turned into ‘zinc oxide.’
When it was finished, the alchemical pot was very hot, and all of us were sweating in the heat of the room.
