Mage? Magic Engineer!-Chapter 110 - 107: Interested in Sponsoring Extreme Sports?
While admiring the "Liquid Amethyst," Rorschach was suddenly struck by a very serious question. "Antoine, this stuff isn’t addictive, is it?"
Caught off guard by Rorschach’s serious expression, Antoine stammered, "N-No? The Mages in the Alchemy Department drink it all the time. When the supply was cut off during the move, they were fine. I’ve tried it myself... The taste is even stranger than regular herbs, and I have no desire to drink it again."
Rorschach breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Then let’s follow the previous steps and produce more of sample number four."
"What if... it is addictive?" Antoine couldn’t help but ask.
’If it were, it wouldn’t be this cheap... Of course, if it were addictive, it could never be allowed onto the market!’ That was Rorschach’s bottom line. "In that case," he said, "not a single drop of the sample can leave this laboratory. Now, let’s not dwell on it. We should also finalize the sublimation temperature for the mallow fruit extract..."
Rorschach tasted a final drop of the concentrated extract. An acerbic, slightly bitter flavor spread from the tip of his tongue, and then a jolt shot from his throat right to the crown of his head.
Unlike the functional drinks from his past life, where you had to wonder if they were truly effective or just a placebo, this "Energy Potion" had an immediate, tangible effect. Rorschach had been feeling tired after several hours of experiments, but a single drop of the concentrate instantly revitalized his Spirit.
"Take sample number four and go see your uncle."
Pierre Nixingen’s general manager’s office was very understated. The space inside was not large, and there were currently no furnishings that showed any personal flair. The only thing that would make someone look twice was the half-open wardrobe, filled with clothes in highly saturated shades of bright red, deep purple, lime green, and brilliant blue, along with the orange jacket Mr. Pierre was currently wearing.
"Rorschach Mage and his assistant! Welcome to my office." Pierre put down the business paper he was reading. There was no one else in the office, so he personally poured two cups of tea for his guests.
"Uncle Pierre, look at our results!"
"It is Rorschach Mage’s accomplishment," Pierre corrected, giving his nephew a look.
"Mr. Pierre, Antoine was a huge help. He has a real talent for alchemy."
A bottle of crystal-clear purple Potion was placed on the desk. Pierre picked it up and observed it closely. "Exquisite, gentlemen. I don’t see a single impurity, and its fluidity is excellent."
Antoine excitedly described their experimental process and summarized the entire production method. But the general manager seemed unimpressed and finally spoke to Rorschach with some deliberation. "Rorschach Mage. I admit you’ve achieved a remarkable result, but when it comes to yield..."
He raised the small vial. "I imagine it isn’t very high."
"The extraction rate of the active ingredient has increased! It’s increased drastically!" Antoine retorted, indignant at the skepticism.
"Alright, let’s assume we open a new production line for this new process. We’d have to buy or even custom-design new equipment. Even if we sold this high-end version for double the price, it would still be less profitable than simply expanding an existing production line." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
"Yes, at the very least, the open-top concentration cauldrons would have to be replaced, and we’d need to design new separation equipment to scale up from the lab to factory production," Rorschach didn’t deny it.
"So from an economic... forgive me, from the perspective of a profit-driven merchant like myself, this achievement can’t go beyond the laboratory. It’s truly remarkable, but it’s not a cost-effective business." Pierre shook his head. He was facing two young men, and he needed to be tactful and cautious when rejecting their work.
"Uncle, you..."
Rorschach stopped the hothead. "Mr. Pierre, please give me a sample of the original product."
Pierre immediately took a bottle from his drawer—he had used it himself before, which was what made him determined to invest heavily in this project.
Rorschach took the original product and poured some into his tea. He stirred it a bit and, as expected, was left with a turbid, nasty concoction. Oily droplets gathered on the surface, and a bit of flocculent sediment could be seen at the bottom of the cup.
Rorschach then added a few drops of sample number four to the tea that was meant for Antoine. No stirring was needed. The Potion dispersed naturally, resulting in a uniform, stable, and still transparently clear liquid, now tinged with a faint, smoky purple.
The self-proclaimed profit-driven general manager shot up from his chair. He took the two cups—one clear, one cloudy—and observed them carefully.
’Pierre, this nephew of yours might not have the best eye for business.’ Meanwhile, Antoine was still baffled, not understanding why simple dissolution would make his uncle so excited.
Like a heavenly messenger delivering a proclamation to the mortal Pierre, Rorschach announced, word by word, "The Potion we’ve created is miscible with water and alcohol in any proportion."
This was no exaggeration. This was the gospel Pierre had been waiting for ever since he built the factory. It meant... "Dilution!" Pierre shouted outright.
Previously, he had complained to the stationed representative about the single product line and how the high unit price made it hard to sell, hoping the message would be relayed to the Alchemy Department. He wanted the esteemed Mages to find a way to improve it and overcome the Potion’s immiscibility with water.
But that young man had just spent all his time fraternizing with the workers, even using Magic to help out. Pierre admitted that with the original representative pushing the foremen, work progress had indeed sped up, but the problem he cared about remained unsolved. Until the new representative, the great Rorschach Mage, appeared! And he had conquered this challenge in a single day!
’Sir, you’re too excited. Could you not be so blunt about it!’ Rorschach cleared his throat. "I would prefer to describe it more precisely: we can create tiered formula concentrations for different target customers based on various price points, adjusting the corresponding flavor and effects."
"Yes, yes, of course! Look at me, I’ve been a merchant for half my life and still can’t keep my composure..."
"The current retail price for the original product is four livres a bottle, which has a comparable effect to the concentrated extract I’m holding. This means we can create at least three product lines:
"A concentrated Potion at ten livres a bottle. We’ll dilute the current amount with just a little water. We need to make customers believe this is the most concentrated essence.
"Then, we dilute one bottle of extract with ten or even fifteen parts water, add a good amount of sugar, and sell it in restaurants for three livres—just a bit cheaper than the least expensive table wine. Soda water is popular right now, isn’t it? We can even make it fizzy. With its sweet and sour taste, the Valuvanan people will love it.
"Finally, I suggest we create a version mixed with spirits. We’ll continue to use mythology for branding and add some appropriate ’hints’ in the marketing. It should appear in the liquor cabinets of every luxurious mansion, so that every dignitary can pour himself a glass to ’warm up’ on nights when the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. For this product line, the more expensive, the better, of course."
’We could also sponsor some daredevil who’s willing to swim across the Istania Strait without a ship or Magic, and then publicize it heavily in the newspapers. The main pitch would be, "I put up the money, you put up your life." But that’s something to consider later. The priority now is to get the product off the ground.’
Pierre gripped Rorschach’s hand tightly, much more fervently than he had at the factory gate. "Rorschach Mage, you are not only a magical genius but a business genius as well! Having you in my office instead of as my competitor is my greatest fortune!"
In truth, the three product lines Rorschach described were what Pierre had planned from the beginning. Oh, except for the soda water idea—he hadn’t thought of that. Everything else was already part of the general manager’s plan. However, as a merchant, he firmly believed that flattery costs nothing and is the most cost-effective way to close a deal and build relationships.
...
「A few days later, at the next group meeting.」
Pascal and Paulina hadn’t arrived yet. Kano was reading a newspaper, and Rorschach was sketching. On the table between them sat a glass bottle, its pale purple liquid constantly bubbling as small pockets of air rose and burst.
Kano picked up the drink, poured a glass for himself, and then one for Rorschach. "This drink is surprisingly good. They say it’s a special supply, limited to a few people in the Alchemy Department for now. Snow gave me two bottles yesterday."
"Oh. Thank you."
Kano went back to his newspaper. "Why is this new company already running product ads while it’s still in the fundraising stage? Hercules? It couldn’t be related to the Hercules Potion Workshop, could it?"
"Oh."
"What have you been drawing this whole time?"
"Blueprints for the new equipment." Rorschach was drawing an assembly diagram. He had already finished the extraction cauldron and the ethanol recovery tower. Now he was designing a stirred concentration cauldron with a sealed head and a hydraulically driven agitator.
’All of this, along with the process he had developed earlier, was currently worth three times his service fee, plus a twenty percent stake of original shares in the new "Hercules" beverage company.’
