Someday Will I Be The Greatest Alchemist?

ed one cask.

「…………mm, it’s better than I expected.」
「Oh my, isn’t it quite delicious?」
「As expected of the Sanctuary grapes.」
「It’s good, but it’s lacking in alcohol content for me.」
「It’s tasty, isn’t it?」
「Indeed.」
「Fumu, ………… Takumi, make additional wine quickly.」

It seems it’s popular with Undine and the Great Spirits.
But a request to make more wine came in from Gnome at the satisfactory impressions.

「………… I haven’t even tasted it.」

No one was listening to me anymore.
Tch, the habit of the spirits.
Aren’t they just drunkards?
Haa, let’s go make casks.

I gave up.
Leaving the Great Spirits who’ve begun merrymaking in that spot, I returning to my house to make casks.

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I need to return to Volton temporarily to stock up on the wood that I’d use for casks.
If I recall correctly, wine casks use oak wood.

I used the established transfer gate, teleporting to the basement of my house in Volton.
I then climbed the stairs to the first floor and entered that room.
My companion as usual is Sophia.
Even though Sophia had been released from slavery, she is obstinate about continuing to be my escort.
Though one of the reasons is that she’s bad at cooking and sewing, it seems she doesn’t want to give up the duty of being my guard to other people.

「If it isn’t Takumi-sama.
It has been a while.」

When Sophia and I were walking around in town, I was greeted by a person I know well.

「Ah, Papeck-san, it’s nice to see you again.
Thomas-san, you look well too.」
「Takumi-sama, you seem quite active a well.」

The ones who greeted me were the president and head clerk of one of the companies in Volton, Papeck-san and Thomas-san, who were curiously in a walk.
I met them when I came to Volton and had been in their care, but lately I’ve been so busy that we’ve had few chances to meet.

「So, the two of you went out today?」
「Yes, I just wanted a little bit of wood.」
「Oh my, if Takumi-sama wants some wood then wouldn’t it be Treant Wood? If my memory serves me right, did you not hunt for a large amount of Treant Wood yourself?」

It seems Papeck-san remembers the time we went hunting for Treants in the outer edges of the Forest of Death, but I’ve used all of it on making furniture and buildings in the Sanctuary.

「No, I want oak wood today.」
「Oh, oak wood, is it…………? Though impolite of me, may I ask you to tell me what it would be used for?」

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「Yes, I’m not making anything particularly different.
I just want to make casks, after all.」

Hearing my answer, it felt like Papeck-san’s eyes shined.

「Takumi-sama, are you aware that even though it is called oak wood, there are types?」
「Eh! There isn’t just one type of oak wood?」

Who would have thought that there were various types of the same tree, I never would have guessed.

「Yes, the place they are taken from are different.
The oak woods obtainable in Volton are three types; White Oak, Cecil Oak, and Common Oak.」

Afterwards, Papeck-san walked together with us to a lumber dealer while explaining the different types of oak wood.

・White Oak
Having few leaks, it is the most stable cask material among the three types.
It has little tannin, and is well known for having plenty of vanillin and oak lactone (sweet).

・Cecil Oak
It has relatively few tannin, and comparatively more oak lactone (component for the aroma of whiskey and the like).
Rich in aromatic components such as polyphenol, it is well balanced.

・Common Oak
It is rich in tannin and polyphenol, and has especially small amounts of vanillin and oak lactone.

I question why Papeck-san came along with us, but his extensive knowledge had been a surprise as we walked, and we arrived at the largest lumber dealer in Volton town.
Papeck-san had definitely sniffed something out.