Chapter 462: The Spirit in the Flask
“Ugh… I tried to ignore so many things,” Haulon said, hanging his head.
“I thought you were just being diligent in your research,” Retze replied, his tone a bit mad.
“The research on dragons, the effects of dragon blood, that’s still within reach! The potions and special effects derived from it can be replicated through study! It’s difficult, but if we can get our hands on a dragon, it’s all within the scope of what Note mentioned!” Haulon slammed both hands on the table, rising slightly from his seat.
“It’s impressive that you can even say a dragon is within reach,” Retze muttered, looking elsewhere.
So, does that mean I might have a chance to see Haulon’s full magic power?
“Isn’t it just a coincidence that one of those black ‘fragments’ of a dragon turned into a spirit? I mean, just manipulating those ‘fragments’ that are floating around is already…” He leaned forward, resting his hands on the table, still in a half-crouch.
“Just squeeze it tight and press it together, right?” After sucking it out, if you pack it tightly in one spot, it’ll naturally stick together and become one.
“I can’t understand something so abstract just because you explained it with onomatopoeia! —Not that I’d grasp it if you laid it out in a logical sequence either. And there’s definitely not enough magic power!” After raising his face in protest, Haulon continued, sitting down with a tired expression.
“Extracting it from a dragon might be manageable. If we apply the formation for Spirit Dropping at the Temple. But just gathering it isn’t the problem; compressing it is impossible. Even if the ‘fragments’ accumulate, they might scatter as if repelled when they touch each other,” Haulon said, despite claiming it was out of reach, he was deep in thought.
“Once, there was a man who claimed he created spirits by gathering ‘fragments’ in a glass flask, but that was dubious at best,” Haulon sighed, resting his chin on his hand.
“Are you talking about the things in the flask or the fairies in the glass?” Retze asked Haulon.
Things in the flask or fairies in glass? I’ve heard of the dwarfs in a flask before. That’s about the homunculus in alchemy, right?
“At first, they bring good tidings, but gradually they start to foretell calamities. They’re like a mist in human form. They could be failed spirits, something entirely different, or just fairies trapped inside—there was no conclusion,” Haulon’s voice had returned to a calmer tone, perhaps a bit more settled.
To calm Haulon down, I should get him to explain something. Got it, got it.
“Is it possible to trap a spirit in a glass bottle?” I asked. I had also shoved the spirit of the butler into a jar coated in glass—my pickling jar. Thanks to that, it rarely showed itself anymore.
I quietly placed a Linzer torte next to Haulon’s coffee cup. The dough was packed with ground nuts and spiced with cinnamon and other spices. I used two types of jam—red currant and raspberry—each simmered down to a sweet and tangy richness.
“Sure, but the flask has a narrow opening, right? There’s a chance that an amorphous spirit could get in, but the person who saw it denied that. They claimed a doll larger than the flask’s opening was sitting at the round bottom. When they tapped the flask, that doll was visible to everyone, and they said they could hear its voice. The person insisted they created it! But since neither they nor anyone else could replicate it, it’s likely they accidentally trapped a spirit that was already there,” Haulon explained, picking up a fork and breaking into the dense Linzer torte.
I confirmed that and placed some in front of Retze as well. The Linzer torte tends to get moist all the way through if left for a while, so it’s best eaten fresh or slightly reheated.
Since it’s made with nuts, I wanted the outside to be a bit crispy and fragrant. Reheating it is also a bit fun. I rarely do it because of [Storage], though.
“Anyway, while it’s not impossible to gather them, they won’t stick together. In nature, they can merge into one or scatter when touched, but I’ve never heard of a successful attempt by human hands. Oh, this is delicious!”
“It goes well with coffee,” Retze chimed in after Haulon.
“I really like it,” I said, taking a bite.
Ash prefers fluffy sponge and whipped cream, even if it’s sweet and tangy. I like strawberry shortcake, but I prefer tarts or denser desserts. I like things that can be a meal even more.
“Is there some weird effect attached to this?”
I froze!
“Well, I mean, I put it in [Storage] before our conversation just now…” I said, my gaze darting around.