Golden Oil

"Now we're going to press the oil out of the crushed rapeseed. This is what the rapeseed looks like right now."

A small dish held a mound of powder.

"Go ahead and touch it."

"Ooh."

Princess Yupe pinched some between her fingers and rubbed them together.

"It's surprisingly smooth, isn't it? I expected it to be greasy since you're pressing oil out of it. And it's still a little warm. Here, give it a try."

"O-okay."

At her urging, Azu timidly pinched some of the powder as well.

"You're right, it's smooth and warm. Hard to believe oil is going to come out of this."

"Heh heh. Try smelling it and tasting a little."

"The smell is… definitely rapeseed oil. Obviously, I suppose."

Princess Yupe licked the powder off her fingers.

"Maybe a little sweet? The flavor isn't bad. Oh, there's a kind of oily aftertaste. That's interesting."

"It's a bit spice-like, too."

"It certainly doesn't taste good on its own, but we sometimes cook it into porridge. It's nutritious. Now then, shall we turn it into some delicious oil?"

The tank was packed tight with the powder, and a thick cloth was draped over the top.

Steam rose through the gaps in the cloth like wisps of white fog.

"Stand back a bit, just to be safe. Here we go."

On the signal, the weight dropped onto the tank.

A dull thud echoed through the room, and the cloth sank under the weight of the stone.

"Another one."

"Right."

They untied the rope holding the first weight and reattached it to a second one that had been set aside.

"Ah, so that's why the weights are flat."

"Exactly! They're designed to stack. The amount of weight needed changes with the climate and conditions, so this gives us more flexibility."

Two, three… with each additional weight, the cloth sank further.

By now it had compressed about an arm's length from where it started.

At the seam between the tank's base and its body, golden liquid began to seep out.

It dripped steadily into the outlet pipe.

One final stone was added for good measure, and the flow intensified.

"After this, we just watch until every last drop has been squeezed out."

"Wouldn't adding more stones speed it up?"

"That would introduce off-flavors. It's best to stop once the oil starts seeping out on its own."

"Huh. So rushing it doesn't help. I see."

The rapeseed oil traveled along a pipe and into a bottle.

Whenever a bottle was about to fill up, a stopper was inserted to halt the flow while a new bottle was swapped in.

"And that's the process for pressing rapeseed oil from canola. What did you think?"

"It was powerful and fascinating."

"We never get to see anything like this, so it was very interesting. But isn't doing everything by hand incredibly taxing? What about using windmills or waterwheels, like for milling flour?"

"We've considered it, of course… but there's only one river strong enough to power a waterwheel, and that's already being used for wheat. Windmills aren't reliable enough either, so manual labor ends up being the fastest. We don't have any mages in our city, and buying wind magic stones is expensive."

Human labor was surprisingly cheap.

He'd heard that factories equipped with magic stones had break-even points so high that they only made sense for products that sold at a premium.

Relying solely on purchased magic stones was like pouring money down a drain.

Only a spendthrift noble would bother.

Their group had Alexia, an excellent mage, so it was practically free.

And if they ever needed magic stones, they could just go collect them from a labyrinth.

But the people of Luido weren't adventurers or mages.

If they wanted magic stones, money was the only option, and maintaining them cost money too.

So it made more sense to train people and rely on muscle power. Fair enough.

"This is freshly pressed rapeseed oil. It's still young and needs to rest a bit to settle, but it's perfectly usable for cooking as is."

"My, it's beautifully clear."

The rapeseed oil in the small bottle was far smoother and more transparent than the commercial stuff.

Holding it up to the light made the difference obvious.

"Actually, this is good for your skin, too. My wife says applying just a little to the skin keeps it in good condition."

"Really? Maybe I should try it."

Princess Yupe poured a tiny amount into her palm, worked it between both hands, then gently applied it to her exposed skin.

It glistened slightly.

"I can't really tell with all this sweat, can I?"

"Give it a day. You'll see results. You'll be even more beautiful."

"Any more beautiful and I won't be able to step outside. What a problem that would be."

He didn't miss Azu and Elza sneaking some oil onto their own skin.

High-quality oil was also an excellent ingredient for soap.

He believed the soap they sold to the duchess in the Empire was well-regarded not just for its fragrance but because they'd been particular about the oil, too.

So it was no surprise that this rapeseed oil would be good for the skin.

"Hey, rub this on the spots I haven't covered later. I'll strip down so you can get everywhere."

"Absolutely not! I'll do it for you!"

"Oh my, I was going to give him a little treat. Well, I'll leave it to you, then."

"You walked right into that. She probably said it knowing you'd be the one to volunteer."

"Ugh. But if I hadn't said anything, Yupe-sama would have made Master do it. Being naked is out of the question."

True enough.

Part of him felt a little regretful… but going that far would likely earn them the wrath of Queen Tianis and the others.

They'd been entrusted with her in good faith.

After watching the oil pressing, the next stop was a tour of the canola fields.

The endless yellow of the rapeseed blossoms was a sight that never got old.

"We'll start harvesting this area tomorrow. The seeds go to oil, as you saw. The leftover meal gets mixed into livestock feed or used as field fertilizer. The rest of the plant goes to fertilizer or food. If you pickle it in vinegar, it keeps for a long time."

"I see. So when they say nothing goes to waste, that's what they mean."

"Exactly. The buds are the tastiest part. Normally the stems and leaves get tilled back into the field as fertilizer, but they're delicious when stir-fried in oil, too."