Blue Advisory! (2)

New wine must be put into new wineskins, or so the saying went.

Sure enough, early the next morning when I opened the wine cellar, the faint aroma of well-matured medicinal herbs spread gently. Nothing seemed spoiled, and since the fermenting noise inside the cask had ceased, I figured it had turned out well. I scraped off the dried residue and opened the cask lid.

“Krhh… the fragrance is killer…”

I could tell it had fermented well, but also knew it wasn’t yet ready to drink straight. So I immediately began scooping the liquid into the large sieve I had prepared, using buckets I had brought from the kitchen to filter it.

Watching from the side, Hare and Beni began helping me. The cask wasn’t very large—it was just a test batch—but the aroma was so good it felt almost a shame.

As the two women swallowed dryly, staring at the filtered liquor, I grinned and asked:

“Want to try it?”

“…I’ve never smelled liquor like this before…”

“Me neither. I didn’t expect it to turn out this well. I guess I owe Hare some credit.”

“Lord… I really want to try just one cup…”

Even Beni looked at me with pleading eyes.

So I closed the cask lid.

“Ah…”

The two women looked at me sadly, but this wasn’t the liquor we would drink. Honestly, though it was filtered, I hadn’t squeezed it hard.

I was concerned that bad substances might have mixed in and clouded it, so I showed them the sieve I had set over another container.

“Ta-da! This is what we’ll drink!”

“Is… that drinkable too?”

“I’ve never heard of liquor with solid bits in it.”

“…No, no, I mean the liquor dripping down here. That’s what we’ll drink.”

I pointed to the good amount of liquor collecting under the sieve, and at last the two nodded.

Anyway, I pushed the finished cask into the corner and, with Hare’s help, carried the dripping cask outside the cellar. But the moment it emerged, the slaves, knights, and some beastkin who had been working since dawn reacted.

“Mmm… what is this wonderful fragrance?”

Aenia approached first to ask. Remembering the last time, her overlap with that image gave me a strange feeling. I answered the Aenia focused on the liquor:

“I brewed it with medicinal herbs, and it turned out well. The main batch is undergoing secondary aging inside, and this is just what we filtered out to taste.”

“The medicine is impressive, but this liquor… how much greater will it be? I’m very curious, Lord.”

Aenia enunciated “Lord” with a clipped tone—an earnest expression of desire. Though there was a fair amount, with the crowd gathering, there wouldn’t be enough for more than a sip each.

“Let’s limit it to ten tasters.”

A disappointed murmur spread. So, besides Aenia, Beni, and Hare, I called out loudly:

“First come, first served, seven spots!”

At once, beastkin who had experienced it before reacted fastest. In the end, five beastkin and two slaves were chosen, earning envious stares. But frankly, I too was eager to taste it.

“I bet it’ll be sweet…”

Since it was made only with herbs, I couldn’t quite imagine, but as they say, well begun is half done. I had already written down the recipe, so reproducing it later wouldn’t be a problem.

If the taste was guaranteed, I planned to mass-produce with the same recipe. First, I asked Beni to fetch more cups. Amusingly, even the maids and Vincent showed interest in “tasting” and came outside.

Seeing the growing crowd, half worried and half excited, I drew the first cup and checked the color.

Since it was in a wineglass, the color was easy to observe—but it was a deep green, which made me uneasy.

Pharmacy indicated the liquor was safe, but I still hesitated, prompting complaints from all around.

They urged me to drink, so I reluctantly sipped.

In that moment—

“Ah… the herbal aroma, the sweet yet astringent taste… krh, this is incredible.”

Though oddly strong in alcohol, it wasn’t sour or bitter, the finish was clean, and the lingering herbal fragrance was delightful. It was nothing short of amazing.

I ended up tossing back the rest in one gulp.

Then, in a regretful voice, I told everyone:

“This tastes terrible. I’ll just drink it all myself, so disperse.”

But no one listened.

In the end, even the main cask from the cellar was dragged out, and everyone in the courtyard got a cup until it ran dry. But the reaction was fervent.

“This will definitely sell.”

“It’ll be huge! There are so many drinkers across the continent. This liquor could start a revolution!”

“Ahh… so this is the liquor the Divine Messenger drinks…”

That last was Wijel, who had appeared out of nowhere for a cup, but I ignored him.

Praise continued, and I had to stop Wijel and Debik from ordering more herbs gathered.

It was certain now that liquor brewing would become a major industry in our domain.

“With liquor this good, it might even outshine medicine. But… isn’t the alcohol stronger than expected?”

That was the strange part. I had learned that yeast could only ferment alcohol up to 19%, since beyond that yeast itself died.

But this was clearly stronger than 19%.

Moreover, this liquor was medicinal.

Its main effect was “fatigue recovery.” And after a cup, everyone looked lively, working with renewed vigor.

I wondered if it might even surpass ordinary tonics in effect. So, to secure manpower for brewing, I called on the beastkin women.

Since the oak casks were too large for humans to handle, I turned to beastkin. I summoned Hirna, who had been pressing herbs, along with Reuma, and told them I wanted to shift beastkin women’s work toward liquor production. They brightened and said:

“Could we perhaps substitute the herbs with ones good for… that?”

I instantly knew Hirna meant virility. Was that possible?

I was doubtful—virility herbs were very bitter.

“Not that some don’t enjoy bitter astringency…”

Wine came in many varieties, so there would likely be demand. If I could present not just “medicine” but also “liquor” that aided virility, it might help promote the liquor I’d just tasted. It was a crude thought, but I couldn’t help it.

After that, with the beastkin women, I began exploring “medicinal liquors.” About twenty varieties were made. The most anticipated was, of course, virility wine, but most feedback leaned toward making them sweeter, so more sugar-rich herbs were added to nearly every batch.

As a result, I had to ask the beastkin to gather large amounts of herbs high in sugar content, and the mountain of herbs kept piling higher every day.

“Khmm… why do herbs keep piling up like this?”

Hearing me, everyone looked awkwardly toward the warehouse, which had reached its 50th building—a milestone that left me speechless.

Meanwhile, the test batches—including virility wine—were so well-received by the townsfolk that everyone wanted them. Brewing was no longer “craft” but nearly “mass production,” and the stockpiles grew.

This kept Hare especially busy. I, meanwhile, turned my focus back to finishing the outer wall, ignoring the mountain of herbs.

Two weeks passed quickly, and at last, the long-awaited technical slaves were delivered in great numbers.

“It’s been a while, Lord of Ingrad.”

Once again, Janet had come, apparently using the Emmanuel Merchant Company. The number was small, befitting skilled slaves.

“Good to see you. But how many were supposed to come?”

“You asked for the widest variety of skilled slaves, so it took time to prepare everything. Here’s the list…”

I asked for a number, but Janet gave excuses. I glanced at the final tally in the documents and was left speechless.

“…Two thousand?”

“Yes, currently two hundred are here, and more staff from the company came to deliver tools rather than slaves… but…”

“No, no—why two thousand?”

“Most skilled slaves come with their families. Their families will be sent gradually as well. Also, there was a message from Princess Riana…”

“What was it?”

“That the herbs are already running short…”

I couldn’t understand how she could use up that much supply in less than a month.

But since Janet wasn’t directly responsible, I could only sigh.

I wanted to house the skilled slaves Princess Riana had sent, but since they came with families, and since using their skills required equipment and space, I realized the lord’s manor—which had never felt lacking—was starting to seem cramped.

“Expansion is necessary. I’ll need to go multi-site… but where’s best?”

Leaving them in the yard, I returned to the manor and studied the full map of Ingrad Domain. I measured the manor yard and walls.

“My own fief, and yet it’s enormous…”

What I had thought vast was shown as less than 1/100th of Ingrad. And compared to the Forest of the Demon Dragon, Ingrad was not even 1/10 its size. The scale of this continent was staggering.

Hearing that the Terakan Empire was the largest on the continent, I recalled how the Empress had called such a fief “small.” I could only wonder how truly vast the Empire was.

“A giant land of eighty-eight fiefs… I can only envy it.”

I thought briefly of Princess Riana’s whims, but that was as far as it went.