“Oh? As it turns out, that thing which caused my injuries looked the same,” Ashes, reading the letter by looking over Tilly’s shoulder, remarked. “Since we are allies now, you can ask him to send a large batch of weapons to Sleeping Island with your next letter, and tell him that we need them to guard against the Church. If he doesn’t want to… Humph, this ally might not be as reliable as you thought.”
“Being allies doesn’t mean that you won’t guard against each other at all,” Tilly said laughingly, “This weapon is clearly the foundation he used to build his home, so how could it be so quickly handed over to others? This kind of test would only destroy the trust we worked so hard to build — I also excluded Molly and Wind Reader from the list I gave him about our witches. And this winter, we will go and visit Border Town anyway. At that time, we will be able to speak from face-to-face, don’t you think that that would be a better time for it?”
“Well,” Ashes spread her arms out and said, “You have the final say in this.”
Tilly showed her a smile and then continued to read the letter.
When the line of sight turned to the last paragraph of the letter, she couldn’t help but feel shocked once more.
Roland unexpectedly invented an undergarment which was used to wrap up the woman’s chest, he even went so far as to present it to every grown-up woman in the Witch Alliance. This is simply too absurd! It is known to send personal clothes as a present, but only between lovers, how could he — hold on! Tilly suddenly remembered a story which had spread throughout King’s City. Apparently, there was a time when Roland had presented some young noble ladies with skin-tight corsets; but among them there were some who had immediately thrown it back into his face, which later turned into a joke among the nobles for some time after.
This indeed sounds like something he could do!
Tilly suddenly felt tangled up; on one hand, this brought him more in line with the image she had in her memory; on the other hand, she now felt that it might not be so good to go and meet him.
In the end, should, or should I not go to meet him in Border Town this Winter? The 5th Princess thought to herself in distress.
Chapter 287 Preparations for the soap factory
Western Territory, Border Town.
The amount of washing stones purchased from Silver City filled four ships, and had taken several days to unload.
Now that there were enough raw materials, the soap mass production plan was officially placed on the agenda.
The necessary buildings, like the factory and warehouse, had already been set up long ago — the soap factory was located beside the industrial park, next to steam engine factory No. 2, built in exactly the same style as the former. Since the roof, supporting beams, and planks for the walls were all made out of wood, and it had the same measurements as before, the task of wood cutting and transportation was placed in the hands of the witches, and the whole construction period ended up being very short.
Manufacturing soap needed a series of chemical reaction, washing stones, which was a natural soda, could be used for this. The other raw materials required were also very common, in addition to soda ash, he also needed an enormous amount of milk of lime and fat. After soaking the milk of lime, or to be more precise, the lime inside the water, it would settle down at the bottom of the cloudy water inside the receptacle. By mixing it with sodium carbonate, it will react and produce caustic soda, and by adding fat in turn, it will react to produce high-level fatty acid and glycerol. While the former product was the soap, the latter was a critical raw material for explosives.
Prior to manufacturing perfumed soap, Roland had already tested this entire chemical reaction process in the castle backyard. The basic theory was the same, but if he wanted to expand from the small amount of trial production to start mass production, he still needed to develop a consistent industrial production process and norms. But what was even more important to him were the professional chemists needed to guide the manufacturing process.
This was the reason, he had called the chief alchemist into his office.
“Your Highness, you previously asked me to develop a sulfuric acid mass-production system, I believe that I finally found a feasible plan.” Kyle Sichi immediately shouted after he had opened the door. “However, it will demand we use a large amount of lead. We will also need a blacksmith who can to make a vessel from the lead. I heard that some of your witches could accurately cut metal, one of them made those lumps of steel which make those rumbling and banging noises; is it possible that I…”
“Of course, just give me a report with the shape and size of the vessel you require, and I will instruct the Witch Alliance to make it.” Roland impatiently waves with his hand, indicating that he should take a seat, “The reason I called you over today, wasn’t to question you about the acid production system. Instead, I want to discuss another task with you.”
“Your Highness, these days I’m really busy, I don’t have the time to do any other work,” Kyle said, shaking his head repeatedly, “The acid mass-production system is a tough challenge. I have to finish at all costs.” He paused and then added, “and it is a daunting challenge. My disciples are also out of the question; all of them are aiding me in preparing this task, none of them can leave.”
“Rest assured, you won’t have to lose any time about it,” Roland said comfortably, he took a mouthful of tea before he continued, “It isn’t necessary that you transfer any of your beloved disciples to take over, simply sending over a few apprentices should be good enough.”
“What will be their task?”
“To make soap. More precisely, to make a cheap version of the perfumed soap which you can buy at the convention market. Which with the exception of its scent, provides the same function as the perfumed soap and can be used for bathing, washing clothes, as well as cleaning tableware.”
“Are you speaking about the saponification[11] reaction mentioned in ‘Elementary Chemistry’?” Kyle asked while stroking his beard, “The one that uses the reaction of caustic soda and fat to produce alcohol and salt?”
I have to say, hearing standard chemistry terms come out of the mouth of an alchemist is a very strange feeling, especially since I am the one to come up with them, Roland thought while forcing himself to restrain his smile. Instead, he spoke with a deathly earnest expression, “That’s right, the saponification reaction, as has been written down within the ancient book. It was because of this foundation that I was able to produce perfumed soap.”
“In that case, what do you need me to do? If it is not very important, I suggest we shift the production to a later date. After all, even if your subjects are unable to take a shower for several days it won’t cause any problems, it should be good enough if they just soak their clothes, meal plates, and other such things directly in the river.”
“It’s crucial,” the Prince said slowly, stressing each word. “To say it more clearly, making soap is unimportant. However, it is the byproduct of the production process that I desperately need right now.”
“Do you mean the… alcohol?” Kyle couldn’t believe what he had heard.
“That’s right, exactly the alcohol, you may also call it glycerol.” Roland stated, “It is a very valuable raw material, whose importance is not inferior to the two acids.”
“Okay,” Kyle shrugged and said, “However, as I already have stated it, I don’t have the time to do it myself.”