A One-Night Candy Factory

There are all kinds of candy when you get down to it.

This time, even with the extra hands, both materials and time were limited.

So I went with the simplest kind: just sugar and water.

The fewer additives, the less we'd have to worry about how they'd interact with the medicine.

We dumped every last bit of sugar into a large pot, and I had Azu call forth the Water Elemental to fill it. The finest water in the world.

With this recipe, the ingredients determined the flavor. If it tasted bad, no one would eat it.

The sugar I'd stocked was high quality, so that wouldn't be an issue.

We set the pot over the fire and slowly began dissolving the sugar.

Simple in theory, but constantly stirring to prevent scorching was exhausting and hot.

Everyone took turns at the pot.

Given the sheer volume, it wouldn't dissolve easily.

And the hearth's fire simply wasn't producing enough heat.

"My time to shine."

Alexia held up her brooch and summoned the Fire Elemental.

Just that raised the room's temperature noticeably.

The Fire Elemental, perhaps feeling cold, darted straight for the hearth's flames, opened its mouth wide, and breathed fire.

The heat surged.

The pot's contents bubbled furiously, and the sugar melted all at once.

I rushed to stir, but Ramiza-san stopped me.

"Once the sugar's dissolved, you have to stir slowly. Otherwise only the water evaporates. Lower the heat to a simmer too."

"Got it."

Following her instructions, I stirred gently with a wooden spatula.

Alexia recalled the Fire Elemental to her brooch and adjusted the flame.

"As long as there's still water in there, it won't scorch, so don't worry. I was worried about having enough heat to fully dissolve it, but… a spirit wielder? Color me surprised."

Come to think of it, I'd never mentioned the spirits to Ramiza-san.

She was someone I trusted. She could keep a secret, so it should be fine.

"Show me later, okay? I'd love to study it, but I'd rather not anger it, so I'll just observe."

"That depends on the spirit. I'll ask, at least."

As things stood, the fire and Water Elementals had attached themselves to our group of their own accord.

They lent us their power out of goodwill.

If we pushed them into anything unreasonable, they might well leave.

Ramiza-san didn't press the matter further.

After the sugar fully dissolved, the water evaporated rapidly and the syrup thickened.

The color deepened to a rich brown.

"Alright, time to mix in the medicine. I've confirmed that heat doesn't alter its effects. Sugar's fine to mix with. Just be careful it doesn't burn. I don't know what would happen if it did."

Elza lifted the jar and slowly poured the powdered medicine into the pot. The syrup's viscosity climbed sharply after absorbing the medicine, making it difficult for me to stir.

I swapped out with Azu and left it to her.

"That's it. Add it little by little while stirring."

"It's like making stew～"

"Blue stew isn't something I'd want to eat."

Just as Ramiza-san said, the brown syrup had turned completely blue, the same color as the medicine.

What surprised me was how clear the blue was. I'd expected it to turn murky.

"It's getting really heavy!"

As the water continued to boil off, Azu nearly screamed.

If even Azu's strength wasn't enough to stir it, the mixture must have thickened considerably.

"Yeah. That's stiff enough to work with. Take it off the heat."

"Okay. Heave-ho!"

I moved in to support Azu.

The pot was scalding hot, so we wrapped towels around our hands several times over.

We set it down on the cleared table.

Inside sat a thick, viscous blue liquid.

The volume had shrunk considerably from its original state, but if we adjusted the candy's size, we'd have enough to meet our numbers.

"So, how do we shape these?"

"Beats me."

Alexia's question was entirely valid.

I knew candy was made by boiling down sugar, but I had no idea how to form it into neat shapes.

"Right, once it cools it'll harden, so speed is everything from here. First, pour the kneaded candy into this mold."

She handed us a long, narrow mold.

Finn and I used wooden spatulas to pour the candy in.

The heat radiating from the candy made the sweat relentless.

By this point, everyone had stripped down to their thinnest layers, fabric clinging to skin.

I never imagined candy-making would be this grueling.

From now on, I'd savor every piece.

"Once they're in the molds, stack them here."

A large cutting board had been set out.

Following instructions, I placed the filled molds down.

Ramiza-san flipped each mold upside down and knocked the contents onto the board.

Still soft, but recognizable bars of candy emerged.

Each one was a little longer than an outstretched arm span.

I took the emptied mold and hurried to fill the next batch.

"Now, you, cut these into pieces. Given the numbers, about this long each."

"Understood. Leave it to me."

Elza took the knife and began slicing the candy bars.

Former priestess or not, Elza was skilled with a blade. She cut them to the specified length with brisk efficiency.

The pieces came out slightly rectangular.

With their clear blue color, even these looked good enough to sell.

"Now, mage, I need you to spin this bowl on its side. Can you do that?"

"Spin this sideways? Easy."

Alexia took a large bowl and set it rotating horizontally.

Wind magic, perhaps.

Ramiza-san gently dropped Elza's freshly cut candy pieces into the spinning bowl.

The soft candy tumbled inside, and gradually, their shapes rounded out.

"So that's how you round them."

"There are other ways, but with a mage on hand, this is the fastest."

"That's amazing. They're getting rounder before our eyes."

"Sure are."

When Alexia and Elza leaned over the bowl for a closer look, their sweat-damp clothes clinging the way they were, the view was… a bit much.

Candy pieces kept going in, and before long they'd transformed into round drops.

As the bowl's contents grew heavier, Alexia's face began to tighten.

"If they're round, take them out already! It's getting heavy and hard to spin!"

"Just hold on."

I understood her frustration.

The heavier it got, the faster her mana drained.

"Scoop from the bottom and you'll be fine."

"From the bottom. Right."

Using a large spoon, I scooped out finished drops.

Azu brought over round plates, and I carefully loaded the candy in, making sure not to crack any.

Everyone worked in concert: molding the bars, cutting them down, rounding them off.

Just this once, this place was a candy factory.

By the time we'd processed everything, the lot of us were dead on our feet.

The physical labor had been even worse than last time, and the exhaustion showed.

But our spirits were soaring.

Azu picked up a single candy drop and held it up against the brightening sky.

The blue candy was translucent, light passing clean through it. It had the beauty of blown glass.

"We did it."

"Yeah. Now the question is how to get people to eat them… But for now, let's rest."