#573 The Road to Green

Thanks to Sensei, we now have soda water and are one step closer to making otherworldly cream soda!

Chill the soda water, add a big dollop of sugar, and squeeze a lemon.

Stir it, and you've got a clear, carbonated cider.

“Mm! What is this? It’s so good!”

Platy’s eyes lit up like stars as she tried the drink.

Since she’s forbidden from drinking alcohol and caffeine while pregnant, I thought I’d give her a taste of soda.

“The way it foams and fizzles reminds me of beer! I kind of want to drink some now!” 

Maybe I shouldn’t have let her try soda.

Let's just say that the soda water->cider process was a success, thanks to Platy's positive feedback.

I’m getting closer to my goal of cream soda, but I still have a long way to go.

Our clear soda water has not yet acquired what is essential for a cream soda.

Ice cream?

No, we already have that. It’s in the freezer. All I have to do is put it on top of melon soda.

“Isn’t this complete in itself? It’s sweet, cold, and fizzy; what more can you ask for? I bet all the kids would love this!”

I'm glad Platy gave me the stamp of approval, but I myself am not yet satisfied.

I still can't put the ice cream as it is now.

When it comes to cream soda, the base should be melon soda!

The same carbonated beverage but with a green melon soda that sparkles like an emerald.

The contrast between the green color of the melon, the prince of the fruit world, and the pure white vanilla ice cream makes cream soda unique! 

“I have to turn this soda water green, no matter what it takes.”

“Green? Why?”

I don’t have an answer to that genuine question... 

However, it’s expected that there will be many difficulties in producing that green color in this world.

I wonder if such a vivid green color can be produced naturally.

I bet you get that by using Green 0X type of synthetic coloring.

They say food is like life, you need your fair share of sadness and pain; vitamins and poison to overcome the obstacles.* But first, the question is whether it’s possible to produce such vivid coloring materials in this world.

I have to start with the question of what is possible and what’s not.

I can't handle complex mathematical formulas or chemical reactions, so I tried figuring out if there was a way I could manipulate natural colors...

But it was hopeless.

Since it's called melon soda, we could try coloring it using real melon.

Thankfully, our farm also grows melons.

But I don't think natural melons can produce such a vivid green color.

And with how the melons look, I’m not sure if they’re green or cream.

Besides, the insides of (Yubari) melons are close to orange. 

As I thought, relying on natural colors is a bad idea.

Even though I know that it's only a matter of appearance, I can't get rid of the bright green color of melon soda because I believe that appearance is the most important thing.

How do I get that color...?

Will magic solve the problem again?

But that’d mean I’ll be at Sensei’s mercy for every little thing.

Is there any other way?

There must be a solution unique to this world or a feature unique to fantasy worlds...

That way, I can reproduce an otherworldly melon soda.

* * *

After trial and error...

“I did it! Otherworldly melon soda!”

What I have is a bright green color...in liquid form!

It contains a foamy air bubble inside and condenses on the glass.

“Ohhhhhhhhhh! What’s this?” excitedly asks Platy, who’s with me at the prototype melon soda’s debut. “Look at this color! It’s glowing! It’s a glowing green color!!! Green!!!”

Platy said green with so much force that the word itself seemed to be on the verge of a gestalt collapse.

“How did you create such a green color, Dear? No matter what medicinal herbs I grind up and mix, they will never turn this bright green!”

“It's called a change of mindset.”

I don’t always rely on the Hand of Supremacy, you know. 

I've made it this far in my farm life with wisdom, hard work, and ideas.

My track record has been a testament to that!

So, what exactly did I do?

"My Lord.”

Oh.

Orkubo, Gobukichi, and the rest of the monster army are back from the dungeon.

“We’ve caught the monsters you requested!”

The monsters living in the nearby dungeons are hunted for their meat, skins, bones, and tusks to make a variety of daily necessities.

This is also the wisdom of fantasy life.

Orkubo and Gobukichi regularly enter these dungeons to hunt for useful monsters.

This time, however, they brought us a special monster that had not received much attention until now.

“It’s slime.”

“H-Huh?”

Platy raises a confused voice as she watches from the side.

Slime is, in a sense, the most famous monster of all. Everyone recognizes its squishy and translucent appearance. I find it hard to tell if these fluid creatures are “creatures” at all.

We have often seen these monsters loitering in the cave dungeon, but we’ve never really batted an eyelash at them.

“They’re monsters that are of no use to people. I, as a witch, know better than anyone that their squishy bodies can’t be used as food and have no medicinal value!”

As expected of Platy, she knows a lot about monsters.

I thought so too.

Slime and its soft body could never be processed into weapons or armor. 

But I was wrong.

After several years of living on the farm, I finally figured out how to use them well!

Orkubo and the rest of the army brought back several kinds of slimes today.

Sky Blue Slime: Infinity Beyond the Skies.

Cardinal Red Slime: Incandescent Fangs.

Lightning Yellow Slime: Darkness-Piercing Flash.

Evergreen Slime: Vigor of Life Everlasting.

Virgin White Slime: Reproduction Prohibited.

Mother Black Slime: The Root of All.

I have long noticed that there are different types of slime; the biggest difference between them is their color; red, blue, yellow, and many others.

“I decided on the slime according to my mood!” I say as I grab the emerald slime.

“Don’t tell me...”

It seems Platy got what I’m trying to do.

First, I shake the green slime that suits my needs and shake out the impurities from its body.

Then, after it becomes pure green, I inject the syringe that I had the elf glasswork team make and extract the contents.

The contents are then heated and concentrated to form a thick green liquid.

A drop of it is added to soda water, and we get...

“Ahh! It's that pretty green color!”

Yes, this green color was extracted from the slime!

Slime, thought to be of no use at all, plays a surprising role as a food coloring agent.

We had already found out that the ingredients inside the slime are neither poisonous nor medicinal, and since they do not affect the taste, so they’re perfect if you just want to dye something!

Using a monster to solve a problem is what fantasy world wisdom is all about!

“Still, Dear... Slime for food? I know it's harmless, but I can’t help feeling iffy about that fact...!”

Don't worry! Repeated research shows that no part of its composition is harmful to health!

The green slime of this world is not poisonous!

“Thank you for your help. Back to your home you go.”

The green slime that had done its job was released and sent back to the dungeon.

I sensed the rest of the slimes were confused, wondering why they were even brought here in the first place. Still, all of them returned to the dungeon. 

Despite all the twists and turns...

Now that I have all the necessary ingredients—soda, the color green, and ice cream...

The otherworldly cream soda is ready to be made!

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*this line was directly taken from the manga hanma baki (vol 30, ch246). 

i have one more exam tomorrow, will start catching up on backlog chaps once it's done!