A Sweet Everyone Loves

I told Alexia to head back to the shop and bring Elza and the ingredients for baked goods.

"We don't know when the enemy will make their move. Grab every last bit of sugar in the warehouse so we can preserve the product! Alexia, I'm counting on you."

"Very well. Understood."

The abacus in my head started clicking away.

We'd be using up every bit of sugar in the warehouse.

"Does sugar really help preserve things? I get how salt does, but…"

Azu, running alongside me, asked.

Her cooking experience was still limited, so it made sense she wouldn't know.

She understood salt's role because she'd used it as an adventurer.

"Same principle as salt. Food spoils because the moisture inside goes bad. Pack in enough sugar and it becomes far more resistant to spoilage. At this time of year, if you don't skimp, it'll keep for a good month."

This was knowledge I'd picked up after accidentally buying a huge stock of perishable fruit.

Salting or sugaring draws out the moisture and slows decay. The bottom line: it's always the water that goes bad.

"Come to think of it, that's why the food I used to hide always went bad…"

"Used to," meaning before Azu became a slave.

She'd said she was barely given enough to eat back then.

"You know how jam is always so sweet? It does taste better that way, sure, but it's also the wisdom behind making it last."

"That's really educational."

Food spoils easily no matter what.

Cold weather helps, but the moment it gets hot enough to sweat, raw food goes bad within a day.

The wealthy apparently build ice cellars or store things in boxes fitted with ice magic stones just for preservation.

Must be nice. Both options cost a fortune.

In summer, anything not eaten immediately ends up salted.

My brief lecture to Azu concluded as we arrived at Ramiza-san's shop.

A "Closed" sign hung on the entrance.

The door was unlocked, so I went inside with Azu and Finn.

"Oh, there you are～"

Whether from a good night's sleep and a proper meal or not, Ramiza-san looked perfectly chipper.

She'd already laid out her materials and begun compounding.

"I figured you'd get the go-ahead, so I prepped everything. From the look on your face, can I start right away?"

"Yes. We got the green light. From royalty, no less."

"Figures. If that princess is involved, the speed makes sense."

So Ramiza-san was aware of the Second Princess.

Given her position, it wasn't surprising they'd have some acquaintance.

"Well, she's intense, but she's no fool. Let's focus on our end for now."

"Agreed. I plan to make the finished product right here."

Compounding shared many steps with cooking. The necessary equipment was all here.

There was an oven, and mixing bowls in abundance.

"That would be the most efficient. We're all in the same boat at this point."

"I really am sorry about this."

I'd dragged her in completely. No amount of apologies could suffice.

But I couldn't think of anyone else who could pull this off.

"If it were anything else, I might've said no～ Now, enough of that. Let's get to mass production. You already know the formula, so keep prepping the materials."

She brushed past my apology effortlessly.

A kindness meant to keep me from dwelling on it.

"Um, what should I do?"

"Again?"

Finn sounded disgruntled, while Azu tugged at my sleeve and looked around restlessly.

I already knew what materials were needed and how to process them. Soothing Finn, I gave Azu her instructions and got my own hands moving.

Last time, the nagging thought that it might all be in vain had made the work grueling.

But this time was different. I could throw real energy into it.

Between Azu's diligence and Finn's deft hands, they tore through the processing in no time.

A thousand servings, enough to reach every person in Luido.

With reserves, we'd need another two or three hundred on top of that.

And we'd be giving them away for free.

For a merchant, it was unthinkable. But I was doing it anyway. Because this was something Yohane, the person, refused to compromise on.

Even if the cost would make my head throb later.

Alexia and Elza rejoined us, and we all worked in silence in the cramped space.

For meals, we gnawed on hardtack rations between shifts.

Flavorless, but nutritionally adequate.

The workload was massive, but sheer numbers made all the difference.

Progress was swift.

"Alright, time to compound～!"

The prep work was mostly done.

An enormous mortar was set on the table with a thud.

Into it went the crushed and ground materials.

Ramiza-san looked like she was measuring by eye alone, but apparently alchemists could gauge quantities more precisely than any instrument. She blended everything with practiced speed.

"Open the windows for ventilation～ It's harmless once the compound's done, but until then, some of it's dangerous."

I opened a window as instructed. The cold air hit my flushed, exhausted face and felt wonderful.

Once all the materials were in, the mixing began in earnest.

The powder inside turned red at first, then gradually shifted to white.

As the mixing continued, it transformed, strangely enough, into blue.

A chemical reaction, apparently. I hadn't the faintest idea how it worked.

Anyone who tried to replicate this carelessly would only end up making poison.

The instant the mixture turned blue, Ramiza-san stopped mixing.

"Done. Let's call it… Sky Blue, maybe. Honestly, it'd be easiest if we could just have people take the powder directly."

"True, but that's not going to happen."

Nobody would swallow a mysterious blue powder just because someone told them to.

Even calling it medicine, people would refuse.

Getting it into them required some creativity.

My first thought had been baked goods, but a problem arose.

"We don't have nearly enough butter… And the flour supply isn't great either."

Producing over a thousand pieces meant the ingredients had to be proportional.

Unlike medicine, which only required a small dose per serving.

And even the medicine itself demanded this much volume.

Butter was nearly impossible to source in bulk with deep winter approaching.

Flour couldn't be arranged quickly either.

"I brought all the sugar you asked for."

Alexia and Elza pointed at the floor.

Three sacks of brown sugar. Selling those would net at least ten gold coins.

No, that wasn't what I should be thinking about right now.

"Something most people would eat without hesitation… something where blue wouldn't be a problem…"

I thought.

This was product development, plain and simple.

In that case, it was no different from what I'd done dozens of times before.

I was pretty sure I had a piece of candy in my pocket.

Using your brain really does make you crave sugar.

There it was.

A simple confection made by boiling sugar down and letting it harden.

Cheap, and something anyone from children to adults would pop into their mouth without a second thought.

"We make candy. That could work, couldn't it?"

"Candy, huh. That's an option. I sell it in the shop too, so I know the recipe."

"Then let's do it."

And so the midwinter candy-making operation, with the fate of an entire city hanging in the balance, began.